Watermelon Inundation

Gah! SO much watermelon! No more room in the fridge, so it was time to break out the blender:

Bit of sugar and lime juice added. Briefly considered adding some alcohol; intrigued by how watermelon juice might taste with chocolate vodka...but I haven't gone there yet. Then I found some popsicle molds sitting on top of our fridge.

I'd made an entire blenderful of juice, (and not all of it went into the popsicles), but still have a chunk of raw watermelon left. Is "watermelon inundation" a valid excuse to stay home from work? 'Cause otherwise I don't think there's any way I can finish this all.

Stuffed peppers; ricotta crostini with cherry tomatoes

Hurricane Irene's arrivng tonight, and so far the power's on so we don't have to subsist on PB&J.

Tonight's dinner was kind of experimental; mostly inspired by having to use up various things: some Italian bread, ricotta, celery...and I needed to figure out what the heck to do with all these green peppers.

I've never made stuffed peppers before, and can't remember the last time I ate (if ever) the more standard ground-beef-rice-tomato-sauce stuffed peppers. But I created my own filling...

Sauteed onion, celery, garlic and the green pepper tops. Seasoned with smoked paprika & cayenne. Cooked some Trader Joe's harvest grain blend in chicken broth and mixed that in. Added some ricotta and feta. Stuffed the peppers--decided not to parboil them, as I didn't want them to get mushy. Put a little water in the baking dish instead. Baked for about 40 minutes at 375, then topped with parmesan and browned under the broiler:

 

They were good, though I still would have preferred red peppers...and I kind of felt like they needed some gooey cheese or a sauce. But, not bad.

Then I made these crostini: mixed ricotta with some chopped basil, spread that on some toasted Italian bread, and topped with broiled cherry tomatoes.

rob stocked up on chocolate ice cream, but I'm thinking I need to start tackling cantaloupe for dessert!

BLT Salad

rob had the foresight to buy bacon yesterday. Thus: BLT salad!

I like cooking my bacon in the oven - easy, less messy. Plus, the drippings in the pan can be used for homemade croutons!

Quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced green onions, and the dressing is mayo + cider vinegar + salt & pepper.

Also tossed in a little feta cheese. Yum.

Week 12: More 'Maters 'n Melons!

 

This week we got cherry tomatoes, some looong green onions, basil, red leaf lettuce, white onions, green peppers...and good lord, another watermelon and cantaloupe! We haven't gotten through all of last week's watermelon yet. It was delicious, but I discovered I'm one of those people that gets slight digestive issues eating a lot of watermelon after a full meal...so I've gotta be careful of when I eat it, I guess.

I also kinda wish we got sweet red or other color peppers instead of green ones all the time, but...I shan't complain too much.

For rob's Thursday night casserole, I picked out a scalloped potato recipe so we could use up the rest of the potatoes and peppers from last week (I'd been hoping to make some stuffed baby peppers, but that never happened). rob was worried that the finished casserole looked strange, but I assured him that scalloped potato things aren't usually pretty. It's cheesy potatoes, so you really can't go wrong with that:

Hurricane Irene's on the way, and I'm hoping (among other things) it doesn't hit the farm too badly. They're located up near the PA border a little east of here, but they're not close to the water. At least if our power goes out, we've got some fresh veggies to eat and don't have to live on peanut butter sandwiches!

Baked 3-Cheese Pasta with Tomatoes

The last big red tomato went into this:

Sauteed onion & garlic, added chopped tomato, and mixed in about a cup of ricotta along with some of the pasta water. Tossed in pasta, the rest of the fresh mozzarella, some parmesan, and a bit of the basil oil. Sprinkled more parmesan on top, baked for about 20 minutes, broiled to brown the top, then topped with more basil oil.

I didn't think I made much of the basil oil...it all fit in a custard cup...but I guess a little goes a long way! Still about half of it left. I suppose I could probably freeze it; freezing pesto worked.

Turkey-vegetable chili

There weren't many One Straw veggies in this - just a green pepper, the remnants of a tomato, and the last of last week's garlic. But I had lots of other stuff I needed to use up.

As best I remember, here's what's in this:

• Onion
• Celery
• Green Pepper
• 2 chopped jalapenos
• Garlic
• 1 lb ground turkey
• Spices: cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika
• some chipotle chilis in adobo
• tomato paste
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• kernels from 2 ears fresh corn
• A bit of lime juice & honey
• Fresh cilantro

I've also put grated zucchini and/or carrot in this...basically, throw in whatever you've got!

And, these used absolutely nothing from the One Straw box...but what the hey.

Chocolate-Cherry Brownies!

I had some fresh cherries that needed using up, and a box of brownie mix. While I would never turn up my nose at made-from-scratch brownies, Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix is so amazing that I feel no need to make from scratch. And it's often on sale for $1.99 at the grocery store!

Some of the cherries I chopped and put in the batter, some I halved and put on top. Pitting, slicing and chopping cherries was rather messy, but...

Sometimes we must suffer.

Caprese omelet, homefries, melon

Few things make me happier than a lazy weekend breakfast.

There was a little of the eggplant caprese salad from last night left over, so I put it in an omelet with an extra drizzle of the basil oil. Made some homefries - just sauteed chopped potatoes until crisp and add whatever spices I'm in the mood for.

Some of that juicy watermelon and cantaloupe...

Add some iced coffee and I'm a happy gal.