I brought a tomato in last fall. It has graced me with 3 small tomatoes, not bad for being in a small pot on a sunny counter. I must say, even for growing indoors under less-than-ideal conditions, the tomatoes are still better than anything I could buy at the store. Hoping it goes crazy once it’s back outside.
I also have 6 tomato seedlings growing (I planted FOUR, they turned into NINE, I shared the rest). Continue reading
The garden is finally starting to release its bounty. But those jalapenos? I cannot believe how hot they are. I cut into one, planning on adding it to my Cucumber-Tomato Salad (I’ll post the recipe tomorrow) and the fumes about knocked me over. I actually removed the seeds and ribs – something I rarely do, because I love spicy – and it was still muy caliente!
It’s been a slow start, but I think we are getting into peak harvest. I’m off to buy some Palisade Peaches – I have some great recipes for peach season that we will revisit.
Until then…
This is a quick and easy dinner and the pear salad has a nice, fresh flavor that is really complimented by the walnut oil and blue cheese.
I’ve been wanting to make bread for a few weeks, but the temperatures in the upper nineties and even breaking one hundred a couple days in a row meant the last thing I wanted to do was turn on the oven.
Today will stay in the low seventies for much of the morning, so I felt like I could risk a nice round of baking. I turned this recipe into one loaf and four sub rolls.
Beef & Pepper Subs Continue reading
A Denver-ish omelet. More a frittata, although I did try to fold it over. Lacks mushrooms but it does have all the other elements: eggs, onions, green peppers, diced ham, and cheese.
I’m loving this new stove.
We’re trying to do a vegetarian night a few times a week. This was one of my favorite creations.
Creole Vegetables with Black Beans and Rice
I didn’t weigh or count these, so we’ll just say for recipe purposes “about yea many”.
Along with the green tomatoes, I added two big sweet onions, and four bell peppers, two green and two red. Coarse chop all of that then spin it in a food processor to get the final mince on. Stir in two tablespoons of kosher salt and let drain in a colander for a while, then add to a big pot. I added yellow and black mustard seed, whole coriander seeds, a dollop of Dijon mustard, black pepper, many cloves of garlic, minced, some ground cumin, granulated garlic, granulated onion, 1 cup of sweetener, and one cup of vinegar.
Bring to a simmer and let it bubble for 20 minutes or so. I managed to cram everything into 5 wide mouth pint jars. Process in a water bath for 20-30 minutes.
I’m so very tired of winter cooking. Stews, soups (ok, I’m never really tired of soup), roasted meats and veggies. Time to freshen things up.
But with what? The produce section is often disappointing with flavorless items that haven’t seen the light of day. But there are some bright spots and with those I can wave away the winter cooking blues.
First up: Peppers and onions.
This is the time of year when you can find a variety of sweet peppers in all kinds of colors at a pretty reasonable price. My recipes are usually fairly simple. Heat up olive oil, add thinly sliced onions and peppers, season with a dash of salt and pepper. Sauté until they soften and onion are golden. Remove from heat and now you can cook up any number of things: chicken marinated in lemon juice and pepper, thin beef strips marinated in teriyaki and ponzu sauce, pork medallions marinated in apple juice and a bit of apple cider vinegar. The ideas are endless. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, butter noodles, quinoa…
Or how about Fajitas? That recipe is here.
Next up: Fresh salads.
I found a nice jicama one day and realized I hadn’t made a batch of Jicama Slaw since last summer. A big bowl of that in the refrigerator to munch on all week really lifted the flavor blahs. You can find the recipe here.
Two other summer favorites that are easy to make mid-winter: Potato Salads (recipes here) and Coleslaw (recipe here).
How about fruits?
Now is the time for Strawberries (recipes here and here)
Blood Oranges (recipes here)
And Grapes – one of my favorite grape recipes is Grapes and Sausages, recipe here.
That should be enough help you get through a few more weeks of winter while dreaming of the fresh vegetables soon to come from gardens and farm stands.
There will be a puppeh update today or tomorrow. Until then…
What's 4 Dinner Solutions 