Little of This, Little of That

Our schedule has been rather chaotic of late with a fundraiser for an upcoming mission trip, preparing for a short albeit much needed mini-vacation, preparing for the new school year agenda for the kids at church, house-guest, etc. I said all that to say this: meals at home have been rather hit & miss, finding us eating out, or grabbing something on the run and my body is craving some normalcy in the food department.

The summer squash in my little garden is starting to wane but I still get to harvest at least every other day. The other night I just wanted veggies . My Honey is more inclined to want meat with his dinner, so I roasted some chicken. I cut the squash up in thick slices and put them in the steamer basket of my rice cooker. I added a little water to the pot you usually cook the rice in, added a little sea salt, a sprig of Sweet Basil and a sprig of Tarragon and let it steam away. The whole kitchen smelled divine and the squash absorbed the flavors of the herbs…..yum!!! I swear, I could have just stood at the counter and eaten the squash right out of the steamer and been a very happy (foodie) camper!

I made a new discovery that now bears the title of "My New Favorite Find". It is Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) All Natural Southwest Spicy Mustard. This stuff is good and so very versatile! I've used it on sandwiches (of course), sausage wraps, and even canned salmon I broke into large chucks. I'm not big on canned food but canned salmon can be handy as well as healthy. Broken up in large chunks, topped with a little of this mustard and sitting on thick cucumber slices made for a delightful light lunch. It had the depth of flavor from the salmon, the tangy sweetness of the mustard and the must have crunch of the cool cucumbers to round off the meal.I stumbled on the mustard one day while purchasing a variety of mustard for the sausage wrap sale and trying to be economical. It is, indeed, a great value! Give it a try.

I've been reading suggestions for healthy road trips snacks. My Honey is like a kid; if you keep the snacks flowing he's a better traveling companion! We are about to embark on a 14 hour drive and are on a shoestring budget for the trip so I'll be packing all the food for meals and snacks. I need to keep my Honey happy but I'm not willing to let junk food come along for the ride. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear it.

Frankly, I can't wait for summer to be over, school to resume and menus to feature fall foods! Late fall is my favorite time of year and, eating seasonally, just the best! Lots of food to tweak! Stay in touch!

Fish Achiote & Summer Squash

It takes a sincere love of gardening to be a backyard gardener in south central Texas…probably anywhere in Texas. Whew…..just came in from the morning garden ritual, soaking wet from sweat and dew. The recent rains were a blessing but the lingering humidity saps energy and the general sense of 'want to' when it comes to gardening. My garden tour and maintenance this morning got off to a late start, therefore the heat and humidity had a serious jump on me.

Bumper harvest of yellow summer squash again today! Though diving into the big masses of squash plants leave my arms itchy, I eagerly go in search of the delightful and abundant fruit as a child might in search for colored eggs at Easter! I was rewarded for my efforts and my harvesting bag is heavy with proof. The hot peppers, name of which I do not recall – this is my first year to raise this particular pepper but will not be the last – provided another healthy batch for the harvest bag. Sadly, I had to make a hard decision regarding the tomatoes. I have been infested with those beautiful but wickedly deadly to tomato plant caterpillars! Ekk! I decided to pick the green tomatoes in effort to save them at all. My friend and fellow gardener, Helen, gave me some organic spay she swears kills off those plant eaters. I still have some blossoms on one of the plants so I'm hoping to salvage an opportunity for fruit on those. I'll just make green tomato chutney or chow-chow out of the green tomatoes and be thankful for them!

I do have a meal recipe for today. Last night I was craving fish but wanting something easy, quick, and tasty without much energy required. I had some white fish fillets in the freezer so I got creative. First, I cheated and started 3 russet potatoes whole in the microwave for 'baked potatoes'. Eight minutes is all it takes for medium-sized potatoes. Then I took two yellow squash and sliced the across to 'sort of fry' in a wok in a little olive oil. Dusted with some 'Uncle Chris' Steak Seasoning' and a small bit of corn meal, these make a nice substitute for squash or anything else that is usually fried. I do not fry food very often at all, so this method is more common in my kitchen. You think you're eating fried food but it's not really. Then I addressed the main entrée, the fish. Remember it was frozen when I put the potatoes in the microwave. I cut it into planks across the fillet while still fairly solid and just let is sit while I cooked the squash…I wanted to use the same pan, no need to dirty another! Once the squash were all finished I wiped out the pan, and then put in enough water I thought it would take to cover all the fillets. As the water heated, I crumbled in a ball of Achiote paste about the size of half my thumb and added a few dashes of Uncle Chris' Steak Seasoning. Once the seasoned water came to a full boil, I slid the fish into the water and poached till done. This is a fast process unless your fillets are thick.

Achiote paste, should you be unfamiliar, is a staple in Mexican, Yucatan and Mayan cooking. It comes in a yellow box and is found in most Mexican groceries or well-stocked super grocery stores in the Latin section. This paste made from ground spices and herbs adds a distinctive flavor and color. Anything it touches turn red…heads up, cook in old clothes if your stain prone as I. I saw this used in cooking shows for years and finally made me mind up to find and try it. I could kick my own bottom for not doing so years ago!!

Dinner was delightful, healthy (no goopy stuff on potatoes, 1 each and 1 left for Honey's lunch today) easy and quick, less than 30 minutes from start to finish. If you use two pans, you can start the fish before finishing the squash; just remember the fish cooks very quickly so do not start too soon or cook too long. Me, I'm lazy… The simple potato with a touch of real butter (no processed stuff please), the crunch of the cornmeal on the squash leading to the soft interior of tasty seasoned delight combined with the jolt of flavor in every bite of the firm but soft fish meat was a treat. It sang a song of summer flavors and colors. Try it; it's worth the effort to hunt down the Achiote paste!

Let me know if you like it! I love hearing from you.

Watermelon Gazpacho Thriller!

Summertime is in full swing and nothing says summer in Texas like cold watermelon. Recently I was looking around for a new and exciting cold picnic dish to take to a family reunion. I stumbled on a Watermelon Gazpacho recipe that had my mouth watering as I read it! It beckoned me to the kitchen where I just happened to have a watermelon in the fridge.

Gazpacho, should you not be familiar with the name, is a cold soup, usually made with a fresh tomato base, and came from Spain. Mixed with a few other fresh ingredients, it is blended smooth and served cold. Doing my research, I discovered there are as many different ways to make gazpacho as there are people willing to submit recipes online…yes, that many!!!!

The recipe I made was, as you might expect, tweaked a bit to suit my taste and supply of fresh ingredients. Some watermelon gazpacho recipes called for only watermelon as the main base, the one I made had both watermelon and fresh tomatoes from my garden. They were too pretty and tasty to ignore! This recipe does not make a lot but you can modify to serve more. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:
Appx 2 lbs. ripe summer tomatoes, chunked
1 med. white onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 med. cucumber, peeled, chopped
1 clove garlic, halved
small bunch cilantro chopped

Small bunch fresh sweet basil (can use Thai or other variety or skip altogether)

2 skinny hot peppers chopped – use based on heat tolerance – I like it hot!

Appx. 2 lbs. watermelon, seeded
A baseball-sized piece of stale French bread, broken into pieces - optional
1/2 tsp. paprika
salt, to taste
granulated sugar, to taste – optional, I did not add sugar but you can
1/4 C. good quality extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, all I had was apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

1. Cut all of your fruit and veggies as directed above. Combine veggies, garlic, watermelon, bread, and paprika. Stir. Add salt, sugar, and pepper to taste. Add olive oil and vinegar.

2. Blend mixture until smooth. If you don’t have a large bowl and a stick blender, you’ll have to work in batches in blender or food processor. It’s a pain but it’s worth it.

3. Test for seasoning and add more if needed.

4. Strain through a wire mesh strainer if desired. Or skip this step and eat it as is! I did not drain. Put in fridge for at least an hour or more to blend flavors. Can be made day before if serving for a dinner party. Just garnish right before serving.

5. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil over top, or sprinkle with a mixture minced watermelon, onion, mint, and tomato (if serving in bowl, I drank it from a cup!)

Let me know what you think!! I love to hear from you.