Monday, January 24, 2011

Tango - Mayo based dip




I love making up different kinds of mayo's for sandwiches & dips. This Tango dip is my latest concoction.


Tangy Mayo aka Tango
*1 C plant based Mayo
*1 garlic clove grated (with a hand grater or Microplane)
*1 T lemon juice (1/2 - 1 lemon)
*1 t fresh black pepper
*1/4 t kosher salt
*1/2 t dry dill weed (not the seeds)

Mix all in a bowl and let set in fridge for about 15 minutes. The flavors meld together pretty well after 15 minutes. This will keep in the fridge for a few days.

This is an amazing dip for Sweet Potato Fries.

PS - DILL IS REALLY EASY TO GROW - YOU COULD GROW DILL FOR THE 2011 FOOD CHALLENGE.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

2011 Food Challenge

For 2011 I have a challenge for you - all of you. It doesn't matter how old you are or where you live - ANYONE can do this. My challenge for you is to GROW at least ONE SOURCE OF FOOD this year. It can be as small as chives in a pot on your window sill to an acre sized garden - maybe even a fruit tree? I'd like to know what you guys are doing - so share with us - what are you planting, how is it working out for you and your family? Maybe this will save you some money. Watching a tiny seed grow into something that will be on your plate if very rewarding. You need to know where your food comes from - and when it comes from your own earth...it is even better. Growing your own food is something that EVERYONE should know how to do. What if there is an economic collapse? What if you and your spouse become unemployed? If you have many food allergies - growing your own food could be your cure. There are so many pros to growing your own produce.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Get Ready To Plant - DFW Gardening

It is about that time of the year when you should be thinking about your summer garden. I know...it is still January.

Preparing:
By now...your garden should be tilled, tilled and re-tilled a few times. You need to go down about 8-10" and let all of the live organic material start to rot - making you some great soil! If you do not have that well of soil you SHOULD add a few inches of some sort of compost. We use mushroom compost - the stuff rocks! We used about 4-5" for our entire garden and tilled it in with the existing soil. The more you till it the fewer weeds you will have. You can till as many times as you want - but about a month before you plant - STOP tilling. You need to let your earth have a rest & let the dirt settle so the soil doesn't wash away when you water your newly planted seeds/seedlings. Make sure to go over your tilled garden with a rake - you want to pick up any rocks, weeds or other debris.

This is from 2010 - We started to till the earth in our backyard.

Raking after the first few tills - before we added the compost.

Our compost has been delivered & we've started to spread it out over the entire garden.

Tilling the compost into the tilled earth.

***You should also have some of your seeds starting in an indoor grow area - check the seed packages for their planting dates.***

(I AM NOT AN EXPERT. IF THIS DOESN'T WORK FOR YOUR GARDEN - IT ISN'T MY FAULT. THIS IS WHAT WORKS FOR MY GARDEN.)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Pear Sauce Cake

We are not a part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) but in a way we are a part of what I call a FSA...Family Supported Agriculture. My parents, my sister & my grandpa all have gardens. We are always trading vegetables. This year I took up canning. My sister did also. So now, not only do we trade vegetables - we trade canned goods. I traded a jar of pickled peppers and some strawberry preserves for a jar of pear sauce and a jar of halved pears. My sister told me the pear sauce was good...but I had no idea...IT WAS AMAZING!! So much better than apple sauce. She gave me a large jar so I had plenty for eating and then some. So I made this: *One cup veg oil *1 1/2 C sugar *1 1/2 C brown sugar *1 vegg *3 C flour *2 t baking soda *1/2 t salt *1 t cinnamon *1 t ground nutmeg *2 t vanilla *2 C pear sauce Preheat oven to 325. In a bowl beat the oil and sugars. Beat in the vegg. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & ground nutmeg. Stir the vanilla into the pear sauce. Add the sifted dry ingredients and pear sauce alternately to the oil & sugar mixture - mixing very well each time. Pour entire mixture into a greased & floured 9x13x2 rectangular pan. Bake for one hour at 325 or until your toothpick comes out clean - cake will be springy & will start to pull away from the edges of the pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve - top with whipped cream. SO GOOD!!! If you don't have pear sauce - use apple sauce.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Southwestern Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 medium to large bell peppers, any color - your choice 
1 lb "meat" 
1 clove fresh garlic, minced 
1 small to medium onion, diced 
1 pkg of your favorite taco seasoning mix (or Kendra's Kreations Taco Seasoning)
1 T chili powder (optional) 
1 regular can of corn 
1 6 oz can of V8 
1/4 c water 
Directions: Cut tops of bell peppers off (save for soup or compost) remove seeds & ribs (compost). Rinse peppers. In skillet, cook ground meat with onion and garlic until meat is cooked through. Drain any extra fat. Add can of corn, taco seasoning package, chili powder, V8 and water. Simmer about 5 min. Divide the mixture into each of the bell peppers & place in a 8x8x2 pan. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Eat. You could add cheeze, tomatoes, sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips, cilantro... (Pictured: On two of them I added cheeze slices & crumbled tortilla chips on all four)