Home Grown

My first pepper!

It's official.  I am a gardener.  This is my very first vegetable I have ever grown.  Not only do I have this one, but I have 3 more growing outside!  This is unheard of!

I don't count my herb plants because I really didn't have to do anything to make them grow.  Except water them.   Which I'm really no good at.  It's a good thing Ryan likes to go outside or else it would probably never get done.

This lovely little green pepper went into a favorite dish in my house, sausage and peppers.  Just like it sounds, it contains sausage, usually chicken sausage, and peppers.  And usually onions.  Onions belong in just about everything.  They add a little extra something.

But this post is not just about onions. This post is supposed to be about home grown deliciousness that is vegetables.

Because I don't have a garden at home, (my peppers grow in some whiskey barrels I have in my side yard) I like going to the farmer's market.  I like knowing that what I'm buying there was picked that morning, or sometimes that afternoon.  I like knowing that these people didn't drive for hours or ship their produce across state lines in order to give it to me.  I like knowing that I'm helping out local farmers and neighbors by buying this produce.

I will concede that living in California gives me a distinct advantage in that area.  The county I live in is smack in the middle of the salad bowl of America.  45 min south is one of the main growing areas of California strawberries and an hour north is a city called Gilroy where most of the garlic sold in the United States is grown.  You can get kale, squash, oranges, peaches, apples, grapes, tomatoes, carrots, any kind of lettuce, delicious white corn, and many more other vegetables in a 50 mile radius of where I live.  So, yeah, I know I'm really lucky.

Not only do we have great vegetables, but we have tons of beef.  Most every day I drive past cows grazing on the hills.  There are at least 3 local butchers, not to mention the meat program they have at Cal Poly.  It's easy to get grass fed, locally raised beef here.  I'd buy it a lot more often if it wasn't so expensive.

Not only does buying local help support your neighbors, but it also cuts down on your carbon footprint, if you're concerned with that.  It also helps to keep food prices down and gives people fresher food.  When strawberries are $0.97/lb here they are $3.99 in Georgia.  Granted, they don't grow strawberries in Georgia, but I saw the ones that were shipped all the way out there, and I'm certain they were not worth $3.99/lb.

So next time you go shopping, check out where your food was grown.  If you get a chance, find a local market or farmer's market and ask them how far they came.  I bet your food will taste better if it was grown somewhere near your home.  And if you're feeling really daring, go plant some green pepper plants!

My next challenge, Tomatoes!

My favorite thing about the Central Coast or Tri-tip: Why it's so fanatastically delicious

From Wikipedia: "The tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin primal cut".

Before I arrived on the Central Coast, I had never heard of "tri-tip".  To be honest though, before I moved out of my mom's house, I wasn't all that familiar with cuts of meat besides what they served at Longhorn's.  And even then I rarely got past the Prime Rib.

But all that's behind me.  I have finally become a real Central Coaster (at least by my standards) because I can cook a tri-tip.

Our friend Michael was the one that cooked the first tri-tip for me besides what I've had at a restaurant. I remember thinking that if I could make one as good as he did, I would really feel like I belong.  Tri-tip, when done right, is tender, flavorful and just downright delicious.  It is the key ingredient to Santa Maria Style Barbecue, where they slow cook it just like in the south.  If you're from the south, have been to the south, or have heard of barbecue, you know that it's not the same as grilling.  Grilling is throwing some stuff on a grill to get those nice char marks.  Grilling can be anything from chicken to steak, vegetables, sweet potato, or even corn  (leave it in the husk and grill it, it is fantastic!).

Barbecue on the other hand is a learned skill.  It involves just the right cut of meat, rubs, sauces, mop sauces and sloooooow cooking.  I personally have never barbecued, but I'll get around to it eventually.

Trimmed Tri-tip

So back to the tri-tip.  When you buy a tri-tip you can get it trimmed or untrimmed.  Getting it trimmed is nice, but more expensive and its not all that hard to trim it yourself.  Trimming it involves cutting the layer of fat off of one side of the meat.  When you trim it yourself you can decide how much of that fat you want.  If you don't care you can leave it all on there and let the fat get nice and crispy and let it drip into your meat to keep it moist and tender.  However, it can lead to flare-ups on your grill so keep an eye on it.  I typically trim off as much of the fat as I can see.

The next step is to marinate it.  You can just put a rub on it if you want, but I like when it soaks up all the flavors after a nice soak in a juicy bath.

I've got a couple different recipes for you to try out.

Spicy Tri-tip Marinade:

3 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp unpacked brown sugar
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

I typically make this recipe for a 2-3lb tri-tip.  If you've got a bigger piece of meat, then you'll obviously need to make more.  Let it marinate at least overnight, but the longer you let it sit, the more flavor you'll get.  The marinade makes a nice sauce to baste your tri-tip in while its on the grill, just be careful about letting that sugar burn.

Pappy's collection of seasonings.

Sweet Tri-tip Marinade
Pappy's Choice Seasoning
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
juice from 2 limes

Cover that tri-tip in the Pappy's.  I mean cover it from end to end, on the sides, the top, the bottom, everywhere.  Make sure it is smothered in it.  Then put it in your marinating vessel (I use a ziploc bag).  Add the sauces and the lime.  I left this out for 1 hour at room temperature and it was just as tender and delicious as can be.  Using this recipe made the best tri-tip I have ever tasted.

If you're not in the mood to cook tri-tip, or just passing through, I recommend Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo or Main Street Grill in Cambria.  I believe they are where I had my first tri-tip sandwiches on the Central Coast.  They give you a whole bunch of meat on a roll.  No fancy sauces, no vegetables, nothing to tarnish the delicousness that is tri-tip.  Most restaurants on the central coast have some kind of tri-tip on the menu.  Even SLO Pasty company has a tri-tip pasty!  Bet you won't find that in Wales.

My mom and sister said they can now find tri-tip cuts in their local grocery store in GA, so if you can't find it there, ask your butcher and I bet he can cut one. Then marinate it, grill it, and savor it.  It will be almost as good as vacationing here on the Central Coast!

The San Francisco Chronicles

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world.  I've been to Dublin, Ireland, London, England, Milan, Italy, but somehow San Francisco still holds a dear place in my heart.  I love the sloping hills, the majestic bridges spanning the bay, Fisherman's Wharf and the new AT&T park.

The outfield wall of AT&T Park

A couple weekends ago Ryan and I went to our first Giants game.  Aaron had been to one before, but it was me and Kiddo's first time.  AT&T park is beautiful.  It's just about everything a baseball park should be.  The really neat thing about this park is that just behind the wall in the picture is the bay.  You can drive your boat right up, park it and go to the game.  Or you can sit in your boat and try to wait for a home run to be hit your way.  At the time of our game, 61 baseballs had been hit over the wall.

And what is a baseball game without a hot dog and a cold beer?  For just $5 you can get a Giants dog.  For a little more you can upgrade to an all beef dog or a polish dog.  I had the Giants dog, but then experienced a little dog envy and should have gone for a bigger one.  It was tasty though, as ball park hot dogs should be.  They even had a pretty good selection of beer, if you're willing to pay the price.  I decided to just have one, but to get a Hefeweizen because, if you're going to spend $7 on a beer, you might as well get something you like!

Sourdough Bread bowl with Clam Chowder

Another thing San Francisco is known for is Sourdough Bread.  Boudin bakery claims to be the originator of sourdough bread which gets its flavor from the wild yeast that only grows in the San Francisco area. You can read about the history here.  There are tours to see how the bread is made and a Baker's hall with all kinds of sourdough bread selections.  All I know is when you go to San Francisco, you have to get some.  And if its in the shape of a bowl and filled with clam chowder, well you won't hear me complaining.  While their bread is still the best, Boudin's chowder left a little something to be desired.  I thought it was pretty bland and needed a little something else, but it is lower on the calorie scale compared to some other chowders I have had.  They have a restaurant with a full menu located on the Embarcadero while on Pier 39 (and other locations) they have a little deli type shop where you can get a quick bite to eat like bread bowls, sandwiches, and salads.

Alcatraz Prison Island from the end of Pier 39

Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 are a great places to go when you're in San Francisco.  It's pretty touristy, but from the end of the pier you can see Alcatraz.  There are all kinds of places to eat, little shops, and a pretty cool fruit stand.  The fruit surprised me, but it looked pretty good.  The prices are a little high for someone from the area, but if you're craving fresh strawberries, mangoes, grapes, apples, or peaches, then look no further.  There is also a creperie.  Everytime I eat one I thank the French for crepes.  I like mine with chocolate and strawberries, and with Ghiradelli down the street, you know what kind of chocolate you're getting.

One of the things I love about big cities is eating in little restaurants you've never heard of before.  We discovered that trying to find a place on a Saturday night that will take a party of 20+ is incredibly difficult in a big city, but if you know of a little Italian restaurant that is in an alley that has tons of outdoor seating, then you too can find a place to eat in San Francisco.  The name was Cafe Tiramisu.  With a name like that you know I had to order some and it was some of the best tiramisu I've ever had in my life.  The ladyfingers were perfectly soaked with coffee liqueur and it was sweet, creamy, and the perfect ending to my meal.  For dinner I had a sea bass with sun-dried tomato ravioli and some kind of delicious olive sauce on it.  I would say its one of the best meals I've had since I was in Europe.

All in all it was a great weekend.  I hadn't been there in quite a few years and being able to go with family and experience so much of San Francisco was a blast.  Next on the list is a tour of Alcatraz (with plenty of dramamine) and perhaps a nice run through Golden Gate Park.

Boudin Bakery
Pier 39
San Francisco, CA

Ghiradelli Chocolate
Ghiradelli Square
San Francisco, CA

Cafe Tiramisu
28 Belden Place
San Francisco, CA

It's Always Better Between Two Slices of Bread

     When you're a kid is there anything better than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  Maybe peanut butter and banana, or peanut butter and honey, or maybe all three!  Then there's grilled cheese.  Ooey, gooey goodness packed between two slices of grilled, buttered bread.  What we learn young is that when you put it between two slices of bread, its almost always better.

     I remember a time when my family didn't have much  money and we had to stretch our culinary skills by making something out of whatever it was we had in the kitchen.  In this particular instance, delving into the fridge brought out italian hard salami, dill pickles and mustard.  It made a sandwich that was actually quite good.  One might think that all those sour and savory ingredients would over power you, but, at least that night, a pickle and salami sandwich was a hit.

     Now I like to hide vegetables in grilled cheese for my little guy, Ryan.  Yesterday we had a grilled cheese with spinach puree in it.  He seemed to enjoy it and didn't mind the spinach one bit.  My sister takes whole leave spinach and sautees it in a little vinegar, salt and pepper, and then puts it on a grilled cheese.  She serves it with Campbell's canned tomato soup, but if you add a little fresh basil to it right before you serve it, suddenly you're eating a gourmet lunch.

     The great thing about sandwiches is that there are so many choices.  First, there's the bread.  You could go with traditional white sandwich bread (but to me that's a little boring) or you could go with wheat.  There's honey wheat, whole wheat, multi-grain, split-top wheat, just to name a few.  Then of course you have rye, pumpernickel, sourdough, and brioche, just for starters.  Each bread has its own personality.

     Let's not forget flat bread, pitas, and naan. Subway has started featuring flat bread, while not always a lower calorie option is a nice change of pace.  Flat bread also makes great paninis and is a hardier container for hot ingredients or even saucy components.  When I worked at my family's coffee shop I loved experimenting with panini ingredients.  One of my favorites was a roast beef sandwich that I put on the flat top with some peppers.  A little worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and fresh ground black pepper added just a little bit of kick.  Add a piece of provolone cheese and fresh tomatoes before putting it on the grill so the tomato just gets a little bit of heat.  Too hot and the tomato will turn mushy and fall apart.  You can add a piece of lettuce after taking it off the heat, but I happen to not be a fan of warm lettuce.  Pita bread can easily be substituted in for the flat bread.  Sandwiches are really about what you have handy.

     In the summer sandwiches are more about all the great produce that is available.  Vidalia onions, when available, make a fantastic sandwich.  You really want a light bread like a white sandwich bread or a french bread (I like the crustiness of the french) for an onion sandwich.  Mayonnaise, salt, and pepper is really all you need with a nice thick slice of Vidalia onion.  They are so sweet they really make the sandwich.  Liverwurst is a nice addition to add a little bit of salty savoryness to an onion sandwich and many a night my family and I have made that dinner with a nice bottle of wine or beer.

     All of these sandwiches are leading up to my sandwich today.  I literally had a dream about this sandwich and I think I may have woken up with drool on the pillow.

2 pieces of honey wheat bread, toasted

3 pieces of turkey bacon

handful of alfalfa-clover sprout mix

fresh sliced tomato

fresh sliced cucumber

romaine lettuce

1 tsp (approx) fresh chopped basil

1/2 tsp (approx) fresh chopped oregano

1 tbsp olive oil mayonnaise

Stir the herbs into the mayonnaise and then spread it on one slice of bread.  Put the sprouts right on top, it helps them stay in place.  I used turkey bacon, but I think 3 slices of real bacon cooked nice and crispy would elevate this sandwich tremendously.  I also put a little salt and pepper on the tomatoes because, well I like it that way.

I'd also like to brag that I went out my front door and picked the herbs from my garden.  Go me!

     The moral of the story is have fun with sandwiches.  I haven't found many foods that can't go in or on a sandwich.  I'd really like to hear about some of your favorite sandwiches!

It's All About the Thin Skin

When we first moved to Georgia, I remember my mom's hunt for a good chinese restaurant.  Coming from the bay area where there is a prevalence of good asian food, I think she thought it might be difficult.  However, just down the road, we found a place called Mandarin Garden.  One of the things that made this our chinese restaurant of choice was the fact that their fried potstickers were made with a nice thin dough that didn't overwhelm the delicious pork stuffing.  Many a Friday night we ordered General  Tso's Chicken (which turns out isn't even chinese but was actually invented in San Francisco), pot stickers and Mu Shu Pork (or sometimes Sweet and Sour Pork... yum yum).
Sadly, Mandarin Garden eventually went out of business when the shopping center it was in  was basically deserted by the anchor store (that was a grocery store) and slowly all the rest of the small businesses left.  We never did find another chinese place that had potstickers as good as Mandarin Garden.  So many of the new places had such thick dough on their potstickers (I keep mentioning these, but seriously, who likes doughy potstickers?) and just wasn't quite as good.
So the point of this story (and there is one, I promise) is that when I moved back out here to the west coast, chinese food was one of the things I was really looking forward to.  Chinese, Sushi, and sourdough bread from San Francisco (I'm heading there next weekend and look for an entire post on the perfection that is a clam chowder sourdough bread bowl).
Sadly, there are 3 chinese restaurants I can think of off the top of my head.  I've been to two of them and the third one has the kind of reputation that makes me want to have the paramedics on speed dial.  The one in Atascadero is a chinese buffet.  Aaron is pretty sure that when you call them for delivery they just take the food out of the buffet trays and bring you that.  I have not had to break down to call for delivery from them so I don't actually know if that's true.  What I can tell you is, once was enough.
When we really need chinese food in SLO, we head down to Mandarin Gourmet.  It's no Mandarin Garden, but they have a lunch special that can't be beat.  A cup of soup, cup of rice, an entree, a fried wonton, a spring roll and a slice of orange for color all for under ten dollars.  The price varies by dish, but most all of them are under ten.  Also when they bring you the fortune cookies, ask them for an almond cookie.  They come with a slice of almond and some orange sugar on top.  They are surprisingly addictive for a packaged cookie.
I've had the cashew chicken, the General Tso's chicken, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork (not one I'd highly recommend), and the vegetable chow mein.  Ryan especially enjoys the hot and sour soup especially the tofu pieces.  Surprisingly he really seems to enjoy tofu in general, but that's the subject of another post.
Overall, its not bad and gets high grades for value.  If you're going to go, they really can't be beat for their lunch specials.  They also give a lovely hot pot of tea as soon as you sit down and always include fortune cookies at the end.  We even sometimes get a nice surprise dessert for being regulars.

Mandarin Gourmet
1316 Madonna Road
San Luis Obispo, CA

Peaches, Mangoes, and Berries, Oh My!

Oh Summer, how I love thee. Thy bountiful harvests overload my refrigerator with delicious fruit.

Ok, enough of the old English, but the sentiment is the same. Summer has the best fruit. I was addicted to mangos for quite a while and ate two or three a day. At first I had to learn how to cut them because the pit is just about impossible to get out. You basically have to cut the meat away from the pit as closely as you can. Kind of like a peach. Here's a web page with step by step instructions. Mangoes are a great addition to fruit salad, smoothies and salsa. Next time I grill a steak, Bobby Flay has an amazing Mango Chimichurri salsa I can't wait to try.

Another great summer fruit is peaches. There aren't many things better than sinking your teeth into a sweet, juicy, perfectly ripe peach. I learned recently that freestone peaches are the ones that separate easily from the stone in the middle. They can be a little more expensive, but they do make eating easier. White peaches are known to be sweeter, but they are also more delicate than yellow peaches and are also typically pricier than the yellow peach. I saw this Grilled Peach Salad and have put it on my to-do list. However, my favorite way to eat peaches is in Peach Crisp. Throw a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and that, to me, epitomizes summer.

Peach Crisp

6 small-medium peaches, sliced
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375. Spread peaches evenly in 8x8 pan. In medium bowl combine remaining ingredients until well mixed. Sprinkle over peaches. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve over ice cream.

The great thing about this recipe is there is almost no such thing as too many peaches. For a great fall or winter treat, or if peaches are too darned expensive, granny smith apples are a great substitute.

And last, but not least, the strawberry. Living in the strawberry capital of the world has spoiled me with fresh, local, sweet strawberries nearly year round. Right now you can buy three overflowing pints at the San Luis Obispo farmer's market for $4. It is a little ludicrous. Aaron eats them on his cereal in the morning, but I just eat them straight out of the container on the way home. I like it when you can still taste the day's sunshine on them. I don't really have a recipe for strawberries because they are basically perfect for eating all by themselves. I do enjoy them in a nice crepe with some bitter chocolate sauce, mmmm.

I would be interested in hearing some strawberry and other summer fruit recipes. We might as well eat them as much as possible in as many ways as possible before summer ends!

A Small Rant & Leafy Greens

I don't like to call my change in lifestyle a "diet".  I prefer to think that I'm making lifelong changes that will not only make me healthier, but my family as well.  I can't remember the last time I went to fast food, although I do know it was Taco Bell.  I used to jokingly ask Aaron why we ever went out because it seems more often than not I can make whatever it is we are eating better, and most likely, healthier.  It was less a statement bragging about my abilities but more of a commentary on the lack of quality and variety of dining establishments.  Not only that but it seems like these days you pay a huge price for a huge plate of food with a huge calorie count.  I would much rather eat a small plate of amazing food that is made with quality ingredients.

I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to transition that little rant into my topic, but what I wanted to talk about in this post was greens.  Green, leafy vegetables that I had never discovered before.  I talked about swiss chard in a previous post, but another one I've discovered is kale.  Ryan went through a couple weeks where I had to hide stuff in his kale in order to get him to eat other things.  I made a faux take on an Irish dish where you combine mashed potatoes and kale and I swear that boy picked out the kale and left the potatoes.  He likes it roasted, steamed or just microwaved.  I've notices a lot of the leafy greens taste similar, but kale has a nice mellow taste to it.
Beet greens are another leafy vegetable that is not very common on the American table.  I have been watching a lot of Alton Brown's Good Eats and he did an entire show on beets.  So I thought I'd give them a try.  While Ryan ate more beets than Aaron and I combined, I made a really delicious Au Gratin with the beet greens that I consider a "keeper".  I later used the same recipe with spinach and it was just as good.

Alton Brown's Beet Green Au Gratin

My "Any Green" Au Gratin (mine is slightly more WW friendly)

1 Tbsp Light butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb beet greens, spinach, kale, swiss chard, or some combination of any or all.
kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
10 ritz crackers, crumbled

Follow the same steps as Alton's recipe.  Mine is lighter and only about 160 calories per serving (this recipe is 4 servings).  It's a great way to hide greens for picky eaters, or just a nice change of pace.  It microwaves well so feel free to double the recipe.  I think this will make a really nice addition for any holiday dinner as well.

So to review, this week try a new leafy green vegetable that you haven't tried before.  They're all in season and they are all delicious.  Let me know what creation you make with your delicious leafy greens!