Fresh Garden Salad

Apricot Garden Salad with
Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients for Garden Salad:

2 Garden Tomatoes

1 Sprig Garden Spearmint 

2 Garden Dragon Tongue Beans

4 Cups of "Grandpa Admire's" Garden Lettuce 

6 Garden Apricots

1 tbs toasted pine nuts

1/2 ounce of mozzarella cheese

1/2 cucumber

Combine ingredients in large bowl. I chop and slice each ingredient to my preferred choice. 

Ingredients for Dressing: 

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

3 tbs olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp mustard

1 tbs honey

1 tbs poppy seeds

Wish together all ingredients except oil. Add oil slowly until it all combines. Add poppy seeds last.

All fresh from my garden!

Beautiful "Grandpa Admire's" lettuce I grew from seed.

Apricots from my neighbor.  

Add a side of deviled eggs to really make it a meal.

Apricots from the Tree Next Door

Apricot Jam

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of fresh apricots

4 cups of sugar (It's a lot of sugar)

1 lemon (use juice and zest)

2 cups of water

Roux:

1 tbs corn starch

1/4 cup of water

Cut all the apricots in half

Sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice

Place tray in refrigerator 

Place in fridge overnight or for 3 hours

Place apricots in large pot with water. Make sure the water is high enough in the pot to cover most apricots. Turn on medium heat. 

Add sugar and stir

Reduce heat to low and cook jam stirring for up to 3 hours. Do not let it sit or it will burn. (I have a t.v in my kitchen to help keep me occupied.)

Add lemon zest

Add 1 tbs of corn starch to 1/4 cup of water to create a roux. Then add this to the pot. 

When it finally looks like this, it is finished. Let it cool slightly and then fill your jars. I didn't want to store these, so I just used re-purposed honey jars and gave them to friends and family to eat within the next three months. I washed them by hand and then also put them and their lids through the dishwasher. You must fill the jars soon after they are dry from the dishwasher. If they cool all the way they are no longer perfectly sanitized. 

The jam with the tree it came from in the background. 

Chili and Jalapeno Jack Corn Bread

Chili and Cornbread 

Ingredients:

1 can of tomatoes  (16 oz)

2 tbsp olive oil

3-5 cloves of garlic minced

1 yellow onion chopped 

1 can of kidney beans

1-2 pounds of ground meat (beef)

1 cup chicken broth 

1-3 jalapenos minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin 

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Optional:

1/2 cup corn 

1/2 cup bell pepper

Sour cream

Cilantro

Cojata cheese

green onion

Directions:

Saute onion and garlic over medium to high heat in 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Add meat and continue to saute until cooked.

Add tomatoes with juice.

Rinse kidney beans and add to pot.

Add chicken broth.

Add minced jalapeno, salt, oregano, chili powder, cumin.

Add corn and bell pepper

Jalapeno Jack Corn Bread

Ingredients: 

1 cup flour

1 cup corn meal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup pepper jack or cheddar cheese

1 cup corn (from a can or frozen)

1 jalapeno cut so it makes circles (horizontal)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients, flour, corn meal, sugar, and baking powder. 

Add eggs, milk, sour cream, cheese, and corn.

Pour mix into muffin tins with liners and place a sliced jalapeno on top.

Bake in oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a clean knife or toothpick comes out clean when you poke one. 

Add sour cream, cilantro, green onion and cojata cheese.

Yellow Squash and Red Potato Gratin

This Yellow Squash and Anaheim Pepper came fresh from the garden.

Ingredients:

1 Yellow Squash

1 Anaheim Pepper 

1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

3 Red Potatoes

Slice squash and potato, grate the cheese, and mix and place in tin foil boat.   Mince pepper and place on top. Cover in foil and place a few holes. Place on BBQ for 40 minutes. 

Bonus Garden shot because I forgot to take a pic when the gratin was done.

Trout with Dill Butter Sauce

Step one: catch fish

 Ingredients:
3 Fish
2 Tbls Butter melted
1 Tbls Dill

To butcher your fish you will need a you tube tutorial. I can say for people comfortable, you snip off fins at the base on all parts and cut the head clean off. Pull out insides and discard. Wash until all blood is gone.

Chop Dill 

Add Dill to Butter

Brush melted butter and dill over the fish

Finished Product. Be careful of bones.

Mango Ginger Chicken

Mango Ginger Chicken

Ingredients for Marinade:                                               Ingredients for Sauce 

2 pounds of Chicken                                                       1 Orange

2 TBLS Brown Sugar                                                     1 Mango

1 Mango cut into small cubes                                         1 clove Garlic

2 TBLS Cilantro                                                             1 TBLS Cilantro

1 TSP Ginger                                                                  1 TBLS Ginger

1 Jalapeno Pepper                                                           1 Jalapeno

1 Anaheim Pepper                                                           2 TBLS Brown Sugar

1 clove Garlic                                                                  1 tsp Salt

2 TBLS Rice Vinegar                                                      1 tsp Red Pepper

1 TBLS Olive Oil                                                            1 TBLS Corn Starch

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Red Pepper

1 Orange

Combine all ingredients for marinade except chicken

Mix together

Combine chicken and marinade for up to 24 hours. Cook up chicken on the BBQ grill and let the mango smoke the meat. Serve chicken with prepared sauce. (Heat the sauce with a tbls of corn starch to thicken it)

Deviled Eggs with Bacon Bits and Toasted Almonds

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 cooked slices of bacon

2 tbls toasted slivered almonds

3 tbls mayo

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1 garlic clove minced

1 tsp lemon

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp paprika

Salt

Pepper

Place 6 eggs in water and bring to a boil. Then boil for 10 minutes. Rinse in cold water and place in fridge to completely cool.

Peel eggs carefully. Then slice the eggs length wise. Extract the yolks into a bowl and combine with all other ingredients except bacon and almonds. 

Scoop mixture back into egg whites and sprinkle with more paprika. 

Sprinkle bacon bits and toasted almonds on top and serve immediately. The longer the eggs sit out, the worse they become. It is best to eat right away.