Cruel Summer

Like most everyone else, I have struggled with the mental highs and lows from this pandemic.  Between this virus and everything else going on in the world...saying this has been a trying time is just skimming the surface.

When spring came I felt a little better because I knew I could escape to my back yard and grow all kinds of wonderful things.  Everything has been doing very well.  Until last week.

I grew a six foot long patch of sun flower seeds.  They were looking so good.  As I stood at my kitchen sink doing dishes I looked up and saw one stalk swaying all around.  Upon further investigation it was a squirrel.  He pulled it down and was eating it. I went out and chased him away and sprinkled red pepper flakes all over the ground to keep him from coming back.

The next day when I came home from work I noticed almost all of the stalks looked damaged.  Then I watched as a squirrel climbed the fence to avoid the peppery soil and lunged to the sunflowers.  I went out to see what the damage was and it was a mess.  Sunflower seeds all over, flower heads pulled from the stocks.  The sunflower patch was totaled.

While I was out there I noticed I had about 10 tomatoes growing with one tomato that was about ready to pick and about 15 jalapenos.  

Then the next day I was doing dishes and saw a huge ground hog out there.  I figured he was just cleaning up what was left of the sunflowers.  I saw him chew up a very large leaf in about 30 seconds which I thought was pretty impressive.  I let him be because he seemed to be doing a good job of cleaning up the sunflowers for me.

Big mistake. I went out to garden the next day to get the tomato and the peppers that should have been ready and they were gone.  GONE!  All of them GONE!  I have been gardening for many years in Florida and then in Illinois.  I have never had something eat my jalapenos.  Our yard is fenced so whatever it was had to be able to fly, climb or crawl under the fence to get them.

It hasn't been a total loss.  Basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, lettuce, arugula, bell peppers and tabasco peppers have all done well.  Still, I want to know WTF ate my jalapenos?

Stuffed Jalapeno's

We grill a lot.  I love being able to cook an entire meal on the grill.  One side dish that is amazing on the grill is stuffed jalapenos.  I like the battered and fried version as well but in the summer, when the jalapenos are growing like crazy, the fresh taste of the pepper puts these over the top. And the types of fillings are endless.

These were cut in half, and stuffed with smoked gouda, small pieces of cooked bacon and a little panko sprinkled on top.  I put them on the hot part of the grill for about 4 minutes.

And, just for my blogger friend Spo, fresh, juicy, garden tomatoes.  I hope you're able to find some while you're in the Midwest.

Summer 2020

The best thing about summer in the Midwest to me is gardening.  Last Saturday I made my first batch of basil pesto for the year.  I will be making another bunch tomorrow morning.  When I make it I freeze it in an ice cube tray and then when frozen, I transfer to a freezer safe bag.  I like to have at least 24 cubes to get me through to the next year. 

Other than work and the grocery store runs, we're still staying to ourselves at home.  Like all celebrations since March, the 4th of July was very different this year.  First of all because I'm saddened by things going on in our country.  And second of course because of the pandemic.  We grilled out and then sat on our back porch and enjoyed fireworks from our back yard neighbors.  The only thing that has remained "normal" this summer is my love of gardening and cooking with fresh ingredients.  At least I have that. 

Killer Aioli

Friday when we went grocery shopping they had some beautiful grass fed/grass finished ground lamb that I couldn't resist.  The price was actually pretty good too.  So Saturday for dinner we had lamb burgers with an amazing aioli and oven fries.

Lamb Burgers:
I keep them very simple.  I make the patties and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin.  It was raining so I cooked them inside in a cast iron skillet.  About 5 minutes per side is perfect for us.

The aioli is what makes these burgers amazing.
Lemon, garlic, dill aioli:
Juice from 1/2 lemon
3 cloves of diced garlic
salt
dried or fresh dill to taste
Mix all ingredients with 3/4 cup of mayo

Drizzle mayo on the burgers, garnish with thinly sliced red onions.

Delicious!!

Today we had our first BLT of the season.  I may or may not have had potato chips with the left over aioli.  Yes it's that good.

Things That Make Me Smile

My cat Jet makes me smile everyday!

Gardening

We moved to our house 8 years ago and started two large gardens.  We built them out of cedar.  The wood was starting to split so earlier in the year we took them down.  We didn't rebuild them as I wanted them moved up a little from their original space.  So we decided to use our small garden and pots until we rebuild the gardens this fall with stone.

In the small garden we have that's made with bricks I planted a 4 foot row of a sunflower mix in the back of it and a tabasco, mammoth jalapeno and regular jalapeno in the front row.  The mammoth jalapeno plant was pulled up and chewed up by something.  I'm guessing squirrels as our yard is fenced in and nothing much else can get in. Then one night last week we had very high winds and it broke a couple of the sunflowers. There are still plenty but I wanted a full row.

In pots I am growing basil, oregano, tomatoes, baby bok choy, green peppers, lettuce and my rosemary that we wintered in the garage. We did have arugula but the high temperatures made that bolt pretty quickly.  The lettuce needs to be eaten before it bolts so it will be a week of salads for lunch.

We have a wonderful farmers market here and plenty of farms that sell their produce.  I supplement what I grow with their bounty.  I thought about just not putting in a garden again or growing anything as it is a constant fight with weather and creatures but there is nothing more satisfying then going out to your yard and picking things to eat.

Things That Make Me Smile

 

                            Not a great picture but I love driving by this Alpaca Farm in Albers.

This chicken was processed last Friday and eaten last Sunday. You can't get fresher or more delicious than that. 

Sopaipillos

I'm not sure exactly how 'traditional' this recipe is but I can tell you it is delicious, fast and easy.

I don't even remember where I got the recipe from I've had it for so many years. And the bonus is you will have extra chocolate sauce and lasts for 3 days in the fridge and is delicious over ice cream.

Chocolate Sauce:

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sopaipillos:

Oil for frying

Flower tortillas cut in strips or triangles

Powdered sugar for dusting

Bring to a boil 1/4 Cup of water, sugar and salt stirring until the sugar has desolved. Wisk in cocoa until smooth.  Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla.

Heat oil in a pan until approximately 350 degrees.  In small batches fry the tortillas turning once.

Place tortillas on a paper towel or cooling rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Plate and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Enjoy!

Chapter 53

Today is the beginning of Chapter 53 for me.  With the pandemic still going strong it will just be the big guy and I celebrating at home.

Friday we went to our local meat market and picked up two beautiful large beef bones with meat.  I started the broth yesterday at 2 pm and when I woke up today the kitchen smells amazing.  I love making homemade chicken and beef broth.  There are so many ways to use it. The bone marrow is so good for you.  I use organic/local meat bones because with the broth you really want to make sure it was a good healthy animal.

My maternal grandparents had a farm when I was growing up.  So I grew up eating the meat that they raised.  I can remember my favorite part of a pork chop or chicken bone or steak bone was to suck the flavorful marrow out.  (Some may think that is disgusting, but it is really delicious.)

Bone Broth
2 large carrots
2 medium onions
4 stalks of celery
celery tops
4 thumb size pieces of ginger
5 cloves garlic
Chicken carcass or beef bones
Cover with water

Cook in slow cooker for 24 hours.

I don't add any spices to the bone broth because I use it to make various different dishes.  When I warm the broth for that dish I will add the spices.

This is how the beef bone broth looked when I started it.

A few dinners from this past week.

All beef hotdog, chili, cheese wrapped in an eggroll wrapper.  

Ground beef, pinto beans, Mexican seasonings over rice with a cheese roll up.

An amazing grass fed sirloin.

Saturday night dinner.

A simple but tasty lunch

We don't eat lunch meat very often and we probably only eat ham once or twice a year.  For some reason though I was craving a maple glazed ham, swiss cheese sandwich.

I took beautiful chibatta bread, spread a little mayo and Dijon mustard on it.  Added sliced ham, swiss cheese and red onions.  I toasted them in the oven for about 5 minutes to warm the inside. I ate mine with a side of bread and butter pickles.

Simple but craving fulfilled.

Things That Make Me Smile

I LOVE the colors in our back yard this time of year.

My orchid at work is blooming again!  It is 4 years old.  It bloomed solid for two years.  I repotted it and now it is blooming again.  

Saturday morning pancakes.

Family Favorite Flapjacks

From The Wooden Spoon Bread Book

Sift together and set aside...

1 cup unbleached ap flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, beat...

2 eggs

Blend into beaten eggs...

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons oil

1 cup buttermilk

Add dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture, stirring only until dry ingredients are moist.  Bake on a lightly greased preheated pan/griddle at medium high, turning only once.  Makes approximately 10 4 inch cakes.

Have a wonderful Saturday!!