Weekend roundup.

A little catchup today about my weekend.


I started my weekend on Friday at lunch. I had to get over to Restaurant FnB because I was hoping that they still had this chips and ramps dip with bacon on the menu. It was and it was so good. Then I had the special 7th item off the menu, this BLT that was filled with many different veggies. This sammie had bacon, juicy tomatoes, cilantro, watermelon radish, pickles and probably some other things I can't recall. If you have never been to FnB at lunch you should go and experience the 6 item menu.










I had my leftover sandwich as we left town to head up north. Some key toothpicks held it together.

Some nice views of springtime in the high desert as well as a little sprinkle.

We got to our cabin in time for some wine and put together this little dinner of roasted carrots with carrot raita from the Bodega along with spot prawns that I grilled over Thai basil sprigs from my garden. I can't remember where I saw to cook shrimp in this way, but it was very good and I will try it again soon.

 
On Saturday we made our usual pilgrimage to the House that Chilaquiles built, MartAnnes in Flagstaff. The wait for food is usually pretty long here so I took pictures of the artwork as well as their cute salt and pepper shakers. Then came this plate of pork green chile Chilaquiles with beans, rice, tortillas and hash browns.

Obviously we had a light dinner and I was woken up later on the couch when Milo saw this raccoon on the deck.









Well we just hadn't had enough food, so we went back to MartAnnes on Sunday. I had Chilaquiles with chorizo and red sauce this time. Then we went to Pier 1 for some retail therapy plus we bought some of the salt and pepper shakers.

I think I'm full now and had better head to the gym...

A little catch up

Well it happened. I haven't posted in quite a while and so I'd just like to catch up a bit.

Tax day has come and gone and my signing hand is now recovered.

Spring is in full bloom around here and my little tomato plants are over 3 feet tall now. They also have a lot of small tomatoes on them. Probably they are shading my other plants too much but this was all an experiment anyways. We shall see if they make it as things are starting to heat up here.












An orchid that I have been regrowing even has showed off its colors once again.



Also a closeup of some Cherokee Purple tomatoes.




And here is some Thai basil growing happily.

Of course I watched in horror with everyone else at the Boston marathon bombing. The story of this is just so sad but we were so happy when it came to an end on Friday. How crazy is it that they shut down the whole city so they could track down the suspects?! We applauded the police along with everyone else when they captured the 2nd suspect.

Since my last post, I entered a local newspaper cooking contest. This Top Home Chef competition involved creating a menu for six, a recipe for an appetizer, and an essay about your cooking style and why you think you can cook like a real chef. If I had made the final 3, I would have had to make dinner for the main restaurant reviewer as well as others from the entertainment section. I carried the article with me for weeks as I wrote my entry.

Well I didn't make it and while I'm disappointed, I am happy I entered and my appetizer pic was even on the website.



Here is a link to the contest and the entries, I am #32.

Here is my menu and appetizer recipe.

The Hefe Kitchen Menu

Crostini sampler plate: carrot top pesto with burrata, herbs and tomatoes plus classic radish, butter and sea salt

Herb grilled whole beef tenderloin with chimichurri, chard stems gratin, roasted and grilled assorted market veggies

Margarita pie deconstruct with graham cracker crisp

Farmers Market Crostini plate:

With Carrot Top Pesto and Burrata

1 loaf crusty French or Italian bread, sliced

1 locally made burrata cheese ball

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

2 Campari tomatoes chopped

1 T minced fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano etc.)

Carrot top pesto (recipe below)

Heat oven to 375°. Drizzle or lightly brush bread with olive oil and place in

oven until toasted, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Remove burrata ball from container and lightly dry off with a paper towel. On a

plate sprinkle burrata ball with salt and pepper, then olive oil, then the herbs

and tomatoes. Set aside.

Assemble crostini: spread toasted bread with carrot top pesto and then cut into

burrata and put some on top of pesto.

Carrot Top Pesto

1 packed cup of fresh carrot tops, stems removed, cleaned & spin dried

1/4 cup raw pepitas, lightly toasted in a dry skillet, cooled

1 garlic clove chopped

1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 big pinches kosher salt

2 tablespoons Parmesano Reggiano

1 small lemon wedge

Combine pepitas and garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add in

carrot tops and start pouring in the olive oil while processing. Scrape down

sides as needed until sauce comes together. Scrape into a bowl and add salt,

Parmesan and lemon squeeze. Stir together, taste and add salt or more oil as

desired. Refrigerate and use or freeze within a couple of days.

Radish and Butter Crostini

French breakfast radishes, thinly sliced

Unsalted sweet butter, room temp.

Coarse sea salt

Assemble these by adding a smear of butter, several radish slices and sprinkle

with sea salt. I used red Hawaiian sea salt.

Serve Crostinis on a platter with drinks before dinner.

Have you ever entered a cooking contest and how would you feel to be judged by a restaurant critic?
It definitely made me uneasy but I feel that I would have been fun to try...
Until next time, peace.

A Change of Seasons

As a frequent shopper at farmers markets, one can't help but noticing the change in seasons by the veggies that are for sale. On the Saturday before Easter, this was my experience.




Spring is in the air here in the Southwest. Flowers have been blooming and the desert is alive right now. The birds and bunnies are active around my house. My little garden has been growing as well, especially the heirloom tomato plants.

Tomatoes taking over

Lots of tourists and locals

A fresh green juice because of Poker Night the night before

Flowers anyone?

 
















The changes in seasonal veggies can be subtle in a sea of organic local veggies. The farmers I shop at must have huge fields of beets, radishes, carrots and all other types of veggies as these seem to always be available. There are an amazing amount of different fruits and veggies all grown locally. Must be the mild winter weather here in Phoenix.





It started a few weeks ago with the first asparagus for sale. Then sweet snap peas and artichokes.





Today these fava beans seemed brand new. If you have never had fresh young fava beans I suggest that you do. They won't be around for long. Yes they are labor intensive to prepare, but the reward is well worth it.











And these little strawberries are so sweet... Yum!



Looks like I will be making lots of spring veggie dishes in the very near future.

I got a little glimpse of the next season when I heard a farmer saying how the last few weeks have been ideal for the lettuces but that will change soon as the weather heats up.

So enjoy the fresh produce that spring brings and Happy Easter!






Note:  I ended up making an Easter salad similar to this with snap peas, fava beans and English peas.

Drinking 'o the Green

Green smoothies and the #flushot. Any one that follows me on instagram has seen these pics. Whether I post a pic or not, they have become an almost daily ritual for me. So for St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to tell my experience with green smoothies plus show some of the various mixes I have come up with.

I think there are a couple of reasons first of which is my wife bought a VitaMix blender. She had gone to some blending and juicing deal with some friends and they all became quite interested. I had made many fruit smoothies in the past and I figured our old blender was good enough. I even tried to stop her because I knew how much they cost. Well she bought it and with my cooking obsession I have become the one that uses it the most.

Secondly I am not much of a breakfast guy. It's tough when you don't eat eggs. Cereal gets old quick with me and I prefer variety over the same old thing. I had heard of these smoothies with veggies in them and it seemed interesting. The mrs had even bought a certain Green Machine bottled green juice before but that didn't interest me much. My kids even liked it. I guess I wanted to make these by myself with ingredients I can see. Not processed in a big plant.

Well I threw myself at Google and discovered a whole world of green smoothies and their health benefits. I even signed up for a 3 day smoothie challenge deal at terawarner.com that emailed me many facts and recipes for smoothies.

A lot of people shy away from the thought of a green smoothie. Spinach, kale, lettuce etc blended together with fruits. Eww! That's what I thought also until I began making them. They can be very fresh tasting plus you can always experiment with new combinations of ingredients. They don't always turn out great but at least I know what's in there and can adjust for the next one.



Of course the farmers market is a great place to get the freshest, organic ingredients for smoothies. But don't let the supermarket stop you from trying. I just use my best judgement and pick the freshest looking stuff and I have even used prepared kale mix in a bag before in a pinch. If you do green smoothies very often, remember to vary your types of greens.

Could I recite what these health benefits are? No. Can increasing the amounts of fruits and veggies we consume be bad for us? I really doubt it. But as I look back at my first green smoothie pictures that started back in September, there is one fact that is very apparent to me... I have not been sick this winter.

I have watched as everyone around me at work and home has been sick for at least a few days. Some for weeks at a time with a lingering nasty cough. I'm usually good for at least 1 upper respiratory/nasal/sore throat/coughing type illness per year and that hasn't happened. I didn't get a flu shot this year. Even my seasonal allergies were no big deal. I've even heard that my skin and hair appear to be healthier.


         Don't believe that I just eat healthy all the time. I don't take pics of the late night munchies we all have some times. Chips, cookies, candies you name it. I'm normal and I like to eat all sorts of things, healthy or not. These smoothies and recently a foray into juicing and prepared fresh juice have merely increased my veggie intake.







Does increasing veggies and fruits in your diet help us to be healthier? I can't say for sure. But judging by how I have felt though, I know that it is true. So maybe give green smoothies a try. You may find yourself moving on towards a healthier lifestyle...










I might even have to work in some 'sick' days for myself as a reward for trying my best to take care of my health. After all of these natural #flushots, I just might deserve it.

1st cookbook

I mentioned in my first blog post how I started cooking when I was away at college. I had begun to get tired of eating fast and frozen food way too often. I remember getting a wok as a birthday present and I bought this book to go along with. Well the wok is long gone but the tattered book still remains.

I leafed through it many times thinking of exotic Chinese food and locales. Pickled Szechwan Vegetables started sounding like something I would like to try. Spicy Sprout and Cucumber Salad. Sure. Fifteen Minute Chicken. Yes. I began to go to the grocery store so that I would have the various ingredients on hand. I would look for dried mushrooms, bean pastes and hoisin sauce. I was becoming obsessed. Various Chow Meins, egg rolls, and all sorts of stir fries slowly began to happen.

I even filled in the title for this recipe from the index because it was not printed.

Through the years, this Almond Chicken has become a family favorite.

I think we all can tell I've made this before.

It has become the base for many different stir fry dinners since I learned the basics. Cutting up and marinating the chicken, making the crisp almonds, prepping the veggies and making the sauce. Next I cook the chicken in the wok and remove. Then stir fry the veggies until crisp tender, add in the sauce, then the chicken. Serve with some rice and it's a nice dinner.

I now like to change up the veggies for variety. Carrots, celery and snow peas are natural choices. Broccoli and cauliflower florets can work well. Bean sprouts or Shishito peppers? Why not. I even swapped out the bamboo shoots for these kohlrabi 'bamboo shoots' last year.

The family didn't seem to mind. So feel free to take this recipe and change it up with whatever you have in your fridge. I guess at some point it isn't Almond Chicken anymore, but something slightly different and usually pretty tasty.

I guess I owe Rose Cheng, Michele Morris and Chinese Cookery a big THANK YOU for helping me get started with my hobby of cooking!