Onion and Rosemary Confiturra April 29, 2013

After my last post on harvesting onions, I got lots of queries about what I was going to do with them all.   I will pickle some more of them, but today I decided to try something new to me.  I wanted to make something a bit sweet, but not too sweet, so I found this recipe on Serious Eats, for Onion and Rosemary Confiturra.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/seriously-italian-onion-and-rosemary-confiturra-recipe.html

I doubled it, which meant that it would have a cup of honey and 1/2 cup of sugar to 6 pounds of onions.  Onions release their own sugar when they are cooked, so I didn’t want a recipe that added lots of additional sweetness.  I liked the idea of Rosemary and snipped some and some bay leaves from my garden.

I started by slicing 6 pounds of my garden onions, both 1015s and a few Red Creoles.

Garden onions

I had to work in batches so I sauteed them in olive oil, until they gave up lots of their juices and collapsed.  Once I got them where they needed to be, I combined the two pans and added the balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine, honey and sugar.  (about half of the sugar than the recipe called for.)

Cooking down

It took longer than the recipe suggested to get the mixture reduced by half into a jam like consistency, because I doubled it.   As it reduced, it got darker and finally ended up a dark chestnut color.  The recipe said that this could be canned in a hot water back, and I did that, although I will keep it in the refrigerator.  The onions are not acidic on their own, and the ratio of vinegars and sugar added, just doesn’t seem right to me for this to be shelf stable.  I don’t have any ph test strips, so better safe than sorry.

Final product!

Mom was hanging out with me, so we  tasted some on CKC Chèvre, and it was complex and delicious.  It will make a sophisticated appetizer  with a variety of cheeses on bread or crackers.  I think it would also be great on a burger, or steak.

Early April in an Austin Urban Garden April 5, 2012

I’ve been so busy lately, I’ve gotten way behind on this blog.  The gardens are coming along nicely with our frequent rain.  The tomato plants I planted on the side in February, in defiance of the threatened last frost, are taller than I and have set fruit.

The tomatoes planted in early March are growing and flowering like crazy, which is a little more time appropriate.  The Matt’s Wild Cherry volunteers have set a ton of tiny fruit.  This is my least favorite tomato variety, and I will continue to harvest for a while, then dedicate the space to something I enjoy more.  

 

I’m getting 5 to 10 strawberries a day and have been for a couple of weeks.  I’m eating some and freezing some for later.  Because my volume is low, I purchased some Poteet Strawberries for jam.  I made strawberry, vanilla, meyer lemon jam with meyer lemons from a friend’s tree in Houston.  My meyers were done weeks ago.

The onions are the garden star right now, as I’ve harvested probably 30 fairly large onions that had bolted.  I’ve eaten some bur dried most for storage in a mesh bag that the G and S Oranges come in.  I have loads more to harvest, probably this weekend, as one by one they are showing signs of wanting to lay down.

 

The peppers are just in the ground and flowering, as they tend to produce better in the heat.  I’ll put in more peppers, watermelon seeds, cucumber seeds and squash perhaps in the onion beds once I harvest those and amend the soil with compost and a bunch of new soil.  

I’d love to hear how your gardens are growing!

 

State of the Garden – Planning for Fall July 20, 2010

Normally, I’m a sloppy gardener – I don’t plan ahead very well, I just plant whatever strikes my fancy at the time.  I’m horrible at labeling and not much of a rule follower.  In an effort to get a little better about that, and make sure I have available garden space in the upcoming months for the things I really want to be eating, I sketched out the current state of the garden.

july garden

I have not decided whether to plant more tomatoes for Fall, but will leave the Celebrity in as long as it continues to produce tomatoes.  The tomatoes in the 4×8 bed are on their way out, and I’ve left them in because the cucumbers are using them as a trellis.

The Three Sisters Garden should be done by late October, so I’ll reserve that garden space for onions to be planted in December.  That was easy.  The watermelon should be ripe in another 3 weeks or so, by mid-August.  I need to put a Fall Crop of something in that space, that will be ready before onions go in.

Potatoes get planted in August, so I think I’ll reserve the West 4 feet of the big bed for those.  It has been resting for about 3 weeks.  I’ll need some space for lettuce and broccoli which need to be planted in August as well.

So much to think about!

No Grocery Store, Day 180 July 1, 2010

The 180th day seems like it should be a milestone for some reason.  But, its just nearly half way.  I started to wonder yesterday, why I continue to keep track anymore, because after the 1 year mark, I don’t see myself running to Whole Foods or Central Market on any regular basis.  I guess at some point it will be nice to look back and see what I’ve learned, and how I dealt with certain obstacles.

Tuesday, I received the Dai Due weekly email of their product offerings available at this coming SFC Farmer’s Market on Saturday.  Some of the hot food available was Axis Deer Chili.  That sounded so good in this rainy, not quite coolish weather and I remembered that I had Axis Deer in the freezer.  Earlier in the year, a friend, upon learning of my Eat Local Challenge, brought me 7 pounds of various types of meat that he shot on the King Ranch.  Axis Deer, Nilgai, Antelope.

Gifted Axis Deer

So, I headed over to Boggy Creek Farm in the morning and bought some huge heirloom tomatoes, a jar of Larry’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes, and some Sand Creek Farm Monterrey Jack.

Larry's Fire Roasted Tomatoes - Boggy Creek Farm

I had a Ceasar Salad with chicken for lunch at Cipollina Bistro, while the Deer thawed.

For the chili, I sauteed my garden onions and farmer’s market garlic in Texas Olive Oil.  I browned the deer meat in another pan and seasoned with cumin I had in the pantry and chili powder I borrowed from a friend.  (Sorry Christian, it will be approximately 6 months until I can pay you back.)  I cut up the whole tomatoes and sauteed them down until I could pull out their skins.  Then I combined everything in a pot, with 2 bay leafs and oregano from my garden, and let it simmer for 3.5 hours.  When the chili seasons were integrated and the deer was tender, I had a bowl, with a bit of the San Creek Monterrey Jack on top.  It was very satisfying on a rainy night.

All local Axis Deer Chili

If memory serves, the last time I made chili, was well over a year ago, and I used Wick Fowler’s 3 Alarm Chili Mix from a box, canned tomatoes, canned tomato sauce, and grocery store chili meat.  I’m thinking this is a real improvement, and it tasted so much better.

For a moment, I wished that I had some Nabisco Premium Saltine Crackers, to crumble on top of my bowl of chili, which is how I grew up eating it.  You know, the white crackers?  I looked up the ingredient list to see what I was missing.  Nothing I’d really want to eat.

Ingredients: ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, BAKING SODA, VEGETABLE MONOGLYCERIDES (EMULSIFIER).

Making the Most of a Garden Harvest June 27, 2010

I had chocolate cherry tomatoes coming out my ears, and some other tomatoes from the garden that needed to be eaten.  I have had plans to eat out tonight for quite some time, and knowing that time gets away from me during the week, I decided to make tomato sauce with the tomatoes and attempt to recreate the Salsa Dona from Tacodeli with some of my peppers.  One worked, one didn’t really.

Tomato Sauce

I sauteed 1 smallish garden onion, a few cloves of farmer’s market garlic in Texas Olive Ranch olive oil.

Figuring the cherry tomatoes would take longer to break down than the larger, cut tomatoes, I threw them in as soon as the vegetables started to soften.

Once they started spitting at me, I took out the potato masher and smushed them.  Next I added the chopped tomatoes including that big orange one I can’t identify and what I think are some yellow brandywines, that are crazy looking when cut open, but not really yellow.

I let this cook down while I started my other project.  Once cooked down, I smushed these again and did my best to strain out the skins.  I tried to purchase a food mill today for this purpose, but the store I went to was out.  So, I lost a little in the process.  Once strained, I put the sauce back into the pan, with my garden basil and oregano, salt and pepper, and let it simmer for a while to thicken.

Heirloom Tomato Sauce, from the garden

The end result tasted like absolutely nothing from a can or jar – the depth of flavor is amazing, bright, fresh, and wonderful.  I haven’t decided whether to freeze this or put it in the fridge, I need to evaluate what I have coming from the garden in the next week.   Oh yeah, if you don’t water the oregano enough, it dries right in the pot.  Instant, yet neglectful, garden oregano.

Second project, Salsa Dona from Taco Deli.

I am addicted to the crack sauce from Taco Deli.  I buy it from Sam at the Triangle Market, by the tub and use it instead of mayo, or on my eggs.  Its the shizznit.  I wanted to re-create it with my garden peppers, so I tried.

Blistered the peppers

I blistered the peppers yesterday, and placed them in a plastic baggie to steam.  These are jalapenos and serranos and a couple of poblanos from the garden.  They were very difficult to peel, and the result was a ton of effort, and breathing pepper fumes, for not much yield.  My peppers don’t grow nearly as big and meaty as those from the store.

Skins removed and de-seeded

Next I put a clove of garlic, the de-seeded peppers, and some borrowed vegetable oil in the baby Cuisinart.  This might have been part of the problem, I think the oil would have emulsified better in a blender.  So, I blended until smooth, not really thick at all and tasted.  Similar, but I don’t think they use garlic, at least not as much as I did.  The sauce is OK, but I’m glad I didn’t use up any  more peppers on it.

Faux Dona

Anyway, today has been a good gardening day and a good cooking day.  It promises to get even better, if not local, with dinner reservations with a friend at Uchiko.  Can’t wait.  Next week, I’m challenging myself to eat in, cook more, and make the most of my garden offerings.

Garden Trinity May 17, 2010

I love to cook, although lately I haven’t had as much time to cook as I would like.   If I can make something entirely from my garden, that makes me happy.  During Spring and Summer, many dishes start with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, as did my brunch yesterday.  And I grew them all.

Tomatoes, onions, peppers

I’ve had 5 or 6 ripe tomatoes already, but they didn’t last long enough to accumulate.  I have a box full of onions, and more in the ground still, and many more peppers on the way.  I jumped the gun a little on these, and they tasted mostly green and fresh, but not too peppery.

Once I’ve accumulated enough tomatoes, I’ll make some salsa, too.  Food from the garden rocks!

And, I was just in the other room getting my coffee, and the story on the news was that frozen blueberries and strawberries were found to contain up to 28% organophosphates, a pesticide, found to cause ADD in children.  One more reason to grow your own.

And here’s the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37156010/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

No Grocery Store, Days 124 and 125 May 6, 2010

Yesterday was not a good day.  My new BP medicine made me dizzy and draggy all day.  I don’t think I had breakfast, but if I did it was just a few strawberries from the garden.  For lunch, I was craving seafood, wondering if Gulf seafood will be harder to get in the coming days.  I grew up in Corpus, and can’t imagine not having fresh seafood readily available.  That being said, I did not order Gulf seafood, I ordered salmon.  At Cafe Josie.  See, I was a screwball, all day and still might be to some extent.  For dinner, I had  an omelette and called it a night.

Today, I had a few strawberries again for breakfast.  I had a grilled chicken club salad for lunch at what is transitioning from Houston’s to Bartlett’s.  (I think)  The menu is the same and I must say the service was better than I had remembered.  For dinner, I am about to have a grilled Thunderheart Bison Filet, and stir-fried garden onions and farmer’s market squash.  My BP should be headed down already.  No chorizo salt on any of it.

No Grocery Store, Days 119, 120 and 121 May 3, 2010

Friday through Sunday were crazy busy with garden installations, trips to Natural Gardener for soil, and consultations.  Day 119, Friday, I had strawberries for breakfast from the garden, a Kocurek bacon and lettuce sandwich on Texas French Bread ciabatta.  I’m holding out for my own garden tomatoes.  Family Friday dinner with my folks has resumed and we ate at Eddie V’s.  I had snapper meuneire and broccoli.

Saturday we had 2 garden installations on opposite sides of town.  For breakfast, I had Vital Farms eggs scrambled with Dai Due bulk chorizo and garden onions.    After 5 hours of hard work, nothing sounded more appealing to me than a Hula Hut frozen margarita, sitting on the lake, and chile con queso.   And that was dinner.

Sunday, Day 121, another busy work day, I had Vital Farms eggs scrambled eggs with Dai Due bulk chorizo and garden onions.  I spent the morning trying to sell Earthboxes at the Shady Hollow Farms plant sale.  Then I was invited to have lunch with Christian and Jamie, (www.austinfoodjournal.com) and (www.violaandjean.com).  Christian was grilling fajitas so that’s was I had for lunch.  Jamie was game for heading out to Natural Gardener to pick up soil for my job Monday (today) so we did that then headed back to their house where Christian was experimenting with making french fries.  Then later he made one of his fabulous pizzas.  So they fed me amazing food all day, and I was really grateful, because it was a long, and tiring weekend.

If you would like to learn how to make the amazing pizza that Christian is famous for, head on over to his site http://www.austinfoodjournal.com and register for his upcoming pizza class.   It’s all about the crust, and he has taken years to develop the technique for the perfect crust.  And it is beyond perfect.

May 1, 2010 in my Austin Urban Gardens May 1, 2010

I finally got to hang out in my own gardens a little this afternoon.  I spotted lots of new growth I’d missed the last few days of whizzing by the tomatoes, with my tail on fire, headed to someone’s house to install their gardens.  There are lots of exciting things going on in my garden right about now, and I’m pretty excited at how well everything is doing.

The strawberries are still putting out fruit, as if someone fed them strawberry crack.

More strawberries to come

And by the time the strawberries start to slow down, I will be picking blackberries from two bushes.

Blackberries to be

The Meyer Lemons are budding out, too.

Meyer Lemon toddlers

And one single peach.

Just one Peach

I spotted many more tomatoes this afternoon that I have seen the last few days.

There is a reason they call these Celebrities

Unmarked heirloom tomatos

Another unmarked heirloom

Barely an Ancho Chile Pepper

And about of a third of the onions, drying in their cool dark place.  The rest are still in the ground.

Some of the onions drying

The cucumbers are thinking hard about it, the eggplants don’t seem to be in a hurry.  The herbs are going crazy, and it’s hard to believe it is almost harvest time for the first basil.  MMM, pesto.  I’ve got lots of great Texas Olive Oil, and local parmesan laying in wait for pesto making day.

No Grocery Store, Days 115 and 116 April 28, 2010

I survived the Green Living Show, and have getting back into my routine, thankfully.

Monday, Day 115, I had a slice of Kocurek Molassas bacon for breakfast.  Lunch was a salad with farmer’s market lettuce, a farmer’s market tomato, (I’m so ready for my own garden tomatoes!) and some Brazos Valley parmesan with Kelly Jo’s serrano salsa for dressing.  I was happy to find that she had a booth at the Green Living show, and I snatched some up since I’d missed several farmer’s markets.  Dinner was an omlette with Vital Farms eggs, my herbs, Kocurek bacon and Full Quiver pepper jack.

Day 116, I had garden strawberries for breakfast, trout and green beans at Asti Trattoria for lunch, and a  grilled ribeye from Richardson farms, with balsamic carmelized garden onions and farmer’s market asparagus.