Pesto Basil

 It is time for pesto. I have been staying away from pasta and cheese. My wife Louise is a hard time with Pinenuts. Italian pinenuts she is fine with , but those imported from China that are not actually pinenuts give her what's called Pinemouth (something I've never heard about until Louise did research on the internets) and for a week her tasters are out of wack in a very bitter way.

 So my garden has enough basil, and it is time. I use a raw Hazelnut, Walnut, Pecan combo, a little over a cup that I toast in a small pan. About a cup packed basil. Juice and zest of one medium to large lemon. Three cloves of garlic. Some pecarino ramano, salt and pepper. Throw them a food processor, and blend until I get the consistency and I want. Taste often, and add more of any of the ingredients. Too thick? Add more oil or lemon (a splash of vinegar can work as well). Too thin? Add more nuts and cheese. I can go on, but it is really up to you tweeking and experimenting, finding what you like in a pesto.

 A recepie like pesto deffinitly needs to be a "to your own taste" experience. All the ingredients will vary in strength of flavor from region to region. If I put too many exact measurements you could get a very different product than mine, possibly in a bad way. Nope, I am going to force you to taste as you go. Take this example and play, you can try different nuts, oils, leafy greens, even cheeses. Want to be a bit more healthy? Omit the cheese altogether, you will be surprised how much you might not miss it. Try blanching the leaves for ten seconds in boiling water, put in a bowl ice water, remove and papertowl dry, then add them to the process to get an even brighter green pesto.

This Pesto was placed on a bed of Linguini, with grilled Flank steak and my broccoli as sides. The flower are chive flowers

A little grill action.

Freezing some liquid Summer

The raspberries have ripened in the garden, and there are a lot of them. First thing that comes to mind is Jam. The picking commences. Fruit gathered and walking toward the kitchen, the tops of some thai basil are noticed and plucked. The aroma of them both as they rest in the basket is intoxicating. If they smell this good, they must taste good as... JAM!  

Following the Ball pectin guides for freezer jam: One 3oz package liquid pectin, 2 pounds crushed raspberries, 4 cups (yes 4, I use a natural unbleached cane sugar) sugar, and they asked for lemon juice but I used 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice. Once all these ingredients were mixed well, the concoction was split in half. To one of the portions a packed cup of Thai Basil was food processed and incorporated. 

 Both versions of the jam turned out mesmerizingly good. Liquid summer in this part of the country often has to do with the weather we get, but this version is spreadable. There is nothing more delicious than pure unadulterated single fruit preserve. Add a favorite herb, a little at a time, tasting as you go, and put a personal touch to the already sublime.  

The McKay House Standard Summer Salad

McKay House Standard Summer Salad

 Standard sounds drab, but this salad is a summer staple at our house. This combination works well accompanying most grilled foods, and works especially well along side traditional American barbecue ("mmm... Ribs").

 Adjust squash and corn to amount of people you are serving, as it is it will serve 7-10 as a side dish.

Tip:  Remember that in a salt to taste recipe don't go heavy handed to start out. The salt grains melt and your food can get saltier over time. You can alway add more salt if necessary toward serving time. 

2 zucchini 

2 yellow summer squash

1 cucumber 

1 bunch kale or sm container organic power greens

3 ears of sweet corn shucked 

1 sweet onion peeled cut width wise into rounds drizzled with olive oil and grilled on both sides until soft 

2 bell peppers, color of you choice other then green put on your grill ( or if you have a gas range you can put them straight on the flame, turning often) until all sides of skin are blackened, take off fire let sit, remove skin when cool, de-stem and remove seeds .

 All ingredients need to be diced up close to the size of the corn kernels and put in a bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste, some olive oil and your favorite vinegar and a couple spoonfuls of Dijon mustard( start small) taste and add more oil, vinegar, mustard, and s&p as needed. Add some minced fresh garlic and herbs like mint or basil or tarragon to make even more special. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

 My pantry is always stocked with vinegars. The vinegars I suggest for this recipe are apple vinegar or if available to you coconut vinegar (my preference). Sherry vinegar, Red Wine vinegar, or what ever is on hand is also acceptable. Though I might hesitate with Balsamic Vinegar, it might add too much heavy stain to the overall appearance of the dish, flavor would be great.

Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples

Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples

No French dish is allowed to be this simple. It's against the nature of their cuisine. To confuse simple with boring is common in this flashy tech-driven time. Foodie hipsters flock to the eateries that are bringing the “new” and the “never before” as the latest trends. To keep patrons, eateries tend to rely on wow-factor, from cocktails to ambiance. The food that makes it to the home kitchen to be served to friends follows the same rules… impress… impress big!

Warning: to make a meal memorable it should not be outside of the comfort zone of the person cooking it. In this case, a sturdy pot with a lid is the only technology you need. This pork could make anyone look like a pro in the kitchen.

Take a piece of pork shoulder 3 or more pounds, season liberally with good salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic, let sit for one half hour. In a cast iron or enameled crock that is as French as possible, sear all the sides of the pork in some olive oil. Pour half a cup to a cup French wine, as much as you are able to give up, but it does not take much, and make sure this wine is very drinkable. Put a bay leaf in the pot, place the lid on and put in a 275 degree oven.  3 or 4 hours later, check your roast. Once it is fork tender, put finely sliced red cabbage (1 head) and apples (2 medium) around the roast and cook for about 45 minutes. The presentation of the dish works well in a family-style meal with the pork in the middle of a bed of cabbage and apples.

Try this dish. It is amazing! Flavors are so complex and rich it is almost impossible to stop eating. Once this braised dish makes it into the arsenal, gauging how much shoulder is needed to assure leftovers the next day will be the dilemma. 

Last Weeks Food Pt.1

  These are some of the meals that I cooked for the family this last week.  I will admit that some of the week had a speckling of fast food (ugh, the salt!), but for the most part I at least cook the dinner meal. Here they are for anyone to enjoy.

Lobster Ravioli with a Caper Spinach Cream Sauce

Yes I bought the Ravioli, and from Costco no less, but this sauce was a perfect match.  It would also be wonderful on linguine or fresh pasta with a little Chicken or Seafood. Anyway, the point is that it is always up to you, spruce it up or play it down a bit. For a version that is a little more northwest you can sub in Nettles for the spinach.

In a hot saute pan I put a little drizzle of Olive Oil and 2T butter letting letting the milk solids brown. Then I add 1lg clove Garlic minced and toss or stir in the pan a little. Before the Garlic has time to brown I add 1T(heaping) Capers, 3 sprigs fresh Oregano stems removed and minced, a few fresh Sage leaves minces, S&P and crushed red pepper to taste and toss or stir. When the changed aroma hits me I throw in 2Cups Spinach chiffonade and incorporate completely with the other ingredients. I then pour 1/3Cup Cream and stir until cream thickens a bit. When I start getting a little impatient flip the pat of butter in and in a matter of seconds the sauce is thick and luscious.  A couple drops of Sherry, then a toss with the Ravioli. Plate the Rav, sauce the top, a little grated parm, and some minced fresh herbs and there it is!  

I have an edible complex

   The title statement of this post is true. I do indeed have an edible complex. This does not mean I want to eat my parents.  Well, not when I have a twelve year old, and two month old baby toes to eat instead. Cannibalism aside, I love food. Having a love for food is not what an edible complex is all about, though I think it helps. If seven of your nine indoor plants are of the edible variety you might have an edible complex. Especially if your wife is responsible for the two that are not food.  If you think a person is crazy for not planting a fruit tree in their parking strip, instead opting for the "yeah sure it's beautiful, but you can't eat it" Maple, then you might have an edible complex. If you have all your co-workers go in on the price of wholesale pork bellies, then cure the forty pounds of the bacon-to-be using all the space in the way too small rental house fridge... I may not have to say the rest. I am certain that there are people that have far superior complexes to mine, but it is not the point of this blog.
  I want to blog food. I want to talk food. I want to show food. I want to eat food and then talk about it. I want to do video segments on food and techniques that I might already know or just learned myself. Once a month I would like to pair a dining experience with a film review. This blog will be about food.     
    Nothing excites me the way food does.  I love the way it brings people together, and then back for seconds.  I look forward to the changing seasons and the unique harvest each one brings to the table.  To this day I am teased by my Mother for the fact that every memory I have from my childhood being associated with a food, every location paired with what we ate.  
  Since the age of nine I have I have been trying to make people happy with the food I prepared.  While in High School my Mom got me French cooking classes at a local Community College.  A fellow participant in the class owned a restaurant and asked if I wanted a job.  I quickly accepted the job and from that point on I have been working with food in some capacity; I was 17, and I am 35 now.
 THIS BLOG IS A FOOD BLOG!