Doing some prep work for my class tomorrow night. Try this next time you want an authentic Napoli pizza!
Sauté 6 pieces bacon that gave been coarsley chopped. When crispy turn off the heat and add 4 cloves of garlic that have been mashed with 4 rinsed anchovy fillet. Stir well into the hot bacon and grease mixture. The smell is heavenly!!!
Top your par cooked pizza dough with this mixture, fresh basil and tomatoes. Add some fresh mozzarella and cook. Delish!
My grandson Jack loves the garden. 19 Months old and he picks herbs and veggies with me. Green juice is something he gulps down with a smile♥
It is never too early to nurture their love for all things yummy that come out of the garden!
Jack and I picked Japanese eggplant, zucchini, tarragon, basil, lemon basil, chives, Italian parsley and fennel flowers that were dripping with pollen. We had to interrupt the very busy bees that were harvesting all of the pollen. I wish I could find their honey hive….
Anyway the following recipe is for the fresh multi -herb pesto we made to marinate and grill the veggies with.
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh lemon basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh tarragon leaves
2 Tsp. fresh Thyme leaves
1/2 c. Italian parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
4 fennel flowers( if you have them)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 c. EVOO
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 c. toasted pine nuts
fresh seasonal vegetables
In the bowl of your food processor place the loosely packed herbs, garlic cloves and salt. Process with the pulse speed for 30 seconds, on and off. Add the toasted pine nuts and pulse for an additional 30 seconds, on and off to mix them together. The mixture should be pretty smooth by this time. Add the EVVO and mix for 45 seconds until blended together and no big pieces remain in the bowl. Add more olive oil to taste if you like a smoother consistency.
Cut your fresh eggplant and zucchini lengthwise and brush with the pesto mixture. Reserve the extra pesto.
let this marinate for up to two hours. Place on the hot grill skin side down for 3 minutes, flip and char the other side. Total cooking time is about 7 minutes but watch the vegetables carefully. If you have a veggie basket for your grill then use that. It makes it really easy.
I like to toss up whole wheat pasta with the leftover pesto and grate some Asiago over it, maybe add some chopped garden fresh tomatoes. Delish!
We had a great time cooking together at my first Farm to Fork cooking class at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano. By we I mean this crazy, delicious group of people. Thank you to all of you who attended. I had a great time sharing the kitchen and garden with you.
The Ecology Center is founded and run by Evan Marks and if you live locally than you need to visit. Check them out at http://www.theecologycenter.org
It is located right next to South Coast Organic farm so you can fill your Veggie basket at the same time!
Anna Maria making pasta like a pro!
Join us if you can on June 20. We will be heating up the cobb oven and making fresh pizza, crust dough courtesy of Chris Blank, a local home baker . I will be instructing on three different sauces to top them off.
We would love to have you join us so go to the ecology center website for info. Pizza and wine, joined together with fellow foodies make for a great Thursday night!
Stay delicious..
The flavor of the homemade sriracha sauce was awesome! If you have not had a chance to make a batch yet , please make a batch before summer BBQ time. I grilled giant portabella mushrooms last night with sides of fresh corn, grilled sweet onions, heirloom tomatoes & an organic mixed green salad from my garden. I also made a grass fed, local, organic beef hamburger for my Hubby..Check out the side of sriracha on the grilled onions. Absolutely delicious!
I stumbled upon a great blog that has great photos and adventurous recipes. http://www.reclaimingprovincial.com.
Check out this blog and her recipe too!
I was goggling the type of hot peppers to use for sriracha sauce and her pictures were amazing so I decided to use her recipe with a few modifications.
The resulting sauce is still fermenting but in about three days I will let you know how it turns out. Right now it has the slightly smokey, earthy taste I love so much in the original sriracha but I still need to add the vinegar and cook it down. We will see… My garden jalapenos are still green so I swooped into Whole foods and bought up most of their red jalapenos!
Recipe as follows:
1 # red jalapeno peppers
4 oz. dried Thai chili peppers
8 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbsp.coarse sea salt
4 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
Using the blade attachment on your food processor , snip off all of the stems on the peppers but leave the little green hats on…add them to your processor bowl with the garlic, salt and sugar. Process until finely ground , alternating between the pulse & puree settings.
Pour into a 32 ounce Mason Jar and loosely screw on the lid. Store in a dark dry spot
( mine is in my pantry) and check on it everyday. The fermentation typically starts after two days. Once you see bubbles starting to form on the bottom of the jar then it is magic time!
Stir the contents every day. it will rise in volume with the bubbles but decrease once you stir it. Once there is no increase in volume after you stir ( about 4 days) remove it from the jar and put the mixture into a medium sauce pan.
add: 1/4 cup Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and bring to a boil. Let it boil for about 5-10 minutes but be careful not to scorch the mixture. Turn it down to medium if you start to notice a burnt smell..
Your sauce should thicken nicely. Let it cool then store in in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid for up to 6 months.. Delish!
Lord. teach me to pant the seeds that help meet the needs of others and to remember that it is You who blesses the work of my hands. Amen.
Just a small prayer to start the day, the next step was to water my garden and this very busy bee kept me company. I love the network of bugs and animals in the garden, Watching ladybugs eat the pests off of my tomatoes and seeing a bee like this one loaded down with pollen on his legs.. just an amazing ecosystem we have going here.. You start out planting to feed yourself and in the process so many others are in the cycle with you. Just like life , if you are living it right!
Today’s recipe is my delicious hummus.. I cooked for an event on Thursday night and we filled hollowed out giant eggplant with the hummus.. it was so good. Everyone wanted the recipe so here you go.
The day before you want to serve the hummus…
2 cups dried organic garbanzo beans ( Whole Foods)
4 Cups water
cover the beans with the water and let them sit overnight.
The following day cover the drained, soaked beans with enough water to cover the beans plus three extra inches. Put in 1 TBSP kosher salt and bring to a boil. cover and simmer for approx. 4 hours or until they are soft..
Once they have cooled slip off the skins from the beans, this will make for very silky hummus!
with the blade attachment for your food processor..
Place the beans in the bowl and process with the pulse button until slightly broken up.
Add:
6 cloves peeled garlic
1/2 cup Tahini ( sesame paste)
Juice of two large lemons, freshly squeezed.
1 TBSP. Sirachia ( Rooster Sauce)
Process until smooth , about two minutes.
with the motor running drizzle in one cup of EVOO ( extra virgin olive oli) through the feed tube.
add 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley and 1 TBSP. salt. Process until very smooth. Adjust your seasonings to your taste buds.
hollow out an eggplant or artichoke, maybe a red bell pepper and use it as the hummus container.
If you have never thought of starting a lettuce container then think again, Please.
I harvested my first salad tonight after 28 days and the sprouted greens are luscious. They carry an enormous amount of enzymes and nutrients in the sprouted form and are so tasty. The flavors are really crisp, the arugula so spicy and the radish tops have a crunchy heat. I planted an heirloom variety by Seeds Of Change. It includes red lettuce, romaine, radish, arugula and Boston varieties. Delish ♥
They are an organic seed company ..check out their website for the full menu of seeds available for your garden. Can’t wait for everything to become edible.. this is a great way to reap quick rewards and wet your appetite for more gardening!
recipes and wisdom for a Delicious life!
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Cooking Up Bold Flavors and Bold Techniques
recipes and wisdom for a Delicious life!
recipes and wisdom for a Delicious life!
Just another WordPress.com site
recipes and wisdom for a Delicious life!
