It sure has be a while!

Whoops, it's been nearly a year since my last post! Things get busy and so it goes! For my return I bring a new jam recipe, salad dressing and summer dinner. Oh, and a look at the summer garden's gifts! In the basket: banana peppers, miniature orange bell peppers, an eggplant, Rutgers heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few straggler onions.


Mixed Berry Jam
4 cups crushed mixed berries (I used blueberries and homegrown blackberries)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup honey (I used delicious wildflower honey harvested right here in the Apalachicola National Forest!)
2 tsp Pomona's Pectin
2 tsp calcium water (comes with Pomona's Pectin but must be made before hand)

As always, sanitize your jars, lids and rings. Crush berries and combine with lemon juice and calcium water, bring to a boil. Meanwhile, combine pectin and honey in a separate bowl. Add the honey/pectin mixture to the boiling berries and stir well. Allow the mixture to return to a boil for two minutes. Fill jars to 1/4 inch from the lip and seal in a water bath for five minutes. The beautiful thing about Pomona's Pectin is that you can use honey or lower amounts of sugar, as opposed to the six cups it takes to make traditional jam.


Quick Creamy Salad Dressing
1 1/2 tbs mayonaise
1 tbs coarse ground mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
Dash of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar

Adjust to taste, these measurements are guesstimates. Yum!


Summer Veggie Pasta
1 small eggplant, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato, cubed
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste.

Saute the veggies lightly in olive oil, meanwhile toast the pine nuts at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Combine the cooked vegetables, pine nuts, and fresh basil and serve over pasta. So easy! All of these veggies, minus the mushrooms, came from the garden and could easily be substituted for whatever you have available.

Fall was here!

Greetings and salutations!
Fall arrived and then left just as quickly. Last week was cool enough to sleep with the windows open but today we're back up to 92 degrees! The good news is that even though the weather is gone, the fall food has arrived! It's squash season, yum! Last night we had salmon cakes with a dipping sauce over leafy greens and a savory squash soup on the side. Delish! Also, coming soon to a blog near you: homemade granola bars, easy white bread and roasted squash seeds.

Simple Salmon Cakes
1 can Alaskan salmon
1/2 cup crushed savory crackers (any kind will do)
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp dill
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for pan frying

Drain salmon very, very well. Combine all ingredients, add more crushed crackers if salmon is too juicy. Shape into patties and place in hot oiled skillet. Cook on medium heat for approximately five minutes on each side. The outside will be nice and browned when they're done. This recipe makes three medium patties or four smallish patties. One medium salmon cake is definitely a serving.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup light mayo
1 tbs Dijon mustard
The juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sesame oil
Dash of salt

Combine all ingredients, add more or less lime/chili/sesame depending on your tastes!



Savory Squash Soup
1 medium sweet dumpling squash (Acorn or Butternut would also be tasty)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp marjoram
Approx. 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup milk
Salt and white pepper to taste

Cup squash in half vertically, remove and save seeds (for roasted squash seeds, of course!), place squash cut side down on a baking dish and add water to cover 1 inch. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until a fork easily penetrates the squash. Allow to cool enough to be handled. Meanwhile, saute onion, garlic and herbs lightly in butter. Scoop out the meat of the squash and add to onion herb mixture. Allow squash and onion mixture to get aquatinted. Add enough stock to cover the mixture, approximately 1.5 cups. Remove from heat and pour mixture into blender/food processor. Blend until smooth. Return to pot and add milk, salt and pepper to taste. If soup is too thick add additional stock. Top with croutons or nothing at all!

Dinner Bonanza Day 3!

Welcome to dinner bonanza day 3! Today we're eating Japanese food, yummo! Here's miso soup and marinated tofu served with white rice and pickled daikon radish. The daikon radish can be found in your local Asian supermarket in the refrigerator section. They may be an acquired taste, but they're a staple of Japanese food and are usually served with white rice. Delish!

Quick Miso Soup (Serves 3-4
6 cups dashi soup stock*
7 tbs white miso paste (or red if you prefer)
1/4 block firm tofu, cubbed
2 green onions, chopped
1 sheet of wakame or nori seaweed, shredded

Bring dashi to a low simmer, add remaining ingredients and cook for five or so minutes. Yum!
* I use instant dashi stock. It's a fine powder (almost like instant coffee) that you can find in most Asian markets.

Marinated Tofu (Serves 2-3)
3/4 block firm tofu, in 1/2 in slices
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic and onion. Marinate tofu in mixture for at least two hours, basting occasionally. After marinating, pour off and reserve marinade. Dredge tofu in four and lightly pan fry. Top with marinade and serve.

Dinner Bonanza Day 2!

There's a theme for tonight's dinner! Egg drop soup, Chinese chicken salad and sweet bean paste manju.  The soup is so easy and delicious, not nearly as heavy as the egg drop soup you get at a takeout restaurant.  The salad is my favorite salad of all time, and the manju was an experiment but came out well ! 

Egg Drop Soup (Serves 2-3)

4 cups chicken broth 

4 green onions chopped 

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

2.5 tsp corn starch 

Dash soy sauce

2 eggs

Pepper to taste

Bring broth, ginger, green onions and soy sauce to boil.  Take 1/2 cup of the hot broth and mix with corn starch.  Reduce heat to low.  Lightly beat eggs in a bowl.  Straining through a fork, pour the eggs into the soup while gently stirring in a circle.  Season with pepper and serve.  

Mom's Chinese Chicken Salad (Serves 6)

Salad:

1.5ish cups cooked, chopped, cooled chicken (use yesterday's leftovers if you're following the weekly menu)

Lettuce, I use romaine but any is fine

6 water chestnuts, chopped

6 green onions, chopped

1 package ramen noodles

1 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Crumble ramen noodles and brown with almonds and sesame seeds in a small amount of sesame oil.  Combing all remaining ingredients and toss with dressing. So good!   

Dressing:

4 tbs apple cider vinegar

4 tbs sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp accent 

1 tsp pepper 

1/2 c. vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients, except oil, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, allow to cool and combine with oil.  

Manju

From: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/japanesecake/r/manjucake.htm 

2 1/2 cups flour

4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 can sweet azuki bean paste (anko if you're trying to locate it at the Asian grocery store)

Sift dry ingredients together.  Add water and knead into smooth dough.  Separate into twelve pieces, rolling into ball.  Cut 12 squares of parchment paper.  Take each dough ball and flatten, place approximately 1 tsp of bean paste in the center, fold the edges around the bean paste, reforming a ball.  Place on parchment square and into bamboo steamer.  Steam on high 12 minutes.  

Dinner Bonanza Day 1!

Here's dinner! Hang on to the leftover chicken because it's going into tomorrow's dinner! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Whole baked chicken 

1 medium roasting chicken 

Poultry seasoning

1 cup white wine 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat chicken in poultry seasoning.  Bake for thirty minutes then pour white wine over chicken.  Bake an additional 30 minutes or until juices run clear.  Baste in wine juices occasionally.  

Mashed sweet potatoes 

3 medium sweet potatoes 

1/2 cup milk

1 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs butter

1 tsp apple pie seasoning 

Bake/microwave sweet potatoes until tender.  Chop sweet potatoes and mash with remaining ingredients.  I keep the skin on to hang on to some of the nutrients, but you could also peel before mashing if you prefer a smoother dish. 

Creamy cucumber salad

1 large cucumber, peeled, halved and sliced thinly

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp dill 

Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients and allow to hang out 15 minutes before serving.  Season with salt and pepper.

Balsamic strawberries

Got this one from Runner's World Magazine and boy is it yummy!

1 pint strawberries

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Slice strawberries and combine with sugar and vinegar.  Allow to marinate 15 minutes before serving. Delish! 

This week's menu!

This week I'll be trying something a little different.  I'm posting my weekly menu and updating daily with recipes.  Here's this week's menu, tonight's dinner should be posted later this evening.  Hope you enjoy!  

Monday-Whole baked chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, cucumber salad and balsamic strawberries

Tuesday-Chinese chicken salad, egg drop soup and sweet bean paste manju

Wednesday-Marinated tofu, white rice, miso soup, and Japanese pickled daikon

Thursday-Quick chicken pot pie and cakey cookies

Friday-Soba noodles, miso soup and salad 

Blue-tailed skinks and yummy stews!

Hello there! Having finished my internship/grad school I now have lots of time to make yummy dinners! First up is an easy recipe for Chicken and Dumplings, followed by a (not quite as easy) recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon.  Finally, I leave you with a picture of a Blue-tailed skink that was hanging out on the back porch.  Ever since moving a bird feeder to the back porch we've had nature galore! Lots of squirrels, some skinks, lots of cardinals, Carolina wrens and even a few hummingbirds.  The cats fantasize about eating them.  

Chicken and Dumplings (serves 2-3)

For the soup:

1 large chicken breast, chopped into small pieces 

1 large carrot, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup peas

1 can cream of celery soup

1.5 cup water

1 block chicken bouillon

For the dumplings:

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2ish cup cold water

Combine chicken, onion, carrot, celery, 1.5 cups water and chicken bouillon cube in a pot.  Simmer on medium-low heat until chicken is cooked and veggies are tender. Meanwhile, combine flour and salt in a bowl.  Slowly pour cold water into mixture while kneading.  Once dough is well mixed (should be firm), roll into a thin "snake" and let it relax for a few minutes.  Then slice into 1 inch pieces.  Add cream of celery soup and peas to the soup and simmer over medium heat.  Add dumplings while stirring slowly.  Allow dumplings to cook for approximately 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper.  A few notes, for a thicker soup add less water and for an easy variation add the mixture (minus dumplings) to an over safe casserole dish and top with pre-made biscuits.  Bake at 350 for 30ish minutes or until biscuits are fully cooked.

       

Boeuf Bourguignon

Here's Martha's version I modified

5 slices or regular (not low fat) bacon

2 lbs stew beef, cut into 2 inch pieces 

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup beef broth 

5 carrots, sliced into 2 inch pieces

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbs tomato paste

3 cups dry red wine 

1 cup pearl onions

2 cups white mushrooms

1 tbs dried thyme 

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Chop bacon into one inch pieces and fry in a medium sauce pan.  While the bacon cooks, season meat with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  Once cooked, remove and save bacon.   Brown meat in the bacon fat in batches, brown meat on all sides cooking for approximately 5 minutes each batch.  Transfer each batch to a waiting bowl.  Once all meat is cooked add 1/2 cup beef broth to the pot.  Bring to a boil and stir to get all the delicious meat/bacon bits on the bottom of the pot.  Once broth has cooked down slightly, add onions and garlic.  Cook until translucent over medium heat.  Add tomato paste and cook for an additional minute.  Add carrots, wine, 1/2 tbs dried thyme, meat and bacon.  Bring to a boil while stirring, then reduce heat to low and cover.  Simmer on low for 3ish hours, until meat is tender.  30 minutes before stew is ready prepare mushrooms.  Wash and quarter mushrooms.  Combine mushrooms and pearl onions in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.  Bake at 350 degrees for 2oish minutes, stir occasionally.  Once roasted, combine the mushrooms/onions with the stew and serve with a tasty loaf of French bread.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, a Blue-tailed skink!