I'll be darned!

Back in May or June, I got antsy and went through the spice rack and took everything I had that was a seed and put it in some dirt. I got 2 crops of coriander, a handful of lentils, and this:


It's a fenugreek plant! That long spiky thing is the seed pod! I read somewhere that fenugreek was a legume, so I thought what the heck, I'll plant some. It doesn't look like any bean that I know of, but oh well. This was another thing that snuck up on me and produced a seed when I wasn't looking. It isn't anything like I would have pictured.

On the other hand, the szechuan peppers I planted were duds. They may have been irradiated or something, but just as likely they were too old. Next year I'm going to grow borage and poppies.

Quick! Bake something before it gets hot again!

Eggplant, specifically. I was inspired by a recipe I saw on Vegan Yum Yum. Now there's a real food blog. But needless to say, for me a day without cheese is a day of unhappiness. So my eggplant rolls are pretty conventional.

Here is them in the pan:

And here is whats in them:

2 medium eggplant
olive oil, salt and pepper
1 cup ricotta
1 cup chopped spinach- I used frozen and should have thawed & drained it. Oh well.
a handful of kalamata olives, chopped. They should be quite salty.
2 eggs
some fresh basil and thyme, minced
pepper
a cup or two of marinara sauce, whatever you got.
some grating cheese for the top

Slice the eggplant longwise into pieces about 1/3 inch thick, salt them on both sides and set them aside to sweat for a while. After about half an hour, press them in a clean dishtowel to remove the excess juice, brush them with olive oil and a little pepper and bake on racks at 400 degrees for about another 45 minutes. They should be soft and slightly browned in places, but still hold together well. Think Dr. Scholls gel shoe inserts.

While the eggplant cools, mix everything else but the marinara and grated cheese together. I didn't put any additional salt in the mix because of the olives.

Put a generous dollop of marinara in the bottom of a heavy dish. (My frying pan sees more use as a casserole and pie pan than as a skillet.) Roll a scoop of cheese mix up in each eggplant slice and wedge them into the pan so they don't flop open again, top them with more sauce and the grated cheese. Bake at 375 until the sauce is bubbling all over the pan. It took mine about an hour and a half, but the cheese mix was pretty cold to begin with.



Some things to note- I made my slices a bit thicker than I would if I were to do it again. On the other hand, it made the rolls have a very satisfyingly substantial texture. Custardy with a bit of chew. And do drain the spinach, it makes the cheese mix way too watery otherwise. Also, those "heels" from the outside of the eggplant, the ones with all skin on one side? Make sure you cut shallow cross hatches in the skin side before you bake 'em, otherwise the skin will be a big chunk of annoyingness when you go to eat it. It'll make them roll better too. And finally, if you like your cheese less brown, leave it off for the first half of the baking time.


Have bread and olive oil. Fat is good for you.

Avocado Gelato

The original recipe said this was 'avocado coconut ice cream' but I think my name for it is much more euphonious. Here is the recipe:

1 13 oz can coconut milk
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 avocados
2 T lemon juice

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and whip the heck outta the lot. Freeze it. (Duh). The recipe assumes that you have a ice cream maker, I don't. I just put it in a metal bowl in the freezer and stirred it about once every 20 minutes until it got hard. That's the other reason I feel ok about calling it gelato, even though I'm a little disaffected when it comes to schmantzy names for stuff. I mean, gelato is characterized by a lack of air being mixed into it, unlike american-style ice cream which in cheaper brands can contain as much as 50% air, known in the ice cream world as 'over run'. Premium ice cream is all milkfat and sugar; el cheapo stuff is an unnatural froth of gums, air bubbles and packaging materials with spritz of butter flavoring.

I actually managed to follow the recipe, too, except that I didn't quite add in the whole can of condensed milk. That stuff is powerfully sweet, and I wasn't feeling it. On the whole, it turned out well, but my thoughts are that

1. It does not taste quite avocado-ey enough for me
2. the coconut flavor gets a bit lost.

I think that the next time I make this, I'll use regular coconut milk, not light, and add another avocado. Also possibly a dash of salt, I can't remember if the original recipe specified it.

My unplanned photo shoot got me some nice pictures, I thought. Somehow, I really like this one of my teensy teacup.

Greengage Pie

Greengage Pie, originally uploaded by Chinkypin.

This pie looked great, but was a terrible disappointment to me. It was amazingly sour, and the filling never set properly. Luckily, my siblings live close by, and I fobbed it off on them.

Why does the way of pie elude me? Pastry crust I understand, I love it, usually it returns my love. But the stuff that goes in it? Maybe I should just stick to savory fillings. Quiche is easy. Fruit pie, on the other hand, seems to be where I am doomed to failure- last year I made a tart with red plums, which looked terrible but at least tasted pretty good, I had that semi-unfortunate experience with the pastry cream, and now this.

It was probably the greengages. They had very sour skins, and there just wasn't any way to add enough sugar without the filling turning into candy.

But I will persevere! Hey, Harriet, what's your secret? You make excellent pie, as I recall...

Breakfast is be best meal

Breakfast is be best meal, originally uploaded by Chinkypin.

Moment of oriental syntax. Moving on.

I got sick of my plain white dishes. My breakfast looks so much more appealing now, don't you think?

Thank god it got cool enough to make eggs again, I was starting to feel despondent.

Damn it got hot.

Last year in June, as I was looking forward to leaving NYC, I suffered a miserable week of 100+ degree days and swore to move to a less inhospitable climate. The irony of that sentiment has not escaped me this week. I am afraid my plants suffered rather a lot. My second crop of cilantro curled up and died- I went to work and it was fine, when I came home it literally looked as if someone had taken a blowtorch to it. I was very irritated. I have felt sluggish and uninspired all week, and I even bought a loaf of bread! I am not insane enough to bake in such weather.

But it's lots better now! I am making pie. I'll put up a picture if it turns out Ok. Meanwhile, here is this week's loot:


Blueberries, artichokes, corn, fresh green figs, half a peach (I got impatient and ate the other half earlier- scrumptious), and tomatoes from the farmer's market today. There were some cherries that didn't make it into the picture. Things in the strainer are some greengage plums somebody left in the kitchen at work. The little red thing sitting on the corn is a pepper from my pepper plant, another thing that narrowly escaped death. Also a dish of coriander seed from the first crop of cilantro. Why the heck is it cilantro if you eat the greens, and coriander if you mean the seeds?

The larger jar contains preserved limes, you'll see more about them in a couple weeks if they go well, if they don't, I'll pretend they never happened.

The smaller jar is homemade pesto from my own plants. Basil seems to be the only green thing I have that didn't falter in the scorching weather. On the contrary, it exploded and started to go to seed, so I cut it back. Here's how I make mine:

Basil, lots
Pine nuts, 2 or 3 handsfull
salt
garlic
olive oil

Wash and strip the leaves off the basil. If it has started to bloom, I don't use the flower buds. Just a preference. Put the leaves in a food processor and chop them up with a lot of salt and a rather generous splash of olive oil. I usually don't use fancy oil for this. Put in a couple cloves of garlic. Sometimes I simmer the garlic in the olive oil first, it mellows the garlic, which is nice if you don't want that peppery kick in your pesto. I didn't this time, I was avoiding cooking anything this week. Add the pine nuts and process until the mix is the texture you like. I prefer a medium-fine texture. Pete makes his rather coarse. I have had some that was almost cream-sauce smooth, which was delicious, but I imagine, a bit of work. Also, I don't put any cheese in mine. I think the flavors keep better without, and I like to put cheese on the hot pasta anyway, if that's what I am using it for. I make mine pretty salty. This is because I use it sparingly, and also it retards spoiling.

Lastly, my plants surprised me again. I thought for sure I was going to have to start all over after the heat wave, but this morning I found this!


It's a cucumber. The pointy things just brush right off. I ate it for breakfast- it tasted just like it should. Ha!

Not What I Expected

Somehow, this is not what I envisioned when I set out to grow ground cherries. I know, they're related to tomatillos and that, but still. I was all set to give up on getting anything off those plants, because all the blooms kept dropping off with no result in sight until the other morning I turned the pot around and here was this thing. Huh. Maybe after a couple years of growing stuff my dweeb-a-riffic amazement at the things my plants do will fade, but I sorta hope not. I mean, this is really neat, to get surprises. Here's another view:

Also, purple basil has purple flowers. I still can't think of any reason to eat it, but I don't care any more. It's a really strange looking plant, and that pleases me.

And finally, more pictures of my nasturtiums blooming. These things get sunburned in the heat, so I took this picture early in the morning. By the time I get home the color has all gone out of them, it's the weirdest thing.






I have a ton of green tomatoes and lentils, there's gotta be something that calls for those two things somewhere...

a close-up of the root crop

a close-up of the root crop, originally uploaded by Chinkypin.

I grew potatoes. I truly didn't think that when I dumped the bucket out, there would be anything at all in there, but I was wrong. Hooda thunk. I need to remember to thin my carrots more though, these got a little crowded, I believe.

Neon Food! With Minty Pea Sauce!

Yes, the real reason for this post is that the phrase "minty pea sauce" makes me snicker. And I saw a picture of these pickled eggs in the paper and had to try it. Not my most inspired moment of food styling, I have to say, but hey, it is eye-catching.

I love food that appears to have an unnatural color. Mostly, if it looks unnatural, it is. Especially if its blue. (I failed to grow any borage this year, so I have no blue food, but next year...) However: this here picture shows all 100% natural coloration. And it really is all that bright, no foolin.

Remember the beets from last week? I made beet pickles, and dropped some boiled (shelled) eggs in the extra pickle juice. It makes 'em taste like devilled eggs, but the pink part is what has the pickle-y flavor.

The recipes for the yogurt and the chutney can be found on my facebook pages and the rest goes like this:

Lazy Curry Chicken

2 or 3 chicken breast tenders
1/4 turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder, I recommend hot
salt & pepper
olive oil

If you use frozen tenders, just throw them in a bowl and coat them with the marinade, and leave them in the fridge a couple days. Turn them once or twice to get them well coated with the seasonings, and wait'll they thaw. When you're ready to use them, put a dab of oil in a pan heated to medium. Put the tenders in with any marinade/juices and cover. Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip, turn heat off, cover, ignore until the rest of the meal is done. This method works for me because 1) I use a heavy skillet and 2) I use an electric stove which takes a minute to cool down.

Bright Yellow Pilaf

1/2 cup white rice
1/2 cup red lentils
pat of butter
broth concentrate
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp paprika


Rinse rice & lentils well, add 1 1/2 c. water and the other stuff and cook as you usually would. This method makes the lentils disintegrate, if you want them to stay whole, cook the rice about halfway then stir in the lentils.

and....dun dun DUN!

Minty Pea Sauce!

It isn't really that exciting, sorry. Microwave 1/2 cup frozen peas with 1/3 cup water just barely until they are bright green and tender. Put them in a blender or mini food processor with 4 mint leaves and grind the bajeebus outta them. Add the tiniest pinch of salt. This isn't to make it taste salty, it just makes it taste more interesting. Truly, it works. The sauce will still taste sweet and have a cooling sensation, but it won't be flat and blah. This stuff is actually great with the yogurt.

Here's the eggs again, just because they look neato. Oh and those bright orange things in the other picture are nasturtium petals... They were just..orange, ok?

Mango For You

Another salad. What th'heck was in it....ok.

Mango
Celery
A Radish

Dressed with a tablespoon each lemon juice, cider vinegar, and olive oil.

Half a dozen minced parsley and mint leaves.

Tiny pinch of salt.

It's ok if the mango isn't totally ripe for this, but it should be reasonably sweet.

Oh yeah- that's my yogurt again.