Adventures in food land

Moving to new digs

2011-10-19T19:20:00.000-05:00

Perhaps you have noticed I've not been posting very much. Perhaps not. Truth is, I've been busy getting ready to move.

As with any great meal, at the end there is always clearing the table. It doesn't mean there won't be another meal, just that this one is complete.

Almost two years ago, I started with two blogs, A Midwest Garden, and I Hope You Are Hungry. I have enjoyed every minute of every post, but at times found myself off track and off topic.

Later, I started a Facebook page under The Gastronomic Gardener name and the growth there has been gratifying albeit sporadic.

As my interests and focus has changed, I feel I have outgrown these platforms, so I am putting A Midwest Garden and I Hope You Are Hungry to bed.

Blogger has served me well, I’ve entered the world of blogging and made some new friends; but the meal is now at an end. It is time for me to bid farewell to Blogger. I look back and can see how far I've come in terms of quality content and photographs. It is a fine platform as thousands of fellow bloggers can attest. It is just time for me to move on.

But this is not goodbye – but rather, as I said above, a renewal!

I am happy to announce I am launching GastronomicGardener.com!

It combines content from both A Midwest Garden, and I Hope You Are Hungry. Series are in the works designed to help and encourage folks learn to garden as well as try out different techniques. There are plans for tools to help in garden planning, planting schedules, and more!

I look forward to sharing what I have learned, to continue learning from my readers and begin fresh with new focus and fervor!

Please join me over at GastronomicGardener.com! Take a look around and let me know what you think!

I’ll see you there.

David P. Offutt

The Gastronomic Gardener

An award from a fellow blogger

2011-09-26T21:23:00.000-05:00

Recently I received an award from fellow blogger and Chicagoan ChgoJohn over at http://fromthebartolinikitchens.com/, a wonderful blog that chronicles the recipes and memories of an Italian family. Through John, I have come to appreciate the tradition of ice cream in his family, the sights, sounds and smells of family gatherings that while about the family, have a rich culinary tradition.

According to "Versy" tradition, I have to give thanks and a link back to the person who gave me this award. Thanks one more time John!

Next I am supposed to divulge seven (7) obscure facts about me.
1) I am the ninth of ten children. I still can hear my late mother calling out all the names until she got to the right one. I also hear her say "David Philip!" when I misbehave.
2) I was a bit of an athlete. I played American football until I realized I was too small and too slow, but I did like to run into people.
3) Continuing in that vein, I particpated in the 1992 Division III 3 Meter Springboard Championship (I came in 32nd as a college freshman)
4) I completed an 3 mile open water swim in less than 90 minutes within the last 5 years.
5) I smoked for more than 20 years. Glad I quit, but there are times....nah... not worth it.
6) I hate mint flavor. It's the only flavor I don't like.
7) I was born with a severely club left foot. Corrective surgery at 6 months old obviously turned out great, but I have one foot that is about 1.5" shorter than the other. Makes buying shoes an adventure. (Not really I just fit the bigger foot)

Here is here where I am supposed to nominate 15 other bloggers. I don't think I can do that as I don't really follow that many. I also need to check and see if they have already received this award.

In no particular order:
http://marksvegplot.blogspot.com/ - Mark has a wonderful blog with oustanding pictures of his meticulous garden. If you haven't been there - check him out!

http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/ - Ohiofarmgirl is doing a great job and inspires me. She has cast off the corporate shackles and embraced the good life. Keep my spot warm, I'm headed ypur way when I get it worked out.

http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/ - Cowgirl is another hero. Her down home skills are deceptive, she makes the subtle look simple. Once you've checked out her blog, you may go build a smoker. I know I did!

http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/ - Annie's Granny - friendly, supportive and a prodigious gardener. I don't know where she gets the energy - she can garden circles around me.

Please go visit them and tell'em I sent you!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Jalapeno Hot Sauce - or What to do with a Pound of Ripe Jalapenos

2011-09-25T20:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I picked about 75 ripe jalapeno and cherry bomb peppers. There is no way I'm going to be able to use all those peppers fresh, and since I use hot sauce very regularly, I decided to make my own.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 – 1.5 lbs (about 60-70) fresh ripe jalapeno peppers, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups water
2 cups distilled white vinegar

Directions:

Prepare 1/2 pint canning jars per manufacturer's instructions.

Slice the peppers - wear gloves if desired.

In a non-reactive sauce pan over high heat, combine oil, peppers, garlic, onion and salt; saute for 5 minutes. Add the water and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. You may wish to do this outdoors! Whew!

Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth.

Strain liquid through a sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding solids. It's a pretty color!

Whisk in vinegar.

Return to a boil. Turn off heat.

Ladle hot sauce into a sterilized jars and adjust two piece lids. Process in hot water bath 15 minutes.

Since these are 8oz jars, when ready to use, I'll decant into a squeeze bottle to keep in the fridge.

Alternatively, skip the hot water bath and store in refrigerator up to 4 months.

This will heat things up!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Meatless Monday - Quick Tomato Sauce and Pappardelle

2011-09-12T18:30:00.000-05:00

Recently I put up a few pints of Marinara sauce, and in the past I’ve made rich dark “gravy” thick with meat that sat burbling for hours on a cold winter day. I love the rich dark silky sauce and I will never tire of it.

However, this is the time of being flush with tomatoes. With more than I can eat on salads, have time to can, or find any victims to take them off my hands.

As opposed to the patient and sophisticated deep bass notes of a long simmered sauce, this sauce is brassy, loud and fresh as nineteen-year-old sailor on his first shore leave after three months at sea.

Add a handful of pungent basil fresh from the garden, a sprig of oregano and a couple cloves of garlic roughly chopped and you have the makings of a quickly prepared, brightly flavored weeknight meal.

No careful measuring here, this is cooking by the seat of your pants, Pinot Noir in a coffee cup, roll up your sleeves, put Sinatra on the music player. Add a salad and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1lb ripe tomatoes cored and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed then chopped

1 ripe jalapeno minced (optional)

Pinch crushed red pepper (optional)

1 handful fresh basil leaves – about a dozen - shredded or chiffonade

1 sprig fresh oregano

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Big pinch salt

¼ cup gated parmesan divided

½ cup + of cooking water

Salt and pepper to taste

½ lb dried long pasta – I prefer Tagliatelle or Pappardelle

Directions:

Prepare pasta according to directions

While water comes to a boil and pasta cooks…

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering

Add the chopped tomatoes, (jalapeno and red pepper) and toss to coat with oil, add big pinch of salt

Cook, stirring often until tomatoes soften – about 3-5 minutes

Add garlic, basil and oregano, stir and turn heat down to medium

Continue cooking and stirring often until sauce starts to thicken, reduce heat to medium low

When pasta is just about cooked remove from cooking water and add to tomato mixture. Add ½ + cup of cooking water (add more or less according to how much liquid you want) and combine, tossng until pasta is done.

Test for seasoning, adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Put sauced pasta in a bowl, top with parmesan, enjoy!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Pickled Jalapenos

2011-09-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

The Jalapenos have mostly ripened all at once. I can't use them all fresh and I do love pickled Jalapenos, so that's what I did, canning three pints. These should be nice bright spicy accents in a few weeks.

I tend to eat them right out of the jar, but they are good additions to other dishes as well.

Pickling peppers is easy - use equal amounts of vinegar and water, add a bit of salt, some pepper corns, bay leaf, sugar.

Makes 3 pints

Ingredients:
2 lbs of jalapenos, sliced about 1/3" thick
3 cups water
3 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon pickling salt
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves

Directions:
Prepare jars according to manufacturers instructions.

Combine all ingredients except peppers in a big pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Pack pepper slices into hot jars leaving 1/4" head space.

Ladle pickling liquid over peppers leaving 1/4" head space, wipe rims, adjust 2 piece caps and process 10 minutes in hot water canner.

After canning, allow flavors to develop a few weeks before using.

Meatless Monday - Pesto Risotto

2011-08-29T21:08:00.000-05:00

It isn't always easy trying to figure out what to make for you on Mondays. There is always a little extra pressure to make something new and exciting and still be acceptable to the vegetarians in the group.

I was riding the train home from the city thinking about it and I have plenty of basil, besides a colleague from Germany prodded me the other day that I had not yet prepared a risotto, so Pesto Risotto seemed a natural fit. I also used some of the sweet butter I made back in March. I get excited when I'm dicing the shallots. "I'm cooking with shallots... that I grew!" I didn't have any pine nuts for the pesto so I substituted walnuts.

It turned out to be quite filling and good, the creamy base notes of risotto punctuated by the high notes of the basil and garlic. A lovely chord indeed!

Make the pesto first:

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups loosely packed basil leaves
2/3 +/- olive oil

Directions:
Turn on food processor and drop in garlic. Process until finely chopped.
Turn it off, add the basil, cheese, salt, pepper, nuts.
Whizz until all is finely chopped, with motor running, add oil slowly until incorporated but not yet smooth.

Set aside.

Now the risotto:

Ingredients:
1.25 cups arborio rice
1.5 cups white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
4 tablespoons butter divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small shallots finely diced
big pinch of salt
big pinch of grounf black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesano Romano
1/4 cup pesto
Basil to garnish

Directions:
In a medium pot over medium heat add the wine and the broth.
Heat to simmer and then reduce heat to keep barely simmering

In a 4 quart pot, add two tablespoons butter and olive oil

When butter has melted, add the shallots and cook for three minutes until shallots are soft but not browned.

Add the rice and stir to coat with butter oil mixture, cook stirring constantly about 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup simmering wine broth mixture and cook - stirring until moisture is absorbed
Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until it is absorbed before adding next bit of broth.

Repeat until rice is tender, looks creamy but is still al dente - about 15 - 20 minutes

Stir in cheese, salt pepper and pesto.

Garnish with basil leaf and serve immediately. Add a side salad for a complete dinner.

Canned Marinara

2011-08-28T17:49:00.001-05:00

The Romas are finally starting to come in, but there is not enough for a huge batch of sauce. I did however find a recipe for Marinara that only calls of 8lbs of tomatoes.

*If you are not comfortable canning this, you could always freeze it.

Let's give it a go...

Makes 4+ pints

Ingredients:

8 lbs. ripe Roma (plum) tomatoes

1-1/3 cups onions, finely minced

2/3 cup celery, finely minced

3 cloves garlic finely minced

1-1/3 cups carrots finely minced

2/3 cup olive oil

1-1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt to taste

Directions:

Prepare 4 glass pint canning jars, lids and bands

Peel Tomatoes

Drop tomatoes into boiling water, a few at a time.
Let the water return to a boil, then remove the tomatoes and drain. Peel and chop.

In a large pot, cook the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in the olive oil, covered over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring a few times.

Uncover and stir over heat for 5-10 minutes longer, or until the vegetables are very soft and a little gold.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, and pepper and simmer gently, covered for 15 minutes.

Puree the sauce through the medium disc of food mill. You could used a food processor and run through a fine colander

Return to pot, add basil and oregano, cook at a simmer until desired consistency is reached, about 20-40 minutes, stirring often.

Add salt to taste. If you prefer a smooth sauce, work the sauce through the fine disc of a food mill.

Ladle hot sauce into prepared hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles.

Wipe rim.

Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until finger tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

Remove jars and cool. Use in the dead of winter, think of the warmer months, and smile!

Bibimbap - a colorful Korean feast!

2011-08-26T06:55:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to make Bibimbap for a while now. It's easy to make, it is pretty to look at, and it is delicious!

Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish, whose name means "mixed meal." A scoop of steamed white rice is surrounded by colorful items (meat optional), topped with a raw or fried egg. You stir it all up and get busy eating.

For this I used the following items from the garden: chard, peppers, greenbeans, baby crooked neck squash. This is a felxible dish, I suspect each family has their own way of making it and Grandma's was probably the best.

Bibimbap
Serves 2 - prep time 20 minutes
Ingredients:
white rice
2 eggs
1 cup green beans julienned
1/2 cup pickled gingered carrots - or 1 medium carrot julienned
baby lettuce or "mixed greens"
1 small red pepper - julienned
1 cup julienned mushrooms ( I used beautiful oyster mushrooms from the farmers market)
1 cup julienned summer squash or zucchini
1 rib of celery sliced thin
1 cup cooked meat ( ground beef or pork, shrimp or chicken. I used some spicy merguez) (Optional)
1 -2 cups chopped Swiss chard (or spinach)
Garlic Chili paste
vegetable oil for cooking
sesame oil

Directions:
Cook rice according to directions

While the rice cooks,

In a saute pan, over medium high heat, add a scant tablespoon of oil a couple drops of sesame oil and quickly saute one vegetable at a time - the peppers, green beans, mushrooms, squash or zucchini, celery, chard or spinach, removing to plate, and adding oil as needed. If using pickled carrot, do not saute them. Don't cook the lettuce

Keep the cooked vegetables separate.

Fry eggs, one at a time, reserve.

To assemble the dish, place a scoop of white rice in the middle of a bowl, arrange all the vegetables and meat around the rice, top with the fried egg. Add a generous tablespoon of garlic chili paste and serve.

It's gorgeous isn't it? Stir it all up and enjoy!

The crunchy pickled carrots and celery play nicely with meaty mushrooms, fiery sausage and garlic chili paste. This dish is light enough for a hot summer night, yet satisfying as well. I'm looking forward to making it again!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Seven Links Challenge

2011-08-24T14:26:00.001-05:00

The Gauntlet has been thrown my way. ChgoJohn, over at the wonderful Wordpress blog from the Bartolini kitchens has issued me the Seven Links Challenge.

This is an interesting challenge in that it invites introspection. I’ve been blogging since June of 2010 and only have 173 posts. So I really consider myself a newbie. But John issued the challenge, and I’m taking a break from weeding (it’s a jungle out there) so away we go....

Most Popular Post
By far the most popular post has no food in it at all. It is part one of the cold smoker build. Why part two doesn’t have the same amount of action I don’t know. Did people fall asleep? Get discouraged? I had a great time on the build and am looking forward to firing it up once the weather cools. It works very well and offers a good excuse to spend many hours outside when it is cold. Kinda like ice fishing without the ice.

Most Controversial Post
This is a tough one because for the most part people have been very supportive here. One of my early posts generated a bit of a stink when I cross-posted to The Gastronomic Gardener Facebook page. Of all things it was grilled baby octopus. I was accused of eating the “cute little” octopus, and ravaging the oceans natural resources. I felt compelled to respond about the status of octopus as a food source. Interestingly, one of the folks who squawked and was then rebuffed, has become a regular follower to this day.

Most Helpful Post
Helpful to who? To me? To the readers? Hard to say. I’ll go with From Humble Beginnings, because it validates that it is not the kitchen that makes good food but rather the passion of the cook combined with the quality of the ingredients. It also seemed to resonate with my readers.

Most Beautiful Post
Golly, how to define beautiful? Pretty pictures? I’ve come a long way in a short time but there is still so much to do to improve my photographs. I don’t have an expensive setup or camera or any training. I also don’t shoot a ton of pictures. That’s my dinner getting cold! That said, I will only take into consideration the final plate as the prep shots seem to not be of the highest quality. After all that, I have to go with the Pork Belly Confit Tacos. The “money shot” is awesome. Natural lighting helps a lot!

Most Surprisingly Successful Post The Pan Fried Tilapia with lemon butter caper sauce continues to do well. I think it is because tilapia is such a ubiquitous fish, and heck, who doesn’t like lemon butter

Most Under-Rated Post
Chickpeas are one of my favorites and I use them often. For the under-rated category I will go with the Falafel post for Meatless Monday, this combined both labneh and falafel from scratch. It was delicious and only provoked one comment.

Most Proud of Post
I love all my posts, and how do I choose the one of which I am most proud? Is it the first one, where I finally committed to starting this journey? The last one where I demonstrate my ongoing commitment? I think I’ll pick the Pastrami how-to post. The final product, a simple pastrami sandwich, homemade from the pastrami, to the bread down to the mustard. It was as close to perfection as I have come.

Thanks ChgoJohn! Now I have to pick some victims. Who shall it be?

I choose:

Mark’s Veg Plot
Adventures in the Good Land
Cowgirls Country Life
Simple Self Sufficiency

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Meatless Monday - Ratatouille

2011-08-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

I've made this before but my recent harvests rather demand it. One keen eyed observer even predicted it! But with tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant, crooked neck squash, basil and parsley all from the garden it would be harder to justify not making it rather than repeating from a year ago.

I follow the suggestion from the Gourmet cookbook and cook the components separately before combining them for a final simmer. The results are worth it!

Ratatouille
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds of tomatoes roughly chopped - If you want you can peel them first, but I don't bother
2 big onions sliced thinly
2 lbs each of zucchini and eggplant cut into bite size chunks - I used crooked neck squash instead of zucchini
3 bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1" chunks
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 handful of basil leaves torn in half - about 20
6-10 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1+ cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
salt

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, parsley and basil and 1/3 cup of olive oil. Bring to a simmer and cover. Simmer about 30 minutes until the tomatoes break down.

Meanwhile.... put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Place over a pan or in the sink while it drains.

In a big saute pan heat 3 tbs olive oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, cook until soft - about 10 minutes - remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Repeat procedure with peppers, crooked neck squash (or zucchini) adding olive oil and salt each time.

Finally, blot dry the eggplant, add another 3 tbs of olive oil (no salt) and the eggplant - cook until soft about 10-12 minutes.

Add all the cooked vegetables and black pepper to the simmering tomatoes. Simmer for another hour or so until the vegetables are very tender.

Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

Serve hot, warm or room temperature with some crusty bread. It's like summer in a bowl!

Trio of Grilled Fruit

2011-08-21T20:40:00.001-05:00

This time of year fruit takes on an important role in the kitchen. Cool fruit salads, jellies and jams are the norm. But what some folks don't realize is fruit can be satisfyingly grilled for a unique approach to desserts. One thing to note about grilling fruit: this is one situation where slightly unripe fruit is OK. Grilling will soften and sweeten the fruit.

I will do a trio as they are quick and simple, yet deeply satisfying.

Let's start with Grilled Figs with Honey Yogurt. I learned this year that figs can be successfully grown here in Zone 5. It's on the list of things to try for next growing season.

Grilled Figs with Honey Yogurt and Walnuts
Ingredients:
10+ fresh figs halved
1+ tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
walnut halves - enough to top each fig half

Directions:
Heat grill to medium.
Sprinkle brown sugar over cut side of figs
Put figs on grill, if needed use foil or a screen or one of those grilling things that has the holes so figs don't fall through.
While figs grill, stir honey into yogurt.

Remove figs from heat, top with honey yogurt mixture and half a walnut.

For the next one it doesn't get any easier. Grilled peaches. It tastes like pie!

Grilled Peaches
Ingredients:
3 peaches halved
1/2 tablespoon canola oil (not olive)

Directions:
Preheat the grill.
Brush the cut peach halves with the oil
Place the oiled peach half cut side down on the grill
Grill for 3 minutes and turn 90 degrees
Grill another 3 minutes
Turn cut side up and grill another 3 minutes. You don't want them turned to mush.

And finally, grilled strawberries. For this you let them mascerate a few minutes before grilling.

Grilled Strawberries
Ingredients:
1 lb strawberries hulled and sliced
1 tbs red wine
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs brown sugar
Toasted pound cake

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except cake in a bowl, toss to combine.
Let stand 10-20 minutes.

Grill on the same grate that you grilled the figs on. It won't take long, about 3-4 minutes.

Spoon over toasted pound cake.

This trio makes a delicious dessert.

Don't be afraid to grill your fruit!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Meatless Monday - "Ratatouille" Panini

2011-08-15T21:49:00.000-05:00

This time of year is great with all the produce in the garden or farmers market. One of my favorite things to make is ratatouille, that delicious vegetable stew featuring eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes.

I had picked up some nice bread at the market, and thought, why not use those same flavors and make a sandwich, a toasted sandwich. A Ratatouille Panini!

Here in the States panini is used to denote a grilled sandwich, but the word comes from the Italian panino, meaning little roll. Panini is the plural form. So while the word is bastardized here in North America, it conjures an image of toasty crusty crunchy deliciousness. And when the stars of the sandwich come from your own garden? Well, it is only so much the better! I won't give exact measurements since I don't know how big you want your sandwich, and, being a sandwich it is a highly flexible "recipe." See what's fresh and take it from there!

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:
Good bread
2-3 Tomatoes sliced 1/3" thick
Eggplant sliced into rounds
Zucchini sliced into rounds
Bell pepper, preferably red or yellow sliced into sections
2 Garlic bulbs, separated into cloves and peeled
olive oil
Herbs de Provence
salt
softened goat cheese (optional)
Rosemary sprigs (optional)

Directions:
In a small sauce pan add garlic cloves and rosemary. Add enough olive oil to cover. Cook over very low heat, don't boil. Simmer for about an hour. When the garlic cloves are very tender, remove from heat and let cool.

While garlic poaches, prepare the vegetables.

Preheat oven to 225-250F.

Put cut vegetables on cooling rack over a cookie sheet, sprinkle eggplant and zucchini with salt to draw out moisture. Allow to sit for 30 minutes, blot moisture with paper towel. Turn the vegetables over and repeat the process.

Sprinkle the vegetables with the Herbs de Provence.

Put vegetables in slow oven until tender and slightly dry. Check at 1 hour, then every 30 minutes after that.

Here's what I had after the slow roasting.

I have and used a panini press but you could use a ribbed skillet or even a grill outdoors. Work with what you have.

Remove the garlic cloves from the oil.

Grill the vegetables (except the tomatoes, they will bee too delicate) brushing with the garlic infused oil.

Assemble the sandwich. Smear the tender garlic onto one side of one of the pieces of bread. Smear the other piece with the goat cheese. These are the inside part of the sandwich.

Layer the vegetables onto one of the pieces of bread.

Put the other piece of bread on top. Brush the top with a generous amount of the garlic infused oil. Put the sandwich oiled side down on the panini press or skillet or whatever you are using. Oil the other side.

Grill until toasty and starting to char in spots. Remove from press and allow to cool slightly before cutting in two. This served two.

It was absolutely delicous, crunchy bread, tender vegetables, the garlic mellowed by poaching. A perfect summer dinner.

What vegetables do you have on hand?

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Pickled Gingered Carrots

2011-08-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I was tucking into some bibimbap (a lovely light Korean dish heavy on vegetables) for lunch and the ingredient that struck me the most was the pickled ginger carrots. Crisp, cool, refreshing. I decided to see if I could recreate them. Some searching around led me to a few recipes. This one is adapted from one that was 1/2 carrot 1/2 daikon radish. I used a bit more ginger and only carrots. I used a mandolin for part of it, but since these are cut lengthwise, I used a knife to finish them. Don't get me started on how I lost a big chunk of thumb to a mandolin some years back.

Makes 5 pints.

Ingredients:

4 lbs. carrots peeled and julienned lengthwise in long strips
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
1 ½ cups sugar
2-3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
6 jalapeno pepper (optional)

Directions:

Prep hot water canning bath and prepare your jars and lids.

Wash, peel and julienne carrots into long strips. 4 lbs may take a while, take your time and be careful!

In big sauce pan add water, vinegar, sugar and ginger.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

Add julienned carrots, stir and immediately turn the heat off.

Place a pepper in each jar (if using).

Pack carrots into hot jars.

Ladle hot pickling liquid into jars, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space adding more liquid if needed.

Wipe jar rims and add lids and bands.

Process for 20 minutes (timed from the boil). Let cool undisturbed for 24 hours.

I'm going to let these rest for a few weeks before using in my own bibimbap. I also foresee them being a great addition to any salad or adding a nice crunch to a sandwich. Stay Tuned!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/gastrogardener
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Meatless Monday - Summer Squash Soup

2011-08-08T21:18:00.000-05:00

I am one of the fortunate ones. I only planted one each of Crooked Neck Squash and Zucchini. I have only slightly more than I can use and haven't resorted to dastardly ditch and dash tactics on my neighbors. Yet. But I have to stay on top of it, checking them for size everyday, and harvesting them before they resemble a weapon of mass gustation.

I've made winter squash soup many times, but not summer squash soup. How will it turn out? It was great, and I used the squash, shallots, carrots and fresh herbs from the garden.

An immersion blender purees this soup nicely, but you could use a standard blender as well. Be careful when blending hot liquids!

Summer Squash Soup

Ingredients:
4-6 cups rough diced summer squash - crooked neck, zucchini, whatever you have on hand.
2 small shallots chopped
2 small carrots (or 1 large) chopped
1 small hot chili (optional)
1-2 tbs olive oil
4 cups or more of vegetable stock (enough to barely cover the squash in the pot)
1 tbs basil chopped
1 tsp oregano chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Prep all the vegetables.

Put a soup pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil.

Add shallots, carrots (and chili) to oil, cook stirring often for about 3 minutes, until shallots are translucent but not browned. Add a generous pinch of salt.

Add squash and continue to cook about 5 minutes.

Add enough vegetable broth to just cover the squash. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1/2 hour or until the carrots are very tender.

Remove from heat, add basil and oregano.

Using the immersion blender, blend the squash/broth mixture until smooth. If using a regular blender work in batches, moving blended soup to another pot.

Check and adjust seasonings. It took a bit of salt.

Serve with crusty bread, a dollop of sour cream (or plain yogurt), garnish with basil leaves.

This was quite delicious! I'm pretty sure it would be good chilled as well. It is surprisingly thick without the use of any extra starches. Next time I think a little lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon will be added. My second (!) bowl I added a dash of vinegar, and it was a wise addition.

Give this a try!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Dill pickles

2011-08-03T16:02:00.001-05:00

The other day while I was smoking some pork butts for BBQ I had some time on my hands as well as about 5 lbs of cucumbers. I've made sweet pickles, I've made relish. Dill pickles would round out my pickle storage requirements. I used the recipe right out of the Ball Blue Book.

While I didn't have as many pickles as suggested for the recipe I figured if I had a little extra pickling liquid that would be OK. It's very inexpensive.

Ingredients:

8 lbs 4-6 inch cucumbers split

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup canning salt

1 quart each: vinegar, water

3 TBS mixed pickling spices

dill

garlic (1 clove per jar)

Jalapenos - 1/2 per jar

Directions:

Wash cucumbers, drain.

Split lengthwise and trim off a little the blossom end. (I ended up quartering them to fit the jars better)

Combine, sugar, salt, vinegar and water in a large sauce pot.

Tie spices in a spice bag (I used cheese cloth), add spice bag to vinegar mixture.

Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes.

Pack cucumbers into sterile jars, add jalapeno slice, dill and clove of garlic to each jar.

Ladle pickling liquid over cucumbers leaving 1/4" head space.

Adjust two piece caps. Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

I got 6 pints out of this and maybe a cup of left over pickling liquid. Incidentally, this was the first canning I've done where a jar didn't seal. That's OK, it's in the fridge and I'll eat them up soon!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener

Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Meatless Monday - Veggie Saute and Pasta

2011-08-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

This time of year there is no excuse not to go meatless at least once a week. The produce is popping and whether at the farmers market or in your own garden, NOW is the time to take advantage of the bounty of the season.

With such pristine ingredients, I want to do as little as possible to them, and present them simply. In this case simple is good.

Crooked neck squash, zucchini, chilies, shallots, tomatoes and basil from the garden.

Garlic, olive oil, pasta, pecorino romano, salt and pepper from the larder.

A little boiled water, some hot oil and dinner is ready in 18 minutes. Feels good doesn't it?

Quick, light and delicious. Perfect for a weekday meal.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
email: thegastronomicgardener at gmail dot com

Carolina style Pulled Pork 'n slaw

2011-07-31T11:53:00.000-05:00

What's going to make it Carolina style you ask? For one thing it's the sauce, BBQ sauces are highly regional, and even in North Carolina there are different favorites. I made a simple one, but boy is it good. Read on for the recipe. Also making this "Carolina style" is the Red Slaw. That recipe is also below. My mouth is watering, and I just had it!

About 4 hours in I removed the lid to add the chicken (a different post in the works). They are definitely getting there!

After 7 hours

++++++++++++++++++++++++

While that was cooking I made a Carolina "Red" slaw from this month's Saveur magazine (issue 139). It is pretty spicy.

Lexington-Style Red Slaw

Ingredients:

2/3 cup ketchup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp hot sauce

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 medium head of cabbage cored and finely chopped

Directions:

In a large bowl whisk together all ingredients except cabbage.

Add cabbage and toss to combine.

Allow to rest for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Chill.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I also made a super simple BBQ sauce appropriate to Carolina. It's not a thick sweet sauce that is favored in the U.S. Midwest, rather a tart/sweet thin sauce. (Before you jump all over me, there a million variations of this, I'm sure they are all good)

Simple Carolina BBQ sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup each - Ketchup, water, cider vinegar, sugar

1 big pinch of crushed red pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, allow to come to room temperature then chill.

++++++++++++++++++++

At this point I chopped the pork. Normally I would pull it but I was in a hurry. I made way more than I can use but it does freeze very well, and I'll give some to some friends.

Now what I needed dinner! So here it is...

That plate lasted about 5 minutes. Two recipes in one post, not a bad deal.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

A Different take on Tabbouleh/Tabouleh/Tabouli

2011-07-30T07:54:00.000-05:00

Tabbouleh is a traditional Mediterranean (Lebanese) grain salad. bulgar, parsley and mint form the basis of this light yet satisfying salad. Sadly there is a flavor I do not care for, and that is mint. Therefore, I have adapted the more traditional recipe to fit my tastes, replacing mint with cilantro. This is perfect summer fare, and can be a meal unto itself. It is also great on a buffet, as it will hold up for hours.

Besides being delicious, you only need to boil some water - so you won't heat up your kitchen on a hot summer day.

Feel free to adapt this recipe, substitute couscous or quinoa for the bulgar. Adaptations I made as I was making it - I (gasp!) ran out of cilantro and parsley so it is not as fluffy as I would normally like it, and for some reason I completely forgot the scallions/onions. You know what? It was still delicious! I ate it last night with the merguez I had in the freezer. A simple summer meal packed with flavor!

Ingredients:

1 cup Bulgar + boiling water to cover

1 small cucumber peeled, seeded and diced (if a very young fresh cucumber - use the whole thing)

2 jalapeño peppers seeded and finely diced (use less if sensitive to chilies)

½ cup cooked rinsed garbanzo beans (optional, but I love them)

1 cup packed chopped cilantro or parsley

1 cup chopped tomatoes

½ cup red onion, finely diced OR scallions minced. Use both the green and white part.

1-3 cloves garlic finely minced

1 tsp salt

¼ cup lemon juice (fresh is always better)

¼ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put bulgar wheat in medium large bowl.

Add enough boiling water to cover wheat. Stir, cover and let stand until bulgar is tender – about 30 minutes. Drain.

Add salt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic to bulgar. Mix well and cover – At this point bulgar mixture may be chilled for up to 24 hours.

30 minutes before serving add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Not perfectly traditional but cool and deeply satisfying nonetheless.

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener

Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Sweet Pickle Relish

2011-07-27T16:46:00.006-05:00

As I mentioned I have a whole bunch of cucumbers to use up. And I just picked another 2.5 lbs!

This time I've made sweet relish.

Sweet Pickle Relish (from Balls Blue Book of Preserving)

Ingredients

1 quart cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 cups onions, peeled and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup salt

3 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. celery seed
1 Tbsp. mustard seed

Directions:

I used my food processor to process the vegetables very small, but you could also chop your vegetables by hand

Place vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix.

Cover with cold water and let stand 2 hours.

Drain, rinse and drain very well again.

Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed and mustard seed in a non-reactive large pot. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar.

Add drained vegetables return to boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Pack hot relish into hot sterilized 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Place caps on and tighten.

Place in hot water bath and process for 10 minutes.

Makes eight 1/2 pint jars.

I can't wait to try this on a burger!

Until next time, Eat well and Keep Digging!

Zucchini cakes for Meatless Monday

2011-07-25T16:16:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year when the zucchini can start to come on at a furious rate. I've only got one plant and it is keeping me happy with zucchinis. Checking them every day keeps them from become as big as tree trunks. But what to do with them?

I've made zucchini cakes before so thought I'd share them with you today. Simply put they are grated zucchini with a few add-ins, pan fried in a little olive oil.

Ingredients:
Zucchini - from garden
2 cloves garlic minced
Shallot
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 TBS flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Salt
Crushed red pepper
olive oil for cooking

Trim up the Zucchini

Line a bowl with a cotton dish towel (not terry cloth). Grate zucchini into the bowl.

Wring out the zucchini. Keep the zucchini juice for soup or, drink it as I did. Refreshing!

To the grated drained zucchini add the cheese, shallot, garlic, eggs, bread crumbs, flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt, pepper flakes. Stir to combine.

Heat 2 TBS oilive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Spoon about 1/4 cup for each cake, flatten with a fork.

Fry until brown, flip and brown other side.

Remove and drain on paper towel.

Plate, garnish with some chopped parsley and serve with dressing of your choice. I used Bleu cheese. Ranch would be good too.

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Summer Squash Bread

2011-07-24T19:57:00.000-05:00

It's mid-summer and has been hot as the blazes lately, but the thunderstorms all morning have put me in a cocooning kind of mood. To me a stay-in Sunday just begs for baked goods.

Almost everyone has had zucchini bread. But I have no zucchini. - No matter, I have crooked neck squash and that should be close enough.

When they get big and bumpy like this the center can be a bit pithy - just scoop it out.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated crooked neck squash

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans

Preheat oven to 325F

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add sifted ingredients to the wet mixture, and beat well.

Stir in squash, nuts and raisins until well moistened and evenly incorporated

Pour batter into loaf pans

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean

Cool in pan on rack for at least 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

This bread is excellent toasted, it also freezes well, just be sure it is completely cooled and well wrapped before freezing.

Until next time, Eat well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener

Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Grilled artichokes for Meatless Monday

2011-07-18T20:53:00.000-05:00

On the way back from Guido's extraordinary garden, I stopped at the market for a chicken. But what caught my eye was the artichokes for 50 cents a piece. I picked up 4 and had visions of a summer delight.

Grilled artichokes, for me it conjures an image of cobblestone streets and ancient stone houses, grizzled old men and women whose lives you can read in their weathered faces. Simple food, fresh in from the fields, a crusty bread and wine from the grapes down the road. Oh, where was I? Right, the suburbs of Chicago. Sigh.....

But I can still have grilled artichokes.

Ingredients:
4 artichokes trimmed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
lemon juice

For the sauce (adapted from epicurious.com)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
big splash lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all together in a bowl and refrigerate
For the artichokes,
Combine olive oil and minced garlic - set aside

Fill a big pot with water, add a generous 1/2 cup lemon juice

Trim the artichokes, cutting off the top 1/4 and trimming the pointy leaves with kitchen shears.

Put trimmed artichokes in lemon-watered pot. When finished with all the artichokes, drain all but the last 1" of water in the pot, remove the chokes, place a steamer insert, put the chokes back in, cover the pot with a lid, bring to a boil and steam for 10 minutes.

Cut into halves, then quarters. Use a spoon to remove the choke, it's the feathery bits above the top of the stem (the heart). Discard the choke. In the picture below the spoon is pointing at the bits to be removed.

Finish cleaning all the artichokes.

Prepare a grill to medium high heat. For the best flavor, I'd use lump wood charcoal, but as it was 95F out, I opted for just using the handy propane grill.

Put the artichokes on the grill and brush with the prepared garlic olive oil.

Grill until tender and artichoke have a bit of char on them. Plate and serve with Sesame dressing.

click on this picture

Under the big sun umbrella, with my eyes closed, eating these with my fingers, I am almost trasnsported.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

First Pickles of the year

2011-07-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

All the cucumbers I've been picking finally met their destiny.

This isn't all of them, just the most recent pick. From the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 lbs 4-6 inch cucumber cut into slices
2 lbs onions thinly sliced
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups sugar
1 tbs mustard seed
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp celery seed ( I didn't have any so I left it out)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3 cups vinegar

Slice up the cucumbers and onions into 1/4" slices.

Combine in a large bowl layering with the salt.

Cover with ice and let sit 1.5 - 2 hours.

Drain, rinse and drain again.

Combine remaining ingredients in large pot, bring to a boil.

Add drained cucumbers and onions, return to a boil.

Pack hot pickles and hot liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Remove air bubbles.

Adjust 2 piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. The new 60,000 btu burner works wonders!

Remove from canner and place in cool spot away from drafts or temperature fluctuations. Here they are right out of the canner. The recipe indicates 7 pints but I never get what the recipe says, always 1 or 2 short. Doesn't matter if it's pickles or salsa; I'm always a few pints short of a full batch. ;)

When cool, check seal and label.

Allow 4 to 6 weeks for pickles to develop full flavor.

(DISCLAIMER: This is not step by step all inclusive instructions. If you choose to can produce or other foods, please get proper equipment and instructions and follow them to the letter. The risk of serious food borne illness is very real. Proceed at your own risk.) -

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

Meatless Monday - Garden Thai Curry

2011-07-11T21:25:00.001-05:00

After last week's pork-fest, let's get back on track. The harvest in the garden is starting to come in, I was late getting home, so what to do. Just did a stir-fry, OK I'll make a curry.

It is completely flexible but here is what I did.

Ingredients

Coconut milk
Chili paste
Banana pepper (garden)
Spinach (garden)
Carrots (some from the garden)
Crooked neck squash (garden)
Tomatoes
Red Onion
Minced Garlic
Minced Ginger
Basil for garnish
Oil
Salt

Start rice

Heat the oil in a wok
Add the garlic, ginger and chili paste, stir fry for 15 seconds
Add the coconut milk
Add the vegetables except for spinach.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.
Simmer gently until eggplant is tender.
Add spinach

Stir to combine.
Serve over rice, garnish with basil leaves.

Fast, simple and satisfying. And hot! - Adjust chili paste to your taste.

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Watermelon, Feta, Red Onion and Basil Salad with Balsamic Glaze

2011-07-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

Of all the foods I associate with summer, watermelon takes the prize. Crisp, sweet, running off your chin juicy, sitting on the back porch spitting seeds.... nothing brings me back to childhood summers like watermelon.

It's hot today, and I had a taste for watermelon, but not just a big wedge. A chilled watermelon was in the fridge so I decided to make the treat a little more grown up. It's super simple and you can modify it anyway you'd like. The title of the post says it all in terms of the ingredient list. If you don't have balsamic glaze you could make some by cooking down balsamic vinegar until thick.

Cut the watermelon however you'd like, crumble some feta, thinly slice the red onion, make a chiffonade of basil.

Add a drizzle of glaze on the plate and assemble.

This was refreshing and elegant. Crisp watermelon , the salty tang of feta, the sharp bite of red onion, all pulled together by the silky sweetness of the balsamic glaze. The watermelon could have been darker red, but you never can tell what will be inside!

A great starter or a tasty light snack. Make this salad this summer!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging.

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Strawberry Cheescake Ice Cream

2011-07-06T16:38:00.001-05:00

A holiday during the summer is a good excuse for a treat like ice cream. Inspired by John over at The Bartolini Kitchens, I decided to try my hand at this frozen delight over this past holiday weekend.

I've adapted the ice cream recipe from a no-cook recipe over at MyRecipes.com.

Ingredients:
Ice cream
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk chilled overnight
1 5oz can evaporated milk chilled overnight
2 tbs sugar
2 cups half and half
1/2 package of cheesecake pudding mix from prepackaged kit. - about 3.5 oz

1 graham cracker crust pie shell

For the Strawberry swirl:
1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries rough chopped

1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 tbs lemon juice
pinch of salt

Start with the swirl. This technique is straight from John.
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, salt, and cornstarch.
Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in strawberries and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Puree before use.

For the ice cream combine all chilled ingredients in a bowl before pouring into the freezer container of 1 quart electric ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. (You're on your own on this one.)

Remove container with frozen ice cream and place in freezer for 15 minutes (next time I'll let it go 30 minutes). While ice cream rests, crumble the crust to the size/ consistency you want.

In an appropriate container, layer ice cream, graham cracker chunks and strawberry puree, repeat as many times as you have ingredients.

Stir a few times, enough to swirl but not so much that it is an even homogenized consistency. Easier said than done, it probably would have helped if the ice cream were a little firmer. It was still pretty soupy. Ah well, I am sure it'll taste fine.

Cover and freeze for 1.5 hours or more. I checked it before bed, delicious but not quite there. But later, after a day in the freezer, it's a work of art! The crust somehow remains dry and crispy, the cream tastes of cheesecake and the strawberries - while not a swirl, are bright and fresh! And it's amazing what a sheet of black paper can do!

I look forward to trying this again!

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Epic Smoke AKA Meatless Monday takes a holiday

2011-07-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

Few things say 4th of July in the U.S. like a cookout, and today will be an epic one. I'm smoking two pork butts, and two racks of pork ribs. The smoked pork freezes very nicely so I'll put some of that up, there will be lunches for the week and a feast tonight!

The Student is eyeballs deep in study, so I was able to putter at a comfortable pace all day.

Everything gets a a generous massage with my rub. The butts I tied up, makes them easier to remove without having them fall apart. The ribs are trimmed, and the silver skin removed from the bone side.

The butts went on about noon - I was running late. I kept the smoker running at 225-250F for the whole smoke. I really like the Weber smoker - I am able to keep a nice even temp for a long time without fussing with it.

At 3:00 the ribs went on. Which gave me my first peek at the butts.

I added apple wood chunks at the same time. And let this smoke another 5 hours -

Tender, smokey with just enough bark. The butts look awesome as well. Beneath that gruff exterior is meltingly tender and flavorful meat. I need to let this rest before I can shred it.

The ribs I finished on the grill with a brushing of my favorite BBQ.

A couple ribs, some bacon beans, a bit of slaw and a stack of napkins to wipe my face. This is fine 4th of July fare!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Spatchcocked Korean Chicken and Cabbage-Ramen Slaw

2011-07-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

I ran out today to pick up a variety of meat as I plan on relaxing tomorrow, doing no yardwork, sitting in the shade and running the smoker. As usual I got a little out of hand, 2 chickens, 3 racks of baby back ribs, and two bone-in pork shoulders. I don't think it will all fit on the smoker, so I've decided to do a chicken on the grill today. Cooked chicken freezes nicely and can make for a very quick weeknight supper.

Some time ago, I made some Korean shortribs that were wonderful; the marinade is sweet, salty and aromatic with the sesame oil. I'll try that with the chicken. In order to make it cook quickly and evenly on the grill, I decided to spatchcock it.

What you say? You've Spatchcocked your chicken? Good lord man! Relax..... besides being a funny word (there remains a bit of the 14 year old in me) it is a handy way to prep your bird for cooking that helps ensure even cooking. Basically you take your chicken - remove the backbone and butterfly it so it will lie flat on the grill rack, roasting pan or wherever.

First I whipped up some of the Korean BBQ marinade from the Korean slider post.

Then I spatchcocked the chicken

Place chicken breast side down on the work surface.

Using kitchen shears - snip out the backbone. (save for stock)

Push down on the sides of the bird - a crunch is not a bad noise.

Trim off the wing tips (save for stock)

Using the tip of the shears make two small cuts into the flaps of skin below the breast and push the legs tips through the holes. It will help keep the chicken flat.

At this point I reserved 1/2 cup of the marinade, put the rest into a large Ziploc bag, added the altered fowl.

This went in the fridge while I made the salad.

Cabbage Ramen Slaw
1 head of cabbage - shredded
1 package of Ramen noodle (2.5oz) uncooked and crumbled - but not too much
4 or 5 green onions sliced, white and green
3 Tbs sesame seeds

For the dressing whisk together,
1/2 cup of salad oil - need not be EVOO
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
Splash of Sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything except the noodles and refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving.

20 minutes before serving add the noodles and toss to coat.

Prepare grill to 350F.

Grill on indirect heat for 25 minutes,

turn and grill for 25 minutes more.

You may have to adjust the fire. Brush with reserved marinade in last 5 minutes

Remove from grill and let rest 10 minutes.

Carve and serve with Ramen Slaw

A nice light summer dinner, perfect for alfresco dining!

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday - Garlic-Ginger Brassica Stirfry

2011-06-27T17:35:00.001-05:00

OK, for many of you this might seem like cheating, after all, a stir fry is about as basic as it gets. If this is the case, skip this post and tune in next time.

Still with me?

When I was at the Korean market the other day the bok choy and Japanese broccoli looked good so I got some of each, put them in the crisper and forgot about them. I found them tonight and in order to use them up I decided a simple stir fry would be in order. Be certain to rinse the bok choy well, it tends to be a bit gritty - and please don't run the rinse water down the drain, save it to water the garden.

If I had to name a single method of cooking in order to have tasty meals in minutes, one that is versatile for vegetables and meat, poultry or seafood; stir fry would be my choice. A little knife prep, a hot wok, a splash of oil and you are good to go. Cooking this way, if done properly - leads to beautiful, colorful plates of food.

Tonight I had the before mentioned bok choy, Japanese broccoli, onions from the garden, a bit of bell pepper, garlic and ginger and garlic chili paste.

Start some rice. After about 15 minutes, put a wok over high heat. Heat for several minutes until wok is very hot.

Add about 2 Tbs oil - peanut or canola - NOT olive oil.

Add garlic and ginger - Stir fry - with metal utensil about 30 seconds,

Add the onions and peppers stir fry another 30 seconds, At this point I remembered I had some julienned vegetables from the Smoked Duck Spring rolls, so I threw them in as well.

Add the bok choy and broccoli, stir fry - keeping the vegetables moving in the hot wok until they turn bright green and just start to wilt. Add a good pinch of salt.

Add the chili paste

Toss to coat. I added a couple tablespoons of corn starch slurry to tighten up the liquids.

Toss one last time, remove from the heat. Plate with a little rice, a few cilantro sprigs make a nice garnish.

This is an easy - no fuss, yet deeply satisfying dinner. Whip up a stir fry this week!

Smoked Duck Spring Rolls

2011-06-23T23:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the blog Sarah!

I've had a taste for some smoked duck since I first smoked some chickens in my new smoker. I've been delayed by several severe storms but last night I finally got my smoke on.

With it being summer and all, smoked duck might seem a little heavy, but if we use it as an accent we can have a delicious light dinner. What could be lighter than fresh spring rolls?

Ingredients:
2 smoked chicken breast julienned
Carrot, cabbage, radish,green onion all julienned (The radish, onion and basil are from the garden. This makes me very happy.)
basil leaves
spring roll skins (available in the Asian aisle)

Directions:

Fill a bowl with warm water.

Dampen a tea towel and place on a flat surface.

Place a spring roll skin in the bowl warm water. It'll soften in less than a minute.

Remove skin carefully from bath, and lay flat on damp towel. Flip over to blot other side then lay flat on work surface. From here on out it's pretty much like making a burrito. The folding method is the same.

Place filling in lower third of wrapper.

Fold over the bottom then fold the two sides in.

Roll it up.

Repeat ten times. I should have taken pictures of the last one not the first. I definitely got better as I went along. Served with some chili dipping sauce. (Shoulda cut it on a bias but I was tired and hungry.)

Click on the picture for all it's glory.

Crunchy, savory, light with a little bite of sweet heat from the sauce. A nice appetizer, or have five and make it dinner!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Not your Grandma's Shrimp and Grits

2011-06-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

I had some left over polenta from the other day that I had poured into a pan. One thing I like about polenta is how it sets up, making a wonderful item for sauteeing to a crispy crust and then adding whatever suits your fancy.

I've had a taste for shrimp and thought... hmmm shrimp n grits. But let's tart them up a bit shall we? As in most of the things I make, nothing difficult here, but the outcome is delicious! Here's how I did it.

Ingredients:
6 huge shrimp - (6-8 count)
2 "pucks" of polenta - you could cut whatever shape you want
6 slices of bacon chopped into little pieces
2 Tbs chopped parsley
2 green onions chopped
1 clove garlic minced fine
Juice of 1 lime
1-2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to low

Over medium- high heat, add the olive oil to a pan

Season the polenta pucks and shrimp with salt and pepper

Add polenta to pan and brown on both sides.

Remove polenta to oven safe dish, put in the warm oven.

Wipe out the pan and add the bacon. Cook until fat renders and bacon is getting crispy.

Remove bacon to paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon or spatula.

Add the shrimp to pan and cook until just cooked through and pink, about 2 minutes per side.

Do Not Over Cook!

Add the onion, garlic, parsley and lime juice. Toss to coat and remove from heat.

I plated it up, puck on the bottom, three fat and succulent shrimp, some of the sauce and garnish with bacon bits.

Creamy polenta with a little crunch, tender shrimp, the lime adding just the right amount of acid and tang, and the smoky bacon. No it's not your grandma's shrimp and grits, and yes, it's a tad fussy presentation, but it was damn good! Put it on your menu soon!

Until next time Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday - Tomato Eggplant Ragu over Polenta with Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

2011-06-13T20:35:00.002-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I've posted a Meatless Monday dish. So hopefully I can make up for it with this simple yet elegant dish.

Last summer I put up some Tomato Eggplant Relish. While it is good on toasted slices of baguette, it is outstanding warmed up over pasta. For tonight I'm going to switch it up and instead of pasta, I'll make a creamy cheese polenta, and top it off with a drizzle of pureed roasted red peppers! If you don't have any relish, a saute of summer vegetables and a bit of tomato sauce would work just fine as well. Zucchini, eggplant, peppers all would be great. Feel free to mix it up!

Ingredients:
Tomato Eggplant Relish
1 cup Tomato Sauce - from the garden last year

For the Polenta:
1 1/2 cups polenta or yellow cornmeal
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
water as needed
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For Roasted Red Pepper Coulis:
1.5 cups roasted red peppers - If using canned - rinse the off and pat dry

Directions:
In a large pot add milk and cream bring the milk and cream mixture up to a simmer and gradually pour in the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.

Once the milk is completely absorbed, lower the heat and set a timer for 20 minutes.

Continue cooking, whisking often, until the timer goes off, add water if the mixture is too thick (it should be similar creamy mashed potatoes). I ended up adding almost 1.5 cups of water during the cooking time.

When the timer goes off the polenta should be thick and smooth. Finish with butter, grated cheese, salt and pepper.

While the polenta was cooking, I added the Eggplant and tomato sauce to a pan, and heated gently.

In the midst of all this I pureed the roasted red pepper using the immersion blender - a regular blender would work just fine too.

To serve, add a portion of polenta, top with the eggplant tomato mixture, and drizzle on the red pepper puree.

The polenta is stick-to-your ribs filling, rich and cheesey, and serve as a nice counter point to the acid tomatoes. This dinner can be on the table in under 40 minutes which makes it a delicious weeknight meal,

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Pork Belly Confit - Tacos

2011-06-12T19:56:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I made bacon, but I've also been dreaming about Pork Belly Confit. This recipe (Jim Drohman's Pork Belly Confit) comes from the book Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. I purchased this book and have been working through and around it. It is the basis of Charcutepalooza, which I have been involved in.

Pork belly confit..... hmmm porkbelly, cured then poached in pork fat until tender.
This will keep for months in the fridge (how long do you really think it will last?), then fry some up and make fatty, crispy, succulent Taco's. I think I might pass out!

Since I am only using 3 lbs of pork belly I've cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1.5 bay leaves crumbled
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 oz kosher salt (about 2 Tbs)
1/2 tsp pink salt

3lbs pork belly, skin removed, cut into 1" x 3" chunks

Dry white wine as needed.
Rendered pork fat as needed (I got mine from the Carniceria nearby)
Canola oil or rendered fat for deep frying

Mix the cure ingredients together
Toss the pork chunks and the cure ingredinents in a big bowl to coat evenly.

Pack coated pork into a non-reactive container.

Cover with white wine.

This goes into the fridge for 24-36 hours.

Preheat oven to 250F

Remove the pork from the cure and pat the pieces dry with paper towels.

Place pork in an ovenproof pot or Dutch oven and cover with the rendered fat. And this is where the wheels came off - sorta. The fat that I had purchased had a lot of particulate matter in it and was nuttty brown.

So I tried to filter it out - a little heat, some coffee filters and, well.... I did get a bit of the sediment out but I did not like the way it tasted.

I made an executive decision and went for the lard. It is pork fat, and it's produced by a huge faceless corporation, and I feel a little guilty. I'll get over it. I just don't want to mess up the confit.

Bring to a simmer on the stovetop.

Then place in the oven, uncovered, and cook until the pork is fork-tender, about 2 to 3 hours.

Remove the pork from the oven and cool to room temperature in the fat.

Refrigerate the pork in the pan it was cooked in or transfer to another container and add the fat; the pork should be completely submerged in the fat. Refrigerate until completely chilled, or for up to 2 months.

To serve, remove the pork from the refrigerator, preferably a few hours ahead. Remove the pork from the fat, and wipe off the excess. It doesn't look like much but stay with me...

In a deep-heavy pot, heat the oil for deep-frying 350 to 375. Deep-fry the pork belly until crispy and heated through, about 2 minutes if it was at room temperature.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Add a dash of coarse salt.

I made tacos - simple with cilantro, onion and a squeeze of lime. Hot, salty, crunchy outside; fatty, rich, meltingly tender inside. Sublime.

Not something to have every day, but once in a while? You have to live right? This was not difficult to do, and the rewards are simple yet spectacular!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Bean Salad - aka Cowboy Caviar

2011-06-05T13:45:00.000-05:00

Summer - the season of cold foods and salads! In the heat of summer, we need the refreshing coolness of fruits and vegetables. Oh, you know I like the grill and the smoker, but I also love the cool foods of summer.

My family's favorite has to be one of the simplest summer salads you can make, a bean salad. It is very flexible, is open to almost any interpretation, and can be a meal unto itself. You could cook all the beans from scratch but why? Unless you have some put up from last year, store bought canned will work just fine though I suspect home canned would be that much better!

Ingredients:
15.5 oz can drained and rinsed Red Kidney beans
15.5 oz can drained and rinsed Garbanzo beans (also known as Ceci or chickpeas)
15.5 oz can drained and rinsed Black Beans
15.5 oz can drained and rinsed White beans
11 oz can drained Corn with chili's
Red onion diced
Celery Diced
Sweet pickle chips - chopped
1 handful minced Cilantro (or to taste (optional))
Salt to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing - or make your own oil and vinegar based dressing

Dice the celery and onion. Put into a large bowl. Add chopped sweet pickles.

Open and drain rinse all the beans. Just drain the corn, no need to rinse it. Add to bowl.

Add the minced cilantro and gently fold to combine. Add the dressing and combine again.

You may serve immediately or chill it before serving. It will keep 3-4 days. This is great picnic / BBQ fare. Feel free to add minced garlic, hominy, chopped sweet peppers, diced cucumber or ....?

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Merguez - Spicy lamb sausage

2011-05-29T15:02:00.002-05:00

Since I was ordering from the butcher anyway, I decided to order some lamb shoulder to make some Merguez, a spicy lamb sausage from North Africa. I figured it would be great slow roasted on the grill.

This adapted from Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. You'd think that I'm getting a cut but no, I'm just loving the cookbook.

Ingredients
3.5 lbs diced lamb shoulder
1.5 lb lamb fat diced
1.5 oz Kosher Salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbs minced garlic
1.5 cups diced roasted red pepper
1.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs Spanish paprika (I used Picante, you could use Dulce)
2 Tbs minced fresh oregano
1/4 cup dry red wine, chilled
1/4 cup ice water

20ft sheep casing soaked and rinsed

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the water and wine (OR casings!) and toss to distribute the seasonings.

Chill until ready to grind. In this case it was from about 3 to 9 the next morning.

Grind mixture through small die, add water and wine to meat mixture and mix until liquids are incorporated and the mixture has developed a uniform sticky appearance. Sorry for no pictures but this sausage is red from the paprika. Working the grinder/ mixer/stuffer was difficult enough as it was without trying to capture action shots. Sorry for that.

Cook a small sample for taste test. (delicious)

Stuff into lamb casings and twist into 10" links. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Well that's in instructions but I coiled some up and left some long. The coils work great on the grill with a couple skewers threw them. They are chilling for now getting ready to be frozen.

To cook roast (or grill on indirect heat) or gently saute to an internal temp of 150F.

Served with rice, garlic chili sauce and a simple salad.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Walnut Walleye

2011-05-26T06:37:00.000-05:00

My apologies, I've been busy over at the garden so it's been a while since I've posted here.

There are still a few walleye fillets left from last summer. You could use any firm white fish and probably any nut you'd like. Just don't grind/crush the nuts too finely. Here's what I did with them:

Walnut Walleye

Ingredients:
1 large walleye fillet - enough for two portions
1/2 cup nuts - crushed but not pastey
1 egg lightly beaten
3 Tbs butter ( you could use less)
1 Tbscapers
2 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F
Trim and portion the fish. Season with salt and pepper.

Crack and beat the egg, dip the fish portion in the egg wash.

Press the egg coated fish into the crushed nuts

Reserve to plate.

Preheat oven proof pan over medium high heat. Add the butter, when butter is melted but not browned, add the fish.

Saute gently for 2 -3 minutes, then transfer pan to hot oven for six minutes.

Remove pan, remove fish from pan, add lemon juice and capers to residual hot butter in pan.

Plate fish, spoon some sauce over the fish and serve with sides of your choice.

Mild tender fish, crunchy topping, tart sauce, there is a lot going on in this fast and simple dish. Give it a try!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday Zucchini and Black bean Quesadillas

2011-05-16T21:19:00.000-05:00

After last night's porky fiasco, I was looking forward to Meatless Monday, and some simple fare that didn't involve the likely ingestion of carpet fibers.

This is a super simple meal, yet it was surprisingly filling and delicious. It was fast too, perfect for a busy weeknight.

There isn't a ton of cheese, just enough to hold everything together. Feel free to jazz this up as you see fit. Wringing the water out of the zucchini is key to the success of this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb zucchini grated - about 2 medium (7")
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced fine
1 15 oz can blackbeans drained and rinsed
1/2 medium onion sliced very thin
8 oz grated cheese
6-8 flour tortillas 8" diameter
olive oil
salt

Grate the zucchini

Add a generous pinch of salt and put zucchini into a colandar.

Grate the cheese, drain and rinse the beans.

Dice the jalapeno and slice the onion.

Put the zucchini in a non terry cloth dish towel.

Wrap the loose ends of the towel and (over a sink or a bowl) wring out the moisture, I easily got a cup. See how much the squash compresses?

Add squash, beans, onions, jalapeno and cheese to a big bowl. Mix together thoroughly.

Preheat large griddle or pan. Brush oil on one side of a tortilla, place in heated pan oiled side down, add a generous amount of the bean zucchini mixture.

Oil another tortilla and place it over the filling, oiled side up. Cook until bottom tortilla is golden brown, flip and cook other side.

Cut into quarters and served with homemade salsa, and yogurt.

Crispy, flaky tortilla, dense and satisfying filling. And just one was enough for dinner. Be sure to give this one a try!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Oven Roasted Babyback Ribs & Disaster!?

2011-05-15T19:57:00.000-05:00

After my post on using the smoker, I had an email that asked what to do if you don't have a smoker, or a BBQ grill. You can easily oven roast pork ribs, you may not get that smokey flavor but that doesn't mean they won't be delicious in their own right! (If you need the smokey flavor - add a tsp of liquid smoke to the mustard, but personally I'd skip it. No sense trying to pretend to be something it isn't when what it is, is damn fine.)

Today we'll do 2 racks of babybacks. And learn that things don't always go as planned.

Ingredients:

Dry Rub Recipe ( you won't use all of it for this dish)

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 TBS Coarse salt
1 TBS Sweet Spanish paprika "Dulce"
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

2 racks babyback ribs
4-5 TBS Dijon Mustard
BBQ sauce (optional)

Remove ribs from package, pat dry with paper towels.

Remove membrane from the back of the ribs. Slide a table knife under the membrane to loosen it up. If necessary, use a paper towel to grab the membrane and pull it off. Yes I use gloves, I often do in the kitchen or the garden. These are Nitril powderless gloves. You retain tactile sensitivity while keeping your hands clean.

Coat generously with rub, more on the meat side than the bone side - At this point the ribs can go back into the fridge or you can brush them with the mustard now.

My mouth waters just looking at the rub as it extracts moisture from the meat.

Preheat oven to 250.

Brush ribs with mustard.

Line a large baking sheet with sides (a jelly roll pan) with heavy duty foil. Put a cooling rack on it and place ribs on rack OR use a rib rack placed on the foil lined pan.

Roast for 1.5 - 2 hours, until meat is tender. Spare ribs will need about an hour more time than the babybacks. The reality is, I checked at 2 hours and the oven was only holding at 230 so I increased the heat and let them go another 1.25 hours.

Pull them from the oven. They look good.

If saucing, remove ribs from rack, set rack aside, pour off fat from pan, place ribs back into pan, spread sauce and broil - until sauce is hot and bubbly - be careful not to burn it.

While that was going I made some sweet potato fries.

Plated it up one dry, one sauced.

So there I was, plate of deliciousness, a glass of wine. And I misjudged the edge of the table....

Imagine super slow motion, the plate slipping from my grasp and slowly overturning while I shrieked Nooooooooooo!

Clump! Perfectly upside down on the floor, BBQ sauce and ketchup (not in the picture, guilty as charged) embedded into the carpet.

What would you do? Don't judge me but....

Five second rule and blotting the stain until I think it's gone was my strategy.

The ribs were good, but more roast porky than ribby goodness. A surprise? Not really, but I prefer the smoker or the grill. In a pinch this works, but since I have the tools, I'll use them next time.

Now where is that oxy-clean?

Until next time, Eat well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday - Morel Cream Sauce with Peas and Pasta

2011-05-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went Morel hunting in the woods. Today we'll cook some up! This is a loose recipe, and very simple. A quick saute of mushrooms, a simple roux, heavy cream, delicious and ready in less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
Morels - halved and cleaned
4-6 oz Vegetable broth
3-4 oz heavy cream
2 Tbs butter
4 oz peas
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pasta

Aren't the Morels pretty?

Start water on to boil for the pasta - make it according to directions.

Add butter to pan over medium high heat. When it finishes foaming, add the mushrooms , brown lightly on both sides. Yes, these went a little long. Yes, it still tasted great.

Remove the mushrooms from the pan, add the flour and stir it constantly for a few minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

Add the broth and stir out any lumps, keep stirring until the mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat to medium.

Add the peas and cook until tender. Add heavy cream, and mushrooms. Heat Through.

Add the cooked pasta, toss to coat.

Plate and Serve. You could grate some cheese on top if you want.

Pretty cool to have foraged for part the meal.

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Shiny New Toy trial run

2011-05-04T20:29:00.000-05:00

For those of you following along, I built and used a cold smoker last fall and winter. Since then I've been looking into a hot smoker.

Leading up up to my purchase, I looked at some of the cabinet smokers at the big box store - but they seem poorly built.

I don't have the metal working or welding skills (yet!) to construct my own. So, after more research on the internet, I went with the 18.5" (diameter) Weber Smokey Mountain, a charcoal fired smoker with two racks.

Today I fired it up for the first time - 1 large rack of pork spare ribs and a pork shoulder.

A generous amount of my homemade rub:

RUB Recipe

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 TBS Coarse salt
1 TBS Sweet Spanish paprika "Dulce"
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

The shoulder needs to go about 8 hours so we'll start that first.

Next, fire up the smoker..... I'm using the "Minion Method"

I did throw on 3 chunks of applewood, filled the water pan, set the lower rack and added the pork shoulder.

As this the first firing, I'll have to check often to keep the temp in the 225-250F range. I'm checking it every 10 minutes initially, hopefully I can stabilize it and let it go for 3 hours before I add the ribs. It did stabilize at 225 for several hours.

I added the spare ribs to the top rack.

I did have to add a bit more charcoal, and wood to take this to 9 hours total.

Glaze with your favorite sauce.

Plate up with some beans and slaw....

This was delicious, and it has a nice smoke ring.

The butt is cooling until I can shred it. Is it just me or does that sounds odd?

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday, Indian Inspired Potato Cauliflower stew

2011-05-02T21:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a week sinced I posted here. My apologies. I've been on holiday, busy in the garden, or haven't been inclined. In fact, I nearly didn't post tonight. But here you are the stew is simmering on the stove in the background.

It's a matter of checking the pantry and crisper, and seeing what you have on hand. I have veggies, spices, and potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon Chhole masala
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 cups medium cauliflower florets
1 14-1/2-oz can diced tomatoes, juice and all
1.5 cups white potato, 1" cube
1.5 cups sweet potato, 1" cube
1.5 cups vegetable broth or water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Hot steamed rice if desired.

Directions:

Cook onion in hot oil over medium heat in a large saucepan until tender. About 5 minutes.

Add curry powder, cumin, masala, and red pepper. Cook and stir for about 1 minute, until very fragrant and spices are not dry.

Stir in broth, cauliflower, undrained tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salt, and black pepper.

Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover.

Simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 18 minutes . Time is not critical here.

Mash about 1/4 of the vegetable mixture.

Continue to simmer, uncovered until most of the liquid is evaporated.

If you get impatient (as I did), you can tighten up the sauce with a cornstarch slurry.

I served it with whole wheat pita, plain yogurt and honey, and a little green chili pickle.

You could also serve the stew over rice.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Eggplant Parmesan in a Skillet.

2011-04-25T19:11:00.000-05:00

I am on holiday in southern Texas, so in order to stay up to date with meatless Monday I'm going to reprint an article from last August. Enjoy......

I have eggplant from the garden, and some recently canned tomato sauce.This is a different take on the classic baked Eggplant Parmesan. Using only one skillet, it is a quick summer meal. This recipe skips the normal salting and draining of the eggplant. If you have it this is a great place to let your canned tomato sauce shine.

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds eggplant, unpeeled, sliced into rounds
3 eggs beaten
1½ cup season breadcrumbs
4-6 tbs olive oil
1 pint tomato sauce (more if you like it saucy, but this was plenty saucy)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp Italian seasoning (or just mixed dried oregano and basil 50/50)
Pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
4-6 plum tomatoes, chopped I used golden ones - they are what I have and I like the color contrast
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
Add beaten eggs to shallow bowl, dip eggplant into eggs.
Coat egg washed eggplant with breadcrumbs
In small bowl mix Italian seasoning, salt, pepper flakes, and tomatoes.
Heat 2 tsp olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
Add breaded eggplant to pan, sauté until brown, turn and brown other side.

Transfer browned eggplant to plate, continue until all the eggplant is browned. As you can see I used two types of eggplant, globe and Japanese. I don't think it matters much.

Wipe out skillet, add 2/3 cup marinara sauce to skillet.

Arrange half the eggplant slice in a layer in the skillet.

Spoon half of tomato & herb mixture over eggplant.

Sprinkle half the cheese on top and add 2/3 cup sauce.

Repeat layering eggplant, tomato, cheese and sauce.

Cover skillet and simmer until tender – about 20 minutes.

It looks about the same but it the cheese is melted.

Supper is ready! It was better than I expected. A bit wet but the eggplant was tender and the flavor quite good. The nice thing is you could do this on a side burner on a grill outside and not heat up the house oven.

Until next time Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
My garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
My cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

2011-04-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

Spaghetti squash is a wonderful vegetable, it keeps well, kids will eat it, and it is versatile. A colleague gave me a squash late last week that he had harvested in September. I saved it for tonight.

Primavera means spring, so I thought we'd have a little fun, a play on Pasta Primavera using the squash instead of noodles.

You can use any fresh vegetables you have on hand. Vegetables that can retain some crispness when cooked are best.

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash
1 carrot cut into match sticks
1/2 onion, cut in half and sliced
1-2 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 cup greenbeans
2-3 cloves garlic sliced
sweet peppers sliced
2 Tbs olive oil divided
salt and pepper
water

Stab the squash 4 -5 times carefully, place on a plate and microwave for 10-12 minutes on high. Alternatively you could oven roast it for an hour, or steam it. I choose the microwave because it is fast.

Meanwhile.....

Heat pan over medium high heat, add 1 tbs olive oil and garlic. Cook and stir until fragrant.

Add the other vegetables, longer cooking ones first, in this case I added the carrots and cauliflower, and a generous pinch of salt.

Add a splash of water if needed to gently steam / saute them until tender crisp. Turn heat down to low.

When squash is done, let it rest for about 5 minutes, then using an oven mitt (it will still be very hot) to hold it, cut squash lengthwise.

Scoop out the seeds, - you can let them cool and roast them just like pumpkin seeds if you choose. Use a fork and scrape out the flesh. It comes out in strands that give it its name.

Turn the heat under the pan back up, add the remaining oil and squash;

Toss to coat and mix with the other vegetables. Cook for a few minutes until squash is tender crisp. Again, if needed, add a splash of water to steam / saute the vegetables. Check seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Plate squash and other vegetable. Finish with some fresh grated cheese, I used the Pecorino Romano that I have on hand. Parmesan would work just fine.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging.

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Creamy white beans and Chorizo

2011-04-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

It's cold and rainy today, a good day for a hearty hot dinner. Beans are a staple in the pantry and I like white beans that can be cooked long to the point of being creamy. Spanish chorizo is also one of my favorites, its color and flavor unmatched. Let's combine the two, creamy base note beans, and sharp sausage for a satisfying dinner.

I cook the beans almost like risotto, slowly adding stock as needed to keep the beans loose but not soupy.

The vegetable mixture is completely flexible, use what you want. here is what I did,

Ingredients:
Soaked white beans (I'm using great northern beans)
4 cups Chicken stock
1 tsb olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1/2 tsp salt
1 carrot finely diced
2 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup onion minced
1/2 tsp dried herbs I used (herbs de provence)
3 oz spanish chorizo diced
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Add olive oil to sauce pot over medum high heat

Add diced carrots and salt, stir and cook about 3 minutes, reduce heat to medium,

Add onions, stir and cook another 5 minutes,

Add garlic, stir and cook 1 minute.

Add the soaked and drained beans and stir.

Add enough stock to just cover, bring to boil then reduce heat to medium low,

Put a lid on it, but leave it cracked, simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the dried herbs.

Add stock as needed to just keep the beans covered. When beans are tender - mash about a third of them and stir back into the rest of the beans.

Meanwhile....

Add diced chorizo to a small sauce pan over medium high heat until a slight crust starts to form. Drain excess fat.

Spoon beans into bowl, top with about 1/2 the sausage, drizzle with olive oil.

Creamy beans, crunchy salty spicy sausage. Life is good.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday - Cauliflower Steaks and Bulgar Pilaf

2011-04-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

I saw a recipe for Cauliflower steaks last week in the newspaper, I'd never heard of such a thing, but a little poking around on the Internet shows I must really be behind the times. There are many recipes for this, read a few and make it your own, that's what I did.

Ingredients:
3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil divided
1 medium Cauliflower
Pinch of kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Grated Pecorino Romano
1 cup bulgar wheat
Red pepper - diced
Onion diced/sliced

3 cloves garlic sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250F degrees.

Place bulgar in a bowl, cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate.

Add 1 tsp EVOO to a pan over medium high heat.

Add the vegetables and saute until tender crisp.

Drain the bulgar well and add to the vegetable mixture.

Toss together, and turn heat as low as it goes, while preparing the cauliflower give the pilaf a stir now and then.

Cut two 3/4" steaks from the center of a head of cauliflower including the stem. Trim off any leaves or nasty bits. Reserve the rest for another use.

In a skillet, heat up 1 1/2 tsp oil over medium-high heat.

Lightly brush on side of cauliflower with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Add the cauliflower steaks, seasoned side down, while first side is cooking, repeat the oil, salt and pepper on the unseasoned side.

Press it down with your spatula to get a good sear.

Turn and sear the other side.

Remove from heat and place on a baking sheet.

Top with grated Pecorino Romano put in oven and bake for 9 minutes.

After 9 minutes turn oven from bake to broil and broil until cheese is bubbling.

While cauliflower is finishing up, increase pilaf heat to medium and toss again.

Plate and serve!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Korean BBQ Sliders

2011-04-06T05:50:00.001-05:00

I loved the Korean BBQ ribs I made a while back, the sauce is fantastic.

I also recently was reading an article about the many variations of shaved beef, a way to extend cuts of meat to many more servings.

What if I combine the two? What about sliders - little savory two-bite treats?

The grocery store had beef two for one sale. Two bottom round roasts later, and I was ready to give it a try.

I put the beef in the freezer to firm it up. Meanwhile I whipped up another batch of the BBQ Sauce. This is going to be a stapble for me I know it, but since I haven't got it memorized, here is the recipe again.

Marinade Ingredients:
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
4-1/2 teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon sesame seeds

Make the marinade:
Whisk together the soy sauce and sugar in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved.
Stir in the black pepper, garlic, green onions, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Set aside

Remove the beef from the freezer, it need not be frozen solid, just very firm. Trim the fat.

Slice very thin against the grain, I used my meat slicer, it does a much better job than I could with a knife.

Marinate the beef in the BBQ sauce for minimum 2 hours or overnight.

Grill on hot outdoor grill for 2-4 minutes, it will not take long, the beef is so thin.

Mound some up on small dinner rolls, these are topped (left to right) with candied jalapenos, quick Kimchi, and grilled green onions respectively.

These are fantastic! Savory, sweet, the crunchy toppings. Definately party food!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Chicken Liver Pate

2011-04-05T07:02:00.001-05:00

I love pate, preferably duck liver, but I also like chicken liver pate. There is a party Saturday and I wanted to practice. This recipe is adapted from Food Network.

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh chicken livers, cleaned
1 cup milk
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbs capers drained
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup brandy or cognac

Directions:
Soak the livers in milk for 2 hours, drain well.

Over medium high heat in a heavy skillet, melt half the butter. Add the onions and cook stirring about 3 minutes.

Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds.

Add chicken livers, the capers, bayleaves, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until livers are browned on outside, but still pink on inside. (Funny instructions, how are you supposed to tell without cutting them open?) Anyway that's about 5 minutes.

Add the cognac and cook until most of the liquid is gone and the livers are tender.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly, throw away the bay leaves.

Puree the the liver mixture in a food processor, add the remaining butter and pulse to blend. It's not very pretty.

Check seasonings and pack into ramekins, cover in plastic and refrigerate 5-6 hours.

Serve with small toast rounds, good mustard, cornichons, and capers. It is delicious liver spread. I'll make this for sure for the party!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Meatless Monday - Summer/Winter vegetable stuffed shells

2011-04-04T19:48:00.000-05:00

Last summer we put up both pumpkin puree (frozen) and a nice tomato eggplant relish. It came to the dear wife to combine them both.

She made this last fall but didn't document how, so we set out to document the process today. The sweet vegetables, and the savory creamed spinach topping are a satisfying combination. This can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until ready. You could probably freeze it too, but I haven't tried that.

Ingredients:
2 cups pumpkin or squashe puree
2 cups tomato eggplant relish, recipe here
25 large pasta shells
2 bags spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
3 tbs butter divided
2 tbs flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

In a food processor, puree the eggplant relish.

Combine with the vegetable puree with the pumpkin.

Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse.
Stuff shells with vegetable mixture, place in 9x13 oven proof pan. Spray first wth cooking spray or lightly grease.

Make the creamed spinach.

Over medium high heat, melt 1 tbs butter, add onions an garlic.

When onions are translucent, add spinach and cook until soft.

Transfer cooked spinach to food processor and pulse until chopped.

Melt 2 tbs butter over medium high heat, add the flour.

Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup milk - and whisk until mixture boils and thickens.

Add spinach and stir to combine.

Add another cup of milk, stir until thick.

Check seasoning - salt and pepper to taste.

Pour over stuffed shells.

Sprinkle with parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until parmesan is golden brown.

Until next time Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

From Humble Beginnings....

2011-03-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

A blogger I follow recently showed a picture of her beautiful country kitchen, it was roomy with plenty of work space.

My kitchen? Not so much. Small, cramped with room for one, barely. No giant kitchen with acres of gleaming granite and stainless steel.

Yet I manage, on a hand-me-down stove/oven and a work space that is barely 3' wide. And you know what? It works for me!

The dishes are done, a loaf of bread is rising on the counter.... life is good!

Someday I may have that nice kitchen, but for now, I'll keep my tiny kitchen and keep cooking for you!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!