brocc-o-li is a-go-go

Remember the tiny broccoli bunches I was so excited about a few weeks ago? Well...they survived the bunnies and the weather and the bugs! (Please excuse the sub-par phone photos).

This summer we definitely saved money by planting squash, zucchini, and peppers. I knew broccoli was less practical for planters because each plant would only yield one bunch, but this crop was much more about helping me through my winter blues. Mission accomplished, and I can't wait to eat them!

Side note: cauliflower didn't make it. Collards are looking good and I just need a recipe for them.

choppin' broc-o-lie...eventually

I'd given up on checking the garden every other day for signs of life, when Jose found not one, but three little broccoli bunches! I'm hoping they can survive the bunnies and end up on our table for dinner - winter garden for the win!

seasons change and so does my garden

I don't typically get the end-of-summer blues until mid-winter. At the exact moment that I forget how excruciatingly hot June, July and August really were, I want them back. But something tells me that this year I will miss the dog days of summer a little sooner, because I will miss my garden. What to do, what to do? Ah, yes - plant a Fall/Winter crop.

I didn't start anything from seed, and the pickins' was slim. We have cauliflower, broccoli, and collard greens. The first two are favorites, the last one I've never cooked. Or eaten. So I will need help on that front if these actually produce!

sofrito...fresh from the garden (kind of)

The ultimate goal of the garden is to provide ingredients for some of the dishes that we make/eat the most. We planted the cubanelle peppers for the sofrito that we use in rice, beans, marinades, stews, etc. etc. In the past we've had to use anaheim peppers in their place, so we thought it would be cool to get the real deal out of our very own garden.

Imagine my excitement when, just about the time that our frozen supply was running out, our plant yielded the peppers needed for a full batch! So...fulfilling, so...delicious. Garden win #5,716.

cave woman soup

Do you know how hard it was to find enough cave women to make this soup? Alright, not funny. But seriously, I've had several friends recommend the caveman or "paleo" diet to me, since it is the height of healthy, gluten-free eating. I checked out Health Bent, one of the recommended sites, and right away I spotted the carmelized three-onion and cauliflower soup. I vowed to make more soup this year, and even though it's really too hot for it, I whipped it up last week.


What's that green stuff on top? Why that's the most important part - basil oil. I made a bigger batch than what they recommended - probably three handfuls of basil, and 2 cups of olive oil. In addition to topping the soup with it, I dipped my gluten-free cheese and (fresh from the garden) tomato sandwich in it. Oh good grief. Stellar.


What would I do differently? Well, I would probably add an extra shallot for sweetness. I would have some crisp, lean bacon handy for an additional topping. But the most serious alteration I will make is to the cauliflower. Even though I let it simmer as the recipe said, there was a mealy texture to the soup. After brainstorming with my cook-genius friend Scott, I think next time I will lightly steam them, then chop in the food processor, then simmer, then re-process. Stay tuned for the commentary on that. It's cauliflower, how could it go wrong?

i like (gf) toast and (blueberry citrus) jam

Jose's favorite meal is the one I'm most likely to skip - breakfast. Every once in a while I can be talked into a big morning meal...and the promise of something like blueberry citrus jam goes a long way towards convincing me!

The actual recipe is for blueberry lime jam, but I had to make a small adjustment at the last minute - yes, I know I just said that I wouldn't alter any canning recipes until I better understood the science of PH levels, but a small mishap forced my hand.

I had grated the lime peel and juiced the limes in advance and then right before the juice had to be added to the pot, I knocked it over. Could not believe it. Almost cried. With jam, everything is really time-sensitive, so I had two choices: add lemon juice instead or throw it all out. Easy decision. So it's blueberries, grated lime peel, and lemon juice. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it is amazingly amazing. To quote Jose, "this is the best jam I've ever had. Ever. Really."

My breakfast - an egg over medium, fresh tomato from the garden, oven broiled bacon and blueberry citrus jam on toast made from Udi's gluten-free bread.

Jose's breakfast - eggs over easy, oven-broiled bacon, fresh tomato from the garden, leftover blueberries and blueberry citrus jam on regular gluten-filled toast.

beggin' fur basil

Berger loves homemade treats. I mean, Berger loves ALL treats, but I think the fresh ones that we make at home must be really flavorful, because he freaks out for them (or maybe he can taste the love in each one...d'awwww). Puggie is a food hound in general and will eat anything you give her, but since she moved in with us, we've noticed that she loveloveLOVES the basil we're growing. You can frequently find her outside laying in the sun amongst the many pots of basil we have. That is, if she's not standing and sniffing each leaf like it's the most amazing thing she's ever smelled. I once saw her take a timid chomp at one of the leaves, but she looked around like the super guilty dog that she was and dropped her score.


I confirmed that basil is safe for dogs to eat and vowed to come up with a recipe for the pups. I took bits and pieces from a number of recipes and I think they turned out well (not that I can/would try them, but the dogs seem pretty excited about them).

Ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup oatmeal
2-3 tablespoons dried basil
1 1/2 cups water*
4 teaspoons vegetable oil

*You may find that you need a touch more water than this, just be careful not to make the dough too wet.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Add the water and oil and kneed for several minutes, until the ingredients are well distributed and the dough is a nice firm mixture.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4" and cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes (or until edges are browned). NOTE: 30 minutes is for a medium ~3" cookie shape. I make smaller 3/4" stars for Puggie and those were ready in about 20 minutes.

pizza pizza!

Since going gluten-free, I have really really really missed pizza. Really. I've tried a couple of restaurant and pre-made pizzas and they just don't add up. Now we've moved on to buying various GF crusts and testing them at home. Our first attempt was SO superior to these other pizzas, so fantastic. It can only get better from here and that makes me happy.

It started with Udi's personal-sized crusts. We topped them with:
tomato sauce we made with pan roasted zucchini*, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes*, and onions
basil pesto*
fresh mozzarella
basil leaves*
tomato slices*
feta crumbles


before...

I forgot to take an after photo until I was down to my last slice. Not the most beautiful slice, but if you could have a bite, you would taste the beauty :)

*ingredients fresh from the garden

basil bananza!

Last weekend we harvested somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 cups of basil from the garden. Also, I didn't even get to every plant. So for those of you who said/thought that I planted too much basil, you might be right...but I'll never admit it. I'll work double time to make use of it all and I'll give the rest away. No basil will be left behind.

So what did I do with it all? Well, I made 6 batches of regular pesto - I used the Farmhouse Finishing School's recipe. Love. Great recipe. Not too different from the ones I've been using, but it called for the pine nuts to be lightly toasted and that made a giant difference. While I was toasting stuff, I toasted the garlic - made it easier to peel and the flavor was really great.

But that still left A WHOLE LOT OF BASIL, so I revisited my roasted red pepper pesto and whipped up a double batch. I should note here that the recipe I provided was already a double batch and I had forgotten that (d'oh!) and my food processor almost overflowethed. Almost.

I toasted the pine nuts and garlic and kept everything else the same. Mmmmmm...we ended up using the roasted red pepper pesto as the base sauce on a pizza with a little bit of the basil pesto in a swirl on top...wow. Highly recommend. All the work that has gone into growing this basil and making the pesto is 100% worth it.

Finally, I decided to dry some basil. In addition to using it in our own food, the dogs love it. At casa de Lopez, everyone wins!

mojito cupcakes

I've been fired up and ready to bake gluten-free cupcakes for over a week now, and the 4th of July seemed like the perfect time to start. With 50 recipes in my new cookbook, choosing the right cupcake was much more difficult than I thought it would be. Ultimately, I chose mojito cupakes because I could use mint from our garden. Plus, the theme of our friends' July 4th celebration was "summertime" and what says summer better than a mojito?

Before I could even start the baking, I had to use 6 different gluten-free flours and starches to create the flour mix. It was really frustrating that I couldn't just pull down a bag of white or wheat flour and get to work, so my attitude was definitely poor.


The authors of the book did a great job of preparing me for the work that would go into making these cupcakes the best they can be, and I truly appreciate that. But I still found myself a little bitter about the added work, especially since this was my first GF baking experience.

I had to dip my fingers in ice water and smooth the top of each cupcake, because the batter doesn't settle the way your typical batter would.


I was complaining, complaining about the added hassle of GF baking and threatening to give up baking altogether...then I peeked in the oven at the rising cakes and I was back in.


They turned out very well and tasted great, even without the icing.


My (non-existent) decorating skills left a lot to be desired, but the taste was undeniably delicious.


I strayed a bit from the recipe when it came to the icing....the authors suggested buttercream, but I don't have a candy thermometer...so I went for a regular frosting favorite, with a twist.

2 sticks butter, room temperature
3.5 cups confectioner's sugar
zest from one lime
the juice from that lime
2 teaspoons orange mint, minced

I put all ingredients in the bowl and mixed on medium-high until it was thick enough to decorate with.

FIRST!

No, I don't plan to post a photo of every single thing that we grow in the garden...just most of it. You know, the stuff that really excites me, which certainly includes all of the initial picks.

Tomatoes, zucchinis, and a cubanelle pepper! By the way, that pepper seemed to pop up overnight, but it has a looong way to go before it's ready. My wish is for 2-3 more to be ready soon so I can use them for a batch of sofrito. Here's hoping the rest of the summer is this productive!