Egg Summer Vegetables w Licorice Mint & Pecorino

For today's Breakfast, I had a friend over; using leftovers from our dinner (and garden) the night before, we made an omelet, well kinda, lol... I'm calling the meal: Eggs and Summer Vegetables. --She requested the recipe; I find doing a blog so much easier than writting it all down w a pen and finding the time to get it to each other... not to mention, we bloggers love to share. ;-)

Ingredients are per person. I.E.: (multiply it by how many people served):
4 large eggs
1/4 C fresh spinach leaves
1 chopped miniature sweet pepper
1 Tbl sliced red onion
6 fat grilled asparagus, roughly chopped into one inch pieces.
1 slice of lunch meat ham, slivered.
1 piece thick bacon, cut into 1/2 inch chunks.
Wht pepper, black pepper and salt.
*2 large Licorice mint leaves sliced or Tarragon will work too.
Pecorino cheese shaved with a potato peeler or a grater.

Directions:
1. Soft boil two eggs in salted water (wht done, yolk soft or semi-soft). (I poured off the boiling water, banged them in the saucepan to crack their shells and filled the pan with cold water, --letting sit while I did the rest of the meal prep. Then the peels slid right off once I came back to them! Slice eggs after peeled and place on plate first.
2. In a skillet saute meat, onion, and Sweet pepper (in that order, partially cook meat first, giving you the needed oil for the rest of the stir-fry).
3. Add spinach leaves and then asparagus to warm them. Lay stir-fry mixture over sliced eggs.
4. Fry two eggs over easy (wht's done, yolks runny), or poach would be better (hindsight, I'd rather have done that instead). Salt and pepper eggs to taste w both peppers and salt while cooking, before turning them. Note: If poached, wait until you spoon them out of the water to season them. The rich yolk will be your sauce as it flows between your vegetables; it is more rich than most creams (think of Eggs Benedict). Which is why I made toast to go with the meal, to get every drop of yolk! ;0)
5. Shave the cheese over your meal.
6. Arrange sliced Licorice Mint over your dish to finish!

*A note on Licorice Mint, also known as: Agastache rugosa (Korean Mint, Blue Licorice, Purple Giant Hyssop, Huo xiang, Indian Mint, Patchouli Herb, Wrinkled Giant Hyssop; syn. Lophanthus rugosus Fisch. & Mey). It is a medicinal and ornamental plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is called huò xiāng in Chinese and it is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. --I like to grow and cook with all sorts of herbs that are great for health and flavor! Tarragon also has that desired licorice taste and could subsitute just fine.

Using leftovers never got easier! ;0) Sooo EasY!

Guess what we did last night? Take a look and try it yourself!

Want something fun and different for the entire family for dinner tonight?

I wanted to do something fun with the kids for dinner. We had a fire-pit night, instead of the old hot dogs on sticks and smores... here are some of the new ideas we tried:

Note: I tried to cook on skewers, using the fire-pit coals, but the stick was to short making it too hot to work with for the kids and I. So, we had to transfer our goodies onto long marshmallow roaster sticks, which worked fine. I also cooked some of the skewers on a grate laid over some coals, a barbeque grill would be a great place to grill the shorter skewers as well.  

Just lay grate, or your "grill's rack" over coals.

Note the red coals are what you want to cook on, not a flaming fire.

Stuffed Peppers, Caprese Bites, Sweet Breadsticks, Pineapple S'Mores, Turkey-Brie Baguettes, Ham and Cheese, Mini Salami Subs coming up!!!

Note: Before using wooden skewers. --Soak Wooden Skewers in water to avoid them catching fire.

Stuffed Peppers:

Ingredients:
Baby Bell Peppers
Salt and white pepper
Haloumi or Feta Cheese
Olive (optional)

 Garden peppers washed

Simple Instructions:
Slit open baby bell peppers (being careful to not disturb the rest of the pepper because you want it to shut again after you add the cheese). Season insides with salt and pepper and stuff with cubes of Haloumi or Feta cheese. Thread an olive and the stuffed pepper onto each long metal skewer or long marshmellow stick.
Toast over a flame until the peppers blister.

You want to see chared markings on peppers, cheese will be melted inside, YuM!!!

Caprese Bites or Basil Salad on a stick:

Ingredients:
Prosciutto
Mozzarella
Cherry Tomatoes

We had a bunch in our garden, but the small cherry tomatoes on a vine in the grocery store are delish too.

Out of garden, not washed yet.

Or
Basil
Mozzarella
Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Mozzarella comes packed in water.

Instructions:
Scoop out mozzarella balls.

Wrap prosciutto around mini mozzarella balls. Thread a cherry tomato, a wrapped mozzarella ball, and another tomato onto each skewer; toast over a flame until the tomatoes blister.

Or     We get so much from our garden that I find creative ways to use it.

Wrap Basil leaves around mini mozzarella balls. Thread a cherry tomato, a wrapped mozzarella ball, and another tomato onto each skewer; toast over a flame until the tomatoes blister.  Yum, fresh basil...   

Pineapple S'Mores:

Assembled; ready to go.

Ingredients:
Pound Cake
Dulce De Leche or caramels
Pineapple
Marshmallow

Instructions:

    Cut pound cake into small squares;

spread with Dulce De Leche (store purchased as below or homemade as above) or use a sliced caramel candy.

 
Thread a square of cake, a chuck of pineapple, a marshmallow and another square of cake onto each skewer; toast over a flame until the marshmallow is browned.

Doughnut on a stick:

Ingredients:
Refrigerated Breadstick dough
Butter
Confectioners' sugar
Cinnamon

Fixings of melted butter with a brush, powdered sugar, and cinnamon are ready to go, awaiting the skewers to be baked over coals or on a grill.

Instructions:
Cut strips of refrigerated dough in half; thread a piece lengthwise onto each skewer by simple folding it around the stick. *Note: Don't open bread sticks to soon, or the baking powder will flatten and it will not rise. Meanwhile melt butter for 30 sec's in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Toast over coals until golden. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and cinnamon.

Also Try: Mini Salmi Subs, Ham and Cheese and Turkey-Brie Baguettes.

Mini Salami Subs:

Split open Italian sub roll; drizzle the inside with olive oil and dill with sliced salami, provolone and basil. Cut into 2-inch pieces. Thread a pickled pepper and a sandwich piece onto each skewer; toast over coals until the cheese melts.

Ham and Cheese:

Spread mayonnaise on sliced bread. Sandwich with sliced ham, Swiss cheese and pickles. Trim the crusts and cut into quarters. Thread a quarter onto each skewer; toast over coals until the cheese melts.

Turkey-Brie Baguettes:

Split open a baguette; spread the inside with Dijon mustard and fill each sliced smoked turkey and brie. Cut into 2-inch pieces. Thread a cornichon whole small pickle and a sandwich piece onto each skewer; toast over coals until the cheese melts.

The basic smores are great, but try something different this year.

What to do w Blueberries, Cherries & Strawberries? Make Jam!

I make jam with the blueberries that I manage to get, after the deer are through with my bushes, lol... The same goes for my strawberry plants, although for this shinny red fruit; it is the birds I have to watch.

In this jar I let each layer cool between applications. It has all three types of berries (Cherry, strawberry and blueberry) in three layers:

 I have planted apple, plum, and peach trees. I have yet to plant a cherry one, so I purchased a variety of three types of cherries from my grocery store to make this cherry jam.  

Recipe for Cherry Jam:

Cherry Jam Ingredients:
4 lbs pitted cherries
6 1/4 C's sugar
2 pouches pectin
1 teaspoon butter

Directions:
1. Sterilize jars:
Sterilize jars & lids in boiling water for 15 minutes.
I do the lids and jars separately; the jars take longer to come to a boil than the lids. It also makes it easier to grab the lids with the tongs.

Use jar lifting tongs to not burn your hands when putting jars into or when taking jars out of hot water. Place hot jars on paper towels to drain after you boil them.
2. Wash, drain and remove stem's and pit's of cherries. Rough chop.

I used my pitter to make it easier.

3. Combine Fruit and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. (A boil that does not stop when your stir it).
4. Add one teaspoon of butter, it will help to keep the foam down.

5. Add pectin quickly. Return to a full rolling boil for one minute.

Here is a pic of different kinds of pectin that you can find at the grocery:

 I strongly suggest using a kitchen timer as shown in the upper right corner of this picture:

6. Pour hot jam in "still warm" jars. Fill to within 1/4 of an inch from the  top of jar.

I use a funnel and a measuring cup for this:

7. Place lids on jars.

8. Place lids and screw on top. Replace filled jars into hot water bath with 1 to 2 inches of water covering the jars and boil for an additional 15 minutes. This will seal your jam so that you can keep it unrefrigerated until opening it; the shelf life is one year. After opened, it needs to be keep in the refrigerator.

Recipe for Strawberry Jam:

Strawberry Jam Ingredients:

4 C's of crushed strawberries

7 C's sugar

1 pouch of pectin

Directions:

1. Sterilize jars:
Sterilize jars & lids in boiling water for 15 minutes.

 Using Tongs to put the hot jars on paper towels to drain. (You must move fast because you want to keep the jars warm when you add the liquid jam).

 Lids are boiled separately to make it easier to grab them and they boil quicker than jars. I start jars first.

2. Wash, drain and remove stems from strawberries with a stem tool, or use a paring knife. Roughly chop. Then take a potato masher and mash one cup at a time.

3. Combine Fruit and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. (A boil that does not stop when your stir it).

4. Add one teaspoon of butter, it will help to keep the foam down.

Otherwise, skim off the foam with a large spoon. And be careful it does not boil over... can be messy if it does.

5. Add pectin quickly. Return to a full rolling boil for one minute.

6. Pour hot jam in "still warm" jars. Fill to within 1/4 of an inch from the top of jar.

I use a funnel and a measuring cup for this; adding jam quickly into warm jars:

7. Place lids on top of jars.

8. Place lids and screw on top. Replace filled jars into hot water bath with 1 to 2 inches of water covering the jars and boil for an additional 15 minutes.

This will seal your jam so that you can keep it unrefrigerated until opening it; the shelf life is one year. After opened, it needs to be keep in the refrigerator.

Recipe for Blueberry Jam:

Blueberry Jam Ingredients:
4 1/2 C's crushed blueberries
7 C's sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 pouch pectin
Directions:
1. Sterilize jars:
Sterilize jars & lids in boiling water for 15 minutes.
Using Tongs to put the hot jars on paper towels to drain. (You must move fast because you want to keep the jars warm when you add the liquid jam).

2. Wash, drain and discard stems. Roughly crush blueberries one cup at a time with potato masher.

3. Combine Fruit, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. (A boil that does not stop when your stir it).  

4. Add one teaspoon of butter, it will help to keep the foam down.

Otherwise, skim off the foam with a large spoon. And be careful it does not boil over... can be messy if it does.

5. Add pectin quickly. Return to a full rolling boil for one minute.

6. Pour hot jam in "still warm" jars. Fill to within 1/4 of an inch from the top of jar. I use a funnel and a measuring cup for this; adding jam quickly into warm jars.

7. Place lids on jars.

8. Place lids and screw on top. Replace filled jars into hot water bath with 1 to 2 inches of water covering the jars and boil for an additional 15 minutes.

This will seal your jam so that you can keep it unrefrigerated until opening it; the shelf life is one year. After opened, it needs to be keep in the refrigerator.

For Pickles see: http://lisakramerartlifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/using-cukes-from-garden-how-to-make.html