It's ALIIIIIIVE!

Well, of course it's alive. It's food! Here are a couple snapshots of my cauliflower, broccoli, peas, and the carrots I just pulled this morning. :) They're so cute.

F... .... (wait for it)... ... INALLY!

Hey... so.... sorry, it's been awhile. I've got a few things to update on, but for now I'll start with some cool garden pics. Hopefully I'll get all my ducks in a row, and you'll get to hear about how I was attacked by bees while making jam in my kitchen, and other fun tales.

TO THE GARDEN!

These are my carrrrrrots. They've got bushy tops!

I peeled away some of the dirt so you could see my lil red beauty of a carrot! I'm pretty excited. I planted red, orange, and white carrots!


These are my peas! I ghetto-rigged a trellis out of bamboo. Yeah, it looks pretty... um... what's the word? Classy? Yeah. Classy. It looks pretty classy. They've actually just started to flower so I'll be excited to get my first peas soon!


This is another ghettofabulous creation. I needed something long to plant my arugula in, but I was out of long planters. So instead of buying one, naturally, I cut a garden pot in half and taped it together with duct tape. BOOM. INSTA-PLANTER.

My bell peppers are going crazy! They were slow-goers in the summer, but now that it's fall... they're just going wild! I've got baby bells all over that plant. It's... really cute actually. I've got the garden tape all over this bad boy because the plant is small, but those peppers get HUGE, so I have to give them some support! Like a bra. A bell pepper bra.


LIZARD ON THE FENCE


So, as you may have seen before in a previous post, we live right up against a giant field. So right behind our house my dad decided he wanted to plant some tomatoes. They look pretty good! We have um, green zebra, mortgage lifter, and some generic tomatoes. Everything has been going well so far! The coyotes and other critters have pretty much left them alone... so far.


So as you can see, my mom's flowers have pretty much taken over EVERYTHING. But right there in the lower right corner of this picture, you can see my spaghetti squash and pumpkin plants. what whaaaaat.

There's my baby spaghetti squash on the left, and my lone baby pumpkin on the right. GROW BUDDIES GROW!

I've also got some broccoli and cauliflower going right now, and I just saw the other day a couple broccoli heads growing. Also, I bought my mom some watermelon and icicle radish seeds and we have those planted as well. I'm pretty excited to see how they turn out.

TTFN!

Salsa for Jamie! aka Himee Escalante

That's right Jamie. Don't think that I've forgotten that your real name is Himee Escalante and you taught calculus to a bunch of no-good misfits. I remember. I. REMEMBER.

Anyway, we have (had) a crapload of tomatoes, and I love salsa. So I made some salsa. I've been making it all summer, and I think I've really got the hang of making some decent salsa! And this time, I even kinda measured so that you know what I'm talking about here.

SO LET'S DO THIS. (By the way, prepare for picture overload. I got a little carried away.)

Start by rinsing all of the herbs - cilantro, parsley, oregano, chives.
I like to fill up a big bowl and just... mix 'em around a bit, letting the dirt and stuff fall off and sink.



Then place them on a napkin to dry, as shown ('cause you definitely needed a picture to visualize what that means, right?)
As you can see, I have quite a bit of cilantro. IT'S BECAUSE I LOVE IT. I use a little bit of parsley just to add more of that "fresh" taste to it. And because I don't want to completely decimate my cilantro plant.

While your herbs are hanging out in NapkingLand, grab that big bowl you used to rinse off your herbs (I hope you disposed of your water by feeding a plant, instead of your sink. Plants like water!), and put into it 1/4 tbs celery seed, 1/4 tbs cumin, 1/4 salt, and a few cranks of freshly ground pepper. Why in the the bottom of the bowl? I'm not sure... That's just the way I do it.

Then you're going to need a medium-sized onion. Yellow or sweet is best I think, but white will do just fine. Or red, for that matter. You don't need to finely chop this sucker, but chop it into small pieces. Also, chop up 3-4 cloves of garlic and toss it in the mix. And now it's tomato time. I used about 4 cups of roughly cut tomatoes of all kinds. I used cherry, heirloom cherry, heirloom roma, yellow pear, orange, moonglow, purple calabash, and... yeah, I think that's it. Check 'em out, they're perdy.



Seriously, a rough chop is fine. I quartered the bigger tomatoes, and just halved the smaller ones. Then give all of your herbs a good chop (again, you don't have to mince this stuff, just a niiiiiice chop) and add it to the mix. For heat, I used 3 serrano chiles. Also, I chopped these up last because I wanted to be sure I could wash my hands and be done getting messy. I've touched my eyeball with pepper residue on my fingers, and hey guess what, IT HURT A LOT. So be careful.
To finish it off, add the juice of one lime. Mmm, lime. THEN BLEND!

I use an "immersion blender", or hand blender, to do this. I like the control of it. But you can do this in the blender or food processor if you like. Just watch it, because your salsa will turn to soup quickfast. I recommend using the pulse option on your blender and roughly stirring it up with a spoon. Get it to the consistency you like, and you're done! You can eat it right then, of course, but it will taste so much better the next day. Also, do a little taste test before you stash it away. You might want a little more salt.

But, overall, it's pretty easy... and it's way better than most of the jarred stuff you get at the store. Viva la freshness!


As a sidenote, I picked one of my anaheim chiles when I was outside gathering herbs, and was going to use it in the salsa. But when I got inside the house I couldn't find it. I figured it just fell out of my pocket somewhere and I'd go find it later. WELL LO AND BEHOLD, I found it! I kid you not, I found it exactly like this, gently nuzzled in between the knobs on the cabinet door in front of the sink. Ridiculous.

So...

You may or may not have noticed the lack of postage. And I don't think my gluten scare counts as a post. It was just a minor freakout. Turns out I am okay-to-go on delicious gluten delicacies, I just had a bout of the stomach flu. I didn't realize that those first few days, when I was feeling like I got run over by a truck, that I actually had a fever. SO, after a week of not eating, followed by a week of barely eating, I'm ready to get back on this food train.

Some of you know that I've started an internship with an Online Magazine/Community called LuxEco Living. Oh, you didn't know? Well, um... I did. So I'm writing for them now, in addition to the foodie site Eating Everywhere. I'm doing lots of free work these days. Gotta do something, right?

Anyway, I'll try and update my culinary adventures as soon as possible. But for now, here's an article that was recently "published" by me! Check out the site and see what you think, and do me a favor and "like" them on fb will ya?

Enjoy! Please?
http://www.luxecoliving.com/luxeco-food/eating-well-healing-yourself-with-your-very-own-indoor-herb-garden/

Oh sweet baby Jesus, say it ain't so...

I might have developed a most heinous and unfortunate disease...

GLUTEN INTOLERANCE.

I really REALLY hope that I just have a nasty stomach bug, and that's the source of all my discomfort. Because let me tell you, the last 4 or 5 days... I have felt downright nasty on the inside.

I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!!! I mean, to stop eating bread.

Crap, this'll change everything.

Chicken pot chicken pot... oh, you know.

I MADE MINI POT PIES!

I wasn't going to post on these just yet because they are far from pretty, but Jamie said I should, so I am.

I started with making my own dough. It came out pretty well, I think I just need to work on a consistent thickness when I roll it out. I'm not a baker people, it's hard! Also, some more seasoning would be nice too.

Dough:
5 tbs COLD "butter" (the recipe I looked at called for 6 tbs! so much buuuuutter)
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sage
about 3 tbs ice cold water

The butter has to be COLD! This part is very important. It makes the dough fluffier and flakier and more moist - it melts while it cooks, slowly penetrating (ha) the dough. So get all your stuff in a bowl (of a food processor) and slowly cut the butter into the flour. I used a fork and just smashed it until it was crumbly. Then slowly add the ice water, one tbs at a time. You don't want it to get too wet, just wet enough that everything sort of comes together and feels kind of like play-doh!

I also made a gluten-free dough for my mom using some gluten free baking mix. The same processes apply, I just made a smaller batch.

Ball up the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for about half an hour. That way all the ingredients become BFFs and stick together well.

While the dough was chillin' (literally. get it? get it!?) I made my filling. I didn't want to get too adventurous here in the beginning so I just did a simple veggie filling. I cut up a carrot, half an onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 yellow squash, and 2 broccoli florets. I sauteed those in olive oil on a lower heat and added a little thyme, rosemary, dill, and basil. I wanted to add potatoes (what's a pot pie without potatoes!?) but we don't have any... so, next time. After everything had softened a bit I thickened it up with about 1.5 tbs of corn starch (couldn't use flour, my mom is gluten intolerant) and then slowly stirred in veggie broth. I didn't measure... sorry... it was probably about 1.5 cups? I let it simmer for awhile, to thicken, until it looked almost like a stew.

I cooked my pot pies in cupcake trays. I wasn't sure how I was going to go about this so I tried it 2 different ways.

1. I rolled out the dough and cut it into circles about 1/2" bigger than the tray hole. Then I PAMmed the hole (ha) and slowly pressed my round cutout of dough into it, then pricked it with a knife to avoid air buildup. I made 3 this way, and baked them in the oven just for 5 minutes, sans filling. THEN, I took them out of the oven, brushed the inside of the dough cup with an egg wash, added the filling, and then made a half-ass topper to cover them. Egg wash on top too.

2. I rolled out the dough, a little bigger than in #1, PAMmed the hole, applied the egg wash, added the filling, and then kind of folded the excess dough over the top. Also, egg washed the top.

Everything was baked at 350 for about 15 minutes. I kind of lost track of the time, not going to lie. But I watched them through the oven window with vigilance.

Why the egg wash inside? I was afraid that the filling would goo up the bottom and the dough wouldn't cook. What I SHOULD have done in #1 was apply the egg wash BEFORE I par-cooked it, not after. And the egg wash on the outside gives them a nice golden crispness.

SO. What did I learn from this?
1. I need to cut the veggies much smaller.
2. I need a consistent thickness of dough.
3. Folding the dough over for a top is just too much dough. Applying a separate top, that will be integrated into the other dough, will look and taste much better.
4. More filling!

Here are my little boogers. They're not pretty. Don't judge me, it was my first attempt! The crumbly one is the gluten free one. That recipe is going to take a little more work; gluten-free is a whole different ballgame.

First Thing's First

I APOLOGIZE for the lack of postage, I've been trying to rearrange my life into some kind of workable, manageable, useful.... THING. Not to mention I've been on a 2 week road trip, had to come back and move, and then try and settle back into 2002 (I've gone back in time, didn't you know?).

Let me start off by showing/telling you about the yummy things I ate on my road trip!!! Now, this wasn't a culinary adventure by any means, but I made the point of finding something ridiculously good to eat every now and then - budget be damned!

God Bless You, Blenders In The Grass. Nick couldn't tell the difference between Blender's and Jamba Juice, but i assure you, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. Blender's is only on the central coast, and I use to get it as often as possible when I was in college. It's just so much better than Jamba. It's creamier and smoother; makes Jamba taste like a 711 slushy. It was a nice nostalgic starter to an epic trip.

Manhattan Bagel in Berkeley, Ca. I love this place. Every time I'm up there we go there for a nice bagel breakfast. They just have really good bagels; not to mention that bagels are my favorite breakfast item. Mmm.

CHEESEBOARD in Berkeley, Ca. Good Lord, this pizza was ridiculous. This place is like a co-op and they serve whatever is lookin' good in their garden. They make one pizza a day and let me TELL YOU, that day's pizza was just out of this world amazing. It has corn, cilantro, zucchini, lots of gooey cheese... some other stuff... it was just. amazing. Top 5 Favorite Pizzas for sure.

PIER 23! Delicious. This was the second time I'd eaten here, both times = YUMTASTIC. This here is the White Bass special, with green beans and like a chunky kalamata olive thang going on. I don't remember what it's called haha. But it was ridiculous. Like, call-the-cops-because-it's-an-out-of-control-party-in-your-mouth kind of crazy. I want it, NOW.

This place was in the Ferry Building in SF. It was actually really good for a quick lunch! I had the agedashi tofu (cold), green bean salad, and rice. It was AWESOME.

I brought veggie burgers, cheese, and cheap ass tiny bread on this entire trip so I'd have something (with protein) to eat while we were camping. And thanks to Michelle for letting us take her pan. YEAH!

Thai Food from Tim's Thai in Portland,OR. SUPER good. It was like 10 pounds of noodles, with tofu, green beans, bean sprouts, and some peanut sauce. YUM. I couldn't eat it all, but you KNOW I tried my best. I won't go down without a fight!

Captain Crunch donut from VooDoo! It was super good. Like a sugar-tastic atomic bomb in my mouth. I meant to get this one last time I was in Portland, but I forgot. So I couldn't forget this time! I stood in line, outside in the 95 degree heat, for like 30 minutes... just for donuts. And I'm not even a big donut fan; I'm just a fan of THESE donuts. mmm.

I was starving and needed some morning sustenance in Seattle, Wa so we went to this fancy shmancy grocery store and I got a sandwich at the deli. There were supposed to be red bell peppers in it, but Nick is "allergic" (aka doesn't like them) to them, so the guy who made our sandwich was nice enough to saute some zucchini for us instead! NICE man! Anyway, it was really good.
SERIOUS PIE in Seattle, WA. OMG. It's... I... there are no words. Should have... sent... a poet. 10 high fives to whoever knows the movie that's from!!! Anyway, this pizza was RIDICULOUS. I don't know how they made that dough so light and airy, but they are geniuses. This pizza has yukon gold slices, rosemary, olive oil, and finished with some parmesean. It was just... I can't explain to you how great this is. Remember in Ratatouille when Remi ate the mushroom and there were fireworks all around him? Yeah, it was like that. Definitely Top 5 worthy.

Montana Flathead Cherries. On our drive from Seattle to Butte, MT there were like.. I don't know... 30 signs leading up to this cherry stand. "Cherries in 30 miles..." "Cherries in 28 miles..." etc etc. By the time it came to exit for the cherries WE HAD TO. How could we not? The signs for the past gazillion miles had told us to. And I'm so glad we did. I'm not a cherry person by any means, but THESE cherries were perfect. They weren't too sweet or tart... they were just delicious. I saved one of the seeds and am currently trying to grow it :).

Hey-O Trout Slayer!!! Thank you Yellowstone Marina Store for selling INDIVIDUAL beers. YES.


We stopped at the Marina in the Grand Teton National Park to take some beauty shots of the lake and mountains, and then we decided we might as well eat! Thank gawd they had some vegetarian options. This one here is the veggie sandwich filled with onions, mushrooms (I know... I forgot to ask for them to leave em off!), olives, tomatoes, and provolone cheeeeese. It was pretty dang good. I made quite the mess with it. :D

And there we have it folks.
Don't call it a comeback! Or... do.

BRB and what-not.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of post-age and such! I've been busy packing and getting ready to move and also getting ready for my big Road Trip d'Amurrica. I'll be gone for 2 weeks but when I get back I'll have so much to tell you about all the great food I had! I'm really looking forward to this. I'll be going to...

The Bay (Berkeley, SF)
Redwoods National Park
Portland, Oregon
Seattle, Washington
Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA!
Butte, Montana (just need to sleep there, but hey, there might be something amazing there too!)
Yellowstone National Park
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Elizabeth, Colorado

Ooowee. Thanks for your patience! I don't mean to be a slacker :P.
Until then... eat good food!

And the Green Grass Grows All Around

I housesat for my parents last week so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to take a few snapshots of their backyard. My dad has quite the green thumb, so he has a bunch of herbs and tomatoes and he's even started a little vineyard. My mom does the flowers and she's been dabbling with succulent gardens as well. Behind their house is a huge field, with a levee that leads to the beach in one direction, and the outskirts of East Oceanside in the other direction. And behind that levee is the San Luis Rey river where my friends and I, and our dog Kuma, would play.

Also, when I stay at my parents' house I bring my plant babies because well, they need constant supervision. haha. In addition, my parents have a ton of bamboo in their backyard! ANNNND a turtle pond! They rescued two turtles - Kanye and Mrs. West (even though they're both boys) - from my cousin who had them in a tiny aquarium. Now they swim free in a pond with some oversized goldfish.

I feel like I've used an overabundance of connecting adverbs, THEREFORE, I apologize for that. har har har. Anyway. Enjoy my parents' backyard!

"I'll see you in another life, brothah"

Sorry. I'm rewatching LOST and I just started season 2.

ANYWAY. So I made these vegetable croquettes and they turned out pretty damn good. I saw Ina make 'em on Barefoot Contessa and I wanted to try and make my own!

First, grate a couple potatoes, a zuchini, and a carrot. I only had baby carrots, so I didn't use much carrot. I grated a couple and then I found myself dangerously close to grating my own fingertips. So I stopped that nonsense. I also didn't have any paper towels so I had to let the gratings air dry... on a dish towel.
While that stuff dried I got together the dry stuff. I mixed about a 1/2 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs, a tsp. of baking powder, salt, pepper, and various chopped herbs from my garden: parsley, dill, rosemary, and thyme.

After I gave the gratings a good ol' fashioned pat down, i mixed them in a bowl with a few cloves of chopped garlic and a beaten egg. With my hands I mushed it all together and started adding the dry stuff until it was all goopy and sticky and gross. Yay! Gross! Then, in your hands, roll them into balls and set them on wax paper to get ready for their frying destiny.

Look at those little guys. Look at 'em!!! So after I balled these guys up I also put a little more bread crumbs on them, just to add a little extra crunch when I fried em. So in a pan, heated with oil (you know its hot enough when you can see swirlies in the oil when you shake the pan) set your ball in, crumby side down. Then press it to flatten it a little bit, and sprinkle some crumbies on there, that way when you flip it there're crumbs on that side too.

Now you wanna see something really ghetto? So you know how I said I didn't have any paper towels? Well... I've got to dry the oily goobers on something. I don't have paper towels, but I do have construction paper!



Mmm mmm mmm! Tasty little crispy critters!