Thursday, August 26, 2010

Come One, Come All

To our family, friends, and neighbors of the Eli Whitney
and surrounding communities, we invite you to our
2nd Annual Harvest Celebration
with
The Garden of Concord
Please join us to celebrate our second year of abundant harvests while we feast on delicious dishes
from“around the garden.” Enjoy an evening complete with entertainment, appetizers, pastas, and sides
with our garden veggies and recipes. Be sure to save room for dessert including a special performance by
Debbie’s Darling Dancers!
When: Friday, August 27th 6 - 8 pm
Where: Concord United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
4462 E. Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road
Eli Whitney, NC
Come grow with us! Come dine with us! It WILL be good!!
Donations to help us feed those in need in our community by “growing” together will be appreciated (but not required).
New Member garden applications will be available.
Contact Donna Poe, 512-7434 for more info or visit us at http://www.thegardenofconcord.blogspot.com/ and also on facebook!

Recipes, Yum....

Grilled Corn with Crema and Cheese (Elotes Locos)
Copyright Sandra Gutierrez, 2008
Ingredients:12 ears of corn, 1 cup Mexican crema or crème fraiche, 1 cup
mayonnaise, 2 cups crumbled Queso Cotija (or Parmesan) Ancho chile
powder (to taste).
In a large pot of boiling water, place the corn and cook it briefly for 3-4
minutes; remove from the heat and set aside. Heat a grill until moderately
hot. Grill the corn turning them until they are slightly charred and tender. In
the meantime, in a measuring cup, combine the crema and mayonnaise; set
aside. Place the cheese in a shallow plate. When the corn is nicely grilled
remove them from the grill and wrap the bottom ¼ in aluminum foil (that’s
to make a handle so you can hold them). Dip them into the crema mixture,
rolling them well until coated; roll them in the cheese, to coat and top with as
much chile powder as you like. Serve immediately.

True Vanilla Ice Cream (Makes about 1 quart)
1 ½ cups whole milk, 1 ½ cups heavy cream, ¾ cup sugar, 1 vanilla bean,
split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out (or 2 tsp vanilla extract) 4
large egg yolks.
Position a strainer over a medium bowl set in a larger bowl containing ice
water. Heat the milk, cream, ½ cup of the sugar, and the vanilla seeds and
pod in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to break
up the vanilla seeds, until steam appears and the milk is warm (about 175
degrees), about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl
until combined and pale yellow. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the
beaten yolks, ½ cup at a time, until combined. Whisk the milk- yolk mixture
into the warm milk in the saucepan; set the saucepan over medium heat and
cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides,
and the mixture is slightly thickened or an instant-read
thermometer registers 180 to 185 degrees. (Do not boil the mixture, or
the eggs will curdle.) Immediately strain the custard into the bowl set
in the ice bath; cool the custard to room temperature, stirring it
occasionally to help it cool.
Cover and refrigerate until an instant-read thermometer registers 40
degrees or lower, at least three hours or up to 24 hours. Remove and
discard the vanilla pod from the custard (or add the vanilla extract, if
using) and stir well.
Pour the custard into the ice cream machine canister and churn,
following the manufacturer’s instructions, until the mixture resembles
soft-serve ice cream.
Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, press plastic wrap flush
against the surface, cover the container, and freeze the ice cream until
firm, at least 2 hours. (The ice cream will keep for up to 2 days.)

Big Batch Mexican Roast (Use for beef burritos, with guacamole, Add to vegetable soups Roast beef sandwiches, Mexican
Pizza – Salsa, Beef, Corn, Monterey Jack Cheese
One 4-5 pound Chuck Roast
1T chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 T brown sugar
3 T cider vinegar
Two 14-oz can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cook like the French style pot roast…in dutch
oven at 300 degrees for 4½ to 5 hours. Turn roast over every 30-45 minutes.
Check Meat temp to see when it reaches approx 210 degrees. Keep on
cooking the roast for at least 1 hour once meat has reached internal
temperature of 210 degrees.

Pineapple Salsa
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cubed
1 cup loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Vietnamese chili paste
Coarse-grained salt

Place all ingredients except salt in a medium bowl. Toss to combine. Let
stand for 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve. It will keep for
about 3 days in the refrigerator. Makes about 4 cups.

Pickled Onions
>
> 1 red onion, halved and sliced thin
> 1 cup red wine vinegar
> 1/3 cup sugar
> 2 jalapeno chiles, seeds and ribs removed, sliced into thin rings
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
>
> Place the onion in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring the vinegar, sugar,
> jalapenos, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high
> heat, stirrong occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Pour the
> vinegar mixture over the onion, cover loosely, and let cool to room
> temperature, about 30 minutes. Once cool, drain and discard the
> liquid. The pickled onions can be refrigerated in an airtight
> container for up to 1 week.

Eggplant Dip (no real recipe, just from my brother's head-Carla)

Place the eggplant in a dry pan on the stovetop over medium-high
heat. Keep turning it until all sides are black. Prick it so that it
releases the water (which can be bitter).
Chop the eggplant into pieces and place in a food processor or
blender. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a clove
of garlic. Add the following ingredients to taste: sundried tomatoes,
lime juice, cumin and coriander.

Blueberry Betty

6 Slices Pepperidge Farm Original White Bread
6 Tbs butter
8 Tbs brown sugar
4 Tbs lemon juice
4 Cups of blueberries
Cube bread. Melt butter in skillet, add cubed bread off heat. In a
buttered 2 qt baking dish, put 2 cups of berries, 1/2 of bread
mixture, 4 tbs brown sugar, 2 tbs lemon juice and repeat layering.
Bake for 30 min @ 350 and serve w/ vanilla icecream.

Donna's Salsa - Makes about 4 quarts

10 cups chopped roma tomatoes with skins removed.
4 cups chopped onions
4 Bell peppers chopped
4 Jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped.
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 cup sugar
2 Tb chili powder
3 Tb salt
1 1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tb paprika
2/3 cup cornstarch
Combine everything except the cornstarch in a large kettle and cook on low heat for 20
minutes. Take about 2 cups of the liquid from the mix and blend with the cornstarch until
smooth. Add cornstarch liquid back into the rest of the mix and cook until thick.



Poppers recipe:
 
Pillsbury crescent rolls (i like the kind with garlic)
Block of cheddar cheese and/or cream cheese
Jalapeno peppers cut in half and remove seeds
Bacon cooked (optional)
 
Divide and cut in half the crescent roll sections (small triangles).  Place a 1/2 piece of jalapeno in the middle of each section, top with a slice of cheddar or cream cheese.  Top with a piece of small piece of bacon.  Wrap up the crescent by pulling up the corners and seal.  Place the "package" seam side down on cookie sheet and bake till golden brown.  Yum yum.
 
They reheat well so I usually make a bunch of them.  

Cantaloupe Bread
Original Recipe Yield 2 - 9x5 inch loaves

Ingredients
·3 eggs
·1 cup vegetable oil
·2 cups white sugar
·1 tablespoon vanilla extract
·2 cups cantaloupe - peeled, seeded and pureed
·3 cups all-purpose flour
·1 teaspoon salt
·1 teaspoon baking soda
·3/4 teaspoon baking powder
·2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
·1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or nutmeg
Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
·1 2/3 cups brown sugar
·1/2 cup chopped pecans
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease and
flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and
cantaloupe. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda,
baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Stir flour mixture into
cantaloupe mixture; stir to combine. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into
center of a loaf comes out clean. Meanwhile, combine margarine and
brown sugar. Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals;
mix in pecans. Pour sauce over warm bread. Let cool for 1 hour before
serving.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Any plans for tonight or tomorrow?

How 'bout spending some time in our garden? Our 10' tall sunflowers are full of blooms and our zinnias are spectacular, along with all of our other beautiful cut flowers. Still many tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupes, and peppers to pick! I'll be there tonight from 5:30-7:30 and tomorrow from 8-9:30 and 11-1. Lots to do. Lots to be thankful for.
It WILL be good! - Donna