The Novel Bakers ~ Gathering in the Garden ~ Part I

This time the Novel Bakers are cooking from "Gathering in the Garden", a cute book written by Shelley Snow and Elaine Husband.
Shelley and Elaine have been lifelong friends from the time they were young girls, growing up in much simpler times. If you're a baby boomer, you will easily identify with these two delightful women and some of  their experiences.
They had much in common then, (as we learn through the book),  and are still best friends some 50+ years later.
They and their families live in Tennessee ~  both women are recognized watercolorist;  their artwork is featured throughout the book.
This fun little gem of a book is filled with ideas for themed parties for today, and is interspersed with memories (at times hilarious) of their time growing up together.
~*~*~*~*~

I must say, this assignment has been a bit of a challenge for me since the forest fires around here drastically cut into the time we were able to spend outdoors ~ so this post was put together rather hastily (yesterday) on one of the first clear (ash free) and cooler days since the fires began in late July.

Ahem. I think I'm not so good at following 'themes' sometimes (that's just me...) So I skipped around and chose recipes from the book that fit in with what we normally eat.  I fudged a little and tweaked the recipes to suit our tastes. 



Not many cherry tomatoes this year, so I picked other tomatoes from the garden and made the Pickled Shrimp recipe (I omitted the olives and substituted sliced baby cucumbers from the garden.) 



Cover painting "Still Life with Blue Goblet" by co-author Shelley Snow. (watercolor)





I took some liberties and made a Roasted Bell Pepper and Crab Bisque,  because it complements the shrimp (though the soup recipe is not in the book.)  You can serve it hot or cold.




We're relishing the last few days of summer  here . . .




I served the soup with some slices of Asiago cheese bread.

Roasted Red Pepper soup with Crabmeat, garnished with Cilantro.





Tomato Salad from the garden harvest, drizzled with herb vinaigrette and served with Pickled Shrimp. I used the same vinaigrette for both the tomatoes and the shrimp... (see below.)

I love the fresh  colors of summer on a plate . . .




Fishy ~  Crate and Barrel glass tumblers from years ago.



 Zebra striped green tomatoes ~ one of my favorite varieties, very sweet and mild.






Savoring every fresh vine ripened tomato from the garden . . .








. . . because soon they will be gone. 
We won't be able to enjoy these treasures until next year.





Okay.
Truth in recipes . . . 
I didn't use the bottled dressing as the authors' recipe instructed.   I made my old tried and true simple dressing/marinade for the cooked shrimp:

Your favorite minced herbs  (I used fresh parsley and chives from the garden),  minced garlic if you want ~ a bit of oil, your favorite vinegar,  salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar or  other sweetener  just to mellow it a bit. 

You can't beat it ~ it's FRESH. And the bonus is, no synthetic taste, no chemicals or preservatives  (and costs only pennies.)





You can serve a few shrimp on the tomato salad . . .





. . .  or serve each person a bowl of shrimp.  :)





I hope you, too, are enjoying these last days of summer for this year.
Thank you for coming by to visit!


Please stop by Wednesday for the next post from our featured book.

And please do check the other Novel Bakers to see their fabulous impressions of  "Gathering in the Garden"

Unlike me, I'm sure they followed the rules . . .  ;-)



a quiet life blog
Rattlebridge Farm
Home is Where the Boat is

Bon Appétit!

Dust off that Panini Maker!

A little while back I promised to share a few more ways of putting your panini maker to use ~

Here are a few of my favorites ~  and the good news? 

No recipes needed.

Salmon with Dijon Mustard - Herbes de Provence Vinaigrette

Salmon filets, sprinkled with salt and pepper, brushed with oil and grilled. Add some Herbes de Provence to your favorite Dijon mustard vinaigrette recipe, drizzle over and serve.

(These were unusually thin salmon filets, so they grilled in under two minutes.)

  

As a side dish I also grilled some thick slices of par-boiled potatoes, and grilled some proscuitto 'ribbons' to garnish them. 

Grilled Shrimp with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce Drizzle

Skewer shrimp (makes for easier handling), lightly brush with oil, sprinkle with a little sea salt then grill.  Take care not to overcook ~ they practically cook instantly in a panini grill.

Remove to warm serving plate and drizzle with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce (from the bottle.)

Vegetable Teriyaki Skewers

Just run a skewer through vegetables of choice (here ~ Baby Portabella mushrooms with scallions,  and Red Bell Pepper Strips.)  Brush with your favorite Teriaki sauce (with a drizzle of oil added to prevent sticking and burning) and grill until cooked to your preference.

Pineapple slices and zucchini slices are very good prepared this way, too.

So simple, yet tasty and each of these take just a few minutes to prepare and grill.  I'd love to hear about your favorites from the panini grill. :) 

Thank you for stopping by today, friends ~ I hope you have a delicious day!

Steamed Dumplings (Shrimp-Pork or Vegetable)

The Shrimp-Pork dumpling recipe was given to me by a good friend over 20 years ago. It's a tried and true. I've also shared a vegetable version from Alton Brown which is also very good.

I like to steam and serve them in these little 3-tier bamboo steamers, each person can have their own, or just arrange them on the table so each diner can help themselves.

Steaming is such a healthy and quick way to cook ~ I use several sizes in my kitchen for cooking Chicken, Fish, Vegetables, and Dim Sum. Plus the largers ones make perfect pie/ muffin/cupcake carriers and fruit baskets.... Love that they are multi-taskers. :)

You can click here to see more choices: Various sizes Joyce Chen Steamers

Of course, if you prefer you can make your own dumpling dough, this is the shortcut method using store bought wonton wrappers. The dough will not be as tender as traditional dumpling dough; it's thinner and a little more chewy, but it is a good quick version.

This time I simply drizzled them with Sweet Chilli Sauce from the bottle, but I also have listed two other favorite dipping sauces along with the printable recipes on
the Once Upon a Plate recipe blog ~ Click HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Donna Hay's Spicy Chicken*, Cucumber and Mint Salad

I'm a huge fan of Australian celebrity chef Donna Hay, so when Pam recently featured this recipe, from Donna Hay's magazine on her terrific blog "Sidewalk Shoes", I KNEW I wanted to make it right away.

What more could you want in a main course salad? It goes together quickly, is light yet filling and is delicious!




Pam substituted ground beef for the minced chicken; I used ground turkey but I would consider substituting lean ground pork, or even prawns or shrimp as well.




The method is really simple; I prep the cucumbers and red onion using a mandolin, then set them aside. Then brown the meat of choice until done, add some crushed garlic and chili (as much or as little as you like), cook for a minute; add the fish sauce*, lime juice and sugar. then toss with the cucumber & red onion slices, along with the mint leaves.

* If you don't care for fish sauce, you could substitute oyster sauce or soy sauce (I would dilute the soy with a little water to avoid excessive sodium.)





I'll definitely be making this one regularly, and I'd like to give a big thank you to Pam for discovering the recipe and sharing it.

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

If you like Asian-style food, I think you may love this as much as we did.It's been declared a KEEPER at my house... it's very good.

Back to edit:

I've received several emails about the bowl and placemat so I thought I would answer here in case anyone else is wondering. ;)

Bowls are currently available from Target 2 for $9.99 (if I remember the price correctly.)

Round, scalloped placemat made by C & F Enterprises

Grilled Shrimp, Grapefruit & Spinach Salad with Sweet Curry-Ginger Dressing

An unusual combination of flavors, for sure.

(This is my entry for Foodie Friday. Brought to us by our darling host Michael on her delightful blog "Designs by Gollum". Please click the logo to visit Michael's blog!)

Now ~ on to the details about the salad and how it came to be:

Many times, rather than make a run to the store, I'll look in the fridge and pantry to find pleasing flavor combinations from what is on hand.


Yesterday, with the mercury climbing to 107 degrees (F) was one of those occasions when going down into the heat of the town was out of the question.

We really liked this one!

Light, fresh and low in calories~ perfect for dinner on a hot, hot day.



Grilled Shrimp, supremes of grapefruit (pure fruit, no pith or chewy membranes), toasted pecans, sweet red pepper rings, baby spinach and the interesting sweet curry and ginger dressing made the salad light, but bursting with a good balance of flavors and textures.

It's a good one to make all year round, but especially refreshing in the summer.

The dressing is simply grapefruit juice, a very little bit of oil, honey or agave syrup, freshly grated ginger, Madras curry powder, a touch of dry mustard and sea salt are whisked together.

Again, this is another one of my flexible recipes, you could easily substitute orange segments or sliced fresh pears for the grapefruit supremes.

Of course the dressing can be adjusted to your own taste; if you'd like the general proportions I used in a printable format it can be found on my recipe blog by clicking

HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Please leave me a comment, I love to hear from my visitors!

I try to visit every blog and comment within a day or two. :)

Cinco de Mayo ~ A Darling Baker's Event!

The Darling Bakers are celebrating Cinco de Mayo ~

and here's what's cooking at my house~

Let's start with dessert first, it's light and fat free, fresh Strawberry Granita.

A truly refreshing and a simple pleasure. (I subbed 1/2 Splenda for the sugar.)

For the main course ~ I found this FABULOUS recipe for grilled shrimp, served with an incredible Chipotle ~ Saffron Cream Salsa on line. Psst... If your experiences with salsas have been limited to the chunky vegetable or fruit varieties you're in for a real TREAT if you make this one.

Proclaimed excellent by my taste testers ~ I'll definitely make it again, it would be great on grilled fish or chicken, too.

The method is very simple; shrimp is marinated for a short time in lime juice, ancho chile powder, garlic and white pepper. Then grilled or broiled until just done.

I started the Chipotle-Cream-Saffron salsa ahead and kept it warm while grilling the shrimp. Very flavorful and simple to put together.

The photo is not the best, (that's what happens when I try to pull a "party" mid-week!) but you can get an idea of how it plates up.

I'll post the recipes on my recipe blog a little later.

I served the grilled shrimp with a favorite recipe from " Fine Cooking';

Arroz Verde (Green Rice.)

This is such a great way to incorporate green veggies into your meal.

I prepare it a bit differently than the instructions in the Fine Cooking recipe, adding the spinach and cilantro at the end of cooking time to retain the vibrant color.

Incidentally, if you don't happen to love cilantro, you can easily omit it here.

I've had this recipe is in my permanent recipe file for a couple of years and have made it numerous times, it's that good! I'll post the recipe over on my recipe blog a little later today.

Finally (what I consider the jewel of the meal), the Fresh Strawberry Granita ~ so pretty to look at, and absolutely bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.

I garnished each one with a little sprig of fresh mint ...

. . . and fresh tiny Alpine strawberry blossoms, both from the garden.

Thanks for joining me today ~

I hope if you try any of these recipes you like them as much as we do.

~ * ~*~*~*~

Sending out good wishes and healing thoughts for our Darling Bakers

who are a little under the weather today. Get well soon, friends!