Beef and Chocolate

Winter Gardening

2012-01-29T12:16:00.000-05:00

So one of the reasons we can eat produce on a 100 dollar grocery challenge is the garden. We have arugula, beets, kale, broccoli, collard greens, swiss chard, romaine lettuce and bok choy. It is not nearly as productive as our summer garden but we do get things like this:

This is a large turnip that made a yummy soup.

Offensively Funny

2012-01-28T16:56:00.000-05:00

If you like bad language, here is a guide for suggestions for dinner.

If you do not like bad language, do not click on the link.

Another kidlet lunch

2012-01-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

Strawberries, blueberries, carrots, cheese snack, cucumbers, pumpkin muffins, Hello Kitty Marshmallow and plain pasta with butter and cheese.

The pumpkin muffins are noteworthy because kidlet and I made them from a can of pumpkin that I think I bought two years ago to make a pie for Thanksgiving. This is why I do this grocery challenge. Because I have a TON of food that I need to eat, I just don't feel like eating it.

Grocery Challenge Update

2012-01-22T18:39:00.002-05:00

So far, I have spent $ 60.53 on groceries. The main thing is I am sick of eating leftovers.

Noodle Bowl

2012-01-18T11:23:00.003-05:00

I think as a parent you must have go to meals when you are exhausted and the temptation of take out calls. Noodle bowls are one of them for us. You take little bits of protein, veggies, frozen dumplings and chicken broth. These are rice noodles but honestly, any noodle will do. The red stuff is kimchi that my mom made.

January Grocery Challenge 2012 Update

2012-01-15T18:15:00.000-05:00

So far, I have spent 40.44 on groceries this month. We got takeout last night and had burgers today.

I made a large vat of veggie soup that I intend to eat this week for lunch because it is winter and soup is always good.

Kid Lunch

2012-01-13T12:02:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention for my grocery challenge that I pack kidlet's lunch every day for Pre K.

Here is a typical one:

Strawberries, baby carrots, cheese crackers and grapes. There is also a Hello Kitty marshmallow involved. All this is in my well stocked fridge.

Pizza Night

2012-01-10T16:27:00.010-05:00

Pizza night is surprisingly inexpensive. Especially if you get discounted cheese. This is a dried fig, goat cheese and prosciutto pizza. All of these ingredients were in my well stocked fridge. I should add that this is my friend N's favorite pizza.

Grocery Challenge Update

2012-01-08T13:44:00.001-05:00

So far, I have spent $12.74 on food this year. That was a whole chicken and two pounds of bacon. We are still eating quite a bit of leftovers. A pound of the bacon was consumed with breakfast this morning. We ended up making the roast chicken last night because we had so much other food leftover. Like collard greens, black eyed peas and Korean food my mom made.

January Grocery Challenge 2012

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all of you.

To start of 2012, I am doing a grocery challenge. I have done this a few years in a row. I thought it would be a good way to kick off the year to do it again. It makes me look through the pantry and freezer and use items up, which is a good thing. Sometimes, I think, "There is nothing in the house to eat." When really, there is a lot of stuff to eat, I just don't feel like eating it.

So I am going to buy only 100 dollars worth of groceries this month, including tax. I should add that I have a very full refrigerator, an extremely well stocked pantry and a full freezer. There is a vegetable garden as well.

Here are my rules:
1) Meals out do not count.
2) That being said on average we eat one meal out a week, which we normally eat with a coupon.
3) I eat most of my meals at home, as does my child. Yohboh brings lunch with him most of the time. He also seems to get a free meal at his job every week or so.

I am also going to try to show you what we do eat. Whenever I do these challenges, people send me emails that my diet is horrible. So I thought I would give these people more details to tell me EXACTLY how poorly I eat.

So for the past few days, kidlet has had Cheerios with a little bit of Honey Bunches of Oats mixed in with milk. She has a sandwich for lunch, on whole wheat bread with sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, strawberries and four potato chips. Yohboh and I have coffee for breakfast.I have eaten leftover black eyed peas and collard greens for lunch. Yohboh has had some Korean food leftovers that my mother made us. Dinner has been black eyed peas and collard greens or Korean food that my mother made.

I have a whole chicken I am going to roast as well as spaghetti squash for dinner.

Pictures of Christmas Dinner

2011-12-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

This year we made a goose for Christmas. It was very pricey and I have three cups of goose fat to play with.

Beets Pre Roasted.

The Goose!

Purple cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts

Cheese platter

Prune Cognac Stuffing

Le Staub

2011-12-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

Yohboh got me this for Christmas

It is a Le Staub which is like Le Creuset but you know, with a BLACK enameled interior.

So I made some chicken and rice.

How to make soup in five hours

2011-12-13T22:25:00.001-05:00

For those of you who do not know me in real life, I had a baby a few months ago. So cooking has not been a priority. Eating has been a priority because I am nursing and I need calories and honestly, I am greedy.

I tried to make albondigas soup:

Normally, this is something that takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. An hour if I am distracted.

Here is the timeline.

Pull out an onion and some garlic. Chop it finely. Pull out a skillet. Put some olive oil in it.

Baby cries and needs to be changed and fed. 45 minutes later.

Turn on the flame under the skillet. Add the garlic and onions and saute until golden.

Baby cries and needs to be changed and fed. She requires an outfit change.

Turn off the flame.

About an hour later, pull out the ground beef, rice, eggs, oregano. Add the sauteed veggies and mix well.

Chop another onion and garlic. Saute them in a large pot.

Baby has puked on herself. Outfit must be changed.

Turn off the large pot.

Forty five minutes later because baby wants to be eat and then diaper needed to be changed.

Turn on the large pot and finish cooking down the onions. Go and find two cartons of chicken broth.

Realize that you need to pick up kidlet from school.

Turn off the flame, gather up the sleeping baby, load her into a car seat and go pick up kidlet.

One hour later, (kidlet needed a snack, gas up the car and unload the kid and baby), turn the flame on the big pot and add the broth. Add a can of tomatoes.

Baby has now puked again. It is in her hair. She requires a bath. Leave the pot on a low flame. Bathe the baby and put her in the third outfit for the day. After she is dressed, her diaper needs to be changed. While doing the diaper change, my shirt needs to be changed. Baby is upset about this and needs to be nursed again. Another hour passes.

Drop the meat mixture into balls into the broth and cover. Let simmer for 30 minutes until the meatballs float.

That is how to make soup in five hours.

Birthday Cheesecake

2011-12-08T10:58:00.014-05:00

Birthday Cheesecake
1 graham cracker crust

2 eight ounce blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 T of honey
3 eggs
1 T vanilla

strawberries
melted apricot preserves

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put the graham cracker crust in the oven while it is preheating.

While the graham cracker crust is toasting, mix the next five ingredients. If your cream cheese is warm, this should only a few minutes.

Pull the crust out of the oven and pour the cream cheese filling into the toasty crust. Put it back in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Top with fresh strawberries. To keep the berries fresh and glossy brush on some melted apricot preserves.

Eat on someone's birthday.

Yohboh's Birthday Dinner

2011-12-05T10:58:00.000-05:00

Prime Rib, roasted yellow beets, orange cauliflower, purple asparagus and a baked potato.

Upside Down Cranberry Cake

2011-11-30T16:55:00.021-05:00

I have always found upside down pineapple cake to be too sweet. But with cranberries, this cake had a nice balance of sweet and tart.

Upside Down Cranberry Cake

For the topping
1 stick of butter
1.5 cups brown sugar
3 cups of fresh cranberries

For the cake
Yellow cake mix and all the accouterments you need
Zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 350.

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan until it is all melted.

Pour the buttery goodness into the bottom of a really well greased 9 X 13 cake pan. Add the cranberries.

Make your cake mix (chastise me if you want, but I can get cake mix for 13 cents) and add the lemon zest. Pour over the cranberry butter stuff in the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Flip it over onto a serving dish. This is not hard if you greased your pan well.

The kidlet did not like the "raisins" because they were too chewy and sour.

Lasted about four days after Thanksgiving.

Makes a nice breakfast with yogurt.

The last of the turkey

2011-11-29T21:51:00.000-05:00

The last of the turkey went into noodle bowls.

A different Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

This year we did something different. We had a seafood feast with oysters, clams and some lobsters.

What to do with leftover turkey

2011-11-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

Turkey burritos anyone?

Cranberry Apple Casserole

2011-11-19T19:04:00.001-05:00

I posted about this last year but it merits a looky loo. This casserole is delicious.

This recipe came from my late grandmother in law. I doubled it here. I love this because it is like a dessert in the middle of a meal.

Cranberry Apple Casserole
12 ounce bag of cranberries
3 granny smith apples, chopped into cranberry sized pieces
1 cup of white sugar

1 stick of butter melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup of flour
1 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven at 350. Combine the first three ingredients in a buttered casserole.

Combine the next five ingredients and put on top of the cranberry mixture. Bake for about 45 minutes until it is bubbly and the topping is brown.

Can be served at room temperature.

Volunteer Watermelon

2011-11-12T22:11:00.001-05:00

We were excited when we picked this watermelon that just showed up in the garden.

But it was not good.

Home Grown Veggies in November

2011-11-05T22:19:00.001-04:00

Gardening is awesome.

Cottage Pie

2011-11-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

When it gets cool, all you want is mashed potatoes with cheese.

Halloween Candy

2011-10-29T15:13:00.002-04:00

My favorite Halloween candy goes like this currently:

1) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Miniature- The chocolate to crappy peanut butter is perfect. When I was in college, these frozen with Coca Cola were all I would eat during finals week.

2) 100 Grand - Chocolate, caramel and rice crispy things. Super sweet. Sometimes, I sprinkle a little salt on it. Makes it really tasty.

3) Kit Kat - A childhood favorite. Wafers seem very old school to me but still wonderful

4) Twix - Twix and Kit Kat are like cousins but Twix is like the one who plays football and Kit Kat is the one that plays lacrosse.

5) Take 5 - This is one of the best new candy bars that has been created. Salt and sweet and truly yummy.

Wine Box

2011-10-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

I got a four pack of cheap wine for cooking. But every time I look at this, it reminds me of a juice box.

Fancy Mac and Cheese

2011-10-23T13:59:00.015-04:00

I was craving macaroni and cheese. I am a sucker for discounted fancy cheese. So this is the cheese ends of some fancy cheeses in a base of Velveeta and some Philadelphia Cooking Creme. What are the fancy cheeses? Burrata, Fresh Mozzarella, New York Style White Cheddar, Camembert and Brie. There is also dry mustard, buttered Ritz crackers, salt and lots of black pepper.

Garden Pickery

2011-10-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

Not too bad for mid October, eh? The kale was really tasty.

Kidlet Lunch

2011-10-19T18:19:00.000-04:00

Blueberry Muffin, Cheese Snack, Hello Kitty Marshmallow, Carrot Sticks and Apple Slices. She only eats what is on the left side.

The kidlet (and my) favorite lunch box.

October Garden Haul

2011-10-15T23:56:00.008-04:00

Sandwich

2011-10-11T22:01:00.005-04:00

A good sandwich is about good shopping.

This sandwich has Spanish processed meats, two different kinds of cheese (provolone and munster), olive salad, thinly sliced onions with pesto. Spanish processed meats are amazing. If you go on a picnic with me, I will make you a version of this.

Lasagna

2011-10-09T23:16:00.000-04:00

Yohboh made a lasagna because I wanted one.

It was very satisfying.

Yummy Pizza

2011-10-07T21:53:00.005-04:00

Dried figs soaked in red wine, goat cheese and prosciutto.

School Lunch

2011-10-03T21:46:00.008-04:00

Kidlet loves the Hello Kitty marshmallow. Everything else, not so much.

Tomato Haul

2011-09-29T21:45:00.000-04:00

Garden still going strong. Yohboh fertilized.

Fall Garden

2011-09-24T21:23:00.000-04:00

Fall garden is in. Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, four different kinds of lettuce, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower.

That is yohboh doing the hot and sweaty thing.

Leftover Prime Rib

2011-09-23T21:37:00.007-04:00

Leftover prime rib makes an excellent steak and cheese sandwich.

Prime Rib

2011-09-21T21:55:00.008-04:00

Dry aged prime rib is sublime. We do not eat this often but it is wonderful.

School Lunch

2011-09-19T21:57:00.018-04:00

The kidlet is in Pre K. She did not get into the local public school so she is a private Pre K program. I have to provide a lunch every day. I love bento boxes and wanted to make her elaborate lunches with little faces. But reality reared its ugly head and I make quick and easy lunches.

Here is an example:

Organic juice box, halved red and green grapes, carrot sticks, a whole wheat croissant and a hard boiled egg.

The kidlet really likes the handle.

The summer of tomatoes

2011-09-17T21:43:00.007-04:00

So this summer, I think I ate seven tomatoes every day from late June to now. Shockingly, I did not get sick of them. They were delicious and made me happy.

I like my garden.

Grilled Meats

2011-09-15T23:43:00.010-04:00

You know why I love my yohboh? Because he will grill meats when I buy them.

Here is what is left of some ribs that he made:

And here is some chicken grilling:

Corn and Bean Salad

2011-09-13T23:32:00.012-04:00

I made this salad for some grilled meats yohboh made. It's sharpness was a nice contrast. It is also good on a hot dog.

Corn and Bean Salad

2 cans of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 jar roasted red peppers
1/2 of a red onion chopped
1 bunch of parsley
3/4 cup of your favorite vinaigrette

Pour these into a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit overnight and taste again. Makes a lot. More than I should have made.

Dumpling Greedy

2011-09-11T21:01:00.001-04:00

We had dim sum for brunch this morning. This was the first time that the kidlet actually had an appetite for dumplings. Actually, the kidlet loves dumplings.

We had ten different plates of dim sum. Kidlet ate nine different types of dim sum. And she had one kind twice. Because bacon wrapped shrimp apparently tastes like hot dogs.

We like to go to
Royal China
3295 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 216-9933

I love the sesame balls, yes you can snicker if you like.

Red Beans and Rice

2011-09-08T20:34:00.006-04:00

The weather this week has been signaling fall. So I made red beans and rice. Because in the fall you want something stew-y.

Pizza Dough Revised

2011-09-06T21:57:00.000-04:00

Since I first posted my pizza dough recipe, I have changed it. It was not really a conscious decision, it was more about making it healthier. Also, I had read Jim Lahey's book and he espoused about the wonders of time in bread making and I tried it.

Minjenah's Pizza Dough

1.5 cups of warm water
1 T honey
1 T yeast

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
2 T Kosher salt
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Mix the water, honey and yeast in a large bowl. Let the mixture get foamy. Add the next four ingredients in the order that I have listed. Mix to combine. I use a Dough Whisk
, but I am a gadget girl.

Then I leave it overnight. If it is summer, I let it rise in the fridge. In the winter, in a cold oven. Right before I bake it, I do a quick knead (less than a minute) in the bowl that it was proofing in. Then I roll it out, top it and bake it at 550 for about ten minutes.

This can make 2-6 pizzas depending on how thin I roll it out as well as how big the pan is. I use half sheet pans usually and on average I can make four pizzas and one little pizza for the kidlet who only likes cheese and sauce.

What to do with the garden tomatoes part ten

2011-09-04T20:05:00.008-04:00

Garden Chili

2 T olive oil
2 onions chopped
12 banana peppers chopped
10 cloves of garlic smashed

50 ripe plum tomatoes
1 12 ounce can of beer
2 6 ounce cans tomato paste

1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup cumin
3 T oregano

15 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 pounds of ground beef, well browned and drained
2 15 ounce cans of pinto beans

Saute the onion, peppers and garlic until it is well browned in your largest pot.

Take half the plum tomatoes, half the beer and one can of tomato paste and puree in a blender. Pour into the pot. Repeat and pour in the pot. Let it simmer until it is reduced by half. This took about two hours for me.

Add the seasonings and salt. I cannot tell you how much salt because what tastes right to me may not taste right to you.

Add the fresh tomatoes, beef and beans.

Makes an enormous amount that I froze most of it.

What to do with garden tomatoes part nine

2011-09-02T22:24:00.016-04:00

This is my second favorite pasta.

Minjenah's second favorite pasta

1 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
10 softball sized tomatoes, chopped and salted liberally
8 ounces of hot cooked pasta, I used angel hair
30 leaves of fresh basil, sliced in ribbons
1 T butter
3 T pecorino cheese
salt
pepper

Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet until it smells yummy. Add 3/4 of the chopped tomatoes and let it cook down. I normally do this while I am boiling the water for the pasta. When the tomatoes are the consistency of maple syrup, add the pasta and toss to coat. Add the basil, butter, cheese and remaining tomatoes. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

The kidlet really likes this.

What to do with garden tomatoes part eight

2011-08-31T20:58:00.011-04:00

Tomato pizza with home made pesto and fresh mozzarella

Garden Slowing Down

2011-08-29T22:17:00.007-04:00

This is all I picked today. My seven tomato a day habit may be going bye bye.

Cream of Zucchini Soup

2011-08-27T20:32:00.015-04:00

Cream of Zucchini Soup

1 onion, caramelized
3 cups of sauteed zucchini
1 small baked potato
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt
Pepper

Put all these things in a Vitamix and let it blend on high for four minutes.

Made enough for four first course portions.

Yohboh said it was like liquid squash casserole.

Barefoot Contessa Thoughts

2011-08-25T14:35:00.003-04:00

I have a love/hate thing with the Barefoot Contessa.

I have really enjoyed a lot of her recipes. Her smoked salmon deviled eggs are AMAZING! But when I watch her show, I notice she uses a LOT of dishes and pans.

And she does not like cilantro. Who does not like cilantro? I question her palate if she does not like cilantro.

I always imagine she has two maids, Lupe and Inez who call her the heavyset lady who uses too many dishes. And they curse her for making them scrub the mixing bowls, All Clad and sheet pans.

Caprese Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

2011-08-23T21:25:00.005-04:00

Whoever came up with this salad should be canonized. Seriously.

If you come to my house

2011-08-21T21:09:00.005-04:00

I will give you as many veggies you want.

Farm Fresh Eggs

2011-08-19T21:12:00.002-04:00

In the summer, I do very little cooking. It is too hot. Someone gave us some farm fresh eggs. I ate this one with a sliced German Queen Tomato.

HEAVEN!

Kidlet Dinner

2011-08-17T21:59:00.000-04:00

Chicken Drumstick, four slices of cucumber, four cherry tomatoes, four slices Italian trumpet zucchini. Kidlet has to eat four of every vegetable because she is four years old.

Cherokee Green Tomato

2011-08-15T12:28:00.000-04:00

So Pretty!

Heirloom Tomatoes

2011-08-13T23:12:00.001-04:00

Cherokee Green Tomatoes, Valencia Tomatoes, German Queen Tomatoes, Great White Tomato

What to do with the garden tomatoes part seven

2011-08-11T21:22:00.008-04:00

Chop up some tomatoes on some store bought hummus. Makes store bought hummus taste much better.

Valencia Tomatoes

2011-08-09T21:16:00.008-04:00

The heirlooms are finally coming in. These are some valencia tomatoes. They are orange!

Zucchini Brownies

2011-08-07T21:40:00.005-04:00

I am actually running out of zucchini because the pestilence that is the squash borer has pretty much destroyed my plants. But for a final hurrah, I decided to make Zucchini Brownies. The kidlet really liked them.

Zucchini Brownies

1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 T vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups of shredded zucchini

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat oven at 350. Grease an 8 x 8 square pan.

Combine the first five ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the next five. Fold the chips. Pour batter into the pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

These are fudgy without being dense. Really good microwaved with some ice cream, chocolate syrup and salty peanuts. Should be kept in the fridge.

Volunteer Cantaloupes

2011-08-05T22:19:00.016-04:00

Last year I coddled my cantaloupes. I pollinated the flowers with a clean paintbrush and flagged the melons when I would pick them when they were PERFECTLY ripe. I fussed over them, trying to give them as much water as possible.

It was a total disaster. I got TWO melons during the whole growing season. I picked them too early, I picked them too late. There were rotten melons everywhere. This year, these volunteer plants just sprouted where we are growing acorn squash. I ignored them because of last year's fiasco. And on Saturday morning, I smelled the fragrant floral sweet smells of ripe melons. And between the zucchini, butternut and acorn squash I found not one but TWO perfectly ripe melons:

It was like a melon Christmas. And they were delicious and sweet.

Making Marinara

2011-08-03T15:50:00.005-04:00

I am so channeling my inner Italian grandmother.

I am not anywhere near Italian but I like to watch Cooking Channel and this recipe was influenced by a few shows I saw on it. I have no idea which shows, but the big thing was the adding of the butter. Wow, made a huge difference.

Minjenah's Marinara

1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
6 sweet banana peppers out of the garden, chopped
2T of butter
2 T olive oil
2.5 pounds of garden grown roma tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 T fresh oregano
6 fresh roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

Take the first three ingredients and saute in the olive oil and butter until soft. Blend the tomatoes and red wine and tomato paste until finely pureed. Let this simmer uncovered for about 3 hours. It should be nice and thick. Add the oregano and chopped romas and let it simmer for another half an hour. The chopped romas add a nice chunkiness which I rather liked as well as a bright acidity.

I would show you a picture of the sauce but we ate it all. Some people just dipped it in garlic bread and ate it over the pot.

Summer Meal Smugness

2011-08-01T20:52:00.002-04:00

We grew the tomatoes, the squash and the eggplant.

Ramen

2011-07-30T21:31:00.002-04:00

Growing up, ramen was my family's default Sunday breakfast. We did eat pancakes and waffles but I cannot recall getting bacon often. But I remember my mother making Sapporo Ichiban in the red packets often. I still love Sapporo Ichiban. It must be the MSG.

This was our Sunday breakfast. The key is the leftovers you sprinkle on top. That is cucumber kimchi from cucumbers from my garden, sliced London Broil, chopped scallions, and a fried egg.

Smoothies

2011-07-28T21:46:00.007-04:00

When you have a Vitamix and a lot of ripe fruit, there are smoothies. This is a peach banana smoothie.

Ichiban Eggplants

2011-07-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

I grow two of these plants. Ichiban are eggplants that have no bitterness.

A more mature Italian Trumpet Zucchini

2011-07-24T15:08:00.007-04:00

Italian Trumpet Zucchini turns dark green when you let it grow some more. I was too impatient at first. It tastes really good too. But honestly, doesn't everything from a garden taste better?

Cucumber Avocado Soup

2011-07-22T22:01:00.001-04:00

This is very refreshing, but not very filling.

What to do with garden tomatoes Part Six

2011-07-20T21:18:00.004-04:00

I make this every summer. It is so much better with a garden tomato.

Gazpacho

3 baseball sized garden ripe tomatoes
2 garden cucumbers
1 onion
1 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Put all this stuff in a Vitamix (my new blender which is the greatest thing that blends--thanks Mom!) and puree that for about 45 seconds.

When serving, I like a little hot sauce and a drizzle of olive oil.

Kidlet Dinner

2011-07-18T22:00:00.003-04:00

Sometimes, in this heat you do not want to eat anything heavy.

What to do with garden tomatoes Part five

2011-07-16T20:58:00.003-04:00

Garden Salsa

Quick Pick-- Tomatoes!

2011-07-15T21:54:00.000-04:00

I picked these in about 30 minutes today.

Children's Pickings

2011-07-14T22:21:00.002-04:00

This is what my godson picked one day last week. He had gardening camp. Which meant I had cheap labor. I paid him in Capri Sun and peanut butter sandwiches.

Acorn Squash!

Ice Cream Thoughts

2011-07-13T20:30:00.001-04:00

I have been consuming a lot of ice cream in this heat. 2011 is the Summer of Ice Cream.

Mayfield Ice Cream is soft. No matter how cold it is. It is like soft whipped cream. When it melts, the texture is very similar to how it is frozen. My favorite is plain vanilla and butter pecan.

Ben and Jerry's is HARD and rich. I actually like to mix a bit of milk in it because it is so dense. You cannot eat a lot of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I like the chunks in Late Night Snack. It has chocolate covered potato chips. Yohboh really liked the peanut brittle flavor. So much so that I did not get a taste.

Breyers is in between the two above. I like the Reese's peanut butter. Yohboh likes the Heath.

I like the Magnum ice cream bars. They are very rich. They are really good with hot coffee.

A few weeks ago, I became obsessed with push ups. Do you remember the orange push up? It took me a week to find them and they are currently my four year old's favorite.

Also I am really liking rainbow sherbet with 7Up. Who was the clever home economist who came up with this concoction? Rainbow sherbet is also really good with ginger ale.

Ice cream is an excellent way to keep cool.

Happy Summer Meal

2011-07-12T22:17:00.011-04:00

Marinated tomatoes with garlic, cucumber salad, the first tomato pie of the year, sauteed eggplant and trumpet zucchini.

What to do with garden tomatoes Part four

2011-07-10T22:06:00.005-04:00

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes

Why we garden

2011-07-10T15:47:00.002-04:00

My four year old asked for a snack of cherry and grape tomatoes. Because they are so good that she cannot stop eating them.

Italian Trumpet Zucchini

2011-07-08T21:38:00.002-04:00

These are squash that are squash borer resistant. Which is good because all the zucchini looks like the borers have gotten to them. DAMN THOSE THINGS!

But I have fancy Italian squash to comfort me.

Garden Goodness

2011-07-06T21:39:00.000-04:00

Zucchini!

Pesto

2011-07-04T19:40:00.003-04:00

So this is one row of the basil that we harvested.

I made 42 cups of pesto......

One more row to go!

Eggplant Pizza

2011-07-03T22:56:00.002-04:00

White Eggplant tastes like mushrooms.

What to do with garden tomatoes Part three

2011-07-01T20:59:00.006-04:00

Tomato Salad with truffle salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Small Haul

2011-06-29T20:58:00.002-04:00

Here is what I picked from the garden

That white thing in the center is a white eggplant.

Microwaved Beets

2011-06-27T20:56:00.001-04:00

Did you know you could microwave beets? I love them roasted but when it is so hot, turning on the oven seems foolish.

I cut them in half and microwaved them for about 8 minutes. When they were still warm, I drizzled them with olive oil, salt and pepper.

By the way if you ever in doubt on how to cook something, olive oil, salt and pepper are the best shot in the dark you got.

Salad from the Garden

2011-06-25T23:43:00.001-04:00

We grew the lettuce and the tomatoes. I spent 39 cents on the cucumber.

What to do with garden tomatoes Part two

2011-06-23T21:43:00.002-04:00

Caprese Salad

We grew not only the tomatoes but also the basil.

Taco Tuesday

2011-06-21T21:42:00.013-04:00

Taco Tuesday - I like the alliteration of it. So we had a Taco Tuesday. I did not ever make a taco until I went to college. I always used the preseasoned powder packet that you add to ground beef. But I did not have one so I made it up. I just took the flavors I think would be good and winged it.

Minjenah's Taco Season Mix

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon chicken base
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cup water
Cilantro stems from 1 bunch, chopped

Brown the onions and garlic. Add the ground beef and let it brown well. Add the seasonings but NOT the water and let it cook until fragrant, about five minutes. Add the water and let the beef mixture get a little soupy. Add the cilantro stems off the heat and cover.

What to do with garden tomatoes Part one

2011-06-20T23:00:00.001-04:00

Open face Early Girl tomato sandwich with anchovy mayo and lots of pepper.

What is anchovy mayo? Mayo with a little anchovy paste mixed in. It is salty and has that whole umami thing.

Father's Day Steak

2011-06-19T21:47:00.002-04:00

Yohboh got a big steak for father's day.

Beets

2011-06-17T22:42:00.001-04:00

We grew beets!

Green Tomato Pizza

2011-06-15T22:37:00.013-04:00

So we have green tomatoes from the garden, which we usually fry. But I possess a cookbook that suggested a green tomato pizza. So I made one. I actually never read the recipe, I just read the title and figured I would make one. That's the kind of ballsy cook I am.
Yep, ballsy.

Green Tomato Pizza

1 whole wheat pizza crust
Roasted garlic oil
1 large green tomato, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your oven to the highest it will go. For my oven, that is 550. Roll out your pizza crust until it is wafer thin. Brush on a thin layer of garlic oil. Add the tomato on one layer. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Add the cheeses and sprinkle liberally with MORE salt and pepper. Bake for about ten minutes or until the cheese is all bubbly.

Superior Combinations

2011-06-14T14:24:00.001-04:00

Milk and ice cream

Ginger ale and sherbet

Peanut butter and cinnamon sugar

First tomato

2011-06-13T21:11:00.005-04:00

So we had a red early girl tomato. And we ate it standing up. It was good.

Basil One Week Later

2011-06-12T09:18:00.001-04:00

Here is what the basil looked like a week ago. Here it is seven days later.
The Genovese:

The yellow flags are a good comparison.

The Napoli:

The Tomatoes the Heirloom Edition

2011-06-11T22:57:00.017-04:00

So I bought this tomato last year and I loved it. It was super delicious.

The German Queen. It did not make a lot of tomatoes but they were large, dark red to the point of purple and delish.

I have a generous neighbor who is in a fancy gardening club. He gave us some heirloom tomatoes to put in the ground:

Great White Tomato

Muskovich Tomato

Valencia Tomato

Mountain Fresh Tomato

Cherokee Green Tomato

I am very excited by the heirlooms. I know that they do not produce at the level of the ones I get at WalMart but they taste AMAZING.

Tomato Plants The Non Heirloom Series

2011-06-10T21:59:00.001-04:00

The whole point of vegetable gardens is a garden grown tomato. Pat Conroy describes it as one of the single culinary joys he has ever known. Yohboh has been known to put tomatoes in a bowl, salt them eat all the tomatoes and then drink the tomato water. I like to make my favorite pasta EVERY DAY for lunch when we have tomatoes. I also like a tomato sandwich and garden salsa.

Last year we had 27 tomato plants. About half of them were successful because one of our friends put some of his tomatoes in the ground and staked them. This did not work and there were rotten tomatoes everywhere. So this year, we put every tomato plant in a cage. Here are two of our three rows. I can't think of anything prettier.

There are Romas, Rutgers, Cherry, Grape, Early Girls, Best Boys, Celebrity. All from those 1.68 four packs (why did they stop selling 9 packs?) from Wal Mart.

Naeng Myun

2011-06-08T22:16:00.001-04:00

We interrupt Garden Week to show you the yummy dinner I had tonight. My mother made this for me because I cannot be trusted to make it. Actually, I have made it from a mix and my mother's is SO MUCH BETTER. Yohboh had this and said, "Your mother's cooking is the shit."

This is Mool Naeng Myun. It is a cold buckwheat noodle bowl in a beef broth with radish kimchi, beef, cucumbers, a soft boiled egg, sharp vinegar and mustard oil. It is wonderfully cooling. I don't think I can be friends with someone who does not like this.

Italian Trumpet Zucchini

2011-06-08T22:13:00.011-04:00

Last year, we lost all the squash to borers. I was on the internet trying to figure out what we would do. I was told that Italian Trumpet Zucchini is squash borer resistant. So I ordered some seeds and here are the hopeful sprouts.

Is there anything more hopeful than a sprout?

Hopefully, I will be up to my ears in zucchini.

Basil

2011-06-06T21:25:00.000-04:00

We are growing two different kinds of Italian basil. We started them from seed.

We have the regular Genovese Basil:

Which is lovely and fragrant.

We are also growing Italian large leaf basil or Napoli basil. Which is even more fragrant than the Genovese.

I predict there will be a lot of pesto in my future.

Garden Week

2011-06-05T20:57:00.013-04:00

The garden is progressing nicely. I thought I would show you the garden a bit this week. Here is a general overview.

It is about 1800 square feet. We are groing crookneck squash, Black beauty zucchini, acorn squash, butternut squash, trumpet zucchini, cucumbers, 30 tomato plants, Ichiban eggplant, white eggplant, bell peppers, banana peppers, two kinds of basil, Swiss Chard, romaine lettuce, Italian lettuce, fava beans, sweet peas, blueberries, collards, turnips, beets, broccoli, kale.

Barbecue in a hot dog bun

2011-06-01T23:49:00.000-04:00

So this is the smoked pork butt with whiskey barbecue sauce, homemade cole slaw and my mother's cucumber kimchi in a hot dog bun.