Tea: It's What's for Dinner!

Beans on Toast with a fried-egg topper, served with Twinings English Breakfast and milk!

(and a fork that was apparently attacked by a rabid kitchen monster)

Okay, so this might be a mash-up of a traditional English breakfast and a tea snack. All I know is it's delicious. The crispness of the toasted bread, the tangy creaminess of the beans, and the runny richness of the over-medium egg twirl together in a perfect storm of heavenly yumminess.

The pairing of English tea goes without saying.

Not sure if I invented the fried-egg-on-top thing, but if I did, I deserve a pat on the back.

And!

I didn't even have to lift a finger for this yummy food to appear. Matt ran into the kitchen and came back minutes later with trays of culinary perfection!

Bonus!

Guac.

There's a Chinese philosophy related to Feng Shui and the principle of yin/yang which dictates that it is best to eat cold foods in winter and hot foods in summer. It's all about balancing bodily energies with the energy of nature.

Aside from the romantic notion of drinking tea in the Sahara, I completely disagree with this.

For example:

Guacamole

Can you imagine eating that with a foot of snow on the ground?
I think not.

Point proven.

It's a perfect summer dish, and here is my ingredient list for a portion of one:

1 avocado (I've noticed they seem puny this year. You might want to up the count to 2.)
Chopped fresh chiles (I like Serrano, but in the above pic I used home-grown jalapeno)
1 clove of garlic, minced
Cilantro, chopped, however much you want (a few tbs for me, thanks)
Juice of one lime
Pinch of salt

Basically you just mash everything together, and there you have it.
Guacamole!

Good with plain chips.

Extra good with cheesey nachos -




And, because I came across it while looking through pics, here is a three-year-old picture of Hamlet:

Longest Day 2010.

Happy Summer!!!

This being Summer Solstice, it is the official start of the season, and the longest day of the year. Thereby making it the best day of the year.

As per usual, we had gazpacho for our annual Longest Day dinner. This year we served it with grilled bread (with garlic and olive oil), grilled chicken breast (rubbed with a spicy mesquite seasoning), and prosecco (which was a happy find, as I planned on coming home with ordinary champagne).

You know, every year I go online looking for the definitive gazpacho recipe, thinking there is one and I've forgotten it. Every year I remember that there isn't one. It's a chilled veggie soup with a million interpretations. Just stay away from anything that actually calls for "tomato juice" as an ingredient, because the whole point is that it's a raw, fresh soup.

Also!

This was our first time ever grilling skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and they were fantastic! Perfectly done, moist, tender... Not sure how we managed that. I think a lot of the credit has to go to Searing First, Cooking Thoroughly Second.

The night was super enjoyable, though HOT, and we stayed outside watching fireflies until after 10:00, listening to Pink Martini on the stereo.

Even the cat joined in, staying outside for what is probably his latest supervised night out ever.

He really wanted some of my bread. Like, really wanted some of my bread. Everytime I picked it up, he practically tripped over himself trying to paw it out of my hand. Poor confused kitty....

Lovely Longest Day.

Jam!

I made jam!!
From things growing in my own backyard!!

I was given this "old fashioned" non-pectin recipe, and followed it exactly, except that I added some ground cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg, and reduced the sugar ratio slightly. But other than that, I followed it exactly.

It's gorgeous, and it tastes super fantastically delicious.
The most raspberry raspberriness ever.

Too bad it's roughly the consistency of TAR.

I followed the recipe exactly, but I forgot to account for the quantity discrepancy. I was cooking roughly one fourth of the berries the recipe called for, and should have adjusted the cooking time accordingly. I feel like an idiot. Seriously - who doesn't think about things like this?

I really feel like a complete failure. I don't care if this was my first attempt at jam; I should've known better.

I suppose some solace can be taken, in that - given tonight's black raspberry harvest - I can try again in a night or two.

Also, there might be other things lurking about to give me hope...

(blueberries - ready to pop)

1/2 pint

I'm sure you thought this entry was going to be about Melissa Gilbert, but actually I need your help.

I just picked a little over a cup of black raspberries off the vines in my yard. It took less than five minutes. This is not even one-twentieth of the berries that are about to be ready RIGHT NOW, with another bunch not far behind.

I need recipes.
Jams, cobblers, pies, muffins, whatever.

Post in the comment section/call/email me if you have them. I know I could just happen across some random things on the interweb, but I'd rather get the advice of people I know and trust.

Or at least that of people who read my blog.

Purple Pickles!!!

Attention: The purple pickles have returned.

I repeat: The purple pickles have returned.

And it's about damned time.

I finally got my hands on some non-imaginary red pearl onions and have once again transformed them into the best thing ever. Because not only are they pickled nibbules of yumminess, they are also, as I think I've mentioned, PURPLE.

... really purple.

While I concede that there might be some creative labeling here (I would call these closer to the size of small elephants than the size of pearls), they are still deliciously gorgeous, so I'll allow it.

It's like eating amethysts.

The onions are blanched for three minutes, then shocked and peeled. The pickling recipe is the same one I use for pickled carrots, but without the garlic, and replacing the dill seed with 2 tablespoons of pickling spice. The purple color comes from the reaction of the vinegar with the pigment in the onions.

Result: Slightly soft, slightly crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly spicy. Plays well with others. A+

(BTW - I'd like to point out that I made everything on that plate up there, and you can, too.)

Easy Elegance

Sometimes a lovely meal doesn't mean a whole lot of trouble.

You know those little rounds of brie and camembert you see contained in balsa wood boxes in the "specialty cheese" section of the supermarket? Pick one of those up, sometime. Grab a loaf of french bread and an apple or pear, while you're at it.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Discard the top of the cheese box, and remove the wheel of cheese from its protective plastic. Put the wheel back in the bottom of its box, place the container on a baking sheet, and shove the whole thing in the preheated oven for half an hour. This should be enough time to adequately melt the cheese, but you can check for meltiness by piercing the top horizontally with a knife, and cook longer if necessary. You want it to be of cheesy "dip" consistency. (If cooking longer is necessary, I suggest going at 5 minute intervals.)

In the meantime, slice up your apple/pear, rip up your bread, and put on some coffee or open some wine.

Slice off the top of the cheese when it's done, season the inside with garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper, and serve.

This is a perfect meal for a couple - I might even say a light meal for a couple, depending on your appetites and the weather. Everything besides the balsa wood box is edible. Devour that cheese rind like there's no tomorrow.

(Btw, may I recommend Ida Red apples? They are delightfully red on the outside, bright white on the inside, firm and crisp, the perfect balance between tart and sweet, and unbelievably juicy. I and other fans will fight to the death anyone who claims they're just for cooking.)

Par-Tay!!!

Happy Memorial Day 2010, everybuddy!!

Here, my eldest nieces knock back a couple of cold ones:

(I'm KIDDING. I'd never waste Newcastles on toddlers.)

This was our first time hosting a warm-weather Occasion for the fam, and it was fantastic! I'm rather peeved that I took a few very staged pics of the whole buffet spread and they have since disappeared from my camera, but they have been replaced with ones like this:

So, I can't really complain.

The menu included grilled veggies (asparagus, summer squash, zucchini, red onion, garlic, and corn), which I had never really attempted over an open flame before. We sort of freaked and did this step way ahead of time, because storm clouds were threatening and we had no idea what we were doing.

In addition, there were burgers and beer brats (and hot dogs for the kids), three kinds of cheeses - american, colby jack, and bleu, green leaf lettuce, fresh sliced tomato, assorted condiments that go without saying including two kinds of brown sauce, and deviled eggs. Veggie burgers and maccaroni salad were present, as well, but didn't make it out of the fridge.

And for dessert, as made evident by the empty bowl below, a lovely creation by my sister-in-law, which my niece proclaimed "Strawberry Shortcake Jello." It was truly delicious, and I'm sorry I don't have an actual picture of the thing. As you might suspect, it involved fresh strawberries, shortcake, and jello:

(it's all gone)

Although the rain occasionally chased us inside, it did nothing to dampen (haha) our spirits, and a good time was had by all. Before everyone left for the evening, we managed to make it outside to enjoy the back yard, and even staged a small game of Red Rover.

After company departed, taking most of the left-overs along (the better to be eaten), Matt and I lingered on the deck to bask in our garden. A lovely evening. We are truly blessed.