Category Archives: Urban Homesteading

Instant Summer Dinner: Pesto Angel Hair with Tomatoes

Posted on August 9, 2012 | 4 comments

Baby Bird became hungry and cranky all of a sudden this evening so dinner needed to be made ASAP. We had a little leftover chicken, but not much else. I found some angel hair pasta in the cupboard and thought of pesto. The angel hair cooks in 2 minutes, so this dinner was actually as fast as making a microwave meal!

What goes better with tomatoes than basil? Nature must agree since they are both in season at the same time.

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I put on a pot of water and went out to the yard to pick basil and I found a ripe tomato. Our basil was a little neglected, so I trimmed off the flowers.

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By the time I came back in the water was boiling. Papa Bird helped cut up the tomato with his new ceramic knife. The rest just came together, perfect to have with a glass of white wine and a little of my truffled goat cheese and crackers.

Pesto Angel Hair with Tomatoes Recipe

  • 1 package of angel hair pasta
  • 2 handfuls of basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup of raw pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup of cooked chicken (optional)
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rewarm chicken in a pan, covered, with a splash of water, if needed. In a small dry pan on medium heat carefully toast the pine nuts. Watch them carefully as they will go from raw to burnt quickly. Add the pine nuts to a blender with the basil, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend, adding oil if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Place the drained pasta in a bowl. Grate parmesan with a microplane over the pasta. Add the pesto and mix well. Start with a little of the pesto, taste and go from there. A little goes a long way. Toss with chicken and tomatoes and serve. Or share out of the mixing bowl. :)

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Notes:

Nuts should never be toasted in oil, but in a dry pan. Walnuts are also traditional in pesto, but I prefer the taste with pine nuts. All nuts are expensive right now, but I’ve found that Trader Joe’s still has the best price for pine nuts. Oh! And protect your investment (~$8 for a 8 oz bag at Trader Joe’s and as much as $25-30/pound elsewhere) and store the nuts in the freezer. They will last you a long time.

I had two oz. of extra pesto that I put into a silicone tray meant for freezing baby food. I figure the one oz. cubes will defrost easily sometime in the future. I’ll let you know how it works!

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Tips for cooking for baby:

We haven’t given her pesto yet. Baby bird at 10 months loves feeding herself thin pastas, like angel hair, or orzo. We break it up a little and put it on her tray. Tonight she had the pasta, chicken, tomatoes and avocado. Plus she stole a little goat cheese.

 

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

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Tomato Time: Putting Up for the Winter

Posted on August 7, 2012 | 2 comments

It’s August in San Diego and my favorite time of year! I haven’t been to the beach as much as I would like, but our garden’s tomatoes are ready. To be honest, I can’t even buy them in the store any more. The taste just doesn’t compare.

This winter I decided not to purchase any out of season tomatoes  from the store. Even “organic” tomatoes grown out of season are probably grown in Mexico, using precious water and resources to the detriment of the surrounding ecosystem. That sounds preachy so I should confess, it helped that I had our own heirlooms and cherries frozen and ready to go. We ran out a few months ago and I’ve been looking forward to preserving some more.

The tomatoes are great this year and baby LOVES them. She has a hard time eating the skin, so we peel or cut that away, otherwise she loves eating them baby led weaning style, a.k.a. as finger food.

Ok, funny story. I actually preserved my favorite batch of tomatoes last September, after my water broke and before I woke my husband to go to the hospital. True nesting. (You can read more of the story in this post.) Hey, I’m glad I did. It would never have happened once we came home. And having chopped heirlooms in pre-measured amounts of 2 cups made adding them to dishes super easy.

This weekend we finally had more than we can eat so I set about preserving. My mom got me a steam canner for my birthday, but I’m still a little intimidated (maybe that will be a future experiment and post.) She also gave me a book by Ball, as in the jars, on canning. It was weird, but the book actually said that freezing food was better than canning.

Here is my first, of hopefully many, step by step guides with pictures!

Freezing Tomatoes

1. Pick your tomatoes when they are ripe, just how you would like to eat them. (Or find some at a farmer’s market.)

2. Give them a quick rinse. (I might have skipped this step.)

3. Put a pot on the stove filled with water and bring to a boil.

4. Get a large bowl ready filled with ice water.

5. So that they will be easy to peel, score each tomato by making an “X” with a paring knife in the skin.

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6. Drop the tomato into the boiling water for a minute or two.

7. Transfer the tomato immediately into the ice bath for a couple minutes and then take out. The peel should be starting to fall off.

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8. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes by hand and roughly chop. (I don’t chop them too small because they tend to shrink a little through the freezing and defrosting.)

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9. I like to measure them into 2 cup amounts. I put them in zip lock sandwich bags and then put the sandwich bags into a freezer bag.

10. Lay flat in the freezer.

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I would love to get away from plastic next time. Any suggestions?

I also made a super yummy cherry tomato confit last summer.  Our cherries haven’t been growing so much this year, but if they do and we get enough, I will definitely share that here, too. That one was also a repeater!

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Posted in Preserving and Canning, Recipes from the Garden, Step by Step with Pictures, Urban Homesteading

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Three Sisters Succotash

Posted on August 6, 2012 | 1 comment

Sufferin’ Succotash! (I just like to say that.)

Sylvester aside, when I think of succotash, I picture a bad cafeteria steamer filled with a blend of frozen peas and carrots.

Then I saw an episode of Chow’s Go To Dishes where Jonathan Waxman made a succotash that looked amazing.

So when Papa Bird’s corn ripened at the same time as the zucchini and green beans, I had to give it a try! It turns out it is so simple and so yummy. This is a dish that truly tastes much better than it sounds, so I had to share it here. The quality of your succotash will be directly related to quality of the vegetables you use. Because the recipe is flexible and you can use any vegetables you have on hand, it is an ideal recipe for backyard garden bounty. Our tomatoes weren’t ready last month when we made this, but they would also be great in it. Our garden gave us corn, green beans, zucchini, onions and cilantro, so that’s what went in. :)

three sisters succotash

Corn is notoriously difficult to grow organically, but Papa Bird had good luck this year growing corn with summer squash and green beans, following the Iroquois tradition of the Three Sisters. Since I’m one of three sisters, I’m kind of fond of the idea. Renee’s Garden has a nice article on the legend of “three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together…

Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the following years corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating, thereby improving the overall crops chances of survival in dry years. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans.”

Three Sisters Succotash Recipe

Adapted from: Calabacitas Con Elote by Fork Fingers Chopsticks

Makes 4 servings

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 4 cups zucchini, diced (aim for about 1 inch thick pieces; too small and they will turn to mush)
  • 1 1/2 cups corn, cut fresh off the cob
  • 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into ¾ inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large hot skillet or wok, sauté zucchini in coconut oil. Allow to cook evenly for 3 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent over cooking. Add the corn, green beans and onions, stirring and sautéing for another 5 minutes so that the zucchini begins to soften and barely turn golden. The zucchini should be slightly crisp. Add the water and cover with a lid at any point if anything is starting to burn, and after a few minutes in any case. Simmer on medium heat covered for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked but slightly al dente. Serve hot.

Tips for cooking for baby:

You can reserve some for baby before adding the cumin and cilantro if he/she has not yet had spices or herbs, but don’t be afraid of introducing them, either! Puree the succotash or grind in a small food mill and add a good amount of breast milk or water. Baby Bird at 8 months liked it soupy with a lot of milk.

Variations:

Use any vegetables you have fresh and in season! I don’t ever follow a recipe to the letter, more as inspiration and structure. Try adding tomatoes, garlic, chile peppers, etc.

We added leftover chicken to the succotash the second day for a complete meal.

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Posted in Homemade Baby Food, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden, Urban Homesteading

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