Chimichurri!

Chimichurri.

 

I'd say enough said, but you might have no idea what I'm talking about, because if you're like me a few years ago and someone mentioned that word out loud, your mind would jet off to a rolled up fried Mexican dish thing of some sort. With a side of rice.

 

And you'd be so wrong. And sad.

 

Because Chimichurri will make anything taste better.

And if you haven't been eating it, food has not been living up to its potential

I don't eat meat, but I'd almost be willing to like this off of a steak. Even if it was on Hubby's plate.

I made this bottle myself. Well, what's in the bottle. The bottle is a reused, rinsed out wine bottle.

And here's how it goes...

Throw 1 cup of really tightly packed fresh herbs in a food processor or good blender. I recommend either Cilantro, Parsley, Cilantro or Cilantro. You can choose any of the four, but I'd personally go with the cilantro.

With the processor whirling away, add 1/2 cup of olive oil, a couple to a few cloves of garlic, a splash of red wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp (I do 2 tsp, but I'm crazy) or crushed red pepper, and a few pinches of salt and pepper To Taste.

And I mean "to taste" it. "To taste" it with your finger and adjust it until you love it. And "To taste" it when Hubby turns his back, when you are sitting alone on the couch with the dirty food processor bowl, and "to taste" it with whatever porous/nook/cranny edible surface there is in the fridge. "To taste" it until it's gone. And that will happen before the dishes get done. Easily.

Put it on fish, steak, veggies, salad and do to your chimichurri what I did with mustard as a child (okay, young adult). Drizzle a little on each finger and then just lick em like there's no tomorrow.

I had (have) issues. But try Chimichurri and so will you. And I haven't even gotten to Avocado Chimichurri yet. You're not ready.

Have you made Chimichurri before? How? On what? Share, Share!

Pumpkin Chunkin'

Every single thanksgiving (for at least one) there's been Punkin Chunkin' on television.

And since I'd rather save pumpkins for tossing as far as possible through a barren field, I'm looking for new kinds of squash lovin' dessert.

My butternut squash were so fantastic this year and I had a few left over and I was dying for some yummy kind of dessert. I though of a cobbler-ish dish, whipped mousse, something frozen, but nothing really beats pie. So ex-nay the pumpkin and substitute in the squash. And Yum!

I sprinkled allspice, cinnamon and a pinch of salt on my quartered squash and roasted them until they were tender.

I threw them right into my food processor, skins and all since I LOVE nibbling on the skins and I was too lazy to peel them. I added just a bit of sugar and pureed them till smooth, added two eggs and an egg white and pureed it until it looked (and smelled) amazing!!

While that was blending, I tossed together some almond flour, a dash of raw sugar, a stick of butter, a sprinkle of salt and that leftover egg yolk. I mixed it together with my hands until it looked like pea sized crumbs, added a splash of cold water, mixed it into a ball...

And pressed it into a crust, which I baked for 8 minutes until it was still soft, but not raw. I poured the squash over the warm crust...

Spread it around, banged the pan on the counter to smooth it out and popped it back in the oven at 350 for about an hour...

And it came out fantastic. Hubby Loves it and had NO IDEA it was butternut squash and not pumpkin. It was super tasty, fairly low in added sugar and just plop-your-face-swan-dive-style right into the middle kinda good.

I'd sit down and eat the whole thing, but since Hubby is undeterred in eating Butternut Squash Tart, he'd notice it was missing.

Bummer.

What are you cooking with leftovers from your garden? Share! Share!

The most delicious way to use Summer Squash (now that it's nearly winter)

I think I told you I had limelight squash out the wazoo this past year.

And there is no better way to use it up then to make brownies. Which I did repeatedly this summer.

There has to be a support group.

Vegan, rich, chocolaty brownies that will make you wonder why you ever wasted money buying eggs and oil.

Not only are these virtually fat free and animal free, but you get TWO different kinds of produce packed into each bite. And not only will you not be able to tell what that secret smattering of ingredients are; you'll be kicking yourself for getting sucked into the idea that brownies ever needed to be boring and dry and box-like.

And I am NOT a vegan. But I will never willingly go back to the basics if I have these ingredients on hand...

This is adapted from a betty crocker recipe (who would have thought??), but changed a bit since I refuse to bake with splenda and like my brownies a bit more dark chocolate...

Come on people. You could eat these for dinner and not feel guilty.

2 cups of zucchini, grated
2 cups of flour
1 cup sugar, raw unprocessed if possible
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 generous tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together.

Pour into a greased 8x8 pan
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until a knife comes out of the center clean.

Serve with homemade cinnamon infused whipped cream. (for the un-vegan in you)

I'd post a picture. But I ate them. Whoops.
I know you're wondering why I'm posting this now, but if you find yourself some good squash, or put some up in your freezer, now's the time to pull it out and heat up the house. Take something AMAZING to the holiday parties without worrying about packing on that winter weight. And if you manage to get a picture, share! But chances are, it's not going to happen.

Back, and deader than ever...

So I just woke up from a coma.

Okay, but not a real coma. Or actually any coma at all.

It's more like a Disney story.
Girl is obsessed with yard work. Girl has real job too. Girl gets tendinitis in wrist from over-use. Doctor tells girl not to use wrist. Girl listens to doctor a little and stops yard work. Girl stares out window every day with longing. Leaves pile up in garden, tumble weed blows by, things start to look dilapidated. Girl decides to ignore doctor. Girl plays in garden again, frolics even, and prances around with joy in heart. Wrist... eh, girl will figure that out later.
Man (or Girl) was made to work. Hard.

Classic Disney.

And So I'm back. And my garden is deader than ever. But isn't that just the way the seasons go?
The geese are flying south. Except for this jazzy one my nephew painted for me.

 And nearly everything is dead. Except for this Greek Oregano...

Some hardy cilantro that doesn't realize it's practically winter...

And these beets. Which I just cannot eat. I cannot. Beets are yucky. And now I know.

And confused hydrangeas. Of course, it's 65 degrees today. Halfway through November. In zone 6.

But everything else is torn out. Tags saved for next year...

Leaves and plants heaped up out of the way...

 

 

And I put up this jazzy structure. Which is just PVC pipe pushed into the ground in my semi-raised bed. A little heavy grade plastic, a little bit of straw and I have myself a not so high high-tunnel. Which will be great for the spinach and kale and early season veggies.



How's your garden? Kinda dead? Mostly dead? All dead? Share Share! This coma-free gardener wants to know!

Wisteria Arbor

Hubby built me the coolest arbor for my wisteria. As long as I agreed to trim it back a bit...

Which is fine, since it was growing into the eaves a bit and wrapping it's tendrils around the house like it was trying to crush it in a Kraken vice grip.

I love my new arbor, which will look especially fantastic when the patio remodel is done.

But I couldn't help myself anyway so I went to a big box chain that I normally hate, but they had these fantastic little vases...

So I wrapped wire around the glass and tossed a votive in there and...

I think it looks pretty good.

The wisteria looks half scrawny right now. I'm hopeful that a heavy pruning will give me blossoms next year. And there are already a dozen shoots filling it in around the lower branches again.

Hubby thinks it looks good too.

As long as it doesn't tear our house down.

What garden structures do you have in your yard?

Share, Share!!!



There's something about real rain...

...and my hose just can't compete with the rending of the skies and fat globules of water from heaven.

Especially not three straight days of it.

6 days ago I planted another slew of vegetables to come just as the last of my mature plants slowly start to dwindle away. The rain came at the perfect time and fat stalk of green have been popping up out of the ground.

And I can't wait to see how they turn out because I've got some neat heirlooms in the ground.

I've got Nero Toscana Kale, Easter Egg Ball radishes, Tri-colored Cauliflower, Baby Round Zucchini, Multicolored Beets, Yellow Pencil pod beans, more sugar snap peas, and Long Island Brussel Sprouts.

And with all the rain, I had an abundant crop of produce today. I got limelight, 8ball and straight neck squash; there were Mr. Stripey tomatoes, Brandywine pinks, Italian ices, Black krim and a half dozen banana peppers. It's time for Pico De Gillo...



And Zucchini Bread. And Zucchini Pizza, and Zucchini stuffed boats, and whatever else I can think of because I have Zucchini come from every corner of my garden.

Any ideas? What are you harvesting from your garden?

Share, Share!!! And Maybe I'll share with you... food that is. Come and get some Zucchini Pizza!!!!

Squash Parmesan

I have squash plants like a politician has ideas. They're all over the place and out of control.

But..., MY plants are productive.

(Insert your "Oh, snap; oh no she di'nt!)

This photo was taken four weeks ago.

This was taken two days ago and I'm buried in here...

And I'm fairly certain I just saw Professor Challenger being chased by a dinosaur.

I've got limelight and 8 balls all over the yard.

They are growing to the size of pumpkins before I can even find them.

So I feed them to my Hubby. And I snitch a bunch myself. :)

I gather them, wash them, slice them, and then do THIS very wicked thing to them. But hey, it's a vegetable. It's good for you... right?

I dip them in egg wash and toss them in seasoned (with herbs from the garden) breadcrumbs...

And then I fry the little rascals in hot oil...

I layer them in a dish...

I top them with tomatoes or sauce... (from last year's harvest or this year's, hopefully)

And a generous portion of mozzarella cheese...
And I add layer after layer after layer until I can go no higher...
And then I pop it in the oven for a few minutes just to get the last of all that cheese nice and melty...

And then I nibble at the corners until it's time for dinner...
And hope that my family stays far away from my house So I won't have to share...

It's that season!!
What are you doing with your squash? Share, Share!!!

Harvesting Lunch...

I got home from work, stomach growling in protest to the coffee grinds I had licked out of my coffee cup this morning.

And that's why I consider my parking area at home to be rather fantastic, despite the little trek from the driveway to the back door that in winter I consider a supremely long journey across frozen tundra. In the summer, it's a lazy jaunt through my Babylonian roof top worthy garden. Or I'd like to think so...

And so I walked by my Bachelor Buttons,

And my Purple Queen Beans,

And my Cherry Tomatoes,

And my Nasturtium,

And my baby Red Leaf Lettuce.
And by the time I had gotten inside...

I had a rather tasty salad. Sweet tomatoes, crunchy beans, tender lettuce and peppery nasturtium leaves and flowers. I tossed it, oh so gently, with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, sat on my garden swing, and noshed down on the freshest salad possible.

How was your walk from your car? Eat anything tasty out of your garden lately? Share, Share!

Not Dead

To all (one?) of you holding your breath out there for my next post... I am so sorry; life is a bit topsy turvy with house remodeling, family vacation, and the busiest season ever at work.

But my garden is still here and so am I.

And there's some delicious stuff growing in my garden right now.

From all the tomatoes,

To the edible flowers, bean tepees, climbing squashes...

And everything in between. 

It Is coming... I promise.

I've got some fun things to show you.

I'll see you SO soon!