Been doing lots of cooking recently. Asterisked items available at farmer's market--what you buy at the store will taste stale compared with the stuff at the farmer's market. Buy local whenever possible!
Nicely spicy corn relish: an amazing condiment for almost anything
3 ears raw corn*
one handful raw jalapeos*
cilantro to taste*
coarse (sea or kosher) salt to taste
white wine vinegar
Cut kernels off corn. Dice jalapeos. Chop cilantro. Combine in a bowl and mix--if you do this with your hands, which I recommend, wash them thoroughly immediately. Load into a clean jar. Add vinegar to cover. Better with time. Makes an awesome omelet filling.
Black eyed peas with greens.
1 lb fresh black eyed peas in the shell*
1 lb fresh cooking greens* (steer toward kale and away from collards unless you want this to take a long time)
1 lb fresh tomatoes*, in chunks
1 medium yellow onion*, diced
water
olive oil
coarse salt (sea or kosher)
1/4 c tasty vinegar (I used vinegar drained out of my corn relish, but you can go for anything you like.)
Shell peas. Remove stems from greens: don't just cut it off at the bottom of the leaf; cut it out of the leaf. Boil peas and greens with enough water to cover. Drain peas and greens. Coat bottom of pot with olive oil. Saute onion. Salt. Add tomatoes. Return peas and greens to pot. Add vinegar. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down and resulting liquid comes to boil.
Lavender roast chicken
1 3 to 4 lb chicken*
4 shallots*, thinly sliced
4 pears*, in chunks
young red potatoes*
1 bunch fresh lavender* (looking for leaves, not flowers)
coarse salt (sea or kosher)
olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. Wash chicken in cold running water. Allow to dry. Season cavity with salt. Rub down skin with olive oil and salt. Stuff lavender sprigs between skin and meat where possible: on back from neck opening, between along breast. Stuffing for cavity: shallots, pears, 3 or 4 sprigs' worth of lavender leaves, with olive oil and salt. Stuff as much as possible in cavity. Blend rest with potatoes. Rest chicken breast side up in pan on pile of potato/pear mixture. Roast 30 min, basting occasionally with runoff oil. Add more if necessary. Adjust temp to 450. Roast 30 more min. Edible when juices run clear--don't overcook your bird. Rest 15 min before carving. Yum!
Otherwise, things are good. I'm actually getting paid by a theatre. Admin stuff, but that's just fine when I like the people I'm helping.
I'm learning how to spin. Meaning yarn. With a spinning wheel. I am so pricked by the spindle. And I'm crocheting in ASCII.
Life is looking sweet today.
Nicely spicy corn relish: an amazing condiment for almost anything
3 ears raw corn*
one handful raw jalapeos*
cilantro to taste*
coarse (sea or kosher) salt to taste
white wine vinegar
Cut kernels off corn. Dice jalapeos. Chop cilantro. Combine in a bowl and mix--if you do this with your hands, which I recommend, wash them thoroughly immediately. Load into a clean jar. Add vinegar to cover. Better with time. Makes an awesome omelet filling.
Black eyed peas with greens.
1 lb fresh black eyed peas in the shell*
1 lb fresh cooking greens* (steer toward kale and away from collards unless you want this to take a long time)
1 lb fresh tomatoes*, in chunks
1 medium yellow onion*, diced
water
olive oil
coarse salt (sea or kosher)
1/4 c tasty vinegar (I used vinegar drained out of my corn relish, but you can go for anything you like.)
Shell peas. Remove stems from greens: don't just cut it off at the bottom of the leaf; cut it out of the leaf. Boil peas and greens with enough water to cover. Drain peas and greens. Coat bottom of pot with olive oil. Saute onion. Salt. Add tomatoes. Return peas and greens to pot. Add vinegar. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down and resulting liquid comes to boil.
Lavender roast chicken
1 3 to 4 lb chicken*
4 shallots*, thinly sliced
4 pears*, in chunks
young red potatoes*
1 bunch fresh lavender* (looking for leaves, not flowers)
coarse salt (sea or kosher)
olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. Wash chicken in cold running water. Allow to dry. Season cavity with salt. Rub down skin with olive oil and salt. Stuff lavender sprigs between skin and meat where possible: on back from neck opening, between along breast. Stuffing for cavity: shallots, pears, 3 or 4 sprigs' worth of lavender leaves, with olive oil and salt. Stuff as much as possible in cavity. Blend rest with potatoes. Rest chicken breast side up in pan on pile of potato/pear mixture. Roast 30 min, basting occasionally with runoff oil. Add more if necessary. Adjust temp to 450. Roast 30 more min. Edible when juices run clear--don't overcook your bird. Rest 15 min before carving. Yum!
Otherwise, things are good. I'm actually getting paid by a theatre. Admin stuff, but that's just fine when I like the people I'm helping.
I'm learning how to spin. Meaning yarn. With a spinning wheel. I am so pricked by the spindle. And I'm crocheting in ASCII.
Life is looking sweet today.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
I do have a vegan cook book that has some good baking recipes (I've tried the cookie recipe in it) but the cupcakes looked so good! They turned out to be ok. The frosting was really good but the cupcake itself crumbled faster than a 3000-year-old scroll! I had to eat them over the sink or else the crumbs would be everywhere.
How have you been, hon? Those recipes all look fantastic. Especially the lavender chicken!