Starting My Garden Early

Last year when I started this blog , the growing season had pretty much ended ... So I was not able to delve into the growing side of Good Food .   Now that spring is here , I can :))  Our last frost date here is the 3rd week in May ,   most years I usually try and push that date by a couple of weeks , with mixed results. This year , I'm trying to get smart about it all, Ive FINALLY started a garden journal , instead of just scribbling things on a calendar ! I started planted seeds March 28th ,  more than a month earlier than I have before.   With  the help of a little mini greenhouse I built on the bottom shelf in my kitchen , and a few cold frames.. I'm hoping for this to be my most successful year ever :))  I also got a real jump start on things by planting 3 rows of garlic , and a couple of onions last fall :)) Things are looking good !!

I turned the bottom third of a kitchen shelf into a propagator/grow room .

This was the 1st green thing in my garden ,  The garlic I planted last October :))  I used the leaves I raked up as a mulch to help them thru our winters.  

On the warm days Ive been bring them outside to start hardening them off.  

I tried a row of Romaine , directly sowed on 3/28 ..  took a bit but it came up , the pot to the right was started the same day ( but inside ) a cold frame is covering this lettuce patch . 

Planting the lettuce ,  I like to soak the soil 1st to make it easier to separate these tiny plants 

Things are growing well,  everything has sprouted ,  Ill have lots of tomatoes this year , maybe even enough to do my canning with :)) 

I never planted enough Basil ,  but that will not be the case this year , 60 or so have been started so far , with at least that many being started today  as well.  

Peas sure do sprout quickly .. 5 days and they have already broken ground.  

Red Peppers are a different story , these took about 3 weeks to pop up  

Mystery seeds , I'm thinking Squash or Cucumber . 

My Garden in the early morning light ,  I free-cycled most everything in my garden ,  the cold frames are old packing crates , and cupboard doors  :))

 My Good Food Revolution is changing for the better , look for more gardening , and farming posts , as well as recipes, food porn , and kitchen tips & tricks :)
 Since its Earth Day today , its time to move away from the PC , and go plant something .   Happy Gardening !!

Chili n' Pasta Stuffed Red Peppers : Creative Leftovers

I was at a loss the other day , as to what I wanted to make/eat .   I decided on some of my chili , as it was already made ...  and I was in the mood for easy !  While I was letting the chili defrost I thought I ask on my FB Food page , if anyone had a suggestion for a future blog post ....  " Something Stuffed " was the reply , and a light bulb went off !! I could use the chili to stuff some red peppers...   Hmmmmm what to use, i was not in the mood for the usual rice style....   Curly Pasta!!!  That would be perfect , and very filling.   So Rotini it was.  This is such a simple and easy recipe , and can even be prepared ahead of time , that I'm sure it will be used again ( Most likely soon!!! )  Also , a single one of these would make a great appetizer.

Ingredients required : 
I made way too much , this will easily make 12 halves.

4 cups of your favourite Chili ( Ill be doing a Chili blog post soon, stay tuned !! )
2 cups of dried rotini pasta
6 Red Bell Peppers ( or the colour of your choice )
Mozzarella , One slice per half.
Feta Cheese - One small cube per half ( Teaspoon sized )
Olive Oil
Sea Salt & Black Pepper
Basil

It all starts with a pot of chili :))  

Red Bell Peppers,  cut in half lengthwise , with the seeds removed ( a sharp knife and a spoon work well for this ) 

Boil, and drain the pasta as per the package, you can under cook it if you like, as it will be going into the oven for about 30 minutes.  Mix it well with the chili .  ( This shot is from the day after , it filled most of this pot ) 

Simply fill the pepper halves... 

You can add some fresh onions , or mushrooms ..  whatever makes you happy 

A little bit of Feta , and a 3/16" thick slice of Mozzarella , basil and S&P and into a 350F oven for 20 minutes ,  then 5 minutes ,  or so,  more on grill ( Keep an eye on it after the 20 minutes )  

Thats it!!  Its time to eat.  I had two halves for dinner,  one for brunch the next day .  

Ive been practicing my camera work , this is without a flash ,  what do you think ?? :)) 

Of course , there is always the option of skipping the red pepper altogether lol as I did for this midnight snack :))  I also switched out the Feta for cheddar and added a couple of dashes of Lea & Perrins .

There you have it ,  a Simple and Easy way  to be Creative with Leftovers...  or a great little Appetizer that can be made ahead of time.  If you have any comments or questions please follow the link below.
Happy Cooking!! :)

Dinner Salad for the End of the Summer

New Wave Salad
I am always seeking out one-dish meals. And this one is absolutely perfect for the end-of-season gorgeous crops of basil, tomatoes and green beans.

1½ cups Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
1 pound tender green beans, stringed and cut into thirds
1 tablespoon olive oil
10-12 ounces dried fettuccine or linguine, broken in half
1 cup fresh basil leaves
6 ripe tomatoes, seeded, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, in one piece

1. Prepare the Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and simmer until just tender, about 5 minutes. Scoop out of the pot, leaving the boiling water. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again, and set aside.
3. In the same boiling water, add the oil and fettuccine and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain, rise under cold water, and drain again. Turn out onto a clean dry dishtowel and pat dry. Place in a large serving bowl. Add ½ cup of the vinaigrette and toss well. Set aside.
4. Arrange the basil leaves in small stacks and roll them lengthwise. Slice the stacks diagonally into slivers.
5. Cover the pasta with the green beans and tomatoes, followed by the black olives and slivered basil. Sprinkle with parsley and pour the remaining 1 cup vinaigrette over the salad. Toss gently.
6. Scrape the Parmesan with a vegetable peeler to make thin wide shavings. Place them on top of the salad. When serving, try to distribute a good mix of the ingredients on each plate. You may want to put the parmesan and the peeler on the table so that you can serve yourself more if you’d like.

4 servings as a one-dish meal
Adapted from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins’ The New Basics

Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup olive oil
½ cup slivered fresh basil leaves
½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine the garlic, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar in a small bowl and whisk well.
2. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette has thickened slightly. Fold in the basil and parsley. Taste for seasonings and adjust as you see fit.

Makes 1½ cups
Adapted from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins’ The New Basics

End of Summer Tomato Tart

Tomato Cheese Tart

Pie crust for a low-sided 12-inch pizza pan, partially baked and cooled
12 ounces Swiss, Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese (or other melting cheeses), cut in thin slices
2 or 3 large tomatoes, cut into ½-inch slices
OR
7 medium roasted tomatoes (14 halves)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil or 3 tablespoons finely cut fresh basil (in chiffonade*)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Coarse salt for garnish

1. Sprinkle the fresh tomato slices generously with salt and place them on a cake rack to drain for about 30 minutes. Pat them dry with paper towels.
OR
Drain the roasted tomatoes if they have been sitting in their accumulated liquid.
2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
3. Arrange the cheese slices, slightly overlapping, in the bottom of the cooled crust and place the drained or roasted tomatoes side by side on top. Sprinkle with a few grindings of black pepper, the dried or 1 tablespoon fresh basil and the grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 25 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the top of the tart is lightly browned. If the top isn’t quite brown enough, you can put the tart under the broiler for a minute or two, watching it carefully.
5. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of basil chiffonade just before serving. Serve hot or warm.

4-5 servings
Adapted from the Time Life Series Food of the World M.F.K. Fisher's The Cooking of Provincial France.
 

*To make a chiffonade, stack basil leaves on top of each other. Roll the leaves lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/8th-inch slivers. The end result should be a pleasing tangle of basil-y goodness.

Pie Crust

For a 12-inch pizza pan with low sides:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut roughly into ½-inch pieces
7 tablespoons ice water or more if necessary

1. Combine the flour and salt in the container of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter and flour are blended and the mixture looks like cornmeal, about 10 seconds.
2. Add the ice water to the mixture. Pulse until you see the mixture coming together. If it doesn’t after a couple of additional pulses, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
3. Dump the contents of the container onto a sheet of plastic wrap and mold it into a ball. Flatten the ballot a disk; bring the plastic up around the dough to cover it completely. Either freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes. (You can also refrigerate the dough for a day or two or freeze it almost indefinitely.)
4. Sprinkle a smooth countertop or a large board with flour. Unwrap the dough and place it on the work surface; sprinkle the top with a little flour. If the dough is hard, let it rest a few minutes to warm up just a little.
5. Roll with light pressure, from the center out. Continue to roll, adding a small amount of flour as necessary, rotating the dough occasionally, and turning it over once or twice during the process. When the dough is about 1/8-inch thick, place your pan upside down over it to check the size. You want your circle of dough to be about 2-3 inches bigger than the pan it will go into.
6. If the size is correct, move the dough into the pan by folding the dough in half and placing the fold in the middle of the pan. Carefully unfold the dough and press it gently into the outer edge of the pan.
7. Trim the extra dough about 1 inch above the rim. Fold the dough above the rim in half (to ½ inch) and crimp with your fingers to make a decorative edge. With the scraps, you can fill in any part of the circle that’s missing.
8. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes or the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Partially Baked Pie Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Prick the dough all over with a fork to help prevent the crust from poufing. (You’ll see what I mean when it happens.)
3. Tear off two pieces of aluminum foil. Press the sheets crossed over each other to conform to the dough, especially on the sides. Weight the foil with a pile of dried beans or rice, pie weights, the bottom of a 12-inch spring-form pan or a tight-fitting skillet or saucepan—anything that will sit flat on the surface and hold the dough in place. Sometimes I just do the foil and don’t weight it with anything and it’s just fine. The pouf goes down.
4. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven; remove the weights and foil. Prick the bottom, once again, with a fork.
5. Bake for another 4-5 minutes or so until the crust is just starting to turn a light brown and the bottom looks set.
6. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and M.F.K. Fisher’s The Cooking of Provincial France.

Two End-of-the-Summer Pastas

Pesto

¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan plus more to grate at the table
Note: If you need to grate your Parmesan, do it first in the food processor before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
4 packed cups fresh basil leaves
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ cup pine nuts (you can substitute slivered almonds)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt to taste

1. Combine the cheese, basil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor and process until the mixture is well combined.
2. Add the melted butter with the motor running and up to 1/3 cup olive oil. You can also add a small amount of water if the pesto is too thick. It should drape nicely over a mound of pasta without being runny. Add salt to taste.
3. Serve with hot drained pasta. You can pass more cheese at the table.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook

Puttanesca Sauce

1 can (2 ounces) anchovy fillets, undrained
12 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cans (28 ounces each) plum tomatoes
OR
4 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded saving the juice
I place a sieve over a small bowl and seed the tomatoes into the sieve, allowing the juice to dribble through to the bowl. I stir the seeds to get as much liquid as I can into the bowl.
There is no need to be this obsessive.
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup capers, drained
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
½ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
¼ cup balsamic or red wine vinegar
Pepper

1. Place the anchovies and the garlic in a heavy large sauce pan or sauté pan. Mash thoroughly into a paste over low heat. Use a knife and fork to cut into pieces if necessary.
2. Add the tomatoes, capers and olives; stir over medium high heat.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. With fresh tomatoes and their juice, it might take two hours depending on their juiciness. The sauce should be nice and thick.
4. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve over thin spaghetti. Traditionally this dish is served without cheese, but who’s stopping you if you want it.

Note: You probably won’t need salt because of the saltiness of the anchovies, capers and olives. But taste to make sure.

6 servings
Adapted from Julee Rosso’s Great Good Food

Gammon Steak with Baked Potato and Pineapple, Basil and Garlic Soured Cream

When I decided over the weekend to have a gammon steak one night, I only briefly had to consider what I would like to accompany it. I had been working on my website detailing healthy baked potato recipes, so a baked potato it would be. As I was buying pineapple anyway to accompany the gammon steak, the rest - as they say - is history.

Ingredients

1 gammon steak
1 large baking potato
2 rings of pineapple (if using canned, ensure that they are in pineapple juice)
1 small cherry tomato
1 tbsp low fat soured cream
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
2 large basil leaves (finely chopped or torn)
2 small basil leaves (for garnish)

Method

As a great many will know from bitter experience, one of the frequent drawbacks when baking a potato is that either the core remains hard when the remainder is ready or the skin is dry and wrinkled when the potato has been cooked all the way through. I have a method for baking potatoes which eliminates both these concerns.

The oven should first of all be put on to preheat to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. The potato should then be washed and dried. Prick the potato a few times with a fork. A long metal skewer should then be carefully inserted through the centre of the potato lengthwise (as shown) and the potato loosely wrapped and sealed in aluminium foil. Place the foil package on a baking tray and in to the oven for one hour and fifteen minutes. Essentially, the heat will be conducted along the metal skewer and in to the centre of the potato, ensuring even cooking.

When the potato is in the oven, it is time to prepare the filling. Simply mix the soured cream, garlic, basil and one of the pineapple rings (finely chopped) together in a small bowl. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until required.

When the baked potato is done, remove the tray from the oven with protective gloves and (still wearing the gloves!) gently squeeze and massage the potato to fluff up the centre. Sit it back on the tray, still wrapped in the foil, and set it aside while you grill your gammon steak.

The fat or rind should be left on the steak while you cook it but can be removed later. Grill under a medium to hot grill for about seven to eight minutes. Ensure the steak is fully cooked then serve as shown in the photograph at the top of this article.