Whole Roasted Okra

Happy September!  While everyone is pumpkin happy (myself included, just wait until tomorrow's post) we're enjoying whole roasted okra with every meal.  I love okra in any form, especially fried and even stewed, roasting it whole is a new found love.  It's so easy and gives a little healthier, but still crunchy, spin on breaded and fried.  Give it a try -- I promise it's not slimy in the least!

Whole Roasted Okra

Ingredients:

• 1 pound okra, whole
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.
• Drizzle okra with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix until all pieces are coated.  
• Make sure okra is in a single layer and bake for 20-30 minutes, shaking pan a few times, until slightly brown and crisp. 

Notes:

• I've only tried this with fresh okra, as it's readily available this time of year.  (If you're in the Midwest, Fresh Thyme has it!)
• It's so good that I have a feeling I will try frozen, but defrosed, okra this winter.....

Happy Cooking!

Garden Beet Juice

During a recent lunch Aunt MRM and I enjoyed a juice sampler.  I fell in love with the beet ginger juice.  It was absolutely delicious and I knew immediately I would be trying to replicate it at home.  While it takes a lot of veggies for a bit of juice, it's so yummy it's worth it.

Garden Beet Juice

Ingredients:

• 1-2 beets (Fresh Thyme has cooked beets in the refrigerated section, so easy!!)
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 stalk celery
• 3-4 leaves kale
• 1 apple, cored
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled
• 1 lemon, juiced
• water as needed

Directions:

• Put all ingredients in blender, with kale on the top. 
• Blend until all ingredients are well combined and "juiced".  Be sure to add a little water as needed to keep things "moving".  We use the liquify setting.
• Strain using a fine mesh strainer.  
• Serve cold.  (I even like over ice.)

Notes:

• While it might look like a smoothie fresh from the blender, don't make the same mistake I did and take a sip.  Be sure not to skip the straining step!
• Be careful with the beet, they have the ability to stain!  I use parchment paper to cover cutting boards, etc.

Happy Juicing!

What's for Dinner [Salmon Burgers with Spinach and Feta]

It's no secret that we've been enjoying tons of salmon lately (grilled, honey-soy-glazed, and most recently like this).   While I could eat it every day of the week, Hubby tires of it.  This was my attempt to change things up and it was a huge success!

Salmon Burgers with Spinach and Feta

Ingredients:

• 1 lb salmon, cut into large cubes
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup Feta cheese (roughly)
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Pulse spinach in a food processor until roughly chopped.  
• Add salmon cubes and pulse until slightly blended.  
• Add remaining ingredients and mix by hand.  Form into patties.  (The mixutre is soft.  If grilling chill in a fridge for 15 minutes until firmer.)
• Add drizzle of olive oil to saute pan and heat.  Brown patties on each side and enjoy!

Notes:

• We served plain, but this would be delish on a bun with lemon mayo (1 c. mayo, 1-2 T lemon juice, 2 t zest, garlic if desired).
• For health reasons we omitted a binding agent like egg or bread crumbs.  While we didn't miss either, you could easily include one or the other!
• We served with a simple mix of sauteed squash from the garden.

Happy Cooking!

Greek Villiage Salad [Horiatiki]

Well friends, I hate to break it to you, but a Greek salad doesn't have lettuce.  Don't get me wrong, I'll eat one because, quite simply, add feta and olives, which is really all anyone really does, and it's good.  But, all those Greek salads you've had?  They've been a poor imitation of the real deal.  A true Greek salad is so very simple, yet a thing of beauty.  It's truly one of my favorite dishes and served fresh from the garden it just can't be beat.  So without further ado.....

What's for Dinner [Jacques Pepin's Greens with Cream Dressing]

Y'all have I got a recipe for you today.  I swear this is so delicious I could eat it with a spoon!  There has yet to be a Jacques Pepin recipe I haven't absolutely loved and this certainly didn't disappoint.
We served along side baked cod and used a bit to drizzle over the fish, too. 

Jacques Pepin's Greens with Quick Cream Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 t. red wine vinegar
• 8 cups loosely packed young Boston lettuce, washed and dried

Directions:

• Put the cream, salt, and pepper in a salad bowl and whip for about 15 seconds, or just until frothy.  Stir in the vinegar.
• Add lettuce, toss briefly, and serve immediately.
• Note: If it's too thick dilute with 1T of water before tossing with lettuce.

Happy Cooking!!

Sausage, Quinoa, and Kale (Almost) One Pot Meal

Y'all, this just might be my new favorite dish.  One of the darling fourth grade teacher brings the yummiest looking lunches to school.  She's very sweet about sharing (both the actual dish and how she made it) and was absolutely the inspiration to this dish.  While her dishes feature pesto as the I decided to go with tomato instead.  She prompted me to just throw a little of this and a little of that in, and since that's how I cook usually, that's exactly what I did.  Here's the end result:

Sausage, Quinoa, and Kale (Almost) One Pot Meal
Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage (I used garlic and basil chicken sausage from Fresh Thyme, which was terrific)
• 1 head kale, chopped
• 1 can tomato sauce (I prefer this to jarred tomato sauce, use what you like)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked 
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 t basil
• 1/2 t oregano
• salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

• In saucepan bring broth to boil.  Add quinoa, lower heat to simmer, and cook for 10 min. Fluff with fork.
• While quinoa cooks, saute the onions in a dab of olive oil. 
• Add sausage to onions and brown completely.  
• Once sausage is cooked through, drain if needed.  Return sausage to pan and add kale.  Cook until desired softness is reached.  
• Add cooked quinoa, tomato sauce, and adjust seasoning.
• Enjoy!  (It really is just that easy!!)

Happy Cooking!

Mesquite Bean Coffee

While visiting Bestie MHDRL in Big Bend, Texas we embraced the notion of "while in Texas" wholeheartedly and whipped up some mesquite bean coffee.  She had already harvested the mesquite beans before I arrived, so all we had to do was roast and brew.  It was quite yummy and such a unique treat -- definitely not something we find in Hoosierland!

What's for Dinner [Kale Caesar Salad]

I'm sorry that I'm back with another kale recipe, but I'm telling y'all....I'm. obsessed.  And I had to pick all of our kale before the snow we got overnight, but I'm not complaining.  At least this one is different than yesterday's though.  Have you tried the kale Caesar salad from Panera?  Delicious...and the inspiration for this meal.  The Parmesan crisps add a little different twist and are so much yummier than the standard croutons.  I used my Silpat liners and they couldn't have been easier.

Pan-Fried Kale

This hardly qualifies as a recipe, but I can assure you that it has become an all out obsession in our little hive.  I started making this last year with kale from our local farmers' market and loved it so much that I decided our garden needed tons some this year.  We've been so lucky with warm weather that thus far that it's still going strong....as is the obsession.

Mint Tea

We've been enjoying our mint from the garden all summer.  It's delicious and prolific.  The perfect addition to any garden.  We've been enjoying vodka mojitos, have mixed some in with watermelon and feta, added it iced tea and meat marinades, but at this point in the summer it was beginning to look a bit straggly.  I decided to cut it back and harvest the mint in hopes that it will grow back fuller (which it usually does) and that we can have yet another harvest before it gets too cold.

We haven't yet used it to steep tea, which is a favorite, so I decided to brew a pot for a little afternoon treat and dry the rest for later use.  It couldn't be easier and tastes so much better than premixed tea bags.

What's for Dinner [Greek Style Grilled Lamb Chops]

Daddy called the other day and said Fresh Thyme (my new favorite store) had lamb shoulder chops on sale so I quickly headed over and threw a few in the cart.  I have to say that I'm going back tonight to pick up some more.  They were delish!  To make things even better Daddy and one of my three favorite brothers were there to enjoy them with us (and if I'm being completely honest, stepped in to cook them on the grill while I attended to things in the kitchen).  These will likely become a new staple at our happy little hive.

From Garden to Table [Refrigerator Pickles]

I didn't originally plan on posting about these in the middle of "Ball Jar Love", but this morning I ate one for breakfast and my plan flew out the window.   (I enjoyed them along with some lamb and tiropita from this weekend's Greek Festival.  I know, I know....it's an odd little breakfast. It's called too busy to go to the grocery over the weekend.  I didn't even have milk, creamer, or even evaporated milk for this morning's coffee....but I digress....) They were pretty yummy, if I do say so myself.  And super easy to boot. 

Garden to Table [Jalapeno Popper Dip]

As I explained yesterday, Hubby and I had a wonderful evening playing cards and visiting with our dear friends D and S.  What I didn't mention is that they are both incredible cooks!  We always know when we go there that we will not only have terrific company, but also a terrific meal.