Fresh from the garden

We were on vacation for a bit earlier this month, and when we came back the garden had exploded ! Weeds everywhere, garlic that developed curliques so that it looks like something out of Doctor Suess, and STRAWBERRIES everywhere. I couldn't wait to get in and cook some of the bounty !

After spending a day doing yardwork, I wanted something simple. I stole a bunch of rhubarb from my parents (well, they knew about it, so I suppose it wasn't stealing), and combined with the strawberries from the garden, I was able to make a really great cobbler. The nice biscuit topping and the fresh fruit were a great combination. I added a little bit of cinnamon to the fruit, flour, and sugar, and that was it. The topping was just basic biscuits (flour, sugar, butter, buttermilk) but I added a little bit of almond extract to give it a different flavor. I think Ray ate half of the pan on the first day !

We have a lot of fresh herbs, and lettuce that needed to be picked, so I marinated some chicken breasts in a tarragon mustard vinaigrette, made with fresh tarragon from the garden. I also made a lemon thyme vinaigrette for the salad, which had fresh mixed greens from the garden, onion, tomato and bacon. Although this was a really simple dinner, Ray thought it was one of the best he had ever had !

And, we can't forget the cocktail. I wanted to take advantage of the fresh mint and strawberries, so I blended them together into a smooth syrup. Then, I added vodka, Sierra mist and a little lime, and it was the perfect compliment to our garden fresh dinner.

I am planning a nice ceviche for Saturday, contents will depend on what is fresh at the fish market !

Tuna Tacos

The tuna tacos were a big hit ! And very simple and fast.

I bought some frozen ahi tuna steaks from Sam's Club. They are not very expensive, and perfect for a dish like this. I marinated them in Cuban Mojo marinade. I purchased this pre-mixed...take the help where you can get it, right ?

I had small tortillas, soft shell size. Salsa from last years canning run, lettuce from the garden, shredded cheese and sour cream. I added a diced avocado and some left over roasted corn to the salsa for a little different texture.

To grill tuna, you want your grill very hot, and just cook the tuna a couple minutes on each side. Good ahi is meant to be eaten medium rare, and these came out perfect ! I just sliced the steaks like fajita meat, and we built our own tacos.

The perfect compliment to this quick and easy meal was a mojito ! We are growing spearmint in the garden this year, so I dusted off my bartending chops to take a stab at these yummy rum cocktails. In true "Lisa" fashion, however, I had to give it my own twist...

I muddled the mint with some fresh lime juice, and dropped half a lime into the bottom of the glass. I added some agave syrup instead of the traditional simple syrup, and topped off with ginger ale instead of soda. They were delicious, and since our mint plant is taking over the planter it is in, there are more mojitos on the horizon !

Off for some camping this week, but I will blog from the road !

Stuff from the garden !

Haven't done much interesting cooking over the last week. We went camping over Memorial Day weekend, so meals were potluck with a large group of friends. I made chicken wild rice salad, with water chestnuts and dried cherries. It was quite good. And easy to make on the camp stove !

We are just starting to get a few things from the garden. We have had a couple salads from lettuce we started early in a little planter. On Thursday, I made a pasta with italian sausage, peppers, tomatoes, onions and fresh basil and oregano from the garden, Yummm !! The mint plant has exploded, so I think some mojitos are on the horizon!

Tonight we will grill some tuna steaks and have tuna tacos, with homemade salsa from last years garden. And tomorrow, we break out the smoker ! We have 2 big pork roasts, a chicken and a pheasant to smoke. Should be some good eats at our house !

Homemade green sauce

I like most mexican food; however, the red sauce comes with enchiladas really is not my favorite. I prefer the green, which is a bit spicier, but also very expensive to buy for homemade enchiladas. So, I made my own.

I experimented with a couple of different preparations, but so far the favorite has to be tomatillo. I roasted the tomatillos in the oven, with just a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. I used my cool immersion blender to puree one small onion, 2 jalapenos, a handful of cilantro and about a quarter cup of green Tabasco sauce. Then, added the roasted tomatillos, and blended it all together.

It is a really pretty color, you can see flecks of the cilantro in it. Then I just did the usual enchilada prep, poured my sauce over, added cheese and baked. So much better, and I made enough for 2 pans of enchiladas, for a cost of less than $5.00. How cool is that ?

Sunday Morning Dinner Prep

That sounds strange, doesn't it ? But, I had some time before church, and decided to get some of my dinner preparations started. And, unbelievably, I am done in just over an hour !

We had some rhubarb in the freezer from last years "harvest" (I picked a bunch in my parents garden, which we chopped and froze). I let that thaw overnight, and put together a rhubarb crisp this morning. Crisp is a very quick, easy dessert that is very much a comfort food. I got some big, nice blackberries yesterday, so I added those as well. It bakes for about 45 minutes, and it is ready to go !

I wanted to make a couple of appetizers for my guests to have while I grill. I had soaked and cooked some garbanzo beans yesterday, so I made homemade hummus in the food processor today. Of course you can used canned and save the cooking, but these dried beans have a brighter, fresher flavor than the canned. Garlic, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil, it tastes great !

I also made a tapenade, with some olives we got at the Farmers Market yesterday. Again, very simple with the food processor, capers, anchovy paste, garlic, parsley, lemon and olive oil. I also added a bit of rosemary and thyme for a bit of a twist. **One lesson about the food processer**. DO NOT attempt to put the blade in after putting ingredients into the bowl. Needless to say, had to take an emergency break for a Winnie the Pooh bandaid, and then back to the cooking.

While I was doing this, I cooked bacon in the microwave, and softened the cream cheese for poppers. I was trying desperately not to muck up the newly cleaned stove, so other than a few dishes (OK, a lot of dishes), the kitchen is relatively unscathed.

Now, for dinner, I have a salad to make, baked potatoes to prep, and everything else is ready ! Pork chops have been marinating in a Greek vinaigrette, and it should be a wonderful meal. Oops...better put the wine in to chill !

Improvising baked chicken

I wanted to grill some gigantic chicken breasts we had in the freezer. Unfortunately, we had a dreadful, rainy week here in Minnesota, so grilling was not an option.

So, what is in the refrigerator ? Hmmm...cream cheese, pancetta that REALLY needs to be used up. How about a take on chicken cordon bleu ? I butterflied the chicken breasts (I really should have pounded them out flat, but I was tired and hungry, so I didn't take that extra step). I mixed some garlic, salt and pepper into the cream cheese and spread it on the chicken, and laid the pancetta slices on top. Then I rolled them up, pinned them with a toothpick. But, they needed some breading or something.

I always have breadcrumbs on hand, but what else ? I have some ground pecans that I used to crust baked brie, so I put some of them in a bowl with breadcrumbs, dried thyme and cracked black pepper. I melted butter, then dipped the chicken breast rolls in the butter, rolled in the pecan/crumb mixture, and put in the pan. Baking took about an hour and halfway through I started some rice. You can certainly have a salad or appetizer here to satiate that crazy hunger you have when you get home, or we like to have a glass of wine or cocktail to unwind before dinner.

Prep time all together took about 10 minutes. Tell me you can't do that after work !

Two wrongs make it right !

We usually do a soup and sandwich night on Tuesday, when I have bell choir. But, we are running low on our stock of homemade soups that we freeze over the winter...

Not all inventions are successful. For example, when Ray made homemade marinara, he cooked a multitude of veggies in his sauce for an entire day, removed the veg and froze the sauce. The frugal side of me said I could make a creamy tomato/veggie soup from the remainder. The results were mixed, at best.

And then, shortly after Christmas, Ray decided to try the cabbage soup diet. So, I faithfully made a "vat" of cabbage soup (Ray likes to make vats of various things, as you will find as we go). He ate the dreaded "Hate Soup" as we now call it, for five days, and we had a bunch left. I froze it, thinking I could use it for something later.

This morning, I am looking for soup for dinner, and enough to make it for lunch tomorrow as well. Suddenly, it occurs to me to combine these two less than perfect soups, add some good ground beef, and WOW ! It is a really good, hearty soup ! Now, I have to remember what I put in them to begin with...

Am I the only one who does this ? I made something that didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, so I started randomly tossing in spices, cheese, and whatever else I could find to make it into something. Now, it really IS something, and I can't remember what I did !

Chicken breast tomorrow, on the grill if it doesn't rain, or stuffed and baked if it does !