Sometimes Simple, Sometimes Grand, Always Declicious
Every year about this time I start to get the itch. I think you know the one. I glance around the kitchen at the bushels of tomatoes picked fresh from my garden, the peaches overflowing in baskets from our yearly “pick your own” adventures, and the berries galore taking up space in my freezer and fridge. Instantly my mind turns to canning. Salsa, jam, pickles, pie filling, you name it. When the urge hits, it grabs me with a vengeance.
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When I’m cooking in the kitchen, whether it be a simple dinner or an elaborate dessert, I tend to imagine myself a culinary artist. As I spin the spatula around the hot pan, questions dance through my mind as to the best way to paint an edible picture. What color would go best on this canvas? Green you say? Ok then, let’s toss in some spinach. You’re feeling the need for texture to add a little more interest? Would cooked brown rice suffice? I completely understand. the subject’s not spicy enough for you; a pinch of crushed red pepper it is. With a little give and take, the perfect work of taste-tempting art is almost always achieved.
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Summer is coming to an end and while not everything was a success over at my little community garden plot, the basil thrived. Never mind that I didn’t even plant basil. Hey, if it shows up in my 10 ft. sq. plot, it’s fair game.
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A short while back I dropped a truly Southern dish of Stewed Tomatoes and Okra onto the blog. While chatting up a windstorm about my new fangled Southern self, I mentioned an upcoming Fried Green Tomato recipe. Well get ready, because Southern cooking has never tasted better than these charmers right here.
Ever since attending the Food Blog Forum Conference back in September where I was served a Fried Green Tomato Slider that officially knocked my Northern rooted socks off, I’ve been wanting to try my hand at the little buggers. The other day while perusing through the spoils of my local farm stand, I finally stumbled upon the fruit that eluded me up to that point in my paltry culinary life – Green Tomatoes. I promptly snatched up two of the juicy unripe beauties and brought them home.
I proceeded to post a few options for how to cook them up on my facebook page. I had planned to either emulate the slider I so adored or attempt a fried green tomato BLT. However, one post caught my eye from a reader who said that she liked her fried green tomatoes with a side of, well, fried green tomatoes. Plain and simple. And why not. These show stoppers really don’t need any dressing up. They’re perfect just as they are. Serve them with the suggested sauce, or, if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, slide them between two slices of bread and create your very own Southern sandwich masterpiece.
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Now that I’m a mom I look forward to Mother’s day. This year the boys and my husband went all out to make sure I was taken care of on the special day. It began with a leisurely stroll on our local greenway. I enjoyed the pitch perfect weather and my boys (with the exception of Alex) enjoyed the fact that the cicadas have pretty much taken claim over the entire city. It’s a once every thirteen year phenomenon and we’re smack in the middle of it. Nick, being all boy, found joy in grabbing them by the wings and letting them go to fly away once again. Drew just chased them up and down the walking bridge laughing the entire time. Only Alex had no desire to jump into the bug fray. In fact, I think he was a little “bugged out” by the time we finished the adventure. That’s my boy.
We followed up the walk with a stop at the local yogurt shop and an afternoon nap for me. That’s right a nap. I don’t think I’ve had one of those since I was three years old and it.felt.great. When I got back up and joined the land of the living, this is what I came down to witness:
My husband, who hasn’t set foot in the kitchen more than twice in our married lives to cook a full on meal, was doing just that. I tell ya, I could get used to this. It’s too bad Mother’s day is only once a year.
It’s back to normal life today and back to the dinner grind. If you’d like to get your husband cooking, this meal is a great segway into the kitchen. It involves the grill (the manly aspect of the meal) and a simple yet flavorful salsa that seriously makes the dish (the almighty segway).
To whip up the marinade, you’ll grab up a gallon sized ziplock and add in some balsamic, olive oil, cumin, coriander, lime juice, garlic, and salt. Add in your pork, close er up, and let it rest in the fridge for a couple hours.
When you’re ready to cook up a delicious grill inspired dinner, heat it up and get that gorgeous loin cooking. And I do mean gorgeous.
Once it’s cooked through and the temperature registers 145 degrees in the thickest part of the loin, remove and cover it with foil for about 5 minutes.
Now’s the time to put together that gorgeous salsa. I’m seeing some mango, strawberries, mint, cilantro, avocado along a few other surprises in that bowl. Trust me, they all belong there.
Mix it together, slice up that tantalizing loin, and drop a heaping spoonful (or three) of that gorgeous salsa over the top. A feast fit for a kitchen loving husband. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s day!
Total Time: 2 hour 30 min
For the Marinade:
1-2 Pound Pork Tenderloin
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp Salt
For the Salsa:
2 Cups Strawberries, Chopped
5-10 Mint Leaves, Chopped
2 Tbsp Cilantro, Chopped
1 Small Avocado, Chopped
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Yellow Pepper, Chopped (about 1/3 of the pepper)
1/2 Mango, Chopped
1/2 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Honey
Mix together all the marinade ingredients with the exception of the pork loin in a gallon sized ziploc bag.
Add the pork to the bag, seal and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
When you're ready to cook up the pork, fire up the grill on medium-high heat (around 425 degrees).
Place the pork loin on the grill and cook for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once. The pork will be done when the temperature in the thickest part of the loin reaches 145 degrees.
Remove the loin from the grill and cover with aluminum foil. Let sit for 5 minutes.
While the loin is sitting, grab up the ingredients for your salsa, drop them into a bowl and toss them up.
Slice up the finished pork and serve the strawberry mango salsa over the top.
It’s officially my favorite time of year. Strawberry picking season. I love heading to the pick-your-own farm and grabbing up a stash of my very own locally grown berries. Each year, as I make my way through one aisle of red sweetness after another, I think about how I will utilize my freshly acquired stash. This strawberry is destined for a homemade shortcake. That one? Pie, for sure. And the really, really big one that’s as red as a freshly polished ruby, will be enjoyed as is, sliced up and thrown into my morning bowl of vanilla granola. There really is nothing better than a freshly picked bowl of berries.
This year I decided to venture into the world of canning and try my hand at a pot of fresh strawberry jam. I was searching for ways to give the spread a unique twist that hadn’t been done yet, when it hit me. Ryan from Pom Wonderful recently sent me a case of their new pomegranate cranberry juice to try out. I had been pondering what to make with it for sometime when it struck me like a strawberry to the forehead. I’ll make Pom strawberry jam!
I just love how the tart taste of the juice compliments the sweetness of the strawberries. Because you add juice, you also use less sugar in exchange. That’s a win-win if you ask me.
Start out by roughly chopping 8 cups of fresh strawberries. Oh how I love fresh berries.
Add in 1 cup of Pom Pomegranate Cranberry juice. Ok, now I’m hungry and thirsty.
Mash the strawberries with a potato masher and let them cook up all tasty like.
Add in some lemon juice, sugar and salt. Let it cook down until you reach the correct consistency using the chilled plate and/or spoon method.
Here’s what you need to do. Grab up a small plate and stick it in the freezer to get good and cold. Once you’ve been cooking your jam for a good while (You’ll start to notice that it looks thicker. Mine took around 45 minutes), pull out a teaspoonful and drop it onto your frozen plate. Place the plate back in the freezer for about a minute and then pull it back out and check the consistency of your jam. If it’s good to go, you’re good to go! If not, keep cooking and try again in a few more minutes. You can also keep a glass of ice water with a spoon in it next to your pot for quickie thickness tests, but I tended to like the plate test a whole lot better.
While it’s cooking, you may notice a bit of foam start to form on the top of your jam. Simply skim the foam off the top with a spoon as it forms. The foam won’t hurt you if you leave it on. It simply tastes like, well, foam. So most people prefer to skim it off.
At this point you can transfer it to a container and store in your fridge for an anytime sweet taste treat, or you may can your berry creation to share with others or save for a later date. If strawberries are involved, it’s all good in my book.
I’m not going to go into a detailed canning lesson here, but you can find more information on how it’s done over at one of my favorite sites for fresh fruit and veggie information; Pick Your Own.
So I’m curious, do you pick your own fruits and/or veggies? What are your favorites?
Total Time: 1 hour 10 Min.
8 Cups Strawberries, Roughly Chopped
1 Cup Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Cranberry Juice
3 Cups Sugar
1 Lemon, Juiced
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
Combine Strawberries and Pom Juice in a large stock pot and mash the berries roughly with a potato masher.
Cook the mixture on medium heat, covered, for about 10 minutes being sure to stir frequently.
Add in the sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Attach a thermometer to the pot and continue to heat, uncovered and stirring every few minutes, until your jam reaches the desired consistency, being sure to skim off any excess foam from the top of the jam as it forms.
To test the consistency of your jam, grab up a small plate and stick it in the freezer to get good and cold. Once you've been cooking your jam for a good while (You'll start to notice that it looks thicker. Mine took around 45 minutes), pull out a teaspoonful and drop it onto your frozen plate. Place the plate back in the freezer for about a minute and then pull it back out and check the consistency of your jam. If it's good to go, you're good to go! If not, keep cooking and try again in a few more minutes. You can also keep a glass of ice water with a spoon in it next to your pot for quickie thickness tests, but I tended to like the plate test a whole lot better.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Store jam in fridge or can in a hot water bath using sterilized containers. Check out the Pick your Own site for more specific information on canning jams.
