A Pinch of Love, A Smidgen of Joy - Summer Vegetables

 

Tomato at Portland Farmers Market

With summer comes an abundance of vegetables, and the Portland Farmers Market was overflowing with them this weekend. From tomatoes and peppers to corn and cabbages, you can get your veggie fix at your local farmers market. I have my favorite vendors that I visit from week to week to swoon over their selection. I am especially fond of juicy, richly-colored, plump tomatoes. The fun part is bringing them home and finding dishes to incorporate them into. Tomatoes are so much more than just for salads. They can go in your favorite lasagna, pasta sauces, quiches, ratatouille, soup, chili, or just on their own with a little salt and pepper.

Along with tomatoes, we often get bell peppers, onions, corn, green beans, and other veggies at the market. They are so beautiful and fresh! Because I love the color purple, I captured all the purple veggies I could find at the market - and there were quite a few!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a lot of purple! They say you eat with your eyes first. Colorful vegetables are a great way to get kids interested in food, rather than handing them something colorless and uninteresting. I was definitely interested in food as a kid, and I think my parents encouraged variety in our diet.

Growing up, Dad and Mom always kept a garden. I don't recall a summer when our family didn't have access to fresh vegetables. I think that's why I get so excited about food in the summer, because we can make so many delicious dishes with a garden of ingredients. My Dad still keeps a garden at his and my Mom's home in Arkansas. When I was there in the spring, I saw the beginnings of his garden already showing up. It's so exciting to see plants grow into something yummy and good for you.

My Dad's garden in Arkansas, back in May at the beginning of the growing season

When my husband, Nathan, and I lived in Savannah, we maintained a garden every summer, having okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, green beans, jalapenos, and bell peppers. Here in Portland, we just have a container garden, but most importantly, it's a container of cherry tomatoes. And they are beautiful and delicious! I get so much joy into going out in my back yard and picking tomatoes right from the vine.

Sun Gold and Red Cherry Tomatoes from my container garden

I selected a few veggie-incorporated recipes from Momma's cookbook to share and celebrate the fresh vegetables of summer. Get outside and enjoy this last bit of summer before the veggies and farmers markets are gone for the year!

From A Pinch of This, A Smidgen of That Cookbook by Patricia Rains

"5-Layer Mexican Dip"

Ingredients:

1 can (15-1/2 oz) refried beans
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
3 green onions, diced
1/3 cup sliced black olives
1 tomato, chopped

Directions: Mix beans, chili powder and cumin; spread onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate. Top with layers of remaining ingredients. Refrigerate several hours, or until chilled. Serve with tortilla chips.


"Best Salsa Ever!"

Ingredients:

3 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes drained (basil, garlic and oregano seasoned)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce (basil, garlic and oregano seasoned)
4 medium fresh/vine-ripened tomatoes, died
1/2 purple onion, diced
2 bunches green onions, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced/crushed
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 Anaheim pepper, minced (omit for milder variety salsa)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice


"Fried Green Tomatoes"

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated California Garlic powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
5 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices
Ranch dressing (Hidden Valley recommended), for dipping

Directions: Combine flour, cornmeal, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic, alt and pepper to make breading. Dip a tomato slice into the egg, then the breading. Do the same for all the tomato slices. Set aside. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough oil to halfway cover the tomato slices. Heat oil to 325 to 350 degrees. Add tomatoes. Cook three minutes on each side. Serve hot as an appetizer with ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.
(Kenda's note: I like to fry my green tomatoes in a cast iron skillet for best crispiness. Also, I omit the ranch and serve the fried tomatoes with a little drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, sun-dried tomato garnish, and goat cheese.)

Welcome, Fall!

Fall is my favorite time of year for many reasons---not just the beautiful colors God has used to paint His creation, but also, the delicious aromas that drift from our home kitchens this time of year. I'm all ready for Fall even before the leaves change color. This year, I began my Fall decorating as soon as the kids started back to school in August! (Usually, I wait until the day after Labor Day, but this year, I was especially tired of hot, dry weather and just ready for a change of colors inside the house.)

Fall is  a great time of year to make foods that really warm you up from the inside out. It might be getting cooler outside but it's warm inside our kitchens, because summer's over and it's time to celebrate Fall! One of the best ways I can think of to do this is with a warm, hearty beef stew. You can find this recipe in my cookbook (A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That) on page 50-51, "My Favorite Slow Cooker Stew." (See details below on how to order your copy, if you don't already have the cookbook.)

This stew has a simple list of ingredients, but plenty of great flavor and a delicious fragrance that will fill your whole home while the mixture cooks in your crock pot or slow cooker. (By the way, for those of you who are wondering, "What's the difference in a crock pot and a slow cooker?" see this URL: http://ezinearticles.com/?Crock-Pots-and-Slow-Cookers&id=5630874 )

MY FAVORITE SLOW COOKER STEW

See the NOTE ON INGREDIENTS below at the end of this post...

You can use pre-cut stew meat for this, but I like to use a 2 to 3 lb. chuck roast and cut it into small, bite-sized cubes. (It's much cheaper than the pre-cut version :-). First, I slice it all one direction, then go back and cube it into bite-sized portions.

Mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika

together in a small to medium mixing bowl.

Add beef (either pre-cut or that you have cut from your roast). It’s okay that the meat is raw. The cubes will cook nice and brown in the crock-pot. You do not have to brown them first. Toss the beef around until all sides are coated. I usually do about half, then do the rest to be sure all gets a good coating.

Place the beef in the bottom of your crock-pot that you have

sprayed with non-stick coating.

Place bay leaves under the water and vegetables, so they are well covered to rehydrate and

season your stew.

Add layers of vegetables as you prepare them.

Add bullion cubes, Worcestershire sauce, and water.

Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6

hours. (This time was given on the original recipe, but my crock pots must

cook really fast, because it never takes anywhere near this long….. maybe 3

or 4 hours on medium or low, but never 10 to 12 hours!)

When done, be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving. You can stir the stew occasionally

(not every hour!) during cooking to mix flavors and thicken the soup. (Remember: Every time you remove the lid on your crock pot, you add an extra 20 minutes to your cooking time, so don't do it too often, or you'll be waiting all day for it to finish cooking!) You will think when you start cooking the mixture that it doesn’t have enough liquid, but trust me, the meat will cook down and liquefy along with the vegetables and make it just perfect!

This stew will make your house smell so yummmmmy!! If you really want to make it smell good, bake some cornbread to go along with it when it’s finished. (For a great cornbread recipe, see page 80 in A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That cookbook.)

Don't forget to copy and paste the recipe below to your word processor and print or save it in your cooking files.

Hope you enJOY making and eating this yummy Fall recipe. Please leave any questions or comments below. Also, if you have any requests for recipes from the cookbook that you would like for me to demonstrate here on the blog, send me an email or comment below. Thanks!

Happy Fall!

My Favorite Slow Cooker Stew

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup self-rising flour

1 ½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

2 pounds stew meat, cut in cubes (I usually cut up a 2 or 3 pound roast into cubes.) 

1 bay leaf

4-6 carrots sliced (or 1 small pkg. baby carrots, diced in thirds)

6-8 medium potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks

2 medium, or 1 very large yellow onion, chopped/diced

1 whole stalk celery, diced

4 Beef Bullion cubes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 cups water

NOTE ON INGREDIENTS: When I make this stew, I double the dry

ingredients to ½ cup flour, 3 tsp. salt (or 1 Tbsp.), ½ tsp. black pepper, ½ tsp.

garlic powder, 2 tsp. paprika. AND, I use 3 or 4 dried bay leaves and one

whole Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. I want my meat cubes coated

well before I add them to my crock-pot. The extra flour makes a “gravy”-like

consistency in the stew that really tastes good over cornbread or crackers.

DIRECTIONS: Mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika

together in a small to medium mixing bowl. Add beef cubes that you have cut

from your roast. (It’s okay that these are raw. They will cook nice and brown in

the crock-pot. You do not have to brown them first.) Toss the beef around until

all sides are coated (I usually do about half, then do the rest to be sure all

gets a good coating.) Place in the bottom of your crock-pot that you have

sprayed with non-stick coating.

Add layers of vegetables as you prepare them. Add bullion cubes, Worcestershire sauce, and water. Place bay leaves under the water and vegetables, so they are well covered to rehydrate and

season your stew. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-6

hours. (This time was given on the original recipe, but my crock pots must

cook really fast, because it never takes anywhere near this long….. maybe 3

or 4 hours on medium or low, but never 10 to 12 hours!) When done, be sure

to remove the bay leaves before serving. You can stir the stew occasionally

(not every hour!) during cooking to mix flavors and thicken the soup. You will

think when you start cooking it that it doesn’t have enough liquid, but trust me,

the meat will cook down and liquefy along with the vegetables and make it just

perfect! It will make your house smell so yummmmmy!! If you really want to

make it smell good, bake some cornbread to go along with it when it’s

finished.

Page 50-51, A Pinch of This... A Smidgen of That