JeffreyW makes Caprese Bruschetta, yum
Hey! How ya been? It’s been much too long. I owe you recipes and a house update. Lots of eventful stuff going on at Balloon-Juice the last couple of days, but I thought I’d sneak this in here anyway. Enjoy!
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It’s been a busy month and I have some more house details and photos. Buying a house in seller’s market was the most challenging house I’ve ever purchased. But I found a cute one with a great garden area. Garden photos at this link and house photos at this link.
Today is my birthday and I’m celebrating with friends and Dutch Chocolate Gelato, recipe here. I served it with a variety of chopped nuts: hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds.
Cooking in the new kitchen has been fun, and by fun I mean interesting and challenging. The first couple of weeks it was much like cooking in a stranger’s kitchen. Even though I’m the one who set everything up and organized the cupboards, I’ll be damned if I could remember where I put anything. I had my first house-guests last week, so I cooked quite a few elaborate meals, which gave me a stronger grasp on the kitchen. I am getting acquainted with the layout and mostly pleased. I could use a pantry…but I’m looking for a tall, stand alone cabinet in local antique and thrift stores to make up for it.
I have a glass-top stove and I like it a lot. I’m learning the temperature quirks. One of the reasons I like to cook with cast iron is because I can gauge when I can turn off the burner and let the retained heat do the remainder of the cooking. It will take a bit more cooking to find that sweet spot with the new one.
I do have questions for anyone who has a hybrid oven – conventional and convection. When and on what foods should I be using the convection feature? Any direction would be appreciated.
My brother and father have competing gardens, which means I reap the benefits when I drive home for a visit. I returned with a box full of tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and cucumbers. I arrived back home to find my very own garden was flush with tomatoes.
Which, in case you missed the story, the woman I bought the house from planted a veggie garden even though she knew she would be moving. I have eggplant, tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, grapes, zucchini…there are more photos of my garden here.
All those tomatoes mean an abundance of Salsa, recipes here and Pasta Caprese, recipe here, to enjoy and share. And I’m having plenty of guests this weekend to feed.
Besides helping me with my oven questions, what’s on your menu tonight?
Tonight’s feature recipe is from a friend who also needed to use up quite a few garden tomatoes. Her recipe used avocados. I am not a fan, so I substituted queso fresco, but for those who love avocados, I hear they’re excellent in this salad. I marinated the onions, just to add a bit more zing.
Tomato Cucumber Queso Fresco Salad
- 1/2 small yellow onion or 6 to 8 green onions (use whites and greens), diced
- 2 tsp limejuice
- 2 large tomatoes (about 1 lb)
- 1 large cucumber (if not fresh from the garden, use an unwaxed English cucumber)
- 4 oz queso fresco, crumbled (more if desired)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped (good substitutes: fresh basil or dill)
- salt and pepper to taste
large serving bowl, 2 small bowls
Toss onions with limejuice and set aside.
Wash,dry and chop tomatoes and cucumbers into large pieces. Toss together in serving bowl with cilantro (if you don’t like cilantro, substitute basil or dill).
Put lemon juice into small bowl and slowly whisk in olive oil. Pour over tomato mixture, add onions, cheese and toss gently until combined. Let rest for 10-15 minutes for flavors to meld. Salt and pepper to taste just before serving.
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That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend. Let’s finish up this recipe thread with a bonus puppeh:
We went hiking in Roosevelt National Park last week, His first real mountain hike. He did great. There are more photos of him in the new house here. See you next week!
Comrade Scrutinizer
In other news, Trump just said that it would be just great if we could get along with Russia. Just think, we could gang up with them and go after ISIS.
Yutsano
I’m going to Virginia for two weeks and have had ZERO time to play around in the kitchen, so nothing new from me there. However this wonderful Korean dish makes a great dinner. Plus it has great vegetarian options!
Ruviana
Happy birthday, TaMara, and excellent house-adventures to you and others in the BJ community! And yay Walter! (and Bixby. And everyone else!)
JPL
The kitchen corner cabinet is wonderful. You did good!
Pogonip
Another BBD–Bixby!
Hey, Cole! For your car, I recommend a flea-dust product called SARGANT’S. Note spelling–not SERGEANT’S, which is on a level with Hartz Mountain. The big-box home-improvement stores carry SARGANT’S, which you can push down in the crevices of your car where the spray won’t reach. And sprinkle it under the floor mats, too.
Do NOT flea bomb your car, you can fry the electronics doing so.
Pogonip
@Ruviana: Happy birthday, TaMara!
WaterGirl
Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine inheriting a beautiful garden like that. No wonder you wanted the place.
Okay now I will look at the house photos and then will read the other comments. I was just so excited about your garden that I couldn’t wait to say something.
Iowa Old Lady
I like seeing the pantries of people who enjoy cooking. It’s like I think I’m going to learn a secret that will make me a better cook.
chigail
Do you know if that wonderful entertainment center is Conant Ball? People collect that furniture. Enjoy it and your new house and garden.
WaterGirl
TaMara, the floor that Bixby is modeling is amazing! What is it made of? Is it shiny? Not shiny? So cool.
I was about to say that I think I’ll try your salsa recipe this week when I realized I was salivating. That would be the literal salivating, where I really am literally salivating, as opposed to the “new” literal, where I would only be virtually salivating. I’m sorry, but I think that’s totally fucked up. (literal, not your salsa recipe!)
Scout211
Re: baking question
I use the convection setting for most everything, but at either a slightly lower temp or a shorter baking time.
However, I NEVER use the convection bake setting OR the covection roast setting for any meats, poultry, etc. It cooks the meat way too quickly.
R-Jud
@WaterGirl: It is a deluxe garden. We’re hanging at my aunt’s in NJ this weekend, and my brother brought some fabulous fresh cucumbers from his garden.
I sliced them into paper-thin coins with the mandolin and tossed them with mint, feta, lemon juice and olive oil, plus some salt and red pepper flakes. Nom.
Mike J
Just sailed back from Seafair. Fun! Sort of sad to see only one solo plane in the Blue Angels (the second crashed earlier this year, the same day a Thunderbird crashed in Colorado Springs.) The wind came up in the afternoon and we cruised back at close to 6kts, with the leeward rail almost buried. Died off as we got into the south end of the lake, but got us home.
Now at home taking my anti-malarial dose of quinine with some lime juice and a botanical tincture I believe they refer to as “gin”.
WaterGirl
@Scout211:
I feel like I came in on the middle of a conversation. What did I miss?Turns out I was so excited about the garden photos that I skipped right over the question about convection ovens.
TaMara (HFG)
@chigail: The medallion on the inside says: Beautility Pat No 710157,
Scout211
TaMara asked (in her front page post) about using convection vs. regular settings on ovens, as she is getting used to her new oven that has both.
WaterGirl
@R-Jud: Sounds like a nice family weekend!
I can’t tell you how many times I have looked at mandolins, but they look like the perfect way to lose a finger when not paying attention, which I sometimes do.
TaMara (HFG)
@Scout211: Thank you. That’s very helpful.
Scout211
@Scout211:
This was a reply to WaterGirl, comment now obsolete and can’t edit. Grrrrr.
debit
Happy Birthday!! Bixby is a Very Stately Dog.
TaMara (HFG)
@WaterGirl: It’s LVT – a vinyl that looks like wood and has a slight texture so it doesn’t show drool, wet feet prints and feels good under the feet.
Also, I use a mandoline glove when i slice things – makes me feel safer, even though the food holder has worked to keep my fingers safe so far.
Mike J
The convection oven: mine has convection and convection roast. The convection setting automatically runs the oven 25F lower than you set it, which is the right thing to do. If your oven does not automatically correct, you should bake at 25F less than your recipe calls for. The convection setting is great for baking.
Convection roast runs at full programmed temp and still runs the fan. Use this setting for meats. If you don’t have a convection roast setting, use the regular oven setting for roasting meats.
Mike E
Damn…Roy Cooper is crushing it out of the gate with his TV spots vs Pat McCrory! Does my heart good to see the NC Dems mount this comeback
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): I have a really smart Breville countertop oven, and it can do convection as well as conventional.
For what it’s worth, the convection option comes on automatically when I choose:
bake
roast
cookies
pizza
Convection does not come on automatically if I choose:
broil
reheat
I have had my Breville for 10 months and I have used my regular oven less than 10 times since I got the Breville. It doesn’t take up much space on the counter, but it’s designed really well and can hold a 12″ pizza. It has worked great for me for everything except my thanksgiving stuffing – I think that’s one thing that dried out because of the convection setting. But other than that, convection has been great.
I cook in it, bake in it, reheat in it, toast in it. I used my big oven for thanksgiving and for making pot roast, that’s about it. Love love love my Breville.
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): I don’t need any floors, but I’m gonna google LVT anyway. So cool looking.
What brand / model of mandoline do you use?
TaMara (HFG)
@WaterGirl: Do you have a link to the oven, because I really want a good toaster oven. No need to heat up the whole oven for a few cookies or pizza.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Thanks, Scout. And FYWP.
Miss Bianca
Pizza! Chez MB. With cornmeal crust, and veggies from the farmer’s market (don’t have any sort of veggie garden this year). And mead – not mine, but the professional meadery down the road. Have to say I think the stuff my friend and I make is even better.
Thinking seriously of looking into going pro with it…
Glad your kitchen is working out well so far – I have a glass-topped stove at the house here and it has taken me a while to get used to it – I like cast iron pans myself, and I generally find that no more than half heat on any of the burners does pretty well for me.
BlueNC
re: convection
Interesting to see what others are saying…I use it for roasting veggies and meats and speeding up cooking times. I do NOT use it for baking!
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): My Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ, 1800 W, Stainless Steel
It comes with a really nice broiling pan and a nice 12″ pizza pan! You can also order a 12″ pizza pan with holes in it, for a crispier crust, which I did: Breville BOV800PC13 13-Inch Pizza Crisper for use with the BOV800XL Smart Oven
Sometimes I use the one with holes (pizza) and sometimes use the one without holes (nachos, re-heating rice, etc.
There is a smaller version of the Breville oven, but I love the fact that I can fit a 12″ pan in the one I have and wouldn’t trade that to save a little space. Really hard to believe it can hold the 12″ pizza pan, but it does!
Mary G
Your new house looks great, and the floors are really impressive; I thought it was some rare wood, and am surprised to hear it’s vinyl. It shows Bixby off perfectly. The garden is to die for, even if overloaded. Grapes from the yard! Happy birthday in your new home.
I don’t cook much anymore and my oven has food stored in it, but it does have convection settings I’ve wondered about, so thanks everybody for the info.
Jeffro
We are all about the cold salads here this past month. I usually make one on Sunday and one on Tues or Wed. This week was a very-veggie pasta salad with high-quality salami and mozzarella in it – a little went a long way – followed by an Asian chicken & rice noodle salad (also ‘very veggie’). The latter was great when I tossed it with peanut sauce and added a half-handful of dry-roasted peanuts on top.
Also made some barbacoa brisket in the slow cooker, which went over surprisingly well with the family despite how spicy it was. I think this is the plan for the foreseeable future – can’t whip up something intensive every night with soccer practices and all that going on!
TaMara (HFG)
@debit: Thank you…and now that I’m thinking of it, don’t you live in my neck of the woods (sorry, I’m terrible of keeping track of everyone here)?
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): Sometimes I make a batch of cookie batter and put it in the fridge. Then I take out enough for 3 cookies and bake them in my little oven. Such a treat to have warm cookies!
WaterGirl
@Mary G: When you said you have food stored in your oven, it reminded me of when I had food stored in MY big oven.
I was baking a meatloaf and some crazy weird thing happened and my oven door wouldn’t open. The meatloaf was mostly cooked, and at least I was able to turn the oven off. But the repair guy couldn’t come for a week! So my mostly cooked meatloaf was “curing” in my oven for a week. Smelled lovely, as you can imagine.
TaMara (HFG)
@Jeffro: That brisket sounds really good – do you have a recipe?
@WaterGirl: I can’t remember, maybe an OXO?
debit
@TaMara (HFG): I wish. Nope, I’m in Minnesota.
TaMara (HFG)
@WaterGirl: That’s me, too.
chopper
@Mike J:
watched the blue angels from the beach at madrona park with one of the kiddos. pretty rad.
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): Okay, so do you sometimes cheat and use, let’s say, a bigger scoop for the cookie dough? So you are still only eating 3 cookies, but they might just be the equivalent of 5?
Asking for a friend.
Jerzy Russian
Do you mean Roosevelt National Forest, or did you take a longer road trip a few states over? I have been to the Roosevelt National Forest, but not to the National Park. The Forest is nice this time of year, and the National Park looks interesting as I browse their web pages.
Jeffro
@TaMara (HFG): I got it from some magazine, but it’s also available on myrecipes.com…here’s the ingredients:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 pound trimmed beef brisket
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
Ok so that is the recipe, here is what I changed:
– no jalapeno
– no black pepper
– no red bell pepper
– instead of the chopped tomatoes, I substituted a can of fire-roasted tomatoes w/ garlic
– instead of the 1/2 medium onion, I used a whole sweet medium onion
– and I added a can of beef broth, and a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa, to the whole thing.
Again, I was truly surprised – the whole family liked it, even though it was a little spicy to my taste (which usually means ‘4-alarm’ to them =)
TaMara (HFG)
@Jerzy Russian: Forest! Just a jog up the road from here. LOL
@WaterGirl: LOL. Maaaybeee. There are definitely extra chocolate chips involved.
NotMax
1 part Birthday
2 parts Happy
Add all ingredients to any vintage cocktail shaker and shake until frothy.
Emily68
My husband’s aunt is 92. She grew up in a working class Italian family in BC, Canada but has lived in the SF Bay area for many years. She is FLABERGASTED that caprese salad has become a thing. She said when she was a girl, it was what poor people ate (and her family ate it a lot). The well-to-do had never heard of it. I’m thinking this means that somehow, there’s some progress in the world.
laura
@Scout211: ditto! I do use the convection roast setting for meat – but was caught seriously on the back foot on the shorter duration of cooking last Christmas.
My brother insisted we have a family Christmas -at my house and against my wishes until in was beaten.down and relented. Planned a recreation of the “House of Prime Rib” dinner (legendary San Francisco restaurant where they wheel your meal out in an art deco aluminium bomb with a skirt -seriously!).
Anywhoo, I made a once in a lifetime purchase in the roast and carefully calculated the roast time and planned the meal service based on conventional oven.
Thank FSM, I used an internal temp probe/timer because I used convection roast and my roast finished cooking almost two hours early. When the stove alarm went off I freaked out believing I’d ruined Christmas. Sanity was restored when the finished roast was done just right and it freed up the oven for more side baking.
In conclusion, convection can be up to 40% shorter cook time.
TaMara (HFG)
@laura: This is such good information from everyone. So thankful!