Bountiful Basket Coop 3-12-11

It is a beautiful day here in Southern Utah! It is in the 70's today, and I can't wait to get out into the garden this afternoon. I have to do some errands first :) Well, here is the haul that we received today in our Bountiful Baskets. I forgot to include the beautiful apples....put them right into the crisper when I got home. So, fruit included apples, bananas, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries and blackberries. Vegetable fare included green cauliflower (love this stuff), asparagus, green beans, green leaf lettuce and Roma tomatoes. I think it is a very nice basket today. I've already prepped the cauliflower and lettuce. I'm going to try an awesome recipe using the asparagus for dinner. I'll share pictures. I also got the Italian Pack which was $7.50, and included baby bella mushrooms, regular mushrooms, red onion, 2 sweet onions, head of garlic, fresh cilantro, basil, oregano and rosemary. It all looks and smells so good!

The best thing next to picking it from your own garden, is getting a basket for $15 with all of the fruit and vegetables. It really helps us to eat more produce when we get a basket.

Starting Seeds and Gardening in So. Utah

I've just finished writing an article on starting seeds and getting your garden on here in Southern Utah. You can find the article at Alive! Utah South Area.

Let me know what you think! Anyone out there getting a garden started? I helped my parents get some tomatoes planted yesterday. I have mine hardening off right now. I bought some walls of water yesterday, so hope to get my tomatoes in tomorrow.

Asian Grilled Salmon and Red Pepper Soup

This month, I helped put together an article for Alive! Utah South Area, online magazine. You'll love the red pepper soup recipe. It is really delicious and so easy to make, not to mention low calorie. The salmon recipe is wonderful as well. Go check it out the original post here .

picture courtesy of Alive! Utah

Asian Grilled Salmon

1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 3 pounds)

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

3 TBSP soy sauce

6 TBSP good olive oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

Light charcoal briquettes in a grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to keep the salmon from sticking.

While the grill is heating, lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4-5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits. Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

picture courtesy of Alive! Utah

Red Pepper Soup (Kitchen Close-up by Diedre Hall)

1 yellow onion

2-3 large red or orange peppers, cut into chunks

1 clove garlic

1 c. or more chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 Carrots or zucchini chunks, optional

1 tsp olive oil

salt

Cook the vegetable chunks in the broth until tender, then transfer to blender. Blend with other ingredients and season to taste.

Deidre Hall Cookbook Contest

Here is a picture of Deidre, the chef at Green Valley Spa, and Lynne in front of a cool blender/cooker by Cuisinart that they used during the demo.

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 5 Result: 5 The winner of the cookbook is Dee! I'll get that sent out to you tomorrow. Enjoy!

Country Pot Roast

I've told you about my favorite go to cook book, The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. The recipes are fantastic, and no fail. I received the cookbook as a wedding gift nearly 28 years ago. We love the recipe for Country Pot Roast. I understand that the older version is better than the newer version.

We are not big meat eaters, but I do have a side of beef in my freezer that needs to be used up by June. Therefore, we eat meat about 1-2 times a week.

I have about 4 chuck roasts left to use, so I knew that we'd be having Country Pot Roast for Sunday dinner. It is so easy to make. Rub seasoning and flour into the meat surfaces, brown in some olive oil on all sides, and slip it into a crock pot.

Well, there is a bit more to it, but not much. Here is the link to the recipe. In the cookbook, it does not call for the broth, so I didn't add any. Serve it with mashed potatoes. All of that pureed vegetable/broth makes for a wonderful gravy!

Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams

I went to Harmon's in St. George last week to pick up some sweet potatoes. What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams? Well, most everyone calls yams, sweet potatoes, but most of what you see in the store are sweet potatoes. According to the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, sweet potatoes are grown in the US, primarily North Carolina. So really, both varieties above are really sweet potatoes. A true yam is a starchy edible root that is not smooth, but rough and scaly. If you're wanting a great source of vitamin A, then you better stick with sweet potatoes. In a one cup serving you will get the same amount of beta-carotene as you'd get in 16 cups of broccoli. They are also a great source of vitamin E and other essential nutrients. A super food for sure!

Winter Container Garden

I was just going through pictures on my computer. I have to get 3 to the high school for a senior slide show during graduation. Anyway, I found pictures I had taken in December of my container garden that I meant to share with you. I bought 2 packs of panels from Lowe's for $24.99 each. These hook together. I bought them to keep Pug and Luigi out of the "garden", because they were eating my tomatoes and cucumbers. I bought some plastic at the garden center to cover the thing once it became cold. I've been harvesting Swiss chard, spinach and bok choy ever since. Which reminds me, I need to get out there and water today :) I used office paper "clips" to keep the plastic from blowing off. Below is my awesome pot of bok choy. Great for stir fry! Top left is 2 varieties of Swiss chard, and another Swiss chard plant on the top right. Bottom left is spinach, and bottom right is the bok choy.

As you may recall, I brought my tomatoes inside and put them under a grow light. I had cherry tomatoes all winter. I recently just moved it outside, where it froze. It was covered with a spider mite, which I couldn't get rid of. I have my garlic and green onions under plastic on my patio table, which is on the patio. It gets sun, but it is covered. I'll endeavor to get some pictures of that as well. I need to get some seeds started by Saturday. Feb. 14 is the official planting day here in St. George for early crops.