Category Archives: Seasonal Recipes

Eggplant Recipes: In Season NOW

Posted on September 24, 2014 | 4 comments

Eggplants are peaking right now, in our garden and in the markets, so I wanted to share a round up of quality eggplant recipes to inspire you! Here’s a tip for picking a great eggplant at the farmer’s market or store: find one that is relatively heavy for its size. It will have less seeds and more delicious flesh. Papa Bird (our family’s resident farmer) says homegrown eggplants are ready to pick when you push in with your thumb and it leaves an imprint. He recently put up a shade barrier to protect our growing eggplant from the strong San Diego sun. For more tips on cooking eggplant, check out this post.

Eggplant Recipes: In Season NOW

EGGPLANT RECIPES FROM BABY BIRDS FARM

Some of my family’s favorite, “regular rotation” recipes highlight eggplant.

  1. Baba Ganoush: a garlicky dip, similar to hummus, and delicious with veggies to dip. Makes great baby food, too!

lamb, eggplant and pomegranate moussaka

  1. Pomegranate, Eggplant and Lamb Moussaka (above): a layered dish that is sweet and savory and spiced with cardamom and cinnamon.

EGGPLANT RECIPES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Maria Nasir of foodaholic is a Pakistani home cook and caterer turned international food blogging star. She has lot’s of delicious eggplant recipes from around the world. But this kid-friendly appetizer caught my eye:

  1. Eggplant Roll Ups: kid-friendly but with a delicious vinaigrette to please picky foodie parents.

 nam prik noom thai green curry

Another international blogger I follow, Azlin Bloor of Lin’s food, recently shared the above treat featuring aubergine (eggplant with a British accent):

  1. Nam Prik Noom (Thai Green Chilli Sauce)

EGGPLANT RECIPES FROM FAMILY SPICE

Laura of Family Spice features eggplant in both Italian and Persian-inspired dishes.

roasted eggplant parm sandwich

  1. Roasted Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich from Laura of Family Spice (above): a nice, non-fried version of an eggplant parm.
  1. Pickled Eggplant and Vegetables with Pomegranate (torshi-yeh bademjan va anar): I have never even thought of using this combination of flavors and I am dying to try it.

Persian Eggplant Stew

  1. Persian Eggplant Stew (Khoreshteh Qiemeh Bademjoon) (pictured above).

EGGPLANT RECIPES FROM SIMMWORKS FAMILY BLOG

Danielle of Simmworks Family Blog makes a lot of delicious family meals that are often quick and easy for busy families – without sacrificing taste.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

  1. Baked Eggplant Parmesan: an easy family dinner that will please adults and kids.
  1. Eggplant French Bread Pizza: simple, with just a few ingredients and perfect for lunch.

For even more eggplant ideas:

10 Fantastic Eggplant Recipes from Simmworks Family Blog.

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Posted in Food, Healthy Recipes, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Agriculture, Urban Homesteading

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The Best Ever Strawberry Jam (Little Added Sugar and No Pectin)

Posted on May 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

I shared yesterday about our family trip to pick organic strawberries at Suzie’s Farm during their “Strawberry Jam.” Well, what better way to use up the strawberries we couldn’t eat fresh than making homemade strawberry jam?

the best strawberry jam - low sugar, no pectin

After we made it home, I sorted through our freshly picked strawberries. Most of them were still perfect and gorgeous, but I managed to set aside some that had the smallest of bruising for jam. Here is my trick for keeping strawberries fresh and pretty: I line a pyrex dish with a paper towel (or cloth kitchen towel) and spread them out in a single layer. I don’t wash them until just before eating.  These strawberries we picked were so fresh, it didn’t matter, but this can extend the life of store bought berries.

The rest of the berries went into jam! I didn’t have any pectin, and I was curious if all that sugar in most recipes served a vital purpose, so I picked the brain of my neighbor, our local grandma stand-in. I figured she would have pectin I could borrow, but she encouraged me to try without it. Then I found a recipe on Northwest Edible Life (the blog known for the hilarious “Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater.”) Erica makes the case for ditching pectin and uses much less sugar.

organic strawberry jam

Click here for detailed instructions on how to make preserves without pectin.

Here is what I ended up using in our strawberry jam:

  • 2 pounds chopped strawberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

I ended up with a little over 3 cups of jam. I did not “can” them or seal them as I figured we would eat it quickly. (One week later, only about 1 cup is left.) And to be perfectly honest, I am still a little scared of my steam canner!

Any tips for getting started canning?

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Posted in Food, Healthy Recipes, Preserving and Canning, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Homesteading

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Strawberry Picking and Green Strawberry Pickles

Posted on May 4, 2014 | 4 comments

Strawberry Picking

Last weekend we celebrated Papa Bird’s birthday with a fun family day at Suzie’s Farm. They held their annual “Strawberry Jam” last Saturday and we all had so much fun, picking strawberries and eating yummy food. Little Bird loved apple picking as a tot and felt right at home with the plants and chickens.

strawberry picking

We started off picking organic strawberries. Every plant was filled with the most perfectly beautiful, sweet and flavorful berries. (At home, Little Bird tends to pick all of our strawberries while they are still green and small.) I did get some temporary hives from stinging nettles, but they went away.

strawberry picking

Next I sampled strawberry chutney, drank a strawberry and basil kombucha, and made green strawberry pickles with Austin from the San Diego Fermenter’s Club. Little Bird loves them. They are mild, slightly crunchy and have a hint of strawberry flavor. You can find the recipe for Green Strawberry Pickles here.

green strawberry pickles

Green Strawberry Pickles Recipe

After all that hard work, I was ready for a grass fed burger made with strawberry jam, and a beet and quinoa salad from Green Truck. The cold and windy weather discouraged our plans for eating ice cream from our friends’ Calexico Creamery, but we took home a pint of (what else?) Fresa and a pint of Mexican Cocoa. Little Bird and I hid out from the wind in a teepee and she gathered twigs and sticks to build a play fire.

organic strawberry jam

Check back tomorrow and I will share the best recipe for strawberry jam! It has hardly any sugar in it and no pectin. The only other ingredient is a lemon…

–> Update: Strawberry Jam now posted HERE.

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Posted in Family Adventures, Food, Green Parenting, Healthy Recipes, How To, Our Family, Parenting, Preserving and Canning, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Homesteading

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Bourbon Pear Cider

Posted on December 15, 2013 | 2 comments

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Last night we put our tree up and Papa Bird offered me a cocktail. I was wanting something warm and cozy. This hot cocktail with spiced pear cider and Bourbon was the perfect boozy treat for decorating a Christmas tree (or for just sitting there admiring one.)

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Bourbon Pear Cider Recipe
(Makes one drink)

1 cup of spiced pear cider
1 shot of Bourbon (or to taste)

Heat cider and Bourbon until hot. Enjoy!

Variations: Add a little vanilla extract, or serve with a cinnamon stick. You can try apple cider with rum or Applejack, but I think nothing is quite so cozy as Bourbon.

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Posted in Entertaining, Food, Seasonal Recipes

Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Latkes

Posted on December 5, 2013 | 6 comments

This year as Hanukkah approached, I craved matzo ball soup (usually associated with Passover.) My husband did not complain about having to eat matzo ball soup and proclaimed my soup to be one of his top ten favorite dishes. (Recipe is here.) But as we came to the final night of Hanukkah, I couldn’t resist making latkes. This year I tried a variation with Brussels Sprouts, based on a recipe from foodwanderings.

Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Latkes

I substituted our sweet potatoes from the garden instead of regular potatoes. Our sweet potatoes are only slightly sweet, almost a cross between a regular potato and a sweet potato and are very tasty. I didn’t have fresh mint or dill but used fresh parsley and fresh cilantro. I loved her suggestion of cumin seeds and used both the seeds and ground cumin. The cumin worked really nicely!

Click here for the original Brussels Sprouts and Potato Latkes recipe. I served it with leftover cranberry clementine compote (acknowledging Thanksgivikkuh) and a puree of parsnips and winter vegetables. I think it would also be lovely with the traditional applesauce and sour cream. Since there was a lot of batter after making enough small latkes for the three of us, I made one large “hash brown” with the remaining batter and baked it in the toaster oven at 400°F for 20 minutes. It was easy to reheat in a pan the next day.

Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Latkes

 

Little Bird LOVED Hanukkah. At 26 months, this is technically her third Hanukkah, but this is the first year she really got to experience it. With all the counting candles, it is the perfect holiday for a toddler!

hanukkah

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Posted in Food, Recipes from the Garden, Seasonal Recipes

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