Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs - Ode to a Tuber, Part 16!

Remember the scene from the movie Castaway when Tom Hanks is finally successful at making a fire on the uninhabited island and he yells with pride "Look what I have created!!"

That is exactly how I felt when I dug up my very first-ever crop of fingerling potatoes from my garden yesterday! This spring, I experimented with Russian Banana fingerling seed potatoes and grew only five plants in a very small area to see what would happen. From those five plants I was able to dig enough potatoes for several meals for my husband and myself.

I'm definitely not recommending you all go out and grow your own potatoes but I found it fun and rewarding. They are a pretty easy vegetable to grow except for mounding the soil over the plants a couple of times after the plants start to grow.

Researching which recipe to try first for my pride and joys resulted in a simple but tasty recipe by Tyler Florence. Fingerling potatoes are tossed with olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, S&P and roasted in a very hot oven on a preheated baking pan.

The aroma in the kitchen was wonderful and the potatoes especially delicious. I think it was the recipe but it could have had something to do with growing them myself :)

Tyler's original recipe which can be found here didn't mention how to handle the herbs but I decided to remove the herb leaves from the stems and chiffonade the sage. The recipe also says to roast the garlic whole and unpeeled with the potatoes. Rather than removing the roasted garlic from the peels after roasting, I felt that would be easier to peel and chop the garlic cloves before roasting.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence
Printable Recipe

Serves 4

4 cups fingerling potatoes, scrubbed (try to choose potatoes of a similar size, cut large ones in half, if necessary)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped coarsely
5-6 leaves of fresh sage, cut into thin strips
5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
6 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely or sliced thin
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus for sheet pan
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and place a baking sheet with sides inside to heat.

Place potatoes, rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat the potatoes with oil. Remove the hot baking pan from oven, lightly coat with olive oil, and pour potatoes onto pan. Place potatoes in oven and reduce heat to 425 degrees F. Roast for 20 minutes, or until crispy on outside and tender on inside. This may take a little longer depending on the size of your potatoes.

Savoring Time in the Garden Sunday

Photos from my garden this past week. The last flush of roses, one of my favorite dahlias and a spider web I caught reflecting the sunlight.  This weekend my grandson, Mack, celebrated his first birthday. I made a pastel portrait of him to bring to his birthday party today.

Happy Birthday, Mack!

I'm joining Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

Savoring Time in the Garden Sunday

I can see it in the color of the leaves on the trees, the purple and gold in the meadows. Sadly, summer is drawing to a close. Even though the garden has a change of face, there is still much to appreciate. This is the time of year that dahlias love.

Phlox and rudbeckia are prolific

Morning glories are just getting glorious.

Tricyrtis is one of my favorite, late summer flowers.  Tiny, but spectacular!

The hydrangea are taking on that rosy, autumn glow.

Some of the container plants are still going strong.

It hasn't been the best summer in SE Wisconsin, but the cooler temperatures have revived the garden - for a short time, at least!

I'm joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday with my end of summer garden mosaic.

Saving Tomato Seed for Next Year's Plants

For those of you who have the space and time to devote to a vegetable garden (even if it's a tomato plant in a container on your balcony or deck), I promised I would share my method of saving tomato seeds so that you could grow your own plants next year.  This is a great way to grow tomatoes that are not readily available at stores or in your garden center.

One caviat, this will not work with seeds from a hybrid tomato which will not produce the same fruit as the parent. If you want to grow hybrid tomatoes, you're better off buying seed from a reputable seed supplier or simply buy the plants at a garden center in the spring. An online search of your tomato will confirm if it's a hybrid or an heirloom variety.

At the farmers' market last year, I found a delicious, new (to me) tomato.  A larger-than-average, dark, purple-red cherry tomato.  After looking online, I assume they are Chocolate Cherry tomatoes, however, there is also a Black Cherry, Black Pearl, and several other dark red cherry varieties.  They were so tasty and larger than the average cherry tomato so I wanted to try and save some seeds to grow my own.  This is what I learned and what worked for me after talking to a chef who saves tomato seeds and grows his own vegetables for his restaurant...

The first step is to pick the very best tomatoes from which to save seed. You don't want to use under-ripe or  over-ripe tomatoes.  Of these three, similarly ripe tomatoes, I chose the biggest one on the far left from which to save seed.

Then, cut the tomato in half around the 'equator' of the tomato.

Squeeze the seeds, or scoop them out with your finger, into a glass jar to which you've added about 1/3 cup of water. Don't worry if some of the pulp goes in too. The reason for putting the seeds in water is to get the gelatinous coating off of the seed that could prevent them from germinating when you plant them.  I've read that filtered water should be used but I used regular tap water with no problem.

Cover the jar with some plastic wrap and make a small hole in the top with a sharp knife for aeration. At least twice a day, for the next 3-4 days, give the jar a few gentle swirls back and forth to help remove the coating from the seeds. 

By day 3 or 4 you will may find mold starting to grow inside the water or on top of the water.  That shows that the process is working.  The good seeds will have settled to the bottom of the jar.  If you have any seeds floating on the top of the water, don't save them because they are bad. Also, don't keep the seeds in the water any longer than 3-4 days because they may start to germinate!

Gently, pour as much water out of the jar as you can without pouring out the seeds.  Then place the seeds into a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly, swishing them around with your finger. 

Dry the seed on a piece of paper toweling or on a paper plate.  I found out that seeds will stick to paper toweling but I just pick them off with my fingernails. In about two days, when the seeds are completely dry, put them in a small, paper envelope marked with the name of the seed and the date and store them in a cool, dry place over the winter. I keep them in a cabinet inside the house along with other seeds that I save over the winter.

Early next spring, about 8 weeks before your area's safe outdoor planting date, you can start the seeds in containers indoors. I like to use vermiculite as a planting medium which I find at my local garden center.  All you need is a sunny window to keep the seedlings happy until they are planted outdoors. 

Growing tomatoes from seed is fun and deliciously rewarding! All they need is sun, lots of water and fertilizer, especially if you are growing them in a containers. You must also be prepared to support them somehow. This one is growing in a container next to our back porch and has climbed all the way to the ceiling with the stems tied to the post with soft garden twine.

Good luck and happy seed saving!

Savoring Time in the Garden...A Spoonful of Flowers

Dishing up something a little different today ;)

I was inspired by a photograph that I had seen in an art gallery during an art gallery walk Friday night.  It was a photograph of several small flowers nestled in spoon. So simple and beautiful.  I thought I would try replicating it at home today.  After our record-breaking torrential rains and flooding in Milwaukee, that you probably heard about on the news, today was sunny and dry with low humidity...a welcomed relief for so many who lost so much in the flooding. 

Clockwise from the upper left...dianthus, phlox 'David', geranium 'Roxanne', hydrangea 'Endless Summer', double impatiens, phlox, Franz Schubert, astrantia 'major, phlox 'David, and astrantia again in the center.

My favorite spoon 'candy' was first photo of the astrantia.  The flowers look beautiful right-side up or upside-down!  I'm sharing my Spoon Flower mosaic for Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.  You'll find lots of fun there - please take a peak.

Swiss Cheese and Green Olive Omelette

 
I love weekends because it means lots of time to play in the garden.  It also means I have time to prepare breakfasts that I normally don't bother with during the week.

My all-time favorite omelette is made with Swiss or Jarlsberg cheese and chopped pimento-stuffed olives. When I was a new bride, I saw a program on television that had a feature on how to make the perfect omelette.  The addition of swiss cheese and olives was mentioned and, because I love both,  I knew I would have to try it.  That was more years ago than I care to divulge and I've been making this omelette ever since that day.  I'm still married to the same man and still making this same omelette ;)

I whisk fresh eggs with just a little water added - maybe a teaspoon per egg. I like to use a non-stick pan omelette pan when I make omelettes. When the pan is sizzling hot, I add a little butter to the pan.  Of course, you could forgo the butter if you prefer and use canola oil or non-stick spray. 

As the eggs, cook I gently push them toward the center, tilting and lifting the edges of cooked egg to allow the uncooked egg to reach the bottom of the pan. 

When the eggs are almost cooked through, add some freshly grated Swiss (Jarsberg is best!) cheese and chopped pimento-stuffed olives to one side of the omelette. You can add a little freshly cracked pepper but I don't add any additional salt due to the saltiness of the olives.

Then, gently tilt the pan on a 45 degree angle and gently flip the unfilled half over the top of the filled side.

After about 30 seconds,  flip the omelette over once again to make sure the cheese has melted and Voila! Add some toast and fresh fruit and your have a delightful, savory breakfast. If you're on the fence about the flavor combination, all I can say is try it once - it's absolutely wonderful!

Swiss Cheese and Olive Omelette
Printable Recipe

Makes 1 omelette

3 eggs
1 tablespoon cold water
1/4 cup grated Swiss or Jarsberg cheese
1/4 cup chopped pimento-stuffed olives
1 teaspoon butter or canola oil

Break eggs into a small bowl and add water.  Whisk gently until thoroughly blended.

Place a small, non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat on the stove.  Test to make sure the pan is hot enough by placing a small drop of water to the pan.  If it sizzles and evaporates immediately the pan is hot enough.

Add a little butter to the pan and allow it to melt and spread it all over the pan with the spatula.  Add the whisked eggs.  As the eggs cook, push them toward the center of the pan, tiling the pan and lifting the edges of cooked egg to allow the uncooked egg to reach the bottom of the pan.

When the eggs are almost cooked through, add the cheese and olives to the side of the omelette closest to you.  Gently tilt the pan 45 degrees and use the spatula to gently fold over the far edge toward you and over the filling.  Allow to cook for about 30 seconds and then gently flip the omelette over to the other side.  Cook for another 30 seconds and serve.  

Grilled Potatoes with Red Wine Mustard Vinaigrette - Ode to a Tuber - Part Nine!

Sunday night, I made a delightful scallop dish that I talked about in this post. As part of that meal, I also made a new recipe for red potatoes from the same Mario Batali cookbook. It was such a good recipe, I thought it deserved a special post. I would guess that roasting them in the oven would also work as long as you can achieve the same crusty, brown surface.

Small potatoes are parboiled and cut into 1 inch slices. Then, they are tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, scallions or chives, and celery seeds and thread onto skewers.

Grilled until they are a delightful golden brown...


...they are then tossed again in a delicious vinaigrette mixture with Dijon mustard, olive oil, more scallions or chives and red wine vinegar. Delicious and a two tubers up rating from DH!


Thank you, Mario!

The recipe~

Grilled Potatoes with Red Wine/Dijon Vinaigrette

Adapted from Mario Batali's Italian Grill
Printable Recipe

Serves 6

2 pounds small potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or other small, firm potatoes (mine were medium-sized reds)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon celery seeds
6 scallions, thinly sliced (or substitute chives as I did)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup premium red wine vinegar such as Cabernet or Chianti
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

If you are going to use wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the whole, unpeeled potatoes and cook for 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of the potato you are using. Mine needed 11 minutes. You only want them partially cooked. Drain and let cool until easy to handle.

While the potatoes cook, preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium to low.

Cut the potatoes into 3 or 4 slices each, approximately 1 inch thick. Combine 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the celery seeds, and one-third of the scallions or chives in a large bowl. Add the sliced potatoes and turn very gently to coat.

Thread the potatoes onto skewers. Place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning occasionally so as not to burn, until the potatoes are browned and tender, approximately 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter.

While the potatoes are grilling, in a large bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, vinegar, the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, the remaining scallions or chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Slide the grilled potatoes off of the skewers into the mixture and toss gently to coat.

Serve immediately (trying not to eat them all yourself!)

Caprese Salad with Basil Oil and Balsamic Reduction

On July 4th, we hosted our gourmet group of 10 people.  I placed tiny vases of red, white and blue flowers on the table - all cut from my garden. Each couple received a garden-inspired kitchen towel as a hostess gift.

For the first course, I served this Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction and Basil Oil - made with my very own basil grown from seed.

For the second course - a delicious new recipe.....Jamie Oliver's Pasta Carbonara with Pancetta, and Baby Zucchini and Thyme from my garden (2 thumbs up from the husband). This could be a meal in itself! You may not be able to tell from this photo but there are torn bits of zucchini blossoms in the mixture:

Here are the recipes for this simple garden dinner:

Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction and Basil Oil
Adapted from Chef Roy Harland
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

2 lbs Heirloom or Stem-On Tomatoes
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese - in your favorite size
About 12 basil leaves
Basil oil (recipe follows)
Balsamic vinegar reduction (recipe follows)
A nice sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction (I halved this for 2 and it still made more than enough):

1 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry red wine - I used a Syrah
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar (my personal addition)
1 T brown sugar

Basil Oil:

1 large bunch fresh basil
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. salt

Rinse tomatoes, cores and slice. Cut each mozzarella ball into slices.

Arrange tomatoes & cheese decoratively on four salad plates. Tuck in several basil leaves.

Drizzle each salad with about 1-2 tablespoons of the vinegar reduction & basil oil.

Season with good salt and freshly ground pepper.

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction Instructions:

Heat the ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Cook until syrupy, but do not allow to caramelize. Mixture should yield about ¼ cup. It should coat the back of the spoon when it is done.

Basil Oil Instructions:

1 large bunch fresh basil
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. salt

In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, bring four cups lightly salted water to boil. Have another bowl filled with ice water close by.

Remove basil leaves, discarding stems. Place basil leaves into the boiling water and cook for 10 seconds. Remove basil with a slotted spoon and place immediately into the ice bath. Drain basil and squeeze out excess water. Roll basil in paper towels and squeeze to dry. Repeat with more paper towels, if necessary.

Place the basil and olive oil in a blender and blend for one full minute on high speed. Strain the oil through a strainer with cheese cloth. The oil should be very clear and bright green.

Zucchini Carbonara
Adapated from Jamie Oliver
Printable Recipe

As much as I love Jamie's show and cooking, I tried to make this recipe a little easier to follow rather than using a 'fistful' of this and a 'knob' of that :)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium green zucchini (or 4-6 baby zucchini as I used)
1 Box uncooked penne pasta
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
Approximately 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
5 thick slices of pancetta, or good thick bacon, cut into strips to match size of penne
Small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves stripped
Zucchini flowers - if you grow them or ask from some from a friend who does

Heat a large pan of salted water to boil. Halve and then quarter large zucchini lengthwise. Discard any soft middle parts and slice the zucchini at an angle into pieces about the same size and shape as the penne. Baby zucchinis can simply be sliced finely. Add the penne to the boiling water and cook according to the package dirctions.

To make the carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and blend with a fork. Season lightly and put to aside.

Heat a very large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the zucchini slices and 2 teaspoons of black pepper. You want this to have a kick. Add the thyme leaves and stir, so the zucchini are coated with all the bacon-flavoured oil, and fry until they start to turn golden and soften a slightly.

This next step is very important as you need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a good ladleful or two of the cooking water. Immediately, add the pasta to pan with the zucchini and pancetta, then remove from the heat and add the ladleful of the reserved cooking water and the egg/cream sauce. Stir together quickly. Do not return to the heat or you'll scramble the eggs.

Serve immediately with the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give a silky and shiny sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you have any zucchini flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately.

Rocky Road Cheesecake~

Today, I'm sharing a recipe for Rocky Road Cheesecake.  I made this for my family on Father's Day and it was a huge hit. My husband loved it and it was so easy to make. 

This was so simple to make but don't tell anyone!  They'll think to worked all day. Next time I may even add a little more melted chocolate to the creamed cheese! I added some shaved chocolate and chopped peanuts to the top. What a delicious treat!

Rocky Road Cheesecake

3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
3/4 cup JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1/3 cup chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)

MICROWAVE 1 chocolate square as directed on package. Coarsely chop remaining chocolate.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and milk with mixer until well blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Whisk in COOL WHIP, marshmallows, nuts and chopped chocolate. Spoon into crust.

Top with shaved chocolate and chopped nuts

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm.

Garden Portraits

It has been a sunless and gloomy weekend, but the nice thing about gloomy days is that they are the best days to photograph the garden. Harsh sunlight can be very unflattering to a flower (the same theory applies to me!).

My first peony opened yesterday - this one is called "Krinkled White":


Here are a few more of my clematis that have started to flower - first is "The President" which is planted right next to "Miss Bateman":


"Dr. Rupple"


"Claire de Lune"


"Gillian Blades"


"Teshio":


And a couple of long shots showing "Miss Bateman" and "The President" flowering together with lupines on the right:




Life is a garden - dig in and enjoy!


I've decided to add this post as my offering to Outdoor Wednesday, hosted graciously by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. Please stop in to see the rest of the wonderful posts there!

Garden Portraits and Outdoor Wednesday~

Those of you who know me from BB (Before Blogging) also know that I am an avid gardener and a clematis addict. I have over 100 clematis in my garden and each new bloom lifts my heart!

For this week's Outdoor Wednesday I would like to pay a little homage to the clematis that have bloomed so far this spring. I will show you more as they bloom :) Thank you, Susan, at A Southern Daydreamer for hosting Outdoor Wednesday! Please visit Susan's blog for more wonderful outdoor posts!


The first clematis to bloom this year was an atragene clematis named 'Frankie'.


Next was Wada's Primrose, an ELF (early flowering variety - as are the rest):

Then, Miss Bateman. I love her long 'eyelashes'!

Recently, Blue Light has begun to bloom:

And also, Teshio:


If you'd like to know more about clematis and all the named varieties, please visit Clematis on the Web. A wonderful site from England!