Foodie Post

I am totally not a foodie.  But, my hubby is.  Sort of.  He loves food and he loves to eat.  Over the last year or so, because of cooking through the PW cookbook and needing to find recipes for our garden veggies, I have become way more comfortable in the kitchen and almost enjoy the challenge of trying something new.  Almost.

We have tomatoes.  Lots and lots of tomatoes.  We have done the canning thing and we don't have soooo many tomatoes that it is worth all of that hassle.  We did spaghetti sauce and froze it last year and that worked out much better.  This year we are using them as we go.

Last week was Ina Garten's Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.  (A recipe shared by my sister.)  And it was a hit, although a little spicy hot for some of my crew.  (Note on recipe card, use half of the crushed red pepper called for.)  It was crazy easy and didn't take that much time.  It had all the things we love:  tomatoes, onion, garlic, 4 cups of fresh basil, salt and pepper and the crushed red pepper flakes.

What is better with homemade soup than homemade Ezekiel bread.  We will definitely do it all again. Next up, tomatoes au gratin . . . . 

You Say Tomato

We had another bumper crop of tomatoes this year.  But, I didn't want to have to can them.  We did that a couple of years ago and it seemed to me to be a lot of work.  And then I was a little worried about the freshness of the canned tomatoes.  Although I think I used them a couple of months ago for salsa.

Anyway, I wanted to see if we could do something with the tomatoes other than canning.  So, the following is what I did.

I found a easy, decent recipe on the Internet for spaghetti sauce that can be made and frozen.  And, I could make it in the crock pot.  So I did and then froze it but we have yet to eat it.  The true test will come next week!

Next I made a tomato pie.  I will be honest, we were all a little skeptical.  But, I had to do something with the tomatoes.  Again, I googled an easy recipe and made this Monday night.

We were all pleasantly surprised.  It had great taste.  I think next time I would mix the cheese spread with the tomatoes.  (The recipe called for it to be spread on the top.)  We ate the whole thing.  The kids didn't even complain.  I am so in the habit of taking pictures for PW cooking that I just kind of automatically took the pictures of the pie. 

Next was a Pioneer Woman recipe.  It was Caprese Salad.  I still have no idea how to say it.  We had friends over for dinner when I made the below salad.  She is Italian and she told me how she thought it was pronounced.

Think slices of tomatoes.

Think slices of mozzarella cheese.

Reduced balsamic vinegar.

Using my very trendy serving platter.

Presentation is everything.  It really did make our serving table look so much prettier!  All the adults liked this one and a couple of the kids.  

So, that is what we have done with a bunches of our tomatoes.  It was a little challenging but a lot of fun.  I might be a chef yet . . . 

PW: Summer Shrimp Saute

When I pick a PW recipe, I try to match it with what is on sale at the grocery store or what we might have an over abundance of in our refrigerator.  So, it was a natural pick to do the Pioneer Woman's summer saute.  At least I think that is what it is called.  I am too lazy to get up and go look!

We had yellow squash and zucchini from the garden and a friend gave us some corn.  And shrimp just happened to be on sale.  Love when that happens!

We have a huge basil plant and so we used a bunch of basil.  And I need to cut in a real fancy way  called "chiffonade" or something like that.  I had to look it up on the Internet.

Saute the shrimp.

Tomatoes from the garden and saute it all together.  Toss and warm it all together.

And presto.  And awesome summer dish with delicious summer veggies.  It was a hit . . . 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

How does your garden grow?  Isn't that a verse from a nursery rhyme?  I think it is.  Anyway, our garden grows pretty well if I do say so myself!  Of course I don't have a whole lot to do with it.  It is hubby's thing.  What he does to unwind at the end of the day.  He comes home, takes off his uniform and heads outside to see what is going on.  

The little guys (who aren't so little anymore) trail after him and bring in the harvest.  This year we had lettuce, which I think I have already posted about.  Then came green peppers, zucchini and yellow squash.

We have had awesome stuffed peppers and we have sliced and diced and frozen the rest.  We have had roasted vegetables many times in the last 6 weeks!  We have sent some home with Grandma.  We have made zucchini bread and muffins some of which we have shared with our Meals on Wheels clients.

Another banner year for onions.  And they are just perfect.  Not too strong.  We have many, many pounds which is awesome because we love onions and put them in just about everything.  Not to mention including them in our roasted veggies.

And of course red potatoes.  We have roasted them and I have made a twice baked recipe.  We will be eating potatoes for awhile.  We have shared quite a few with our Life Group class at church.  They are so much better than store bought.  The only word I can think to describe them is creamier.  We bartered with one friend.  We gave them potatoes and they gave us green beans.  I would love to do that more often!  Have a little veggie co-op of our own. ;)

And I can't forget the tomatoes and our four little blackberry bushes.  We are just coming into tomatoes so I need to find a good (easy) spaghetti sauce recipe that can be frozen.  And we have fresh blackberries everyday.  We are still working on the taste of those.  Some are really good but some are pretty tart.  I guess it has to do with the soil.  But, the kids eat most of them anyway.  Especially EG.

I am thinking about what is in our garden at the moment and I think that might be it for now.  It is pretty hot out there and the bugs are pretty bad.  So probably not ideal for more veggies.  But, Daddy likes to experiment a little so we will have to see what he wants to plant next . . . 

First Crop of the Season

Our garden is growing.  I say ours, I should really say hubby's.  Anyway, we have tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions and a few other things that I just can't remember at the moment.  But, our first official crop was a lot of lettuce.

We ate salads for a week.  We had our Sunday School group over on a Sunday night and made a huge bowl of salad.  We gave lettuce away.  And then it was gone.  All in a week's time.

I had envisioned us eating it all summer.  There is nothing more delicious then a summer salad.  Funny thing about lettuce, though, it doesn't like the heat.  And, in order to eat lettuce for more than a week, you have to plant it in stages.  Maybe not all at once.  And you can't really freeze lettuce.

Put it in the ground a little earlier and stagger the planting.  Lesson learned for next year . . . 

Canning

Yesterday hubby and I tried our hand at canning. It was definitely a learning experience, having never done anything like it before. We had all the tools we needed, we just needed expertise.

It was a whole lot of work for just the few jars we did. Obviously it is something we need to save up and do all in one day to make it worth while. But, we now have a better idea of what we are doing, so when we have to spend a whole Saturday canning the tomatoes we get from our plants, we will be a little bit ahead of the game.

I wish I were a great picture taker like The Pioneer Women or McMama. Nature Girl, Boop and Little Mama took the pictures for us, instead, and did a pretty good darn job.

Today we checked the seals, labeled the jars and will store them in our master bedroom, walk in closet. Along with the onions we have hanging in my old nylons in there. Hey, it is cool, dark and dry in there. You have to improvise when you don't have a root cellar.

Can't wait to make spaghetti sauce and salsa with it some time in the future . . .

How Does Your Garden Grow?

One of hubby's joys is our ever growing garden. He seems to glean much pleasure from working out there with his hands. And then reaping the benefits from his physical toils.

This year we have corn, green peppers, collards, red lettuce, tomatoes, onions, spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes. The peppers are being picked and the onions being pulled. We are waiting on the tomatoes, both cherry and regular. The corn is an experiment as is the spaghetti squash.

We have been eating the collars and have made stuffed green peppers already. We have had many salads with our red lettuce. He is currently in search of a tiller to make it just a little bit bigger.

When I think about all the work it takes to get just a couple meals of vegetables, it really does make me wonder how on earth people survived when there were no refrigerators or grocery stores. I guess they had the barter system, my lettuce for your tomatoes. Which, I think is kind of cool.

Spaghetti squash is on the menu for tonight . . .

Garden

For the last several years we (my hubby) have been novice gardeners. We haven't had all that much luck. Last year, or maybe it was the year before we grew beans (or peas) and I am sure a few other things but the beans (peas) were horrible. Even I didn't like them. And I really wanted to!

About 2 years ago we got a composter and that has been great getting us some really wonderful soil to use. And, in my opinion, it seems to have made a difference. On Sunday, hubby "harvested" three head of cauliflower. They looked great! We have about three more to go. He wants them to get a little bigger but you have to be careful they don't get yellowed by the sun. Our neighbor said the yellowing really doesn't have an effect on taste though.

The heads of the cauliflower are all tucked in the big leaves, protecting them from the sun. When the heads are big enough and the leaves start to peel away from the head, they are ready to be harvested.

Yesterday afternoon I spent some time learning how to blanch and freeze cauliflower. In all honesty, it is easy but kind of time consuming. And I had to dirty a lot of pots. All for two servings. (One head per meal, with leftovers for lunch.) We roasted one head last night for dinner. And if I do say so myself, it tasted pretty darn good! The kids, for the most part, liked it. I think it helped that "we" grew it.

I think we have onions, red potatoes and eggplant. Next is zucchini and gourds (for bird houses and water ladles.) I would like a couple of blueberry bushes so the kids can just pick their snack right off the bushes! They also want a peach tree. I thought about an avecado tree but Paul says they are too big. Or maybe an orange tree? Maybe bananas? (I told LM we would have to research that one) And I don't think apple trees grow here. I could be mistaken. I would like, though, to do strawberries and cantaloupe.

After we "harvest" the onions, potatoes and eggplant, we are going to double the size of the garden. Hubby has already started that by making it a mini composting area. If that all goes well, and I become truly involved in this, I would like to see a larger part of our backyard turned into a garden. We have plenty of room. Nowadays, they have contraptions to hang and grow things so we could make the most of the room we have. I just know it would take a lot of work on every one's part.

But, I think it would be neat to freeze and can what we grow. Now, if we could only get the city to give us permission to have cows, pigs and chickens, we might be able to be a self sustaining compound, with homeschooling and all! Never have to go anywhere! That is a joke, of course! But, I am tickled to be growing a decent amount of veggies and then maybe some fruit . . .