This week at our farmer's market and in our garden

Lavender tuna

This week I decided to do something with edible flowers. We have some beautiful lavender in our yard so we made a lavender and pepper encrusted tuna. I used this recipe as a base and modified it to our tastes (http://whatscookingamerica.net/TunaLavender.htm). It was wonderful.

The next challenge was crystallized edible flowers. I picked some lavender flowers, pansies, roses, and violas. I washed and dried them. Next each flower was carefully painted with a mixture of egg white and water (one eggs white and 1 1/2 teaspoons of water) and then carefully covered in superfine sugar. Each flower is then allowed to dry. I placed my flowers on a waxed paper covered baking sheet and placed them in the oven with the light on overnight and they dried nicely. I made superfine sugar by processing regular sugar in the food processor (I don't think I processed it as long as I should have and it affected the results). The flowers that are created are very fragile and easily broken (I broke several). I thought this was a fairly difficult recipe because a lot of patience is required. I probably rushed the process more than I should have. Here are my results:

My garden is really coming along. We harvested one green bean. It was great. More beans are on their way. We also finally have peas and baby eggplant. I just planted more beans and I am going to plant a Serrano pepper and another basil plant. All we we have been using basil, parsley, chives, and dill in pestos, salsas, and green goddess dressings so I am a little worried about keeping up with the demand. It is so exciting to go out everyday and see the changes in the garden. Unfortunately I have not been pulling weeds and the weeds are quickly growing. So a fair amount of weeding needs to be done today. But now the farmer's market is calling!

We had coffee at the market, relaxed, and chatted about what to have for dinner. We decided on a nicoise salad. It is prefect for a hot summer day. It does take a lot of prep work but it is worth it. As we were discussing dinner and plans for the rest of the day, we realized that it was 11:00 and the market was closing. We quickly bought potatoes, lettuce and green beans for our salad. My version of the nicoise salad is full of boiled egg, lettuce, green onions, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and olives. I dressed it with a mustard vinaigrette. We decided on a salmon. I made a brown sugar jerk rub and Steven cedar planked the salmon on the grill.

Nicoise salad

This Week at the Farmer's Market- Napa Cabbage Ramen Noddle Salad

Saturday is my day to go to the farmer's market. I love our market; it is a mixture of plants, meats, veggies, fruits and prepared foods. Today Katie and I shared a shaved ice with fresh crushed strawberries and a bratwurst. Both were amazing. I brought lamb so we will be having lamb steaks for Sunday night's dinner. (Yum!) I also had to have the Napa cabbage. Katie's favorite salad is a Ramen noodle salad made from Napa cabbage. Finally I couldn't pass up the farm fresh eggs. I can't wait to have eggs Benedict tomorrow morning.

Even though our yard is in danger of being overrun by vegetable and fruit plants, I did buy more plants. I have always wanted to grow cucumbers but I have never had the room. So the solution seems to be a bush cucumber. I found them at the market and I purchased four dwarf bush cucumber plants. I don't have room for the sprawling cucumbers but certainly the dwarf bush cucumbers will work. I guess we will find out.

The garden is way ahead of schedule. The picture of the purple flower (above) is a Japanese eggplant. I planted five eggplants. I think I am going to be drowning in eggplants this year so if you have any great recipes for eggplant please let me know. Next to the eggplant is a picture of cherry tomatoes and below is a picture of Roma tomatoes. They hopefully will produce lots of tasty tomatoes. This week I provided them with organic fertilizer stakes so they will be "fed" all summer. Next to the Roma tomatoes is a picture of peas and peppers. The peas haven't flowered yet but the peppers have already flowered and are growing peppers. The peppers below are hot peppers and at the very bottom of this post are bell peppers.

We even have grapes growing. This year we have so many grapes, the squirrels and birds may actually leave some for us. Also the beans are flowering. We have two kinds of beans this year. My favorite of all of the plants is the corn (pictured at the very bottom). I looks like grass but (hopefully) will soon be as tall as Katie.

The only items we used from our garden for dinner was the herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, and chives) for the rub for the porchetta style pork. Saturday night in addition to the Napa cabbage salad (recipe below) we had porchetta style pork roast. It roasts at 300 F/149 C for hours so it is juicy and pull apart tender. (Below is a picture of the pork-- it was absolutely incredible).

Katie's Favorite Ramen Noodle Salad

• 1 Head of Napa Cabbage
• 1 Bunch green onions
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• One 3 oz (85 g) Package of Ramen Noodles
• 1/4 Cup (36 g) of Toasted Sesame Seeds
• 1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Rice Wine Vinegar
• 3/4 Cup (180 ml) of Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 Cup (113 g) of Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Finely shred the Napa cabbage and finely chop the green onions and put in a large salad bowl.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the crushed Ramen noodles and sesame seeds and sauté until toasted. Put in a small bowl and allow to cool.

To make the dressing:

In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, let boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and let cool.

When ready to serve combine all of the ingredients.

This Week at the Farmers Market- Tom Yum Gai Soup

A bowl of Tom Yum Gai Soup

My Saturday mornings usually include a trip to the Tulsa Cherry Street Farmer's Market. I look forward to it all week. It has a great combination of locally grown produce and live plants.

This week I found some great tomato plants: Napa grape hybrid, chardonnay grape hybrid, and Victoria. I think I have a dozen tomato plants. Last year I planted too many pepper plants (more Steven's fault than mine). I guess this is the year of the tomato. I also have planted all kinds of herbs, shallots, leeks, beans, peas, peppers, eggplant, okra, corn, blueberries, raspberries, and even tomatillos (great for salsas). I also have a dwarf banana plant but it will not provide any fruit until next year. Below are pictures of my garden (which show that I need to get out and pick some weeds).
Tulsa is a great place, but until my garden starts to provide me with its harvest I only have access to fresh local produce once a week. It's amazing how much better fresh food tastes.

This week's fresh haul at the farmer's market was snow peas and green onions. I am in a soup mood (getting over a nasty cold) so I came up with a modified Tom Yum Gai soup. I love Thai food. I think the mingling of flavors is amazing. I grow lemon grass each year so I have access to one of the most important ingredients (at least in my opinion). Tom Yum Gai has an incredible balance between spicy and sour. I know it is not traditional, but I love coconut milk so I added it too. Here is what I did:

Tom Yum Gai Soup

Homemade chicken stock
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
Can of Baby Corn
Can of Straw Mushrooms
2-3 Limes
5 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
3 Shallots, Chopped
3 Green Onions, Chopped
1 Habanero Chili, Cut Down the Middle
Snow Peas
3 Roma Tomatoes, Sliced
Green Onions
Lemongrass Stem, Cut in Pieces
Galangal Root, Sliced (I can only find this at an Asian market)
Chicken, Chopped

Put a total of 10 cups of chicken stock, water from baby corn, and water from straw mushrooms in pot. Add lime juice, kaffir leaves, lemon grass, garlic, shallots, and galangal (or ginger if you can't find any galangal). Bring to a boil then let simmer for 20 minutes. Next add baby corn, mushrooms, chili, tomatoes, snow peas, green onions, coconut milk and chicken. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

Taste the soup -- I ended adding a little brown sugar , red curry paste, and chili garlic sauce. (The lime juice was too overpowering and needed to be offset). Since this soup was our main course, I added rice noodles.

Gumbo

I love to make Gumbo. It changes every time I make it because I make it from leftovers, what's in season, what's on sale, or what's in my freezer. Today I made gumbo with chicken, tasso, shrimp, and andouille sausage. I actually jotted down notes as I made it -- so here is how I made today's gumbo (which will never be repeated).

3/4 of a Red Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Large Onion, Diced
3 Ribs of Celery, Diced
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

Added to a pot with oil covering the bottom, add salt, pepper, cayenne, Creole seasoning, and Louisiana hot sauce to taste.

Saute for approximately 15 minutes stirring frequently.

Add one 28 ounce (794)  can of crushed tomatoes, tasso, and andouille sausage. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

Add chicken broth (approximately 8 cups (2 liters)) and simmer for one hour.

About 30 minutes before serving, make rice.

About 15 minutes before serving taste and, if necessary, tweak the spices. Once you're satisfied, add the raw shrimp, cooked chicken and okra.

Serve with file (ground sassafras) and enjoy!!

Turtle Bar Cookies

One turtle

Wow it has been a while since my last post! I have made some great meals since then (recipes I should have posted). I will try better this year. Some of my current food "loves" are lamb and Russian food. One of my favorite childhood foods are turtles-- they are the perfect blending of cookie, caramel, and chocolate. We made them yesterday after our flight to Denver was canceled and our ski trip postponed. Steven decided to tape the process and here is the video:



Here is the recipe (at least my version-- adapted from Land O Lakes Butter):

Crust:

2 Cups (250 g) of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup (213 g) of Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup (114 g) of Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 1/2- 2 cups ( 192 g to 256g)Pecan Halves

Caramel Layer

1 1/3 Cups (303 g) of Unsalted Butter
1 Cup (213 g) Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

2+ Cups (454 g) of Milk Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350F/ 176C/ Gas Mark 4.

Combine all crust ingredients except pecans in a large bow and mix at medium speed until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press this mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased  9 by 13 (23 by 33 cm) baking pan. Place pecans evenly over unbaked crust. Set aside.

Combine butter and brown sugar in a medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until entire surface begins to boil. Boil one minute stirring constantly. Evenly pour caramel mixture over crust and pecans.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until entire caramel layer is bubbly. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow to melt slightly (2 to 3 minutes). Swirl chips to create a solid layer of chocolate.

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork takes a bit of work but it is worth it. We spent the morning taking the whippets to the farmers' market so we started a little later than we wanted to.

We use Boston Butts and usually smoke two (they go quickly).

I am in charge of the rub which changes every time I make it. This time it is a mixture of kosher salt, brown sugar, different types of red pepper, white pepper, black pepper, chili powder, garlic, onion, and paprika. It gets rubbed all over the pork and is added to apple juice for the mop.
(Picture of the pork butts resting)
While the pork is resting--Steven builds the fire. Once it is ready-- the pork and smoking wood go in and then we wait. Usually fours with smoke and another 3-4 with the pork wrapped in a turkey roasting bag. While it is smoking with add the mop to the pork.


Once it is done-- it is incredible.

I usually make a couple of sauces to go with it.The finished product in a turkey roasting bag.

Shrimp and Scallops En Papillote

The foil packets in process

I have been busy working in my garden (not that you can tell from the number of weeds), cooking, and at work.

Tonight we are having make your own foil packets (you can also do this with parchment paper but foil is easier for our 11 year old to work with)

It is a really easy dinner (It takes a lot of chopping but I usually can talk Steven into that!) I love this dinner because you control the fat and the salt and everything else that goes into dinner. We have a rule that if you make a packet that is just disgusting that you have to eat the packet--- it keeps everyone from making gross packets.

A little bit of advance prep makes the process of putting the packets together easier

The foil packets for shrimp take 15 minutes and the bay scallops take 10 minutes to cook in a 450 F/ 232C/ Gas Mark 8 oven. Make sure you tightly close the foil packets.

I chop up an assortment of herbs-- thyme, basil, parsley, lemon grass, chives, and society garlic (yes all from my garden--despite the heat which in Tulsa is oppressive)

Next I chopped up tomato, pepper and onion

For liquids (you should add some sort of liquid to the packet)-- white wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, butter, and vodka (I love vodka with shrimp)

The packets are ready for the oven

For spice-- red curry and my entire spice cabinet

Mix and match the ingredients in the packets and TIGHTLY close the packet throw it in the oven and that is all there is to it.

We allow each family member to make at least one packet.

We serve over rice- tonight it was saffron rice.

A finished shrimp packet

It is always good and it is always different. Everyone gets to be a master chef.... what's not to love?

And clean up is sooo easy.

A finished scallop packet.