Fathers Day

President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as the official day for Fathers. 50 other countries celebrate Fathers Day. There are the usual gifts. A tie or a handmade card. All those are fine, but, in my quest to make gardening a part of all holidays, I came up with another idea.

I found several different and colorful pots and planted many of the herbs that Dad might need to grill anything from steak to fish, vegetables to fruit. The idea is to have these herbs readily available to the cook as he grills.
I planted dill; purple and green basil; purple and red cherry tomatoes; and tabasco, jalapeño, and red hot peppers. I also planted oregano and rosemary in pots that sit on the ground around the grill.

I found this really cool cutting board that holds a blade for chopping herbs right there at the grill. One less tool that has to be taken to and from the kitchen. It can stay out with the grill all season long. It’s a tool from Joseph Joseph. I found it at Marshalls in their housewares department for about $10. Joseph Joseph can be found online and they make totally unique kitchen tools. You have to go to the web site and take a look. http://www.josephjoseph.com/kitchen-tools.

Another cool gift I found is the PizzaQue® by Pizza Craft Pizza Stone Grill for the outside grill. This can be found at http://www.wayfair.com. Designed to be used on the barbecue grill at home. It has a built-in thermometer that allows you check the stone easily for optimal cooking temperatures. It can also be used in a kitchen oven, with or without the stainless steel base.

I love this quote by Mario Cuomo about his Dad and so I will leave you with this. "I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example."

Happy Fathers Day.

Fresh now-Fresh later - Storing Food

I got a terrific deal on peppers. You know how expensive these can be. It’s spring and the produce is plentiful so the prices go down. I love saving money, but I will only save if I end up using what I’ve bought.

So I have a “Food Saver” vacuum sealer. I could store them the peppers in a freezer bag but I know what will happen: freezer burn and ice crystals. No thanks, I want my produce to be as fresh as the day I bought them. Actually, my niece Becky told me about this a long time ago, but I just got around to buying one myself about a year ago - and I love it.

So first I’ll slice the peppers in half and take the seeds out. I’ll blanch the peppers by placing them in boiling water for about 4 minutes. I’ll take them out and dip them in ice water to stop the cooking process. I want to blanch them, not cook them, so that the peppers will stay crunchy and hold their color.

I’ll dry them off and set them in the freezer for about an hour until they get just frozen. Once that’s done I’ll either dice the peppers in one cup increments or keep them halved for stuffing later ~ the Food Saver does the rest.

I can also freeze my ever so popular Gazpacho but first I’ll have to put it into the freezer in ice cube trays to freeze the cubes before I seal it for the winter. Why? The sealer sucks all the air out of the pouch which will also take the liquid away. Once the cubes are frozen I won’t have to worry about loosing the soup.

This is a great way to suck every last penny out of your grocery bill.

Eggplant

Now that you have your own home-grown or store-bought eggplant...What do you do with it? You can make Eggplant Parmesan or Eggplant Pizza! This is how it’s done.

First you cut an eggplant into rings or long strips, whichever way suits you. You can skin it or keep the skin on, but remember that most of the vitamins are in the skin. (Eggplant contains potassium, fiber, and minerals and is considered a fruit - a berry as a matter of fact!)
Salt both sides of the eggplant and let it sit in a colander for an hour. Put some paper towels on top with a couple of plates to weigh the eggplant down. This will help remove a lot of the moisture and ensure you won’t get a soggy dish.

Next you wipe off the excess salt and dip each piece into flour (we are using whole wheat white flour here) egg and panko bread crumbs that have been seasoned with oregano, dried parmesan, garlic and rosemary.

You have to have a pan with some olive oil heated up on medium high heat ready to go. Brown the egg plant in a single layer in shifts. Once the eggplant is brown on both sides move it to a dish with paper towels while you finish browning the rest. You can use cooking spray if you’re worried about the calories. It starts out at about 25 calories per cup so you can decide where you want to go from there.

Once that’s done you simply layer the eggplant, mozzarella and fresh parmesan in the pan with tomato sauce. I have 4 layers in this pan.
Bake it for 30 minutes on 350 degrees. That’s how I make Eggplant Parmesan. This is a great make ahead dish too; just don’t bake it until you are ready to serve.

My other favorite is Eggplant Pizza. I like to start with multi grain dough from the supermarket. I roll it out and bake it for 10 minutes on 350 degrees. Then I take it out and pile it high with ingredients. I like to slice up the breaded and browned eggplant - add red onions (already sautéed) and sliced black olives with a good jar of sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.

So now you know what to do with the eggplant you’ve just grown or bought. Any other eggplant favorites?