Cheese Curds

Since coming to the Midwest, I've discovered cheese curds. Every year at the State Fair, I'd get a little basket of greasy, cheesy, salty, hot and gooey deep fried cheese. At first, the thought of eating battered deep fried cheese was a bit revolting, but I admit that I was wrong and I'm a convert. Cheese curds might just be a Midwest treat and I don't think they sell them on the West Coast (i.e. California), but it's the perfect food to get at the fair. I've bought them "out of season" (outside of the State Fair), but it just didn't taste that great. Anyhow, if you ever get the chance to go to the Minnesota State Fair, pick up a basket of cheese curds (you might become a die hard fan).

Potential "Cottage Garden" Material?

I’ve been living in my house for three summers and it wasn’t until the end of this summer that I’ve made a conscious decision to actually turn a section of my backyard into a “cottage garden.” [Type “cottage garden” in Google image and you’ll get images of what I’d like my garden to look like.] I was also thinking about turning it into a Japanese Zen garden, but I think the cottage garden is more in sync with my personality and I know I won’t have time to keep the Zen garden meticulously neat and well groomed. This is not saying that a cottage garden is messy and without order, because it does require some planning, but I love the spontaneity and unrestrained vibrancy that are found in cottage gardens.

As you can see, the section that I will turn into my cottage garden borders the alley, but it is located behind my vegetable garden. I have a metal-link fence enclosing my property and I don’t intend on removing it anytime soon. I’m thinking about growing morning glories to provide some cover for the metal-link fence.

I’ve already been planning out what I will plant in this back area. Currently, I intend on planting perennials (plants that will grow back year after year) and I’ve already started envisioning how I will stage the plants I want to grow, so that something will flower throughout the spring and summer seasons (e.g. some of the plants will only flower in the spring, but others will flower in the summer and early autumn). I may add some annuals too (plants that only live for one season). The biggest addition I’m going to add to that area will be a Mesabi cherry tree. I’m really excited and I should have added it to my yard this year (so I’ll have one less year to wait for the tree to fruit), but I can’t wait to plant the tree and for it to fruit (so I can make my own cherry pies). In September, I’ll begin to tear out the grass and start working on the soil in preparation for Spring 2008. I'm sooooo excited!

First Cantaloupe

I picked the first cantaloupe from my garden yesterday, but I didn't cut it open until today. It was firm, and I was afraid that I had picked it too early (even though I thought it was perfect for the picking).

After cutting the cantaloupe, I think I may have picked it a little bit early, but it doesn’t matter. Despite the green close to the rind, the flesh is perfectly tangerine in color, is very fragrant, fresh, and very sweet. My cantaloupe is organic (like my tomatoes and herbs) and I think that makes a big difference in the color and taste. I still have two more cantaloupes and a Spanish Melon in my garden. I can’t wait to “harvest” them.

All Things Green (Part 2)

In my first posting I mentioned making fried green tomatoes. Upon a request from a good friend, I’ve decided to share my recipe for fried green tomatoes. I just want to put you on notice that if you don’t eat cornmeal too often, it’s definitely an acquired taste. However, once you’ve eaten your first slice of a fried green tomato, it leaves a savory and tangy taste that lingers in your mouth, and you inexplicably just want more. I eat my fried green tomatoes with an Asian chili sauce. I also find that fried green tomatoes pair very well with a fried egg.

You can use any unripe (green) tomato to fry. I’ve found that soaking the tomato slices in vinegar (I use white wine vinegar) adds additional flavor, and the vinegar pairs well with the slightly sour tomato.

**I’m sure you already know, but just in case, you cannot eat a green tomato raw.**

Recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes

1 green tomato, sliced into 1/4 inch thickness
1/4 C vinegar
1/2 C cornmeal
Seasoning (e.g. seasoned salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, etc)
Oil (preferably olive oil)

1. Marinate each tomato slice in the vinegar.
2. Add the seasoning to the cornmeal. Season the cornmeal according to taste.
3. Take a tomato slice and dip one side in the cornmeal, then dip the other side in cornmeal. The vinegar will help the cornmeal adhere to the tomato. Lightly tap off excess cornmeal from the tomato slice and put on a plate.
4. Heat pan and put in 2-3 tablespoon of oil in the pan. The oil should be hot but not sizzling. Pan fry the tomato slices on medium heat. Each side should be fried for 2-4 minutes, depending on your stove. The cornmeal coating should be golden brown.
5. Serve right away. Fried green tomatoes are best eaten warm.

YUM!!!

I Can't Believe I Made Butter

About a month or two ago the Star Tribune (a Minneapolis newspaper) wrote an article about making butter at home. As a cook, I already knew about the technique to make butter at home, but had never done it. So, as you can guess, after reading the article I set out to make my own butter.

For all of you that have never made butter, I will assure you that it will be one of the easiest and best tasting thing you will ever make at home. All you need is heavy cream (preferably organic) and an electric mixer (handheld or standing). You just beat the cream with the mixer until the fat (a.k.a. butter) separates from the liquid (a.k.a. buttermilk). At that point, you can add a little salt if you want your butter a little salty. You then strain the butter from the buttermilk and put it into a bowl. You can drink the buttermilk, but I like to take the buttermilk and make buttermilk pancakes.

The fresh butter will be very soft and perfect for slathering on a warm baguette. I find it interesting that the butter has a very natural look and doesn't have a weird yellow coloring. The butter’s texture is so creamy, smooth, and even silky. It sounds cliché, but the taste is so “buttery.” Just imagine the taste of the national brand name “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” without the preservatives, with a fresh milky taste, and made from 100% cream.

Hopefully, I'm not going to be the only one I know that makes butter at home.

All Things Green (Part 1)

Last summer a friend of mine went to India and when she came back, she shared with me the “recipe” for a lime soda (apparently they drink a lot of it). I’m sure many of you have made it, but I wasn’t aware of it until she made one for me. Anyhow, it’s sooooooo refreshing on a hot day (and lately it’s been hot and humid in the Twin Cities), and consists of sparkling water and lime juice. I’ve made my changes to this basic two ingredient drink and I guess one could call the result a virgin mojito. I think it’s a good thing that I don’t drink alcohol because I’d probably become an alcoholic considering how many of these I down in one sitting.

I like my lime soda with a strong lime taste, semi-sweet, and a little minty.

Recipe for Lime Soda

Half of a lime
3 teaspoons of sugar
One 12 oz can of plain sparkling water (the colder, the better, but shouldn’t be frozen)
Several mint leaves (2-3), torn into little pieces (you can omit the mint or if you want a stronger mint flavor, then crush the leaves)

1. Squeeze lime juice into a tall glass. The more pulp, the better!
2. Spoon sugar into the glass.
3. Pour sparkling water into the glass. While pouring, begin stirring the drink with a straw or spoon to dissolve the sugar. As the sugar dissolves, it will add more fizz to the drink.
4. Add the mint leaves.
ENJOY!

Seed Collecting

For the last week or so I've been hung up on collecting seeds, particularly tomato seeds (FYI-in posts to come, I will unfortunately focus too much on tomatoes and its seeds). I think my fascination started when I bought this pack of "tomato medley'' (it's just a fancy way of saying there were a more than one variety of tomatoes included in the pack). Anyhow, I ate as many tomatoes as possible while saving the seeds. Originally, I scooped out the seeds and left it on paper towels, but I was worried that I wasn't properly drying out the seeds (I loved the Exotic Tomato and wanted to ensure that its seeds will germinate in the spring). Through Google searches I found that there was a more proper way of cleaning and drying the seeds. Once cleaned, tomato seeds can be stored for a very long time. Anyhow, to make the long story short, I've decided to start collecting as many different tomato seeds as possible. I'm now focusing on trying to obtain as many different heirloom tomato seeds as possible. [Hint, hint . . . heirloom tomato seeds are relatively inexpensive and make great gifts.]

First Ripe Tomato

Today was the first day I picked a ripe tomato from my garden. I've already picked a couple green ones and made fried green tomatoes (yummy). Anyhow, this year I decided to grow an heirloom tomato, a pink brandywine. I love its taste: sweet, not too acidic, and a very strong "tomato" flavor. I like eating it with a sprinkling of salt, but I also love eating it with basil (that I've grown), mozzrella cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. My goal is to have enough ripe tomatoes so that I can turn them into sun dried tomatoes.