Weekend Garden Blogging 1

Our deck is alive with greenery, a good mix of edibles and ornamentals. I took a few photos this morning (with the intention of an update each weekend) of what's growing.

While John is in charge of the ornamentals, my preference is to grow things that I eat. I blame most of this on coming from a long family history of agriculture! I did a mix of growing from seed, and purchasing transplants. Here's a list of what's cropping up:

roma tomatoes (seed)
kung pao peppers (seed)
jalapeño peppers (transplant)
miniature eggplants (seed)
Japanese cucumbers (transplant)
strawberries (transplant)
green onions (seed)
cilantro (transplant)
basil (transplant)
bee balm (transplant)

Here are a few photos, too! So far, the plants that have really taken off are the tomatoes and cucumbers. The kung pao peppers aren't far behind...

Simple Yogurt Waffles

We received a waffle iron for our wedding, and what a treat! (Um, yeah, I guess that's where I've been hiding out the past few months...getting married!)

Waffles have become a regular Sunday morning treat for us. Before we made our first batch, I began rummaging through the cookbook library looking for interesting waffle recipes with crazy names like blueberry-flax-chocolate-banana-oat-whatever waffles.

This waffle is, thankfully, nothing like that. It will not glue itself to your waffle iron because you've added cheese or something. In the spirit of simple cooking, the fun is in the toppings. I've pictured it above the way we like to eat them--just 100% pure maple syrup and some fruit. And, most definitely, a good slather of butter. (Side note: the link above will connect you to a great article about Iowa maple syrup. There is indeed Midwestern competition for this sweet delight!)

I use vanilla yogurt instead of milk, only because there always seems to be yogurt in the fridge but never the latter. Changing the flavor of yogurt would be an easy way to adapt the recipe to your own taste.

1 c. water
1 c. yogurt (I've used whole and low fat, with equally good results)
2 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium/large bowl, combine the water, yogurt, and eggs. In a smaller bowl, mix together the remaining (dry) ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir to combine. Bake in a waffle iron (according to the directions that came with the appliance).

Top with butter, maple syrup, fruit, chocolate chips, anything!

Bread Pudding

Leftover bread. A conundrum. The freezer is already stocked with fresh bread crumbs, and the pantry well supplied with dry ones. I could have made croutons, but a good old-fashioned dessert was calling my name instead. Bread pudding....and I've never eaten it before. The procedure sounded somewhat familiar to me, though bread pudding just wasn't part of the repertoire I grew up with.

I used some leftover bread I had made last week (a yummy multi-grain based on a traditional Icelandic recipe) that worked better than I had thought; most of the recipes I'd read utilized leftover sourdough, baguettes, or other white bread.

Here's the dish:
4 c cubed multi-grain bread (crusts are ok)
1-1/2 c milk (I used 2%)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c raw sugar
1/2 c raisins (if they're really dry, soak them in water a few minutes to plump them up)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

Pecan topping:
3 T butter, slightly softened
1/4 c raw sugar
4 T flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c chopped pecans

Place cubed bread in a baking dish. Mix milk, eggs, sugar, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon together and pour over. Toss the mixture a little to make sure all the bread is covered. This should sit for about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, you can make the topping: just combine the ingreadients together until you have a crumble concoction.

Sprinkle the topping on the bread mixture, and place into a 350 degree oven. Bake 30-40 minutes, until browned and done.

While I'm happy with the way this dish turned out, my next experiment will be to make a fine sauce to spoon over!

Popcorn in a Paper Bag

What goes best with a big screen tv? Popcorn! I blame the dark winter months and our new high def television for the amounts of popcorn we're suddenly consuming. Is popcorn nutritious? Yes--high in fiber, it's an all natural whole grain food.

Ever since I'd heard about popcorn lung brought on by microwaveable packets, I wanted to figure out away to make it at home--without investing in an air popper. My mom and grandma both had air poppers... and I remember them being difficult to clean.

Enter the glorious paper bag method. Here's how I did it, yielding enough corn for two of us:

1/2 c popcorn kernels
2 T butter (if you want more, go for it)
dash of salt
1 small lunchbag sized paper bag (our grocery store uses small-ish paper bags when they pack breakables like wine or olive oil that we've purchased; they work perfectly for this, and can be used a few times!)
other seasonings (cheese, chili powder, whatever)
1 microwave

1. Melt the butter. Set aside.
2. Put popcorn kernels in small bag, and fold the top over so that the bag is sealed up.
3. Place this bag in the microwave, flap down.
4. Put the microwave on 4 minutes and do NOT leave the room. You'll need to keep an eye on this so it doesn't burn. Depending on your appliance, the corn will probably start to pop about a minute and a half into the process.
5. IMPORTANT: once the popping slows down to a single pop every three seconds, you're done. No, don't try to get that last kernel popped. It's DONE. Just take it out.
6. Put it all into a big bowl, dump in the butter/salt/seasonings and use or hands or a big spoon to get it all coated.

Be ready to make more--it doens't last very long!

Pizza with Crimini Mushrooms and Black Olives

Oh, January....when will you end? I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen these days. Must be the heat of the oven... an easy way to stay warm & toasty!

Whenever crimini mushrooms are part of my Fresh Picks delivery, I make this pizza. The crust is up to you; I like to make mine in a bread machine and sprinkle with cornmeal before popping the whole thing in the oven.

Here is the sauce recipe I use; it makes enough for two pizzas, and I usually store any extra in the freezer.

1 6-oz can tomato paste
6 oz warm water
3 T Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, pressed (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
2 T honey
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust for heat)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust for heat)

Mix everything together and let sit about 20 minutes before you need to use it.

To assemble the pizza, slather the sauce on the crust. Add a bunch of chopped crimini mushrooms and a can of drained sliced black olives. Top with part skim mozzarella cheese. Bake this for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is nicely browned. Eat while watching a good action movie.

Sunday Morning Pancakes from Grandma's Cookbook

Drizzled with real maple syrup and loads of butter... pancakes are lovely on a cold December morning.

In 1978, my grandpa gave my grandma Betty Crocker's Cookbook; it's full of grandma's notes and a few food smudges. All proof of years of use. Hidden within the pages are also clippings and other papers, usually full of kitchen tips.

It just so happened this morning, when I went to open the book, the page that fell open was the pancake page! And what fluttered out was a newspaper clipping from 1986, describing the many uses for vinegar. What the connection might be, I can only guess. Fortunately, vinegar is not an ingredient for the pancakes.

1 egg, beaten
1 c flour
1 c milk (I used 2%)
2 T butter, melted
1 T sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Blend until there are no lumps, let rest about five minutes. Drop by the 1/4 c onto a hot griddle, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Bigger pancakes will take longer.

Fresh Cranberry Scones

Ah, I was lucky one day. It doesn't happen very often that I acquire totally free food. Fortunately, an associate of the company I work for send a box of fresh cranberries to the office. Only three of us wanted anything to do with them; I left happily that day with 2 pounds of the pretty little things from Wisconsin, which supposedly makes them "local" for those of us in Chicago.

I promptly threw them into the freezer and rabidly tried to find cranberry recipes. It was in this frenzy that I stumbled upon this delight. It's quite good, and 2 pounds of cranberries will make almost four batches.

1-1/2 c fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped up in a food processor
1/2 c brown sugar
zest of 1 orange (make sure it's organic unless you want to eat pesticide)
2-1/4 c all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 T. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c milk (2% works perfectly)

Heat the oven up to 350°F. Toss the cranberries with sugar and orange zest in a big bowl, then set aside. In a food processor (or regular bowl), mix up the flour, baking powder, salt, and cut in the butter. Add to the cranberry group, and mix well. Add milk and egg to this, and form a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface. Cut into rounds/wedges, or drop by the spoonful, onto a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Yields about a dozen scones.

What?! Leftover Risotto?

Yes, it's true. I made risotto for dinner one day and the stars must have aligned just so, as there were plenty of leftovers. This has never happened to me before. Typically there is nothing left of this marvelous Italian comfort food.

The big question: What does one do with leftover risotto?

I researched the query and arancini ("little oranges"--but they aren't orange, nor is that an ingredient) would be a definite possibility. Little balls (hence, the term "oranges") of risotto which are deep fried. Another one was risotto al salto, which are just pancakes made of risotto and a little egg (something like potato pancakes, apparently).

Arancini was my answer, which accompanied bowls of steaming soup. If I had found some mozzarella in my fridge, I would have put little pieces into the center of each. I didn't deep fry them; just a little olive oil in my cast iron skillet did the trick. They had flat sides because of this... I guess that made them rustic. He he.

leftover risotto
1-2 eggs, slightly beaten---put this into a bowl
1-2 c dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)---put this into a shallow dish
olive oil for frying

Shape the leftover (cold) risotto into balls about 2" in diameter. Dip each into egg, then the bread crumbs. Shallow fry until browned and crispy on each side. Drain well (pat with a paper towel to catch any extra oil) and serve.

Comfort Food: Beef Stroganoff

The night I made this, it was cold and damp outside... enter more comfort food!

My cooking ways have given way to heartier meat dishes this season; the beef I purchased for this was a single pound of hormone-free extra lean stew meat (perfect for high pressure cooking, so that it gets tender). It was easy to fill in the gaps with a bunch of cremini mushrooms, straight from an Illinois farm. Next time, though, I'd like to double the recipe.

This dish was prepared in a pressure-cooker; though I haven't tried it, I'm sure it would also work on the stove top or a cozy baking dish.

1 lb beef stew meat
3 T olive oil
2 T flour
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 c broth (I used a veg bouillion cube)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 c sour cream
sea salt & pepper
egg noodles, cooked for serving
paprika for garnish (optional)

In the bottom of the pressure cooker, brown the meat in the oil. Add onions, cook about a minute. Add flour, and coat beef and onions. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the sour cream. Seal the lid and start building pressure inside the cooker. Once the pressure has built up, let it cook for about 20 minutes. After the pressure has been released, stir in the sour cream and season. Serve with the cooked egg noodles, and sprinkle with a little paprika.

Toona Noodle

It's November already! I've certainly noticed the days getting shorter. While my daily schedule hasn't changed, the fact that it is dark when I leave work forces the mental challenge of preparing dinner without feeling like the entire evening is a crapshoot.

Enter my two very bestest kitchen buddies: the slow cooker and the pressure cooker. I find it ironic that these routes to a meal are of two extremes, very very very slow and super rocket fast.

Colder weather has also brought comfort food cravings upon us, which is the main reason I've been making tuna noodle casserole in my slow cooker. There is almost 30 seconds worth of prep time! Wow! I've only made this so far on weekends with the setting on High; if you do the Low setting, be sure to give it a stir about a 1/2 hour before eating, just in case it isn't thick enough. I like mine so that it can stand on end with a spoon.

I have one very important note about the recipe below. Typically, I don't purchase "cream of xxx" soup because of the high msg content. The soups I use below are made by Health Valley, no msg, and are of the ready-to-use variety (in other words, they are not condensed). If you choose to use a condensed "cream of xxx" soup, add 1 cup of milk to the recipe.

Slow Cooker Tuna Noodle

2-1/2 c elbow macaroni
1 14.5oz can cream of celery soup (not condensed)
1 14.5oz can cream of mushroom soup (not condensed)
2 6oz cans tuna (low salt if available)
1/2 c bread crumbs, browned in a little butter so they are crisp (croutons would be ok, too)
1 c frozen green peas

Combine the macaroni, soups, and tuna in a greased slow cooker (it may stick badly if it isn't greased). Cover and cook on High for 2-3 hours, or Low 7-9. I have found in my slow cooker that it cooks rather quickly, so be prepared.

Stir in the frozen green peas (they'll thaw quickly), sprinkle with bread crumbs and serve.