Pie Ala Mode Sundaes

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Pie ala mode Sundaes, Raspberries

Hallelujah, it’s finally hot in Montana!  The gardens were very late this year with such a cool June, but  the long summer days up here make up for it, and they’re going great guns now.

Raspberries are coming in fast and furious, and when I saw an article in my latest issue of Better Homes & Gardens about throwing an ice cream social and using homemade fruit sauce as an ice cream topping, I knew three things:

1. I’d found a perfect use for some of the raspberries
2. I had found a delightful dish to post after my summer hiatus
3. I was going to use a roll of pre-made pie dough because I am baking impaired.

To start, you make pie crust “cookies” which were a cinch with purchased pie dough.  Simply unroll and cut out shapes then bake according to the package directions for a pre-cooked shell.  I used my old biscuit cutter and parchment paper and it worked like a dream.  I pricked the cookies with a fork and gave them a sprinkle of sugar then slid the parchment onto the cookie sheet.  The beauty of just making the crust as opposed to a pie, is 10 minutes in the oven instead of close to an hour.  Ugh!  With no air conditioning up here we try to avoid the oven until September.

While the cookies baked, I started the sauce.  Are you ready for the ingredients . . . 1–½ cups raspberries and ¾ cup sugar!  Now how easy is that?  Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat and then simmer about 10 minutes until it starts to thicken a bit  -  it will thicken more as it cools.  Refrigerate until use.

To serve, I used a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, a dollop of raspberry sauce and a cookie.  I topped the scoop with a fresh berry.  A mint leaf would also be pretty if one happens to have them on hand – I did not.

I learned a couple of things with this last photo.  Two scoops of ice cream with raspberries on top look just like boobies.  Also, ice cream is difficult to photograph on a warm day.  Fortunately, Dana didn’t mind eating the ice cream boobies or the second melty dish so it was a win/win for both.

This is a super easy and delicious way to have pie and ice cream and got an enthusiastic “thumbs up” from my taste testers.  The crust counters the sweetness of the sauce nicely.  I’ll be doing this one again with other fruits and ice cream flavors.  Peaches sound delicious, don’t they?

Summer 2011

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Arugula Salad, Montana Summer, Robins

As always, the sun comes out up here and sitting at the computer turns into something you used to do when you couldn’t play outside.  Here are a few pictures to prove that I’m not just slacking . . .

This delicious salad is simply sautéed shrimp over avocado quarters which is then covered with a fresh mango relish.  The relish has diced mango, red pepper, jalapeno, sweet Vidalia onion and cilantro gently stirred with a drizzle of olive oil and lime.   It incorporates the three F’s of summer food -  fresh, fast and fabulous!

Another easy salad we’ve enjoyed is made with cold salmon chunks on a bed of freshly picked arugula, avocado and cucumbers and then drizzled with a fruity vinaigrette.

Summer is breathtaking up here, wondrous things start popping out of the ground and incredible wildlife appears in our backyard.  It’s nothing to see a Bald Eagle or an Osprey with a talon-clenched fish fly over your house or your car on the way to work.  Two of my neighbors have had black bears in their yard!  I believe pictures say it better than I can, so I’m adding a little slide show.

Happy Summer everybody.  I’ll try not to stay away, but I can’t make any promises.  (I’m still reading your blogs, though, so I’m keeping up)

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We interrupt this busy gardening season . . . .

Tags

arugula, Gardening, shrimp

To bring you dinner! Nothing terribly fancy here, some shrimp boiled this afternoon, then chilled for dinner. (The boiling concoction included water with beer, spices and lemon.) When it got “about that time” I picked a shirt tail full of fresh peppery arugula and mustard greens, which I tossed with a simple orange vinaigrette; I then placed the dressed greens in the middle of a platter and arranged the chilled shrimp around them. Dana grilled two easy skewers of fresh pineapple pieces with wedges of sweet Vidalia onion while I made a quick cocktail sauce with ketchup, horseradish and lemon. Easy-peasy and crazy good.

This has been a busy season! The snow pack in the mountains is about 200% of normal and not melting due to persistent, cool weather. It’s been compounded with lots of rain in the valley and more snow in the mountains. All that snow is keeping the weather on the chilly side and gardening is LATE this year. I took this on the way home. These are the mountains to the east of us and then to the north of us.

Crazy, huh? Still, it’s beautiful and a little cold rainy weather is NOTHING compared to the weather that some are dealing with.

Meanwhile, back at “the farm”, I got a very special birthday gift this year. Dana quadrupled my garden space and made me three new raised garden boxes! I’ve been busy planning and planting and today I went to Hooper’s Garden Center to get some peppers and a few other things that won’t make it from seeds this year. This nursery is a landmark around here – owned by the Hoopers since 1973 and loved by all, it’s a fun place to go. I looked at their website and found out that since purchasing the simple business, they now have 16 greenhouses, a large retail house, garden shop, production area, seminar room, seasonal bistro, and a houseplants area. While you shop you can enjoy free coffee and cookies – aka lunch. I quickly finished my list and then some, but wanted to share a few shots of Hooper’s. The outdoor area enjoys a gorgeous backdrop of the Swan Mountain Range and the greenhouses are amazing and endless.

I came home with a couple of new things to try – purple Brussels Sprouts and CELERY for crying out loud! Will let you know how that turns out. I’ll be photographing the new garden when it gets a little further along.

Okra At Last!

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Okra

This is the time of year when the garden yields baskets full of tomatoes, beans, peppers, peas and squash.   And this year . . . . drumroll . . .  OKRA!!

Okay, so there isn’t a lot – but it’s more fresh okra than I’ve seen in years because it’s an elusive vegetable up here in the Northern Rockies.  I’m ecstatic that I got to have it for dinner tonight – I’ve only been craving it since last winter’s seed buying extravaganza. (Remember my excitement at finding a short season variety?)  Turns out, it was an extra short season up here with all the gloomy rain in June, but it worked and I got my okra. 

Was it everything I dreamed it would be?  To that, I would give a hearty, “HECK, YES!” 

Since it was the first small harvest, I made a medley that I love with sliced okra, red pepper and corn.   It’s a simple dish – just heat oil in an iron skillet over medium heat.  Add the okra and saute for a few minutes to soften, before adding the rest of the veggies and a few tablespoons of cornmeal.  When you add the cornmeal like this, it just mingles with the veggies as opposed to coating them.  After adding the cornmeal,  season it with sea salt and a pinch of smoked paprika then continue sauteing until it’s lightly browned.   I served it with sliced garden tomatoes and a couple of my favorite Serrano peppers.  Warning:  If you are the sort that likes your okra covered with breading and fried to a crisp, you might not like this.  I love the flavor and texture of okra, and this dish lets that flavor shine through.    

What’s your favorite way to eat okra?

Garden Rocket

Tags

arugula, garden rocket

Where has this tasty little green been all my life? 

Arugula, roquette, rocket or garden  rocket . . . whatever you call it, it’s delicious and I can’t believe that I’d never tasted it before this year.  After eating it in California last winter, I was completely smitten.   In spite of its diminutive size, the flavor is big – spicy & pungent.  I bought seeds and decided to give it a try in my garden.  It came up quickly and it’s still going strong.   I love it cooked or raw and end up munching a great deal of it straight off the plant while I’m tending the garden.  

When I saw that Lisetta at Mangiare Bene, posted a recipe for Spaghetti alla Rughetta e Pomodoro I was positively giddy – her food is real-deal Italian and I couldn’t wait to give it a try.  The simple ingredients were so pretty, I had to snap a shot to share. 

 According to Lisetta, you toss the plate of rughetta (roquette) “into a bowl with some chopped tomato, steaming hot spaghetti, garlic-infused olive oil and a few crumbles of goat cheese.”  Now how’s that for a simple recipe?  Unfortunately, I did not have any goat cheese, but was quite rich with aged Pecorino Romano which added a nice tangy touch.  I started with chopped garlic in EVO oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  When I smelled the garlic, I added the veggies and cooked it just enough to wilt the greens and warm the tomatoes.  Then I added the steaming hot spaghetti and grated a good amount of cheese and grated fresh black pepper over all.   This was every bit as tasty as it looks.

Another perfect use for arugula is simply chopped or torn into a tossed salad.  Many nights the salad is our main course with a hearty bread, dipping oil and a little wine.  I try to add some sort of protein on those occassions -  in this instance it was meat candy (a.k.a. crumbled bacon).

This is my favorite place to unwind with a glass of wine after a stressful day at  the office. 

I’m ending this post with a gratuitous shot of raspberries and Swiss chard – now it’s time to water the gardens.

 

Montana in Spring

Tags

Gardening, Montana, Mountains

May came and it finally got warm up here.  Springtime keeps us hopping with all the mowing, gardening and sun worship. 

Most of my garlic that I put in last fall, got frozen in a freak October cold snap.  Several of our beautiful new vines we put in last summer are looking like they won’t make it either, and that’s a bummer.     On the bright side, I planted leeks in the space vacated by the garlic.  I got a small package of starts and I laughed at the number of  baby leeks that came out of that tiny box.  If they do well up here, we’re going to be lousy with leeks.  This was the last addition to my early garden box. 

In addition to the 7 surviving garlic plants, I’m now growing leeks, onions, several kinds of leaf lettuce, arugula, chard, radishes, peas, strawberries raspberries and a plethora of herbs.  I found a variety of cilantro called Delfino – it looks more like a fern than cilantro, but it’s supposedly slow to bolt.   We’ll see.   I’ll be planting another garden of heat loving plants like tomatoes, beans and okra in a week or so.

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The countryside is so green this time of year.  This is the view out my back door.  You can’t really see in a photo, (especially this blurry shot) but there is a range of beautiful snow-capped mountains behind the tall pines.   The  crabapple is blooming profusely this week.   That tiny white speck up the hill is Wilson.

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This is the view from the front deck aka “The Sunset Deck.”   You can see another range of mountains across the valley.  The deer are daily visitors and soon the little fawns will start appearing.  They’re so cute that I almost forgive them for wanting to taste my flowers and garden plants. 

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On May 11, the first hummingbird showed up.  He hovered where the feeder usually hangs and nagged at me through the window.    Dana got all four feeders hung and now it sounds like a dozen miniature weed whackers buzzing away.  It looks like a WWII dogfight.  We have Rufous hummers up here and they’re the playground bullies, always chasing the others off the feeders.  My favorites are the Calliope like this little guy – Dana got this great shot last spring.

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I’ve been putting a little less energy in the evening meals with all the spring activity, but I did throw together a great little Greek salad last week.  No recipe – just chopped tomato, feta, diced onion and/or chives and olives  that I dressed with EVO oil, lemon juice and a dash of Cavendar’s Greek seasoning.   Some toasty bread and a glass of wine made a great light supper.  

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After hours of mowing and gardening, this is my favorite part of the day . . .  having a glass of wine on the deck, listening to the birds coming in to roost and savoring the beauty.  In this shot, as always,  my little wingnut of a dog is enjoying the sunset with me. 

Planning My Garden

 

 

Montana is grey and gloomy in late winter. Each year at about the same time, I start getting cabin fever. When I think I can’t take much more, the seed catalogs start showing up! That’s when I dig out my garden journal, the sticky tabs and the colored pencils to start planning my summer garden.   It’s too early to do much, but it helps to create the suggestion of a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Going back over past years, I read my “notes to self” that I dutifully write when things go well or go awry. I chuckle at notes like “NO, NO, NO!!” scribbled in the margins beside things that didn’t quite work out as planned. 

After everything is planted, I sketch the layout.  (and yes, I color it with my colored pencils to entertain the child in me)  It always helps to see “what I did last year” – especially when I’m trying to figure out where the heck to plant my sugar snap peas or the zuchs. 

The seed catalogs are fun.  Once I’ve decided what I want to have in the garden, I look through each one to find just the right variety.  Our growing season is short and intense with very long, hot days. Several things that grow well in Texas – okra, tomatoes and peppers- struggle to fruit up here before the nights start cooling back down. We generally buy tomato and pepper plants from a nearby nursery, but okra is my ongoing challenge. I got a small crop one year when the growing conditions were just right. There was no surprise snow shower in June that year. Today I found a new hybrid okra plant that will grow in the North. I’m so excited, I could dance! 

Time to start the new page.  I got my colored pencils and sharpener out and, like a 3rd grader, drew & colored the first official page of 2010′s garden.   Please don’t judge my drawing, I did mention the 3rd grade thing, right?

Discovering My Inner Farmer

Last summer I went to a party that had a delicious buffett.  I fell in love with a little tray of home-canned dilly beans, pickled with a very spicy vinegar.  I asked Jan, the hostess, for the recipe but never followed up on it.  A couple of weeks ago I ran into Jan and she emailed the recipe right away. 

Recipe in hand, I went to the farmer’s market and grocery store, got all my provisions and laid them out.    The recipe called for heads of dill, but I couldn’t find this anywhere.  I bought dill weed, hoping the substitution wouldn’t ruin the recipe.

 

 

 

I emailed Jan asking what she thought about the substitution and she said to come to her house and pick all the heads of dill I needed.  Further, she said that dill weed and dill seed were not nearly as good.  I went to her house and we picked heads of dill along with tomatoes, basil, broccoli, tarragon and cilantro.  She offered many canning tips and I set off with those heads of dill ready to try pickling for the first time.

 

 Back at home, I put on my apron and started all the boiling and measuring.  I sort of expected it to be a fiasco of boiling vinegar and hot water, but it went as smooth as butter.  I put my treasures on the counter to cool and all the jars sealed within a few hours. 

Now we’re in the waiting phase.  They’re supposed to sit for two weeks, so I can only look at them with all their spicy goodness.  I’ll get back to you on how they turned out.  Here is the recipe:

 

DILLY BEANS

(also known as pickled beans)

 

For 7 pints:

 

Wash 4 pounds fresh green beans; remove stems and tips.

Cut into pint jar lengths, or may cut smaller if desired.

Wash 7 pint jars in very hot water, or sterilize in dishwasher.

Have 7 jar lids and rings ready in scalding water.

In bottom of each jar, place: 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

                                         1 peeled garlic clove

                                         1 lg or 2 small heads of dill

Pack beans upright in jars, leaving 1 inch headroom.

Heat together: 5 cups water

                     5 cups white vinegar

                     1/2 cup pickling (non-iodized) salt

When mixture boils, pour over beans into each jar, to within 1/2 inch of jar top.

Run a table knife down and around inside each jar to remove air bubbles.

Wipe off jar rims. Top with canning lids and rings. Place in canner that has boiling water in it.

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes after water returns to a boil.

Remove from canner and cool on counter – avoid fan or direct cool air on hot jars.

Best if allowed to sit at least 2 weeks before eating.

Should any jar not seal (unlikely, but does happen occasionally), simply refrigerate and eat.

Enjoy!

 

Jan

8/2009