Strawberries and jam

Such an absolutely perfect weekend. First we hosted a Friday potluck, then a Saturday at the farmer's market, spent time in the yard planting more herbs (4 kinds of basil!) and veggies and the evening at Cirque du Soleil. And then an impromptu strawberry picking expedition on Sunday lead by the world most adorable strawberry spotter. The strawberries were gorgeous at the farmer's market this weekend I developed an obsession with picking strawberries this spring. My indulgent husband let me hijack our other plans.

Child labor

We've been playing the game Orchard in which a rascally raven steals your fruit. Joey was very concerned that we needed to get to the strawberries before the raven came and ate our fruit. If you have a 2 - 5 year old, you need Orchard. Joey loves it and it's tolerable for us to play over and over and over...

Lifting 25% of his body weight in fruit

Berry boys

Anyway, we picked 8 lbs. of strawberries. We had another 3 lbs. from the farmer's market in the fridge. So that's 11 lbs. of berries. Ummmm, yeah. Clearly, I was a little excited to see them in season again.

I've put up 10 jars of jam and have plans to freeze most of the rest. Now that I'm over my fear of canning, I really love it. The jars look so pretty lined up in the pantry and Joey had a blast using the potato masher to smash the berries. Well, smash and eat. Look here for more info about canning. I love busting out all the weird shaped jars I inherited from my Grandma. They are perfect for jam!

We Made: Tofu and Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce

Why,  hello Mr. Long Bean. What's that you say? We've eaten up quite a bit of you lately. Well, yes. But you keep appearing in our farm share and are ever so tasty and crunchy. Especially when slightly charred. Yummy. 

Tofu and Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce

Make 4 servings 

WW = 4 points

16 ounces extra firm tofu, cubed

2 - 3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss tofu with soy sauce and olive oil. (You can add crushed red pepper or garlic or ginger. The boy likes them a little plain so I didn't.) Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the tofu has absorbed all the liquid.

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 white onion or 1 bunch of large scallions sliced thinly

3 cups long beans or green beans or snap peas (whatever works) cut into 1 - 2 inch pieces

3 - 4 large chinese eggplant sliced into rounds on the diagonal

1 red pepper diced

While the veggies are cooking, combine the ingredients below and set aside:

4 Tablespoons black bean sauce

3 Teaspoons sugar

1 thumbish size piece of fresh ginger, grated

1/3 c water

While the tofu is baking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add in onion and long beans and sear for 3 minutes. Add in eggplant, gently distributing all over the skillet. Cook for 10 minutes, checking occasionally and redistributing eggplant evenly around the skillet as it cooks. When most of the eggplant looks brown on the edges, add in the red pepper. After 5 minutes, add in sauce. Add in tofu and mix gently to combine. Take off the heat and serve over brown rice.

Can Do, Can Do.

The product of "Saturday Date Night"

A few things learned while canning...

• When they say "Hot Sweet Pickles" in the recipe, believe it. These pickles are more like candied pickles that will also singe your tongue. Adjust recipe accordingly.  And stop eating the pickles until your mouth burns.
  
• Do not - I repeat - do not overestimate the amount of cucumbers the simmering pot of sticky pickling liquid on the stove can hold. When it over flows, it will create that lovely burnt sugar smell that manages to drown out the smell of vinegar.
  
• After chopping 6 pounds of jalapenos, remember to wash your hands several times before you touch your lips. You have learned this lesson before, but have some sort of mental block.
  
• No, the jars are not leaking salt into the water. You need to remember that San Antonio tap water is just barely liquid and contains so much calcium and magnesium than when it boils down it will leave snow drifts in the bottom of the canning pot. Really.
  
• Stop checking to see if the lids have sealed! They will seal on their own time. Just as a watched pot never boils, a watched jar never seals.
  
• Don't be so proud of yourself. Most women a generation or less ago knew how to can food as a basic household task. It's not rocket science.
  
• Take a moment to marvel at the fact that you managed to marry someone who is perfectly happy to spend a Saturday evening canning jalapenos with you and ran to the grocery store twice to pick up reinforcement supplies. Be proud.
  
  We are canning again this evening since we seem to be experiencing a plague of cucumbers.

We Made: Garbanzo Bean Curry

While we were on vacation at the super fancy condo we had a full kitchen. So on the Saturday after we arrived in Invermere we took a trip to their little farmer's market. Much of it was gifty sort of items and lots of honey. But we also got some fresh, local veggies (including the mostly wildly delicious cherries) to act as the base for our meals during the week. We ended up with spinach, potatoes, carrots, cherries, tomatoes, beets, and bread.

One of our go to meals at home is a Garbanzo Bean Curry with whatever greens are currently available and fresh or canned tomatoes. Like nearly everything we cook, it's very flexible and can be stretched or cut to fit the number of people we're feeding. If we have extra time we'll roast the garbanzo beans in a 425 degree oven before adding to the curry.

Garbanzo Bean and Spinach Curry with Coconut Rice
(Makes 4 servings)


1 cup white rice
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
4 crushed cardamon pods

Cook white rice as usual but replace half the cooking liquid with coconut milk. Add spices to cooking liquid with rice. Remove seed pods and cinnamon stick before serving.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large white onion, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
4 - 6 tablespoons curry Powder
2 tablespoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cups cooked Garbanzo beans
4 cups spinach with the center stem removed
1 can diced tomatoes OR 3 large tomatoes, diced with 1 cup veggies broth

Heat the olive oil and add the onion. After the onion is browned, add in the garlic, ginger and ground spices. Cook briefly until the spices are well distributed and you can smell the garlic. Add in the garbanzo beans and stir to coat. Add in the canned or fresh tomatoes and veggie broth. Turn to low simmer. Add spinach and cover until wilted.

Serve curry over hot coconut rice.

We're Eating: Sweet Corn and Peaches

A Gluten Free Cornbread and Peach Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts

For Father's Day this year, I decided to make a feast at home. We hit up the farmer's market on Saturday and came home with:

• Eggs
• Sweet Corn
• Portabello Mushrooms
• Zucchini
• Yellow Squash
• Onions
• The tiniest, cutest little eggplant
• Tomatoes (Curse you squirrels that we don't have any from the garden!)
• Cheese from Humble House Foods

We grilled all the veggies including the corn. We also made burgers with ranch meat and portabello mushroom burgers for the veggiesaurus (that would be me).

I made cakes using the peaches my mom and I picked at Marburger Orchard a month or so ago. Chuck and I had peeled and frozen the vast majority of the 29 lbs of fruit we picked. 

For Father's Day, I got Chuck 6 olive trees. I know, not a native tree. But they are from a local olive orchard. Who knew? Turns out that South Texas has a climate similar to the olive producing regions of the world. In 2 to 3 years, we should be able to brine some olives of our own.

In other food news, our farm share just started up again. Yeah!  This week we received:

• Basil
• Eggplant
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Hot peppers of various kinds
• Cucumbers

Anyone see a ratatouille in our future? Me too.

We're Eating: Hoppin' John

From the Farmer's Market on 5/28/10

Pretty purple okra

Sweet yellow and red onions, garlic, eggs, tomatoes, crookneck squash, and mushrooms.

From Our Garden:

A tiny green bell pepper

A few tomatoes that are almost ripe

And so with the bounty of the garden and the Farmer's Market, we made Hoppin' John. I originally started making Hoppin' John from a recipe adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking. The Gift of Southern Cooking was co-authored by Edna Lewis, the grand dame of Southern Cooking, and Scott Peacock. I love the story of the two unlikely friends and the care and compassion they each showed for the other. However, they both cook with LOTS of pork. Since we don't eat pork and I don't eat any meat, most of the recipes in the book are more interesting reading the really something I would make. However, Hoppin' John is in heavy rotation at our house since Chuck loves Black Eyed Peas and I love rice and beans in any form.

1 T olive oil

1-2 small yellow onions

3 cloves garlic

1 green bell pepper

1ish pound okra

4 cups cooked black eyed peas

1-2 large tomatoes

1/2 C veggie broth

Optional: 2 C green beans

1/2 t crushed red pepper

1 T ground thyme

salt to taste

3 C cooked brown rice

Crystal Hot Sauce or Tabasco

Chopped green onion tops for garnish

Cook brown rice before you start the rest of the meal.

Dice onion. Wash and chop okra. Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onion and okra. The key to cooking okra without it getting gooey is to sear the heck out of it. Cook until the okra starts to brown on one side or the other. Add in the diced bell pepper and chopped garlic. When the bell pepper is soft, add in the diced tomato, spices, and veggie broth. Turn down to a low simmer and add in black eyed peas. Cook until everything looks well combined ~20 minutes.

Serve over hot brown rice and garnish with hot sauce and chopped green onion.