Garden Update

I learned something this year:

When you are trying to get a good garden going, it may not be a good idea to go on an 11 day vacation at the end of May.

By the end of May, the garden was planted. Most of the plants had settled in and were starting to get growing with their bad selves.

Then I left for 11 days - 11 days when the deities of weather decided not to grace my backyard with any rain. Not one drop.

The good news: When I got home, nothing was dead. But nothing had grown. And in that time period, at that time of year, I expect plants to double in size.

My little town is also still under water restrictions - I'm allowed 3 days a week, with each day having only a 2 hour window opportunity to water my garden. If I watered that much, it would be too much. But my problem is simply forgetting to water during the appropriate time.




Nevertheless, I got my first two tomatoes in the past week. The Bestest Friend and I enjoyed the first one sliced with kosher salt and ground pepper. I like to call it Heaven In Red. I have many green tomatoes out there, that make me hopeful for some homemade salsa in my near future.



The squash plants have been producing flowers like crazy - but they were all male. Squash, like humans, need two sexes to procreate. This past weekend I found 3 female flowers - and it looks like two of them have been polinated. But the zucchini hasn't grown as much, or produced quite as many flowers.



Then, I spied what I think may be my first female zucchini flower. Grow, ye little green things, Grow!



The pepper plants have about 10 flowers and one actual 2 inch pepper - although the plants are no where big enough to sustain that many actual fruit. Still, one pepper per plant (they're red bell peppers) is enough to offset the cost of planting it. So one more pepper and I'll break even.



The cucumbers have been the real heartbreaker. They took the two weeks of no water harder than anything. They never actually died - they're still green - but they haven't grown AT ALL.


That is, until the past three days. In that time, one (and only one) of my cucumber plants has more than doubled in size.


So I'm more than happy with my gardening efforts. I don't consider myself a gardener - I really just kind of play with dirt and green things for many days. Even if I get the bare minimum from my efforts, I like gardening. For one thing, it's relaxing to dig in the dirt. For another, it gets The Bestest Friend over here, and she hauls bags of dirt for me while I sip Pina Coladas.

And that's just clean fun, that is.

Heavn In Red

In the past week, I've gotten two tomatoes off my plants. It's obviously just the beginning of the season, but I decided to enjoy the first fruit of my labor very simply.

I sliced the tomato, sprinkled some kosher salt over it and then ground some peppercorns over it. The Bestest Friend enjoyed hers with a wee bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Heaven In Red

That Cookbook Thing II: Julia's Sauce au Cari

Update Dec 2011: Cans of coconut milk are now 13.66 (random) ounces instead of 15, and I've started leaving out the flour without noticing a difference in taste.

This month, the humble members of That Cookbook Thing II are bringing you Julia Child's Light Curry Sauce. There seems to be a wide variety of opinions on this recipe in this little group. I'm at one extreme - I absolutely loved it. I seared some chunks of boneless pork ribs in a pan and then let them finish cooking in the sauce, and then served the whole she-bang over basmati rice. Here, take a look:



I made one major change to the recipe that maybe, just possibly, ok REALLY made a difference? I substituted a can of coconut milk for the regular milk the recipe called for. It made a very creamy sauce - although calling this a "Light" sauce must refer to the flavor and not the overall texture.

I also made my own curry powder (which isn't as hard as it sounds, since I have a bunch of whole spices from that first cookbook thing we did) and I think that made a big difference in the taste of the final sauce. Curry powder from fresh ground spices has a completely different taste than my jar of pre-mixed curry powder.

The Professor and I both loved the meal. But the taste on the first night was nothing compared to the left-overs. The sauce and pork was incredibly better the next day when I reheated it to stuff in some whole wheat pitas. So if you're family won't eat leftovers, make this a day ahead.

• Mike's going to post the original recipe over at his place. I'll link to the recipe when it's up. Done!
• Ruth wasn't as impressed with the recipe as I was.
• Kittie went all out and put the rest of us to shame with her rendition. Seriously, I'm going to move to the UK just to eat her food.
• Sara gave us a great photo essay that I should probably have looked at before I made the recipe.
• And Some of us haven't posted yet. {Runs to check} Nope. Still not there. {Foot Tapping}. I'll wait here. So when they do get their posts up (I'm looking at you, our fearless leader!), run and look, because they'll all be great. And then come back here, because I know you love me best.

Julia's Sauce au Cari (Light Curry Sauce) with pork and rice

1/2 cup minced white onion
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp curry powder
1 15 z can coconut milk
1/2 cup water

1/4 cup flour
half and half, as needed
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound boneless pork ribs, cut in 1 inch chunks
2 cups prepared basmati rice

Put the coconut milk and the water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat - you want it to be at a good simmer by the time you need it a couple of steps later.

Put the pork in skillet to sear, and while they cook prepare the sauce:

Cook the onions and butter in a skillet over low heat for 10 minutes - don't let them turn color.

Stir in the curry powder and cook slowly for two minutes.

Add the simmering coconut milk/water mixture to the onions in two additions, stirring completely in between.

Add the flour, and stir to completely incorporate it into the sauce.

Add the pork to the sauce. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

If the sauce looks too thick for you - mine wasn't too bad - add a little half and half. I used about 2 tablespoons. Correct the taste with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve over basmati rice.

Crenshaw Melon - And what does this have to do with babies?

At the grocery store this past weekend, I spotted something new (to me): Crenshaw Melons.

Side story: one day when I was about 13, I was at the store with my mom. We were picking up some apples or bananas or something, and I set my eyes on star fruit for the first time. I asked her what they were, and - being the wise woman she is - she looked at the sign and said "Star Fruit". I asked her what they tasted like, and she told me she didn't know - but when I asked if we could try it, she didn't hesitate to put a couple in the cart.

That - combined with my dad's love of trying any and everything that's edible and new - is why I'm always willing to buy things I've never eaten. Because I fell in love with those Star Fruit. Keep in mind, that was before she could say "We'll go home and Google it". We didn't even know how to cut the things. Is the rind edible? Do you slice it horizontally or vertically? Is it bitter? Sweet? Sour?

Ok, back to the point: I bought a Crenshaw Melon. And - in a moment of true adventuresome spirit - I cut it open and ate without Googling it.

And it was just ok. It was no Star Fruit. It was slightly sweet, but really didn't have a whole lot of flavor. But it wasn't hard like unripe melon, so I don't think I cut into it too soon. So, as all wise librarians would do, I googled it on Google's Blogsearch page to see what the cooks of the blogosphere could tell me.

And that's when my eyes were opened. Because 7 of the first 10 results were comparing the size and/or weight of unborn and/or newly-born babies to Crenshaw Melons.

I'm going to think of that with every bite I take.

What I've Been Eating

Well, I haven't been cooking anything for the past couple of weeks, so this stuff wasn't in my kitchen. But it was certainly in my belly. The Professor and I drove up to Canada and puttered around the Great Lakes for a few days. We ate some great food, drank some great beer and had an all around great time. So, because I'm too lazy to write out recipes and enchanting chatter for the 3 posts that I have pictures for, I'm going to just show you some of what The Professor and I have been eating and drinking for the past couple of weeks. And maybe throw in a little enchanting chatter. If I feel enchanting, that is.

We ate at a Big Boy on the way up, so just imagine a picture of a greasy, soggy Patty Melt dripping with cheese. And a Mountain Dew. Or three.

On Mackinac Island, we stopped and had a beer at this fun little cafe at Fort Mackinac (it's run by the Grande Hotel). The Big Porch Ale was perfect for cooling down after our exciting fort tour.

Later that night, we went to a great restaurant called The Lighthouse (it wasn't really a light house), and I had two firsts: Escargot and frog legs. The escargot were inside mushroom caps (so I didn't have to wrestle with the shells, thank goodness), and there was a little cheese on top. VERY YUMMY. The frog legs were part of the Seafood Platter I had for dinner - and they were fried. I picked the breading off of one so I could taste the meat by itself, and...I was underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good. It most certainly did NOT taste like chicken. But I have no pictures of those, because I was starving. And forgot about the camera.


This is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and Spanish Coffee that The Professor had for dessert. He had the pie half devoured before I could get the camera turned on. And Spanish Coffee (coffee with brandy and Khalua) is his new favorite after-dinner drink.

The next night we were at a lovely place on Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior. The Salzburg Hof Resort is just awesome. Unless you want 50 TV chanels and internet and no bugs. Luckily, even I can deal with no TV, no internet, and a few bugs for a few days.



The resort has a restaurant (which is good, because there's not much to eat around there) and this was my dinner our first night: Natur Schnitzel, which is like Weiner Schnitzel (which is what The Professor had) except it's topped with some yummy carmelized onions. I had a choice of pork or veal, and gueess which I chose? :) I had already eaten about half my veal when I remembered to take a picture.

Fast forward a couple of days, and we've arrived in Midland. After a tour of Discovery Harbour, we stopped for...wait for it...a nice cold beer.



That night, we went to dinner at a place right on the Bay. I posted a picture of the sunset that night on my other blog - it was the perfect place for dinner that night.



I had the Fish & Chips (The Professor ate the Potato Salad because...ewww!). It went well with that beer in the background.


The Professor had some Crab/Lobster Cakes which came with the most amazing sauce - slightly smokey, slightly spicy and all awesome.

Fast forward a couple more days, and we're in Niagara Falls in Canada. After doing the Maid of the Mist experience, we stopped for ... wait for it...a beer. And the next thing I knew, I had ordered an appetizer!



I highly recommend this: It's Shoeless Joe's Lobster, Crab & Shrimp Dip. If we had been alone, we would have licked that bowl up there.

A few hours later we headed to CoCo's for dinner. And once again, we dug in before I remembered I had a camera.


I don't remember the name of the pizza, but it had "quatro" in it. (UPDATE: Kittie reminded me: it's Quattro Stagione - which she helpfully translates for us all into "Four Seasons"). 1/4 had pepperoni, 1/4 had mushrooms, 1/4 had bacon, 1/4 had artichokes. I don't know how I escaped the heartburn, but I had to combine some of the toppings on a few slices - no way could I eat that whole pizza! The Professor ordered some ravioli that I completely forgot about in my love affair with bacon.

The next night we were in Columbus, Ohio, visiting some friends. They took up out to a Turkish restaurant - a first for me. And Holy Lamby Goodness, but was it ever yummy. I'm going to warn you that this is a HORRIBLE picture, but it was by far the best thing I ate on the entire trip - so I have to share. And of course I waited til the last few bites to remember to take the dang picture.


The restaurant called this "Sultan's Favorite"; it had the Turkish name on the menu, but A) I don't speak the language, and B) I didn't write it down. That stuff on the bottom that looks like hummus is actually eggplant. There was a plate full of it, topped with little bite size pieces of lamb in a smokey sauce. I would call it a Turkish bbq sauce, but I don't like bbq sauce.

Update: I found it! It's called Hunkar Begendi; Much Better Picture here.


The Professor had something that I have completely forgotten the name of; that's basically a lamb kebab with some Greek-type yogurt (shh! Don't tell the Turkish restaurant I called it Greek yogurt!) on top. His was good...but mine was better.

Tonight, we go out to celebrate The Professor's birthday. We're going to a Brazillian restaurant and have been starving ourselves all day in anticipation.

I think I'll be on a lettuce and water diet for the next month.

Parmesan Crusted Potato Wedges

Remember the Great Potato Pile of 2007?

Well, I didn’t. Until I came home with 5 pounds of potatoes last week and started thinking up things to do with them. And I can’t do potato soup, or potato casserole, and really – is there a need to post about a baked potato? So I came up with a sister recipe to the Sweet Potato Fries, which is really nothing like the Sweet Potato Fries at ALL now that I’m done with it.

Luckily, potatoes are pretty low-maintenance. They’re the low-key member of the vegetable kingdom. You don’t have to plan menus around them; you don’t have to woo them with soft music and pretty flowers. They’re easy that way. You don’t have to even really think about them. I’m pretty sure you could half-way cook a potato, change your mind about what you want to do with it, and then continue on your way with the new recipe, and it would all work out in the end. If they could speak, Potatoes would sound like Leo from That 70’s Show just after he inhaled. “Whatever, Dude, I’m cool with that”.

Before I go any farther with that, I think it’s time for a recipe. You?



Parmesan Crusted Potato Wedge

3 russet Potatoes, cut into wedges*
½ cup butter or margarine, melted**
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried basil
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup Italian flavored bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 425F.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

In a bowl, combine garlic powder, dried basil, parmesan and bread crumbs.

Working a few at a time, toss the potato wedges in the butter, then the bread crumb/Parmesan mixture. Make sure to get them thoroughly coated!

Lay the wedges in the bottom of the dish.

If there are bread crumbs left over, sprinkle them on the potatoes.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, turning one halfway through cooking. If they’re not done enough for you, leave them in another five minutes. Or until they’re done.

Notes:
*I left the skin on mine, and cut them (lengthwise) into eighths.
**If you want to do an experiment for me, use butter-flavored cooking spray instead. I’ve read that if you’re trying to cut out fat/calories, it works – but I’ve never tried it. And if The Professor saw me spraying his dinner with butter-flavored non-stick cooking-spray, I would NEVER hear the end of it.

This Dip Needs Help

Last weekend, my parents were in town. Becaue I'm an overachiever, I attempted to fix a "dippy type thing" for us to munch on while we watied for my sister to arrive.

It was not my finest hour.

I thought I had a Knor vegetable soup mix in my pantry. I didn't. But I didn't let that stop me!

I had sour cream in the fridge. I have a cabinet full of spices. I decided I could make my own dip.

Let this be a warning to you: "fat free sour cream" + "mini food processor" = "very runny dip".

I think the flavor was very good, though. Which is why I am imortalizing the process here.

You're welcome.

Sour Cream Dip That Needs Help

16 oz fat free sour cream
1/4 cup low-fat 3 Cheese Ranch Salad Dressing
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp celery salt
2 tsp dill

I put everything in a food processor; I suggest you just mix it all together in a bowl - the food processor made the dip very runny.

My dip was very runny - as I've mentioned, I blame it completely on the food processor. I think it would also be awesome made with cream cheese instead of sour cream (or even half sourc cream and half cream cheese).

Experiment away, my pretties - and let me know how it turns out.

That Cookbook Thing II: Julia's French Onion Soup

Back in January, after a group of us finished our review for Where Flavor Was Born, one of us decided that it wasn't time to let go. That a special group had been formed, full of highly trained tasters with an uncanny ability to get right at a recipe and then raise a ton of question about it. Questions that must be answered with many emails.

That person was Mike. And he knew there were still many questioned to be raised.

So, not being the sort to let a thing like that pass him by, he decided we needed another project. This time, we set our sights on an icon.

Try this on for size:



Yes, my friends, we are now tackling Julia Child's The Art of French Cooking. Because we aren't completely insane, we're sticking with volume 1.

The Chosen Bloggers are:
Mike from Mel's Diner
Sara from iliketocook
Mary the Breadchick from The Sour Dough
Ruth from Once Upon A Feast
Mary from Cooking For Five

First Challenge: Julia's French Onion Soup.


But even that wasn't enough - we decided to go all out with one of the variations and cooked "Soupe a l’Oignon Gratinee des Trois Gourmandes" (click for the recipe at Mike's place). That's basically "Really-Extra-Special Onion Soup With Multiple Forms of Alcohol" for those of you (like me) who don't speak French.

We were allowed by our gracious dictator to make some variations. I was scared enough of the recipe not to try. I did (*gasp*) use half canned beef stock, because I didn't have enough of the homemade variety. Which probably makes me unworthy to cook a Julia Child recipe, but... you know what? I don't care. Because the soup was freaking good.

Well, it was freaking good the second day. The first day it had too much of a "soup that will make you an alocoholic" taste for my tastebuds. The first day it was just extremely good.

But any day I get to broil cheese and yummy bread that is soaking up a cognac-infused broth is a good day.

Now, this recipe is not something you just throw together to impress someone. You have to work at it a little - and that means reading the recipe ahead of time, which is sooo not my forte.

My humble suggestion: Do the last step (the cognac-egg yolk-worcestershire step) as the second to last step, and let it hum along for a while before putting the bread and cheese on top and putting it in the oven. I think the cognac needs some time to really meld with the beef stock. But that could be because I'm not a huge fan of cognac.

And really - who am I to question Julia Child?

Mandarin Orange Salad Dressing

In case you've missed the updates: As a rule, I do NOT eat salad dressing. For the vast majority of my 30 years, I've eaten salads with lots of vegetables and some pepper to to keep it seasoned. One of the benefits to this aversion is that, as a general rule, salads without dressing are way healthier for you - no extra fat and/or calories. A bunch of choppped veggies, with a small fistful of grated low-fat mozarella cheese, really don't have that many calories per bowl.

A couple of years ago, I found a recipe for a dressing based on canned pears. You throw them, some olive oil and a little balsalmic vinegar in a food processor and then - voila! - you have salad dressing. I cut the recipe out of whatever magazine it was in and promptly forgot about it. I found it a year or so later, pulled it out to make it, and then lost it. I'm still looking for it.

But I remembered it when I was planning a dinner party a few weeks later. I didn't have any canned pears, but I was planning on serving a salad with mandarin oranges - and I thought to myself "Hey! Self! Pay attention! There's a lot of liquid in mandarin orange slices. I bet they'd work."

Luckily, I listened to myself. And came up with a light, summery salad dressing that is great with some mixed greens, roasted walnuts and maybe a bell pepper, tomato and cucumber.

But really? All you need is the dressing and maybe a straw. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: only use the straw if no one's looking. Because seeing someone drinking salad dressing out of a straw is something no one ever forgets.

Mandarin Orange Salad Dressing

11 oz can of mandarin oranges, divded and drained, liquid reserved
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (red wine vinegar would work well too)
a few turns of freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Start with half of a can of mandarin oranges (save the liquid) and the oil, garlic, vinegar and pepper. Put all of them in a food processor and pulse until you have a nice liquid.

Taste.

Is it too thick? Add some of the reserved liquid - about a tablespoon at a time - pulse a few more times and taste again.

Too thin? Add a few more orange segments.

Like super-vinegary salad dressings? Add another tablespoon or two of vinegar.

Pour the dressing into a container that has a lid and add the poppy seeds.

Just before serving, give the whole thing a few shakes. It WILL separate, so you're gonna have to shake it right before you serve it. You can either toss the salad with the dressing, or let people self-dress their salads.

Cucumbers in Butter and Cream

When I got married a few years ago, my mom gave me a copy of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I love this book. It's got a ton of recipes, but it's also got tons of great information for foodies. It's not just a cook book. I pick it up and randomly flip through sections - especially the vegetables - when I'm looking for something new or just for general information.

These cucumbers have been on my list of things to try since I got the book. But it took me awhile to work up to it. It's not hard, but The Professor is of the firm opinion that cucumbers aren't really something worth eating anyway, much less cooking.

I finally took the plunge last month. After all, anything cooked in butter, cream and dill has to be great.

And...I was disappointed. I wanted it to be awesome - how many people cook cucumbers? When was the last time you ate a cooked cucumber? I wanted to be unique even more unique than I already am.

The sauce was awesome. But then...butter+cream+dill has to equal awesome, or else there would be no balance to the universe. So the sauce will probably find it's way onto some pasta. And as I typed that, I thought "Hmm...cucumbers in a pasta dish?" I might give these another try after all.

Cucumbers in Butter and Cream (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)

About 1 pound cucumbers
1 Tbsp salt (if cucumbers are not firm)
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sweat (heavy) cream, or sour cream, or yogurt
Lots of freshly snipped dill (I used dried)

Peel the cucumbers if waxed. Cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the into 3/4-inch chunks. If the cucumbers are not super-firm, place the chunks in a colander and sprinkle them with the salt. Shake to distribute the salt and let them drain for about 20 minutes. Rinse and dry. If the cucumbers are already firm, proceed with the recipe.

Place the butter in a medium to large skillet over medium heat. When it melts, ad the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Do not let the onion brown. Add the cucumbers and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the cucumbers are just tender. Add pepper and, if you did not salt the cucumbers earlier, some salt.

Turn the heat to low, then stir in the cream or yogurt and a good handful of dill. Stir until well blended, then serve, garnished with more dill.