After a long hiatus...I'm back!

I didn't intend to take a few YEARS hiatus from blogging...eek!!!  Life happens, in a very good way.  After a long hiatus and with encouragement from friends and a few co-workers...I'm back!  I'll be sharing my journeys and joys of  my love of food, cooking, recipes/recipes with my Jen'isms and tweaks, kitchen/gardening tips and tricks, and any other related thoughts that cross my mind.

It's summer in Wisconsin, and the Z Garden is in full-swing (with special thanks to my hubby for his hard work...he plants and is the "care giver" and I'm the harvester) and is providing us with some yummy additions to our table.  Green goodies, such as spinach and lettuces, abound so far.  We have also picked many spicy radishes, and "round two" are peeking through the ground.  Color is coming soon (carrots, beets, tomatoes aka schmaters).  We partake in a wonderful CSA through our work, as well, so with CSA veggie shares and our garden glory we are able to get creative with "recipes" and meals, which we quite enjoy. 

I experimented a bit this past week and was able to create a yummy pesto:  Garlic Scape and Cilantro.  YUMMMMMMMYYYY!!!  Garlic scapes, lemon balm, cilantro from our CSA (and a friend's CSA!) were combined in the food processor with grated parmesan cheese, peeled garlic cloves, and roasted and sea salt pepitas (pumpkin seeds). 

I freeze the paste mixture in small containers without olive oil in order to preserve the flavor and texture.  The pesto can be thawed out the evening before in the refrigerator, and when it's ready to use, olive oil is added to taste, to desired consistency. 

This bright and garlicky pesto will pair nicely with grilled meats/veggies, pasta, even as a salad dressing (in addition to olive oil, just add your favorite vinegar to taste). 

Guten appetit!  Bon appetit!  Noosh-e-jan!

Hope you are all having a great start to your summer.  Thanks for following my journeys!

---Jen

Hello food lovers!  Boy, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted!!!!  Too long. . .I hope all of my WI peeps are enjoying spring. . .finally, it has arrived I think!

While I like meat burgers, I am always trying to find the next, best veggie burger, too!  I decided to try my hand at making my own version of black bean burgers for our dinner last night.  I think they were a success!  Nice texture, flavor, substance!  NUM NUM!

Here is my recipe with Jen tweaks, as always:

JEN'S BLACK BEAN BURGERS

 

INCREDIENTS:

(2) cans organic black beans, drained

1 c Irish quick cooking oats

2 organic eggs

2 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 cup shredded carrots, finely chopped (I purchased preshredded carrots to save a step!)

1/4 small zucchini, skin on, finely chopped

2 T. finely chopped cilantro

1 small jalepeno, finely chopped (adds a nice spicy flavor!)

cumin/sea salt/pepper to taste

yellow cornmeal for dusting

olive oil for fying

griddle/frying pan

sour cream/avocado slices/sliced red onion/shredded romaine lettuce/salsa for garnish

hamburger buns

 

 

 

Directions:

1.  In a food processor with mixing blade attached add oats.  Pulse 3-5 times to get a course grind.
2.  Add 1/2 of drained black beans and two eggs.
3.  Pulse until you get a smoothish paste.
4.  In bowl, add remaining black beans.  Mash with potato masher by hand, leaving chunky.  This allows the burgers to have a nice, consistency/substance instead of being mushy.
5.  Add black bean/oat paste to the bowl of mashed black beans.  Also, add in carrots, zucchini, cilantro, jalepeno, and spices (to taste - approx 1/4 t. pepper, 1 t. salt, 2 t. cumin).  Mix by hand until you get a nice mixed product and consitency you like.
6.  Put a piece of waxed paper on a cookie sheet.  Lightly spreay waxed paper with your favorite oil spraay (I used organic olive oil spray).
7.  Pour approx 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. yellow cornmeal on plate to use for lightly dusting of patties. 
8.  In your hand, take a dusting of cornmeal and an ample portion of the black bean burger mixture.  Roll in to ball, dusting your hand/mixture as needed with cornmeal for it to not be sticky.  Press out lightly onto cornmeal on plate and press in to hamburger patty shape, then place on oil-sprayed wax paper.
9.  Place patties in refrigerator once patties are formed in order to allow the mixture to set up nicely (at least one hour).  For best results freeze patties for several hours.
10.  Lightly oil griddle/fying pan.  Place patties on griddle/frying pan and fry until crispy coating from cornmeal forms - approx 5-6 min per side.
11.  Serve on hamburger buns with garnishes of sour cream/avocado slices/sliced red onion/shredded romaine lettuce/salsa.  DIG IN!  YUMMY!  ENJOY!

 

-Jen



Peppers - Part 2!

Here's the final product of the pepper drying:  Crushed Peppers for our cooking!  Don't they look HOT...and delicious? :)

First Day of Fall, Last Day of Garden Harvest

Well folks, it's the start of my favorite season here in WI - FALL!!!!  I love everything about it. . .ok well there are two things I don't like about it:  1) The length of the season is WAY TOO SHORT 2) And my skin will begin to get itchy and scratchy.  But I love the smells, the colors of the leaves, the cool breezes, the crisp a.m. air, pumpkins, apples, apple pickin' with the fam, walks in the 'hood, h.s. football games, no a/c. . .What's not to love?

Here are a few photos of the last of our garden harvest today:

All of the tomatoes will be stored in paper bags in our garage so we can still enjoy fresh garden schmaters for several more weeks - they ripen up well in paper bags, like a banana or avocado would.  If you haven't ever tried it, you should! 

Our fresh mint has been washed, placed on paper towels, will be left to dry out for several weeks in a cool, dry location, and once it's dried it will be crushed and used in a variety of the dishes we cook here in our household!

And, last but not least. . .HOLY PEPPERS!!!  Ali grew ALOT of hot peppers this year and we have TOO MANY!  Jalepenos, thai chilis, Hungarian hots. . .They have been washed, sliced/chopped, placed on a cookie sheet in a 160F oven.  Leave them in the oven at this temp to dry out at least 6-8 hrs.  Let them cool.  Place in blender or food processor and make into a spicy powder, great for ethnic dishes!  Or you can chop up the dried pieces and make your own "shaker peppers" for pizza. . .and other dishes! :)  DELISH!

Happy First Day of Fall!!!!
XOXO
Jen

Chicken Cacciatore. . .Amore'!

Goodness, it's been awhile since I posted a recipe or anything food related on my blog!  It's been busy busy busy and now it's almost fall here in WI!  My FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!!

So, to honor that, I made Chicken Cacciatore for dinner!  This is a version of Giada's recipe - ok, all you men put your eyeballs back in your head and your tongue in your mouth, do you hear?! :)

I tweak this recipe, depending on what all I have in my pantry and refrigerator!  You can add fresh chopped zucchini or 1/2 can artichoke quarters for example! :)

Here's how I made it tonight:

Chicken Cacciatore

Prep time:  15 min
Cook time:  40-50 minutes
Serves: 4

4-5 boneless chicken thighs
1-2 chicken breasts ( you can use more 2-3 more thighs instead, if you wish -the dark meat gives this dish a nice richness)
2 t. salt, or to taste
1 t. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Wondra flour for coating the chicken (find it in the baking aisle, near the flour - it's a fine flour, perfect for sauces!  I always have this in my spice cabinet!)
3 T. olive oil
1 med bell pepper, chopped (optional . . .can use jarred red peppers, too - 2-3 large ones, sliced)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 package button mushrooms, cut in 1/2
3/4 c. white wine (plus some  for the chef!  optional. . .I made this without the wine tonight. . . and drank a glass instead!)
1 can diced tomatoes with juice/liquid (14 oz.)
3/4 c chicken broth/3/4 c. veggie broth
3 T. chopped green olives with pimentos (optional. . .I didn't use tonight, but this adds a nice acidic, briney taste to the dish. . .I'm not a capers fan believe it or not, but you can use capers instead - again, optional)
2 t. dried oregano
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil leaves - or more if you wish!

Sprinkle chicken with 1 t. of salt/pepper.  Dredge with Wondra flour to coat lightly.  In a large saute' pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chicken and saute' until brown, about 5-6 minutes per side, or until golden brown.  If all chicken doesn't fit, do in two batches.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Add pepper (optional), onion, garlic, mushrooms (optional), and carrots (optional) (this is when you could add the zucchini if you are adding it, as well as the artichokes)  to the same pan, using the chicken drippings, on medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3-5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and their juice (liquid), broth, capers/olives (optional), and oregano.  Return chicken to the pan with the sauce and turn them to coat in the sauce.  Bring sauce to a simmer.  Continue simmering over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through, approximately 20-30 minutes.

Serve with pasta of your choice and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is always best, but sometimes "pizza Parmesan" does suffice!) . . . slices of a nice, crusty artisan french bread. . .and your favorite white wine! :)

Enjoy!

Welcome fall!

Today's the big FOOTBALL day - Super Bowl! I look forward to all the snacks and food more so than the game, even when the team I normally route for is in it! :)

Homemade salsa and guac are frequent foods/snacks in this household as we are lovers of Tex Mex! Today I'll kindly share my SIMPLE salsa and SIMPLE guac recipe. I hope these will become favorites in your household as well!

**Just for the record the texture and taste of this salsa is similar to Pasqual's salsa, for my Madison, WI friends. Pasqual's has yummy salsa!**


Simple Salsa

1 can organic diced, NO SALT tomatoes (I like the no salt kind since I can control the salt in the salsa - I like Muir Glen brand)

2-3 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs included! (less depending on how spicy you like it and how spicy the pepper is!)

1 generous handful of fresh cilantro

salt/pepper to taste

ground cumin to taste (adds a nice smokey flavor)

1/2 small onion (optional - sometimes I add an onion, sometimes I don't, depends on my mood and taste-factor)

*Double this recipe if you enjoy salsa as a snack . . .that's what I do!

1) In a food processor, combine all ingredients.

2) Hit "chop" and whir for about a minute or so.

3) Pour into serving dish and serve with yummy tortilla chips! :)

You can omit the food processor step if you like chunkier salsa, which I do sometimes. Just be sure to finely chop your onions, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. Combine all ingredients in serving dish, stir and serve!

Jen's Guac

3-4 ripe, black avocados (Haas or similar brand is best. . .and ripe avocado should give a bit to the touch, but still be firm)

2-3 T. Simple Salsa

salt/pepper/ground cumin to taste

1) Cut avocados in half, remove pit.

2) Scoop avocado flesh into dish.

3) Add salt/pepper/ground cumin to taste, as well as 2-3 T. Simple Salsa.

Again, if you like your guac chunkier, you can add the chunkier-version of the salsa (as stated above) to the avocados.

4) Smash mixture with a potato masher until well blended and smooth - even for a chunkier version I do this. You can also feel free to mash with a fork.

5) Serve with your favorite tortilla chips. . .and the salsa above!

ENJOY!

Apple Crisp on a Cold Winter Day

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! It's cold here in WISCONSIN! What better way to warm up the house/kitchen and tummies than with Apple Crisp! MMMMMMMM I am truly not a baker but there are some recipes that I can make and that turn out. . .and this is one of them! It's a tried and true recipe that I tweaked from my Better Homes "New Cookbook"! :) I'm not a fan of apples with cinnamon - yes, I know, I know, I'm weird one - so this is sans cinnamon. Sorry. . .but I don't think it is needed!

Apple Crisp Sans Cinnamon

10-11 medium apples, peeled/cored/cubed (I used a combination of Granny Smiths and a sweeter red/green apple)

4-8 T. sugar, depending on how sweet you would like it (I tend to under-sweeten, as the crisp topping is sweeter)

1 c. regular rolled oats

1 c. packed brown sugar (can use a little less)

1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. butter (I use European style, salted, as the salt cuts the tartness of the apples a bit)

1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts

1. Combine apples and sugar in a bowl. Pour into a slightly greased/sprayed 9x13 glass baking dish.

2. For the crisp topping, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, nuts in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles chunky crumbs (I tend to make mine a bit chunkier, not fine, as I like the chunky, rustic texture!).

3. Sprinkle crisp topping over sugared apples.

4. Bake in 375 degree over for 35 or so minutes, until bubbly. Fruit should be tender and topping should be crispy/crunchy!

Delish!