Homemade Pimento Cheese

One of Skyguy's coworkers gave us some little cherry peppers, AKA pimento peppers. I decided I would make some homemade pimento cheese, or as we say in these parts, "perminner cheese", and attempted to google a recipe. Lo and behold, it appears that pimento cheese is a Southern thing. I had no clue. Who would have thunk that and why would that be so? Surely pimentos grow other places in the country, and surely others eat sharp cheese?

http://www.answers.com/topic/pimento

I had to pause and look around the web to try and answer my own questions and found this site which states that Georgia is the only state that really grows pimentos. That is just amazing to me. I have never grown these little peppers because I thought they were sweet peppers and I am a chili lover, but I know tons of people that grow these things in their backyard. Who knew they were pimentos??? Not I. Who know it was a Southern thing? Not I.

I grew up disliking the stuff, even though I LOVE cheese. My folks would spread storebought pimento cheese on their white bread and I would gag. It wasn't until a year or so ago that my friend from LA (Lower Alabama) introduced me to homemade pimento cheese from her grandfather's recipe. It is really simple: sharp cheddar cheese, grated fine, a jar of pimentos, mayo, (I also add a dash of garlic and onion powder), and a dash of tobasco. Oh my...whiz that around in the food processor and it is heavenly.

So now, I have the real peppers, not a jar, and I scour the internet looking for a recipe and cannot find one. How weird is that? So I took the peppers, removed the seeds and the insides --- saved those seed!!! --- and cut the peppers into strips. I threw them in a small frying pan with just a splash of olive oil and some garlic and salt. OH MY GOD, they were to die for!! I can't wait to make real pimento cheese in a bit. I don't think I will need the tobasco as these fresh peppers have just the right amount of heat. I simply cannot wait until next year to grow these peppers!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6877304

I did find this NPR page, which gives a bit of cultural background in the way of stories. Apparently, it is popular in the Philippines and in Hungary, too, or at least they eat something similar.

But yeah, before summer wanes, I want a big tall glass of milk, a homemade perminner cheese samwich, a huge dill pickle, and some tater chips. Good eats.

I keep reminiscing about summers past and wondering why I would eat only cheese (Cheez Whiz was my childhood favorite, but I don't like it now) and not pimento cheese sandwiches. Man, that was crazy.

Touch the earth, rest your spirit

The lettuce is almost ready to be cut for salads. I am still cutting chard for greens which is lucky because my NZ spinach isn't growing very fast. Yesterday, I cut some beet greens and pulled up 4 beets. Since I have 3 heads of cabbage in the refrigerator, I think I will grate the beets and saute them with some shredded cabbage. That ought to make a nice purple veggie for something different. I also have peas, carrots, yellow squash, cauliflower, chard, beet greens, and broccoli in the fridge. It is a garden bounty! I think I'll put together some shishkabobs with some marinated chicken and the squash, carrots, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. I'm thinking it will be quick and easy on the grill. I've got some garlic flavored olive oil for 'kabobs.

I've left a few broccoli plants to go to seed. I'll do the same for the cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. One of my cabbage plants is snail bait, so I think I will collect the seeds from it. It is a nice, big plant, too. I have already pulled up and hung the mustard pods. I have the stems with the pods hanging upside down inside of a paper grocery bag. I can hear the seeds rattling in the bag, so I know this is working. I'll do the same for the rest of the brassicas. I was trying to clean out a few of the raised beds enough to plant some bush beans, but lo and behold, the Brussels sprouts appear to be doing something. There are some marble sized sprouts!! This is the best result ever so far! Most are pea sized, but I think they are actually growing! We've had so much rain that my garlic is done. Usually, it is ready in July, but the stalks are yellowing so I pulled them. They are now curing on the picnic table, AKA Bev's breakroom, next to my little Malabar spinach vine (haven't decided where to move it) and my 7 artichoke plants (there were 8, I guess a bird grabbed one??).

Friday I picked some large leaves from the cabbage plants. I used them to make cabbage rolls. I have a lot of ground venison in the freezer, so I mixed up some meat. I season it, add rice and special ingredients for special dinners and cook it. I used 4 pounds of ground beef, 3 pounds of venison, and 1 pound of ground pork, onions, ketchup, rice, garlic, soy, worchestershire, etc. This time, however, I wasn't thinking-I usually use more venison than beef, but this batch is beef heavy because I got distracted. At any rate, I made 3 batches of meatballs, a meatloaf(with just me and Skyguy, I get 3 meals from a meatloaf), two batches of seasoned meat for stuffing Poblanos, and of course, the cabbage rolls . That's 9+ meals from 8 pounds of meat. One day I will look up all the nutritional data on my meat mixes. The cabbage rolls were okay-a bit tough and chewy because I did not steam them first, but edible. I think I will try this with grape leaves next. I have plenty of those as well. I went out this morning, picked a few dozen leaves, washed them, rolled them, blanched them, and preserved them in brine in a pint jar. Today, I planted a few more okra seeds, as well as a pack of royal burgundy bush beans. I went through all of my seeds last night and I need to continue downsizing. It is still early in the season, so I am going to try to grow some gourds and some pumpkins. I found some Aquadulce Fava beans from 2000 and did a germination test on them. Would you believe that more than half of them germinated??!!?? Wow. So I will use them as a cover crop and chicken feed this winter.

In the meantime, I thought I would share some garden pictures I took yesterday. The first two pictures are related. I've named them, Spot the Butternut and Spot the Cukes. You should probably click on the pics for a larger image if your eyes are like mine. The third image is a skinny image of one of my Brussels sprouts' stalk where you can see the little sprouts beginning to form. The fourth image on the page is of course, my breakroom/workarea . I've been getting a head or two a day from my Cauliflower bed (last picture on the page). I probably should pull up the plants once I harvest the initial head, but I have heard that if you leave it, it will grow small heads after a few months, so I am leaving the plants in the bed. The sixth one I called mixed veggies. In that picture there are potatoes, yellow squash, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage. I planted the Bloody Butcher Corn directly behind that bed, and you can't see it in this picture, but back where that scrawny looking Brussels sprout is, top center, I have planted a row of okra on the edge of the bed. I wanted a little height to help as a pollen block. As it turned out, the other two varieties of corn did not germinate, so the pollen block is unnecessary, but for the record, there is also okra in this picture, they are only 3 inches tall though. :) Image #5 is one of my yellow squash plants. I have two, one in the ground(picture #5 ) and the one you see in the bed of mixed veggies (picture #6 ). I am experimenting and waging war on squash bugs. The separation is part of the plan.

Yesterday, we cut back some Chinese privet that had become trees. It was starting to shade out my elephant ears and the fig trees. Skyguy cut them back to 6 foot trucks with the chainsaw, and next week, I will be chipping the tops to go to the compost bin. We also mowed this weekend, watered the Paulownias, and messed around in the garden some, staking tomatoes and whatnot. I saved some of the larger branches/trunks from the privet and hopefully I will make a few more trellis' for various things. I think we will also make a ladder, and maybe a rustic table to go between the Adirondack chairs.

This evening, we went back to the lake and paddled. We got an earlier start this time, and we paddled for over an hour, almost constantly. We discovered a few scratches and places on the keel that need work, some sanding, varnish, etc. and Skyguy wants to replace the decks and move the seats, so we decided that this will be the last paddle for a few months until the canoe work is completed and my new bent shaft paddle is completed and when my foot is healed. I hope we will be able to get back on the lake by the first of August. In the meantime, we will be biking more.

I got some sun this weekend, partially from working in the yard in a tank top. Skyguy said my shoulders were already sunburned before we left, but I did not feel it. I put SPF30 on at the lake, but I still burned. I'm so pale. There was no sunscreen when I was growing up other than zinc oxide. I just wore shirts over my bathing suit. As many times as I was sunburned as a kid, it will be a miracle if I die without having skin cancer. If I get skin cancer, it will truly piss me off, because I've never really laid out or tried to tan like some people do, I just burn easily. The best tan I ever had was accidental. It was back in 1981 when I was running over 50 miles a week. I was living in western Arkansas that summer, and it was a scorcher. Even though I ran in the evening, it was well over 100 degrees. I really enjoyed running. If only my joints were not screwed up,,,,it would be great to run again, but it won't ever happen. At this point in my life, it is paddling, pedaling, and tai chi. We won't count the walking and the yard work and the gardening.

Touch the earth, love the earth, honour the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places. -Henry Beston

Artichokes

We have tried and learned to like yet another vegetable...artichokes. Since it is rich in potassium and iodine, it should be good for my heart, muscles, and thyroid. I had eaten them years before at my sister's home, so I knew that I liked them, but Skyguy had a restaurant meal that contained artichoke hearts, so now, we are going to try to grow artichokes. As a perennial vegetable that is hardy to about 15-20 degrees, I should be able to grow it here if I place it carefully and protect it when the temps are really low. We do see single digits here, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. So, I bought some Emerald Artichoke seeds at Home Deposit (birthday gift card-couldn't resist it!)and I've been reading about growing them. Living in Georgia most of my life, I've never even seen an artichoke plant, but the pictures online are awesome and I am thinking of planting this in the garden AND in the yard. I read that it is a deer resistant plant, so it will definitely find its place in the yard. Edible landscaping is the way to go! I also had no idea that you could get 18 artichokes from one plant! These suckers are huge! They get 4 feet tall or more and 6 feet across. There were 8 seeds in the packet, so we will see what happens.

Tomorrow night, we will be making a version of Ruby Tuesday's Chicken Bella. It is chicken in a artichoke, portabella mushroom and parmesan sauce with penne pasta. It has a slight cayenne kick.
Here's the recipe:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/sr/12623/chicken-artichoke-amp-parmesan-baked-penne/recipe/

More Bloggin' on the Garden

I planted the rest of my tomatoes Thursday. I'm not sure how many there were..more than 25 though. Mostly they were Romas, for making paste and sauces. I still need to transplant the peppers to the garden. I also transplanted the last of the basil to a box bed, and I cut the rest of the pack choi to make room for the peppers. It is a busy time. I spent about half the day Thursday playing with black walnut seedlings. I may try to sell some of them- I planted 22 walnuts on Tuesday with the Paulownias, and I still have almost 4 dozen plus whatever else happens to germinate out of that pile. Secretly, I wish it were pecans instead as I really, really, love pecans. Walnuts are okay, but IMO, the trees have more worth as timber and shade than for their nuts.

Yesterday, I cut my first Swiss chard leaves. I pulled up a garlic scallion and chopped it all together. I put some olive oil in the Dutch oven, added the garlic, sauteed it for a few minutes, added salt, some crushed red peppers for a kick and then added the chard leaves. Yummy. This morning, I made a chard lasagna with hot Italian sausage, diced tomatoes, mozzerella, cottage cheese, fresh eggs, fresh herbs, etc. It is in the oven now, so I will let you know how it turns out. I also planted okra (variety:Lee) and a seed pack (basically one 6x6 block) of Golden Midget corn. Both seed packs were from 2007, so it may not come in good. Next week, I'll plant the Bloody Butcher. I'm looking forward to that. Over the years, I had accumulated a lot of seed, but as I did not plan well from year to year, I have ended up with a lot of old seed. I don't want things to cross, so I am using up the seed this year and next year so that I can collect fresh seed from anything that germinates. It has been an interesting 'experiment' to observe the quality and germination percentages of old seed of various ages. Even for things that typically keep for years, it appears that 3 years old is about the limit. I think it is due to the fact that I heat with a woodstove and only have one window AC unit for the house. I try to keep the seeds at a constant, cooler temperature, but I can't control the humidity factor. The seed just doesn't remain viable for years and years. I suppose I have to live with that and adjust my long term garden plan appropriately.

My friend Ava noted that my tomatoes had not grown in almost two weeks. They do look the same now as the day they were planted. I'm hoping that it is due to the 6" of rain and the size of the tomato vines when they were planted. Everyone always wants to have that first tomato of the season, but I suppose I look forward to having the last one. Also, Most people buy nursery transplants and put them out. My toms are transplanted two or three times before they are set out, and even though the plant might be two feet tall at planting time, I plant the whole vine except for the top 6 inches or so. My tomato plants look puny compared to nursery transplants but soon they will catch up and probably surpass the others in size and fruit, because mine will have a more extensive root system and will hopefully survive the heat and drought of summer better.

I saw Star Trek Last night. It was the first movie I've been to see in the theatre in some years-I can't even remember the last time. I wouldn't call myself a die-hard Trekkie, but I liked the show, have seen all the movies, and I can say that I was not disappointed. It was actually rather amazing, well cast, decent storyline, and good special effects. If Sci-Fi appeals to you on any level, it is a must see. It was certainly a great distraction from all the drama and heartbreak
going on in our personal lives, but that is not for discussion here. I don't know who to credit for this saying, but it is ever so true; "You can bury a lot of troubles by digging in the dirt". I think the key word there is 'bury'. The problems will still be there, and may have even fruited if you don't tend to them head on. At the same time, out of sight, out of mind-it is good to not think about your troubles 24/7.

It rained a lot last night, maybe an inch or so, but I was able to putter around the garden a bit this morning, and I made a second sowing of carrots, as well as additional sowings of New Zealand spinach, radishes, chard, and lettuces. We are going to experiment with growing lettuce in the summer in the shade. Between beds #1 and #2, at the edge of the carpet and the north side of bed two in the strip shown, Skyguy planted his Mesclun lettuces . The ground is moist and shaded, so we are hoping it will work. My reasoning is that if the ground supports sweet violets and gill o'er the ground, it should be fertile enough and moist enough for lettuce. Bed #2 on the left, is all cauliflower-well, there are some companion herbs in there, too. The cauliflower heads are forming now, so in a week or so, I should be busy blanching and freezing cauliflower. I could eat roasted cauliflower at every meal.

Asparagus Love

My asparagus bed is starting to wane in production for this year. The spears are starting to get skinny now. When I planted it, 10 years ago(this image is from 2000, before I harvested anything), I was the only one in my family that ate asparagus. I believe I planted about 10-12 crowns originally, thinking that would be enough for just me. I honestly can't remember how many I planted, but my bed is right at 4x12, I think Now, my entire family has learned to love asparagus and I need to plant more. I want to mention this here in case someone else might be also thinking about planting asparagus.
I originally had no idea of how much to plant. I never gave it much thought. Now, I realize that I like about a dozen spears per serving, larger would be better, but a dozen spears will do. If I planted a dozen crown, and each crown produced a spear, that would give one person one meal. A few days later, I could have another serving. However, all crowns don't produce spears at the same rate. some crowns skip a day or produce pencil size crowns whereas some crowns produce large fat spears and grow very quickly. I think to figure out how much you need to plant, you first decide your portion size...for Portion size in number of spears = number of crowns, approximately x the number of people x frequency of eating asparagus per week.

I am getting two servings per week plus a few stragglers that I add to my salads(raw). For us, that is only enough to whet our appetize for more.

So, for Skyguy, my daughter Katie, and me, let's say 15 spears per serving x 3 people = 45 crowns. 45 crowns x 2 meals a week= 90 crowns Straggler spears can go into salad, and I now have a pickled asparagus recipe if I get tired of grilled asparagus or raw spears in salads. I think I would like to grow about 50% more than I think I will need because I'd like to try new recipes, like this soup:

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Take leftover asparagus stalks(assuming you have removed the spear head for another recipe or for salad) and cut off the tough, wood ends. Peel spear with vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer. Steam stalks until soft then puree in a blender with a bit of water to make a runny paste. For each cup of puree, add 1 cup of milk to which 2 TBSP of flour has been mixed in well, and then 1 cup of cream. Add 1 TBSP of butter, salt and pepper, and heat soup until the flour begins to thicken the soup.


So I have come to the conclusion that I need at least 90 crowns for the three of us, but that is just the base, minimum number of crowns. I'm thinking that having 135 crowns should give us plenty of asparagus to grill and roast fresh, eat in salads, make asparagus soup, and some to give as gifts and some to pickle.

So the next problem is determining where I would put 135 crowns of asparagus! Originally I spaced my crowns as recommended, giving them room to expand, but I think I may have given them too much space. I planted them 12" apart in two rows, about 30" between rows. But even after ten years, they have not filled in the interim space. I get multiple spears, but the crowns are not even close to being crowded. I'm considering all options, but keep coming back to a wood sided raised bed like I had before. If I made a bed that was 3x50, that would give me 150 sf, a bit more than the minimum 1 sf need per crown. OR, I could make four box-style raised beds 1.5 ft wide x 25 feet long. I could put them around the garden next to the chicken moat, or create a large square, or make chevrons with the boxes that divert water from all the springs to the sides of the garden. That might be the answer. I'll think on it. Buying 135 crowns of asparagus won't be cheap, so I will have time to think while I save up. I will attempt to collect and harvest seed later in the season. Obviously, growing my own 1 year crowns to transplant will the the least expensive route, IF I can do it.

Vacation Post #2: Souvenirs

While on vacation, I tried to find some Carolina Gold rice, but interestingly, places were sold out. My quest for rice led me to a roadside tourist trap called the Carolina Cider Company, where I bought a book, my only souvenir from vacation. It is Putting Up: A Year-Round Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition, by Stephen Palmer Dowdney. It is a pretty nice companion to the Ball Blue Book, and it has great seasonal recipes like Jerusalem artichoke relish and a green tomato soup. Southern recipes have a mystique to them, at least in my opinion they do, because many seem to be associated with a person’s name, like Aunt Frances’ Bread and Butter Pickles or Aunt Sue’s Dilly Beans, and there is always that secret ingredient or technique that only they know about. I’m hoping that I can recreate some of these recipes and form my own family tradition-Grandma Bev’s Blueberry Marmelade, for example. I’ll post the recipes here as I try them. If you don't live near Yemassee, SC, you can order the book from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Putting-Up-Seasonal-Southern-Tradition/dp/1423602803
Realize that this book advocates traditional canning methods, and uses the hot water bath canner to can food after the food has been acidified by adding citric acid. This is counter to the advice that the USDA advises for canning low acid foods, just so you know.

Overcoming Food Prejudices

I cut a mess of mustard greens yesterday. For anyone who might be clueless, a mess of greens is about a paper grocery bag full, enough to fill a large pot, but that cook down for one meal. Tonight was the first time I've tried mustard. Skyguy bought them to collect the seeds, but I couldn't resist trying those beautiful purple greens. The variety I have is similar to or is Osaka Purple. I cut the leaves, washed them, and cut out the largest part of the rib/stem. I generally don't like bitter greens, but I know they are very good for you, and I really want to include more leafy greens in our diet. Anyway, I sauted some scallions and garlic and leftover Easter ham with the greens and some chicken broth, roughly following the recipe here:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007225mustard_greens.php

It was actually pretty good. I did not blanch the greens in salt water to mute their bitterness, but I did add the ham and I think that helped. I could eat this a couple of times a year, for sure.

Last night, we tried Florence Fennel. Just as I don't like bitter things, I am not much for anise or licorice flavors either. We saw the bulbs on sale at Kroger, and since we are growing it, we thought we might ought to try it. So we sliced it thinly and followed the recipe below:

Caramelized Fennel with Parmesan

Lightly brown pieces of fennel bulb sliced vertically, about 3/8th inch thick in oil and butter in a non-stick pan. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock, salt and pepper, cover, and braise for 15-20 minutes over low heat, until tender. Grate 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over the top, Sprinkle with Italian style bread crumbs (crumbs with Italian herbs) and broil 'til the cheese bubbles and browns.

I could not slice the bulb. It was too strongly scented for me. Skyguy sliced it, and we both wondered if we had made a big mistake. It was 'burn your eyes and throat' strong. The licorice smell filled up the house as it seared in the pan. It looked beautiful on the plate, but it took everything I had to taste it. I reminded myself that the Romans ate this as an appetite suppressant to lose weight. Oh-My-God. I could not believe how good it was! We both loved it. We did notice that the anise flavor and smell came back strongly as the finocchio/fennel cooled off, so it is best to eat this dish hot right out of the oven.

There are a lot of foods that smell one way and taste the other, especially after they are cooked. There is a big difference between raw garlic and roasted garlic, and that is the closest analogy I can make to this Finocchio/Florence Fennel thing. Realizing this has given us motivation to try more things, like these mustard greens. They say that one's taste changes every seven years or so. I'd love to see the research on that. Without a doubt, it is now becoming fun to try new things. Everyone should do this. For us, it is step one in our plan of growing more of our own food, and eating healthier-making healthier choices. You really might be surprised at what you like that you never liked before.

Avocadoholism

Is there a 12 step group for avocadoholics? I swear I am addicted to guacamole and avocados, something I never ate before 3 months ago. I tell myself that it is healthy- all veggies, no dairy or meat, good dietary fat, but I can't help but wonder why I am craving it. I have this gut feeling that the body craves what it needs, or at least cravings are indicators of potential issues. I have noticed that in the last 3 or 4 months, I do seem to be eating more veggies, more raw food, more fruit, and less red meat. Here's how I've been making my guacamole, and this makes a large bowl of it.

5 avocados, peeled, pitted, and mashed
1 large onion, softball sized, finely minced
3/4 cup picante sauce, mine is on the fiery side
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
lime juice, maybe 1/4 cup
1 heaping tsp of kosher salt
2 serrano or jalepeno peppers, minced
3 or more radished, grated (optional topping, but it adds to the flavor)
Mix it together and chow down with some tortilla chips or just use the guac as a condiment on Mexican food or salads or whatever.
YUM!