Green Tomato Relish

I had a couple of green tomatoes from the CSA, and this recipe came to my inbox.  So I decided to try it.

Now, I didn't have enough to make a big batch.  And I didn't feel like it anyway.  And I learned you should never really work on something that needs to be simmered for an hour when you are nursing a baby, as it's all too easy to lose track of time and burn the crap out of everything.

But I digress.  I scooped out the top and my husband cleaned the burned bits out of the pan.  It's very tasty.

I cut the recipe in 1/4.  I still didn't have enough tomatoes, so I added zucchini.  I cut the hot peppers in half (used only one).  I could have used two.  I'm the only one eating the stuff anyway.  I got about 1 pint. 

Yesterday, I made a ham panini on my George Foreman and slathered it with this tasty stuff.  Yum!

Pesto Potato Salad

I made Joanne's pesto potato salad, and it was delish!

I made adjustments based on what we had.  I used new potatoes (purple and yellow).  No pine nuts (didn't have them), no scallions (ditto), a teeny bit of red onion, and I used tarragon vinegar instead of white balsamic.

My garlic is STRONG though - holy cow.

I think my mother in law would be aghast at using new potatoes...those are to be boiled and served with dill and butter.  Period.  Still good though!

Bean and Sausage Creole

So, there was this recipe that I got from Light and Tasty years ago, that I really liked.  I made it once or twice.  It was called Shrimp Creole.  I think I even bought the annual cookbook so that I could have it. 

That cookbook is long gone.  I may have actually saved the recipe somewhere...not sure.  But luckily, there's this wonderful internet thing, and I was able to find it here, and here (apparently, it was from 2003).

Now, I love shrimp, and I actually have some.  But the family isn't really into shrimp.  I decided to use the lone chicken sausage link in the fridge and I went out and bought some kidney beans.  I need to eat more beans.  It's a regularity thing.

I edited the recipe a bit (of course), by using canned diced tomatoes instead of the tomato paste/ clam juice.  I quadrupled the recipe, because it's "for two", and who does that?  Maybe singles or people who don't like leftovers.  But I need leftovers.

My normal method of cooking when I had my first son was in fits and spurts.  Spend 15 mins early on chopping veggies.  Go back to it later to do more.  Then, I only spend about 15 mins at a time and I don't get overwhelmed.

Due to a 2 hour nap today on the couch with a baby asleep on my chest, that didn't happen.  So I cooked this all at once.  And I overdid it.  Your post-childbirth body tells you that very quickly.  I won't do that again.  Spouse will be doing a lot of the cooking in the next week.  That and Trader Joe's.

Bean and Sausage Creole:
2T canola oil: 0.10
6 chopped celery ribs: 0.60
1.5 onions, chopped:  0.60
1 green bell pepper, chopped: 0.50
1 red bell pepper, chopped: 1.30
4 cloves garlic, minced: 0.20
1 link chicken sausage, chopped: 0.70
little bit of white wine to deglaze pot: 0.30
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, pureed in food processor: 1.20
2 14 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed: 2.50
1 Tbsp tomato paste: 0.15
2 tsp dried thyme: 0.10
2 Tbsp dried parsley (I didn't have fresh because it's not growing - a gopher got my last plant): 0.10
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper: 0.05
2 Tbsp chopped hot pepper (that I roasted last summer and froze): 0.20
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Total: $8.60 for about 8 servings, or $1.08 per serving.

In large pot, saute the onion, celery, peppers, garlic until soft.  Add the pureed tomatoes and drained beans and spices.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until right consistency, about 20 mins.  Add tomato paste to thicken if desired.

Serve over brown rice.

Welcome Home Sweet Boy

Our little one has finally arrived, and on his due date no less.  While I didn't have a "birth plan" per se, I certainly did NOT plan for him to come so fast (just over an hour after getting to the hospital).  My husband barely made it back from dropping off our older son.  That meant no pain killers whatsoever.  So.  If you've given birth, you can imagine.  If you haven't...well, there's a reason why some wonderful person invented the epidural.  But at least it was short.

They say sleep when the baby sleeps, so as soon as I brush my teeth, I'm going to do just that.

Breakfast

Okay, the apricot-blueberry jam was delicious!  One of my breakfasts this week:

Whole grain English muffin: half with butter and jam, half with butter and egg.
And a banana sliced in half with local farmer's market crunchy almond butter (sooooo good).

Summer Pasta and a Nice Salad

I  haven't been doing so much on the meal planning lately. I'm on mat leave, somewhat impatiently awaiting the arrival of my new little man, and so, why bother?  I am home most of the day to cook, and I never know if I'm going to be home during the day to eat.  As it goes, my cooking has continued in the pregnancy-tiredness vein, meaning: some pre-prepared stuff in the freezer and some ingredients in the fridge.

Satruday I made pizza with homemade pesto.  Yes, basil season has arrived.  I just never use pine nuts enough, or any nuts besides nut butters and walnuts, so my pesto tends to be nut-free (basil, parmesan, garlic, lemon, olive oil).

Sunday I decided to go with pasta. I had a plethora of veggies from the farm - onions, zucchini, and a bunch of peppers - anaheim, green bells, and probably poblanos.  They were listed as "sweet", but I haven't tested the poblanos.

In the morning, I took 15 minutes to chop the veggies and toss them in a tupperware.  Then about an hour before dinner, I cooked them in my dutch oven until soft, added spices, a jar of marinara, some sun-dried tomatoes, a little bit of white wine, and some chicken sausage.  Let simmer.  For awhile.  I opted against the skillet pasta this time because my skillet isn't quite big enough now.  Instead, after draining the al dente pasta, I tossed 2/3 of the sauce with the pasta and we used the rest to throw on top.  It was very good, and I love things that you toss into a pot and only really have to stir occasionally.

We also had two big bags of salad mix this week. One baby hearts, one spicy mix.  My spouse washed all of it at once (I've had days in a row of salad with the spicy mix.  By day 4, it gets very tiring.)  We've now had two big salads and enough for one more huge salad tonight.

My salads have been simple and lazy lately - greens and Marie's ranch dressing.   This time, I actually made it a little fancier (back to my norm).  I made the dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, dijon, garlic, sugar, pepper, and parmesan.  I added olives and carrots and toasted walnuts.  Yum!  It really could have  used some avocado, but none of mine are ripe.

Mini Jam Session

So, three things have happened in the last couple of weeks.
#1, I read about this book and this blog on The Kitchn, and started to get SERIOUSLY interested in small batch canning.
#2, We got a pound of apricots from our CSA.  I don't really like apricots.
#3, I am 42 years old, 39+ weeks pregnant, it's hot, so in an effort to "move things along", I went blueberry picking for 2 hours with a friend and our combined 5 kids (most of them hers right now).  It was 73F when we started and 88F when we finished.  I ended up with almost 5 lbs of blueberries (our 2nd batch of the year).

I have been interested in canning for quite awhile.  I grew up in rural PA, and we did a lot of canning.  It was a necessity thing for us - not a lot of money, and we had a garden.  We would can vegetables (corn, peas, beans), tomatoes (juice, tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce), pickles, and jams in the summer time.  One summer we canned so many pickles and strawberry jam in so many sessions that I had the recipes memorized. I was probably 12 or 13 years old.  It was hot, steamy work, but I loved helping my mom can.

Then I became an adult who didn't cook, much less can.  I tried my hand at freezer jam (pretty easy).  Eventually, a combination of the books I read, the "pick your own" days at our CSA, and my history gave me the canning bug.  So a few years ago, I bought a canning kit.  You know, the big black canning pot and stuff.  We've done a little bit here and there.  Strawberry jam one year, salsa and spaghetti sauce the next year, tangerine marmalade (we have a tangerine tree).  It's a lot of work though. 

The processing of the ingredients is step one.  A bit pot of ... something.  We made our tangerine marmalade out of 9 lbs of tangerines, for example.  It's a lot of chopping and cooking when you are making that.  Then there's proper sterilizing of the jars (the dishwasher helps with that), the lids (on the stove, but then you are up to a 3rd burner you need), you get the picture.  It's a big production.

Then I read about this "small batch canning" method.  I swear I am going to buy this book and some of the equipment.  But I am going to wait a few weeks.  Make sure I really mean it.  One one hand, I'll be home for 3 months this summer and will have "time".  On the other hand, I'm about to give birth.  I probably won't have "time" if past history is any indication.  But small batch canning can be done in an hour or two.

I decided to try a mini-batch of apricot-blueberry jam, because I googled "apricot blueberry recipes", and that's what came up.  I used this recipe, and made a half batch (but did add more sugar, as recommended).  It made slightly more than a pint (I don't have any 1/2 pint jars, need to get those).  I didn't water bath can it - since I only got two jars, one went into the freezer and the other half into the fridge.  The advantage of this small batch method is that it took about an hour to make it because it cooks down so quickly in a small skillet.

Chop the unpeeled apricots and heat over medium-low with the sugar (I used 2 c apricots and 3/4 c sugar)

When the apricots have cooked down a bit (15-20 min), add the blueberries.

Continue to cook for a total of about 45 min, until the jam looks like...well, jam.

Pour into clean or sterilized jars (are you going to freeze or can?) and enjoy!

I would say that the big disadvantage of canning is from a health standpoint.  In order to preserve many fruits as jams, you need a LOT of sugar.  On the other hand, how much jam do you use on a daily basis?  A tablespoon or two?  It's probably okay.