food blogger, gardener, rambunctious coffee fanatic
The garden is nearing the end of its productive season for the summer crops. There are a few tomatoes left, but okra is the only thing still growing strong. A few scarce peppers are still growing; green beans and the last of the cantaloupes. Now's the time to plant the fall crops: garlic, lettuce, cabbage, etc.
Check back later this week to see how these ingredients combine to make a delicious Southern meal.
A few months ago, I wrote that I was going to take a little break for inspiration. It came in the form of a month-long trek through Europe's finest art museums and sampling the cuisine. Here's some of the highlights:
Countries visited:
I just got to try my new pasta attachments.
Make the dough and let it rest:
This is a buckwheat and semolina dough.
Then roll it to the desired thickness:
Then cut as desired - this is a fettuccine:
Start the water boiling and lay the pasta aside - boil when ready. Then drain, rinse and keep warm (for no more than 10 minutes):
Prepare the fresh veg:
Mince the herbs and pepper:
Marinate with Italian salad dressing:
Sweat the herbs and onion in olive oil with a dash of salt. Add toasted pine nuts to the mix:
Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes. You don't want to cook them, just allow them to soften slightly:
Add ripe green olives (not the pickled variety) and julienned green peppers:
Pasta Fresca, served with sauteed green beans and (veggie) sausage.
Start with a fresh, fragrant cantaloupe! Your finished product will taste like the raw ingredient ;-)
Make sure the cantaloupe is semi-frozen or well chilled. Then, blend with ice, a pinch of salt and a dash of sugar. Make sure that the blender and serving dishes are very cold (store in the freezer for a few minutes prior to preparation) and be sure to serve promptly.
Served here with candied jasmine tea leaves (mint leaves are also a good choice).
I love the boxed mac and cheese! Unfortunately, I feel like it's not very nutritious.
So, I added the following things:
Prepare the mac generally as directed, but substitute Greek youghurt + healthy oil for butter.
Sweat the diced onions and mushrooms.
Dice fresh tomatoes:
Stir it all together and let sit while still hot. Season with truffle salt and top with a nice sweet cheese - I used something Irish.
Broil or toast with a butane torch before serving.
Easy to make!
This is a fresh and tasty treat. It replaces the typical sugar frosting with a fat free, but sweet, Greek youghurt. Chose a relatively sweet and thin skinned fruit as a very tart and thick skinned fruit may harshly contrast on both dimensions.
First, grow and dig potatoes: Approximately 3.999 months
Then clean and slice them thinly: 5 minutes (with the food processor)
Layer in a casserole dish, alternately with Greek youghurt (or sour cream), olive oil and salt.
Top it off with a smidgen of cheese - something rich and sweet, or something bold like chèvre. Add chives or green onions before or after baking... or both.
Bake until done (cheat and microwave it for 5 minutes while the oven preheats).
Total time ~4 months
I actually make this quite often, but I change it up each time.
The main requirement is fresh vegetables - the rest can change based on your tastes.
This particular batch has:
It's quick, it's easy and it tastes amazing!
