For some strange reason I decided to grow fava beans. I say it’s strange because I don’t think I had ever actually eaten a fava bean before I tasted the first ripe one in my garden. The first bite was… nasty. I quickly did a little internet research, and discovered that harvesting fava beans is actually quite time intensive. You pick the pods when they’re fat and plump and gorgeous. You then shell the pods, revealing three to five beans. Once you’ve got all the beans out, you then boil some water, dump the beans in, let them boil for three minutes, pop them in an ice water bath, and then peel each bean from it’s little shell (do this while watching TV or it’s boring as hell). These steps apparently aren’t a requirement for everyone. I took some favas in to work, and a coworker popped a bean in her mouth, raw and with the inner peel intact. She loved it! Weird. I like them boiled and peeled. When they’re done, they’re shiny and bright green, and go great in a salad with quinoa and pine nuts. But I would definitely suggest you try the recipe I’ve posted below. It’s divine.
Smashed Fava Bean and Pea Bruschetta
Ingredients:
1 pound peas in their pods (about 5 ounces shelled weight)
1 1/2 pounds fava beans in their pods (about 9 ounces shelled weight)
a small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces finely grated fresh Pecorino Romano cheese, plus extra for serving
juice of 1 lemon
4 slices of french bread
1 clove of garlic, unpeeled, cut in half
2 large balls of mozzarella cheese, cut into medallions
Directions:
Shell the peas and fava beans, using the above method for the favas. Put them into a food processor with the mint, salt and pepper, lemon juice and cheese. Pulse until mostly blended. Slowly pour in olive oil while the processor is running until creamy. If you don’t have a food processor, first, how do you live! and second, you can do this all with a mortar and pestle. Which I actually don’t have, but not for lack of trying on the husband’s part.
Toast or broil or grill your bread, rub each side with the cut garlic, and top with some bean and pea puree and a slice of mozzarella. Top all that off with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. And voila! Yum yum yum!
Adapted from this recipe.
Have I told you yet that I have the best husband in the whole wide world? Not only is he sweet and kind and devilishly funny and handsome, but he’s also handy and creative and crafty. He likes to build things, which is great for a girl who was spoiled all her life by her remodeler daddy (I also have the best daddy in the whole wide world). And here are the results of his latest project, gorgeous planter boxes! The idea for these started with last season’s tomatillo bush, which grew to a monstrous size and overtook one of my raised beds. We could put them in the ground, but the dog would probably pee them to death. Thus, the planter box idea was born. Michael has a gift for seeing a vision in his head, and is always able to implement it. So the first box turned out perfect, followed by two more beauties. Thanks so much lovie! You’re the best!
Lots and lots growing in the garden! The beds are almost full (I know I can squeeze a few more things in there!) and starting to produce. I’ve been harvesting and eating lettuce, arugula, spinach and dill, which I love to combine in salads. We also have two kinds of kale and pounds of fava beans. I ate my last cauliflower this week, which made me so very sad.
I’m waiting impatiently for tomatoes, peppers, more sugar snap peas, long beans (just sprouted!), tomatillos, and my dear peaches. Oh the peaches, so divine!
Here’s a little photo update. Check back for the gorgeous planters my hubs made me.
I love walking out to the garden, picking a few stalks of celery and parsley and making this simple salad. It’s so easy that I don’t measure any of the ingredients. It’s so refreshing and light and lemony. With temps predicted in the 90s for this weekend and summer definitely on it’s way, I might be making this salad at least once a week!
Lemony Celery Salad
Ingredients:
4 or 5 stalks of celery
1 cup light green celery leaves (from the inside of a bunch)
1 cup parsley leaves
1/3 – 1/2 cup olive oil
juice from one lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tbs (or so) whole grain mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
You can use a mandoline to slice the celery, but it’s totally not necessary. Just cut it into thin slices, and put in a medium bowl with the celery and parsley leaves (you can chop the leaves if you’d like). In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil until the dressing is creamy. Toss the dressing with the celery and leaves. Enjoy!
Adapted from this recipe.
Michael doesn’t like cauliflower, which is great, because I love it. After I made this roasted cauliflower with the first batch that was ready from the garden, I ate. it. all. Yum.
Scroll down for the super simple recipe.
Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
olive oil
paprika
salt
pepper
pecorino romano cheese
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Spread out in a roasting dish. Roast until the tops of the cauliflower start to brown. Remove from oven and grate cheese on top. That’s it! Enjoy!
Winter in Phoenix is perfect. It has to be, to make up for the hell we live through called summer. It’s also the perfect time to grow winter vegetables. Currently growing in my garden: cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas, fava beans, spinach, strawberries, celery, kale, and swiss chard. Not bad, eh? Jealous, mid-westerners?
I was worried that it was too cold at night for the seeds to sprout, so I planted more in little newspaper pots. As soon as my indoor seeds started sprouting, so did my outside seeds. Of course. Oh well, now I’ll have lots! Currently sprouting: lettuce, more spinach, more kale, more sugar snap peas, broccoli raab, three kinds of tomatoes, and basil.
Even though the frost took a chunk out of the tomatillo bush, it still gave us plenty of fruit. We’ve made several batches of delicious tomatillo salsa (salsa verde). Michael is especially in love with it, and prefers eating it with house made chips from Food City. Try it for yourself! You can find tomatillos at any grocery store.
Tomatillo Salsa
20 or 30 tomatillos
1 white onion
1/2 jalepeño
3 cloves garlic
juice from one half lime
Remove the tomatillos from their husks and rinse. Slice in half and arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet, cut sides down. Slice onions and add them to the cookie sheet. Place halved jalapeño cut side down on the cookie sheet as well. Leave the garlic in their skin to roast.
Broil on high until tomatillo skins are black and blistered in spots. Squeeze garlic from their skins. Scrape everything into a blender. Be careful blending hot things! Blend until the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt. Add lime juice when cooled.
Damn that frost. It gets me every time. The weather forecasters said that the Phoenix metro area wasn’t going to get below freezing, but it sure did frost enough to kill half of my garden. I literally almost cried when I surveyed the damage. The vines were toast. The tomatoes, done. I thought I’d lost the entire tomatillo plant, but after I’d cleared away the burnt outer layer, I discovered plenty of good tomatillos. Check back for a recipe!
The good news: the winter vegetables were fine. The broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, collard tree and peas were all more or less fine. In fact, I think they liked the cold! There are now tiny peas on plant, and I had some sauteed kale for lunch today. Yum!
Oh, if you’d like to see pictures and get recipes from our Thanksgiving feast, head on over to Michael’s blog. Sorry I didn’t get around to posting it, and here it is, almost Christmas!
Well, the aphids sure did a number on our watermelon vines. We had three fruits develop, but only one got big and didn’t rot. I got tired of waiting for it, so today I cut it off the vine and opened it up. We held our breath as I sliced in, fingers crossed that it would be pink and juicy and delicious. And you know what? It was! Hooray! It’s all about the small successes. One watermelon off about a mile of vine. Not too shabby, and damn tasty.
This is our new friend. He comes by every three days or so and takes the liberty of wandering our house.
Remember the lovely vegetables I bought at the Farmers Market on Saturday? We turned them into Sunday’s supper which we shared with Michael’s mom and my sister. Roasted root vegetables with carrot risotto and herb and panko crusted chicken tenders. Yum! Scroll down for the recipes.
From the garden: thyme, oregano and rosemary.
Roasted Root Vegetables:
This one’s super easy. Simply cut up root vegetables (and squash) of your choice into one inch pieces. We used carrots, turnips, red and masher potatoes, and acorn and butternut squashes. You could also add beets, parsnips, celery root… Toss the cut up veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish. I used both. Place sprigs of herbs on top. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, stirring gently once during baking. That’s it!
Carrot Risotto:
Michael made this, and it’s based on a recipe from a chef he photographed last year.
Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
1 and 1/2 C risotto (arborio) rice
3 diced garlic cloves
one carton vegetable broth
1 C dry white wine
8 or more oz carrot juice
4 oz feta or other cheese (we used bacon chevre!)
Directions:
Risotto is a little time/labor intensive, but so worth it. Start by bringing your vegetable broth to a simmer in a small sauce pan. This is what you will be adding to your rice, and it helps to keep it hot. You could do the same for the carrot juice, but we didn’t. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic and rice and, stirring, cook until rice is golden. Add the white wine and stir until it is absorbed. Now start adding vegetable broth, one cup or so at a time. After each addition, stir until absorbed before adding more. You can alternatively add the carrot juice. How much you use depends on how carroty you want it to taste. The risotto is done when it is no longer crunchy. Stir in cheese and serve hot.
Herb and Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders
Also easy. Dredge the chicken tenders in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then dip in two beaten eggs, then dredge in panko seasoned with chopped herbs (I used thyme and oregano) and salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray and bake in the oven with the root veggies (400 degrees) for 15 minutes.
For tips on breading, check out this link.
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