Mostly Authentic Asian Dinner

Hi there!
Whoa, two posts in two days! What madness! Last night we had miso soup, a carrot salad and beef gyoza (AKA pot stickers). I must be feeling a little nostalgic for Japan!
Here's the recipe for the pot stickers.

Gyoza
Round won ton wrappers
Ground beef/pork/chicken (Last night I used beef, but I prefer pork)
Soy sauce (sorry, didn't measure, just add to taste)
Ginger (fresh is better, but powdered is okay too)
Mushrooms, chopped real tiny like
Yellow onion, also chopped up real good
Oil for frying

Brown your meat and onions, drain excess grease and add the veggies, ginger and soy sauce. Put about 1/2 tsp of filling in the middle of a wrapper. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water, fold in half and pinch the edges until they're nice and sealed. Once you've got a bunch ready to go, toss them into the hot frying pan (with oil) and cook until lightly brown. Add about 1/2-1 cup of water (depending on the size of your pan, cover and let steam for about three minutes. Please don't burn yourself when removing the lid, it's going to be steamy in there. Serve with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce and rice vinegar (in nearly equal proportions). Yum! PS- These make great party appetizers, you can make a bunch, refrigerate before frying and bust them out right before company arrives.

Kiss My Grits!

Hi there!
Last night I asked Joe what genre of food he wanted for dinner and he requested Southern. So here's what he got! An appetizer of fried green tomatoes, okra and eggplant. And a main course of shrimp and grits. Now, I just want to say that this is one of my top three dishes. Holy moly is it bad for you, but it's so good! On a side note, all the veggies in the appetizer were home grown. Without further adieu, here are the recipes:

Fried Green Tomatoes
Vegetable oil for frying
1ish cup milk
1 cup cornmeal*
1/2 cup flour*
1 tsp onion powder*
Salt/Pepper

Slice your 'maters 1/4 inch thick, dredge in milk, salt and pepper and coat in cornmeal mixture. Fry for just a few minutes, until golden brown on both sides. Eat.
*Pre-packaged hushpuppy mix works just as well


I didn't plate these up all pretty because we ate them too quickly.....

Shrimp and Grits
(Serves four, or two if your husband is really hungry)
Grits:
1/2 cup stone ground quick grits
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 1/4 cups milk or cream
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt/Pepper

Heat the stock and milk, as they begin to boil slowly add the grits. Stir to make sure they don't clump up. Lower the heat and cook for 15ish minutes. Finally, add the cheese a bit of pepper and salt (if needed).

Shrimp:
Three strips bacon
Two cloves garlic, chopped
Peeled shrimp, I used about 10-15
Sliced white mushrooms, about a cup but really, as much as you'd like
1 cup chicken stock
1ish cup hushpuppy mix/fried green tomato mix listed above
1 tsp black pepper

Cook the bacon in pan, remove and crumble the bacon but save the grease. I warned you, this is not low cal! Coat your shrimp with the hushpuppy mix and fry in the pan with your delicious bacon grease and your garlic. Once the shrimp begin to brown add the mushrooms. Saute for just a minute or two. Add the chicken stock and pepper. Let the mixture cook down for a few minutes on a low heat. Top with the bacon you fried earlier. Oh man, so good!



Yum!

Well, tonight is Japanese night at the Davenport Ranch so I'll be back later in the weekend with recipes for miso soup, gyoza and a ginger carrot salad. Until then!

Figgy Wiggy Jam

Hello there! Boy, we sure have been busy with Summer! Last Saturday we went to Cherokee Sink and swam and swam and swam. On Sunday Mom and I picked five pounds of figs and made delicious fig jam. Here's the recipe!

Fig Jam
From the Ball Blue Book of Canning
5 lbs of fresh figs
6 cups of sugar
¾ cup of water
½ cup of lemon juice

Boil your figs until they're nice and squishy, about ten minutes. Drain the figs, slice off the stems, and mash 'em up! Add the sugar and water and slowly bring to a boil. Make sure you sir continuously, otherwise the sugar will burn. Once the mixture gets to the jell stage (should slide off the spoon in a sheet, as opposed to drops). Add the lemon juice and stir for another minute. Pour the mixture into your sterilized canning jars, fill up to 1/2 in from the top. Seal in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Yum!



Boil them figgy wigs!


Waiting for the figs to boil, I know they look a little gross, but they taste delicious!


Ladling out the jam


The final product!

Tour D'Yard

Hello there! Okay well, I didn't make these per say....but I grew them, so that counts a little, right? Here are some nice looking things from our yard! Hope you enjoy!


Purple Passion Flower/Maypop/Apricot Vine- Wild in the southeast, have an edible fruit, and a favorite of monarch butterflies.

Wild Gladiolus

Dunno, some kind of cute mushroom!

Ichiban Eggplant- Eat em up yum yum!

Dunno this one either, it's part of my butterfly garden.

Moonflower/Moonvine-Related to the morning glory, blooms in the evening and all night long.