Garden Update: A Baby Zebra and Some Eager Potatoes

It's time for another garden update, or an abbreviated one at least! I'm not getting into all the garden areas as it's been a while since I've taken photos of some (and I still need to weed and don't want to embarrass myself too much).

First off, I've officially had my first couple harvests of basil. I made classic pesto with the first batch, and have frozen the rest for now as I need more recipes that use basil. It's interesting that my basil is doing so ridiculously well, as last year I killed my lone basil plant.  It's been five days since I last cut it, and I almost need to do it again! My only guess as far as its happiness is that it has its own dedicated pot, and a couple "friends" to keep it company (I have three basil plants in one large pot).

I had a "YAY!" moment last week when my puny (but healthy) bleeding heart plant produced a lone flower. I didn't fully expect the plants to bloom this year since we just put them in this spring, but was pleasantly surprised when I discovered one flower had popped out. It has since started to wilt, but here's to more flowers as the summer goes on!

R is currently away on a house boating trip for a bachelor party, but on Tuesday I checked out the garden and his potatoes had had a major growth spurt. I'm talking a "double in size in the last week" growth spurt. He really needs to get on hilling his babies!

And I saved the most exciting thing for last. My Black Krum tomato plant had popped out a tomato the other week, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as finding this little gem - a baby zebra tomato! It's such a neat pattern on it, I can't wait until it's ripe and I can slice it up! Funny thing is, I don't even really like tomatoes...but I'm willing to make an exception for these guys. ;)

That's all for this update...perhaps if I get my butt in gear weeding over the weekend, I'll take some more pictures and will be able to show you how well the peas, beans and zucchini are coming along - they actually look like real plants now! :)

Savory Creations Round Up: Part 1

I've been keeping track of a lot of my more complex or "impressive" meals by posting photos of them on Facebook. Since I'm in the middle of packing up to move and all that jazz, and probably won't have much time to post anything extravagant here for the next while, I figured I'd give you a round up of sorts of some of the things I've cooked so far.

Fried Chicken

I was prompted to make fried chicken by my boyfriend, R, after purchasing a deep fryer from Costco (it's the T-Fal Ultimate EZ Clean Deep Fryer). He actually gives me all sorts of ideas for stuff to make, and they usually work out quite well.

Fried chicken, test run number one.

The feedback I got on attempt number one at making fried chicken was that the consistency of the batter was perfect, but that it was a bit bland. The drumsticks worked out well, though.

Fried chicken number two, with waffles!

For round two, I went way heavier on the paprika and garlic salt added to the batter, and it came out better, though I could probably stand to go even heavier going forward. This time, I used bone-in chicken breasts for frying.

Chicken Neptune

My parents came to visit mid-January for my mom's birthday this year, as well as to go to the (postponed) P!nk concert and hit up the Edmonton Motorcycle Show. My mom knows I cook a fair amount when I'm motivated to do so, and she's been bugging me for a while now that I've never cooked anything for her. So I decided to go all fancy and make her a dinner comprised of Chicken Neptune (grilled chicken topped with home made Hollandaise sauce), oven-roasted asparagus topped with a bit of Parmesano-Reggiano, and garlic cheddar mashed potatoes.

Chicken Neptune and its accoutrements.

Salsa Verde and Salsa Roja

One thing that I make on a fairly regular basis is salsa. When I lived in Mexico, I picked up a few recipes, and this was one of them. This particular time around, I made salsa verde, or green salsa. When I can find tomatillos ("green tomatoes", which are oddly more closely related to gooseberries than tomatoes), I whip up some salsa verde, and when I can't I use tomatoes instead and make salsa roja (red salsa). Part of the process involves charring the tomatoes and chile peppers first.

Tomatillos and hot peppers being charred.

Then you throw everything in a blender (maybe one day I'll share the recipe, but not today!) and blend it until you have your desired consistency.

Salsa verde that looks more like salsa roja, haha!

It's so easy to make, and so fresh and delicious, even just as a dip for chips (though I do use it for many more things). Unfortunately, this batch came out looking more like salsa roja instead of salsa verde because of the color of peppers I used. I usually use serrano peppers, but the store didn't have any this time around so I improvised.

I think I'm going to stick with three food items for now, since I have quite a few more don't want to bombard you all at once! Stay tuned for the next round up, which will include lasagna, stromboli, and schnitzel with German potato salad...