Basil Salt

It's that time of year again when we have a surplus of garden harvests.  I planted my herbs in a new place this year and they really took to it.  Here is a great way to use up extra basil.

This recipe is courtesy of the Food Network Magazine.  

I made a double batch and gave one as a gift. 

 For one batch:  One half cup of kosher salt.

 One half cup of basil.

 I love my Alton Brown Measuring Cup! Unfortunately I don't think he sells it anymore.  They came in a set of two (1 cup and 2 cup).  They are perfect for measuring things like honey, mayo, oil.  The bottom pushes up like a plunger and it all comes out so you don't have to keep scraping the sides.  Anyway, you should have about 1/2 cup of packed basil leaves.  (More or less to taste.)

 Add the salt and basil to the food processor.

 Pulse until the basil is completely pulverized into the salt.

 Until nice and crumbly.  There shouldn't be any recognizable leaf segments.

Spread the mixture on a backing sheet.  I lined mine with parchment paper so that it would be easier to remove the salt when it was done.

 Bake the salt at 225 degrees (F) for about 30 to 40 minutes (mixing once halfway through.)

 Let cool completely.

 Place the salt crumbles back into the process.

 Process until finely ground and powdery.

 I funneled the salt into glass bottles, labeled and sealed.

I assume the salt will store like any other salt.  The article didn't mention how long it would keep.  Considering it's salt, I assume it will be good for a long time since sodium is a preserver.  The cooking should have dried up the basil enough that I don't think mold should be an issue.  

I cooked chicken yesterday and used it in place of plain salt.  I'm thinking it will be really good on fresh sliced tomatoes.  Maybe popcorn that has been popped in olive oil.  Put it on fresh steamed veggies.  It smells like pesto, but the taste is really subtle.  

Enjoy!

"Beef Sirloin and Bell Pepper Kebabs"

I'M BACK!  Did ya'll miss me?  I certainly missed you.  I'm ready to get this thing flying again.  I hope you've all had a wonderful two years.  I did!  When you have children, you certainly experience so many wonderful things.  Oddly, not much has changed during this hiatus.  I'm still working, still trying to manage to, well, manage everything.  It's still rather difficult.  Any working parent knows that.  Unfortunately, I don't think I managed all that well in the food area for my family.  There was a lot of pre-packaged food consumption.  A lot of fast food and restaurant eating over the past two years.  And we all know how horrible that is -- not only for our health, our waist-lines, but also for our financial health and our general well-being.  The economy sucks so bad right now (and no, I refuse to bring politics into this blog), and I have a hard time understanding why I and my husband opted to waste so much of our hard-earned money on paying for sub-par meals.  It's not like we were dining at 4-star restaurants known for people-healthy and earth-friendly cuisine.  No.  It was Denny's, Burger King, Ruby Tuesday, McD's, Subway, etc.  So, a renewed resolve for myself.

To relaunch the site, I cooked a "quick" meal last night.  No, it wasn't by Ramsay.  I didn't give myself any advance notice that I was starting this again.  I just picked a recipe and, on a whim, picked up the camera and said, "I'm doing this again."  So, my return recipe comes from the July 2012 issue of Clean Eating Magazine.  

Beef Sirloin and Bell Pepper Kebabs in Rosemary Garlic Marinade

These are a wonderful way to streamline your meals (and a great way to make sure your kids get their veggies).  The prep can be done the day before (or a few hours before like I did yesterday).  

Sirloin (or a good cut of steak).  Make sure you use a tender cut of meat.  Even though you're marinating the beef, the cooking process is quick and you don't want a tough cut.  Garlic, fresh rosemary, vinegar (the recipe called for red wine -- I was out so I used cider vinegar), low-salt soy sauce, olive oil (again, I was out so I used canola) and black pepper.  A large onion, bell peppers and salt.

Mince the garlic

and the rosemary.

Combine them with the soy sauce, vinegar and oil.  Season with pepper.

Add chopped bell peppers

 and more peppers.

Add in your chopped onion and realize that you ran out of room in your marinating dish.

Chop up your beef into about 2-inch chunks.

Pour everything into a gallon-size plastic bag.  I should have done this from the start.  It's so much easier to make sure everything is completely coated.  It also makes things easier because when it's marinating in the fridge, all you have to do is flip the bag.  You don't have to stir and worry about food flipping out of the pan when you're stirring.  Plus it makes for quicker clean up.  You toss the bag, rather than washing the pan and fork/spoon.

So up to this point, it took about 20 to 25 minutes to chop everything and get it into the bag.  The recipe said to refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours.  I only had about 3 hours for mine.  Note to self -- Pre-Planning is a must!  This is something you could make way ahead for a freezer meal.  If doing this, after marinating, thread it onto the skewers.  On each end, place a cherry tomato so that there are no pointy ends.  Wrap each kebab in plastic wrap and place into a large freezer bag.  Freeze until ready to cook.  Thaw and grill or broil.  

Thread everything onto skewers.  If using wood or bamboo; don't forget to soak them for about 30 minutes. I love flat skewers!  They don't allow the food to turn around all willy-nilly when you're trying to flip them.  When using bamboo skewers, I use two together to create it's only flat surface.

Place the skewers on a pre-heated and oiled grill.  I grilled mine over direct heat for 6 minutes per side (12 minutes total) for medium rare to medium.  

They came out just right.

I let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving so all the juices could redistribute.

Awesome.  C and I gobbled ours up.  Even the boys loved it -- including the veggies!  There were some left overs from the boys and I will be using those up to create a steak and veggie omelet with a little pepper jack cheese.

So, no one can say they don't have time to cook a kebab.  They are so versatile.  Things I would do differently?  I would have reserved some marinade to use as a baste or as a finishing sauce.  That's about it really.  

Another wonderful thing about kebabs -- you can make a lot extras to keep in the freezer (as described above).  You can defrost as many or as little as you want.  Keep some on hand for an omelet or for a salad. Toss the meat and veggies with some rice or orzo or couscous.  With this marinade you could mix up the meats and veggies.  Steak with onions and mushrooms.  Lamb with peppers and cherry tomatoes.  Even all veggie kebab would be succulent.  Give it a try!  Cooking time is only 12 minutes.  What have you got to lose?

Stay Tuned ... Again.

Sorry. My camera is broken. I'm waiting on a new one.

Thanks all!

Gordon Ramsay's Ratatouille

My children love Ratatouille! Yes, I mean the movie. Alex especially loves watching the kitchen scenes. He's a little chef in the making. Except when he remembers that he wants to be a doctor. (He want to "fix sick babies' brains.") We recently had a discussion about our backyard garden and all the veggies that we were growing. Somehow the conversation turned to the fact that he wants to be a doctor and when he gets older (he's not even five yet) he won't have a garden at his home. I asked him why not. "Mom, I'm going to be a doctor, not a cooking doctor!" I hope I was able to convince him that even if you're not a chef, it doesn't mean you're not allowed to grow your own food. He loves farmers markets, meat markets, Whole Foods, and yes, gasp, even Giant Eagle. I hope he keeps that love of food into his adult life.

So, in honor of their love of a little rat who knows how to cook, I made the boys Ratatouille, which they were quick to point out looked nothing like the movie version. Eh. Deal with it.


Red onion, eggplant, red pepper, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme, garlic, canned diced tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Coarsely chop the onion.

Quickly chop the eggplant and pray it doesn't get brown before you get it in the pot.

Chop the pepper and watch your fingernails turn red.

Chop the zucchini.

Halve the cherry tomatoes.

Literally throw everything except the zucchini and tomatoes into a hot pan with some olive oil. Cook just until the veggies start to soften slightly.

Add the zucchini and cook until they, too, just start to soften.

Stir in the canned tomatoes.

Add the cherry tomatoes and cook just until everything is soft and fragrant. The cherry tomatoes just start to break down. At this point your kitchen will be filled with the wonderous aroma of all that is good. (Season with salt and pepper to taste.)

Chop some fresh basil and scatter over the top.

Because my family wouldn't be my family without eating meat of some sort -- I pan fried some cod fillets and placed it on top of the Ratatouille.

It was a perfect match. Nothing over-powered anything else.

This is one of my favorite dishes so far from Fast Food. I think this is the sort of dish Ramsay really meant when he said "anyone can cook" (funny -- that's a line right out of the movie, too -- wonder who took it from who?) The dish is hearty, yet so fresh you don't mind eating it on a hot summer day. It's a great harvest dish (the majority, if not all, of the ingredients can be grown in your own backyard. It's a great "clean out your fridge" sort of dish, and it's quick enough to make on any night of the week.

How long? The Ratatouille took about 35 minutes.

"Ratatouille ... Done"

First Harvest Dinner

So, how's your summer been going? Mine's been pretty good. Too hot for my liking, not enough money to do some of the funner things, but it's a good time to remember that the simpler things are sometimes the best.

We did make it up to Put-In-Bay, and we had a great time cruising in our rented golf cart.

I had my 20 year high school reunion picnic today. Had a very nice time with some old friends. 20 years gone, but it was like we just saw each other yesterday. I brought my Honey Almond Bars. I thought they went over pretty well.

When we got home after a hot day at the beach, I found I had enough of a first harvest to be the basis of a pretty good meal.

Our first cucumber mixed with thinly sliced red onion and tomatoes. Stir in some salt and pepper, apple cider vinegar, a splash of olive oil and another splash of raspberry vinegar. A teaspoon of sugar to cut the acidity.

Our first banana peppers sliced up.

Thinly sliced chicken breast.

Sprigs of herbs from the garden -- tarragon, thyme and lime basil.

Saute all in a bit of olive oil.

When you're nearly done, a splash of balsamic vinegar (I wish I had white balsamic, but what I have does add a nice caramel color). Saute just until things start to carmelize a bit.

It may not be the most colorful dish, but I really was tight on time because hubby had to leave for work in 20 minutes. So, yes, this is a wonderfully quick dinner.

Some variations I've done in the past, if I have more banana peppers, I skip the balsamic because the peppers add more than enough flavor. Sometimes I add a small handful of feta cheese after removing the chicken from the pan, and throw in a few sliced cherry tomatoes. Other times, I've wrapped up the sauteed chicken in a flour tortilla with a dab of sour cream and cheddar cheese.

So, happy first harvest