Thursday, August 2, 2012
Raspberry Picante Paloma Pitchers
Made these in celebration of and for the first tournament of the new washer pit...then got completely rained out.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Knight Farm Veggie Pizza
We LOVE pizza. HATE the calories. This isn't a perfect meal, but it's much better than the original.
We start with Flat Outs - typically you can find these in the tortilla section at the grocery store. They're oblong (larger than regular tortillas), but only have 90 calories each! (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the package - I'll have to add that later.)
This evening's garden harvest produced 3 large eggplant and our first yellow heirloom tomato. We've certainly found out that eggplant don't store well. You really need to eat them within 24 hours of picking or they start to get mushy.
We decided on an eggplant, tomato, goat cheese, and sun dried tomato pizza.
For a long time I stayed frustrated with tomato paste - I didn't want to pay the ridiculous mark-up for the resealable, squeezable tube but, even using the smallest of cans, it seemed like there were ALWAYS left-overs...that got put in the fridge, left for a month, then thrown away. ARGH - I HATE throwing food away!
So, I tried several different experiments and this method has proven to work the best.
I start with a quart-sized resealable bag. Fill it with the tomato paste. Cut the tip off (like a frosting bag) and squeeze out what you need. When you're done, stick a piece of tape across the cut opening and throw it in the fridge. It freezes well and, when thrown in warm water, thaws out almost immediately. Try it.
Flat Out with just sauce and shredded cheese...
So, here's the pizza before cooking...
And after! SO GOOD! The tangy of the sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese really offset the sweetness of the baked eggplant and fresh tomatoes.
We start with Flat Outs - typically you can find these in the tortilla section at the grocery store. They're oblong (larger than regular tortillas), but only have 90 calories each! (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the package - I'll have to add that later.)
This evening's garden harvest produced 3 large eggplant and our first yellow heirloom tomato. We've certainly found out that eggplant don't store well. You really need to eat them within 24 hours of picking or they start to get mushy.
We decided on an eggplant, tomato, goat cheese, and sun dried tomato pizza.
For a long time I stayed frustrated with tomato paste - I didn't want to pay the ridiculous mark-up for the resealable, squeezable tube but, even using the smallest of cans, it seemed like there were ALWAYS left-overs...that got put in the fridge, left for a month, then thrown away. ARGH - I HATE throwing food away!
So, I tried several different experiments and this method has proven to work the best.
I start with a quart-sized resealable bag. Fill it with the tomato paste. Cut the tip off (like a frosting bag) and squeeze out what you need. When you're done, stick a piece of tape across the cut opening and throw it in the fridge. It freezes well and, when thrown in warm water, thaws out almost immediately. Try it.
Flat Out with just sauce and shredded cheese...
So, here's the pizza before cooking...
And after! SO GOOD! The tangy of the sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese really offset the sweetness of the baked eggplant and fresh tomatoes.
Breakfast of Champions - Sandwich Style
I needed to change up the pace a little with regard to making breakfast. Jamie agreed breakfast sandwiches would be a good alternative. There are a couple of key tools/ingredients:
This egg cooker. It's microwavable and makes a perfectly sized, round egg. I add one egg and 1/4 cup of egg beaters to get a nice, thick, full egg "patty."
Second - Pucks. Well, at least that's what we call them. Then new "thin rounds" that lots of bread makers are selling...in the bun section and 100 calories a piece.
I also dry the lunch meat and Canadian bacon before assembling - the moisture will end up making the bread really soggy by the end of the week if you skip this step.
The rest of the process goes:
Toast the pucks
Cook the eggs
Stack the sandwiches: bottom puck, baby spinach, thick-sliced lunch meat, a slice of Canadian bacon, egg "patty," cheese, and top puck bun.
Finally, I found these individual aluminum foil sheets at Sam's. This makes the final "wrap-up" a cinch.
This egg cooker. It's microwavable and makes a perfectly sized, round egg. I add one egg and 1/4 cup of egg beaters to get a nice, thick, full egg "patty."
Second - Pucks. Well, at least that's what we call them. Then new "thin rounds" that lots of bread makers are selling...in the bun section and 100 calories a piece.
I also dry the lunch meat and Canadian bacon before assembling - the moisture will end up making the bread really soggy by the end of the week if you skip this step.
The rest of the process goes:
Toast the pucks
Cook the eggs
Stack the sandwiches: bottom puck, baby spinach, thick-sliced lunch meat, a slice of Canadian bacon, egg "patty," cheese, and top puck bun.
Finally, I found these individual aluminum foil sheets at Sam's. This makes the final "wrap-up" a cinch.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Spicy Salmon Tartar with Plaintain Chips
Jamie found this one in his most recent CCA magazine and, with all certainty, knew it would be a hit at our house. Haven't tried it yet, but it's on the agenda for this weekend!
Later.........
WOAH! We tried this one! Amazing. This is definitely going to be a favorite! My only comment is the amount of sauce the recipe makes is WAY MORE than you need for 1 1/2 lbs of salmon. So, I'd suggest making the sauce according to the recipe, then adding it, one spoonful at a time, to the chopped salmon until you reach the "sauce level" that looks yummy to you.
The sauce...
Sauce and chopped salmon...
Also, the recipe didn't give instructions for making the green salad below the tartar in the picture in the recipe. I don't know if this is it or not, but it definitely did the trick. One small bag of plain shredded lettuce and one avocado.
Add about 3/4 of the avocado to the lettuce and stir thoroughly. Any chunks in the avocado will turn to mush, covering the lettuce. The last 1/4, cube it in the skin like below.
Then scoop it out in layers. This will create nice little "chunks" of avocado. Mix this into the salad gently to make some tasty avocado bites.
Again, mix the sauce slowly into the chopped salmon. And, no - the cat food isn't included in this recipe. ;)
Now for the perfect round shape. Not happening if I have to do that by hand. The right tool for the job? A cookie/biscuit cutter or piece of 3"-4" pvc pipe. My biscuit cutter wasn't very tall, so I added the green salad, then slid the cutter up a little, so I'd still have a mold when adding the salmon.
The finished product!
Homer-approved.
Later.........
WOAH! We tried this one! Amazing. This is definitely going to be a favorite! My only comment is the amount of sauce the recipe makes is WAY MORE than you need for 1 1/2 lbs of salmon. So, I'd suggest making the sauce according to the recipe, then adding it, one spoonful at a time, to the chopped salmon until you reach the "sauce level" that looks yummy to you.
The sauce...
Sauce and chopped salmon...
Also, the recipe didn't give instructions for making the green salad below the tartar in the picture in the recipe. I don't know if this is it or not, but it definitely did the trick. One small bag of plain shredded lettuce and one avocado.
Add about 3/4 of the avocado to the lettuce and stir thoroughly. Any chunks in the avocado will turn to mush, covering the lettuce. The last 1/4, cube it in the skin like below.
Then scoop it out in layers. This will create nice little "chunks" of avocado. Mix this into the salad gently to make some tasty avocado bites.
Again, mix the sauce slowly into the chopped salmon. And, no - the cat food isn't included in this recipe. ;)
Now for the perfect round shape. Not happening if I have to do that by hand. The right tool for the job? A cookie/biscuit cutter or piece of 3"-4" pvc pipe. My biscuit cutter wasn't very tall, so I added the green salad, then slid the cutter up a little, so I'd still have a mold when adding the salmon.
The finished product!
Homer-approved.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Cucumber Sandwiches...from OUR GARDEN!
The time has finally arrived! Our garden has begun producing food large enough to eat! The first harvest produced 3 jalapenos, 2 bell peppers, 2 (of some other kind of bell pepper looking pepper), one large cucumber (which is almost as round as it is long and a funny yellow color), one Japanese eggplant, and one small cherry tomato.
I totted the veggies all the way to Port O'Connor and back, hoping to use them on our long stay at the coast. No such luck. The only one that met it's demise was the eggplant - I introduced Jamie to Meme's famous fried eggplant. Needless to say, he was an immediate fan.
So, returning home with our first batch of home-grown garden veggies reaching almost a week old, I had to find something to do with them. While at the grocery store, browsing the cheese section, it hit me...cucumber dill sandwiches! These were another first for Jamie and, once again, he's a big fan! Our fat little cucumber has (so far) made 4 sandwiches - one for each of us for dinner the last two nights!
This is our sandwich, served with half of one of the not-bell-pepper-looking-peppers and a hot red cherry pepper (picked after we returned home). The red pepper turned out to be so spicy that, instead of just eating them raw, on the side, we stuck the slices into the sandwich, which worked very well!
And, with peppers and HEB corn & bean pico...
I totted the veggies all the way to Port O'Connor and back, hoping to use them on our long stay at the coast. No such luck. The only one that met it's demise was the eggplant - I introduced Jamie to Meme's famous fried eggplant. Needless to say, he was an immediate fan.
So, returning home with our first batch of home-grown garden veggies reaching almost a week old, I had to find something to do with them. While at the grocery store, browsing the cheese section, it hit me...cucumber dill sandwiches! These were another first for Jamie and, once again, he's a big fan! Our fat little cucumber has (so far) made 4 sandwiches - one for each of us for dinner the last two nights!
This is our sandwich, served with half of one of the not-bell-pepper-looking-peppers and a hot red cherry pepper (picked after we returned home). The red pepper turned out to be so spicy that, instead of just eating them raw, on the side, we stuck the slices into the sandwich, which worked very well!
And, with peppers and HEB corn & bean pico...
Super Easy Basalmic Honey Redfish on the Half Shell
On our last trip to Port O'Connor, Jamie caught a VERY nice Redfish. We found a recipe for this balsamic honey marinade/glaze - super easy and equally yummy.
Equal parts balsamic vinegar and honey
A little garlic
A little olive oil
Marinade for about 30 minutes, transfer the fish to a pan and place under the broiler for 12 minutes. While the fish cooks, transfer the marinade to a pot and reduce on the stove to create a thicker glaze. When the fish is finished, pour the glaze over the fish and serve!
We cooked the fish skin on, which I think works best with the hot, fast cooking that happens under the broiler.
Equal parts balsamic vinegar and honey
A little garlic
A little olive oil
Marinade for about 30 minutes, transfer the fish to a pan and place under the broiler for 12 minutes. While the fish cooks, transfer the marinade to a pot and reduce on the stove to create a thicker glaze. When the fish is finished, pour the glaze over the fish and serve!
We cooked the fish skin on, which I think works best with the hot, fast cooking that happens under the broiler.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)