from the garden to the table : : winter pesto

Sadly, the garden is coming to an end for this season. We’ve gotten to eat many great meals this summer from ingredients we’ve grown, which has been satisfying both because we grew them and because produce is far better when freshly picked at optimum ripeness. But, with winter approaching, it is time to start preparing the garden for winter, which includes about 3-4 feet of snow (a bit more than a meter) and temperatures that generally range from 5 to 25 degrees (-15 to -4). Basil, however, begins to die with temperatures far warmer than that. Anything below 50 (10) will begin to leave black spots on the leaves that look like frost damage. So, with nights now well below 50, the basil had to go.

Pesto is the answer to the very lovely and large basil plant in the backyard. While there are many recipes, Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone had a fabulous recipe that I follow. It is a classic with basil, parmesan, pecorino romano, pine-nuts, olive oil, salt and butter.

To save it for the winter, put it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. When you want to remember the tastes of summer, all you need to do is toss a pesto cube with some pasta or gnocchi and you’re set for a simple dinner.  

from the garden to the table : : stuffed banana peppers

Our Banana Pepper plant was the one pepper plant that did really well this summer―we had about 16 peppers on it by the beginning of October! So, I decided to make some stuffed peppers.

First, make some Mexican style rice: rice cooked pilaf-style with bouillon, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder. Then, mix the rice with cilantro (coriander), finely chopped onions, a bit of ricotta cheese and queso fresco (although mozzarella, colby-jack or even a mild tasty cheese for those in Australia would work).

After cutting the peppers and seeding them, simply stuff the rice filling in and bake at 350 (180) for about 20 minutes. They are great served on a bed of refried beans―homemade are best but a tin will work, just add some milk, butter, chopped onion and a dash of garlic and let the beans cook on the stove for 30 minutes to help improve the flavor!

from the garden to the table : : fried green tomatoes

My grandfather was born in 1929 and raised in Kentucky. He often speaks about eating fried green tomatoes, reminiscing about just how tasty they were. The history of the dish is most likely lost amid the pots and pans of many a small farm kitchen but, according to food historian Robert F. Moss, the dish is not exclusively southern (as most people believe) and recipes for making the tomatoes can be found in old newspapers from the midwestern and northern parts of America between 1900 and 1920, as well as in some Jewish cookbooks from the early part of the 20^th century. My own instinct is that the dishes origins come from the backyard garden―early in the season, we had a green tomato pull of the vine when tying one of the plants to the fence. Not wanting to waste it, I sliced and fried it. My guess is, people with gardens have always had the odd green tomato come off the vine, or needed an early summer meal before the tomatoes were ripe, or had tomatoes left as the midwestern winter arrived early and, not wanting to waste the fruit, found ways of cooking the hard, green tomatoes.

The traditional recipe is to slice the tomatoes ¼ an inch thick, salt and pepper the slices, dust them in cornmeal and then fry them in hot bacon fat. I basically follow this recipe but use butter rather than bacon fat and add a bit of flour, garlic powder and onion powder to the cornmeal for the breading.  After heating up the cast-iron skillet and browning the butter, the slices go in, frying on each side until golden brown. Because I love sauces, I mix up a light sauce of sour cream, paprika, lemon juice, a few drops of Tabasco, and finely grated cheddar cheese to spoon over the tops of the tomatoes. Served with potato salad and watermelon, you have a light and tasty Midwestern meal.

from the garden to the table : : roasted veggie pasta

I learned to roast veggies in Australia. For some reason, I’d never really noticed it as a way of preparing vegetables while living in America. This pasta is great because you can make it for any season with any vegetables. In this case, it was all about using the vegetables in our garden that were ripe for use.

Start by chopping up some vegetables. In this case, we’ve used summer squash, banana peppers, and orange tomato, some cherry tomatoes and some garlic (the only thing we didn’t grow)

Marinade the vegetables―I used truffle oil, olive oil, white wine, salt and freshly cracked pepper

Since it has been stinking hot here in South Bend, I put my cast iron skillet on the BBQ outside and heated it. Once it was good and hot, I put the vegetables on it and cooked them till they were nicely browned in some places (normally I cook them in the oven though).

While the veggies cook, chop up some fresh herbs: we used basil, oregano, and thyme, again all from the garden

Don’t forget to prepare the pasta. Whole wheat rotini or penne are best for this dish.

Once the pasta is cooked, toss it with more olive oil, truffle oil, wine, salt and pepper. Mix in cooked veggies and fresh herbs. 

For a nice dinner on the back deck, serve with parmesan cheese, freshly baked bread (with balsamic and oil for dipping) and a crisp white wine.

from the garden to the table : : stuffed tomatoes and lemon-dill rice

[Jess returns to this blogosphere...] 

Our big tomatoes (Better-Boys) have looked promising all summer, growing big and green, slowly ripening through orange to red. Sadly, though, a raccoon or something like that has been getting into them at night, eating big holes in the soft, red flesh the day before they should be picked. We have managed to get to a few before the wildlife…

Stuffed tomatoes are an easy, casual meal that you can make to suit just about any cuisine. Start by halving and hollowing out a couple of large tomatoes (use the innards to make Cherry Tomato pasta). Then, in a separate bowl mix:

• Bread crumbs
• Fresh herbs (we used oregano, thyme, and chives from our garden)
• Fresh garlic either crushed or chopped
• Cheese (in this case, I used cheddar but you can use whatever you have on hand)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Put the bread crumb mixture into the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Cook uncovered in the oven or on a BBQ until the tomatoes are a bit wrinkly and the tops are golden.

While waiting for the tomatoes to cook….

I made rice to serve the tomatoes on. For this pilaf style rice, sauté the tomato innards, a banana pepper from the garden, and an onion in generous amount of butter. Add the rice and a bunch of dill, stir it around for a few minutes, and then add the normal amount of liquid for the amount of rice (I used an Amish chicken-broth). Once the rice is cooked, add some sour cream and lemon juice. 

A fresh salad and some rock melon make the meal complete (as does a cold beer…).

from the garden to the table : : cherry tomato pasta

Cherry tomatos are a winner in the backyard veggie garden! Easy to grow (all of our seedlings have produced), the tomatoes are small and so grow to size and ripen quickly and they are super-tasty!

Cherry Tomato Pasta, one of Jess' made-up recipes, has been one of our favorite meals for a while now... so it is great to get the key ingredient from our garden + a range of herbs to vary the dish...

yum!

Here's how you make it...

• lots of garlic and olive oil in a big saucepan
• cut & cook-down a bunch of cherry tomatoes + take the innards from a few big tomatoes and add them to the mix (keep the tomato shells for our next recipe)
• season with salt & pepper to taste
• add some half-cut cherry tomatoes for a few minutes at the end
• add chopped parsley
• a splash of white wine (in the pasta people!)
• pine nuts are a great addition!
• serve over angel hair spaghetti with parmesan cheese + ground pepper
• garlic bread and salad make the meal (as well as a refreshing glass of white wine)

from the garden to the table : : margarita pizza

South Bend seems like a great place to plant a backyard veggie garden (to us first-timers at least...). The soil is rich black in color and fertile (certainly the weeds grow fast), the earth worms are huge, it is hot and humid and we get plenty of rain - all good for growing some of our own food.

Home-made pizzas are great for a night-in with a cold beer to drink and a DVD to watch. The classic margarita pizza is so easy to make when the two key ingredients come from the backyard - tomatoes & basil.

If you want to get into the home made pizza routine, I would suggest two key investments:

1. a pizza stone & rack (between $10-$20)
2. a good mixer (not so cheap, but a lifetime investment if you get a good one) - the best being the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series

The results are good (this is Andrew's handiwork...)!

Here's how to make it...

• we use Deborah Madison's pizza dough recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (the only addition is to add ground pepper, chili flakes, dried basil & oregano to the dough)
• per-heat the oven 30 mins prior to 500 F with the pizza stone in the oven on the rack
• roll-out the dough to about 75% size of the pizza stone
• take the VERY HOT pizza stone from the oven and place the dough on the stone, pushing the dough to the edges (this bit needs to happen quickly, so the dough hits the hot stone and seals the crust)
• then take your time making the pizza... start with pizza sauce
• we blend mozzarella with some parmesan and a little cheddar, and mix it through with ground black pepper and olive oil
• add your tomato slices - cherry tomatoes sliced in thirds work great - add plenty!
• put the pizza in the oven until the crust starts to brown
• take the pizza out and add your ripped-up basil leaves + a sprinkling more of the cheese
• then back into the oven for another 3 minutes or so...