This soup is great with frozen or fresh broccoli. I always use homemade chicken or turkey broth, and I think that helps with the flavor, and vary the spices now and then. Sometimes I don’t use any cheese or I use 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of half and half like I did tonight. (You can leave out the cheese and half and half altogether or use 1 cup of milk or whatever you around if you’re watching your calories.)  My broth was a bit bland this time around so I added the Worcestershire and mustard, a new addition. But if you have good broth, you can just use the cayenne and nutmeg for seasoning (plus salt and pepper at the table).

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp oil
• 20 oz frozen chopped broccoli
• 1 quart chicken or turkey broth
• 1 cup water (or just use 5 cups broth if you have it)
• 1/3 cup oatmeal (not instant, but 5 minute or so) * you can also substitute rice
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a pinch of cayenne
• a few grinds of the pepper grinder
• 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp dry mustard (optional)
• 8 oz grated or diced Cheddar cheese (optional)
• 1/2 cup half and half (or milk for a lighter soup)

Heat the oil and saute the onion. (Or if you’re really in a hurry I have skipped this step and just started with the broth and added the raw onion straight to it.)  After the onion has cooked a few minutes, add the broth, broccoli, oatmeal, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, 20 minutes or so, stirring now andthen. Basically, you want the broccoli cooked through.

Use an immersion blender, also called a  Stick Hand Blender (affiliate link) to cream the soup. Just stick it right in the pot and blend!  No more transferring hot liquids to your blender and making a mess.

After blending, stir in the cubed cheese, if using, until melted, then stir in the half and half or milk, warm up a minute or two and serve.

Candied Orange Peels

If you eat oranges, save a few peels to make this treat! I’m lucky enough to have an orange tree in the yard and this is their season so we’re enjoying fresh oranges, orange juice and this treat my daughter whipped up today: candied orange peels. I got this recipe from The Complete Tightwad Gazette back before there were books when I subscribed to the newsletter. This book is a great deal if you’re looking to pinch a few dollars out of your budget.

peels from 3 large oranges
3/4 cup water
2 Tbs. corn syrup
2 3/4 cup sugar  (divided)

Cut peels into 1/4″ strips. Boil in enough water to cover for 15 minutes and then drain. Boil the corn syrup, water, and 2 cups of the sugar and stir till sugar is dissolved. Add the orange peels and simmer for 40 minutes.

Put cookie racks on wax paper. Drain the orange peels. Put the peels onto the racks and drain 5 minutes.

Separate the peels and leave on the racks another hour.

Place the rest of the sugar in a paper or plastic bag, add the orange peels and shake to coat.

You can also make candied lemon peels and grapefruit peels.

peels from 3 large oranges
3/4 cup water
2 Tbs. corn syrup
2 3/4 cup sugar (divided)

Cut peels into 1/4″ strips. Boil in enough water to cover for 15 minutes and then drain. Boil the corn syrup, water, and 2 cups of the sugar and stir till sugar is dissolved. Add the orange peels and simmer for 40 minutes.

Put cookie

racks on wax paper. Drain the orange peels. Put the peels onto the racks and drain 5 minutes.

Separate the peels and leave on the racks another hour.

Place the rest of the sugar in a paper or plastic bag, add the orange peels and shake to coat.

Beets from the garden

I planted beets a long time ago and then sort of forgot about them in the rush of tomatoes and cucumbers and basil and peppers and lettuce and such.  But they were patient and sat there waiting for me to remember them!

I washed them off and cut all but an inch of the greens of the beets, saving the greens of course.  For the beets themselves, I wrapped in foil and baked an hour or so at 350.  The time will vary depending on the size of your beets. Poke them with a knife and make sure they’re soft through.  When you unwrap them, you can easily pull the peel off, trim the root and greens ends off, then chop. Top with a bit of butter and salt. Yum!

I sorted through the greens and took out the big tough ones (because they’d been in the garden so long!) The tender greens I cooked like chard, with some garlic and oil, letting them wilt.   Served with a few wedges of lemon (also from the yard). Garlic was homegrown too.  The more things come from the garden the more I enjoy the meal!

Anyone have some favorite beet recipes to share? Borscht?  I have a dozen or so left in the garden.  Will be planting more since they were so effortless and easy and are patient!

Pesto from homegrown basil

I am going to freeze some of this pesto, so I left out the cheese in the main batch, following my former mother-in-law’s rule as well as Mark Bittman’s advice in How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, one of my favorite go-to cookbooks. I’ve added some as I went using this on some chicken breasts the other night but will freeze the rest without the cheese.

My basil this year is the best I have grown yet. It is flavorful and produces plenty of leaves! I’ve used in Thai curry, tomato caprese salad, pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil, etc.   But somehow I hadn’t yet made pesto!  So I will be making lots of pesto over the next few weeks. The plant is starting to flower a lot and I don’t want to lose it all!

homegrown basil

I picked a huge branch of it and trimmed the leaves off, not worrying about the smaller stems but definitely discarding the woody thick ones.  I left a few flowers in.  After trimming, I rinsed them all off in a salad spinner and then spun them dry.

• 2 cups of loosely packed basil leaves, rinsed and dried
• a bit of salt, to taste
• 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 Tbs pine nuts (you could lightly toast but I skipped this)
• 1/2 cup olive oil, maybe more
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if you’re using immediately

I used my food processor, first blending the basil, salt, garlic, nuts and half the oil. I had to stop and scrape the sides down a few times.  Then I added the other half of the oil and finished blending it all together, tasting to adjust the salt.  As I said, earlier I did not add the cheese yet since I was planning on freezing.

Note: if you don’t have pine nuts, you can use walnuts or just leave out the nuts. My MIL used to just mix the basil, salt, and oil together, then freeze in plastic bags laid flat. She could break off a pinch here and there as she wanted some fresh basil flavor in a dish.

What’s your favorite use for pesto, other than on pasta?

I like cucumbers and find that a just a few plants climbing up a cage can keep us well supplied in cucumbers for the summer. I’m growing a different variety than last year and they are much better, fewer seeds and not all prickly on the outside.   The girls like them just plain, sliced in circles on a plate.  I like them dress them up a bit.

Last night I made one with red onions that pretty much follows the recipe in The Everything Thai Cookbook: From Pad Thai to Lemongrass Chicken Skewers, except I left out the 2 Thai chilies, seeded and minced so add those in if you want it spicy! I saw a very similar recipe in a magazine recently that had thinly sliced radishes in it, which also sounds good. I also added some bean sprouts to a cucumber salad once and loved the double crunchiness.

• 1 cup boiling water
• 5 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 -3 small cucumbers, seeded and sliced
• 1 small red onion, sliced

Mix together the hot water, sugar, salt and vinegar, then let cool to room temperature so you don’t cook the cucumbers! If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can use white vinegar.

Last night I actually got out the mandoline to make the slices really thin just for fun but you can just slice the cucumber in half lengthwise, use a small teaspoon to scrape out the seeds, then slice into half moons.

I served this with some excellent curry, similar to this  Thai red chicken curry. I used a mix of peppers, bamboo shoots and peas for the vegetables.

I grew up with my mom making a quick pickled cucumber salad, similar to this quick cucumber salad recipe (and my mom’s old recipe is on that page as well.)  I’ve also played around with cucumbers and sour cream.  And then there’s this one with an Asian flare to it.   (And if you’re looking for a different salsa, this cucumber and grape salsa is fantastic!)

The tomatoes are so good this time of the year!  And I could eat this sauce on practically anything. Serve it with tortilla chips for an appetizer or with quesadillas. Spoon on some black bean soup. Serve with grilled chicken or fish… the possibilities are nearly endless!

Tonight we used it on some burritos made with some leftover bbq’d steak, black beans, and sliced avocados.

• 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• a few good squirts of lime juice
• 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
• salt to taste

Stir and mix, taste and adjust seasonings as per your tastes.

Chicken cutlets are a favorite around here. I vary them now and then but our absolute favorite is how I prepared them tonight.   The variations I’ve done over the years include pounding rather than slicing thinly, eggs and water for the binding rather than eggs and soy sauce and lemon juice, not marinading at all, skipping the flour and marinade and going straight for an egg and water dip then the breadcrumbs, using storebought Progresso breadcrumbs instead of the Panko breadcrumbs (which make for a crispier coating, especially combined with the marinade, then flour, then egg, then breadcrumb dip I did tonight. So if you don’t have everything, improvise. It’s always good!  This version is a bit more crispy with the double coating and Panko crumbs.

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly or pounded into thin pieces
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 egg beaten with a splash of soy, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a spoonful of water
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs or so, seasoned with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and some herbs (I used an Italian blend tonight that was meant to go in some olive oil for a dipping sauce. I succumbed at a Foodie store then wondered what to do with them when I got home. This is a great use!  As are homemade croutons.)
• oil for frying

I usually make these with the frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts so just slice them thinly when they’re partially defrosted. If you start with fresh chicken, pound until the pieces are thin and probably cut into smaller pieces. I don’t know, we find them more appetizing when they’re cut into smaller pieces rather than one big huge piece.

Marinade in some buttermilk and refrigerate. If you don’t have buttermilk you can use plain yogurt. If you don’t have either you can skip this step but I do like the flavor it seems to add.

When you’re ready to cook, pull the chicken out of the refrigerator while you prepare a few pie pans or other small flat dishes with:

• flour and salt and pepper in one
• egg, soy sauce, lemon juice and water (or just egg and water) in another
• breadcrumbs seasoned as desired in the third (the Parmesan cheese is really good!)

Heat enough oil to cover 1/2″ inch or so in a large frying pan.  Test by throwing a pinch of flour in. When it sizzles, the oil is ready.

Use two forks to move the chicken pieces from buttermilk to flour, flipping to coat both sides, then to egg, flipping again to coat both sides, then to breadcrumbs, flipping again to coat both sides. From there, set into the hot oil and cook, turning once, a few minutes per side depending on how thick your pieces are. (Pull one out and cut it in half to test for doneness.

Later you’ll gain a feel for how “done” chicken cutlets feel when you poke a fork through them.) Lift up and let as much oil drain as possible.   Then drain on paper towels and keep warm while you finish whatever else you’re serving.

Tonight I made a boxed pasta mix actually, request of my youngest who came grocery shopping with me.

I also served this with a very simple cucumber and tomato salad. I’m growing both cucumbers and tomatoes in the garden so something similar to this is showing up a lot these days on our dinner table.   Chopped cucumbers and tomatoes and in this case green onions with a simple dressing of about:

• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar
• a pinch of salt
• pepper to taste

This dressed about half a long cucumber, peeled and sliced, and 1 roma tomato.

We’re figuring on using the leftover chicken cutlets in some chicken salad of some type for lunches.

Cucumber salad with sour cream and dill

I am growing the most fantastic cucumbers this year. I bought the starts from the local nursery so I’m not sure what variety these are but I remember that they are a Japanese variety. They are at least a foot long and not too full of seeds. Really fantastic.  I did seed the one I used for the salad tonight as it was a bit overgrown but if I stay on top of them, the seeds are very fine and small.

• 1 to 1.5 pounds of cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
• 2 Tbs lemon juice, preferably freshly squeezed
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or parsley ( I used parsley but sprinkled some dried dill as well)

If your cucumbers are seedy, peel them slice them lengthwise and then scrape the seeds out.  Slice thinly.

Mix the sour cream, lemon juice, cayenne and salt and pepper.

Toss the sour cream dressing with the sliced cucumbers and chill for an hour or two or serve right away.

Other favorite cucumber recipes:

• Cucumbers with Sour Cream, Lemon Juice and Vinegar
• Cucumber Salad with Green Peppers and Onions
• Cucumber and Mango Salsa
• Grape and Cucumber Salsa

I would have taken a picture but this was getting eaten about as fast as  I could make it!  Hard to guess on quantities so take the following as guidelines rather than a rules.   For about 12 slices from a small baguette:

• 4 – 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 -2 Tbs chopped fresh basil
• 1 -2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1-2 Tbs capers chopped (or use some black olives)
• 12 thin slices from a French bread baguette

Mix the cream cheese and the basil.

Mix together the tomatoes, onion and capers.

Lay the slices of bread out on a cookie sheet and broil until lightly toasted on one side. Flip the pieces over and spread the cream cheese over the untoasted slices. Put back under the broiler a minute until softened. Top each slice with a spoonful of the tomato mix.

Devour.

The cucumbers this year are fantastic! I need to make sure I note which variety I used because they are really good, long and thin, not a lot of seeds and not all prickly on the outside. Some sort of Japanese cucumber I think.

I have a few cucumber salad recipes I repeat a lot, including this cucumber salad with sour cream recipe and this one from many years ago, cucumber salad with onions and green peppers. Oh, I also have this great Grape and Cucumber Salsa recipe. I like cucumbers.

Tonight I saw a recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine that added an Asian twist with some sesame oil and using rice vinegar for a milder version of the basic marinade, but then kicking it up a notch with the crushed red pepper. Very nice variation!

• 2 cups peeled and thinly sliced cucumbers
• 3 Tbs rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Mix it all up and chill an hour or two before serving.