Back in the saddle again

Terribly sorry for not posting for so long... Amidst the return to 'a real job', the constant garden work at home, general life uncertainties, and the blog/ picture issues for a while there, the blog seemed to have fallen off the wayside. I am finally starting to fall into a normal routine (well, semi-normal) and will start posting frequently again -especially as the garden harvest gears up.

To play catch up a wee bit: 

We have been exploring more phenomenal recipes that I can't wait to share with y'all, soon... Especially some amazing grilled desserts I never thought possible.

The garden is doing well finally, and though not as well as hoped for. This growing season is a strange one, and everything is coming in late. The tomato vines are laden with fruit, yet no signs of ripening any time soon. Even my herbs are flowering too late -or in some cases, too early. The only thing that has done great since day one are the bush beans! From 4 plants, I am raking in about 5 beans a day... It doesn't sound like much, but for just 2 people, 13 beans or so makes a side dish. The jalapeño crop should be ready by next week, and I can finally start canning the most amazing pickled jalapeños that are far better than anything found in the market (look for the posted recipe soon!). I have picked one cucumber already, and have several more on the vine. Hopefully enough to can pickles! Though, I doubt my dill seeds will be ready in time- good thing I dried a lot from last year. Our onions look pitiful, as does the musk melon. Though the summer Nevada lettuce is doing great now, the Boston lettuce and Arugula still look paltry.

As for the animals; The baby chickens are no longer babies, though they still go by that title. The older hens are only laying about 3-4 eggs a day vs. the 6-7 per day last summer. The kitties are loving the summer, and bring us at least one mouse a day. We also have a few new aquatic additions, including 2 baby turtles. We're now up to a total of 6 fish tanks, ranging from 1 gallon to 125 gallons.

Ok, that's a pretty good slice of how things stand right now. I promise I will start posting again! It may only be once a week at first, but I'll endeavor for more :) Thank y'all for bearing with me.

Eggplant Parmesan: A Classic

Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite Italian meals. It's easier than lasagna, and even heartier than Chicken Parmesan. We had a bout of rainy, cold weather, so I was searching for a warming and filling meal -that still feels light enough for a summer dish. Hence, Eggplant Parm! If it's not already a favorite in your household, it should be. The texture and flavors of this dish let even the 'meat and potatoes' crowd happy to eat a meatless meal.

I don't follow a strict recipe, and I don't even know how true my version is to the authentic Italian fare. Regardless, it's super yummy and easy to throw together. Give it a try! If you don't have fresh mozzarella or herbs, it's ok to use pre-packaged cheese or dried herbs. Just remember, dried herbs are only about 1/2 of what you would need fresh.

Eggplant Parmesan


Ingredients:
1 Eggplant, sliced into 1/4" slices
2 large balls of Mozzarella cheese, sliced into smallish strips (if using shredded mozzarella, approx. 2 cups)
1 can (26 oz.) Spaghetti sauce
Parmesan cheese for grating -about 1/2 cup
3 tbsp. Basil, fresh, chiffonade
2 tbsp. Parsley,  fresh, chopped
1 tbsp. Oregano, fresh, chopped
Shortening


Dredge:
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Milk
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. Chili powder


-Beat eggs and milk in a pie pan, set aside
-Mix together bread crumbs, flour, and chili powder in another pie pan, set aside
-Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
-Melt enough shortening in a 12" skillet to cover about 1/2" deep, and bring up to frying temp.
-Take eggplant slices, and dredge each one into the egg wash 1st, then coat with bread crumb mix.
-Fry eggplant in skillet until golden brown on each side (3-4 minutes per side). You will probably have to do a few batches, so have a draining rack ready to place the fried pieces on.
-Taking a 9" X 13" baking dish, pour enough spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom.
-Lay eggplant to cover bottom of dish.
-Layer evenly (on top of eggplant), 1/2 of each: mozzarella, herbs, spaghetti sauce, and parmesan.
-Repeat layers -eggplant, mozzarella, herbs, sauce, parmesan.
-Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Perfect Summer Meals: part 1, Scallop Tacos

Summertime, and the livin's easy.... So should should be the meals! Light, easy, and taking advantage of summer crops.

I'll start this series off with the other nights dinner: Scallop Tacos with Cabbage Slaw with Avocado Sauce.

We substituted the scallops with codfish, but followed all the other directions to a T and it was wonderful. The original recipe is posted below, and I see why they used scallops for a more 'meaty' texture. The cod was a decent substitute however, so try either version. This recipe was taken from Weber.com, so there are a lot of grilling instructions.


Scallop Tacos with Cabbage Slaw with Avocado Sauce


Sauce:
1 large Hass avocado, diced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 large jalapeño chile pepper, seeded
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 large garlic clove


Kosher salt
Ground black pepper


Marinade:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 large garlic cloves, grated or minced


24 sea scallops, each 1 to 1-1/2 ounces
1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage, rinsed under cold water
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed under cold water
8 corn or flour tortillas (6 inches)


Directions:

-In a blender combine the sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small serving bowl. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.
-In a large bowl whisk the marinade ingredients, including 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove the small, tough side muscle that might be left on each scallop. Add the scallops to the marinade and turn to coat evenly. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes while the grill preheats.
-Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat (450° to 550°F).
-In a medium bowl combine the cabbage and onion.
-Brush the cooking grates clean. Lift the scallops one at a time from the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip back into the bowl. Discard the marinade. Grill the scallops over direct high heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until lightly browned and just opaque in the center, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once or twice. Remove from the grill.
-Warm the tortillas over direct high heat for about 10 seconds on each side.
-Fill each tortilla with some of the cabbage mixture and three scallops. Top with the sauce and serve right away.

*For some, my picture upload site is having some problems, so please don't mind how the pictures are cut off... you should be able to get the idea.

Grilled Scup

I've said it once, I'll say it again: nothing beats a man that works in the fishing industry! Myself still being a rather fish novice, he brought home a Scup fish for me to try...

He also found this recipe that was quite nice, and I think would work with several other types of fish. You do need a whole intact fish for this recipe, so keep that in mind. Squeamish need not apply! I don't mind scaling a fish, but I'm not a fan of the gutting part. However, if you're up to this, or happen upon a fresh Scup, please give this a try. I will also say, as a word of advisement, you can NOT substitute dried rosemary for fresh in this recipe -I learned the hard way! Another hard lesson was make sure you OIL THE GRILL grates before placing the fish on the grill!

Grilled Scup With Herbs 


4  Scup, about 1-1/2 lb  

5 sprigs fresh rosemary 

3 tbsp. fresh Parsely 

1-1/2 tsp. Salt 

Freshly ground pepper

1 Garlic clove 

1/3 cup Olive oil 

2 Lemons

Clean and scale the fish, leaving on head and tails if desired.  
Chop the garlic, rosemary and parsley together, add the salt and pepper and a few drops of oil to for a paste.
Make three slits on both sides of each fish. 
Spread some paste in the slits as well as the cavity. 
Combine juice of 1 lemon with remaining oil. 
Grill fish, not too close to coals or heat, basting with oil-lemon mixture. 
Cook about 6 minutes to a side, letting skin get crisp. Serve with lemon slice.



*Recipe courtesy American Seafood Institute, Wakefield, RI

Scup

Cleaned and scaled fish with slits

 

Herb paste in processor 

Herb paste applied to fish  

Scup on the grill with some corn 

Happy Memorial Day

I hope y'all have a happy and safe Memorial day. While you're firing up the grill and opening a drink, pour out a little for all those men and women who have ever served in the Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, or any American service branch for our country. God Bless.

The Star Spangled Banner

Momma Look Sharp from 1776 (Revolutionary War)

 

A compilation of Civil War Songs 

Over There (WWI)

40 Cups of Coffee (Korea) 

Fortunate Son (Vietnam) 

Freedom (Gulf War/ Desert Storm) 

Courtesy of the Red White and Blue (War on Terror)

Please excuse me...

I haven't written in quite a while, and I apologize for that. First off, Blogspot was having technical difficulties -so I couldn't post even when I tried! That was ok though because I had a dear friend and her newest little one visiting up here from down south for a long weekend. The blog problem seems fixed now, so that's good.

All that aside, it still may be a little bit before I go back to posting as usual, due to a family crisis. Everyone is fine, just some major adjustments are going on currently.

I hope to resume posting quickly though, as the garden and the baby chicks have really taken off and I can't wait to update y'all on their progress.

Baby chicks Day 2, Seed re-start

Pictures of the babies of day 2 in their new home here. If you missed the pictures of their arrival yesterday, check out my previous post. Obviously not much of a change from then till now -except they've learned that when the hatch to their coop is opened, it means they are going to get scooped up for cuddling -so they run!

As for my seeds, some didn't sprout at all, and some that did, haven't done to well. So today I replanted Lavender, Arugula, Boston and Nevada lettuce, Snap beans, and Cucumber. Lets hope these do better! I have much more ghetto containers this time around, but have a good feeling about them. I believe over watering hindered the Lavender last time, just like to much sun exposure to early killed my lettuces.

The beans and cukes I'm trying to grow the way I did when I was little. The zip-lock baggie and moist paper towel method taped to the window. I will probably do more zucchini this way too because not enough sprouted in the traditional method.

However, some of what I planted previously is thriving. The sunflowers are already placed outside and are doing well, along with green onions and flat leaf parsley outside as well. One snap bean from the first planting has really taken off, and the rest are right along schedule. Hopefully tomorrow brings good enough weather to finish tilling the garden.

Left to right 6 packs: Cayenne peppers, Jalapeño Peppers

Left to right by rows grown: Musk Melon, Snap Beans, super hot Jalapeño Peppers  

Left to right by rows: Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, yellow onion