Fried Fish!

Last night we tried a new recipe out of a new-to-us recipe book (1998 NAFC Members' Cookbook) we purchased at a flea market. The name of the recipe is Ritz Crappie, as in Ritz crackers, not the Ritz-Carlton. I wonder if the patrons of the Ritz-Carlton even know what crappie is?

Ritz Crappie

 Empty two sleeves of Ritz Crackers into a gallon size bag. Crush them up with a rolling pin (this was the Hub's job!)

 In a bowl (I used a 4 cup glass Pyrex measuring cup), mix together 1/2 c milk, 1 packet of taco seasoning, and 2 eggs.
Dip the fish in the milk mix, then coat with the cracker crumbs.

 Fry.

In the background you can see how we drained the grease: a cookie grate over a cookie sheet. The grease drips down and doesn't get the fish all soggy like it would sitting on paper towels. 

The recipe calls for 20 crappie fillets, but we had a mix of crappie, bass and bluegill.

The crackers kind of overpower the fish, and the taco seasoning flavor is lost. Next time we are going to try marinating the fish in the taco seasoning mixture for a couple hours, and using cornmeal or flour as the breading. It might work better if the taco seasoning is in the breading and not in the milk mixture, too.

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Garden Report 07.07.2011

 Last weekend I picked a bunch of beets and carrots. This is what I did with them: I scrubbed them to get off the big hunks of dirt, then I steamed them in a steamer basket, scrubbed them with a potato brush in water, and quartered them. Then I sauteed them in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder until there were some browned bits.

 I put them in a salad with fresh greens, black olives, feta, olive oil/balsamic vinegar/basil dressing. The chioggia beets get a little spicy and pretty starchy when they get any larger than 1" diameter. I like my beets a little sweet, so I'll either pick them earlier next year or not plant them at all.

 I have two trays of seeds started in the greenhouse. I now have 11 artichoke seedlings, basil is sprouted and the tarragon needs a growth spurt.

 Some of the cilantro have little tails coming out of the seeds, and some of the coneflower have sprouted.

 Most of the green beans I planted over the weekend have sprouted. We have had several pop up showers this week which helped with the water. I've been watering every evening because it's been so hot and dry.

Tonight I also mulched around the peppers, eggplant and tomatoes, and around the flowers out front of the house.

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Music Monday: Adele - Rolling In The Deep

Can't wait for more Adele music videos! Until then, I'll make due with her storyteller videos, which I enjoy because she gives a little background on her songs!

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Photoshoot with a Praying Mantis

Every year I garden and am amazed at the huge sunflowers that grow from a 1/4" seed, and the dozens of tomatoes that are produced from one seed. I'm also amazed at the insects that choose to make their home in my garden, such as ladybug larvae (which look like tiny red and black alligators), butterflies and their caterpillars, and praying mantises.
This morning I was trimming back the parsley. Both the curly and flat leafed varieties had gone to seed and I was trying to get the tops out of the way so the asparagus would get more sun. As I was trimming the flat leaf parsley, I spotted a tiny praying mantis. I watched him for a couple minutes and then decided to chance it to go run and get my camera. When I came back two of his siblings had joined in as well.  To give you a sense of scale, their entire bodies were about the length of my thumbnail! (Click on each picture to make it larger!)

There's one in the middle

One in the middle.

Both are toward the top of the photo

All three in this photo. Two toward the top left and one bottom center

I tried to get a closeup but my phone camera wouldn't focus correctly.

Two in this photo

Oh the wonder of it all!

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Garden Report 07.03.2011

This morning I took advantage of the cool temperatures outside and did some work in the garden.

Wait, have you been outside this morning? It was already in the 80s at 8 am with humidity so thick I had to come back in and get a bandana so I didn't have to wipe my face off on my sweat-drenched t-shirt!

Here's a photo of what I harvested this morning:
25 oz Chioggia beets, including greens (this is how they are priced at the store) or 15.5 oz with greens removed
4.5 oz Golden beets, including greens or 3 oz with greens removed
2 oz. Tonda di Parigi carrots. There are a lot more out there, I just wanted a sampling for a beet/carrot/feta salad recipe I found.
2 oz. Red Cored Chantenay carrots. Again, a lot more out there.
1 oz Banana peppers (this is three small-ish peppers)
3 lb 1 oz White Onions
5 lb 1.5 oz Yellow Onions
9 oz Red Onions
Onion weights include greens, so I could braid the tops. The weights/prices from the store do not include greens. I'll try to remember to weigh the onions as I use them.

An update on harvest tracking:
I've spent $118.20 on seeds and plants this year, and have harvested $48.40 worth of produce

 Out of all the kohlrabi I planted, there are only three that are even close to harvesting.

 Black Cherry tomatoes! My mouth is already watering!

 Can you see the bee? The reason I plant flowers is to bring pollinators to the garden.

 There were aphids and some other critters on the pole beans eating the leaves, so I gave the beans a dose of Garden Dust.

This morning I also planted some herbs and flowers in the greenhouse:
Red Mexican Hat wildflower
Yellow Prairie coneflower
Mammoth Dill
Slo Bolt Cilantro
Regular Cilantro
Flat Leaf Parsley
Curly Leaf Parsley
Cumin
Tarragon
I also re-seeded some Acorn Squash, and planted pole beans where I pulled out the pea vines. It's probably a little late to get those started, but we'll see how they do.

I'm thinking of picking up some tomato plants for the blank space where the onions were.

I pulled up all the radishes. They bolted early and none of them were large enough to eat.

 So far I have 9 artichoke plants. The basil has sprouted, and some of the tarragon. The cumin hasn't done a thing. I even dug around in the cumin pot and none of the seeds have sprouted. So I replanted in a different pot.

I bought a hunk of ginger root a couple weeks ago from Mama Jeans and decided I should just stick it in the dirt since I haven't gotten around to making the Thai recipe I wanted to use it for and it was sprouting sitting on top of the microwave...

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Good fences make good neighbors

There was some kind of critter nibbling on the peppers at garden #2. Probably the possum that Terry had seen there before... So the Hubs put a fence up, 2' tall chicken wire.

The peppers are looking a little better. I've been watering them every evening, and the Hubs waters them some mornings, but they were still looking pretty droopy until today. It's been really hot though, in the 90s lately.

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Garden Report & two new recipes!

I took these photos on Sunday, so the tomatoes are a little bigger now. 

 The banana peppers are starting to produce now too!

Now, on to the recipes! Tonight I tried two different ones that have been on the side of the fridge for several weeks now:
Pea and Bacon Risotto, from Food & Wine May 2011
Walnut-Stuffed Chicken Roulades from Martha Stewart Living March 2010

Pea and Bacon Risotto

6 oz lean bacon, diced
2 c frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 c arborio rice (I only had jasmine rice so that's what I used, which is a different texture.)
1/2 c dry white wine (I forgot to buy this, so I omitted it)
7 c simmering chicken stock (I used some frozen chicken stock that I made a couple months ago)
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 c parmesan
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Drain bacon on a paper towel. Reserve 1 Tbsp of bacon fat.

In a food processor, puree 1 c  peas and 1 c water.

In a large saucepan heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until tender.

Add the rice, until coated with oil. (Like you would do if you were making Rice A Roni out of a box.)

Add the wine and simmer until evaporated.

Add about 2 c chicken stock and simmer over medium heat, stirring, until absorbed. Continue adding stock and stirring until all stock has been incorporated, about 25 minutes.

Add the pea puree, remaining peas and bacon.

Remove from heat and add butter, bacon fat, cheese and lemon juice.

Note: I also added 5 oz. chopped mushrooms because I had them leftover from the following chicken recipe. I sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil before adding with the bacon.

Walnut-Stuffed Chicken Roulades

10 whole grain crackers, such as Kavli (I used 15 original Wheat Thins)
1 1/4 c chopped walnuts (I used pecans because I don't like walnuts)
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
3 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 oz spinach (I used frozen)
1 Tbsp water
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded evenly

Preheat oven to 375.

Pulse crackers and 3/4 c pecans in food processor until finely ground.

Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and shallots and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook until mushrooms are golden. If using frozen spinach, add it and the water to the mushroom mixture.

If using fresh spinach, remove the mushroom mixture from the pan and put on a plate, and cook down the spinach with the water before adding the mushroom mix.

Add the remaining 1/2 of pecans.

Lay a half of a chicken breast on a plate and spoon some of the mixture onto it. Roll up the chicken and then roll through the pecan/cracker mix. Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 165.

Here's the mushroom/shallot/garlic mixture. I could of eaten it with a spoon!

Dinner!

Definitely glad I switched out the walnuts for pecans. Together with the Wheat Thins, they made the crust a little sweet!

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