GRAHAM FARMS SENDS LIST OF PLANT SEEDLINGS THEY WILL HAVE FOR SALE AT THE ALACHUA COUNTY FARMERS MARKET ON SATURDAY MORNING.

OK, folks. Have been out of state for awhile and posting only to the Facebook version of this page. I apologize and promise to be posting more info on Cross Florida food.

Graham Farms in Brooker is a farm that I patronize at the Alachua County Farmers Market and at the Union St. Farmers Market. They just sent me a list of plant seedlings they will have available tomorrow at the Alachua County Farmers Market by the Highway Patrol station:




Hi,
OK, for tomorrow we should have  (in 6 packs)

Brussel sprouts
Romaine Lettuce
Beets
Swiss Chard
Romanesco (lime green cauliflower)
Collard Greens
Spinach (Tatsoi)

in a few weeks the next group should be rooted and we'll have more lettuces and broccoli, cabbage....just been sooooo hot for these fall babies..:)
see ya tomorrow!
Kathy

Found a great Carrot Dog recipe

A buddy of mine, a vegetarian, mentioned to me decades ago (IV) that he had tried a carrot dog. It stuck in my brain and I finally prepared a recipe I found on the internet. This a great way to have a dog that is good for you and tastes GREAT. Try it out.


http://ritasroots.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/carrot-dogs/

The Jones Knocked It Out of the Park Once Again

THE JONES KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK ONCE AGAIN

How do they do it? Last night's meal at The Jones was  perfection. From my notes:

"The Jones was its always glorious dining experience. I always order the sea food specials and my mind was blown once again. The Mahi Mahi with green tomato relish, collards, and polenta cakes was awesome. The Salad with Tahini-Ginger Dressing over beautifully chopped ingredients was celestial."

Meals like that are why God invented the bounties of North Florida. Fresh, local ingredients given the space, place, love, preparation to shine. All at our table were impressed and pleased. I wanted to bow towards the chef and food servers on the way out. It was that good. 

Thanks to all at the The Jones!

New Product I Like: handmade Rosemary, Pistachio, Savory Biscuits by My Foodie Food

My friend, Wendi Wilkie, is a foodie of the highest order, savoring and exploring the culinary universe by both instinct and design. Lately, she has been developing food products such as a variety of flat breads and, more recently, produced a product that I find to be extremely promising: Rosemary, Pistachio, Savory Biscuits.

Wendi left us a sample and we both gave it high marks. She says that these biscuits are excellent with honey and/or brie. I tried them without any accompaniment and found the flavors to be multi-tiered. Kind of like a CT scan in food form. No flavor was obscured, yet all worked together to please.

She labels the four biscuits as "handmade in small batches, with love." It shows. I think she has nailed this one. If I were to make any suggestion, I would add a fine zest of tangerine for color and another "zing" experience.

Presently, her product is available in the Sarasota area at selected stores. Contact Wendi at 239-634-1049 to find out where she has placed her products. I understand she has several in this sort of line and I look to trying more. Also, Gainesville stores may be in her line of sight.

Lots of good food being produced by local entrepreneurs. Patronize them and report what you find.

Ruby's Restaurant Menu: fine food from one of my favorite restaurants

MY UNCLE JED'S TUNA CASSEROLE

My old friend, John Dawson, had the initials JED. Last night, waiting for the advance of tropical storm Beryl,  I was in the mood to have this comfort dish. I recalled it was one of first dishes I learned how to prepare in the 70's. I remember John dictating the recipe to me while we were crossing Paynes Prairie on the commute back to Gainesville from Ocala where both of us worked as paralegals. 


The version I cooked last night is both named for John (JED) and a song by Happy and Artie Traum, "My Uncle Jed" that was popular around our college campus dorm.

Thanks John for providing me with the beginnings of this. Back then, to have something palatable for the table was an act of survival. Last night, it was comfort food par excellence. We remembered and toasted my old friend!


MY UNCLE JED’S TUNA CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flat noodles, 12 ounce bag
Salt
Cream of shrimp/seafood can of soup
Cream of mushroom can of soup, low sodium/fat if possible
Rotel Original, drained
Artichoke hearts, drained
Large olives, one can drained. Slice or chop.
Season with black pepper and a pinch of Cajun Seasoning
Olive oil
Sharp cheddar cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions in robustly salted water.
Mix remaining five ingredients in large bowl. Add pasta and combine.
Place in large casserole dish sprayed with Pam.
Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with grated cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until brown.  Remove and let it rest for 2-4 minutes. Serve.

YOGURT PIE

I was long concerned that I had lost this recipe. Fortunately, it rose to the top when clearing out a box of papers.

YOGURT PIE

Ingredients:

2 - 8 oz containers of yogurt (whatever flavor you like)

1 9- oz container of Cool Whip

Mix. Pour into a pie shell. I use a graham cracker crust pie shell. Freeze for four hours. Thaw for 30 minutes and serve.

  

THEY'LL GO GA GA BAKED CHICKEN

THEY'LL GO GA GA BAKED CHICKEN

Take a large bag of pork rinds and empty contents into a food processor. Grind them
up until the rinds turn into crumbs, shy of powdery crumbs.

Add 3/4 - 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add about a
tablespoon of no-salt Cajun seasoning (I mix my own), healthy dose of pepper. Do not add
salt. The rinds and cheese have plenty.

You might want to try a tablespoon of garlic power, but I doubt it is needed.

Dip the chicken in some sort of liquid that will serve as a binder. My
recipe calls for melted butter but there are alternatives. I use Smart
Balance instead and it comes out great. You can also use egg
substitute or egg white substitute as well. You might also marinade
the chicken in buttermilk awhile too. Regardless, pull chicken pieces
from the liquid letting excess drip back into the pan.

Put the dry ingredients into a container and place a piece of two of
the chicken in. Turn to coat, press the dry stuff into the
skin. Shake gently.

Place on a shallow cooking sheet  sprayed with Pam or oil.

Bake at 325 degrees until internal temperature is at least 170.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for five minutes or so before eating.

Tried "Relish", the burger joint near campus. Yikes!

Our students must be rolling in money.

I visited Relish yesterday to try one of their burgers. They are located across from The Swamp near campus and below The Copper Monkey. Yikes,  $8.25 for a cheeseburger, fries, and a regular diet soda!.

Yes, it tasted good but everything else was marginal or worse. The service was flaky and I spent considerable time just getting a cup for my drink. Their pump ketchup was bone dry and I had to rely on a paltry handout of tiny plastic envelopes of ketchup to douse my fries.The fries looked like they were good at one point...maybe twenty minutes before. What I was served had been sitting for awhile under a "heat lamp" and showed no signs of needed warmth.

The cashier was flaky and all the staff seemed more enamored with her low cut top than serving food to paying customers. The manager appeared briefly and seemed more concerned with the machinations of recording sales and less about ensuring a quality dining experience. No one attempted to greet any customers, explain the menu, ask how the food was, etc.

Back to our students here in Gainesville. Take this tip from a resident. Go to Mac's Drive-Thru if you want the best burger in America that is served hot and fresh. Plus, you will spend less and it will taste infinitely better.

Oh, and don't go to Five Guys either. If I bought the same meal there it would have been $8.75 and neither place holds a candle to Mac's... particularly if you are not rolling in money.

Baked Pork Chops with Onions, Apples, Rum, and Archibald's Sauce

I put this together last night and it came out nearly perfectly. I buy Archibald's sauce at Archibald's Barbecue in Northport, Alabama across the Black Warrior River from Tuscaloosa. They do not market their sauce except over the counter. I have a copy cat recipe that I am not ready to divulge so I recommend a vinegar/tomato sauce of your choosing. Let me know how it turns out.

Baked Pork Chops with Onions, Apples, Rum, and Archibald's Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

2 small onions, peeled and sliced

2 apples, sliced

4 loin chops, bone-in

3 T., dice fresh rosemary

3 T., oil
1-2 shots of dark rum
1 1/2 cups of Archibald's barbecue sauce

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Rub oil on each chop and liberally salt and pepper each one on both sides. You may add Cajun seasoning depending upon your tastes.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium to medium high flame for 4-5 minutes. Add oil and swirl skillet to distribute the oil. Add the chops. If you do not hear a sizzle each time you add a chop, raise the temperature for the burner. You may have to do more than one batch depending on the size of the skillet.

After several minutes, lift the edge of one chop. If a nice golden brown crust has formed, you are ready to turn the chops over and go for the same crust.

When a golden crust has been obtained on both sides, place aside on a plate.

Add your sliced onions to the skillet being sure to scrape up the brown bits left over in the pan to blend with the onions. Cook until they just begin to soften. Add apples and diced rosemary and toss with onions, again scraping as you go. Cook for a few minutes until all is well cooked and fragrant. Remove from heat and add a jigger or two of dark rum and a pad of butter. Stir. Add about 1 ½ cups of Archibald's barbecue sauce or a tomato-y/mustard/vinegar sauce to substitute. Avoid sauce that is sticky, gooey and too sweet. Stir once

Spray a shallow rectangular casserole dish with cooking spray. Place chops in the casserole and cover with items from skillet. Place in oven and bake about 20-30 minutes until it is bubbly, fragrant and ready. Remove.

Note: You may just want to spoon the apples and onions over the chops and then place the skillet, covered, in the oven. Works just as well and less to wash later. 

Serve immediately with just about anything. I like rice or grits.

MY TOP 11 IN 2011

Cafe C
Ruby's

The Jones

East End Eatery

Satchel's

Mi Apa

La Tienda

Mac's Drive Thru

Pomodoro's

La Fortuna

Pearl's Country Store

Southwestern 15 Bean Soup from Cafe C published in Gainesville Magazine - 4 stars!

FRITTATA WITH COLLARD GREENS AND MEXICAN- BLEND CHEESE: REQUESTS FOR A RECIPE ARE ROLLING IN (OK, only one, but she wants it really badly)

FRITTATA WITH COLLARD GREENS AND MEXICAN-BLEND CHEESE

Left over cooked collard greens, about a cup or so
2 T, minced onions
1-2 t. of Cajun seasoning blend. Note: I make my own and reduce or eliminate the salt.
1 t, black pepper
Crystal Hot Sauce, apply liberally
Eggstirs, Publix's version of Egg Beaters or 4 real eggs
Mexican blend shredded cheese

Place 3/4 to one cup of greens on cutting board after draining. Slice up. Place greens in heated, oiled, oven-proof skillet. Cook for a few minutes between low and medium to evaporate some of the remnant liquid.

Add Eggstirs to skillet, stir once, turn heat to low and cook. As eggs begin to set or become firm on bottom, lift the edge of the eggs with a spatula so that the remaining liquid egg mixture flows under the set eggs. Leave the eggs cooking on low until just shy of being completely set.

Season with Cajun seasoning and black pepper. Add generous amount of Mexican blend cheese. Place skillet under the broiler. Cook until the egg mixture becomes golden brown. Remove and serve with generous splases of Crystal Hot Sauce.

PRODUCTS THAT ARE STAPLES IN MY KITCHEN

Crystal Hot Sauce - CHS is a Louisiana-style hot sauce. No day is complete without it. Period. Don't even think of Tabasco as a substitute.

Smart Balance Buttery Spread Made With Exta-Virgin Olive Oil - tastes great and is a great alternative to butter

Chobani Greek Yogurt - Vanilla, non-fat: spectacular, smooth flavor. Manufactured in upstate NY and is the current food sensation. Knock out flavors and "numbers" that compete with or do better than regular non-fat yogurts. We buy the large sized container. I do not like the fruit-on-the-bottom smaller cups of yogurt, though my wife does. The vanilla variety is sinfully delicious.

Emeril's Creaole seasoning blend made without salt or scant salt. I mix my own which enables me to use up my seasonings so that do not become stale and flavorless. His recipe is readily available on-line or in several of his cookbooks. I reduce or eliminate the salt. I also like most to all of Paul Prudhomme's blends which I make the same by eliminating the salt. He has a line of spice blends for specific uses.

Celestial Seasonings Teas: Try any with a fruit in the name.  Everything they make is delicious.

Three Crabs Fish Sauce: Lynn Rosetto Kaspar is right. Very small amounts enliven many dishes. Her ace in the hole and now mine.

SOIL SOLARIZATION OF RAISED BEDS WITH PLASTIC TARP TO COMBAT PESTS

This is a good article on using plastic tarps to solarize raised beds. I plan to do mine in the peak of the hot summer. It should bake away the "unwanted" effectively.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html

MUST-READ LINK TO INTERVIEW WITH DIANA KENNEDY, WORLD AUTHORITY ON MEXICAN CUISINES

AN ABSOLUTELY MUST-READ INTERVIEW WITH DIANA KENNEDY, THE WORLD AUTHORITY ON MEXICAN CUISINES: http://www.thecookbookblog.com/2011/12/05/author-interview-diana-kennedy/

I WANT TO LIKE HARRY'S FOOD, BUT I AM MOSTLY DISAPPOINTED DURING EACH VISIT. MAYBE THEY SHOULD RE-NAME THE RESTAURANT," HARRY'S SALT LICK"

I keep wanting to like Harry's food because I am a student of Louisiana cooking. The genre is varied, robust, and ranges from the proletarian/rural to the more urban, high cuisine of France. Harry's is not even on the same planet with much of Louisiana cuisine. As I say, I want to like their food, but one fine meal out of five poor ones is not enough to keep me coming back.

I ordered the special this week which was a collection of their featured seafood dishes. The seafood all tasted basically the same and was way over-salted so that the essential flavors were totally obscured. The accompanying grits cake was soggy and under-cooked. It should arrive at the table crisp on the outside and hot and moist on the inside. Mine tasted more like a sponge. The fried green tomatoes appetizer was very good, however, as was the salad.

My recommendation is to ask the chef not to directly salt each dish. Do it yourself. Harry's chefs season with heavy hands and Harry's is now more of a salt lick than a restaurant. Be forewarned and take the seasoning with salt into your own hands. Bring your own sea salt and and add salt to your own tastes.

If you find that the choice of the restaurant is not your own and your dinner companions are hell-bent to go there, you may want to consider an appetizer and a salad with a few glasses of wine. You will come out with more of your money in your own pocket and probably better satisfied with the taste of the food.

I wish Harry's would kick it up a notch and really become a fine Louisiana-style restaurant. Right now, it is a very poor facsimile of what it claims/aspires to be.

ABUNDANT EDIBLE LANDSCAPES FALL PLANT SALE AT INDIGO GREEN STORE: NOVEMBER 12, 10-1

 Abundant Edible Landscapes will be hosting their annual fall plant sale on Saturday, November 12^th from 10 am to 1 pm at Indigo Green Store, 322 SW 4^th Ave. The sale will include fruit trees, berry bushes, perennial vegetables and herbs. There will also be 5 gallon buckets of soil amendments- worm castings, green sand and organic chicken manure for sale. Oliver Moore will demonstrate tree grafting techniques hstarting at noon.

Recipe from Cookbookblog: Cheerwine Barbecue Chicken

http://www.thecookbookblog.com/2011/10/31/the-recipe-cheerwine-barbecue-chicken/

The Southern Foodways Alliance cookbook is excellent and this recipe is drawing "wows" all over. Check it out.