Stephen's Summer Gardening Project: Week 4

So, I didn't blog last weekend about my gardening adventures (my bad), but there has been significant growth in my garden over the last two weeks! In all honesty, the weather in Indiana have been ideal for gardening - lots of rain coupled intermittently with warm, sunny days. Fantastic! I've been finding myself using every opportunity to use my herbs lately in my cooking, which is just fantastic! I can already tell the difference that fresh herbs make on my cooking! Whether it's making the garlic-dill aioli (seen below) or putting some fresh basil on a hamburger, fresh herbs really do make all the difference!

In order to get my plants optimum sun exposure, I've spread them out on the deck, necessitating my taking two pictures this time instead of the usual one:

Now, let's go through them all plant-by-plant, shall we?

My Thai basil has gotten a lot fuller over the last couple of weeks, huh? The last time you saw it, it was fairly puny... how, it's quite productive and I couldn't be happier! I like the peppery flavor of this herb. I'm currently thinking of ideas on how best to pair this with my Thai chiles!

My purple ruffles basil has also beefed up. I've not quite gotten to the point where I need to pinch off the flowers, but if it keeps going at this rate, I may have to! I had a hamburger this last week that included this basil, some avocado, and a purple Cherokee heirloom tomato (more on that later) which was divine! This basil has a licorice flavor that is just fantastic!

My fernleaf dill seems to double in size every week! It's almost hitting the rim of our deck, it's gotten so tall! I may have to stake this pretty soon if it keeps up at this rate! Look, it's already leaning! I had initially begun pinching flowers off of this one, but I think I'll put a hold on that, at least for the time being, until I can better control it's rate of growth! I used a bunch of this in my garlic-dill aioli (again, scroll down to Friday's first blog entry for the recipe) and it gave it such a nice flavor! A very versatile and bold herb!

My fresh rosemary has done alright for itself these last couple of weeks. So far, I've not used it as much as the other herbs I've planted, but will likely use it if I make a spice rub for some meat or poultry or if I make anything Italian! I love the flavor of this herb and can't wait to use more of it!

My parsley, on the other hand, has done quite well, bushing up and growing a couple of extra stalks! I use this in spice rubs as well, but also as garnish! It's a lot of fun to chop parsley and use it to finish dishes like pasta or fish! If I make paella this summer like I want to, you can bet that this will get used in there!

When I went to Lowe's to buy more pots a couple weeks back, I picked up some fresh marjoram, which has been a great addition to spice rubs and pasta dishes. It's very similar in flavor to oregano, but I find it has a bit of an earthier quality than oregano does. I've got a lot of it here, so there'll be plenty of it to use as the summer goes on!

And now, my veggie plants:

My purple Cherokee heirloom tomato plant has done a lot better since I moved it to a larger pot! I've even seen some buds forming toward the top of the plant:
According to my mom, the buds at the top mean that the plant will start producing fruit very soon! (She already has some Early Girl tomatoes coming in from her garden. Not very big yet, mind you, but growing in!) I'll be excited to start growing and eating my own tomatoes! I found some purple Cherokees in the heirloom tomatoes pile at Kroger last week and had to satisfy my curiosity and pick up a couple! Here's what they'll look like when they come in:
This wasn't an overly-large tomato, but it had a good deal of flavor. There was a mild flavor to te tomato and a spicy, almost smoky aftertaste that I found quite enjoyable! I thought it no wonder that these are considered some of the best tasting tomatoes available! I sliced the other one and put it on a burger (as mentioned above) and felt it really enhanced the flavor of said sandwich! YUM!

This is my green zebra tomato plant, which is now occupying the pot the purple Cherokee plant used to occupy. It's been doing alright so far - no buds at the top yet to speak of. These tomatoes are a complete mystery to me, so I look forward to trying some new things with them. I might even use them for fried green tomatoes, if I'm able!

My orange Thai chili peppers have also been flourishing as of late. Again, no fruit quite yet, but the leaves have gotten a lot more prevalent, which I can only assume is a good thing! As I mentioned earlier, I'm thinking of things to do with these bad boys when they finally grow in. Right now, I'm thinking of making a spicy Thai barbeque sauce that's a modification of my classic barbeque sauce recipe using my Thai chiles and Thai basil. Not sure how I'm gonna put it all together yet, but it should be pretty tasty!

I also picked up some marigolds at Lowe's while I was over there a couple of weeks back, in order to keep the bugs off of my tomato plants! They were all pretty much dead when I bought them (in fact, they looked downright pathetic!), but they've sprung to life as a result of the rain and warm sunshine we've gotten the last couple of weeks. These are the only ones currently in bloom, but the other ones are beginning to bud and I anticipate them opening up within the next few days!

So, on the gardening front... so far, so good! More to come (especially if I end up with some baby tomatoes in the next week), so stay tuned!

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Grilled Asparagus and a Garlic-Dill Aioli

Summer, in my mind, is one of the best times of the year to cook! Herbs are growing fresh, al fresco dining is enjoyable, and grilling outside is not only a possibly, but practically a requirement! Some of my favorite meals are grillable, like the one I made tonight for my roommate and I. We had a "guys-night-in" and celebrated in the least masculine way I can think of - we ate fish and watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Still... I had fun anyway, and my roommate really seemed to enjoy his tuna steak!

Eating fish is just fantastic, particularly a hearty piece of fish like a tuna steak. It's not as fatty as beef and it contains a lot of Omega-3s. I'm not sure what those are, exactly, but I hear them mentioned by a lot of health nuts, so I assume they're good for you... At any rate, I thought this meal was a leaner alternative to a huge hunk of beef (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Grilled Asparagus and a Garlic-Dill Aioli

Tuna Steaks
Ingredients:

• 2 tuna steaks (mine were pretty thick - probably at least half a pound each pre-cooking)
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
  

Directions:

1. Heat your grill to medium-low heat.
   
2. Season both sides of your tuna steak with salt and pepper. Also drizzle both sides with olive oil.
3. Cook on the grill until your tuna has a nice, firm outer texture. (Turn only once, if possible.) If it's good quality tuna (sushi-grade), you'll want it no doner than medium. For lesser quality, medium-well to well is probably okay.

After the first flip - doesn't that look scrumptious?!

Grilled Asparagus
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of asparagus stalks (green or white, it doesn't matter)
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Wash your asparagus and remove the ends of the stalks, leaving the more tender top (spear) portions.
2. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Put out on the grill about the same time as your tuna steaks. If you have an upper section of your grill, go ahead and set the stalks up there. If not, find a non-hot spot on your grill. If all goes well, your asparagus and tuna should finish up right around the same time.

This has easily become my favorite way to prepare asparagus! It turns out so fantastic and has such a rustic look, flavor, and texture! YUM!

Garlic-Dill Aioli
Use this sauce as a substitute for traditional tartar sauce. It gives a very nice fresh flavor that I found preferable to tartar sauce, plus it also makes a really nice dressing for the asparagus!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup good mayonnaise (I like to make my own!)
• two cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
  
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add the minced garlic, chopped dill, and lemon juice to the mayonnaise and stir until well combined. Make sure you taste-test it and add salt and pepper if you think you need them. You may also want to add more dill. (If you think you might want to add less dill, put in a smaller amount and test it. Cooking is ALL ABOUT the trial and error!)

VARIATION! If you really like a super-lemony flavor, add some fresh lemon zest to your aioli. Also, if you're not too keen on dill, this recipe would also work with finely chopped basil or tarragon.

I decided to get a little creative with plating (something I've never really tried before). This is how the final product turned out:

Note that I put a sprig of fresh parsley on top of the tuna as a garnish! Both that and the dill for the aioli came from my summer garden! I think the only thing this plate is missing is some more diverse color - something warm, like a red or a yellow. Perhaps some sauteed bell peppers? Something to consider...

Serves: 2 (for four, add two more tuna steaks and, perhaps, another pound of asparagus)
Serving Suggestions: I've pretty much prepared your whole meal for you this time. If you don't like asparagus, it might be nice to substitute a light salad made of colorful summer foods, like summer squash, zucchini, onions, and bell peppers, grilled, seasoned with salt and pepper, and drizzled with good extra virgin olive oil. You can, of course, substitute the aioli for regular tartar sauce (but where's the fun in that?!). Also, if you go in for that kind of thing, this dish would pair nicely with a robust red wine like a Pinot Noir or a dry white wine like a Chardonnay. But again, that's only if you go in for that kind of thing.
________

Watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona got me thinking about how much the summer weather makes me want to prepare something like a paella or some tapas and a pitcher of sangria. It makes me think about having some friends over this summer and just hang out, eat some good Spanish food and leisurely enjoy the pleasure of one another's company. No pressure to do anything but sit around and be incredibly chill. *Sigh* That would be awesome!

Any takers...? ;)

Easy Fettuccine with Fresh Herbs

I've been posting for the last couple of weeks about my garden and how well it's doing. While there will be another update on Saturday (count on it!), I wanted to showcase one of the dishes I've come up with using some of the fresh herbs from my garden! It's quick and easy and the perfect light meal for a summer day!

Easy Fettuccine with Fresh Herbs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fettuccine*
• salt, to taste
  
• fresh parsley**
• fresh marjoram**
• fresh rosemary **
• fresh purple ruffles basil**
• fresh Thai basil**
• crushed red pepper flake (optional)
  
• extra virgin olive oil
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

* Any 'ribbon' pasta (long, thin, flat noodle) should work fine here. Linguine is a good substitute. Spaghetti can work too if you don't have the others on hand.
** Substitutions can easily be made for any of the herbs. If you can't come across purple ruffles & Thai basil, plain ol' sweet basil will work okay. No marjoram? Use oregano. Amounts are up to the taste of the chef. I use a 2:1 purple to Thai basil ratio. Marjoram and rosemary can be overpowering, so you might want to use them sparingly.

Preparation:

1. Bring about five quarts of salted water to a boil. Add pasta when a rolling boil is reached. Prepare according to the instructions on the box (usually between 8-11 minutes).
2. While the pasta cooks, do a rough chop of your parsley, marjoram, and rosemary and a chiffonade of your basils. Set aside.
3. Once your pasta has reached al dente, drain it into a colander or strainer. DO NOT RINSE! This tends to give your pasta a slimy texture.
4. Plate your pasta. Grate some Parmesan cheese over the top and give it a little drizzle of olive oil. Finish with your herbs and red pepper flake (if using - I would highly recommend using it, as it adds a great spicy flavor).
5. Serve immediately!

Serves: 4 (6-8 as a side)
Sering Suggestions: Serve this great pasta as a side or as a main dish (a GREAT vegetarian entree). If serving as a side, this would go great with an herb-rubbed or grilled chicken (maybe finished with a little lemon). Also, serving it with some crusty Italian bread would be great to sop up some of the ambient oil and stray herbs left after the pasta is gone! If you're into the food-wine pairing, this dish would go great with a Chardonnay.

How Does His Garden Grow?: Summer Gardening 2009 - Week 2

So, last week I blogged about the beginning of my garden and how my new foray into horticulture ensued. Last week was filled with optimal growing conditions - lots of sun by day, lots of rain by night - so my garden got off to a GREAT start! It seemed like the size of some of my plants doubled overnight!

Here's what my garden looks like now:

Notice I have an extra pot out and three new plants! First, let's check on the status of last week's plants!

This is my Thai basil! I picked some leaves of this one yesterday to add to a pasta dish I made (maybe I'll post the recipe in the next day or so) and loved the slightly spicy flavor that it lends to the food I cook with it! I look forward to using this herb even more in the days/weeks to come!

This is my purple ruffles basil, which I also used in the pasta dish I made yesterday. It's fragrance is just fantastic and it has a much different, but equally tasty flavor to the Thai basil. Of all the plants from last week, this one has shown the most progress so far! And, after seeing how tasty it is, I couldn't be happier!

My fernleaf dill - I've not used any of this yet, mainly because I read online that it has a 'shelf-life' once you start harvesting it. So, in order to get the most out of my dill, I'm gonna try to just grow it for as long as I can. We'll see how that works out!

This is my Cherokee purple heirloom tomato plant. It's gotten a lot bigger over the past week and I think it'll be ready to start growing fruit in the next couple of weeks. Right now, I have it in a pot by itself, but I think it might need some more room for growth. I need to talk to my roommate about possibly making some garden space for it somewhere the backyard. That'll free up some room in this pot for more herbs!

My orange Thai chiles. This little guy has also done a good deal of growing in the last week. He's gotten a bit taller and grown a lot more leaves. I'm thinking about how to do a "Thai BBQ Sauce" using these and my Thai basil. It'll be a spicy sauce like you might get on hot wings. I look forward to concocting that formula in my head and trying to create it!

And now for the new additions!

Ah, fresh rosemary! As fragrant as it is flavorful, nothing beats this herb when it comes to Italian cuisine, poultry rubs, or just a sprig of something that smells good! I used some of this herb in my Herb-Crusted Grilled Chicken with Goat Cheese (from my recipe on Wednesday), but now that I'm able to grow my own, I'll likely be using it A LOT more!

Fresh parsley is an incredibly versatile herb and, for that reason, I felt I would be remiss not to include some in my garden! I love this herb chopped on top of pasta or pizza... and, as pasta is so easy to prepare, not having access to parsley seemed like a foolish endeavor for me!

Before I left the Farmer's Market today, I had to visit my favorite salesgirls who sold the heirloom tomatoes and make another purchase from them! This week, they talked me into this Green Zebra heirloom tomato plant. Apparently, this one has a more tart flavor than most tomatoes and will likely start producing fairly early. Yes, that means I'll be enjoying tomatoes earlier than you! :) Right now, it's in a fairly small pot that I had lying around. This week (probably Monday), I'll likely head over to Lowe's and pick up another big terra cotta pot (like I have the rest of my garden in) to house this tomato plant. (I'll probably also pick up a couple more herbs, so stay tuned!)

Herb-Crusted Grilled Chicken with Goat Cheese

My mom signed up for something called "Farm Fresh Delivery" in which local farmers deliver fresh and organic produce straight to your door. Again, being someone who likes food (and fresh food, I'm told tastes better), I decided to get in on that action! Among other things, I picked up the herbs and the cheese for this dish, which tasted absolutely fantastic!

I would recommend using fresh herbs here if possible, but dried herbs can work in a pinch. If you don't have these four, others can be substituted (like oregano, basil, or dill) so long as they're fragrant. They'll change the flavor of the chicken slightly, but I can't imagine it tasting too altogether bad!

Stephen's Herb-Crusted Grilled Chicken with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• fresh thyme,* finely chopped
  
• fresh marjoram,* finely chopped
  
• fresh sage,* finely chopped
  
• fresh rosemary,* finely chopped
  
• 4 oz. (give or take) of fresh goat cheese

* Add the herbs to your taste, but make sure you have enough to cover all three chicken breasts once finely chopped.

Preparation:

1. Season your chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Rub your chopped fresh herbs on both sides of the chicken breast until they are covered with the herbs.
3. Allow your chicken to sit out, covered, for about twenty minutes to allow the flavors time to meld into the bird.
4. Heat your grill to medium-high heat and, after the chicken has finished 'marinating' in its rub, throw it on the grill.
5. Slice your goat cheese into 1/2-1-inch rounds. After you have flipped your chicken (you should only have to do this once - about halfway through the cooking process), place one or two of the rounds on each chicken breast until the chicken has finished cooking. This will allow the goat cheese to get a soft and creamy texture (but not melt).
6. Remove from heat once finished and allow to rest for a minute or two before service. This allows the meat to stay juicy (since the juices won't come running out of it when you cut into it).

Serves: 3-4 (depending on how many chicken breasts you used)
Serving suggestions: This dish would go great with some grilled asparagus (in my mind, the perfect accoutrement to any meal) or a light mixed green salad. The flavors make it a perfect summer meal. Also, if you're into that sort of thing, this would be very well paired with a dry white wine like a Chardonnay or a Chablis (but only if you're into that sort of thing).

Reaping What I Sow: Summer Gardening 2009

I went to a local Farmer's Market with my family yesterday. I've been wanting to hit one up for awhile now, because the idea of fresh organic produce is one that appeals to me as someone who loves food and cooking. I have to say that I was not disappointed! Because it's still so early in the growing season, there weren't a ton of fresh veggie options yet outside of some herbs. That being the case, I decided it might be a good idea to start growing some of my own.

This in and of itself is a risky endeavor, mainly because my family has a sordid history with gardening. My grandparents on both sides of my family are/were avid gardeners and my dad even managed to start a garden growing tomatoes, peppers, and other goodies when we were in middle school. My mom, however, is the furthest thing from a horticulturist. No disrespect meant, but we ('we' being my sister and I) say that she doesn't have a green thumb, but a black thumb! Plants have been known to wither and die under her tutelage. (I know what you're thinking, but despite her luck with plants, she's actually fairly nurturing as a mother. Go figure. ;))

I seemed to inherit this gardening ability last spring when I attempted to grow some herbs in miniature pots on the back patio at my apartment last year. I started them from seed (which, in retrospect, may have been a mistake) and watched them sprout... then wither and die. I'm convinced it was because the pots they were in were too shallow, but I may be in denial as to my inheritance of my mother's gardening gift. Ultimately, it's not for me to say.

Therefore, after a dismal showing last year, I decided to attempt to redeem myself this year by growing not only herbs, but a couple of veggies as well!

Above is a picture of my garden shortly after I planted it yesterday. Notice that I'm using three big pots rather than the several small ones I had last year. Hopefully, this will encourage plant growth this summer!

Now, allow me to take you through my garden so far, plant-by-plant. Let's start with the herbs, shall we?

This is some Thai basil. Within the last couple of years, I've become a huge fan of Asian cuisine and Japanese and Thai food in particular. I love the use of spicy peppers and herbs in Thai cooking! Thai basil has a stronger flavor than sweet basil and has a subtle hint of mint/licorice to it as well. I can't wait to cook something with these!

This is called purple ruffles basil. I've never cooked with this one or, to the best of my knowledge, eaten it before... but I have to tell you I was intrigued by its wonderful aroma! I've been told these leaves have a licorice/cinnamon flavor to them, which I also find intriguing. It'll be fun to come up with things to cook with these babies! (Sorry about the blurriness of this pic!)

This is my fernleaf dill. I'm not entirely sure how (or if) this differs from the kinds of dill I've had before, but if it is anything like those other kinds, I'm in for a treat! Dill is one of my favorite herbs! I love using it in summer salads (like cucumber or potato salad) and think it makes a fantastic flavorful addition to many of my fish preparations. (I've even been known to use it to flavor spaghetti sauce!) So glad I was able to find some good dill!

At the Farmer's Market, there were two adorable little girls who were selling plants from their parents' farm... and doing a great job! Among other things, they had a great selection of heirloom tomatoes - which are some of my FAVORITE kinds of tomatoes! I picked up this one - a purple Cherokee heirloom. They are slightly purple in their look and have a smokier flavor than your average tomato! My mom got a black krim heirloom for her garden and I look forward to maybe swapping a couple of tomatoes later on this summer!

My last purchase of the day (other than some killer cookies - Oatmeal Scotchies!) was something of an impulse buy. Since the two little girls with the heirloom plants were such good salespeople, I decided to pick up something else from them - a Thai pepper plant! I found out after picking this plant up that Thai peppers (even orange ones, like these will be) are some of the spiciest peppers around! Not quite as bad as Scotch bonnets or habaneros, they still rank between 50,000 and 100,000 on the Scoville scale - a ranking that measures the heat in peppers. (Habaneros - some of the hottest - have a Scoville rating of 100,000 to 150,000, just to give you some perspective. Jalapenos have only 2500 to 8000 for some added perspective.) Not sure yet how or if I'll use these, but I think it might be fun to try to whip up something with these spicy beauties once they come in!

I'll keep you guys updated on the garden throughout the summer. I may even pick up a couple more herbs next week. We'll see how things go...