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The Novice Gardener

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The Novice Gardener

Tag Archives: postaday

Taters ‘n’ Turnips

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Cooking, Daily Prompt, Gardening

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

fingerling potatoes, food, postaday, purple potatoes, recipes, roasted potatoes, roastes potatoes and turnips, turnips, vegan, vegetarian

roasted purple fingerling potatoes
Can’t get enough of this

That was the result of more scrounging around in the garden, which turned up these tubers

purple fingerling potatoes
Purple Fingerling Potatoes

and these turnips.

fall turnips
Fall Turnips

The last time I found turnips in the garden, I paired them with taters and came away with an award-winning recipe. Well, that was an exaggeration, but what I got was an excellent meal. Why deviate from a proven formula? So, once again, I give you taters ‘n’ turnips, this time roasted.

roasted purple potatoes and turnips
Roasted taters ‘n’ turnips served with grilled fish

Can you say yumm ….? Unless you don’t like fish, which is something I’m still learning to enjoy. But, at least the taters should get you going. They’re absolutely addicting, in a good way, in the not-fried way. French fries are my #1 vice. I’m completely addicted to them, so it’s good that I find a healthy substitute.

Roasted Taters ‘n’ Turnips
2 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 lb turnips, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
4 tbs melted butter or olive oil
Salt & pepper
Fresh herbs (I used chives & parsley)

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. In a bowl, toss potato and turnip slices with butter or olive oil, herbs, salt & pepper.
3. Spray your baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, and spread potato & turnip slices in it.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.

***

Speaking of addiction, I’ve been to pinterest day and night recently, spending way too much time on the computer looking at food pictures and wishing for them, instead of making the food. And I want to pin everything and anything, until pinterest stops me. Apparently, you can only pin a few photos in a day? Huh, don’t really see the point. Care to enlighten me?

I’m late in the game, I know, with this pinterest thing. But as they say, better late than never. Next up, facebook, for which I’m also late in the game for. Ay ay ay, so many things to learn, so little time. Oh, by the way, if you click on that green pinterest, it’ll bring you to my boards. And if you’re there, you might as well follow me, since currently I have zero follower. I’ll think of a giveaway for my very first follower, how ’bout that? I’ll make it worth your while

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An accidental find, unusually good

30 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Family, Reviews, Travel

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

blogging, inspiration, photography, post ideas, postaday, writing, writing prompts

sweet corn and bacon tart
escargots
beef bourguignon with noodles
calamars frites
roasted chicken
veal schnitzel

My little one ordered escargots last night, and actually liked them and would have ordered a second serving had her entrée took a second longer to arrive.

escargots
Escargots. Would she have eaten them had they come in their shells?

Could it be that all these years of introducing her to new and unusual foods has finally paid off and she is now becoming a less picky and a more adventurous eater, who will stay away from the junks that she normally lives on?

Her brother, however, wasn’t interested in venturing outside his comfort zone, ordering once again, steak and frites, his other choice food next to burgers. This one’s addiction to junk food is even worse, I think. If I don’t cook or serve any meat, he would rather eat chips all day, sigh … (No picture for the steak, bur we all know what it looks like.)

The husband was another “non-venturer,” staying with the tried and true classic beef bourguignon that in hindsight I should have ordered instead.

beef bourguignon with noodles
Beef Bourguignon served with buttered noodles. I ate my share of it even though I didn’t order it.

Instead of the one I did, which on paper sounded amazing, and upon arrival did look amazing, but when I started slicing into it and took my first bite, I also took a whiff of the white anchovy fillets garnishing the dish, and it immediately turned off my appetite for it. When will I outgrow my childhood aversion to fish?

veal schnitzel
Veal Schnitzel with white anchovy fillet. Looks good and tastes good, if not for the anchovy. But the hubs liked it, and loved the anchovy, so he had his share of it even though he didn’t order it.

Thankfully the couple of appetizers the hubs and I shared, and the warm, fragrant baguette that came in a paper bag (oh, sooo … good that I forgot to take a picture, but we all know what a baguette looks like), were there to save the day for a starving mom.

sweet corn & bacon tart
Sweet Corn & Bacon Tart. How could you go wrong with corn & bacon? I’ll definitely try making this at home.

Calamars Frites
Calamars Frites. One of our favorites, but one I have trouble cooking at home, so 9 out of 10 times we’ll order this whenever we eat out.

Plus of course, there was always too much roasted chicken on the daughter’s plate, and she was looking for takers, but by that time everybody had enough.

roasted chicken
Roasted Chicken. It started with half a chicken. It was half a chicken at the end of the meal. Did she even eat any?

Aquitaine Bar à Vin Bistrot is highly recommended by this reviewer, if not for anything else, for the baguette alone. The service was above par, the prices fair, and the wine selection will not leave you wanting.

Most accidental finds usually don’t end up so well, but this one did. We really went to Legacy Place for P. F. Chang’s, but without a reservation the wait was 1-2 hours, we were told. Utter craziness! Who could wait that long when you were starving? Luckily for us, Aquitaine was just around the corner.

If you happen to be in the area,
Aquitaine Dedham
500 Legacy Place
Dedham, MA 02026
(781) 471-5212

***

Our eating pleasure was amplified perhaps by the scene playing in front of us. An older couple seemed to be on a date night. I have to be careful here. I never said they were old, just older. I learned my lesson from the admonishment I received from a co-worker. I was describing someone as “old, old, like 60″ and she turned to me and said in her gravest voice,”Thanks a lot, I just turned 60!” I was embarrassed beyond relief. How could have I been so uncivil!

I would describe the couple as in their mid-70s. A good-looking couple and very happily attached it appeared; they were deep into each other practically the whole dinner. Except for one brief moment when she took a phone call, and only after inquiring with him if it was alright for her to do so.

Her hair was dark and long, with a few flecks of grey, which reminded me of my grandmother’s that stayed dark even as she entered her late 60s. She (the woman) would bring his hand every now and then to her lips. He would tear pieces of baguette and buttered them to give to her. It was just so touching and lovely to watch.

I would imagine that they would go home right after dinner, declining dessert at the restaurant for they knew they had some apple brown betty left from her baking yesterday. He would make her a cup of tea, with a touch of honey, just the way she likes it. Then he would join her on the porch, to enjoy the blue moon, I would imagine. And then she would shiver just a little in the cool night breeze and he would gallantly draw her big overflowing shawl just a little tightly around her petite frame.

She would remind him that the grandchildren would come for a visit next weekend and asked what he thought of her plan to make homemade noodles and dumplings. And he would say it was a brilliant idea, for he too loves noodles and dumplings. Wouldn’t the young ones enjoy helping with that, he would excitedly agree.

He does love watching and hearing her and the children busy together in the kitchen. She is happiest when her hands are occupied and the children adore her and her cooking. There’s no other place he would rather be than the room his wife of fifty years is in, especially when the grandchildren are in it, too.

I would imagine that she, too, feels the same way about him. Because it would be too sad if that’s not the case and I wonder whether they’re still sexually active or not …

“Quit staring and being so obvious … and purge the junk out of your mind!” my husband whispered. Er … what? I may have been staring and I probably was being obvious, but junk in my mind? I beg to differ and how did he know?

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Just Us Now

01 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Cooking, Daily Prompt

≈ 56 Comments

Tags

chicken, food, green beans, green onions, Japanese cuisine, postaday, writing prompts, yakitori

yakitori meal

It’s a laid back Sunday for us. Bypassing breakfast, we went straight to lunch. A simple meal was in order. After days of eating restaurant food, this one seemed necessary. I very quickly picked a few things from the garden. (By the way, it’s looking like a jungle out there.)

Back inside, I rinsed, chopped, blanched, and tossed. Sabo grilled skewered chicken on the deck.

yakitori grilling

Do you see repeating pattern?

We ate our lunch quietly, missing our visitors but were glad that hectic daily schedule was behind us. Next week, school starts. And most likely, hectic schedule will resume. But for now, we’re enjoying a quiet relaxing day, 2 parents and 2 children. It’s quite perfect. I wouldn’t mind for this day to repeat.

Grilled Skewered Chicken (Yakitori)
A staple in our house, yakitori seems to get our kids excited to eat. Is it because of the bite-sized pieces or is it because of the skewers? I suspect both aspects make this dish very appealing to the very young.

yakitori

Boneless chicken thighs or breast, cut up into 1 inch cubes (about 2 lbs)
Green onions, cut up into 1 inch sticks

For the sauce
5 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sake (I used white wine instead)
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar

Mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Set aside 1 tbsp of sauce, to drizzle over chicken prior to serving.

1. Soak the bamboo skewers in warm water for 1 hour prior to using.
2. Soak green onions in cold water for 1 hour prior to grilling.
3. Dip chicken pieces in the sauce and thread on to skewers, alternating chicken pieces with the green onions.
4. Grill on medium heat, brushing chicken with the remainder of the sauce frequently.
5. Drizzle more sauce over chicken prior to serving.

Green Beans Goma Ae
Goma ae is a Japanese dish made of vegetables and sesame seeds dressing. Goma means sesame. Most of the time, spinach is used, although any variety of vegetables can be used.

green beans goma ae

Green beans, trimmed and cut, about 3 cups
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dashi soup stock

sesame seeds dressing

1. Boil green beans for 2-3 minutes or until desired softness is reached.
2. Remove beans and soak in ice-cold water to stop the cooking process, then drain well.
4. Put toasted sesame seeds in a mortar and grind them with a pestle.
5. Add sugar, soy sauce, and dashi stock. Mix to form a paste.
6. Toss green beans with the sesame paste/dressing.

Link:
Daily Prompt: Groundhog Day

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Groundhog Day, in August

30 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Daily Prompt, Poetry

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

animal, fauna, funny, groundhog, humor, nature, poem, post ideas, postaday, whistle pig, writing prompts

sneaky groundhog

The snap peas were decimated.
The lettuce, mowed down.
The red cabbages, gorged to stubs.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was the lone Brandywine tomato,
In that stage between green and red.
Gone, all of it.

Devastation is a repeating theme in the garden this year.
Mr. Rabbit was highly suspected.
He was seen in the vicinity of Stella d’ Oro.
But in the front yard, outside the fence.
He looked rather benign and sluggish.
Didn’t even flinch,
Even as I came within a few feet.
So I let him be.
He couldn’t have done all that damage, he’s so languid.

I was right, it turned out.
It was this fellow all along.

groundhog eating grass funny

Mr. Groundhog, who has many aliases.
He goes by Mr. Woodchuck sometimes,
Also Mr. Whistle-pig.
Can’t blame him really.
With such a reputation,
He’d rather remain unidentified,
And have Mr. Rabbit take the blame.
Sneaky!

Link: Daily Prompt: A Little Sneaky

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