Food! It's got to be about Food!

Well, maybe it does, and maybe it doesn't. I haven't been on for a bit, due to a busy life. Last week my busy life included teaching 3 - 6th graders in Vacation Bible School. It was a lot of fun, but wearying. We did some cool projects, including making pocket pals and tooling leather bracelets. Pastor Kevin did a great job on the bridge illustration during the opening session on the last night. It was a fitting finale. All in all, I had a good time, and I think the kids did, as well.
Now, back to the food. Between Norm and I, we're always trying different things in the kitchen. One of my recent attempts involved making home-made hummus. Yes, that includes starting with dried garbanzo beans. I've cooked dried beans at various times over the years, and am most familiar with the old "soak 'em overnight" method, but this time I tried something different that I read about here. I baked them in the oven for two hours without soaking them, first. They turned out great! I used this recipe for the hummus I made, substituting an equivalent amount of cooked garbanzo beans for the canned beans. Here is the finished product:

The true test of a new recipe at our house is how quickly it gets eaten up. This definately passed the test - it was gone the same day! Tune in again tomorrow to find out what else I've been experimenting with in the kitchen.

Serendipity

It started a couple of weeks ago when my SECOND batch of home-made chicken stock got away from me before I could take care of it. I told my sweet darling, Norm, that I needed to cook the chicken on Friday so I would have time on Saturday to take care of it – strain the bones out, package, and freeze. That may not appear to be a lot of effort, but when life is moving forward at the speed of a freight train, it seemed like plenty. So, I planned it, and put the chicken in the crockpot yesterday morning before leaving for work, using a variation of this recipe. Then, last week when we were headed to the Dane County Farmers Market, Norm put in a request for one of his favorite foods that his Mom used to make. Now, you must understand, Norm’s parents were both of German heritage, and this dish is distinctly German. It is creamed lettuce on boiled potatoes. Since we were headed to the Farmers Market, I made sure to get the lettuce and the potatoes – couldn’t have timed it better, as one of the vendors had German butter potatoes. How totally appropriate for the dish I intended to use them for. It was a gamble to get them, though, as I knew nothing about the cooking properties of German butter potatoes. As it happened, they turned out to be perfect for boiled potatoes. Since asparagus is in season and we love it, we bought some of that, too. So, here we were with all the fixings for a “down-on-the-Farm” meal, and just the two of us to eat it. Hmmm – must be time to invite company. Then Norm’s buddy, Tom, called him on Thursday about getting together. How perfect is that? So we invited Tom and his lovely wife, Lesa, to join us, and getting into the spirit, they brought home-made corn muffins, honey from the bee’s that Tom keeps, and a marvelous rhubarb crunch and ice cream for dessert. It isn’t often that circumstances come together in such a way but what a joy and blessing when they do. Thanks, Tom and Lesa for a fun evening of mutual camaraderie! Hope we can do it again soon! Now I’d better go and take care of my THIRD batch of chicken stock!

Doesn't this look like a meal you'd like to sit down to? [the creamed lettuce is mid-right]

Check the “In the Kitchen” page for recipes for the chicken and creamed lettuce. You’ll also find a picture of the turkey on the gardening page.

Bowtie Primevera

Sunday was a busy day as Norm and I worked on the garden, so I was looking to put together a quick meal. Having been to the Farmers Market the day before, there were plenty of options available. Since I was in the mood for pasta, this is what I came up with:

Bowtie Primevera
1 C. Bowtie pasta, cooked according to package directions
6 stalks asparagus, broken or cut in pieces
1 medium-sized fresh tomato, diced
1 T. dried basil
1/4 C. heavy cream
2 T. romano cheese
Garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste
Half a fresh cucumber, cut into wedges for garnish
Leaf lettuce, enough to cover 2 serving plates

Cook the bowtie pasta according to package directions. A couple of minutes before it reaches al dente, add the asparagus to cook lightly. While pasta is cooking, arrange leaf lettuce on two dinner plates. When pasta is cooked and asparagus is bright green, drain. Return pasta and asparagus to pan. Add the diced tomato, dried basil, heavy cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until slightly thick. Divide into two portions and serve on a bed of leaf lettuce. Garnish with cucumber wedges. Eat! Serves 2. Prep time: half hour or less

Verdict: this was a perfect spring meal, something warm, but still had the flavors of the fresh spring vegetables and went together quickly. This would be good with diced chicken or shrimp in it.