Corn Chowder

I (Ryan) have never made a corn chowder before and I do not believe Crystal has either…at least my memory contains no recollection of this meal in the whirlwind of new recipes zipping through our kitchen over the last three plus years at our current residence.

This recipe was included in our CSA newsletter and looked perfect. Crystal was at a going away party for a co-worker the other day and I had finished all my planned studying, so I decided to get my hands dirty and make some CHOWDA.

First off, cut the corn off the cobs. Then I began making corn stock that contained low sodium vegetable stock, water, and the cobs that were left over after “de-corning” them. While the stock was gaining its corn flavored bliss, I sautéed some leeks until translucent and then added parsley and carrots. Once the carrots softened a bit, I tossed in the cut up Yukon Gold potatoes and let them cook with the above ingredients before adding the corn stock.

All these ingredients are good, but the best was yet to come. The Bouquet Garni, which is “a bunch of herbs tied together, wrapped in cheesecloth or enclosed in a small cloth sack, and immersed during cooking, as in a soup or stew.” This is another new concept for me, but one I was more than willing to utilize. Our bouquet contained sage, parsley, thyme, oregano, and basil. These herbs filled our house with the most amazing smell while the chowder was simmering.

Once the potatoes were soft, I added the corn kernels previously cut off the cob and reserved to the side. Okay…I will fess up. I initially put the corn kernels in the stock rather than the cobs. I realized my error about 10 minutes into the stock making process and then had to strain the corn from the stock and add the cobs instead. Lesson learned: READ THE RECIPE IN ENTIRETY. I have experienced this problem before and apparently, that moment of recipe skimming had escaped my mind.

Anyways, once the corn kernels were heated, I removed the bouquet garni and added some half- &-half. The half- &-half is good, but next time we are going to try soymilk. I swear we can never have the exact same recipe twice…we are always tweaking and editing our recipes. This chowder was served up with some green onions and a little hot sauce in mine. YUM!!! The leftovers were amazing too. This is a new favorite that I hope we will make again someday ;)

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Thanks to our CSA farmers, we had a very appetizing recipe to try that used up a ton of our crop share ingredients. We were so excited to use up the tomatoes because the fruit flies were definitely starting to buzz due to all the very ripe tomatoes we have in our house. I've included the recipe below. Feel free to substitute other veggies depending on what's on hand.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped onion
Salt and pepper
3 cups chopped tomatoes (any variety)
3 or more cloves fresh garlic, chopped
Herbs such as oregano, thyme, parsley and basil, to taste
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Honey or other sweetener as desired

Sauté onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and garlic. Simmer until sauce reaches desired consistency, about 20 minutes. Add tomato paste at the end, along with herbs and vinegar. If sauce is too tart, add a spoonful of sweetener. Lightly simmer 10 minutes longer to let flavors meld together.

Roasted Vegetables

1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 eggplant, diced
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
Fresh herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, sage and rosemary
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 jalapeno
Olive oil to coat

Mix vegetables, herbs, garlic, and onion in a bowl and lightly coat mixture with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in a large (or a couple large) roasting pans coated with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until veggies are soft, but not burned. Toss vegetables occasionally as needed.

Combine the Fresh Tomato Sauce and Roasted Vegetables and serve over pasta.


We made the recipe above and our sauce turned out like this, not very saucy:

















So, we made another batch of the tomato sauce to make it more sauce-like:

















And blended up a bit of the veggies to come up with the final product:
















It was very tasty, light, and healthy. We served it over spinach spaghetti and with some roasted garlic bread. Next time we won't blend up any of the sauce because it turned out kinda weird. I'd rather go with the fresh, chunky veggie option.

I think we'll freeze some of this sauce, but also use some for stromboli or pizza. Those will be some easy meals Ryan can bring with to class.

Pesto Pasta & Fruit Bars

We had another great weekend. The rain passed and it was bright and sunny. We enjoyed some Mexican food with my cousin, Jessie, on Friday night; went shopping at the Mall of America on Saturday night (best time to go and beat the crowds); and rode our bikes to a family get-together on Sunday. We really need to go to the grocery store so we can make some meals this week. Here's some stuff we made from food on hand:

This meal was quite simple. I had made some basil pesto from the abundance of basil in our crop share. I was inspired by Vicki over at Vegetarian Family on this one. We used some noodles we bought from the Amish Market in Wisconsin, topped it with the pesto and cut up some of the gold cherry tomatoes from our crop share.
















Really, quite simple and easy. Next time I’ll use a bit less pesto, but otherwise this was tasty and fresh.

I also recently made some fruit bars. After reading the ingredients in the Larabars, I thought, “I can do this!”. So, I pounded and pounded and pounded a package of dates until they were totally smooshed. Then I pounded in some dried fruit like cherries, cranberries, raisins, apricots, and blueberries. Finally, I added a bit of lemon juice and some cashews.

It was all pressed into a small baking pan and set in the fridge to firm up before cutting into bars.
















They are a great grab and go treat or energizer full of fruit and nuts! Since Ryan starts classes again this week, this is perfect to eat during his classes.

Crop Share #6

We have used up most of our mini crop share from last Saturday…but just in time, our 6th crop share was ready to pick up yesterday.

This weeks share included:

*Baby Beets
*Bush Beans – purple and green
*Cucumbers
*Inchelium Red Garlic
*Mixed Herbs
*Peppers - Reddish-Orange, Lipstick Pepper, Jimmy Nardello
*Salad Mix (minus dill) – finally we get to keep a batch!!! Sorry Mom
*Sweet Corn - from Gardens of Eagan
*Sweet Onions
*Tomatoes - Cherry, Heirloom, Roma, Yellow Cherry
*Yukon Gold Potatoes - from Driftless Organics

















We already have a few recipe ideas thanks to the Loon Organics share newsletter. They have listed a recipe for Adam's Pasta and a Corn Chowder. Look for upcoming posts on both of these dishes....these veggies are so good!

Weekend Outdoor Fun

We had another fantastic weekend. Ryan and I went camping with my sister, nephew, and brother-in-law. The weather was great and we had a lot of fun. We tried making pizza on the grill over the campfire and it was the best.

















When we returned on Sunday, we had to rush off to Loon Organics farm for their open house. This farm provides our crop share every two weeks. It was really nice to see Laura again and great to finally meet Adam, our farmers.

We learned all about garlic they grow and how they size it, and

















How they dry it.






















We toured the 2-acre farm seeing all the flowers,

















And the peppers.

















Here’s one that we picked. It looks so cool!






















It was such a beautiful day and very neat to learn about how Adam and Laura became farmers. We also learned they are fans of our blog too. (Hi Adam and Laura!)

We picked a few peppers, some cherry tomatoes and were given some eggplant and red onion, so it was like a mini crop share.













So far we have used the veggies for:

White pizza with red pepper, jalapenos, roma tomatoes, gold cherry tomatoes and basil.

















And stir-fry with Japanese eggplant, kale, red onion, scallions, garlic, and green pepper.

















Here's the final product. Too many dashes of hot sauce made it quite a bit spicy!

















We pick up another crop share on Thursday, so we are excited for that and can't wait to try some more new ideas.

Container Garden Update

Hello all! We have had a couple of nights without making dinner. This has left me both scurrying to find a good lunch option and without a new dinner to post about. Thus, the container garden update by Ryan... container gardening tips and suggestions appreciated.

Let's start off with the peppers...




















I have used the red hot cherry peppers in quesadillas and tacos so far. They add a great spice level for me without being too hot. Only one cherry pepper has grown per plant since I got it. Once I picked the first pepper another flower began to grow.


Can you find the Jalapeño below??? I only had one full size Jalapeño so far and this is the beginning of number two. The first one was the hottest Jalapeño I have had for some time! There are plenty of flowers growing and should have more hotties soon. ;)






















Numex Twilight - very colorful & hot
















Our first mini red bell pepper stayed green on the stem for nearly three weeks before turning over to the red side. Now the peppers seem to be growing and maturing faster since the heat has been turned up outside.
















On to the herbs and veggies. We tried our hand at tomatoes and bambino eggplant this year. We ended up with two tomatoes(picked and consumed) and a handful of bambino eggplant(don't quite know the right time to pick-any suggestions?).



















All of our herbs have done fairly well. We are in our third year of container gardening, but have not had too much time to formally study the subject. We just go by sight and suggestion at this point. So if you have any tips, belt 'em out!!!

Finally, here is the status of our herbs:

*Basil(Genovese, Green Gate, Magical Michael) - doing well and fulfilling most of our basil needs along with our crop share supply. We do not fertilize any of our plants, so the basil leaves grow about 1.5 to 2 inches at their largest. But we usually use pick the leaves at 1" since we use them fairly quickly. Mmmmm....bite size basil! We will most likely stick with the Green Gate and Genovese basil next year since they have the best flavor of the three varieties.

*Chamomile - our chamomile has not flowered yet and is not very large. We potted in a small area and I wonder if that may be part of the problem. Tips?

*Lavender - flowered early in the summer, but we haven’t seen any flowers since. Tips?

*Lemon Verbena - this plant always smells great and adds a good lemon flavor in tea. We tried to grow this plant indoors at our respective work environments and the plants died. The outdoor plant is doing very well with little maintenance. We also learned how to actually pronounce Verbena without a huge Northern accent.

*Oregano - growing moderately, but we haven't really used it much this summer.

*Papalo(similar to Cilantro) - this plant started out as a very scrawny two inches and four leavs, but has very much outpaced the rest of our plants in growth. Witness the craziness to the left... I think papalo has a mild flavor if used in moderation and makes a suitable replacement for cilantro. Crystal believes papalo is too strong and overtakes whatever it is incorporated with. The debate will continue, but most likely we will not buy this again next year. Who knows, it may live all winter long inside.



*Parsley(Italian & Curly) - started out strong, but has tapered off as of late. It hasn't regrown to the original size they were when we bought them.

*Peppermint - this stuff always grows well

*Rosemary - the Shady Acres variety has been great for cooking. Crystal just made some vegan rosemary biscuits on Sunday and they were great!

*Sage - growing well without a whole lost of attention, but hardly used. We have received plenty of sage for our culinary needs from our crop share, so I don't think we will buy a plant next year.

*Spearmint - same situation as the peppermint...grows well.

*Thyme - we have used thyme moderately this summer. I occasionally mix it with some other herbs in a bar b que sauce for basting.

Thanks for reading and have a good day!!!

Pad Thai

Last night we didn't make anything. Ryan had to pick up his school books for next semester and we went out to eat some greasy food at Psycho Suzi's, play cards and catch some of the Vikings game.

So, instead of posting about our fried food, I'll post something we had the other week, but didn't have time to blog about...Pad Thai.

This recipe is from Very Vegetarian and is the second time we have made it. It has just the right amount of spice from some siracha sauce - I remembered to use just a tiny bit. The tofu was cooked perfectly and I kept popping little pieces into my mouth while the rest of the veggies were cooking. It was sauteed in ginger, garlic, and olive oil which formed a nice little crust on the tofu. We used whatever veggies we had on hand - radishes, carrots, and peas from what I can remember. Here's a pic of everything stir-frying:

















And here's the final product. We topped it with some sprouts. When we made this last time, I only had alfalfa sprouts on hand instead of bean sprouts and we kinda like it that way. We also serve it with a lime wedge, but that didn't make it to the picture.
















Ryan is heading to a Twins game tonight, so I'm on my own for dinner. Not sure if I'll try to truly make something or just eat whatever is on hand. I hear green beans calling my name though...

Crop Share #5

Hope everyone had a great weekend! It was great weather up here in Minnesota - not too hot and a bit of rain on Sunday - but otherwise great.

We received our 5th crop share on Thursday and it was unbelievable! We have so many tomatoes and peppers and other great veggies and we're excited to use them. I still yet to make that carrot cake I had on my list from last week and since we received some more carrots I better get to work soon! Notice that the picture is taken on our new table...not that you can see much yet.
















Here is what we received this time:
*2 cucumbers
*2 yellow squashes
*4 green peppers
*kale
*bunch of carrots
*salad mix with dill (yep, it's heading to your house, Diane)
*2 shallots
*1 japanese eggplant, 1 globe eggplant
*Cherry tomatoes
*Yellow cherry tomatoes
*Heirloom tomatoes
*Roma tomatoes
*3 red onions
*1 bunch of scallions
*2 bulbs of garlic
*fresh herbs - basil, sage, parsley and thyme
*some spicy peppers

Is that a ton of loot or what? Of course we are open to ideas for using all of this! I'm thinking salsa, sauteed red onions and peppers, and some roasted green onions.

Ryan and I went to my parent's house this weekend and picked up some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplants. Whew! We have a lot of cooking to do.

Book Club Appetizer Night

Last night I hosted our book club. Our rule is the hostess chooses the book for that month. To switch things up a bit, I chose a cookbook, Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals Get Togethers. I figured this would inspire new appetizer ideas for future book clubs and get everyone to try new dishes for entertaining. In order to get credit for “reading” the book, everyone was to try at least 2 new dishes and come to the meeting with feedback.

I made 5 different appetizers for the evening and one member brought the dessert. Thanks to Stephanie, Andrea, and Karen for participating in our evening of wine and appetizers! Here’s what we had:
















Two kinds of Lavash Pizzas - one with Mexican toppings, smoked cheddar, chorizo, peppers and olives and the other with smoked mozzarella, prosciutto and arugula.
















Chickpea and Rosemary Dip in the making...it was such a pretty picture that I couldn't resist!
















The final result of Chickpea and Rosemary Dip served with grape tomatoes, flatbreads, and zucchini.
















Artichokes marinated in lemon juice, zest, and parsley along with Endives and Boursin cheese and chives.
















Our fifth appetizer was a Roasted Red Pepper Salsa with Grilled Polenta Slices. We found that the dip itself went well with the flatbreads and zucchini too.

For dessert, Andrea brought Black Cherry Ice Cream and served it with Chocolate Sauce, but I inhaled it so quickly that I forgot to take a picture. She did leave the ice cream in my freezer, so I could recreate the scene :)

YUM! Thanks to all the Bookends members who participated in this project!

Calabacitas with Polenta

Ok, so I don't really know what Calabacitas means, but that's what Rachael Ray named the recipe. It was called Calabacitas Casserole with Polenta and Cheese, but not being fans of anything named "casserole" or "goulash", we had to change it up a bit and remove the casserole part altogether.

I sliced the premade polenta into 1/2-inch slices and grilled them on our stovetop grill. I then chopped up a bunch of veggies:

- sweet corn from a friend's farm
- garlic, green onions, yellow squash and zucchini from our crop share
- jalapeno from my mom's garden
- onion and tomatoes from the local store
















These all were sauteed until tender. I then put a spoon of the topping on each polenta slice and topped with some pepperjack cheese.
















Then they were broiled for 5 minutes and garnished with sliced green onion.




















It was a light and tasty dish. The jalapeno helped spice it up a bit and the rest of the veggies made it more filling. This was our first time having and using polenta and it was a success! These would be great as little appetizers or as a main meal. We each ate 2 of them with a bit of leftover salads on the side.

No Sheep Shepherd's Pie

Since we are recovering from camping and eating leftovers and I have a backlog of posts, I'll share something that we ate last week. This recipe was from Very Vegetarian and we have wanted to try it for awhile. Although this isn't something that I'd typically crave on a hot sunny day, it used up some of our veggies that have been sitting around for awhile.

The filling was TVP, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, rosemary and thyme, and some veggie stock. It was all put in a dish and topped with mashed potaotes and brushed with olive oil.
















It was so good and filling! What a great use for the ingredients and it felt like a comfort food meal. I think this will be a hit on those cold fall and winter days. It could also be a hit with non-veggies as the TVP's texture is very similar to ground beef and rice...oooh, I should try stuffed peppers with some TVP. I wonder how that will turn out.

Camping Fun

Well, we’re back. Camping was a blast as usual. We go with a group of 10 others each year and have been either camping or going to a cabin for the last 10+ years with most everyone.

This campground had many things to do, so Ryan and I took advantage of the biking and rode on some of the trails throughout the campground. We always bring our bikes because everyone gets some use out of them. They are borrowed to bike to the bathrooms or the showers or just taken for a spin.

We had a hardcore beanbag competition too. It’s a homemade game, but a lot of fun and quite addicting. Ryan and I were undefeated champions on Saturday until we decided we had better take showers and had to go on hiatus.

We kept food relatively simple for the weekend. We grilled hot dogs on Friday evening and had a chicken pasta salad and my bok choy salad on the side. We munched on Diane’s chex mix and the "secret recipe" family chip dip all weekend.
















Everyone loved the special surprise I had in store for them…Jello Shots!
Ryan scooped out the insides of the citrus fruits (we juiced the pulp and drank it) and we filled the insides with the jello, water, and alcohol mixture. Big thanks to Taylor for the idea!!






















The oranges were filled with Stoli vanilla vodka and orange jello; the limes were filled with tequila, triple sec and lime jello; and the lemons were filled with Malibu coconut rum and island pineapple jello. They were constantly being passed around the campfire and were enjoyed by all.

Saturday morning, we made up Farmer’s Eggs, which is sautéed green onions, garlic, and bacon. Then you cook up cubed potatoes, add eggs and cream cheese and stir until done. This was served with fresh fruit. It’s a recipe I found a few years ago and we have been making it each year at camping.

















We had BLT’s for lunch and Chicken Fajitas for dinner on Saturday, but I forgot to take pictures of either meal. Sorry! However, I do have a picture of the Grilled Potato Salad (which we didn’t have room in our bellies to eat).

















First, I boiled potatoes until they were tender, but not too soft. Then I sliced them up, brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and grilled them on our stovetop griddle on both sides. I arranged a bunch of watercress on a serving plate and put the hot potatoes directly on the watercress. Then I top with a blue cheese vinaigrette (oil, red wine vinegar, shallots, Dijon mustard and blue cheese) and sprinkle sliced green onions over that and serve. You can definitely omit the blue cheese and just do a vinaigrette dressing and it tastes great too. Those who want blue cheese can sprinkle it over the top.

Saturday evening we made S'mores and Ryan had to go for the gold with four marshmallows. I can't repeat the nickname for these, so I'll show you the picture.



















Our friend, Aaron had to outdo us with Ginger Snap S'mores, which looked awesome! He said they tasted awesome too, but wasn't sharing :)





















Sunday morning we had homemade granola (renamed Grobnola), yogurt and fresh fruit. We cleaned our tents, made bracelets and headed back to the reality of city life. We do it all over again with my sister in a couple weeks.

Sorry for the posting delay. I was having problems with Blogger and didn't have time to deal with it. I'm glad to finally be back online!

Wow, what a day!

Wow, I have so much to post about today! It starts with some good finds and ends with some good food.

First of all, I went garage saleing yesterday and found quite a few things we have been looking for. The first garage sale I went to on my way to work and I found 2 short rocking-style chairs that would be awesome for playing cards on a coffee table, playing video games, or as additional seating. They are 15 years old and could be painted or refinished and I could make cushions for the seats. I got both chairs for $7.

Then, on my way back to work after lunch with a friend at my fav, Tejas, I stopped at another garage sale and found a kitchen table and chairs. We sold our old table and chairs on Craigslist a month ago and have been desperate for a new one that properly fit in the small space. I bought a counter-top height table with 4 chairs for $50. I could only fit the chairs in my little Civic, so we are borrowing a larger vehicle and picking up the table today. What great finds!

Our next great thing is that we are almost finished with the YMCA Lazyman Triathlon. We have 12 more miles of biking and we are finishing that together this afternoon!

Finally, our camping food prep was a total success. In 3 ½ hours in the kitchen, we came out with:

Grilled Potato Salad (this takes forever!)
Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Granola with Hemp Seeds and Dried Fruit
My family’s signature chip dip (secret recipe!)
Bok Choy Salad
Asian Vinaigrette
Ramen Salad Topping
A secret surprise we are bringing camping (which took a ton of prep)

We were constantly moving in the kitchen, but we’re happy to be done with it. We will be sure to post pictures once the dishes are assembled. Right now we have the food set up in individual baggies/continers to put in the coolers today.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Super Veggie Curry

Tuesday night, we tried out an awesome recipe from Melody at MeloMeals and it was perfect timing. As I’ve mentioned before, I have clear braces. The braces themselves don’t stain, but the ligatures around them do so I get them changed every 6 weeks. I try to avoid staining foods (especially curry and red wine) until the week before my appointment. By then, the ligatures are getting yellowed from drinking coke, eating greens, chocolate, Cheetos, etc. so I don’t care what I eat. It's a pain, but I get used to it.

Anyway, onto the food! Melody’s suggestion was perfect for using up some items in our crop share. Here’s what we put into the curry:

Garlic, onion, yellow squash, green beans, jalapeno, eggplant, green pepper, red pepper, and diced tomatoes.

It was all sautéed up with some curry spices in a wok and topped with mango chutney, lime juice, cilantro, and red onion. We served it over brown rice.

















I can’t believe I had all the ingredients on hand and this dish was so good! I was just putting the finishing touches on it when Ryan got home from class. We were really impressed with this dish because it is very healthy yet fills you up. There was such a variety of flavors and textures and we simply love curry but don’t eat it enough. Next time I might try adding tofu or chickpeas for some more protein.

Thanks for the recipe Melody!!

Well, we have a lot to get ready for camping this weekend and I have volunteered to split the food duties with Ryan’s mom, Diane. I bought most of everything yesterday at the store and tonight will be a major prep night. Of course, I’ll be taking pictures along the way. I’m very excited for camping if you couldn’t tell.

Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches

Having not being a fan of mushrooms most of our lives, we weren't too sure about trying this recipe a few months ago. However, we found it so good that we are not hesitant to making it again. Plus, it's simple and that's what is great.

Here's what you do:

Sprinkle a bulb of garlic with olive oil and wrap up on foil. Roast for 40 minutes at 450.

Meanwhile, rub oil on the mushroom caps and place gill side up on a baking sheet. Mix together 2 minced shallots, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp thyme and pepper in a bowl and spoon over mushrooms. Bake for 30 minutes along with the garlic until mushrooms are softened. Then sprinkle monterey jack cheese and parsley and broil until cheese melts.

After the garlic has roasted, mash it up and spread it on buns and broil just until toasted. Add one to two portobello mushroom caps and top with a bun.
















These are totally easy and super yummy. They also make great leftover sandwiches too. I know there are many variations on this type of sandwich, but I'm sticking with this one for awhile.

We've been quite busy lately and cooking a lot. We are almost done with the triathlon - just a few more miles to log over the next couple days. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Pizza by Another Name

So, we venture into the world of pizza once again. We can't help it, we love the stuff. Although, what we made the other night is not really pizza...it's stromboli! So, we're not really eating pizza again, right?

The whole purpose for this meal was to not have leftovers since most of what we had made recently gave us plenty of leftovers. However, we somehow didn't realize that we can't eat a whole pizza and also can't eat a whole stromboli.

We used Trader Joe's herbed pizza crust and cut it in half so we could each top our own. This stems from the days when Ryan was super picky and his was basically cheese, sauce and pepperoni while mine had a bunch of veggies in it. However, times have changed and Ryan now likes what I like, so we made 2 halves of the exact same thing.

Each stromboli was filled with chopped green and red peppers, chopped tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and soy pepperoni. This was our first time trying soy pepperoni and we liked it as it has the same spices. We call it "pepperoni bread" because that's kinda what it tastes like.

















Anyway, it was baked at 400 for about 15 minutes. We only had room in our stomach for half of the stromboli and thus ended up with leftovers once again, but it was all worth it.

















I think I'm getting tired of this hot weather and even turning on the burners heats up the house. I hear there is a cold front on the way and I hope it's true because we're going camping this weekend. It really sucks trying to sleep in a hot, hot tent.