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Wounded Digit
ouch!
In my twenty years of professional cooking I had great knife skills. While other cooks I worked with cut themselves on average about once per year I had a once every four years average, and the cuts were never serious. When I cut myself last night on my Oxo mandoline I burst out in a short string of obscenities. My little finger on my right hand apparently was not paying attention to the razor sharp blade that was slicing cabbage like a paper shredder. It was a real attention getter and hurt plenty while bleeding according to the laws that say, “When you cut out a chunk of flesh, you will bleed profusely!”
Of course it happened towards the beginning of dinner prep making the rest of the meal a challenge to prepare. There was zucchini to cut into bite sized cubes, sans fingers. There were onions to chop and eggplant to slice. It was all quite hindered by the creeping thought of, “You will do it again if you are not careful!” from that little voice that is supposed to protect us. This little voice however was just irritating me on this occasion. Dinner prep did get done, albeit much slower than usual. The paper napkin that I wrapped my bleeding finger in needed a replacement soon. I went upstairs for a bandage and was again reminded of the diabolical minds that package bandages in those impossible to open wrappings. They probably do tests with a hidden camera on volunteers who cut themselves then try to open a bandage packaged by maniacs while the test observers are laughing their collective asses off behind oneway glass.
the look on my face when I cut my finger was something like this
For the next hour I tried my best to keep the poor little pinkie elevated to slow the bleeding and throbbing having thoughts of where was that protective mandoline guide that would have saved my finger the pain and my mind the turmoil? Then it occurred to me that I would have an interesting couple of days ahead as I engaged in my travel/food writing at the computer. It’s not enough that the bandage gets in the way but the cut is toward the tip of my finger making typing as smooth as a soccer player kicking a ball with a foot in a cast. It can be done, but it hurts and doesn’t go so well.
I always like to look on the bright side of things and it occurred to me that with this cut I now have four years of cut-free chopping, slicing and dicing ahead if history is any indicator. To avoid any knife work over the next couple days while my finger heals I could just go out to eat or cook heat-and-eat foods…yuk! When it comes to typing I will just have to blunder through the pain and discomfort hoping for a speedy recovery.
There is a lesson to this mistake that says; “Those who don’t use proper protection shall type hindered for days and shall type badly.” So my friends take care of thy digits and don’t be stupid when handling sharp objects while preparing dinner or you will type like meeeeeeeee.
Grandma’s Green Beans
A Farm to Table Story
I was lucky to grow up with an appreciation for fresh produce from farms and gardens. My grandparents in St Louis, Missouri taught me much about where food comes from. My grandfather, even though full-time employed with the St Louis Water Division, kept a garden in the back yard where I was introduced to veggie gardening. He grew a few tomatoes, okra, and string beans, but later on in life a friend of his gave him about a quarter of an acre on the edge of a large cornfield to grow a real vegetable garden.
In this large garden he grew tons of tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers, squash, okra, and corn. The summer of 1970 found me banished from my home and sent to Cleveland then St Louis where my parents thought my relatives would straighten my rebel fifteen year old self out. In St Louis I helped grandpa with the garden and would help grandma can green beans for their winter supply. She also canned corn, okra and tomatoes. I learned a lot from them that summer such as, four vegetable dishes on the supper table was just about the right amount, and that a troublesome fifteen year old can just about go through a wooden fence when tossed by a pissed off Grandpa. I also learned that leftover green beans or okra was just as good as the day before.
This was the real deal Farm-to-Table existence long before the current movement took hold. They didn’t know any other way as both of them grew up on farms. Yes they could have bought many of their vegetables from grocery stores back then but I think they knew the best flavor was to be found in veggies they knew the source from which they came. These were tomatoes with a rich sweet taste that smacked of the ground they grew in. That wonderful dark, almost fluffy soil made for some of the best vegetables I have ever tasted. The hot humid climate was perfect for the veggies grandpa chose to grow there, especially the tomatoes.
Twice a week during my extended stay in St Louis grandpa and I would go to the farm to weed, and harvest the crops. It was there that I truly learned what a good tomato tastes like. It would be a typical 90° day with high humidity and grandpa would call me over to the tomato patch he was working on. Then he would take out his razor sharp pocket knife and cut two large ripe tomatoes from the vine. In his other pocket he brought a salt shaker and after the red orb was cut in half would sprinkle his tomato with salt and eat it right on the spot with juice running down his chin. I would follow his lead and it was on that spot I learned that this was what a tomato was supposed to taste like. During tomato season almost every meal was supplemented by a plate of sliced tomatoes. Now that’s good eating!
Grandma served her special Grandma’s Green Beans recipe at least once per week and I never tired of it, but I did tire of cutting green beans. She would cook bacon, onion and green beans that would be at home in any Farm-to-Table restaurant. There were no herbs needed to flavor this heirloom veggie dish. The flavor was carried by the top quality green beans, onions and bacon. It was a memorable trip to St Louis that I have strong memories from, mostly good ones.
Try this recipe yourself and see if you agree it is one of the best veggie dishes ever. Just be sure and make the whole batch because the leftovers are good for 2-3 days after and heat up in a jiffy. If you can’t get good fresh green beans frozen will do, but use the best Applewood bacon you can get your hands on.
Here’s to good healthy eating. Enjoy!
Grandma’s Green Beans
1 pound fresh or frozen green beans
½ cup yellow onion, chopped
2 slices of bacon cut into ½ inch pieces
½ teaspoon oil
If using fresh green beans wash and then trim the stem end off. Cut to about four inch lengths for easier stirring in the pot.
In a 3 ½ quart to 4 ½ Le Cruset™ or similar heavy type of cooking pot with lid add oil and bacon cooking on medium heat for 3 minutes stirring every 30 seconds or so.
Add onions and cook on medium low heat stirring often for 5 minutes.
Drain the oil and bacon grease and add green beans plus a quarter cup of water and continue cooking without stirring for 5 minutes covered on medium low.
Stir and continue cooking on medium low heat covered for five minutes covered.*
At this point you can let it cook for another 10 minutes before uncovering, adding salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and stirring. If it is dry on the bottom of the pot add a bit more water-2 tablespoons should do.
Now the beans have been cooking for 20 minutes and are either close or will need about 10 more minutes depending on the size and tenderness of the beans. Taste one to see if it needs more cooking time, or seasoning.
Serves 4-6
Note:
It’s okay if the beans come to the top of the pot as in 10-15 minutes they will shrink considerably.
Halibut Ceviche
Gilding the Lily
My mother had many saying that have stuck with me all these years. Gilding the lily was one she used when something was needlessly overdone in an attempt to make it more pleasing. This past May I had the pleasure to dine at the world famous Herb Farm in Woodenville, Washington. I had heard for years how this exquisite restaurant would ply it’s customers with the freshest produce and other bounty from the Northwest.
It is a very expensive restaurant to visit and not easy to get in due to its popularity. I was thrilled to acquire reservations in late May during salmon season. My favorite salmon was on the menu and it was sure to be great. The only problem is the chef decided the lily needed to be gilded. Here was the rich and fatty king salmon from the Copper River near Cordova, Alaska butchered beyond belief with all manner of trendy restaurant excess. It was cooked in a sous vide method and served mushy and over seasoned ruining an incredible salmon entree.
The red salmon fared little better being over prepped with all manner of things a chef could do to impress the customers. If only he would have respected the fish for what it is, already near perfect, he might have thought to use the lemon thyme, from their herb garden, and high-end local butter on the salmon. At least the smoked salmon started on a skewer was done well. The rest of the meal was quite good and the wines excellent and rare. For $700 the two of us expected more though.
It’s hard to blame the chef being in the day and age of star chefs and dozens of cooking shows he was probably pressured to keep up with false notion that everything must have three to four items in the description of the meal to impress the customer. Here is what an item on the menu might look like:
Bogus Ranch lamb chops, grilled over young North West alder, in a sauce of Mt Rainier foraged blackberries scented with Columbia Valley Syrah.
Everything on the menu has to highlight two to three items of not-so-ordinary ingredients to be worthy it seems, at least in the high-end fine-dining restaurants.
Mix the tomatoes in gently.
What ever happened to grilled lamb chops with chef’s special seasoning blend? Or baked Alaska king salmon with fresh herb butter? Have we forgotten that when you start with quality ingredients they need little else to be great? I hope not. I’ll keep my eyes open to restaurants that don’t gild the lilly and still serve great food from the source. Meanwhile I’ll still cook up simple foods sourced from nearby farms, or my own garden and share the recipes free of charge to my readers.
This recipe for halibut ceviche takes a fish that is known for its versatility and flavor. Whether I’m baking, sautéing, grilling or stir-frying halibut it is one of my favorite gifts from the sea. This recipe lets the pure taste of the halibut come through while delighting the taste buds with jalapeno, onion, lime, cilantro and a hint of garlic. It makes an exceptional starter served with tortilla chips and avocado slices. Pair it with a crisp Pinot Gris or Chablis and you have a winner.
Halibut Ceviche
1 pound halibut filet
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup chopped or sliced red onion
1-2 fresh jalapeños sliced thin
1 small clove of garlic minced
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 -1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Cut halibut in pieces 1 1/2 inch long by 3/8 inch thick and however high that particular filet is.
Put lime juice, jalapeños, olive oil and garlic in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix briefly.
Add halibut, onion and cilantro and mix.
Add tomatoes and salt mixing gently to not break up the tomatoes.
Store in fridge covered for 24-36 hours mixing three times about every 8-12 hours.
Serve with tortilla chips and sliced avocado garnished with fresh cilantro.
Serves 6-8
Halibut Tacos
Halibut tacos were on the menu at my house yesterday and boy were they yummy. Thanks to the abundance of halibut I caught on my recent trip to Alaska I have lots to experiment with and figured they would work in a taco recipe. Of course I made up my own as I wanted it to be fast, healthy and easy.
Halibut is one of the best fish in the sea as far as I’m concerned. It has a less fishy taste than most fish and a great firm texture. It is lean and works with many types of fish recipes. It also has very little waste. The eighty pound halibut we caught yielded sixty pounds of meat! For those of you who can’t, or don’t want to go to Alaska to catch your own; halibut is available most of the year fresh in many grocery stores.
At around $20 per pound it is not cheap but definitely worth the splurge once in a while. This recipe is a perfect summer lunch or dinner item since it takes just a few minutes to make. Who wants to be in a hot kitchen any longer than necessary, in summer or winter for that matter? With this taco recipe you can use many different types of greens like: iceberg lettuce, spring greens, arugula or even cilantro. I like a bit of habanero hot sauce drizzled over the top of mine for a serious kick.
dust with blackening spice
I hope you give it a try and see if you agree that halibut is one very special fish.
Halibut Tacos
1 pound halibut, cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon oil, avocado or regular olive oil
1 tablespoon blackening spice or chili powder*
4 ounces shredded asiago cheese
4 ounces of salad greens, or arugula
8 taco shells, hard or soft
Spread halibut out on a large plate or sheet pan and dust with blackening spice.*
In a 10-12 inch saute pan heat oil on med-high heat just until it starts to smoke.
Add halibut and cook for 1-2 minutes before turning or stirring halibut. You want to get it cooked on all sides but don’t overcook it. After turning the halibut it only takes 2 minutes for it to be cooked.
Add cooked halibut to taco shells and then add cheese. Cook under a broiler for 1 minute if you want the cheese melted. I just let the heat of the halibut warm the cheese.
Add greens and serve with a side of salsa, or pico de gallo.
Serves four.
If you are using frozen halibut it is usually quite wet and needs to be dried on paper towels before dusting with blackening spice.
You can use just about any commercially available blackening spice blend sold in grocery stores. If not available here is a simple recipe to make your own:
1 T salt
1 T chili powder
1 t dried oregano
1 T paprika
1-2 t cayenne pepper
1 T granulated garlic
1 t onion powder
1 t dried thyme
2 t ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients together and you have your very own blackening spice.
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
Carrying on a salad themed stretch I made this Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad for a perfect summer starter. After all it has been hot here in Baltimore, and when it is hot and humid I like to spend as little time in the kitchen for dinner preparation as possible. Yesterday it hit 92° and with high humidity felt like 110°! There is no relief in sight with more of the same or hotter today and tomorrow.
However, this seems to be fine with my tomato crop as long as I remember to water it. We have gotten away with a milder summer so far and I’m very thankful for that. For you lucky folks in Texas you know about heat, and have been getting your share this summer. With this kind of heat I try and do what some people call “planned overs”, not leftovers. This method of food planning call for cooking some extra of whatever is called for the day before and using the next day to shorten prep time. In this case I cooked three extra ears of corn to use in this salad.
I had some surprise “volunteer” cilantro to use in this salad as well as plenty of my home grown tomatoes from my garden. I also picked a cayenne pepper for the heat component and bought the avocados from my local Costco. I was all set to put together one of my favorite types of salad, a spicy one with corn.
stir gently
I was introduced to Kastania Greek olive oil, a high end extra virgin blend from the southern province of Laconia, at a tasting on Friday in Kennett Square, PA. I liked it right away but the more I use it the better it tastes to me. It has a smooth, almost buttery taste that is perfect for this salad. Using local Maryland Silver Queen corn this sweet and spicy salad is delicious.
Next time you cook up a batch of corn-on-the-cob be sure to cook three extra and try this recipe out. I’m sure it will please even the most discriminating eaters. To make it a bit more special I’m giving away a bottle of Kastania extra virgin olive oil to one lucky reader. All you have to do is comment on this post to be entered. If you comment on my Facebook page you will get an extra entry. Just go to www.Facebook.com/
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
3 cups cooked corn
1 cup diced tomato
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley
1 firm avocado cut into bite sized pieces, see note
2-3 tablespoons chopped chives or onion
juice of one lime, about 1-2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 jalapeño minced, optional
salt to taste
In a 4 quart mixing bowl mix all ingredients except avocado.
Gently mix in avocado.
Add salt to taste and serve right away or chill for an hour or two.
Serves four to six.
Note:
If your avocado is too soft it breaks down a bit much but you can still use it if you stir it in very gently.
Spicy Asian Slaw
I love traveling for so many reasons. One of the big ones is learning about new foods and recipes. On our recent trip to South Passage Outfitters in Alaska I picked up some ideas for new recipes to test and post. We ate well and fished hard at the camp for the six days we spent there. I even got to cook the shrimp one night as a small guest chef appearance. Other than that I was just one of the happy customers at the communal table stuffing my face each meal with excellent food.I already posted the bean dip that I was inspired to create from that trip and now I have made up a tasty cabbage slaw.
I have had Japanese rice vinegar in my pantry for a few years now ever since my mother-in-law brought it for a recipe she made. I have used it for soba noodle salads and some salad dressings but never with mayonnaise. This vinegar is not as harsh as most we Americans use and can be sweet rice or there is a lite version with less sugar and salt.
Up in Alaska our hostess/cook, (Peggy) made a delicious cabbage slaw with the Marukan gourmet rice vinegar, and all of us loved it. She told me that particular vinegar is one of her favorite ingredients. The salad she made is simple, healthy, inexpensive and delicious. The next day we were just about to polish off the leftovers when we found out the float plane was coming early to pick us up and the mad scramble ensued. We had to get our gear down to the boat dock and our frozen fish boxed up quickly and missed out on the cabbage slaw. I knew I had to re-create it when I got home since I was cheated out of a second helping.
pour and mix
I wanted to make my own version though. Hot peppers had to be part of the recipe and since I had beautiful fresh carrots from my garden they had to join the salad party too. For the hot stuff I added my Caribbean Red Habanero hot sauce and the results were great! Here was a fast and easy salad using one of my favorite vegetables, (cabbage) for hot summertime eating. With the heat of summer upon us I eat a salad of some sort or another most every day. Whether it is a main dish or a side dish, summer salads are a hit. I hope you give this one a try, with or without the hot sauce and see if you agree it’s one of the best out there. As always please help me out with your comments and share with friends and family.
All that’s missing is a cold glass of sake.
Spicy Asian Slaw
1 pound green cabbage
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3-4 tablespoons rice vinegar, depending on how thin you want the dressing
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin,optional
1/2-1 teaspoon hot sauce, like Sri Racha etc.
Chop or shred the cabbage and blend with carrot in a 2 quart mixing bowl.
To make dressing blend mayonnaise with vinegar, cumin and hot sauce in a small bowl.
Pour dressing over cabbage and carrot and mix well until cabbage and carrot is well coated.
Serve right away or chill for an hour or two.
Serves 6-8
An Alaska Fishing Tale
Almost every year since moving out of Alaska I have returned for a week or two in the summer to visit with friends and go fishing. This year was one of the few years when my crew of three, (wife, brother and sister) went somewhere other than the Kenai Peninsula. We decided a change in scenery would be good and the fishing better.
the home dock at South Passage Outfitters
Fishing the Kenai River we have it good and easy. We stay at the same cabins or next door on most of our trips there in the last twelve years. It’s an easy walk to the river that takes one minute and the town of Soldotna is just five minute’s drive from the cabins when we need groceries or fishing gear. The fishing is usually good but in the last four years the once mighty runs of king salmon have diminished in a big way. Without the kings to fish for it has been easier to divert from our usual location.
a nice halibut
This year we went way off the grid and picked a lodge in the Inside Passage area of Alaska. With the nearest town a thirty minute boat ride from the lodge we got away from it all. That is except for the numerous Humpback Whales, sea otters, seals, sea lions and seabirds too numerous to count. Fish Alaska magazine had spotlighted the area we were heading to in their May issue saying that it is hard to go fishless in the Gustavus area. While we were not in Gustavus our lodge was a mere hour away by boat and many of the fishing spots mentioned in the article were near our lodge. We figured on this being one of the best fishing trips ever.
The family that fishes together stays together.
On our first day we arrived around 11:30 in the morning and were eager to get started. As soon our briefing was concluded we were shown the boat that would be ours for six days. I was to be our guide on this self-guided adventure in this new and exciting wilderness hotspot. Now all I had to do was find fish in an area where there were no other fishing boats to lead us. Off we went in search of halibut that can get up to 900 pounds!
Waiting for a bite.
On our first try we were hampered by big tides that kept our anchor slipping and our bait floating up from the bottom a hundred yards off the back of the boat. Not a way to catch halibut. Digging into my memory of fishing in Seward I tried jigging in deeper water for the hidden halibut by Lemesuier Island two miles from our lodge. There I at least managed to get a bite that proved to be the one and only bite of the day. Going fishless the first day was not what I expected but I was undaunted as we headed back to the lodge for more information, dinner and some much needed rest. Our plane leaving Baltimore for an overnight stopover in Seattle was delayed five hours which left us with two hours rest in our hotel. We had hoped to get seven hours of sleep before the flight to Alaska the next morning. It’s tough being sharp after a four hour time change and two hours of sleep when running a boat in tricky Alaska waters.
Sea lion haul out spot.
The first full day dawned blue and sunny as my wife and I headed out just after dawn to catch halibut. I had seen a spot from the flight from our floatplane that I figured would yield halibut. We motored out for fifteen minutes on calm blue-green seas to this promising spot. All the way seeing Humpback Whales, and many otters for our wilderness entertainment. After anchoring up we didn’t have to wait but about fifteen minutes when my wife said, “I’m getting a bite”. I had just enough time to look at her rod tip before it went down hard. I quickly reeled up mine and grabbed her rod to fight this express train heading south and knew we had a big fish.
Me happily running a boat in Alaskan waters again.
When I got it up to the boat we were both thrilled to see it was a nice eighty pounder and knew we were going home with plenty of fish on this trip. We caught four more, throwing two of the little ones back before heading to the lodge to get my sleepy siblings for the next fishing session. Over the next four days we caught over four hundred pounds of halibut, but released the biggest, a 170 pound monster, before finishing the week. We all came back with about forty-five pounds of halibut filets each.
a nice eighty pounder
The best parts of the trip other than the fishing were meeting and having meals with the other few guests at this lodge that takes on no more than eight guests per week. Seeing a big part of Alaska where we never had another boat closer than two miles from us except once was great too. The wildlife was fantastic! We got charmed by the calls of the baby sea otters squealing what sounded like a three year old human saying, “Mom”! over and over again as they begged for food and attention. Seeing and hearing the mighty Humpback Whales was exciting too, and we saw them every day. Curious seals would approach our boat while we were anchored up fishing halibut looking at us with their big brown eyes and comical whiskered faces from as little as twenty feet away.
My brother and I catching the Coonstriped shrimp.
The food was very good and while not fancy was delicious and plentiful. We ate king salmon, Coonstriped shrimp, and halibut all caught nearby. Peggy, one of the owners made several dishes I wanted to re-create when I got home including a cabbage slaw with Japanese rice wine vinegar, mayonnaise, and ground cumin that was excellent. She also made a fresh pie made from blueberries picked in and around our cabins. There was a hot bean dip with tortilla chips served just after we returned from hours of fishing one day that was delicious. I figured it was just canned refried beans with a little something added, but wanted to make my own creation when I got home, similar but better.
Since it’s hot in our area with the peak of summer upon us I love cooking in a slow cooker. My bean dip recipe is so easy it just takes five minutes to get it going and when done cooking just a few more minutes to mash the beans and top with cheese for a side dish or a dip. Using the mild Oaxaca dried chilies I bought from Melissa’s Produce the flavor is amazing. It has a rich smoky aroma that pairs wells with shredded Asiago cheese or medium sharp cheddar on top. To get these great dried Oaxaca chilies most of us need to order online, but it’s well worth it. Try this bean dip with a cool glass of sangria for a nice pairing.
In the near future I plan on cooking up some halibut tacos and serve these mashed beans on the side. With a freezer full of halibut I’ll post a new recipe or two in the coming weeks, I hope you give the beans a try and please share this tasty and healthy dish with family and friends.
Slow Cooker Bean Dip
2 1/2 cups dried pinto beans
6 cups water
3/4 cups diced yellow or white onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 dried Oaxaca chili peppers, or 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 t salt
Cook all ingredients in a slow cooker for 8 hours on low.
Strain liquid and reserve.
Mash beans with a potato masher, adding back some of the liquid until desired consistency is reached.
Serve with grated cheese on top.
Serves 8-12
Mash them up.
Note:
This stores well in the fridge for up to a week. Just reheat in oven, stove top, or microwave adding a little water if needed.
You can mash all or half of the beans and use the remaining whole beans in chili or serve as a side dish.
To order Melissa’s Oaxaca peppers click on this link:
http://www.melissas.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=oaxaca&Submit=
Chicken Breast with Mushrooms and Sherry
Are We There Yet?
Each year many of us find ourselves just about done with the feasting and drinking scene that dominates our American culture this time of year. Starting with Thanksgiving we pig out in the name of tradition and it is good! Then comes the Christmas parties, and family gatherings before Christmas where we indulge some more. When Christmas rolls around we get food gifts of hams and chocolate, scotch and champagne and who knows what else. The Christmas feast is a lovely affair of roast goose, baked ham, prime rib or some other very special food with all the trimmings we don’t eat often. Don’t forget the amazing dessert this time of year! Pecan pie is a favorite, as well as pumpkin pie. A side of whipped cream is a must with either of the aforementioned delicious desserts. Maybe just a taste of eggnog splashed with a spot of brandy wouldn’t hurt? You get the picture. We eat well in this country and outdo ourselves during the Thanksgiving to New Years Days stretch. With New Year’s Eve comes the big drinking fest for many of us. Finally we stretch out in front of the tv to rest on New Year’s Day now that we are at the end of the holiday splurge and feeling stuffed like a tick on a fat hound dog.
Come January second we need a break from all of this good stuff! Bring on the gym memberships and the New Year’s resolutions, Get off the couch and take the dog or kids for a walk to burn off some of the seasons excesses. It’s all for naught if you don’t eat healthy for a while, and that is where I come in. You need healthy, easy to prepare recipes that don’t interfere with all that exercise you are going to be engaged in for the rest of the year, according to your resolution.
To start, here is a tasty dish that should take you no more than twenty minutes to prepare using non-processed whole foods. To top it off if you email me with the types of foods you like and want recipes for I’ll send you five custom choices to get your New Year off to a good start. Let me know if you lean towards gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, low fat or low sugar and I’ll send you a list of five original recipes to help you make healthy choices for the New Year free of charge for the first ten readers. Also let me know how many minutes of prep time and cook time you want to stay within and chances are I can find recipes that fit the bill from my database of almost two hundred FastandFuriousCook.com originals. After all, life is short enough. Why make it shorter by eating and drinking too much unhealthy food and drinks?
Chicken Breast with Mushrooms and Sherry
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 cloves of fresh garlic sliced thin
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow or white onion
1 skinless chicken breast
8 oz white mushrooms sliced
2 tablespoon sliced green onions
2 teaspoons Spike seasoning salt
8-12 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1- 2 tablespoons sherry
Cut the chicken breast across in thin slices and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in sauté pan and add garlic, bell peppers and yellow onion. Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes stirring often.
Add mushrooms and continue cooking until most of the moisture is cooked out of mushrooms, about 8-10 minutes stirring every minute or less. Set mushroom mix aside.
Add remaining olive oil to the sauté pan and cook the chicken breast on medium high heat for 2 minutes then flip each piece and cook for two more minutes.
Add mushroom mix, Spike, green onions and tomatoes cooking for 3 more minutes. Add sherry and serve.
Goes well with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed green beans.
Serves two, but is easily doubled.
Note:
Make sure the chicken is dried off with a paper towel to prevent splattering and sticking while sautéing.
Can be tossed with your favorite pasta too.
Cut olive oil to just two teaspoons if you want it low fat.
Chicken breast with mushrooms and sherry
Spring Greens and a Great Salad Dressing Recipe
In many ways I’m new to vegetable gardening. Sure I helped my room mate in Alaska with his garden for a couple of years, and I grew vegies in the backyard where I grew up in Colorado. That was all just dabbling in gardening compared to what I’m growing over these last three years. I don’t just grow many types of vegetables in my garden, I preserve and can them, develope new recipes based on them and write about it the experience too.
My first arugula crop
Rocky Top Blend from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
The Mission of the American Community Gardening Association is to build community by increasing and enhancing community gardening and greening across the United States and Canada.
and it’s cool that they connect people through gardening. What a great way to meet people in your community through growing something healthy to eat. In a day and age when people are getting more and more detached from this amazing planet that gives us so much it’s important to get your hands dirty and grow something with yourself to enjoy at your table. It’s also a great opportunity to teach children seasonal cycles known to all just a few short generations ago when you didn’t get asparagus, or peaches year round. Many kids love to help in the garden, even in this day and age of video game addiction.
If you want to try the container method my favorite is Earthbox containers. The Earthbox website has tons of free information and a forum that will help you understand the concepts for just about any climate and types of plants as it pertains to using their planters. Check out their website at http://earthbox.com for more info. For the record they don’t pay me to talk about their products, I just love the results I get from my Earthboxes and want to share that with you. I used Earthboxes for four years now with great results, especially with tomatoes and okra.
Cilantro, Petite Rouge lettuce
For most parts of the country it’s not too late to get something planted. This week I’m planting tomatoes that I started from seed. I’ll put some in my Earthboxes and some in the ground and see which ones do best. I never know until I grow them in both places to see which plant prefers real dirt to the Earthbox growing medium(soil). It’s also time to visit local nurseries and farmer’s markets for the other vegie plants I’ll buy and transplant to my garden. I usually buy some of my tomatoes, peppers, and okra this way to get a head start.
So give it a try and let me know if I can help you in anyway to get started or maintain your very own vegie garden. I think you will love it!
Kale and two types of heirloom lettuce
Here’s a recipe for a salad dressing that’s become one of my favorites. It calls for a special ingredient “Mushroom Truffle Hunt” by Urban Accents. This weeks give away will be a jar of Mushroom Truffle Hunt for three lucky winners who leave a comment on this post. Please enjoy this recipe of mine in either of it’s forms, Italian or Asian.
Mushroom Salad Dressing(Italian)
1 tablespoon Mushroom Truffle Hunt Blend
1 tablespoon red wine, or red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Soak Truffle Hunt blend in vinegar and red wine for 5 minutes.
Combine all ingredients and mix well by shaking in a jar or in a bowl with an immersion blender.
Enough for 6-8 salads.
Note:
Goes well on mixed baby greens or romaine lettuce.
Minced garlic or shallots(1 teaspoon) may be added for more zip!
Top each salad with 1 tablespoon feta cheese crumbles, and 2 teaspoons of toasted pine nuts for extra goodness.
For an Asian version omit oregano, basil and cheese. Use 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 tablespoons of sesame oil plus a tablespoon of soy sauce. Minced fresh ginger(1/2 teaspoon),and/or minced shallots(1/2 teaspoon) would work well too.
Even though Urban Accents has agreed to furnish me and the winners of the drawing their products for free my opinions are my own. The products I have tried from them over the years are very good and I can’t wait to try more.