When we bought our house we inherited a completely overgrown rose bush/tree in a weed covered, overheated bed next to our patio. Every fall I've trimmed it back and every spring, my mom comes a few weeks before my son's birthday and mixes up her super special organic "rose cocktail" and it blooms bigger and bolder every year. This year it's just been insane... so far it's been blooming for 4 months straight. And I mean it has been B L O O M I N G!!! Every evening I'm out there deadheading 3, 4, 5, 6 flowers, and it seems like every time I trim it back, it comes back with more and more. Apparently the scraggly old bush just needed some love and care.
What does this have to do with my compost heap? Well, I'm not really one for potpourri, and it's not a particularly fragrant rose, so all the trimmings are going straight into the bin. The biomass of roses is probably equal to the amount of kitchen trimmings going into our compost. It sure keeps the compost heap smelling good though.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The joys of a kitchen scale
My kitchen scale is by far my favorite tool in the kitchen. I first got it to measure portion sizes, you know, figuring out what a 4oz piece of chicken really looks like, instead of going by restaurant portions. But it's oh so much more useful than that, especially for baking. Take the chicken pocket pies I made for dinner tonight.
When I went to the store on Sunday, I thought to myself "Oh, I have enough butter for the piecrust," then of course when I looked today, I had less butter than I thought. Poop. If you're new to baking, here's a tip. When you're cooking you can eyeball it, when you're baking, you need to measure properly or it will be a disaster. Thankfully, I had a substitute, I've been using coconut oil for pan frying lately (it's very stable at higher heats), and I knew that as a saturated fat, I could substitute it for a small amount of the butter in the pie crust. Time to pull out the trusty kitchen scale... 8 tablespoons butter should be 4oz, I had about 3.2oz, I just scooped some coconut oil in for the rest, and popped it in the food processor. Man, I LOVE making pie crust in the food processor, it's so much easier than by hand.
BTW: The pies in question were from the totally amazing cookbook Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys. There's only 4 in the picture because the others went in the freezer for the Bearded One's lunches. Beats the pants off a hot pocket, I'll tell you that much, they were pretty damn tasty.
When I went to the store on Sunday, I thought to myself "Oh, I have enough butter for the piecrust," then of course when I looked today, I had less butter than I thought. Poop. If you're new to baking, here's a tip. When you're cooking you can eyeball it, when you're baking, you need to measure properly or it will be a disaster. Thankfully, I had a substitute, I've been using coconut oil for pan frying lately (it's very stable at higher heats), and I knew that as a saturated fat, I could substitute it for a small amount of the butter in the pie crust. Time to pull out the trusty kitchen scale... 8 tablespoons butter should be 4oz, I had about 3.2oz, I just scooped some coconut oil in for the rest, and popped it in the food processor. Man, I LOVE making pie crust in the food processor, it's so much easier than by hand.
BTW: The pies in question were from the totally amazing cookbook Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys. There's only 4 in the picture because the others went in the freezer for the Bearded One's lunches. Beats the pants off a hot pocket, I'll tell you that much, they were pretty damn tasty.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
July? Really?
How is it July already? It sure doesn't feel like it! Here in Southern California the "June gloom" is still hanging around and it's cloudy half the day.
Our eggplants don't seem to care though, we've got eggplants coming out our ears. I need to make a big link-parking post for eggplant recipes, because I'm getting kind of bored with just roasting it with a little balsalmic vinegar. (I can't believe I'm saying that, the clouds must be getting into my head!) Is there any way to preserve eggplant without a pressure canner? I'm running out of room in the freezer, but canned eggplant doesn't sound all that great.
I got our chicken delivery schedule wrong this month, and they came today while I was at work. I am VERY proud to say that I got all three chickens prepped and one in the oven in less than the length of time it took for the Little One to watch one episode of Miffy the Bunny. (25 minutes?) That's pretty darn good, if you ask me.
Our eggplants don't seem to care though, we've got eggplants coming out our ears. I need to make a big link-parking post for eggplant recipes, because I'm getting kind of bored with just roasting it with a little balsalmic vinegar. (I can't believe I'm saying that, the clouds must be getting into my head!) Is there any way to preserve eggplant without a pressure canner? I'm running out of room in the freezer, but canned eggplant doesn't sound all that great.
I got our chicken delivery schedule wrong this month, and they came today while I was at work. I am VERY proud to say that I got all three chickens prepped and one in the oven in less than the length of time it took for the Little One to watch one episode of Miffy the Bunny. (25 minutes?) That's pretty darn good, if you ask me.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A Month of Pastured Chickens...
This post is mostly to wrap up links to this month's chicken adventure for Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays, but also to take a moment to talk about what my adventure in sustainable meats has meant to my family, namely my husband. (Scroll down if you just want to read about the chickens.)
Now my husband eats badly. He'd be the first person to admit that to you. It's not that he eats the worst of the standard american diet, but there are a lot of potato chips, white bread & lunch meat and not much in the way of veggies. He's made some efforts to improve it in the last few years, but he doesn't seem to engage with his food in the same way I do. And frankly, it's easier to just go with the flow and eat prepackaged sandwiches than search out better quality food. So what does this have to do with chickens, wild salmon and grass fed beef? Apparently everything! You see, I pointed him to a recent study about the health risks of processed meats and it really seemed to get him thinking. As we've been talking about pastured chickens and grass fed beef, it's really seemed to click with him. And then I got it... meat makes sense to him. He can talk in a more sophisticated way about meat quality simply because he's thought more about meat than he's ever thought about veggies. Veggies are what sits on the side of the dish, meat is his main course (most of the time). So meat quality matters in his world, much more than it ever did in mine. That was a really new thing for me to realize about him.
OK.... onto the links:
Now my husband eats badly. He'd be the first person to admit that to you. It's not that he eats the worst of the standard american diet, but there are a lot of potato chips, white bread & lunch meat and not much in the way of veggies. He's made some efforts to improve it in the last few years, but he doesn't seem to engage with his food in the same way I do. And frankly, it's easier to just go with the flow and eat prepackaged sandwiches than search out better quality food. So what does this have to do with chickens, wild salmon and grass fed beef? Apparently everything! You see, I pointed him to a recent study about the health risks of processed meats and it really seemed to get him thinking. As we've been talking about pastured chickens and grass fed beef, it's really seemed to click with him. And then I got it... meat makes sense to him. He can talk in a more sophisticated way about meat quality simply because he's thought more about meat than he's ever thought about veggies. Veggies are what sits on the side of the dish, meat is his main course (most of the time). So meat quality matters in his world, much more than it ever did in mine. That was a really new thing for me to realize about him.
OK.... onto the links:
- My background post about moving towards more sustainable meats.
- Chickenpalooza: in which I process 3 birds for the month and make stock.
- My favorite chicken treatment so far, plus a bonus coleslaw recipe.
- The last bird of the month was a little less than spectacular.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Last of this month's birds
I roasted the last of this month's chickens last night. This would be the one I divided into pieces and gave a garlic/olive oil marinade. Frankly, it was the least impressive bird of the month. The meat tasted nice and chicken-y, but beyond that it was nothing to write home about. The marinade was ho-hum and chicken pieces don't get the same kind of crisp skin as a roasted whole chicken. I think for next month I'm not going to bother with dividing up the bird, it's so much easier just to freeze it whole, and with vacuum sealing there's little risk of freezer burn over 3-4 weeks time.
Because of the Independence day holiday, I don't think we're getting next month's chickens until the 13th, so I'll probably pick up some grass fed beef for meatloaf this weekend. Next month, I'll probably repeat the same herb roasted chicken & 5 spice marinade for two of the birds, and scan through my cookbooks for some new ideas with the third bird. Chicken chili is on the menu again (great way to use up scraps), but I may keep a bunch of carcasses in the freezer for a couple months before I do broth again. The idea of a big ol' boiling stock pot in the middle of summer just sounds miserable.
In other sad news, I had to take out 3/4 of our tomato plants due to an unknown virus. I'm going to use the space to put in some winter (hard shell) squash, which fed us very well last year. And I might try to do some tomatoes in pots... though irrigating potted tomatoes is a nightmare around here. Mostly I'm just bummed. And really praying that whatever it is doesn't spread to the eggplants & chiles in the same bed (all part of the same botanical family and some of the virii can cross over). I can't quite figure out exactly which virus it is though, so I have no idea if they're at risk.
Because of the Independence day holiday, I don't think we're getting next month's chickens until the 13th, so I'll probably pick up some grass fed beef for meatloaf this weekend. Next month, I'll probably repeat the same herb roasted chicken & 5 spice marinade for two of the birds, and scan through my cookbooks for some new ideas with the third bird. Chicken chili is on the menu again (great way to use up scraps), but I may keep a bunch of carcasses in the freezer for a couple months before I do broth again. The idea of a big ol' boiling stock pot in the middle of summer just sounds miserable.
In other sad news, I had to take out 3/4 of our tomato plants due to an unknown virus. I'm going to use the space to put in some winter (hard shell) squash, which fed us very well last year. And I might try to do some tomatoes in pots... though irrigating potted tomatoes is a nightmare around here. Mostly I'm just bummed. And really praying that whatever it is doesn't spread to the eggplants & chiles in the same bed (all part of the same botanical family and some of the virii can cross over). I can't quite figure out exactly which virus it is though, so I have no idea if they're at risk.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Fresh Produce
I'm really excited we're starting to get veggies from the garden! Last weekend I pulled out some chiles to make chicken chili. And today we have some eggplants as well, the striped ones are fairytale eggplants and they're meant to be harvested when they're young and tender. The longer one is an heirloom chinese eggplant.
Dinner tonight is going to be my husband's favorite salmon cake recipe, with anaheim chiles subbed for the bell peppers, and roasted eggplant on the side. My basic roasted vegetable recipe can be made with almost anything, it's as amazing with eggplant as it is with cauliflower.
Basic roasted veggies
Any quantity of fresh veggies, cut into chunks. Options include everything from bell peppers to cauliflower to root vegetables to squash. Mix and match according to your imagination and what you have available.
Olive oil
Salt & freshly cracked pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Throw the veggies in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the top. Toss thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Oil a roasting pan using either using a cooking spray, or coating it with a brush. Throw the veggies in the pan, roast for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the chunks and density of the veggies, large pieces of sweet potato will take longer than thin slices of zucchini). Vegetables should be starting to brown around the edges.
For mediterranean vegetables (like eggplant) sprinkle with some parmesan cheese halfway through roasting or deglaze with a tiny sprinkling of balsalmic vinegar at the end.
If you wanted more of an chinese feel (green beans anyone?), you could use peanut oil with a dash of sesame oil and add 5 spice powder along with the salt and pepper.
Dinner tonight is going to be my husband's favorite salmon cake recipe, with anaheim chiles subbed for the bell peppers, and roasted eggplant on the side. My basic roasted vegetable recipe can be made with almost anything, it's as amazing with eggplant as it is with cauliflower.
Basic roasted veggies
Any quantity of fresh veggies, cut into chunks. Options include everything from bell peppers to cauliflower to root vegetables to squash. Mix and match according to your imagination and what you have available.
Olive oil
Salt & freshly cracked pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Throw the veggies in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the top. Toss thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Oil a roasting pan using either using a cooking spray, or coating it with a brush. Throw the veggies in the pan, roast for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the chunks and density of the veggies, large pieces of sweet potato will take longer than thin slices of zucchini). Vegetables should be starting to brown around the edges.
For mediterranean vegetables (like eggplant) sprinkle with some parmesan cheese halfway through roasting or deglaze with a tiny sprinkling of balsalmic vinegar at the end.
If you wanted more of an chinese feel (green beans anyone?), you could use peanut oil with a dash of sesame oil and add 5 spice powder along with the salt and pepper.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Links!
The subject of finding great, healthy recipes online has come up a lot lately in chatting with people, so I figured I'd park a few links here so that I can direct folks to one spot (instead of re-typing up the same e-mail a whole bunch).
Two really awesome websites that I rely on for recipes are:
Eating Well magazine and
Kalyn's Kitchen.
Eating Well is a wonderful magazine and has great food photography (yum!), but let's face it, it's 100 times easier to search a website for recipe ideas than to flip through a stack of back issues! I love their quick, easy to understand "Nutrition Profile" for each recipe.
Kalyn's Kitchen is a South Beach Diet recipe blog. But unlike the recipes in the South Beach Diet books (which tend to be a little heavy for me), Kalyn's idea of good food is light and fresh. If you're scared of nuts & olive oil or think that beans have too many carbs, then her site is not for you. But if you love fresh veggies, beans, whole grains and fish (like I do) you'll love her recipes. Her way of eating suits me just fine and I'm always getting great ideas from her blog.
And as a side note: I have been positively obsessed with kale lately. I'm planting more in my garden because the plants just can't keep up. I've been making a really great lentil & kale salad (recipe to come next week), and a friend of mine has been serving a totally different amazing kale salad recipe at every BBQ and get together. I'll have to bug her for the recipe because it has even my husband wolfing down his greens like there's no tomorrow. But by far, the greatest kale recipe I've been making lately has been kale chips. Tons and tons of kale chips. Man they are INCREDIBLE! Instructions abound in the blog-o-sphere, but I'll point you in the direction of my friend Mo at Kinda Like a Chef.
Two really awesome websites that I rely on for recipes are:
Eating Well magazine and
Kalyn's Kitchen.
Eating Well is a wonderful magazine and has great food photography (yum!), but let's face it, it's 100 times easier to search a website for recipe ideas than to flip through a stack of back issues! I love their quick, easy to understand "Nutrition Profile" for each recipe.
Kalyn's Kitchen is a South Beach Diet recipe blog. But unlike the recipes in the South Beach Diet books (which tend to be a little heavy for me), Kalyn's idea of good food is light and fresh. If you're scared of nuts & olive oil or think that beans have too many carbs, then her site is not for you. But if you love fresh veggies, beans, whole grains and fish (like I do) you'll love her recipes. Her way of eating suits me just fine and I'm always getting great ideas from her blog.
And as a side note: I have been positively obsessed with kale lately. I'm planting more in my garden because the plants just can't keep up. I've been making a really great lentil & kale salad (recipe to come next week), and a friend of mine has been serving a totally different amazing kale salad recipe at every BBQ and get together. I'll have to bug her for the recipe because it has even my husband wolfing down his greens like there's no tomorrow. But by far, the greatest kale recipe I've been making lately has been kale chips. Tons and tons of kale chips. Man they are INCREDIBLE! Instructions abound in the blog-o-sphere, but I'll point you in the direction of my friend Mo at Kinda Like a Chef.
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