In My Kitchen – December 2024
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In My Kitchen – December 2024

I have been absent these last couple of months. Why, you might ask? The election threw me a punch. There is no other way to put it. I have yet to be able to read most newspaper headlines, and somehow, posting has also been affected.

I’ve been cooking and buying cookbooks—they are both refuges. I have also taken up embroidery. It keeps my hands busy when I have difficulty settling. Are any of you feeling the same way?

Friends have a cabin on Donner Lake, and we visited them in early October. Wendy is a wonderful crafter; she makes quilts (of which I have several) and other needlework. She introduced me to cozyblue, and I was hooked. It should be in my DNA because my parents, Grandmother, Great Aunt, and Uncle were artists. I do it for the relaxation and meditative aspects and am a beginner.

We ended up with lots of tomatoes from the garden, but they never ripened.

Green Tomatoes

Green Tomatoes

So when life presents you with green tomatoes, you pickle and make chutney.

We have not tasted the pickled tomatoes, but the chutney is terrific.  I tried three different recipes, and they are all excellent. Next year, I may not even bother trying to get ripe tomatoes.

There have been some stellar meals over the past couple of months…

Chicken ricotta meatballs with ravioli and salad

Chicken ricotta meatballs with ravioli and salad

 

Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca for my husband’s birthday meal.

Kale Salad with Delicata Squash and Pomegranate Seeds

Kale Salad with Delicata Squash and Pomegranate Seeds

The kale was harvested from the garden.

Roast Cauliflower Salad with Pinenuts and Dates

Roast Cauliflower Salad with Pinenuts and Dates

 

Mexican Pizza with Black Beans and Mango Salsa

Mexican Pizza with Black Beans and Mango Salsa

 

Crispy Oven Roasted Gnocchi Salad with Butternut Squash and Feta

Crispy Oven Roasted Gnocchi Salad with Butternut Squash, kale, and Feta

In My Kitchen, I have some new cookbooks. I read them like novels and love trying new flavors. My birthday is in October, and cookbooks are fabulous presents. Sometimes they are to me, from me, love me.

We have also had some doggie adventures. Ollie visited with his owner, and we took a walk in the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens when the dahlias were in full bloom. It’s a very dog-friendly place.

Shanna and friend Ollie at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Shanna and friend Ollie at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

At Donner Lake, we hiked a lot with the dogs. Quinn was completely tuckered out. Here she is trying to fit into Ollie’s bed.

Quinn, after a long day of hiking in the Tahoe Area.

Quinn, after a long day of hiking in the Lake Tahoe area

 

Shanna at Donner Lake, showing off

Shanna at Donner Lake, showing off

Shanna just wanted to stretch out.

Next, we visited Utah for more visits with friends and their dog.

Inyo and Shanna in Utah

Inyo and Shanna in Utah

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Thank you for visiting. And your comments make me happy.

In My Kitchen – September 2024
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In My Kitchen – September 2024

Although the title is September, this post reviews what’s been happening in my kitchen for the past few months. In My Kitchen is a gathering of bloggers worldwide who share the latest news. Sherry of Sherry’s Pickings hosts it.

Summer is a season of minimalism in the kitchen, as much of my time is spent in the garden. You can read about that in this post, “In My Garden – August 2024.”

In My Kitchen, I have produce from the garden.

Zucchini of mixed varieties

Zucchini of mixed varieties

A recent cookbook acquisition has inspired me to make pizza. The pizzas are arranged seasonally, and she suggests accompanying salads.

Pizza Night by Alexandra Stafford

Pizza Night by Alexandra Stafford

Zucchini and zucchini flower pizza using green squash
Zucchini and zucchini flower pizza – using yellow squash

We cooked them on our gas grill, and they were delicious.

A tomato salad with creamed feta accompanied the pizza.

Tomato salad with creamed feta

Tomato salad with creamed feta (that’s a dog toy in the lower corner, not a dead squirrel)

Another pizza was this one with purple cauliflower from the garden.

Cauliflower pizza

Cauliflower pizza

We do a lot of outdoor grilling in the summer. Meals have included skirt steak.

Skirt steak

Skirt steak

And turkey burgers with smashed tater tots and salad.

Turkey burgers, smashed tots, grilled zucchini

Turkey burgers, smashed tots, grilled zucchini

I have been experimenting with fermentation; these are fermented pickles.

Fermented pickles

Fermented pickles

They were pretty tasty with the turkey burgers.

One night, dinner was a large shredded cabbage salad with chickpeas from another new cookbook by the author of the Weekday Vegetarian, Jenny Rosenstrach. This one is the Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple. It contained crisp chickpeas and fried onions with a curry yogurt-based dressing. I admit we cheated and had a bit of grilled salmon as well.

the Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple

the Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple

 

Cabbage Salad

Cabbage Salad

The tomatoes are so wonderful right now, and we enjoy their abundance. I have been making a variety of tomato salads, sometimes combining them with fruit such as peaches, nectarines, or watermelon.

Tomato and peach salad with burrata

Tomato and peach salad with burrata

When I don’t feel like cooking, my husband steps up to the plate with his specialty: bruschetta. It’s always melted cheddar with sliced tomato and avocado, and we never tire of it.

Tomato and avocado bruschetta

Tomato and avocado bruschetta

The farmer’s market has an abundance of produce, including these russet potatoes. I was inspired to do something a little different. I first boiled them in a Chinese ‘master stock’ before completing the cooking and crisping them in the air fryer. They were flavorful and delicious. The idea of boiling them in an intensely flavored stock was new to me.

“The salty-sweet and intensely umami stock is perfect for repeatedly being used as a poaching liquid to infuse flavor into various proteins and vegetables. The flavor of the stock will change slightly with each round.”

I strained and refrigerated it and will use it again. Please be sure to look for the recipe in the future.

Air fryer potatoes

Air fryer potatoes

My constant kitchen companions are always on the lookout for a handout.

Shanna and Quinn

Shanna and Quinn

And in my kitchen (from the garden) I have dahlias.

They are beautiful this time of year. If you visit Fort Bragg, you must make a trip to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. They have a breathtaking Dahlia Dell, a favored site for last summer and early fall weddings.

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

For my ending, I wanted to throw in this funny: Many gardeners are overrun with zucchini this time of year. Maybe that’s true for you as well.

 

 

 

In My Garden – August 2024
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In My Garden – August 2024

There is so much blooming in my garden right now that choosing what to write about is difficult. I can only give you a snapshot. So, here goes.

The big news is that we have finally finished our little vegetable farm. We now have ten 3×6-foot raised beds. We built them a foot off the ground to deter the redwood roots.

10 raised beds

Ten raised beds

 

Raised beds in the vegetable garden

Raised beds in the vegetable garden – chard and kale, beans, chives, tarragon, winter savory

 

Raised beds in the vegetable garden

Raised beds in the vegetable garden

You may ask what is planted…

Chard and Kale
Zucchini
Globe Artichokes
Sunchokes
Lettuce
Potatoes
Bush Beans
arugula
Basil

Radishes (French and watermelon), beets, carrots, and several lettuce mixes are not pictured because they are too small.

There is room for a little seating area for an evening glass of wine.

Ready for tea or cocktails

Ready for tea or cocktails

The tomatoes are growing, with three small green ones on the vines.

tomatoes

tomatoes

Who is this? I found this cute little guy hanging out in one of the water tubes around the tomatoes.

Froggy friend

Froggy friend

And, of course, there are flowers. It is looking very much like an overgrown cottage garden.

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums

It’s keeping me busy and dirt under my fingernails, but the garden is my happy place.

Thank you for visiting and spending time with me in the garden.

 

July – Meatloaf with Chicken and Duck
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July – Meatloaf with Chicken and Duck

Okay, I know meatloaf is not the most exciting-sounding recipe on this blog. However, this recipe, inspired by one for turkey meatloaf on Sally’s Bewitching Kitchen blog, is a keeper. Aside, you should look at her blog if you are a baker. She is an artist with cookies, cakes, and all things sweet.

I took some liberties with her recipe. I’ve been trying to clean out my freezer and found a package of ground duck and one for chicken, but no turkey. If I had seen some turkey, I could have called it turducken meatloaf! If you only have ground turkey, it will be delicious. A mix of turkey and chicken would also be good. I made a turkey/chicken meatloaf with seasoning from Oprah Wiinfrey’s turkey burger recipe a few weeks later. That one is still in the development stage as it was criticized for being a bit too dry.

I doubled Sally’s recipe, so there will be leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches later in the week when we are too busy to cook. Leftover meatloaf is like gold in the fridge.

Chicken/duck meatloaf

chicken/duck meatloaf

This recipe is full of healthy vegetables. Shredded carrots and flecks of chopped chard are visible. It’s also gluten-1 free since I used almond flour instead of bread crumbs, as did Sally.

Doubled the recipe will serve 6 to 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of ground turkey
  • 1 pound of ground duck
  • 1 cup of almond flour
  • 2 cups of shredded carrots
  • 1 cup of finely chopped fresh kale or chard
  • 1 cup of grated cheese (I used an Italian blend)
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground chipotle pepper

For the glaze:

  • 1/2 cup of ketchup
  • 4 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and reserve.
  3. Add all the ingredients for the meatloaf into a large bowl (minus the ingredients for the glaze). Using a fork or clean hands, mix everything until full incorporated.
  4. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and pour the meat into the pan. Shape it, with your hands, into a loaf shape. Try to keep it level so it cooks evenly.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove it from the oven and brush with the glaze.
  6. Place back in the oven for another 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
  7. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Meatloaf

 

 

In My Kitchen – July 2024
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In My Kitchen – July 2024

 

In My kitchen is a monthly collection of kitchen stories, posts from all around the world. It’s hosted by Sherry of the blog Sherry’s Pickings. To read them click on the In My Kitchen link for July of 2024. As Sherry wrote, the year is half way over! Can you believe it?

On to my own kitchen. In My Kitchen I have flowers. The months of June and July are prime months for flowers in the garden. Above you see a mixed bouquet of what is in bloom. I also have sweet peas in all colors. The recent hot (85 degrees F) spell might have finished them. They look a bit sad and the leaves are faded. I know I shouldn’t complain, much of the US has seen blistering heat.

Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas

What are we eating in my kitchen? Lots of salads. You may have seen that I hosted my Oakland bookclub the end of last month. It’s always fun and a challenge because we have members who are dairy and gluten free, plus a vegetarian. I made two salads…

and

Both were a big success although I think the sweet potato and lentil one was still good for lunch the next couple of days. The cauliflower one, not so much. Although it was delicious the first evening.

Company another evening, back in Fort Bragg, was marinated and roasted tofu and a stir-fry of forbidden rice with and peanuts.

I know tater tots are a midwest food, but they are a favorite of my husband and daughter. She has discovered she likes to cook and made these garlic butter tater tots to go with a BBQed skirt steak. The tots are baked till they are almost cooked but still soft, then smashed and brushed with garlic butter before going back into the oven until crispy. I think they will be a guilty pleasure, delicious but not exactly healthy.

Garlic Bread Tater Tots

Garlic Bread Tater Tots

On to healthier salads. Freekeh is considered an ancient grain. It has 5 grams more fiber and 1 gram more protein than quinoa, and 6.5 grams more fiber and 3.5 grams more protein than brown rice. It’s also easy to prepare and delicious. I haven’t posted this recipe yet.

Freekeh with roasted carrots and kale

Freekeh with roasted carrots and kale

I had a package of chicken potstickers in the freezer and was trying to make space. This turned out to be an excellent use of them. I cooked the potstickers according to the directions on the package, and put them aside on a plate while I stir-fried some cubed chicken thighs with snap and snow peas from the garden. At the end I tossed it all together with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil. Garnish with some cilantro and, dinner.

Stir-fried peas with chicken and potstickers

Stir-fried peas with chicken and potstickers

This baked polenta came from one of Melissa Clark’s books. It was good but still needs some tweaking. It was very dense and I think it would be improved if the texture was softer. But I loved the fresh corn stirred into it and will be making again. Stay tuned if I get the recipe to my taste.

Baked polenta with cherry tomatoes, spinach, and cheese.

Baked polenta with cherry tomatoes, fresh corn, spinach, and cheese.

 

Melissa Clark
Dinner in One

In my garden, soon to be in my kitchen, is zucchini. In fact we plan to BBQ some tonight.

Zucchini

Zucchini

Also the first green beans.

Green bush beans

Green bush beans

We have been enjoying arugula for over a month. I plant more every 10 days so we have a continuous supply of our favorite salad green.

arugula

arugula

Lastly in my kitchen I have this wonderful sink drainer basket. It was a gift from one  of my high school friends at our recent reunion in Florida. Isn’t it adorable?

Sink drainer basket

Sink drainer basket

Thank you for coming and spending some time with me in my kitchen. And I love your comments.