Hawaiian Pork Bowl

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Chatty Kathy

All the fresh vegetables in the garden inspired me to create this Hawaiian Pork bowl with a combination of raw and grilled vegetables. The recipe originated from a Food and Wine magazine but I couldn’t resist tweaking it a bit, and definitely adding more vegetables.

Pork Bowl 4

1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
2 English breakfast tea bags
One 1-pound pork tenderloin, butterflied and flattened
4 slices cooked bacon
Three 1/2-inch-thick  slices of fresh pineapple—peeled, quartered and cored
1 red onion, cut through the core into 1/4-inch wedges
1 red pepper, quartered
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Kosher salt
Pepper
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 a jalapeno, seeds removed, minced
2 tablespoons soya sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon raw sugar
2 tablespoons minced cilantro, plus sprigs for serving

(I can’t say this enough, TASTE your jalapeno for spiciness, and add as much as you enjoy.)

Steamed rice, crisp bacon, diced avocado  and thinly sliced  jalapeño, for serving

In a large bowl, combine the boiling water, sugar and tea bags and let stand for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags and stir the tea to dissolve the sugar. Let cool completely, then add the pork and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pork bowl

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Drain the pork and pat  dry with paper towels. Brush the pork, pineapple, zucchini and red onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill  the pork over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the pork registers 135°, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a carving board and let  rest for 5 minutes, then slice the pork against the grain. Meanwhile, grill the pineapple and vegetables, turning until charred, about 4 -8 minutes.

Pork bowl 2

In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice with the minced cilantro, sugar, garlic, soya sauce, minced jalapeno, sesame oil and the 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.

Serve the pork, and vegetables over steamed  rice with crisp bacon, diced avocado, thinly sliced jalapeño  .Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

Pork Bowl 3

Pickled Mexican Vegetables

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Chatty Kathy

Pickled Veg

I don’t know if any dinner featuring the tastes of Mexico would be complete without this dish … in Mexico it is often found sitting on tables just waiting for you to nibble.

This keeps for weeks in your fridge and is a great accompaniment to sandwiches or burgers and always perfect for tacos.

Like many pickled recipes, this is just a guide. Use whatever vegetables are fresh and ready at hand. Today’s version included garden fresh cauliflower, zucchini, green & yellow beans, carrots and sweet Walla Walla onions. Prepare vegetables in bite size portions, i.e., cauliflower florets, wedges of zucchini, carrots sliced on diagonal … you get the idea. I like to prepare everything ahead of time, and have them ready on the cutting board so I can see the colours and shapes together to make sure it is a pretty picture. (yep, I’m that weirdo) If you like a bit of spicy kick, slice up a jalapeño or two as well.

Start by heating up some good olive oil, (a generous portion – more than you would normally use to sauce) sauté onions until soft. Add garlic, carrot, and any veg you think might take a while to soften. You are only looking for crisp tender as your finished product, not soft and overcooked veg.

Add:

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tbsp dried mexican oregano

4 bay leaves

Simmer just until heated through and remove from heat. Store in glass jar (or non reactive container) in the fridge for weeks!

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Chatty Kathy

At this time of year the tomatoes are plentiful, and I do not like to see any go to waste …. also don’t have quite enough time to can it all! This is my go to, for whatever amount of tomatoes I have ripe at the time.

Fill a roasting dish with tomatoes, (roughly chopped, skin on), garlic, onion, sweet peppers and entire stalks of fresh herbs. (I also sneak a few carrots in there) Drizzle over some good quality olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 350 for 2-4 hours, very flexible. This also works in the crockpot.

Allow to roast until reduced by about half. Remove the stalks of fresh herbs, they have done their job …..

Puree with immersion blender or food processor (if you use processor make SURE you have left room for steam to escape or this can be a nasty experience). Stir in 1 small tin of tomato paste and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Depending on the acidity of your tomatoes, you might like to stir in a bit of sugar, but taste first.

It is easy to just put the cooled sauce in a marked freezer bag, and put it in the freezer to enjoy all winter long.

Butternut Squash Soup – with a Mediterranean twist

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

At this time of year the butternut squash is coming out of the gardens and so fresh that when you cut into it beads of moisture appear – yum yum! Butternut squash soup is a favorite of mine, but this time I felt like a little twist.

Butternut Squash Soup with a Mediterranean twist

You will need:

roasted butternut squash
chicken stock
onions
garlic

Seasonings: Ras al Hanout, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper

Garnishes: Grated feta cheese, minced chives, crispy bacon pieces

In a soup pot cook bacon pieces (I like to cut my bacon slices in thin slivers). Remove bacon as soon as it gets crispy. Remove some bacon fat, but leave enough to sauté your cinnamon stick, onions and garlic until soft. Add chicken stock and roasted butternut squash. Remove cinnamon stick as soon as you get a hint of it in the broth, but not overwhelming. Cook until everything is steaming hot – puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender (if using a blender take care to leave an opening for the steam to escape – you do not want to end up wearing this hot soup). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The portions on this will vary greatly on the size of your squash, and the amount of soup you want! For tonight there were only 2 of us so I used 1/2 a squash (about 2 cups) to 4 cups of chicken stock.

Serve once the soup has been pureed – garnish with the chives, bacon bits and grated feta.

For a vegetarian option, leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock.

Either way – a delicious soup!

Tabouli Salad

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

This tabouli salad is made with quinoa, so a complete meal for a vegetarian option, or serve alongside a grilled chicken breast …. or tonight’s choice – chicken wings with a Pomegranate Molasses Barbecue Sauce …. yumminess.

1 cup quinoa – rinse well
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, torn in rustic pieces
1 small bunch kale, very finely chopped (remove stem)
1/2 English cucumber, cut into fine quarters
1 cup finely chopped assorted colored sweet peppers
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (pickling instructions below)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp orange zest and 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

Pickling red onions: Thinly slice red onions and pour boiling water over for 10 seconds – drain off, and cover with fresh squeezed lime juice and a sprinkle of kosher salt. They turn such a great color.

Tabouli
Place the rinsed quinoa in a medium sauce pain, ccover with 1 3/4 cup cold water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and cook until water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 18-20 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork and let it cool.

In a large bowl toss all prepared vegetables and the cooled quinoa.

Dressing
Combine zest and fruit juices, drizzle oil slowly in to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss with prepared Tabouli Salad and taste …season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Tonight tabouli salad was also made with some grilled zucchini and served on a fresh bed of spinach

Mustard Crusted Prime Rib with Roasted Onions

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

I love a good prime rib roast – such a treat. Mustard and beef are perfect together, add a little horseradish in there and the house will smell amazing.

Sunday dinner treat – the house smells amazing!

For about a 5 pound prime rib roast:

2 generous heaped tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 generous heaped tablespoon horseradish

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1 tbsp. mustard seeds (lightly toasted first – and cracked)

finely minced parsley

blend all this together with 1 tbsp. good quality olive oil

Season prime rib with salt and pepper, then rub the mustard all over the surfaces of the rib. Allow to rest on the counter to bring the roast to room temperature before roasting.

Quarter 4 medium size onions, and scatter around the roast – drizzle with olive oil and any of the remaining mustard mixture.

Gently massaged with mustard horseradish rub and ready for the oven.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place roast in oven and roast for 20 minutes – then turn oven down to 350 and continue roasting – anywhere from 1-2 1/2 more hours depending on the size of your prime rib (you can also use this method with any other good quality cut of beef that does not require low slow roasting). Right about the same time the onions should be tender, sweet and so delicious.

Please make sure to use your meat thermometer – there is no point in overcooking a beautiful cut of beef! (for medium rare it should take about 20-25 min per pound)

Roasted Butternut Squash & Onions

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Peel butternut squash and cut into 1″ cubes

Slice sweet onion thickly (or try red onion!)

Turn squash onto baking sheet (I like a clay sheet) drizzle lightly with olive oil, dust with salt and pepper.

Roast at 425 until just fork tender – 30-45 minutes.

Remove from roasting pan, drizzle a very little bit of extra good quality olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Salsa

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

Ringo En Orchard started as an apple orchard, and as times change, so does the land use! We are so lucky to live here – beautiful apples, peaches and nectarines on the trees along with amazing fruit and vegetables growing right out the back door. Eaten fresh all through the late summer and fall, this is a superb way of producing that delicious taste right through until they are fresh again.

16 cups peeled tomatoes (blend 4 cups, dice 12 cups)

9 cups mixed mixed colored peppers, finely diced

6 cups finely diced onions

2 cups jalapeno peppers, diced (if you like it spicy, leave the seeds in)

6 cobs of corn, corn removed

I chop some of the vegetables in the food processor, (i.e., tomatoes, jalapenos and onions) but a lot of the peppers, and some of the tomatoes I like to do by hand so I can see the little bits of peppers in my salsa!

4 cups cider vinegar

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans 5.5 oz tomato paste

2 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsp kosher salt

4 tsp smoked sweet paprika

2 tsp oregano

Use a large, heavy saucepan so things don’t stick.

Combine all ingredients in pan and bring it to a boil, stirring enough so it doesn’t stick. Once it does you will have a hard time keeping it from getting worse! Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn it down to a simmer and allow it to simmer for about an hour – this will allow it to thicken up a bit.

Put into hot sealing jars and process in hot water bath for 20 minutes.

Grilled or Wood Fire Barbecue Chicken PIzza

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

Either make your own pizza dough, or buy some ready made from an Italian deli – make sure it is really good quality if you aren’t making your own. Come up with your own favorite toppings, or use this version – it was a real hit at our good friend Karli’s wedding stagette! I think the wood fire oven made all the difference, but not everybody has one of those in their back yard. We have had great pizzas just off our grill too – so try it! Of course, you could buy BBQ sauce too – but I just like making it so I have included that recipe.

BBQ SAUCE

1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp molasses
1 can or bottle beer
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup hot sauce
zest & juice of 1 lemon or lime
4 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp soya sauce

Heat oil in heavy saucepan and saute onions until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil – allow to simmer until it has reduced and is nice and thick. Taste to adjust for seasoning. Sometimes just a bit of salt and pepper is all you need – but taste, taste, taste! Get it just the way you like it.

Grill chicken breasts over indirect heat, basting with bbq sauce until cooked through, and juices run clear – allow to cool, then shred.

Grate jalapeno havarti cheese – set aside

Thinly slice red onions and cook over moderate heat until carmelized – allow to cool

Cook one side of the pizza on your grill – or in your wood fire oven – turn over and dress with:

BBQ sauce

shredded chicken

slivers of green and yellow peppers

grated cheese

carmelized onion

Return to grill or oven and cook just until cheese is bubbling and crust is golden and crunchy.

Mexican Green Rice

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

I love Mexican rice – for a big fiesta try making both this green (verde) rice along with red (roja) rice. Want to create the Mexican flag colors in a bowl – make a batch of white (blanco) rice also!

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped white onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup Salsa Verde

1 cup long grain white rice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Over medium heat saute the onions until soft, adding garlic for the last couple of minutes. Stir in broth and salsa verde. Add uncooked rice and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and remove lid. Fluff rice with a fork and cover pot with a tea towel. This allows the steam to release so your rice will be light and fluffy.

Stir in chopped cilantro.

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