On the Table: Strawberries and Mint

My plants are doing wonderfully!  Especially the mint - it is just growing and growing and growing all over the place.

Here is the mint when I got it, just over a month ago:

And here it is now (and this photo was taken AFTER I removed a whole big branch to, well, eat it - see recipe below)!

It looks like it is trying to grow right out the window!

Same with the lavendar - it is awesome to see how it really grows right toward the sun.

The herbs have a non-edible sibling - an orchid - that has turned all its flowers towards the sun too.

I feel a little bad eating the plants after watching them grow, but I have to or they will take over the apartment!

I used some of the mint with some delightful strawberries, and they tasted just wonderful together.  To prepare:

Clean half a pound of strawberries and cut off their stems.  Thinly slice them.  Clean a handful of mint leaves and chiffonade them (stack the leaves, roll them up like a cigar, and cut them into thin slices).  Mix together the strawberries, mint, and a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl (you could leave out the sugar if you want something less sweet - or if you have super-sweet strawberries).  Stir well to combine and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

I used this mixture as a topping on yogurt (french vanilla, which I LOVED - it tasted much more vanilla-y than regular vanilla yogurt), and it was delicious.

The strawberries and mint would also be great on a salad, though I might leave out the sugar (or use less) in that case.

Enjoy!

On the Table: Bell Pepper Chips

I picked up a whole bunch of green bell peppers the other day and I want to try different ways of cooking them, rather than eating them raw or using them along with onions as flavoring in another dish.  I figured, considering how much I love kale chips, why not try bell pepper chips?!  Last night, I did try them. 

They definitely take looooonger to cook than kale chips, and even after two hours mine did not dry out entirely (they had a slightly chewy texture that I actually enjoyed).  Because the chips are essentially drying while they are cooking, the result is a condensed bell-pepper taste, so if you don't LIKE the taste of bell peppers, keep that in mind :)  They could definitely be used with dip, to add a slightly different feel to a crudite platter, or they were a great snack just plain!  Also, if you want to make a really visually appealing snack, you could use all different colors of peppers - it would be beautiful!  To prepare:

Preheat oven to 200 degree.

Cut green bell pepper(s) into eights or sixteenths (I used quarters and they produced two-bite snacks).  The peppers shrink A LOT during cooking, so even if they look big, remember they will definitely get smaller!  The easiest way to cut a bell pepper is as follows:

(First, clean it.)

Cut along the ribs (indentations) of the pepper.  You will then be able to easily pull out the stem and attached seeds.

Cut along the edges of the quarters to remove the white ribs, and then cut the pieces to the size you want.  You could easily make pepper sticks or dice the pepper from this point.  For the chips, remember to leave them bigger than you want them to be when you are finished!

Spread the pieces on a baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven for about two hours, or until the peppers are dried out to your liking.

(See how much they shrank?!)

Enjoy!

On the Table: Romaine Carbonara

I had a head of romaine lettuce in my refrigerator today that I got at the farmers' market last week, and I figured I needed to use it pretty soon.  If anyone ever wonders how I come up with ideas for weird dishes, here is a brief synopsis of my train of thought regarding the lettuce: Lettuce in refrigerator.  Bacon fat in refrigerator.  Bacon.  Spaghetti carbonara.  Bacon and parsley.  Bacon and lettuce.  Romaine carbonara!  I won't claim it's the best thing I've ever made (everything can't be the best, right?), but it was pretty yummy!  Here is how to make it:

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.  Prepare half a pound of pasta (I used rotini).

Cut the stem off a head of romaine lettuce and wash (and dry) the leaves really well.  You will want to use the firm leaves from the middle of the head.  Save the outer leaves for something else - salad perhaps?  or lettuce wraps!

Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add in half a tablespoon of bacon fat (you could use canola oil, if you don't have bacon fat on hand, but bacon fat adds a really unique - bacon-y, in fact - flavor).  When the fat gets hot, add the lettuce to the pan and cook, stirring, for just a minute. 

Add the cooked pasta into the pan and stir well to combine.  Add two eggs to the pan and stir well to combine. 

You want to barely cook the eggs, so you can even take the pan off the heat before you add the eggs - there should be enough residual heat in the pan to cook the eggs.  You can also break the eggs into a bowl before adding them to the pan so you can work faster.  I didn't quite work fast enough (I need a third arm to manage the camera!) and my eggs were sadly a little overcooked :(  (It still tasted good, though!)  Add into the pan a quarter of a cup of grated parmesan cheese and stir well to combine. 

Season to taste.

For the second round, it was delicious with some Slap Ya Mama!

Enjoy!

Spring Onion Jam Makes Some Friends

Today I am putting in another plug for Spring Onion Jam, because I have been putting it on pretty much everything I can find, and it is delicious.  The recipe I gave the other day produces a relatively small amount of jam (maybe 1/3 or 1/2 of a cup?), but it is pretty strong, so a little goes a long way!  It was delicious on a Summer Chicken Salad sandwich,

 and it was delicious with cheese and crackers!

Speaking of which, after loving the Smokey Cheddar cheese from the farmers' market, I decided to try the plain raw milk cheddar from the same vendor, and it was fantastic as well. 

The plain cheddar is definitely more mild than the smoked, but it is still stronger than many other cheddar cheeses.  I assume that has to do with either the fact that the milk is raw, or that the cheese is aged for at least sixty days.  Either way, if you come across any raw milk cheeses, I recommend giving them a try!

On the Table: Spring Onion Jam

I got some beautiful spring onions at the farmers' market last week, and I wanted to do something really special with them. 

I decided to make an onion jam, which I figured could add a nice accent to a variety of dishes.  The jam takes a little while to make, but it is really easy and incredibly delicious!  To prepare:

Cut the green tops off a bunch of spring onions, but don't throw them away!  You can use them to add flavor and crunch to soups, salads, or sandwiches - like, say, chicken salad (it's perfect - you can put onion tops in the salad, and onion jam on top)!

Thinly slice the onions.  I like my jam with distinguishable pieces of onions, but you can cut the onions really small if you prefer.

Put a small saucepot over low heat, and thinly coat the bottom of the pan with about a tablespoon of canola oil.  You will want to use low low low heat the whole time you are making the jam - as low as you can go!  Add the onions into the pot, along with a sprinkle of salt.  Cook very gently, stirring often, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the onions get tender (the time may depend on the size of the pieces of onion).  You may need to add a bit more oil, if the onions start to stick to the pan. 

When the onions are tender, add into the pot half of a cup of brown sugar, a quarter of a cup of balsamic vinegar, and an eighth of a cup of apple cider vinegar.  Cook, stirring often, for about an hour, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the onions are very very soft.  During the cooking time, you may need to add some more liquid to the pot, if the liquid has all evaporated but the onions are not cooked to your satisfaction yet.  I just used water, but it would be delicious to use fruit juice as well.  Be careful with adding more vinegar, since you could end up with a really vinegary jam.

Enjoy!