This has been a trimming week in the garden. First I trimmed my basil plants and ended up with a big bucket of basil, which I used to make Basil Lemon Pesto (recipe coming.) If you trim the basil plants, they bush out and produce much more basil. If I get more basil than I can use from a trimming, I just freeze the basil to use in soup and pasta sauce during the winter.
The Chinese believe that everything in life has Yin and Yang aspects, and I've certainly found this to be true of gardening. Sometimes the garden can give you bountiful gifts, like a whole colander full of green beans you find hiding under the leaves.
Updated and added to Recipe Favorites, July 2010) This savory marinade was one of the earliest recipes I posted on my blog, and it's equally good on chicken, pork, or beef, keeping the meat moist and flavorful on the grill. It's a marinade I've used often, so I don't know why it's taken me five years to come up with photos! The recipe makes quite a bit of marinade, but this will keep in the fridge for at least a week, so I recommend making the whole amount and trying it on two different types of meat. I use one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce when I'm making this for chicken, but if you try it for pork of beef, I'd increase the amount (and be sure to use a brand of Worcestershire Sauce that's gluten-free if you need this to be gluten-free.) If you're a South Beach dieter, please don't worry about using full-fat mayo in this recipe, because the mayo helps keep the meat moist, and you're only eating the small amount of mayo from the marinade that clings to the chicken, pork, or beef when you put it on the grill. |
| This salad is heavenly with fresh garden cucumbers! |
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| Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Bread, with just a little sugar. |
George W. Bush with Ham, painted by Bijijoo
(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites, July 2010.) Sometimes I tend to forget about crockpot recipes when it's summer, but actually slow cookers are a wonderful way to cook when you don't want to heat up your house. This week I had lots of collard greens in my garden, so I used the crockpot to make this combination of turkey Italian sausage, beans, and collard greens. My neighbor Michelle loves this recipe, and she tells me you can also cook it on the stove if you're in a hurry or don't have a crockpot. I used pinto beans, but you could make this with any type of dried beans and kale or swiss chard could replace the collards if that's what you have. Crockpot dishes tend to be not too photogenic, but luckily I had some leftovers to try more than once on the photos, and trust me when I say this picture is a big improvement on the previous one!
I love to wander out in the garden with my everyday camera and take photos, and I've already shown you some of the early flowers that bloom in my yard. Now it's nearly midsummer, and there's a whole different crop of flowers to photograph! First up, this lovely spiky bloom called Bee Balm, a plant that's actually a herb, and one of my very favorite flowers.
(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites July 2010) Nearly three years ago I made this salad with carrots, chickpeas, and parsley, tossed with a lemon-cumin vinaigrette and then jazzed up a bit with some feta and a few sunflower seeds. I didn't realize it until I looked at the post, but this is another recipe adapted from Fine Cooking, although I changed it up a bit with the lemon-cumin vinaigrette. Salads like this, with some protein from the beans and plenty of lemon flavor, are just what I like to eat for lunch when it's hot outside and you don't feel like cooking, or this would make a great side dish salad if you're cooking something on the grill. |
| Grilled Sausage and Summer Squash with Herbs, Capers, Kalamata Olives, and Lemon is an easy dinner! |
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| Val's Sweet Cabbage Slaw with Green Onion and Parsley was a hit at our family party! |
Fattoush or Lebanese Crumbled Bread Salad from Kalyn's Kitchen
Kalyn's favorite Phase One recipe for June 2010 was Spicy 