A Life, Lived

Dilled Cucumber and Tomato Salad

On Sunday I stopped by the garden plot for the first time in 10 days. I assumed there would be nothing there since we had abandoned it to go to the cottage . . . surely the critters treating it as an all-you-can-eat buffet would have gone wild?

They hadn't and this was what I brought home:

When planning the menu for the week I was looking for a way to use up those tomatoes.

I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website. I reminded me a bit of a cucumber salad I made last year but this one used rice vinegar. Rice vinegar is less acidic than regular vinegars so i was curious to see how this would taste.

It was delicious! Even though this serves 8 we ate three quarters of it for dinner. LOL

This salad is perfect for a hot summer's night. Even better it comes together quickly - just make sure that you leave the time needed for the marinating.

Enjoy!

Dilled Cucumber and Tomato Salad

4 medium tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges (about 3 cups)
2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup rice vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

In large glass serving bowl, mix tomatoes, cucumbers and onion.

In small bowl, mix all remaining ingredients until blended. Pour vinegar mixture over vegetables; toss to mix. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour to blend flavors. Toss again just before serving. Serve with slotted spoon.

Garden Plot Update

I haven't posted an update for awhile.

I've been successful in keeping the deer out for a couple of weeks now. Last week they tried to get in - snapped a fence post - but the fence held and the tasty beet leaves they were wanting remained out of reach . . . for now.

The first tomatoes are starting to ripen. The rain is really causing the tomatoes to grow large - so large some of the stakes fell over because of the weight and I had to buy more sturdy ones.

Everything else continues to grow well (particularly the weeds!)

This pic shows a plot that has not been weeded for awhile. This is what our plot would look like if I didn't spend some time each day weeding.

This is what I brought home last Friday. Leaf lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, and a jalapeno pepper.

Zucchini Carpaccio

I am being overrun with zucchini - even after the deer broke into the garden and chewed off all of the zucchinis they could find AND three plants rotted from too much rain!

Most of my time online is spent googling for a new zucchini recipe.

I've made zucchini carpaccio before. It makes a easy, fresh-tasting starter. Whenever I make it I think to myself  'this was so easy and delicious I should make it again!' Then I forget about it.

Even if you have half a zucchini left, you can make Zucchini Carpaccio for yourself. Zucchini Carpaccio is a play on regular beef carpaccio, thin-shaved slices of prime tenderloin, topped with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, salt, freshly ground black pepper, a good squeeze of lemon and a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.  

Instead of beef, we’re using thin-sliced raw zucchini, and we’ll brighten up the dish with feta cheese, nuts and fresh herbs.

This recipe provided lots of options which I liked - plenty of ways to personalize it to make it suit your tastes and indeed, mood.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Carpaccio

2 zucchini
1/4 cup chopped nuts - walnuts, pecan, pine nuts, slivered almonds (I used pine nuts)
1/4 cup crumbled or shaved cheese - feta, parmesan, goat cheese, smoked gouda (I used parmigiano)
1 tablespoon minced fresh herb - basil, tarragon, dill, oregano, mint, chives (I used mint)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (use the BEST olive oil you have!)
1/2 lemon
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Thinly slice the zucchini into paper-thin slices with a mandoline slicer. Arrange the zucchini slices slightly overlapping on a large platter.

Nuts are best toasted, but you can skip this step if you're short on time. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the nuts, and gently toast until fragrant and lightly golden. Immediately remove from heat and sprinkle on the zucchini.

Sprinkle on the crumbled cheese and fresh herbs. Drizzle on the olive oil, squeeze the lemon all over and season with salt and pepper.

Grilled Zucchini Panini

The other day I deemed myself too hot to cook dinner. I had spent the better part of the day canning relish and pickles and there just wasn't enough energy to hang out over the stove any longer. I also didn't feel like eating a big meal.

I was done.

I happened to be looking for recipes to assist me in using up a glut of zucchini and this came up.

I had all of the ingredients and it wouldn't require the stove . . . problem solved.

The pic is sort of crappy (OK, not sort of, it just is. LOL) so ignore that. This sandwich itself was delicious.

I used yellow zucchini because these have been particularly prolific in the garden.

Grilled Zucchini Panini

2 large zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 6 to 8 1/4-inch-thick slices (12 to 16 slices total)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
8 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough bread

Prepare a medium-high (425°F to 450°F) gas or charcoal grill fire. Brush the zucchini slices with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the zucchini until grill marks form on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip the slices and continue to grill until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes more.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, lemon zest, 3/4 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Spread 4 slices of bread with the ricotta mixture, top each with 3 to 4 slices of the grilled zucchini, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with 4 more slices of the bread.

Brush both sides of the sandwiches with oil and grill in a hot panini press until crisp and golden-brown, about 4 minutes. (Alternatively, cook in a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.)

Marinated Vegetable Salad

I had cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten. I turned to Google for inspiration and this marinated vegetable salad came up.

A good, old-fashioned Marinated Vegetable Salad is a classic dish that will never go out of style. It is one of those salads that appears like clockwork in the summer, often served at picnics and cookouts alongside grilled meats. It is the perfect complement to those dishes and just perks up the whole situation with beautiful colour and fresh taste.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe. It calls for mushrooms but I didn't have any so I left them out. It calls for red peppers and you guessed it - I didn't have any. Instead I used some of those pickled tear drop peppers that I had in the refrigerator. They added a delicious hit of flavour so I think I'd use them again on purpose in the future.

Enjoy!

Marinated Vegetable Salad

3 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup thinly sliced sweet yellow onion
1 heaping cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 8 ounce package mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine dressing ingredients in a mason jar or small container with a lid and shake well. Refrigerate while you prepare the salad.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl about halfway with water and then fill with ice.

Place broccoli and cauliflower into the pot of vigorously boiling water and allow to boil for 2 minutes. Quickly drain and transfer to the bowl of ice water. Once vegetables are completely chilled, transfer to a colander to drain well. Pour off some of the water from bowl and replace with fresh ice. Repeat process with carrots, cooking about 3 minutes.

Combine all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl and toss with the dressing. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. When ready to serve, stir in Parmesan cheese.

How does the garden grow?

I've had a few people ask how the garden is doing. How background please read this earlier post.

Remember my glib comment about the deer? Turns out they were quite capable of hopping a four foot fence. They were partial to beets, peas, beans, and sunflowers.

Needless to say we added another four feet to our fence. So far they have been unable to jump 8 feet.

We planted mostly heirloom seeds. They tend to have a lower germination rate than some of the big cultivators. It was a bit hit and miss, particularly with the beets. I planted three type of beets in each row - the golden beets germinated the worst and so our rows of beets have some gaps.

The garden plots seems to have a hell of a lot of weeds. This week I have spent close to six hours weeding it. In fairness, I had let it get out of hand but still, a lot of crouching in the dirt and careful pulling around the wanted plants.

Here is one half of the garden:

and the other:

This pic is of the garden plot beside ours. She hasn't weeded much. You see what I mean about the weeds? You can imagine how much work went in to keeping our plot so clean looking!

Zucchini Salad with Feta and Tomatoes

The other day I was cleaning out the refrigerator in the basement and found a treasure trove of zucchini and tomatoes that needed to be used up. I turned to Google for a solution and this salad popped up.

Funny, I have a ginormous bookcase full of cookbooks but I didn't look there . . . I never seem to look there . . . does anyone under the age of 60 use cookbooks any longer?

Now that I have gotten the blood boiling for some folks, time to move on . . .

This salad is best made with young, small zucchini. Happily that is just what I had.

The salad calls for basil - ours is still  a bit too young to be cutting the leaves off of it and I didn't want to buy some and throw half of it out so I used the dill which I had in the refrigerator.

Salads don't often improve with age. This certainly isn't one. Zucchini releases a lot of water and this process waters down the flavours. I'd suggest throwing this together close to when you want to serve it and using any leftovers up the next day.

Zucchini Salad with Feta and Tomatoes

2 medium zucchini thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
zest of one lemon
juice from one lemon - 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil extra for drizzling
2 ounces feta cheese crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
10 basil leaves rolled and sliced (I used about a tablespoon of finely chopped dill)

Use a sharp knife to slice the zucchini super thin. If you have a mandoline, you can use that.

Add sliced zucchini to a large bowl and toss in sliced tomatoes, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, feta cheese, salt and pepper. Gently mix together.

Finish with lemon zest, fresh basil and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve and enjoy!

 

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Mint

Asparagus Risotto is one of my favourite things to make when the fresh stalks of local asparagus first appear in the market. This recipe, by Jamie Oliver, rounds out the flavour of the asparagus with lemon and mint - always a fresh and to my way of thinking, spring-like combination of flavours.

I used to be intimidated with risotto - it is made out to be such a complex dish. It isn't. In fact, it is incredibly forgiving. The one downside is it takes time - you can rush it. Well, unless you're making it in the InstantPot. smile

I went the traditional route here. With the traditional method of cooking risottos, be sure to stir constantly and methodically but not too energetically — you'll wear yourself out and start to cramp in the wrists otherwise. The key is to regulate the temperature and watch it as it cooks. If the heat is too high you will boil off your stock instead of letting the rice absorb it. If the heat is too low it won’t cook.. You want to give the rice time to cook while releasing it’s starch and making a creamy sauce.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Mint

1 litre organic vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion , peeled and finely chopped
4-5 sticks celery , trimmed and finely chopped
600 g risotto rice
250 ml vermouth or dry white wine
2 bunches asparagus , woody ends removed and discarded
700 ml organic vegetable or chicken stock
50 g butter
1 small handful Parmesan cheese , freshly grated, plus a block for grating
1 bunch fresh mint , leaves picked and finely chopped
2 lemons , zest and juice of
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Finely chop your asparagus stalks into tiny discs, keeping the tips whole. Then start making your basic risotto recipe.

Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the butter and olive oil in a separate large pan, add the onion and celery and cook very gently for about 15 minutes, without colouring, until soft. Add the rice (it will sizzle) and turn up the heat. Don't let the rice or veg catch on the bottom of the pan, so keep it moving.

Quickly pour in the vermouth or wine. You will smell the alcohol immediately, so keep stirring all the time until it has evaporated, leaving the rice with a lovely perfume.

Add the stock to the rice a ladle at a time, stirring and waiting until it has been fully absorbed before adding the next. Turn the heat down to low so the rice doesn't cook too quickly, otherwise the outside of each grain will be stodgy and the inside hard and nutty (you don't want to cook it too slowly either, or it will turn into rice pudding!) and continue to add ladlefuls of stock until it has all be absorbed. This should take about 14 to 15 minutes and give you rice that is beginning to soften but is still a little al dente.

Add in the asparagus.

Add the rest of the stock a ladleful at a time, stir until it has been absorbed. Repeat until the rice and asparagus are cooked. You might not need all your stock. Be careful not to overcook the rice - check it throughout cooking to make sure it's a pleasure to eat. It should hold its shape but be soft, creamy and oozy, and the overall texture should be slightly looser than you think you want it.

Turn off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, mint, almost all the lemon zest and all the juice. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a minute. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of lemon zest and a block of Parmesan on the table.

Rosemary and Thyme Potatoes in Foil Packets

This is one of my favourite sides to make when I am grilling something for dinner. Last night I was grilling some sausages and made these to serve along side the sausages.

The best things about these is their simplicity. I mean you can grill potatoes directly on the grill but you usually end up searing your arm hair off in the process and half the potatoes fall through the grill grate. With a foil packet you just need to flip it over from time to time and then they are done. Who doesn't love things that easy?

Better yet, they taste really good as well.

Enjoy.

Rosemary and Thyme Potatoes in Foil Packets

1 pound of red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil/canola oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh Thyme
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
sea salt and pepper to taste

Toss together all ingredients.

Lay two layers of tinfoil over each other.

Place the potatoes in the middle of the tin foil in a long mound.

Bring the tinfoil together and seal.

Cook for 20-20 minutes on the BBQ, shaking occasionally.

Cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic and Parmigiano (foil packet recipe)

Looking for a side dish with big flavor? This recipe for roasted cauliflower with garlic and parmesan will fit the bill. Try serving it up with a nice juicy rib eye steak cooked over a fire.

I had a giant cauliflower in the refrigerator that we had received in the CSA delivery that needed to be used up. I had some steaks thawing on the counter so I googled for foil packed cauliflower recipes. While we have all sorts of equipment for cooking veggies on the grill nothing beats a foil packet in my opinion. The one drawback is you can't see what is happening inside that foil packet so you can overcook the veggie inside. You may need some trial and error in this regard.

I've modified this recipe a bit to fit a grill rather than a campfire. I also cut back the salt because I found it to be too salty - mind you, I am sensitive to salt since we use little of it. Whatever, if you think you need more salt best to add it at the end before serving - it's easier to add than it is to turn back time and take it out!

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic and Parmigiano (foil packet recipe)

1 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup, olive oil
1 med. red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbs., minced garlic
1/4 tsp., red pepper flakes
1 tsp., dried thyme
1/2 tsp., kosher salt
1 tsp., black pepper
1/2 cup, grated Parmigiano cheese<
2 sheets heavy duty aluminum foil (18″ x 24″)
Slice of lemon

To assemble your foil packs, first cut your cauliflower up into small bite sized pieces. Toss out the trimmed off portions of the stem.

Next, slice up your red onion. You can’t slice it too thin for this recipe.

Remember, the amount of onion you use is key in how big the flavor will be in this dish. If you want to lighten it up, use as little as half of the onion as opposed to the entire thing.

Now, take all of your ingredients, except the Parmesan, and toss well in a large bowl.

Once it’s well mixed, divide it evenly and place it in the center of your two foil sheets. Since you added the quarter cup of olive oil, it isn’t necessary to spray the foil sheets with cooking spray. Just pile on your cauliflower mix.

Fold the foil sheets into tent packs.

Place over a medium hot BBQ. I grilled about 20 minutes per side and that was too much. I suggest 10 minutes per side.

Remove from the grill (or place in a warming area where the packet will receive indirect heat rather than scorching heat if you have other items to still grill).

Open the packets careful as the steam that has built up inside is QUITE hot. Sprinkle on the parmigiano cheese and stir to combine.

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice on top, after you’ve served up your roasted cauliflower, will help balance out the dish.

Check the seasonings. If necessary add more salt and pepper.

Serve while hot.