End of Summer Garden Sides and Salads

Still pulling stuff out of the garden?

I find that I still have tons of produce that needs to either be canned or eaten ASAP.  Here are some more of my favorite recipes to help that along...

1. Green Bean Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans
1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes
1 large shallot
2 T red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste
1/3 C EV olive oil

Directions:
1. Clean and cut beans.  Parboil for 4 minutes in salted water.  Drain and spread to cool.
2. Clean and half/quarter tomatoes.
3. Make vinaigrette -peel and mince shallot, add to vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Whisk in oil.
4. Store separately.  Mix just before serving.
5. Garnish with fresh herbs (basil, parsley, etc.)

2. Dilly Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
1 large English cucumber, sliced thin
1 1/2 T EV olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 - 3/4 tsp sugar or honey to taste
1/4 C chopped dill

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients, except cucumbers.
2. Store until ready to serve, mix in cucumbers.

3. Apple and Celery Salad
Ingredients:
4 large apples, peeled and diced
2 C celery, cut small
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 T water to thin
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Mix dressing
2. Combine over prepared apples and celery.

Can-Do Attitude: Pressure Canner

Who got a new toy?  This girl!

I've always said that with my garden, I can't fathom being able to throw the extra food away, but I've never really had a way to preserve it all without pickling it, and I'm not a pickle person.

Not the way Peter Piper ever wanted me to be, anyway.

But that's another story for another day.

 I wanted to try a recipe that I knew I wouldn't mind having a lot of as my inaugural run with my pressure cooker.  I went with carrots in an orange juice/brown sugar sauce since that's generally how I like to prepare my carrots.

A cool summer pizza

I had an awesome recipe planned for tonight's dinner.  As part of my triumphant return from New Orleans (look for the food post later), I told Thomas I would make dinner.  He only had one requirement: something light.  Now the recipe I had in mind was from June's Everyday Food magazine.  I get in on my Nook and figured it was worth a try.  (No, I'm not revealing what it was until I actually get the chance to try it out. Well, I knew today was going to be a busy one, so I left my reader at home, and subsequently enough information that I couldn't find the recipe online.  Of course, I turned to Pampered Chef to see what I could find.  Luckily, I found this.  Thomas is not such a fan of a protein-less meal, so I did add some chicken to my shopping list.

I was able to use one of my new favorite toys - the garlic press.  It's so easy to use, it has a huge hopper to fit multiple cloves, and it comes with a little Barbie-brush looking cleaner that helps clear out the little holes when you're done.  No peeling necessary, just pop it in and squeeze it out!

I also was able to use my PC huller to gut the tomatoes.  I'm not going to lie, I hate tomatoes.  However, it's not for the taste, it's for the goopy insides.  With my huller, I can clear it out without any real touching or goop-related incident.  Score!  The recipe was remarkably easy to follow, and other than adding some slightly warned (pre-cooked) chicken, I pretty much did everything it told me to.  I mean, they told me to have cream cheese on a croissant crust.  

Who would I be to argue with that kind of yumminess??                                                                                                   

It didn't take too long to put together, and it was just as refreshing as I could hope.  Thomas loved it, so this is going to be put on the "let's try that again" pile.  (and I can't wait!!)

On a completely unrelated note...

I had Thomas pull out my lone, remaining carrot from the garden yesterday.  I didn't think it would be any good because it's left over from my late winter planting.  All of the white and purple ones are still coming up, but this was the last of the orange danvers.

Yes, my husband has a good sized paw, and yes, that carrot is truly thicker than the sweet corn we had with dinner.  And, surprisingly, the carrot worked really well with some early zucchini as a stir-fried side.