Sunday, March 20, 2011 First Spring Day in the Garden!

Dirt! Glorious dirt! What is it about you?

The first official day of Spring found me out on my porch cleaning up the mess I left this winter when I simply threw blankets over the garden and forgot about it. I uncovered it a few weeks ago to find the spinach still growing, but in classic headbanging fashion I plowed it all up with my hand rake and started shifting my soil from bin to bin, as I do every year in an effort to keep my soil alive. If I had actual land I'd rotate crops, but here on the porch I just rotate soil. I've got a bunch in a black plastic bag, hoping it creates enough heat to break up all the leftover pepper plant parts from last year. I'll probably add some bunny poop, I know it sounds gross but I promise you it's not. It's perfectly safe to put in the garden and it's a good source of nitrogen, which is good for the plants.

I actually planted some lettuce and carrots in two of the containers today. I've got a few ideas for the garden this year, different colored peppers, romanesco broccoli, peanuts maybe? I have an indoor seed starting kit I plan on using to start most of my plants. And I can never resist buying some plants.

Herbs have always done well in my garden, so this year I'll continue with the herb ice cream garden. Some I didn't really use - marjoram and tarragon, what are they really for? Maybe they just don't fit on my palate, but I'll happily replace them with some other faboo herb I actually use.

I'm looking forward to a great garden this year. And with food prices and gas prices going where they're going I may be eating off the porch more than usual! Works for me!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Freezing vs. Dehydrating

Around a month ago I came to the brilliant conclusion that freezing my cache of Peter Peppers was easier and better than dehydrating them.

WRONG!

My freezer up and died so they are in the garbage now, along with a bag of melted blueberry juice, a bag of melted Mojito cubes, a few bags of thawed veggies for stock, some un-frozen jalapenos and a good portion of the basil and pesto I'd frozen for the winter months.

WAH!

Thankfully I have 8 trays of basil in the dehydrator. I dried a tray of oregano too but it seemed to lose all it's flavor. Ah, well. Live and learn. Hopefully the growing season will keep on truckin' and my herbs will keep on growin'.

My peter pepper plants are still producing, so I suppose I'll be able to replenish what I lost. And the ice cream garden is still going strong, so I have plenty of herb drying in my future. Mints, pineapple sage, lemon verbana, rosemary. Mmmm.

-HH

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Mint Night!!

This Thursday's dinner will contain five mints from my container garden. Pineapple Mint, Apple Mint, Orange Mint, Spearmint and Peppermint.

Without further ado...

Cucumber Melon Soup with Apple Mint

Pineapple Mint Pulled Pork

Orange Mint Chicken

Peppermint Ice Cream with Mint Chocolate Chips

and

Frozen Mojitos (with Spearmint)

Mint is a great addition to any garden - provided you contain it! Mint is invasive. It'll sent out shoots underground and end up all over the place if you don't keep it in check. And it'll last through the winter! My peppermint has lasted through two winters.

This year I stocked my garden with mints and other herbs for ice cream. I'm sorry to say the Chocolate Mint I bought didn't make it. But neither did the lemon balm, thyme, dill or lemon thyme. I'm pretty sure I over planted in my zeal for a full garden. In the future it'd be best to keep your plants one to a container, unless your containers are huge!

But the joy of being able to walk out on my porch and pick the herbs I need far surpasses the upset caused by a few dead plants.

Stay tuned!! Much more mint makings to come!!!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Adventures in Ice Cream

I went to the farmers market fully intending to buy corn for ice cream. Yes, corn for ice cream. I've been on this ice cream kick for a while now. My last real experiment was the Tomato Basil Ice Cream and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It was good, but when are you in the mood for a cup of Tomato Basil Ice Cream? How's about never.

I bought two ears of corn, one white one yellow. I was also putting together some ingredients for a Mexican Wrap recipe I'm making for dinner tonight. Stay tuned, the video will follow. Of course.

When I went into the last booth, where I planned on buying a yellow watermelon (that's why it was last), I saw a container of what looked like small white Chinese Lanters. When I went up to pay for one onion and a five-pound watermelon the guy was talking to someone while pointing to another container of small white Chinese Lanters.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Ground Cherries. Would you like to try one?"

After he instructed me to peel the husk off I popped it in my mouth and bit down on what looked like a small yellow cherry tomato. Sweet-tart, sour - I kinda like it. It burst in my mouth and woke it the fuck up. Suddenly, my mind went to ice cream.

"I taste ice cream in this!", I declared.

So I brought them home and cooked them in some water, lemon juice and sugar. Now they're in a freezer bag awaiting my final decision. When researching Ground Cherry recipies I saw you can dip them in chocolate. So I'm thinking Ground Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream.

But it will have to wait. For tonight I shall make Corn Ice Cream!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Thursday, July 15, 2010 Tomato Basil Ice Cream with Goat Cheese Sprinkles

Dessert it is not.

As good as it is, it is equally odd. The herbal vim of the ice cream shines through, followed by the sweet acid of roasted tomato - WTF? It's strange. It's not bad at all, but it is very different than anything I've ever put in my mouth.

Not a dessert, my husband and I decided. I'm thinking sugar cookies rolled in salt will dress it and kick it up enough to define the dish. It's gotta be an appetizer. An amuse bouche. Ha ha ha, never thought I'd use those words.

Here's the recipe...

Roast two large tomatoes, peel and extract juice by lightly pushing the fruit on a sieve. You're going for the juice, not the pulp. Put the juice in the fridge.

Put two cups half and half on medium heat with basil - I pinched 5 tops of basil from the garden. Slowly bring it to a boil, stir to prevent scorching. Then use a blender to extract the most basil flavor.

Put 4 egg yolks in a bowl along with 1/2 cup white sugar and whisk together with a hand blender until pale yellow and thick.

With a ladle in one hand and the hand blender in the other add the hot creme to the egg mixture slowly in a thin stream. You want to raise the temperature of the eggs slowly so you don't scramble them. Once you have added about half of the creme to the eggs you can mix it all together and put it back on the stove at medium heat again.

Cook it all, stirring constantly, until it reaches 170 degrees and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat, add chilled tomato juice and strain into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard to prevent a skin from forming and put in the fridge for at least two hours.

Freeze in ice cream freezer. Let it "ripen" - sit in the freezer for a bit - then grate frozen goat cheese into ice cream and mix in.


I'll let you know how the cookies work out. So if you make this before then don't expect dessert, this is better before the meal.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Monday, July 12, 2010 Uncertainty and Corn Flakes

I've probably said this before - my neighbor likes to bring me food. She brought the beans that inspired Bean Week, the blueberries that inspired Blueberry Week...you get the picture.

Now that I've been blessed with an 18 ounce box of Corn Flakes I am proudly announcing Corn Flake Week.

Woo hoo!

I remember making Corn Flake Chicken Wings when I was a kid. My mother thought I was nuts, I remember. She always shuddered at the thought of eating anything American. At least when I was younger she did. She ate anything you gave her once she had Alzheimer's. And I mean anything - lemons, napkins, Christmas ornaments.

Pardon me while I laugh for a moment or two.




So, since the idea of Corn Flakes on chicken is 25 years old to me I decided to look around for some new ideas.

Buried deep in the Kellogg's Recipe Catalogue I found few interesting ideas in a sea of (you guessed it) Corn Flake chicken. A Ground Beef and Corn Flake Pizza in a pie dish thing and a Tortilla but not Tortilla because it's Corn Flakes Casserole thing. I'm going with the second one. I've never made a casserole and, having just invested in a jar of ground Chipotle, I know I have the right spices to jack it up.

I'm thinking salad to start with blueberries (because I'm picking them myself at Jones Farms) and Corn Flake Crusted Goat Cheese. And I'll have to make some Corn (Flakes) Bread.

Dessert will be Blueberry Pie in a Corn Flake Crust.

I'm also making ice cream this week. But I'm afraid if I say what it will be no one will ever want to eat my ice cream again. It's truly adventurous. No more lollygagging for me. Strawberry-Banana? Child's play! Red Bean? A sophomore effort! Lemon-Zucchini Sorbet? Puh-lease.

I'm making Tomato-Basil Ice Cream with Goat Cheese Sprinkles.

There. I said it.

Now...

Talking about all this food made me hungry. I'm gonna go nosh on a Christmas Ornament.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 Mint Chip Ice Cream from the Garden

There's something funny going on in my garden. Not funny funny but fishy funny. Some powdery mildew/fungal spore yuckiness has settled in on my Apple Mint. My Thyme just up and died and the Lemon Balm is turning brown.

To be honest, it's too hot for me to care. My only thought was to make some mint chip ice cream before the whole garden is overtaken by death and destruction.

I made the custard with half-and-half, egg yolks, sugar and both Spearmint and Peppermint from the garden. The Spearmint I put in this year but the Peppermint is a survivor of summers gone by.

I told my husband to pick up some chocolate chips in his travels. He called from the store to let me know Hershey's had a special edition Dark Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Chips.

Sold.

Now. Let's try a little audience participation. I'll say the first letter of the description of the ice cream and you finish the word.

"D"

Very good - "licious" - you got it.

The flavor of the herb is subtle at first, sneaking up on you shortly after you consume the first creamy bite. The tingle is real, far superior to any imitation mint or extract flavor that you have ever tried. And the chips just give it the extra boost. Using only chocolate chips, instead of the Hershey's mix, would have been just as good.

It's nice to "revisit" this familiar flavor. I've consumed gallons of Mint Chip in my life, but this was a definite, delicious first.

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Sunday, June 6, 2010 Inspiration From The Garden

One look at my garden and I knew it was time to start reaping the benefits of having started seeds indoors in April.

This Thursday will be Salad Night!

The menu isn't set in stone, but plan on seeing some beautiful red leaf lettuce, some cilantro in salsa, some mint in fruit salad and some pineapple-herb ice cream on top.

The Headbanging Hostess takes great joy in her garden. Six or seven summers of container gardening on the west side of the building have taught me what works and what won't. Veggies are hard to get right. Cucumbers and squash end up with powdery mildew, corn doesn't get enough sun, potatoes...forget about the potatoes. I don't know why I couldn't get them to grow.

Herbs seem to thrive in my garden, in the nitrogen rich bunny poo that makes up the majority of my soil. And this years focus, the ice cream garden, is already in full swing. And it's only June! I think I could get 5 months of herbal frozen happiness out of this thing!

Bang on, my peeps!!!

-HH

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 It's a scorcher!

It's mad crazy hot outside! And this is May! Two weeks ago I had to wrap my garden in a blanket and now it's almost 90 degrees!

So what does The Headbanging Hostess do on a hot ass day! She won't be baking an Orange Chiffon Cake, that's fo sho! I'll wait for the evening hours. With the AC on 66 and the oven on 350 it's likely gonna be 142 degrees in here! And I can't take that shit!

My trip to the Farmers Market yielded three more herb plants and I stopped at a garden center on the way home to make sure I got some Pineapple Sage in the garden. The ice cream garden is almost complete. I have room for two more plants, officially. But I bet I'll find a way to squeeze in some more!

I'll start the Ropa Vieja when my hubby gets home from the market. That'll only take 8 hours or so in the crock pot.

Speaking of hubby...anyone ever notice woman referring to their husbands as "DH." I thought it stood for "damn husband" for the longest time!!! LOL! I felt like part of a sisterhood...if only for a moment :)

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Plant Shopping At The Farmers Market!

I went to the Farmers Market today totally without a plan. I'm so deep in Hungarian Week I really hadn't thought of how to spend the big bucks my husband gave me.

Whole Foods opened today, I knew every idiot for miles around would be headed in that direction, so I avoided that whole side of town. I took the back roads and pulled into the Municipal Lot, the farmers tents showing themselves above the hoods of the SUV imports. All the farmers and vendors in the same spots as always, the organic chick, the bakery, the soap lady. Cool Chick with the apples isn't there yet, too early in the season.

I wandered around, saying my hellos, realizing I could buy plants or bread. I went with plants. My ass don't need no bread.

I'm planting a lot this year. More than I should, I bet. My porch is small, all my gardening takes place in containers. Most of them are old icing buckets from my ice cream cake decorating days. I have 8 of them lined up against the railing, waiting for my Peter Pepper seedlings and my Ice Cream Garden.

Yes. You read that right. Ice Cream Garden.

I'm on an herbal ice cream kick. I've made Basil, Honey-Thyme, Pineapple Sage and Rosemary. The latter was awful, but the first three were fantastic!!!

So the focus of this years herb garden is Ice Cream. How will it taste bathed in cream and sugar?

We should ask that about everything in life.

I came home with seven plants, two mints, sage, rosemary, thyme, purple basil and some lemon thing I never heard of. And I'm not done :)

It's gonna be a tasty summer!

Bang on, my peeps!

-HH