Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

To my surprise, I have broccoli in the garden! I have planted broccoli many times before but have never had much success. This year I decided to try it again and the four plants have grown and produced some beautiful heads. The garden and the weather were the inspiration for this recipe. A cold, rainy day, where the high for the day is in the morning calls for a bowl of warm, thick soup. Serve with a simple fruit salad and you have a meal that will add some sunshine to any dreary day.

Potato Broccoli Cheddar Soup

1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced

2 leeks, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon aleppo chili
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
3 pounds potatoes, diced
1 head broccoli
2 cups grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper
Sour cream

In a heavy Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute onion and celery until tender, seasoning with salt as it cooks. Add flour, paprika and aleppo chili to pot and stir until the flour bubbles. Add the broth, milk and potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes and the potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes cook, cut broccoli into bite-size pieces and steam until tender crisp. When the potatoes are tender, use a potato masher to break up some of the potatoes. Reduce the temperature to low and add the broccoli and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and the soup is heated through, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream. Serves 6 to 8.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

It is a big mistake to watch the Food Network while working out. But I must admit that Guy was the inspiration for tonight's dessert. And it was seasonal, with fresh Georgia peaches from the Veggie Patch and blueberries from our garden. After a quick search on the Internet for Guy's recipe I decided to do my own version. The result was a delicious cobbler. Next time you have access to fresh blueberries and peaches, give this a try.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Filling
2.5 to 3 pounds ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
1 pint blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Mix together in a large bowl.

Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick cold butter, diced
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the butter is the size of very small peas.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch iron skillet. Pour in the fruit mixture and top with the flour mixture. Bake 45 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

Garden Update

For the last two weeks we have been planting the garden with lots of success and a couple of failures. The tomatoes and peppers are thriving, growing daily and enjoying the warm weather and recent rain. The butter peas and scalloped squash are up and growing. Purple hull crowder peas are slowly peeking through the soil. The failures include the La France green beans and zucchini and yellow squash. They were planted early and it looks like they will need to planted again. The cucumbers are questionable. We were unable to find seeds so we bought a few plants. I'm not sure how they are going to do. We have always had more success when planting from seed.
Everyday the garden changes. Kenny is working on the irrigation and then we will begin mulching.

Tending to the garden is a lot like tending to your children. You work hard to provide the perfect environment so they will grow and flourish.

Tomatoes in the Ground!

On April 21st, our first tomatoes were planted in the garden. Thanks to Marshall, we have lots of heirloom varieties. Each plant received a dose of Kenny's Recipe for Healthy Tomato Plants and a drink of water. Now is the hard part, waiting for the plants to grow and produce.

Basil Onion Pepper Jelly

In my search for a better pepper jelly, this one is a milder version with a wonderful sweet, herb flavor. The peppers are a blend of cubanelle, red cherry, sweet banana and tiny yellow bells from the garden. The basil and red onion add a depth of flavor that is wonderful when served as an appetizer on cream cheese with Ritz crackers.

Basil Onion Pepper Jelly

11 ounces peppers
5 ounces red onion
20 basil leaves
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
6 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo

Sterilize the jars and prepare the lids according to manufacturers directions.

Chop the peppers, onion, and basil in the food processor finely. In a large stainless steel pan, combine the pepper mixture with the sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Bring to a full rolling boil and add the Certo. Bring back to a full rolling boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into hot jars, wipe rims clean and secure the lids and rings. Place jars in a canner covering completely with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Back to Blogging!

I can't believe that it has been two months since my last post! During this time, we have been busy in the garden. Kenny, the Tomato King, has been nurturing his 72 tomato plants. Our plans were to plant more tomatoes this year, but we never dreamed we would more than double our normal crop. We had 34 tomatoes planted when Marshall called to say he had 50 heirloom varieties for us. After sharing some with our family and friends, we carefully planted the rest, and then went to work creating wire baskets and staking the plants. By mid June, we were harvesting our first tomatoes.

What started out as a wet spring, has turned into a very dry summer. Thanks to our well, we are able to water the garden and all the tomatoes have grown and flourished. Our heirloom varieties have been a welcome addition to the garden. One of our favorites is the Cherokee Purple. These tomatoes are beautiful, large and delicious.

In addition to the tomatoes, the garden includes a wide variety of peppers, Japanese eggplant, La France green beans, cucumbers, squash, beets, Swiss chard, herbs and zinnias.

So, will it be two months before my next post? No way! I have too much to share and can't wait to get in the kitchen and cook!

Upside Down Blueberry Cake for Taste and Create

For this month's Taste and Create, my partner is Bellini of More Than Burnt Toast. Nicole of For the Love of Food created this blog event and it is a wonderful way to connect bloggers and a fun event for my family and friends, since they are my official tasters. Bellini is from Canada and has a wonderful blog. I loved her weekly feature highlighting Canadian chefs. Even though Bellini lives in a condo in Canada, I feel a real connection with her when it comes to food. I will be a regular visitor to her blog to find out what she is cooking and give it a try in my southern kitchen.

It was extremely hard to decide on the recipe I would recreate. As is often the case, it all came down to what I had on hand and what was happening on the home front. Tonight we are going to Peg's for a BBQ and I am taking dessert. Bellini's Upside-Down Blueberry Cake was the perfect match. Our freezer is home to many packs of blueberries from last year's harvest, the main ingredient of this delicious cake. Another thing I loved about the recipe was the ease of making it. But next time, I will be sure and bake it on a cookie sheet, to catch the overflow of blueberry juice.

Thanks, Bellini, for another create Taste and Create!

Upside-Down Blueberry Cake

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 -1/2 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened,

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2- 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or orange juice

1/3 cup low-fat milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the brown sugar in a small bowl, then spread the mixture evenly in the bottom of a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan. Spread the berries over the mixture and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Reserve. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup butter, the sugar, and the eggs, and beat until creamy smooth. Add the reserved dry ingredients, lemon or orange juice, milk, vanilla, and lemon or orange zest, and beat until well blended. Pour the batter over the berries and bake until the top is golden and a skewer tests clean when inserted in the center, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven, run a knife around the insideof the pan and invert the cake onto the plate, fruit side up. Cool slightly before serving warm.Makes 1 (9-inch cake). Serves 8 to 12.

Note: I would place the cake pan on a baking sheet, just in case the blueberries bubble over.

Whole Leaf Caesar Salad

For our recent "Cooking with Michael" night, I used a couple of the recipes from the It's All Here episode and prepared Spaghetti all'Amartriciana and Whole Leaf Caesar Salad. Now the theme of the show was using pantry items and I had everything needed for the salad. Our garden provided the romaine lettuce. I had leftover Ciabatta, the Kneadlessly Simple way, and the rest of the ingredients in the pantry or frig.

Now I have tried a number of Caesar dressing recipes and this rates with the best. One of the unique things about this version of the salad is using whole leaves of lettuce and finger-size croutons. The idea is to eat the salad with your fingers, and I must admit, it works that way. Kenny loved the idea and the salad. One good thing about the recipe is it makes enough dressing to use later.

Whole Leaf Caesar Salad

adapted from Michael Chiarello

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 or 4 anchovy filets, minced

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Worchestershire sauce

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Romaine lettuce leaves

Parmesan croutons

Freshly grated Parmesan

In a large wooden salad bowl, add the egg yolk, anchovies, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice and a dash of Worchestershire. Stir with a fork, crushing the garlic and anchovies. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to create a thick emulsion. To serve, toss the lettuce and croutons in just enough dressing to coat. Store the remaining dressing in the frig for use later. Yield: 4 servings.

Parmesan Croutons

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, chopped

8 slices ciabatta bread

6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute Add the bread and stir to coat. Toss the bread occasionally until both sides are golden brown.

Recipe for Healthy Tomato Plants

It seems like everywhere we go these days, our friends are asking Kenny to share his "recipe" for growing tomatoes. The recipe came from Henry, a well-known tomato grower in Newnan, written on a scrap of paper that Kenny stores in a sack of lime. As you can see, it looks like it is wrtiten in a secret code. To help you break the code, here are a few hints. SHF is "small handful" and TLS os "tablespoon." Since my small handful is not the same as Kenny's I needed a better measurement. So here iit is:

Recipe for Healthy Tomato Plants

1/2 cup bonemeal

1 tablespoon Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate)

1/2 cup cottonseed meal

1 cup pelletized lime

1/3 cup 10-10-10 fertilizer

Mic all ingefients together. Dig a large whole for the plant and put a handful in the bottom of the hole. Cover with 1 inch of soil. Position the tomato plant in the hole and cover with soil, making a slight berm around the plant.

Our tomato plants thrive and provide us with an abundance of fruit, or should I say vegetable? Below is a picture of the first tomato of the season, planted 10 days ago.

Black-eyed Peas and Turnip Green Soup

My entry for this year's Souper Bowl was from my garden. Our patch of greens has provided us with a great harvest. On a cold, winter day, I decided to try my hand at using the greens to make a soup. Use hot sausage for to give the soup a kick. For the competition, I made croutons from my Spicy Cornbread recipe. I baked the cornbread in a sheet pan, cut it into 1-inch cubes and toasted in the oven. It made for a great presentation, but not really worth the effort. Top the soup with Sweet Tomato Relish.


Black-eyed Peas and Turnip Green Soup

1 pound hot sausage
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 pound turnip greens
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
2 cans black-eyed peas

Saute onions and sausage until sausage is browned and done. Add turnip greens, water, chicken broth and black-eyed peas. Cook until the greens are tender. Add more water if needed. Serve with cornbread croutons and tomato relish.

Turnip Greens - A Southern Favorite

We harvested our first turnip greens of the season yesterday. The recent rain has definitely had an effect on the garden. In just a couple of days, the greens have jumped from the ground and are ready for the first harvest. About a month ago, the seeds were planted, a mixture of turnip, kale and mustard. It was a slow start due to the lack of rain, but now they are flourishing. I've always heard that you had to wait until frost kissed the greens to harvest, but my desire to have some for dinner led to the decision to pick a "mess" for dinner.

Greens can be a real pain in the you know what to pick and cook. First of all, you have to pick a lot for a meal. When you think you have enough, then pick more! The greens were very young and tender so I was careful when picking to only get the tops and leave the stems. Wash the greens in a sink of cold water, removing them from the water to allow the grit and sand to sink to the bottom. You may have to do this a couple of times. Since I picked these while the greens were young and tender, there was no need to remove the stems.

Once the greens are clean, place in a dutch oven with about 3-4 inches of water in the pan. It will look like you have enough greens to feed an army, but trust me, you don't! Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring to until the greens cook down.

Now it is time to season the greens with salt, pepper, a tablespoon of sugar, and some fat. Traditionally in the South, we use fat back, also known as streak o' lean or salt pork, a fat cut of pork from the belly, back or sides, cured by salting. Fry the fat back until crispy and brown and add the drippings to the greens.

Continue to simmer the greens until tender. Since the greens were young and tender, they were ready to eat in about 3o minutes. Our meal was simple - greens, crowder peas and cornbread. Kenny topped his greens with Sweet Tomato Relish while I opted for the Green Tomato Relish and, if I say so myself, it was delicious!

Scuppernong Jelly

About 8 years ago, we planted our first scuppernong vines and this was the first year we have had a real harvest. This past year, the vines have been given the TLC they deserved and we were rewarded with a good crop that we could enjoy along with the deer that share our garden.The scuppernong is a greenish, or bronze, variety of the muscadine, native to the southeastern United States. The fruit is very sweet when ripe and is perfect for jelly making. The process for making jelly is very simple, but somewhat time consuming. Since the scuppernongs have a tough outer shell, you must extract the juice and then strain it several times to remove all the particles for a pretty jelly. Scuppernong Jelly
3 pounds scuppernongs, washed
1 cup water
7 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo

Simmer the scuppernongs in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes. Crush the fruit to release the juice and strain in a colander. Using 8 layers of cheesecloth, strain the juice. Do not press the fruit through the cheesecloth.

Once the juice is extracted, measure the juice. You will need 4 cups of juice, adding water if needed, no more than 1/2 cup of water should be added for the best flavor. Put the juice and sugar in a large dutch oven and heat to a rolling boil. Add the Certo, bring back to a rolling boil on high heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off foam. Pour into hot sterilized jars to 1/8 inch from top of jar. Wipe rims to clean and put on prepared jar lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes After the jars have cooled, check each one by pressing tbe middle with your finger. If the center springs back, refrigerate. Allow the sealed jars to stand 24 hours. Remove the rings and clean the jars. Store in a cool, dark place. Open jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks.

Green Tomato Pickles

You know how it goes, you have your day planned when you receive that unexpected phone call. My task for the day was to clean out the laundry room and pack up the unused items for Wesley Woods yard sale. I was working diligently to make a dent in the mess when Kenny called. His friend Henry was cleaning out his garden and had harvested a bunch of green tomatoes. Did I want them? Of course I can't say no to fresh veggies, especially tomatoes, and I wasn't thrilled with my task for the day, so I said "Yes" without hesitation. Today's cleaning day quickly turned into a day of preserving nature's bounty for those cold winter days when we will enjoy the harvest of the summer.

So what do you do with a bucket of green tomatoes? Many years ago as an Extension Home Economist, I tried my hand at pickling and preserving just about everything. One of our favorites was Pickled Green Tomatoes. They are a wonderful accompaniment to the crowder peas and butter beans in the freezer and very easy to make. The hard part is waiting a couple of weeks for the tomatoes to pickle. Try these for a real treat when the weather is cold and you are looking for the warm thoughts of a summer garden!

Green Tomato Pickles

Green tomatoes

Apple cider vinegar

Garlic

Hot peppers

Wash the tomatoes, core and slice into wedges. Sterilize your canning jars in boiling water. Put one clove of garlic and a hot pepper into each jar. Pack the tomatoes tightly into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Pour boiling apple cider vinegar over the tomatoes. Wipe jar rims and adjust lid and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Jennifer, I have a jar for you! I'll bring it to Charlotte next week.

Fall Garden 2008

The weather has a definite chill in the air and it is time to plant our fall garden. In the past, our fall garden has been very sparse. This year is definitely different. On my visit to Whitley's Feed and Seed and Arnall Grocery, I realized that I wasn't limited to the usual greens and collards. So far we have planted Georgia collards, broccoli, and brussel sprout plants and sown seeds for purple top turnip greens, mixed greens, beets and sugar snap peas. Now we need some rain to get these plants going!

My Favorite Meal

It doesn't get any better than a dinner of fresh vegetables from the garden. This is my favorite combination -- crowder peas, cream-style corn, fried okra, sliced tomatoes, a slice of Vidalia onion, and a wedge of cornbread. The okra was dipped in egg and a mixture of equal parts of cornmeal and flour, seasoned with salt and fried in canola oil until golden brown. The cream-style corn is a combination of Trucker's Favorite and Silver Queen white corn. This is a messy, time consuming process, but definitely worth the effort. Cut the kernels from the cob, not too deep, and scrape the cob to render all the goodness from the ears. To cook the corn, we started by frying streak of lean (often labeled salt pork) and add the drippings to the corn. Cook over low heat with the drippings from the streak of lean, stirring frequently. Add water as needed to thin the corn. Season with salt and pepper. This simple meal is a real Southern favorite!

Summer's Harvest

There is nothing better than a summer garden. This year's garden includes tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, crowder peas, speckled butter beans, okra, La France green beans, eggplant, zucchini squash, yellow squash, patty pan squash and a variety of herbs. The results are great summer meals! No garden is complete without flowers. Zinnias and nasturtiums adorn the table and the food.

Cooking Squash, Blossoms Included!

As is usually the case, we have a bounty of squash - zucchini, yellow, and patty pan. And with the squash, comes the blossoms. I have heard a lot about stuffing squash blossoms but was hesitant because I wanted the squash. Come to find out, you can have your squash and eat the blossoms, too!

Seems as though there are 2 types of blossoms, male and female. The female produce the squash while the males provide the pollination necessary for the females to produce fruit. I checked out the plants and there were lots of male blossoms, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to harvest a few for stuffing.I learned that the time of day you harvest is very important. Around noon, the blossoms looked great. By late afternoon, they were looking pretty pitiful. But since I had made a trip to Publix for the goat cheese, I was determined to find some that would work.

I selected the best ones and put them in cold water while I made the stuffing. The stuffing was a mixture of goat cheese, soft cream cheese, parmesan, chopped fresh herbs - basil, lemon thyme, parsley - and enough olive oil to make it a creamy consistency. The cold water helped to revive the blossoms and they were ready for stuffing. I used a plastic bag as a piping bag to squeeze the stuffing in the blossoms. Twist the blossoms closed and refrigerate until ready to cook. Dip in stuffed blossoms in a beaten egg and then dredge in seasoned flour. Fry in hot olive oil until brown. Kenny loved them.The other experiment of the night was Spicy Squash Cakes. These were delicious.


Spicy Squash Cakes
1 cup grated summer squash
1 ear of corn
1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion (1/2 of a medium-sized onion)
1 cayenne pepper, chopped (add more if you like it hot)
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour - you may need to adjust the amount for the desired thickness
1 black pepper
Canola oil for sauteing
In a large bowl, beat the egg. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Saute in hot oil until brown. Makes 4 servings. When I make these again, I think I will try draining the squash before combining with the other ingredients. That should help with the consistency without having to add more flour. We served these with salsa and basil aioli. With the grilled shrimp and scallops marinated in Williams-Sonoma Tequila Agave Marinade, it was a wonderful supper.

Pictures of the Garden

Garden Update

We had our first tomato sandwiches today! I decided to splurge and make basil mayonnaise. You can't beat a homegrown Georgia tomato. We are also harvesting zucchini, yellow and patty pan squash as well as blueberries.

Goliaths are Harvested

Kenny picked our first big tomatoes on June 7th from one of the Goliath plants that was planted on April 29th.