In the Kitchen: Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa

I was introduced to a couple of 'open can and dump' versions of this recipe early this spring.  It reminds my family of a corn salsa we get at our favorite burrito joint.  I have been anxiously waiting for my tomatoes and peppers to ripen so that I could try it with fresh ingredients.  If you are interested in one of the original recipes, check out this one on my Pinterest recipe board.

Here is my fresh version.  Enjoy! :)

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa

From The Full Circle Gardener

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c whole corn kernals (frozen, canned - drained or fresh- blanched & cut off cob)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 mild pepper (anaheim, hungarian wax)
2 c chopped tomato
1/4 c fresh cilantro chopped
1 clove crushed garlic
1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)
1/2 c oil
1/2 c white vinegar
3 Tbs lemon or lime juice
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin

Clean and chop all veggies and herbs into bite size pieces.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use. 

Note:  My husband is not a bean fan so I make the whole recipe without the beans and set aside about 1/3 of the salsa for him.  I then add the black beans to the remaining 2/3 of the salsa for the rest of the family.

Linked Up to Little House on the Prairie Living Old Fashion Recipe Exchange

In the Kitchen: Caprese Style Pasta Salad

Last week I created a Pinterest inspired menu which included a Seashell with basil, tomato and garlic pasta salad that was more complicated than I had desire for on Sunday so I came up with this simple salad of my own.  Everyone (including our company) thought it turned out really well, so I wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy this garden fresh salad.  :) 

Caprese Style Pasta Salad

by: Stacy (The Full Circle Gardener)

Ingredients:
-1/2 box pasta
-1/2 c diced tomato (1 medium)
-2 Tbs fresh chopped basil
-1/2 c diced mozzarella
-1/4 c oil
-2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
-1 tsp salt
-dash pepper

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed, drain, rinse and cool.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Combine the pasta, tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and dressing in a medium bowl so that the dressing is well incorporated.  For best flavor allow the salad to sit in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.


Happy Garden Eating! :D

In The Kitchen: Elegant Grilled Chicken with Herb Sauce and Rice

I have been trying to be intentional about using fresh herbs from my garden again this summer... why plant them if you are not going to use them!  Right?!?

In my pursuit of recipes that call of fresh herbs I came across a recipe for Chicken With Herb Sauce that grabbed my attention.  Two things caught my attention.  First, it looked really simple and easy, and second, it used more than one herb! :D  With the temperatures well into the 90's these days, I am doing as little cooking as possible and when I do cook I am trying to do it outdoors.  This recipe was to be cooked on the stove top but I could see no reason why, with a few alterations, I couldn't turn it into a grill recipe.  The debut of my version of the recipe was met with rave reviews from all members of the family so I decided I should share it with you too.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Grilled Chicken with Herb Sauce and Rice

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs or breasts 
1/2 c rice
1`c chicken stock
1 tsp chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp chopped fresh basil 

Marinade:
3 Tbs oil
3 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh chopped basil
1 Tbs fresh chopped chives
dash salt & pepper 

Herb Sauce:
1/2 c chicken stock
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs fresh minced chives
1 tsp fresh minced basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper 

Directions:
Remove the skin from the chicken and soak in the marinade for at least 1 hour.  Turn the chicken in the marinade to ensure it the meat is well coated with the marinade.  Preheat the grill and place the chicken on the  hot grill and cook over a low flame.  Cook until the juices run clear or the internal temperature reads 180F.

While the meat is cooking, combine rice, 1 c stock, 1tsp chives and 1/4 basil.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or the rice is tender.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Also, prepare the herb sauce by combining the stock, lemon juice and butter.  Simmer on low until the butter is melted.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients.

Serve the chicken on a bed of rice and drizzle the herb sauce over the chicken and rice.  For a full grilled meal, serve with grilled fresh veggies.  Enjoy!

Happy Garden Eating!  :D

In the Kitchen: Evan's Cherry Pie

My husband has a passionate desire to grow trees, especially warm climate fruit trees.  After we bought our home, he almost immediately began to research cherry and peach trees trying to find a variety that could be grown in zone 4.  He found the Evan's (aka Bali) Cherry tree, which was developed in Canada, and decided he had to have it!  It had just been introduced to the US market at the time and was hard to find, but it has now been seven years since he planted two trees in our backyard.  We have had a very small crop for a couple of years due to poor pollination (bad timing of flowering), and birds who love to eat the bright red fruit.  Finally this year we were able to harvest enough fruit to make a pie! :D

I looked at several recipes before deciding to combine a couple and make my own version.  The result looked beautiful!  As for taste, we thought it had the perfect balance of sweet and sour cherry.  Give it a try and see what you think. :)

You will need to first harvest, clean and cool the fruit.  Once the fruit is cool, remove the pit.  (We purchased a cherry pitter that was worth every cent!  It quickly and efficiently removes the pits and was easy task for little helpers.)  Be aware that the flesh of the cherries will oxidize and turn brown once exposed to the air so freeze or use them quickly.

Evan's Cherry Pie

Ingredients:

1 c sugar (divided)
3 Tbs corn starch
1/2 c reserved cherry juice
4 c pitted cherries
1 drop red food coloring (optional)
2 9" pie crusts
1/4 c crystallized sugar

Instructions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 400F. 

2.  Drain and squeeze cherries to obtain about ½ c of juice and pour into a medium saucepan.  Combine 3/4 c sugar and the cornstarch.  Stir into the cherry juice.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. 

3.   Remove from heat and gently stir in the remaining sugar, the cherries and optional red food coloring. 

 4.  Pour filling into crust lined 9 inch pie plate. Carefully cover with the top crust, seal and vent. 

5.  Bake 45 minutes or until crust browns and filling begins to bubble. If necessary, cover edges with aluminum foil during last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning. 

 Prepare the filling and fill the pie.

 

 Cool the pie well to allow the filling to thicken before slicing.

Good to the very last bite!

Happy Garden Eating! :D

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! :)  The kids and I started the day by making our own flag inspired breakfast using backyard grown raspberries we picked yesterday, blueberries and a banana. :D  I hope you are able to take some time to celebrate our independence day with some family and friends this week.  Then come back and share your Independence Day & garden inspired food or crafts.

Update:  Check out our patriotic, garden inspired craft this morning for an indoor, beat the heat activity today. :)


Happy 4th of July Gardening! :)

Preserving Backyard Fruit: Nanking Cherry Jelly

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the robins were spending a lot of time in our nanking cherry bushes so I went out to investigate.  Sure enough, the cherries were turning red and it was time to get the bushes covered.  Our bushes have gotten tall enough that I now have to 'sew' two 14ft wide nets together with twistie ties before I drape them over the bushes.  I also have to be sure that the net is secured to the ground at all points or the intrepid robins find their way in.

Earlier this week I noticed that a robin had found its way under the net but couldn't get out.  When I went to help it out, I found that most of the cherries were bright red and juicy... it was time to harvest! :)  The kids and I spent a couple of hours harvesting and got 3 ice cream buckets from 3.5 bushes.  I have to harvest the remaining bushes yet, but my fridge can only hold so many ice cream buckets so I spent time processing cherries into juice and then into jelly.  We love nanking cherry jelly/jam and syrup in our home and since we have syrup left from last year, I made jelly. 



First step: Remove the juice from the fruit.
1.  Wash and remove debris.

2.  Just cover the fruit with water and cook until the skin on the fruit starts to split.  (For this batch it took about 30 minutes.)

3. Remove the seeds and skins from the fruit.  I use an old fashion food mill and a little one anxious to help. ;)

Note: If you are looking for a clear, county fair blue ribbon product, you will want to strain the juice trough several layers of cheese cloth to remove the pulp.  I love the texture the pulp gives to the jelly and syrup.  I also cannot imagine wasting any of the fruit, so we mash out as much pulp as we can.


  
Second Step: Turn the juice into jelly.

1. Gather supplies and recipe.  I used Ball No Sugar Added Pectin this year and adjusted the 'sour cherry' recipe on the insert to fit my family.
 
Nanking Cherry Jelly
4 c juice
2 c sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin

2.  Stir the pectin into the juice in a 6-8 quart stock pot.  Heat to a rolling boil (cannot be stirred down) and quickly add all of the sugar.  Stirring continually, bring it back to a rolling boil.  Once at rolling boil, cook for one minute and immediately remove it from the heat.

3.  Skim off foam and ladle into 1 pint jars to within 1/4 inch of the top.  Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes (for everyone under 1000 ft elevation).

4.  Cool and check lids for seal.  Reprocess or refrigerate unsealed jars. 







Third step: Label and store in a cool dry location.

And that is it!  What is better than turning the fruits of your labor into something that your whole family will enjoy for months to come!

Happy Gardening and Preserving! :D

Rhubarb Strawberry Smoothie

I picked the season's first rhubarb last night.  We have been enjoying fruit smoothies recently and I decided it was time to see how rhubarb would work in a smoothie.  I gave it a whirl today and thought I would share our yummy 'concoction' with you.  :)


Rhubarb Strawberry Fruit Smoothie

2 c cleaned and chopped rhubarb
1/2 c water
1 carton strawberries (cleaned with leaves & stems removed)
1/4 - 1/3 c sugar
2-4 c ice (depending on desired consistency)

Bring water to  boiling in a medium saucepan and then add the rhubarb.  Boil for 5 min and remove from heat.  Allow it to cool completely.

Pour the cooked rhubarb and liquid, strawberries and sugar into a blender and puree the fruit.  Add the ice and puree until smooth.

Serve or freeze in popsicle molds immediately.  Enjoy!

Happy Backyard Eating! :D

In the Kitchen: Cheesy Ham and Potato Hot Dish

This is a recipe I have created by combining a couple of recipes that we have enjoyed in the past.  If you are looking for a way to use up left of Easter ham or garden potatoes this is the recipe for you!

Cheesy Ham and Potato Hot Dish

 Ingredients:

2c sour cream (16oz)

1pkg cubed hash browns, thawed (32oz) or about 8 c homemade

2c cubed ham

2c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4c chopped onion

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2c crushed cornflakes

1/2c melted butter

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, hash browns, ham, cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer into a greased 3qt baking dish or 9x13 cake pan.  Cover and bake uncovered at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, toss cornflake crumbs and butter. Sprinkle over the top and bake uncovered another 15 minutes or until cornflakes are toasted brown and crispy.

Enjoy! :)