I know a watched pot never boils…..
BUT there are a few of these Early Girls that are SOOO close to ripening. I hope that when I get home from work, I can devour one.
Cooper is pretty impatient too….
Vegetable Minestrone
Hubby with cold+
Fridge full of veggies+
Fresh beans from neighbor=
Veggie Minestrone!!
So now that we’ve figured out that equation, here’s what I am eating for lunch today:
Here are the veggies to chop:
Watch it simmer in the pot:
I am enjoying a bowl of it while my baby naps!
The best part about this soup is that it is easy adaptable. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand.
Enjoy with a crusty piece of bread! And know that you knocked down a HUGE chunk of your vegetable requirement for the day!
Summer Vegetable Soup
-1 large onion chopped
-1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
-32 oz. container chicken stock
-3 zucchini chopped
-1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (that’s what I had on hand- you can chop up like 2 carrots or so)
-1 16oz. can cannellini beans
-1 cup chopped green beans
-3 large cloves garlic smashed
-1/2 cup macaroni (short elbows)
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 tablespoon curry powder
-1 dash of cayenne pepper
-salt & pepper to taste
-a quick glug of red wine vinegar
TO DO:
Saute onion & garlic in the olive oil in a large soup pot until translucent on medium high heat. Add chicken stock, curry powder & cayenne pepper. Add vegetables and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add beans. If the soup looks too thick- with not enough broth, add a bit of water to thin it out. Taste to see if it needs salt & pepper. 5 minutes before you are done, add that glug of the red wine vinegar. It will add a nice little tang to the soup. The whole process should take less than 40 mins.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Sherbet
A glimpse inside my brain:
“Ok I am making baby food, cooking dinner, fighting off hungry cats, cleaning up my mess in the kitchen, feeding Cooper–what else can I do?? Well here’s a post of a Chocolate Sherbet recipe…hmmm…I have all the ingredients….I’ve already made a mess in the kitchen- WHY NOT MAKE SOME SHERBET IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING ELSE I’M MAKING?! Come on Tracy! The mess will be worth it!!!”
So yes, I did just that. Because I decided to make it at 7pm last night, we didn’t get to enjoy it until today. It was worth the wait! The chocolate is DECADENT and rich.
The lack of heavy cream or a custard based ice cream makes it very very light. It doesn’t make you feel weighed down and guilty- like WHAT DID I JUST DO TO MYSELF. It’s more like “Oh! That was delightful. That jolt of chocolate is just what I needed.”
I used a small cookie scoop to fill my little dish. It was a perfect amount of chocolate.
It will give you that fix you are looking for.
My goal this summer is to have a banana split party– this was just a prelude. The banana slices on top gave me a lil glimpse of what’s in store for me when I take that dive into bananasplitsville.
You can find the recipe here. Thank you David! You are a genius.
snacking on sungolds
I quickly wanted to share a snack with you… sungolds! I think the main reason for growing these tomatoes was the snacking potential. I mean, what better way to give yourself a boost when you are working out in the garden?? I don’t know if these will ever make it inside. They are too delish to resist. Perfectly sweet with a slight tang… I am going to continue to snack away on them…..
Inspired: Thai Basil Chicken
Inspired by Chez Pim’s post on Pad Krapow Moo, I made a version Gai Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Chicken) tonight over brown rice with a fried egg.
I just followed her steps, but used ground chicken instead of pork. SOOOO yummy. This is the whole reason why I am growing Thai Basil!
Tuna & White Bean Salad
While cleaning up a corner of my craft room the other night, I found a lil recipe snippet from Sunset magazine for a very nice tuna salad. This salad is what started my lil love affair with tuna & white beans. You can see how I adapted it here.
Just looking at the picture in the magazine of the crisp, brilliant bright green celery slices made me WANT that soo bad for lunch today. So I did it. And here it is. It’s really easy and what you see below is “my” version of their recipe.
Tuna & White Bean Salad
(adapted from Sunset Magazine)
-1 can tuna in olive oil
-2 ribs celery sliced thinly
-1 can white cannellini beans (drained)
-1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley chopped
-1 big glug olive oil
-1/4 red onion chopped
-a splash of red wine vinegar
-juice from half a lemon
-salt & pepper to taste
Drain the tuna- put in bowl with all the rest of the ingredients. MIX MIX MIX. Add on top of grilled bread and you have yourself a nice lil bruschetta!
Sometimes I add a little bit of toasted walnuts for extra crunch. I have also been know to just eat it directly from the bowl…..
Babyback Ribs with Espresso BBQ Sauce
RIBS- It’s what I made for father’s day this year. I guess all I would have to say is– THERE WERE NONE LEFT. I think that’s a pretty good sign that they were effing delicious-don’t you?
Well they were! Case closed.
Not only will I make them again and again, I have decided that it’s stupid for me to ever to buy BBQ sauce. This espresso BBQ sauce was fantastic! I was a bit skeptical because it was soooo tangy before I smothered the ribs in them. But the second they hit the grill, those bad boys turned into the stickiest tastiest caramelized mess. I was proud. I conquered. I showed those ribs who was BOSS. I think I made my husband & my dad proud too- which is the whole reason I love cooking.
I paired them with some fresh corn & my mom made a really good brown rice & green bean salad with an Asian dressing. Booya! How summer is that?
Babyback Ribs with Espresso Barbecue Sauce
(recipe from Michael Chiarello)
For the Ribs:
-2 racks baby back ribs (about 4 to 6 ribs per person)
-Grey salt
-Freshly ground black pepper
-Espresso Sauce, recipe follows
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut each rack of ribs in half along the bone so they can be easily stacked. Lay them out on the parchment paper in which they were wrapped for easy cleanup.
2. Salt and pepper liberally on both sides and pat spices into the meat. Make sure to over season the ribs, because part of the rub will inevitably come off in the pan. On a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, stack the ribs close together, about 3 layers high. Place in the oven for 2 hours, shifting the bottom layer of ribs to the top every 30 minutes until they are tender and almost falling off the bone.
3. One half hour before serving, transfer ribs to a preheated grill (if using coals, make sure they have burnt down to an ember). Brush ribs with Espresso Sauce and close grill. Continue to turn and brush the ribs with sauce every 10 minutes, about 3 more times.
Espresso Barbecue Sauce:
-4 tablespoons mashed and minced garlic
-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-1 cup cider vinegar
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 cups ketchup
-2 cups honey
-Grey salt
-2 demitasse cups espresso (or about 1/2 cup of strong coffee or instant espresso)
Fresh ground black pepper
Mash garlic with the side of a knife and then mince finely to release oils.
Add olive oil to a preheated saute pan. Add the garlic and saute until it gets light brown, about 1 minute. Add cider vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, and honey and stir well. Add a pinch of grey salt, then whisk in the coffee. Add freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
Let cool and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 5 to 6 cups (which means I have leftovers!!!!)
