Afternoon Drive: Campo

It's the middle of the week, so I think it's time for some daydreaming about fresh air and open spaces to stave off any work week ruts. Today we are heading off to Campo, CA.

Some days are just meant for a drive out into the country, and such drives seem to be the perfect antidote for a week spent in an office. Not to mention the break in routine and the possibilities of seeing new landscapes.

(Okay, so this is almost the same landscape as the first picture, and not very new at all, but I liked it as well so I'm just going to post it.)

And when hunger calls, your best bet is to stop by a local cafe. I've found them to have perfectly satisfying burgers and fries. Burgers and fries are the quintessential road trip food, at least for me. Nothing like sitting in the passenger's seat to work up your appetite.

Next time, I will have to try the fish & chips at the Campo Diner to see if they really are "San Diego's Best."

Back on Highway 94, there was time for one more parting shot featuring the landscape of the day's drive.

And yes, the sky really was this blue.

I hope you get a chance to get out on the road and take in some new sights soon. Happy Trails!

Two Girls Cook

I know I have been a bit remiss (okay, who are we kidding, a LOT remiss) in my blog postings as of late, so I am trying to get back on track and share with you some of the things I have been doing while I have been away.

I went over to my friend's house a couple of weekends ago, and we decided to make this Balsamic Glazed Chicken Breast Recipe from FoodNetwork.com. We modified it a bit since we just used about half the chicken (4 breasts prepackaged from the store), so we consequently halved the rest of the ingredients. I am giving the original version here.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 stick butter
• 12 (6 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
• 4 gloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put the vegetable oil and butter into a large skillet and place over high heat. Once the butter and oil are bubbling, add the chicken breasts to the skillet 4 at a time. Sear on each side until the chicken is golden, about 1 minute per side. Remove to a large baking dish. Repeat with the remaining breasts and set aside.
3. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, toss to combine and then follow with the balsamic vinegar and red wine and season with salt and pepper. Bring up to a bubble then reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. [Simmering the wine in this mixture does not reduce the alcohol content substantially. Little Miss This and That in: Yay!]
4. Pour the balsamic mixture over the chicken and place the pan in the top half of the oven for 10 minutes, or until the chicken has just cooked through. Remove from the oven, garnish with freshly chopped parsley and set into a prepared chafer.

And now the pictures from our dinner...

This recipe was extremely simple to make. I mean, it only has 9 ingredients: chicken breasts, vegetable oil, butter, onion, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, balsamic vinegar and red wine. And the wine wasn't just for drinking! Though having a glass while cooking with a very dear friend is one of life's greatest pleasures.

First, we pan-fried the chicken breasts in the oil and butter (butter...mmmm), then removed them after they turned a nice golden color.

I forgot to take a picture of the onions and garlic sauteing (I blame the wine for my forgetfulness), but here you can see that we (and by we, I am referring to myself) forgot to quarter the tomatoes when creating the sauce, but I'm telling you, they came out soft and delicious regardless.

We placed everything in a baking dish and popped it in the oven for oh, about 15-20 minutes, for our 4 breasts of chicken. Then we pulled that sucker out and topped it with the chopped parsley. We skipped putting it all out on a chafer (I actually don't even know what that is) and just dug right into the baking dish. Oh, and it was perfect with the wine, in case you had any doubts.

This recipe was so easy to make, which is nice when you are cooking with someone else because it allows you to concentrate on conversation as well. That being said, I think there are a few things that could be done to spruce this recipe up, like adding a few more spices such as oregano, thyme, basil or even a summer savory.

Golden and Delicious

Check out this lovely golden cauliflower that I bought from Chino Farms. I was told it is the sweetest of the cauliflowers (they also offer white, purple and green varieties). It also contains quite a bit more Vitamin A than the white cauliflower.

Check out those florets. They are perfect. Or should I say were, because I ate them raw today as a snack.

Summer Snack

The French have long promoted the use of melon and figs and prosciutto. And now I know why. It's genius, really, combining the saltiness of the meat with the sweetness of the fruit.

Three ingredients is all you need: fresh figs, a melon (I used a type of muskmelon, but a store-bought cantaloupe would work just as well) and some prosciutto. You could add some cheese or sliced baguette if you wanted to round this out into a more substantial appetizer or a light evening meal. This would also provide enough variation to accommodate vegans, vegetarians and carnivores, making it a very versatile plate.

I bought the figs and melon at Chino's over the weekend, but then last night a neighbor brought over some home-grown figs and lemons in exchange for some of the vegetables from my garden. I have to say, I really enjoy this bartering system.

I like the idea of using a knife to hold the prosciutto, as this way people can just tear off how much they want, and it's much easier than having long, thin strips out. Plus, I just think the presentation looks a little more edgy.

Mussels. In a Pot.

I made these mussels for a dinner party I hosted over the weekend. They were quite delicious, if I do say so myself.

The recipe isn't mine, after all. It's one that I snagged from Real Simple, but I'm going to copy it here for you. As you may know, I rarely take the time to measure; instead, I opt to eyeball most of the stuff, so nothing probably ends up being exact. But this recipe is forgiving with inexact measurements, and since it's so good, it's earned a permanent place in my recipe book. Try 'em, you'll like 'em. And don't be afraid to eat the tomatoes and onions with the bread either!

Mussels with Tomatoes and Olives

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 cut dry white wine
1 pound beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed*
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 small baguette, warmed

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until just tender, 4-5 minutes.

2. Add the wine and simmer until slightly reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and olives. Add the mussels and cook, covered, until they open, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard any mussels that remain closed. Stir in the parsley.

3. Divide the mussels and cooking liquid among the bowls. Serve with the bread.

Quick Tip: Refrigerate mussels as soon as you get them home from the store. If you can't cook them that night, remove the packaging, transfer them to a bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and keep in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours.

Soy-oy-oy-oy-oy

The title reminds me of this limerick I used to sing as a kid, along with Wee Sing Silly Songs:
Aye aye aye aye
In China they never grow chili.
So sing me another verse that's worse than the first verse.
Make sure that it's foolish and silly!

I wish I had a good segue for my post about food, but I don't. Okay, so for lunch today one of my co-workers made these delicious soy burgers from scratch. He just bought a bag of soybeans for a buck, soaked them and then chopped them up in the food processor with some vegetables. I'm going to work on developing the recipe, but basically you can make 15 large patties with one bag of soy beans, 2 extra large zucchini, 1 large bell pepper, 1 1/2 bags mushrooms, 1 1/2 bundles green onions and a little cornstarch and cornmeal. And they are good. That means that for around $5 you can feed a whole slew of vegetarians at a barbeque! Not bad, my friends, not bad at all.

Enjoy your second weekend in August.

Objects of My Affection

The garden is brimming with these beauties. In the fading evening light, I go out to rows and pick a couple handfuls for dinner. It's a lovely time; I appreciate all the blood, sweat and tears that went into this production.

And by blood, sweat and tears, I mean that literally. It's been a wild ride, not one in which I ever imagined being able to harvest these at this rate. I'm seriously considering setting up an "on your honor" stand outside my house.

It's been a busy summer. Unfortunately, this blog has taken a bit of a back seat to working at my "normal" job, spending time with the animals, traveling and tending to the garden, in addition to taking care of the everyday life things. But I'm here, I promise. Please have patience with me posting. Please? I'm willing to beg. Thank you very much. Muchos gracias. Merci beaucoup. Maximus tibi gratias ago.

That's all the languages I know how to say thank you in, but I think you get the point.

Stuffies and Clam Cakes

Oh my goodness, I have just returned from a whirlwind tour of Rhode Island with a quick jaunt into New York tacked on at the end. There was a lot of eating involved. A lot. And I want to share all the delicious things I had to eat. So to start off my food tour, I present for you: stuffed quahog (pronounced "COE-hog") clams, also known as "stuffies."

They are made using large quahog clams, chourico (spicy Portuguese sausage), onion, green pepper, lemon juice, Portuguese hot sauce, Portuguese masa (sweet bread), cilantro, parsley, masa de pimenta (red pepper paste) and white bread crumbs.

Oh, and there were clam cakes too. Delicious clam cakes with a spicy sauce for dipping.

I apologize for my absence. I'm back now.

Simple, Delicious Eats

These dishes are what they call easy, breezy, beautiful...wait, that's a Cover Girl commercial. My bad.

But here is an oh-so-simple appetizer that also has the added benefit of being oh-so-French.

Start with some fresh, crisp radishes and add some soft butter and a small dish of sea salt.

Scrub the radishes, and then cut off the roots (yeah, I forgot to do a few of them; I'm what they call "far from perfect") and the green leafy part down to about an inch.

The stem will serve as a handle for dipping in the butter and salt. Sounds a bit odd, I know, but it's good, I promise.

You can also top a piece of toast with some butter and sliced radishes. Add salt, if needed (they really don't though, and you'll be hard-pressed to find me saying this). But this is one of my favorite breakfasts. Pretty much anything with toast wins me over. (Hello, toast with jam and cheddar cheese! Best. Meal. Ever. Maybe. The jury's still out on that one, or so I'm told.)

Another quick and simple side for dinner: blanched green beans with toasted sesame seeds. Boil the green beans for a few minutes until they turn bright green, then plunge them into a bowl of ice water for a minute or so. Take out the beans and drain, then place them in a bowl.

You don't have to toast the sesame seeds, but it's really so much better if you do. Just toss some seeds in a pan (sauté pan, frying pan; makes no difference), and then watch and stir until they start to brown.

Once the seeds brown, add them to the green beans.

If you want, add a few splashes of soy or seasoning sauce. Or even just some lemon juice. Yes, it really is this simple.

Stir about and enjoy. Easy, breezy...wait, that's that Cover Girl commercial again. I apologize. But it's all so delicious (and did I mention simple? Sorry, I'm getting old; I can't remember it all) and a great way to add a side or appetizer to your dinner party.

I'm heading out of town soon, and I hope to post from the road, but please check back in again.

Saturday Night's Supper

I went to visit a very dear friend this weekend, and we cooked a lovely meal almost entirely on the grill. First up: grilled pork chops that have been rubbed with salt and pepper, followed by grilled zucchini and peaches. As a side, we also had some chopped tomato with basil and mozzarella.

Add a splash of balsamic along with some salt and pepper, and you've got yourself dinner.

It was all so perfectly easy, and so much fun to prepare with a friend!

And a quick reminder: Email me by tomorrow with your name and address if you'd like to receive a postcard from my upcoming trip.

About "About" Cooking

I call all of my cooking "about" cooking. Note the quotation marks; they are key to anything I do here in the kitchen, as I don't want to be confused with being an authority on the subject. (Ha! As if that was really an issue.)

Part of my reluctance to be exact and measure out all the ingredients can be attributed to my lack of patience and my desire to be expedient. But most likely it is due to my penchant (some might call it an obsession, but that's still up for debate) for cleanliness. After all, my sister doesn't call me "Monica" for nothing. I simply don't want to have tons of dirty dishes lying around, nor do I really want to wash them all later, and so I make a concerted effort to minimize the amount of dishes I use. Which means, dear readers, that I don't waste energy on using things like measuring cups and spoons. After all, that's what my eyes are for, right?

But one of the reasons that I love cooking is learning how to push the boundaries of what you are doing. There are so many ways to stumble upon something good if you're willing to experiment. I really only started cooking regularly about a year ago. And by regularly, I mean, actually following recipes, as before then, dinner involved things like half a can of corn and half a can of black beans, mixed together and heated up the microwave (I still do love this combination though, just a little more sophisticated than that.)

About the only "herbs" I used (if you can call them that) were salt and pepper. And I think I listened to Salt-n-Pepa more than I even used them. Remember "Push It"? (Note: this a link to the Youtube video, and I promise to end all the gratuitous parentheses now.)

Oh, wait, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, cooking. Sorry, I get distracted sometimes by my childhood memories of 80s music. Let's get back to experimentation with cooking.

Take, for example, mint. This is one of the most underappreciated herbs, in my opinion, for cooking. Oh sure, mint is the star in a number of cocktails: mint juleps and mojitos come to mind. But those cocktails are very labor-intensive and might earn a disdainful glance from a bartender in a busy bar, no matter how much he or she protests otherwise.

But in cooking, all it takes is a few chopped leaves to add instant flavor to any number of foods. See, easy, right? I have been having it on zucchini a lot lately, adding it to the charred slices after they come off the grill, along with some salt and pepper, and maybe a little bit of cheese. It's good with watermelon too, as you can see here.

And speaking of experiments, I have had a bunch of unripe green tomatoes thrust upon me as of late, due to the presence of a gopher in the garden who has been killing the plants. Not one to cried over spilled milk, I harvested the green tomatoes so that at least they wouldn't go to waste. And my loss is your gain, as now I can experiment with them beyond fried green tomatoes. So feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions you might have, and I'll try them out.

I found a simple way to dress up sauteed shrimp is to chop up the green tomatoes with some shallots, then adding some white wine vinegar and salt-n-pepa, not to be confused with the group, letting all that stuff marinate for a while and then topping the shrimp with it. Please note that unripe tomatoes tend to be a little bitter, so keep the pieces small. Adding a tad bit of sugar might help sweeten them up too, but I haven't tried them that way.

It also works pretty well as a side dish with a mild white bean, like cannellinis or Great Northerns, for those of you looking for a vegan alternative. Or heck, just throw it on top of the grilled zucchini if you are feeling adventurous.

But I really don't want to end up with a tomato garden that produces just unripe green tomatoes. I do have hope. Right now it happens to be a Great Yellow Hope.

Which reminds me: Do you have any methods for, ahem, disposing of gophers? Because if you do, I will buy it. Ever heard those sayings, he could sell "sand to an Arab" or "ice to an Eskimo"? (And yes, I realize those saying are probably all kinds of politically incorrect, but work with me here, and yes, I realized that I might have been misleading you earlier with a promise to end the parentheses, but this is it, I promise.) Um, you don't even need those special salesman techniques with me. Pretty much, if you say "gets rid of gophers," I'm buying it.

Remember to leave a comment with a suggestion for green tomato recipes if you want me to try anything out. Because I'll try just about anything; check this out if you don't believe me.

Edible Delights from Friday Night

First off, let me start out by saying that I'm not a cook; I don't want you to get that impression. I'm just a girl, wanting to give sustenance to those I love. Fortunately, those I love are those that are willing to deal with my experiments. And I haven't made anyone sick yet! That's an accomplishment, right? Kind of? Okay, maybe not really, but can we just pretend that it is?

Anyway, last Friday one of my lovely friends came over for dinner, and I served up items from this menu. The shrimp-lemon kebabs and zucchini skewers browned nicely in the broiler. See, shrimp and lemons and vegetables can all play well together!

I wish I would have chopped up the cilantro closer to the time I was going to serve it so that the cilantro-lime vinaigrette would have retained it's bright green color. I didn't really use a recipe for this. I just chopped up a big handful of cilantro and added the following items in "about" these proportions: juice from half a lime, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/8 red wine vinegar, 2 garlic cloves and salt and pepper to taste.

I enjoyed the green and cannellini bean salad as a modified version of this Food & Wine recipe, but I forgot the basil. Other than that, I stayed pretty true to the recipe with just two substitutions: green beans for yellow wax beans and canned Great Northern beans for the cannellini beans. The original recipe was for 10 servings (which was way too much), but that's way too much math for a Friday evening to make all the conversions, so I didn't measure everything and instead just sort of eyeballed it. That's okay, right?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

What's on the Menu

Tonight I am having a friend over for dinner, so I thought I'd share the menu with you beforehand. I haven't made all these recipes before, and I certainly haven't served them together, so I will let you know how it goes.

I am using the following recipes as guides:

• Shrimp-lemon kebabs with zucchini skewers from Real Simple. I really like Real Simple's recipes because they are, well, real simple and typically only have a few ingredients, and none of them are particularly exotic. Also, while the flavor profiles are good, they are still basic, so there is room to experiment.
• Green & cannellini bean salad from Food & Wine.

And you know what's almost as good as sharing all this delicious food with a good friend? Everything, with the exception of the shrimp and cannellini beans, was grown locally. The green beans, zucchini, basil and potatoes are going to be freshly-picked from my garden. I'm going to trade the neighbors some zucchini (because it's coming out of my ears) for some limes and lemons from their yard. And I picked up the corn and watermelon the other day from Chino's.

Please don't let my crude drawings scare you away. Come back soon for a full report. And pictures, which are way better than my drawings (though maybe not by much).

TGIF, folks. Are you fixing any special meals this weekend? If so, please share in the comments.

Quick Dip

Remember how I said I was going to put strawberries in this star-shaped dish for the Fourth of July? I know it's been a while, but I didn't forget!

So without further ado, I present to you a quick and easy dip to make for serving with strawberries. It involves a total of 2 ingredients: yogurt and brown sugar.

My mom used to make this with sour cream, which you could certainly use, but since I didn't have any on hand, I used some plain lowfat yogurt.

In order to give the dip a creamier texture, I drained the water off the yogurt by placing a cone-shaped coffee filter inside an empty yogurt container, dumping some yogurt into the filter, and leaving it in the fridge for a day or so.

The result is a thicker yogurt that will stand up to dipping. This is the most important step in my opinion, so don't skip it! Although, you might be able to get by without straining it first if you use Greek yogurt.

I then added about a tablespoon of brown sugar to taste to the 1/2 cup or so of the yogurt. You can use this technique to make all sorts of savory dips for vegetables, just substitute dill or mint or cilantro or whatever you have on hand for the sugar. Let your tongue be your guide as far as how much flavor you want to have. Wait, I'm not sure that came out right.

Anyhoo...Is it okay if I double-dip if it's just me?

Got Leftover Strawberries?

Summertime heaps sweet red orbs of deliciousness upon us. Strawberries are nothing short of spectacular in so many dishes, from salads to dessert. They don't last long in my household, but I had some leftover from last week that were looking a little sad when I got home on Sunday night. And not sad as in they felt a little depressed from being left behind when I went out of town, but sad as in of a dull and somber color.

If you have strawberries that start to look a little less than fresh, you can cut out the really mushy parts and then macerate the remaining fruit in some sugar, balsamic vinegar and black pepper. The proportions for this should be about 1 pint strawberries to 4 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. I know the black pepper may sound a bit odd, but trust me on this one. I've even served this to kids and they liked it.

After a few hours in the fridge, take out the strawberries and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Top with a sprinkling of chopped mint or use some whole mint leaves for garnish, if you so desire. Then grab a spoon and dig in!

The "About" Watermelon Salad

Did you guess that this watermelon was yellow? Because if you did, you would be right. It is very juicy and indeed sweeter than the traditional red variety that I am used to having.

It is perfect served up in slices as an afternoon snack, but there was so much leftover that I decided to use it in a melon-basil-mint salad like they did at Chez Panisse this week.

I call this the "About" Watermelon Salad because I didn't really measure anything out (sometimes I get a bit lazy when I cook and I just approximate, especially if it means I have to wash one less thing, but I like to think of it as being efficient).

I chopped up about 1/3 of the watermelon into medium-size chunks. Be sure to chop up a little more than you need because it is hard not eat a few pieces here and there. And by "here and there" I mean at least 2 a minute. Does that sound like a lot?

Then I got together the remaining stuff that I would need for the dressing: about 1/4cup simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, dissolved), juice from about half a lemon, and about 1/8 tsp. amaretto. Oh, yeah, it was time to break out that big bottle of DiSaronno. How does the commercial go? "DiSaronno: As You Like It"? I can't remember. At any rate, it was fun to use out a bottle from the back of the cabinet that doesn't see much action.

Okay, sorry. Back to the matter at hand. You're going to chop up about 4-5 basil leaves and about the same amount of mint. You can vary according to your personal tastes, however. Then blend the simple syrup, lemon juice, amaretto, basil and mint together in a blender or food processor.

Pour on the dressing; you don't want the watermelon to go naked, after all.

Once properly dressed, place in a pretty serving dish and enjoy! You can serve as a side or dessert. I had it with a simple shrimp and scallops dish, and I thought it complemented it well.

I give this dish 1 star out of 5 (0 being inedible) for its ability to keep as a leftover, so I recommend making it when you will be consuming it shortly thereafter.

You can also serve it up with some feta or salted ricotta. Whatever you like! I actually like it a little bit better without the cheese, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You can never go wrong with cheese. Just note that it won't keep as well with the cheese, so be sure to only add it to what you are going to eat.

Hope you are having a great weekend!