Pass the Pesto, Please

A few days ago I decided to Just Ask Rosietm for some ideas on what to do with my fresh basil. Pesto was one of the helpful ideas that Rosie gave me, so I went to work.

The first step was to find a recipe I wanted to use. As I had some nice roasted and salted pecans on hand, I searched for a pesto recipe featuring pecans. You might notice that this is a vegan recipe, but since we have no problem with eating real Parmesan cheese, I simply substituted that for the soy cheese.

And now, on with the show.

The mise en place (clock-wise from upper left): fresh basil (wash and pat dry just before use), sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan cheese (I have parmigiano-reggiano on hand), roasted and salted pecans, garlic cloves and red pepper flakes.

First, chop 1/2 cup pecans in a food processor.

Add 2 cups packed basil leaves, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cloves chopped garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Briefly process. Stream in up to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil until the desired consistency is reached. Do not over-process.

I followed Rosie's advice and portioned the pesto into an ice cube tray. I then covered it in plastic wrap and froze.

A couple of days later I popped the pesto portions out and placed them in a zip-top bag before placing them back in the freezer.

Thanks Rosie!

Highlights from the Garden

Today I am going to focus on one plant in my garden. This is Baptisia australis, or false blue indigo. It is a herbaceous perennial that grows 3 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet across. This is an Eastern American native that is well adapted to this climate. Once established this is a hardy, carefree plant. Be warned though: Baptisia australis does not like to be transplanted, so make sure you will like it where you plant it. This perennial likes dry to medium-dry soil and partial to full sun.

The pea-like blooms open in May to June.

This is the plant in mid August. This particular perennial was planted 9 years ago. I strongly recommend a plant support for this plant as the long stems can flop over. Underneath all this foliage is a grid-like grow-through plant support that anchors in the ground. Put the support in place in early spring while the plant is still rather small. As the name states, the plant then grows up through the support.

You can see how large this plant is. Baptisia australis also will self-seed and thus spread.

The foliage is a nice blue-green.

After the flowers fade, seed pods appear, turning from green to black as the season progresses. These seed pods remain on the plant all season and will rattle in the wind or when disturbed. Who knew black seed pods could look so nice?

I do hope you will consider giving this plant a try in your own garden.

Herbes de Provence, Part Deux



My dear friend Rosie Hawthorne of Kitchens Are Monkey Business blog fame has requested that I blog the process of making a batch of Herbes de Provence.



Despite what you may have heard, there is no one recipe for making this herb blend. Traditionally, each homeowner in the Provence region of France would simply add the herbs that they had growing in their gardens at that particular time.



For this particular batch, I had basil, dill weed, flat-leaf (or Italian) parsley, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme. Cut your herbs early in the day before the essential oils have dissipated in the heat of the day. Use twine or rubber bands to secure the bunches. Hang upside down to dry in a cool, airy location that does not receive direct sunlight.

I cut fresh herbs yesterday morning for another batch of Herbes de Provence. Here I have (left to right) thyme, flat-leaf parsley, sage, oregano, basil and rosemary. I really need to make a dedicated herb drying rack. But until then, this works for me.

Other herbs that are traditionally used in Herbes de Provence include lavender buds, marjoram, bay leaves, chervil, tarragon, summer savory, and even mint. Now, some people insist that lavender must be added for it to be an authentic Herbes de Provence. But, as this is my house and my lavender plants all died, this batch is lavender-free.

Allow to dry for several weeks until thoroughly dry.

Once dry, strip the leaves from the stems and pulse in a mini food processor until finely chopped. Alternately, the herbs can be chopped using a knife. I will warn you that dry rosemary can be a bit difficult to chop with a knife as it is very stiff and it will tend to jump around on the cutting board.

Store in an air-tight container for up to a year. Keep in a cool, dry, dark place.

Herbes de Provence works nicely in egg dishes, as well as with potatoes and meat. Experiment with your own blend to find your new favorites.

Sorry, Rosie, but this herb blend was gerbil-free.* Every time I tried to plant the gerbils, they kept digging themselves out and running off.

*Just an inside joke for those of us who love to make fun of Sandra Lee and her mispronunciations on Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.

Folia and Flora

As a gardener, it is always a joy harvesting homegrown produce. And today I proudly present to you the first bell pepper of the season. Drum roll please...

Well okay, it is a bit wonky-shaped.

All right, and it's a bit small.

Hee hee, it looks funky no matter how you look at it. But I grew it myself, so I'm proud of it. So there!

And how is this for an odd orchid? According to the tag (as I do not believe that this particular orchid has ever bloomed for me before) it is an Epidendrum cochleatum X self orchid. A quick Google search shows that the new name for this orchid is Encyclia cochleatum. This orchid is the national flower of Belize and is called the Black Orchid as well as the Octopus Orchid.

What I can tell you is that this is a difficult orchid to photograph as the flower proper is about the size of a dime. Gotta love those orchids.

Salad and a Sandwich

Perhaps this is just proof that I am more than a bit weird, but one of my favorite dishes when I was growing up was Marinated Cucumber and Onion Salad. Well, come along and see...

Here we have the remaining cucumber from the Gypsy Bacon from the other day and some red onion. My childhood rendition of this recipe calls for white distilled vinegar, but I chose to use reduced sodium rice vinegar for today's version. Also needed are sugar, salt and black pepper.

The classic recipe for the marinade calls for a one-to-one ratio of sugar and vinegar, with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

I peeled the waxy skin from the cucumber before slicing and then sliced about half as much red onion which I then separated in to rings.

Then it's a simple matter of mixing and tossing before refrigerating for at least two hours before serving.

It really is too bad that I am the only one in my family who likes this dish. Really, it is.

A twist on an American favorite. Guess I was feeling a bit international today...

Today I was struck with the odd desire to make my own Croque Monsieur. As I really wasn't feeling like making or eating a cream sauce, I chose a simpler recipe. But alas, my inability to follow a recipe came into play, so I ended up blending two different recipes. First, I started with Chef Jill Davie's recipe, but then I veered off the beaten path and added a bit of Paula (I love butter) Deen's recipe for Croque Madame (minus the egg). And just in case you didn't catch the distinction, a Croque madame is just a Croque monsieur with an egg added to the sandwich.

Unfortunately, I do not currently have any Gruyere cheese on hand, so I made do with my baby Swiss cheese. I did pull out some creamy horseradish that I added to the mayonnaise.

First, butter (or margarine?) one side each of two slices of bread. Lay the buttered side down in a preheated skillet. Spread mayonnaise and horseradish on the other side. Lay out a bit of the Swiss cheese.

Layer with thinly sliced deli ham and top with more Swiss cheese.

Spread mayonnaise on the other side of the other slice of bread and place, buttered side up on top of the sandwich. Cook until the bottom is nicely browned and flip.

Once both sides have browned and the cheese is melted, take off the heat and slice, if desired.

And yes, I do realize that this is just a fancy grilled cheese sandwich, but what else do you expect from those wild and crazy French people? Just in case you were wondering, it was good. Next time I might even decide to make a nice creamy sauce to go with this.

More Than Just a Cook

Julia Child was more than just a cook. She was the mother of cooking shows. She brought French cooking to the American masses. She showed us that fancy cooking was not outside of our capabilities. She taught young women that much joy could be found in the kitchen while cooking for their families.

I grew up watching Julia Child on PBS. No matter what happened on the shows, she still smiled and carried on. I especially remember her advice that if the turkey falls on the floor, to simply pick it up and not tell your guests. Sanitary? No, but definitely practical. Her food was the antithesis of all that my mother cooked at home and I was enthralled. She was my culinary hero.

And now comes the news that not only was Julia Child a culinary inspiration, she was an American spy. You rock, girl!

A Childhood Memory Found

One of my childhood memories was of a special, once a year meal that my family and our friends would share while camping. Usually this dinner would happen in August, when fresh produce was amply available and the weather was warm. The thing I most remember about this meal was the anticipation. I also vaguely recall the amount of work the adults all put into the meal, with the women peeling, cutting and chopping the fresh vegetables, while the men stoked the fire and prepared the meat. At the time, it also seemed to be a lot of work just standing around, waiting for our turn at the food.

I then spent almost 30 years trying to track down that recipe. This turned out to be quite difficult as I had no access to the source and couldn't remember the name of the dish. I only dimly recalled that it was an ethnic dish and that I used to call it 'Dirty Bread'. Enter that wonder of the modern era: The Internet. Now, search engines on the internet are great, but they can only do so much. So, I spent many hours, just typing in relevant phrases, hoping to find a clue that would help track down this elusive recipe.

Finally, after many fruitless hours, I found it. Gypsy Bacon, or Hungarian Gypsy Bacon. This was the recipe from my childhood. Reading the article I learned that traditional Gypsy Bacon is cooked over a campfire, and served with sweet onions on rye bread. My family had tweaked this recipe just a bit and that is the method I employ today.

I started out with some fresh vegetables. Today I had cucumber, green bell pepper (since my homegrown red bell wasn't quite ripe yet), homegrown tomatoes, Roma lettuce, red onion and Vidalia onion.

All of the vegetables have been sliced except for the tomatoes. Tomatoes are best when sliced just before serving. It is also important to not refrigerate tomatoes, as the cold will diminish the taste.

I purchased a slab of pork jowl bacon. The only seasoning needed is sweet paprika.

First, score the bacon on both sides.

Then generously rub the paprika over all the surfaces of the bacon.

The final player in this dish is the rye bread.

Cook the bacon over a low to medium heat (depending on your grill). As the grease comes to the surface, take the meat off the heat and pat on the slices of rye bread (now do you understand the nickname 'Dirty Bread'?)

Be patient, this takes a bit of time. Coat both sides of the bread with the juices from the meat.

Once the bread has been coated, slice the bacon and finish cooking until done.

Now, we're ready for the veggies.

A while back I had Asked Rosietm for another green bean recipe. She had responded with this dish, which I have altered to fit my family's tastes.

Here I have green beans, of course, green bell pepper, red onion, dried Herbes de Provence, and feta cheese.

I followed Rosie's advice and cooked the green beans until tender in salted boiling water before blanching in ice water.

Fortunately, I came to my senses after I took this picture and swapped out white wine vinegar for the rice vinegar pictured.

As luck would have it, I didn't have any Italian seasoning packets on hand, so I made Italian vinaigrette from scratch.

I did use dried Herbes de Provence, white wine vinegar, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, sea salt and vegetable oil.

Mix to taste and pour over the green bean salad.

My daughter and I liked this dish, Rosie. My husband would have just rather had the green beans without the additions. Oh well, two out of three isn't bad, I suppose.

And this is the finished dinner. Gypsy Bacon is served with the fresh veggies on the bread and is eaten as an open faced-sandwich. Again, we had to be happy with just satisfying two out of three palates with this meal. But, as this is a meal I only make once a year, he'll just have to accept this.