Monday, June 26, 2006

Tomatos fresh from the garden


As the 'Aught-Six' Zucchini Invasion wound down we find ourselves caught up in a Tomato infestation of massive proportions. Going out into the garden we find it overgrown with those luscious red globules.


I admit that early on in the season I was slack about pulling the suckers off the tomato plants. I pretty much just planted them, freshened the compost and then watered them on occasion. Our dear neighbor one day asked if I'd like to borrow some of her 'tomato food' to sprinkle on the plants. I told her no, I was trying to just let them grow , no need to egg them on.


This weekend I went out to the garden and found it overgrown with Tomato vines everywhere. It looked like a jungle out there. The poor basil plants I have put in the same bed were being crowded out, luckily they were planted towards the edge of the bed and get some late afternoon sun.


The names of the bigger tomatoes escape me now, but the grape-tomatoes I planted never bushed and instead went straight to vine and spread all through the interior of the patch. I went out there and could just reach in and pull handfuls of sweet little tomatoes, bright red and bursting with goodness. I stood out there and ate them by the handful, enjoying the warm liquid as I popped each one in my mouth.


Looking out to the garden you can see patches of red everywhere. I picked a large metal bowl full of tomatoes yesterday afternoon. Some were on top, some on the outer edges of the wilderness and some, I had to get down on my knees and carefully stretch out to just barely reach some underneath and towards the center of the garden.


Cub and I sat on the steps going into the house , in the shade and pulled off the stems and tossed them into the grass. I pulled one of the baseball sized fruits out of the bowl and bit into it. The sun-warmed innards of the tomato dripping down my chin, I offered Cub a bite. He shook his head and proclaimed 'no way!' in a way only 5 year olds can. He was willing to plant and to weed, and to pick, but the only way he was going to eat one, was cooked down in a sauce over some linguini or penne pasta.


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Friday, June 23, 2006

Fried Tilapia


Last night I had a taste for a plate of pan-fried flounder. You know the type, thin, breaded, crispy with lots of remoulade on top. hmmm just typing this makes my mouth water.


But, the fish monger at Publix didn't have anygood looking flounder. So I settled instead for some Tilapia. Which is good in its own right for sure.


I ended up pan frying it also, lightly breaded in some canola oil/butter. It's an easy and quick fry. I cracked a couple of eggs in a shallow bowl, poured a bit of milk in there and whisked it together. Took another shallow bowl and filled it with homemade bread crumbs some spices/herbs out of the cabinet.


  • 2 cups of bread crumbs
  • 2 tblsp of Italian herbs mix
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tblsp garlic powder
  • 1 tblsp onion powder


Sprinkled some ground pepper on the fish, dipped it in the egg mix, then coated it in the bread and slid it gently into the pan of hot oil. Let it stay for about two minutes and then flipped it. Let it stay until brown and then off to a rack on some papertowels to wick away any oil waiting on the surface.


Cub really enjoyed the fish and ate a filet and half himself, Thumper preferred the rice. Along with this we also had a nice fresh garden salad and some really yummy baked Christmas rice.


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Friday, June 16, 2006

Danish Economy

My buddy Dave sent me this link to a discussion on the Danish Economy after the Muslim 'boycott' due to the comics that were published in the newspapers.

The net effect on the Danish economy by the Muslim boycott of products from
Denmark: The Post-Postmodernist

Let me just add to this by saying ...


So let me just encourage you all to stop at the local market tonight
and pick up a 6 pack of Tuborg or Carlsberg beer, maybe some Danish
Havarti or Blue cheese, a block of Lurpak butter, and some "Den Gamle
Fabrik" Raspberry preserves, stop in the bakery and get a good loaf of
crusty multigrain bread and have a nice meal.

Often in the mornings (especially on the weekends) the Danes will have
hard rolls or huge slabs of crusty bread, slathered with butter and
then you put a slice of cheese or some preserves on top (or my
favorite way ... BOTH). Drink some nice dark coffee or tea or if it's brunch .. The beer!

wow .. I am salivating .. I think I am most surely going to stop at
Publix on the way home for some fixin's.



Saturday, June 03, 2006

Saturday Morning Biscuits


Ah! The weekend, and with it comes more opportunities to cook for my family. I try at least one morning during the weekend to make breakfast.


This morning it was biscuits.


Now biscuits are a southern tradition. They are the bread of the south no doubt about it. Every restaurant you go to the main breakfast always ALWAYS comes with biscuits. I love biscuits the savory softness of the dough just makes a day perfect.


My favorite topping for a biscuit? Strawberry Rhubarb preserves , especially this Danish brand.


Biscuit ingredients are simple and putting them together is easy also. For a long time I treated the dough like I would bread dough, and lemme tell you that's wrong.

Instead treat your dough like you would with pie crust. The key is to not work your dough too much.


I mix the dry ingredients with the butter, make sure the butter is incorporated. Only after the mix looks crumbly (like that very top layer of sand down right where the tide has retreated from) do I add the milk.


I give the mixture a few quick stirs to combine it all and then I either pour it out onto my cutting board and pile it all up and press it together (no kneading! Just compression) or I pour it all into a resealable plastic bag squeeze it all down together and let it sit in the fridge for a bit. What this process does is let all the flour hydrate with the milk and what ever tiny little bit of butter has melted.


Give it all about 10 minutes to rest (clean your mixing utensils at this point) and then press it out on the cutting board to the appropriate thickness. I like thick biscuits so I go about an inch thick. Now cut it into rounds and bake.


My favorite biscuit cutter is a mushroom can that I salvaged one night. I cut both ends off (I have one of those can openers that doesn't leave an edge) and it cuts the perfect size biscuit. You know when you cut biscuits, you push straight down no twisting right? When I put the biscuits on the baking sheet I crowd them all together one right up next to each other it helps them rise up higher.


Ingredients -


  • 2 cups sifted AP flour

  • 1/2 stick butter (or other shortening)

  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3/4 cup milk (cream .. 2%, whatever)



Preheat oven to 450, bake for 10-12 minutes.


Oh! A little trick on the butter .. The night before, put the butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes and then coarsely grate it. Leave it in the freezer until you are ready to make biscuits.

This helps incorporate the dough much quicker and helps create layers in your biscuit.


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Friday, June 02, 2006

Tomato-Meat Sauce

This is one of those tomato sauces that is labor intensive but in the end is worth the time. You'll spend an hour and a half doing nothing but working on the sauce. Once you get to the point of completion you can let it simmer while you get the rest of the dinner prepared.

This turns into a thick meaty sauce, full of flavor and goes great over fettucini, shells, or as a base for a lasagna.


  • 1 lb meat (bison, turkey, sausage .. whatever)

  • 1 #16 can Peeled Whole Tomatoes

  • 1 onion chopped

  • 4 garlic cloves

  • 2 cups beef broth (you can substitute 1 cup of wine for 1 cup of the broth)

  • seasoning to your liking

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • Canola Oil



Take your cast iron skillet and put it on the burner on medium heat. Let that skillet do what it's supposed to and absorb the heat.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop the onion and smash the garlic. When the skillet is ready pour a tablespoon of Canola oil in and add the onion. Hold off on the garlic, we don't want that to burn. Stir the onions a few times get them coated in oil. Then just let them go, let them simmer and brown, you want to let them get dark and sweet.

The aroma will queue you to when its done. When your mouth starts watering uncontrollably you'll know the onions are close. At that point add your garlic and add half a cup of broth. Let the broth reduce until its almost gone. Now remove that mixture to a bowl.

Now add the meat, brown it down until its done. Add a half cup of broth and again let it simmer down until its almost gone.

While the meat is browning open the can of tomatoes and drain it. Make sure you save the liquid. Take the drained tomatoes and de-seed them, break them up and get rid of any ugly chunks.

Pull the meat out of pan and de-glaze it with a half cup of broth, add the tomatoes and let them simmer down until they are dark and full of flavor. This is a good spot to add more nutrition, maybe a cup of spinach or grated zucchini. Pull it off the heat and get your handy stick blender out and grind it all down to a nice sauce.

Put it back on the heat and put back in the meat and onions. Pour in the drained tomato liquid and the rest of the broth. Let it all heat up and start bubbling at this point the sauce is ready for use, but can by all means simmer longer until you are ready to go.


Dave

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Zucchini-banana bread

This makes two loaves or however many cupcakes you can fit (haven't actually tried that). Let's say maybe 2 dozen?

The recipe makes a nice dense loaf very moist and it will stay that way, due to the honey in the mix which attracts moisture from the air.

You can of course adjust the spices to your own tastes, the cardamom is just what I had in the cabinet, nutmeg is alway respectable. I love the flavor of cardamom sometimes I drop a pod into my pot of coffee for that extra pop of flavor.

3 cups of AP Flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup honey
4 eggs
2 large banana
2 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom


Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Lube your loaf pans.

Cream the butter, add the sugar and the honey slowly until its nice a incorporated.
Add the banana, and then the eggs one at a time until everything is mixed up.

Sift the flour, soda, salt and spices together, fold into the liquid mix.
When its starting to look like a batter then fold in the zucchini and pour into two well greased loaf pans.

Bake for about an hour, until the tops look nice and brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool for bit, then pull the loaves out of the pans and onto a cutting board. I usually put a paper towel underneath to keep them from sticking.

Once they are cool go ahead and wrap one in tinfoil and hide it in the back of the freezer so on Sunday you can pull some out for brunch. Better yet, walk next door and give it to your neighbor. You do know them don't you? If not, what's a better icebreaker than some homemade goodies.

Slice, note the warmth, and the smell of the cake, look at the texture thick dense full of expected flavor. Do you see banana chunks? Note that the zucchini completely disappears.

Can you pick out the spices? No? Then you didn't put in enough. Remember the kids are going to eat it, teach them to enjoy the spice and not accept the bland whitebread that pop culture pushes at them.

Ready for that first bite? It'll never taste as good as this first piece, you can try toasting it and it will be respectable (especially with a slather of soft lucious butter) but nothing like this piece.

This is your piece, the cooks piece.

Do you have big cold glass of milk ready?

enjoy!