Garlic Scapes Stir Fry

 Have you missed me?  👀😉   I've been around, just haven't done a whole lotta cooking the past few months. 

 I either haven't felt like it or have been busy packing up my house, and well, gee, good home cooking hasn't been on my radar.    What didn't help was having most of my toys packed, and well, gee, it's kinda hard to cook when you've packed most of your tools.  

And now, I'm in an interesting 'pied a terre, a temporary apartment, and it's just fine.   There is even a two burner cooktop, and I couldn't help but think that this entire apartment, complete with the two burner stove insert was pretty much the same size as the apartment my parents had in Copenhagen, and they had 4 kids there. YIKES!!!  My mom would have been right at home cooking here. The kitchen is teeny, but serviceable, and I'm enjoying the challenge.  

Back to my story, I was first introduced to Garlic Scapes by my one of my sisters, she threw some on the grill and we ate them with a steak I think.  I was offered some scapes the other night and said Yes Please, and came up with the following concoction.  

A Garlic Scape is basically the flower stalk that comes up from the garlic bulb.  Growers cut the flower stalk to encourage the garlic bulb to get larger.  And ummm, the scape is totally delightful.  Mild, very mild garlic flavour.    And it lends itself to so many applications.  I don't have a full on kitchen or my usual supplies handy, otherwise I might have been seduced into making some pesto, with walnuts, or pureeing them and adding to some hummus.  I had all kinds of ideas floating through my head.   And next year, I'll be growing some of my own and then I'll have even more fun.  

But in the meantime, I also had some asparagus, carrots and a couple mushrooms, and decided that they would lend themselves well to a stirfry.   I also had a shallot and well, gee, I had to add it, not just for color but flavour as well. 

I also cooked some pasta to add in, cause my body doesn't think it's a complete meal unless there's either carbs or protein involved somewhere.  

There aren't any kinds of proportions here, just cut up what you think you'll eat and go from there. 

I did start cooking the carrots and shallot first.  Mainly cause carrots take a little longer to cook, and I wanted the shallot to cook and start breaking down a little to add a touch of sweetness to the dish. 

 After letting them saute for a couple of minutes, I added in the rest of the veggies, let them cook to crisp-tender, and finally dumped in some pasta.  (I forgot to take a picture, sigh.)  The only seasoning was a touch of salt, a salt free herb mixture and a couple grinds of black pepper.  And it was insanely delicious.  I ate every bite. 

I'm so totally making this again, but next time I'll actually take a picture of the finished dish.   In the meantime, I've still got some scapes left, along with more asparagus, and I'm wondering how they would taste mixed into some ooey gooey mac n' cheese?  

 

Old fashioned Cream Dressing for Salads

 I actually posted about this dressing a few years ago, but I've since played with it a lot.  I've mixed various vinegar's in with it, and changed the flavors up quite a bit.  

Why am I talking about this again?  Well, it's time to get back into the baking/cooking saddle again and I'm part of a group that posts fun stuff, called Funday Sunday.

So here it is:   

Well, mostly here it is.  As I said I've played with it a lot, and changed it up and gotta say, that the original way is still the most tasty way, although, there is one that came pretty close.  

I actually made up four separate batches of this, measuring out each one, and here they are from worst (IMHO) to best.    I had some Bibb Lettuce and took out three leaves for each plate.   I also used the 'winners' on a lettuce and tomato salad.  Just for fun, and since I had some in the fridge, I decided it might be fun to try.

I'm using a lot of Monkfruit sweeteners these days, so decided to use it in place of the sugar in the original recipe.  And ummm, while it tasted good, I think real sugar might just be the way to go here.

I used the same quantity on each one.   1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream - 1/2 teaspoon Monkfruit sweetener, and 1 tablespoon each of the various vinegar's.    This taste test was fun too.  And I ate my veggies along the way. 

First one I did was using the pickling liquid from a jar of Kalamata Olives.  This was a major miss.  Meh on the taste.  If I'd added some finely minced Kalamata olives, I bet it would have tasted better. 

The second I used the pickling liquid from a jar of pickled beets, and wow was it colorful.  It also had a lovely flavor, not quite beet, but nice.  

 

The third one I used the pickling liquid from a jar of Bread and Butter Pickles.   Not much flavor from the pickles, but still not bad.

 

The last one, was the more traditional dressing.  Again, I used the same measurements for each one.  This one I used Rice Wine Vinegar and a half teaspoon of real sugar.  This dressing thickened the most and was more of a vinaigrette dressing.  

I then decided to try two of the dressings out on a simple lettuce and tomato salad.  Well, the two that I decided were the most flavorful. 
The classic on sliced tomato and lettuce.  It had more of a vinaigrette leaning and honestly, tasted pretty darn good.  I think you could add fresh herbs to this, to take it over the top again. 

And the beet one.  Which while it tasted ok, it just did not look right.  The pink of the beet clashed and fought with the red of the tomato.  I guess you could eat this one in the dark, but...

Take a look at some of the other fun dressings the Sunday Funday group shared.

Palatable Pastime: Blue Cheese Salad Dressing 

Mayuri's Jikoni: Cranberry Salad Dressing 

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Homemade Celery Seed Dressing 

Sneha's Recipe: Keto Vegan Passion Fruit Sour Cream Dressing 

Amy's Cooking Adventures: Chicken Caesar Salads with Homemade Caesar Dressing 

Bloggetti: Easy Homemade Greek Salad Dressing 

Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking: Old-Fashioned Cream Dressing for Salads 

Culinary Cam: Basic Vinaigrette and Variations

Brunswick Stew

 I made some Brunswick Stew last month, and decided I needed to share the way I made it.  It's not so much of a recipe, but more of a process.  OK, so you sling a bunch of different stuff into a pot, cook it up and serve it. 

Wait a minute, that's pretty much how this dish evolved.  It consisted of leftovers, random bits of game, veggies and some BBQ sauce, cooked to a nice consistency and then served.  

It has evolved however, the more modern versions of this recipe uses leftover BBQ meat, burnt ends as it were, plus bits and pieces of any leftover BBQ from the night before.  You can read about the origins of the stew here on Wikipedia. 

I do it my way, which results in a pretty tasty dish, even if I do say so myself.  I personally like it served with a piece of my No-Knead bread, but a hunk of cornbread or a biscuit is also lovely.  

Now for why I made this.  I had a half of a smoked chicken, which quite frankly I'm not too fond of, but I knew I also had some pulled pork in the freezer which needed to be eaten soon.

So I took the meat off the bones of the chicken, put it in a pot with the pork, added a 1 lb. or sixteen ounce bag of frozen mixed vegetables to the pot.  Grabbed some of my homemade chicken stock out of the freezer (1 cup if you're into measuring), added that on top, along with a can of diced tomatoes and okra, and about a cup of my favorite BBQ sauce- which is Bullseye, if you're curious.  Let it simmer for bit, then I tasted it, and added 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for an added bite. 

The best part of this stew is you can, and should make it to your taste.   Use your favorite BBQ sauce, whichever kind of leftover smoked BBQ meat you have, and go for it.  I discovered as I was putting this batch together that the can of diced tomatoes I thought I had in the pantry was gone, but I had a can of diced okra and tomatoes, so it went in.  I had smoked chicken and pork, but you can make this with whatever kinds of smoked meats you have.    Traditionally... you use Corn and Lima beans, but I like mixed veggies so that's what I use.   

In fact I pulled some this out of the freezer the other day for dinner with a friend and we had a chunk of fresh baked bread with it.  And I still have some, just for me.  

Mexican Rice in a Toaster Oven

I've made this version of Mexican Rice for years.  In fact, I'll make a batch just for me, and eat it all.  My late husband didn't care for rice that much, so I made it to my taste.  Which as we all know, if you're making something just for you, you should make it to your taste as well. 

And while I made this in my toaster oven, you can make rice this way in a regular oven as well.   In fact when I used to volunteer at the Senior Center and we served rice, I'd bake it in the regular oven, and it always worked out.  

But this is Multicooker Monday, and so I decided to make rice in the toaster oven.  And it worked, really well. 

There are two steps to my Mexican Style rice, but you can totally omit the browning portion, but I don't think it tastes as good.  

Here's few pictures of the process. 

Browning the rice

After the water and salsa has been added

The rice in the toaster oven container

And the finished rice

Mexican Style Rice in Toaster Oven

Yield: 2 Servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min

This makes two generous servings. You can also double or triple the recipe. It makes a great side, or as a filling for a burrito.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white rice  ( I like converted rice for this)
• 1/2 cup jarred or home made salsa
• 3/4 cup water - divided  in half or so 
• 1/4 cup water (optional)
• 1/2-1 tsp. EVOO
• Non stick spray

Instructions

1. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the EVOO.  Pour the rice in and let brown a little, keeping a close eye on it and stirring often.  
2. While it is browning, spray a pan that can go in the toaster oven with a little non-stick spray.
3. Continue to cook the rice in the pan until evenly browned.  Turn off the heat and pour in the 3/4 cup water.  It will bubble and steam, but that's ok.  Add the 1/2 cup of salsa and stir through.  Pour into the pan which has been sprayed with the non stick spray.  If it looks a little dry, add the additional 1/4 cup of water.  Place a piece of aluminum foil over and seal the pan well.  Place into the Toaster Oven and set the temp to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.  Take out of the oven, remove the foil and fluff with a fork, and replace the foil.  You can serve this with refried beans, top with cheddar cheese or use as part of a filling in a burrito.

 Note:  You do not need to brown the rice first for this dish, but it does taste better.  

If cooking regular rice, you don't need as much water, but an extra 1/4 cup of water per half cup of regular rice will ensure that the rice is fully hydrated and cooked.  A little of moisture will escape in the form of steam. 

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Multicooker Monday

• • Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings by Karen's Kitchen Stories
  • Fryer Tofu 65- Vegan by Sneha’s Recipe
  • Instant Pot Kheer by Magical Ingredients
  • Slow Cooker Barbecue Green Beans by Palatable Pastime
  • Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas by A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Toaster Oven Mexican Rice by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Corn and Pepper Medley Pierogi Casserole (with Seafood) for Baking Bloggers

 It's time for Baking Bloggers and I'm ready.   Sue Lau of Palatable Pastime is our hostess and this month we were tasked with making something with corn.  As Sue said,  "Join us in baking up some sweet corn in our recipes.
You can use fresh, frozen or canned sweet corn in your recipe", but it had to be baked, hence the name of the group, Baking Bloggers.

I missed the past couple of months of Baking Bloggers,  I'm still trying to get my head together over suddenly becoming a widow.  Not an easy task.  

However, I happened to have the ingredients for this on hand and decided to throw it all together and see how it turned out. 

I googled ideas and got some inspiration from here, this lady added pierogi's, and made a casserole.  

I immediately jumped on that one, cause I've got lots of Pierogies in my freezer, from the last time I made them.  

I may have found a new way of eating  Pierogies.  Although my favorite way is probably still the classic one.  But this comes a close second. 

I made a single serving, cause there's only me now to eat it.  And since I had made some large pierogi's two was more than enough for me.  I think you can use commercial Pierogi's if you wish, I'm sure it will be just fine. 

Because my Pierogi's were homemade, they're thicker and more substantial than commercial ones.  Which meant that I felt the need to cook them first before baking them in the casserole.  And it was a good thing.  That thick outer shell actually could have cooked a little more, it was kinda chewy, but delicious.  

I also happened to have a couple of crab legs and a few cooked shrimp in the freezer, so I added them in the last few minutes of the bake.  

I'm so glad I did, they enhanced the entire dish to an absolutely amazing meal.  

In fact, I'm thinking of doing a repeat this coming week.  I still have some crab left...  

Corn and Pepper Medley Pierogi Casserole

Yield: 1 serving (although it can be doubled or quadrupled very easily)

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from several online recipes.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

This was such an awesome casserole, quick and easy to put together and baked beautifully in my toaster oven. No need to turn the big one on in the summer heat. This is substantial enough for a hearty appetite.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup corn - fresh or frozen
• 1/3 cup mixed red, green and orange peppers - frozen works great here
• 1/3 cup Heavy cream
• 2-3 frozen pierogies - homemade or commercial
• Optional:
• 3-5 shrimp - cooked and shelled
• 1-2 crab legs - meat only
• Non-stick spray

Instructions

1. If using a conventional oven, preheat to 350 degrees. If using a toaster oven, you can wait to heat the oven until you place the casserole dish inside.
2. Spray a heavy pan with some non-stick spray, and heat the pan over medium high heat. Add the corn and pepper medley, and saute' for a couple of minutes, just til the pepper softens a little.  Add the cream and heat to boiling. 
3. While the corn and pepper medley is saute'ing, heat some water to boiling for the pierogies.  If using homemade ones.  If using frozen commercial pierogies you can skip this step.  Let the home made pierogies simmer for a couple of minutes, take out and let drain.
4. Spray a baking dish with some non-stick spray and place the pierogies into the dish.  Pour the corn mixture over top, and if desired, place a lid or piece of aluminum foil over top. 
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.   If adding the seafood, uncover and place the seafood on top for the last 5-7 minutes and let heat through. 
6. Serve with a nice chilled glass of white wine if desired. (I like a mildly sweet wine rose wine myself.)

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Baking Bloggers: Baking with Sweet Corn

• • Bacon Corn Puddings by Food Lust People Love
  • Baked Corn Pudding by A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Breakfast Strata with Corn and Chiles by Karen's Kitchen Stories
  • Corn and Pepper Medley Pierogi Casserole by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
  • Street Corn Baked Empanadas by Magical Ingredients
  • Taco Noodle Hot Dish by Palatable Pastime

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Cornish Game Hen for one

 I recently became a single person, not by choice but by the death of my husband.  I don't say this to garner sympathy, but as a simple statement of fact.  

I'd been used to making food for us as a couple, and loved the convenience of making enough food for multiple meals, freezing a lot of food for easy future meals.  I still have lots of Spaghetti Sauce in the freezer.  It was one of my go-to, easy to get on the table fast meals. 

But I won't be doing much of that anymore.   While I'm fond of Spaghetti, it's really not something I want on a weekly basis, and in fact, I have about a year's supply of it in the freezer right now.  

I'm in a new phase of my life now, and I thought I'd go ahead and share meals you can make for one or two people.  

I love a little Cornish Game hen, and used to make them on a semi regular basis, until the day my husband told me that he really did not care for them.  So I stopped buying them.   

I think this is a perfect, semi indulgent meal for one person, and depending on the sides, enough leftovers to make another meal. 

Or throw a couple more hens into the oven and have company over.   If you feel like having company that is. 

I personally love adding a touch of sweet to poultry of any sort and this recipe takes full advantage of that.  I also got to use some of the Mango Chutney I'd made and frozen a few months ago.   However, it would be totally awesome with some bottled commercial Mango Chutney as well.

I roasted the hen first, and then added the chutney to the breast area, and roasted it an additional 10 minutes or so at 400 degrees.  Just long enough to caramelize the chutney a little and brown the chicken.  

After it was cooked, I let it rest a good 20 minutes, and then cut it in half with my kitchen shears.  I had some chicken gravy in a packet, I also added some more chutney to the gravy, and let it simmer a bit.  While the chicken was resting, I made up the gravy and also baked a small Yorkshire Pudding wrap.

I roasted some broccoli, while the Yorkshire pudding was baking and had an amazing dinner, perfect for one person.  

    I did still have the other half of the hen, so a couple days later, I added the meat, which I'd taken off the bone, to the leftover gravy, and added even more chutney.  I enjoyed it served over some Basmati rice and steamed broccoli. 

 

Cornish Game Hen with Chutney

Yield: 1-2

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 Hourinactive time: 20 MinTotal time: 1 H & 30 M

This little Cornish Game Hen is a perfect size for one or two people. Adding Chutney to the hen as it roasts, adds a lovely fruity note.

Ingredients

Roast Hen

• 1 Cornish Game Hen
• 1/4 cup Mango Chutney
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Gravy

• 1 packet dry chicken gravy mix, that makes 2 cups.
• 1/4 cup Mango Chutney

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken in a shallow pan with a rim.  Salt and Pepper the outside and roast for 45 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 165 degrees and the juices run clear.   Remove from oven, and spoon the 1/4 cup chutney over the breast, smoothing it out evenly.  Turn the oven up to 400 degrees and place the chicken back in the oven.  This allows the chutney to add the flavor and caramelize a little.  If needed, you can add a little water to the pan. 
2. Remove from oven and let stand for about 15-20 minutes before carving or cutting it up.  This ensures that the meat is moist and tender.  And it's also easier to handle.
3. Serve with your choice of carbs and vegetable. 

Gravy

1. Mix the gravy according to directions, and cook til thick.  Add the 1/4 cup chutney and heat through.
2. Serve with the Cornish game hen.

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