blackberry cobbler

i decided it was time to make myself a blackberry cobbler.  the recipe is the same as what i used earlier this year...except this time i didn't use strawberries.

the real difference, though, is that i used less margarine (about 3/4 a stick instead of a whole one), and i also used self-rising flour (as per my mother's original recipe).

i think that using self-rising flour made the biggest difference.  instead of the cobbler being kind of gluey, the crust actually tasted like crust is supposed to be.  on the other hand, i still didn't use enough fruit; i probably could have doubled the amount of berries or halved the crust mixture.  learning experiences, i suppose.

my own opinion is that the cobbler tasted liked blackberry cobbler ought...but other people were of the opinion that i should have added more sugar.  tough cookies, i say!

roasted green beans

i've never really tried to do anything particularly fancy with green beans.  generally, i'll just dump them in a pot of water and cook them on the stove, but i decided to try something different for a change.  i procured some green beans from my dad this weekend, and now i want to see how roasting them works.

in addition to the roasted green beans, i went with my tomato/broccoli salad, some eye of the round steak, and some jasmine rice.  for the first time in awhile, i went with a full blown meal (including multiple sides).  i have been expressly forbidden to show the picture of the dinner guest, but here's what my plate looked like.

 
ingredients:
- green beans, ends snapped off
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- ground hot pepper
- paprika
- black pepper
- kosher sea salt

preparation:
after washing and draining the beans, i drizzled them with olive oil and mixed in the garlic powder, paprika, pepper(s), and salt.  i spread them onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and roasted in the oven at 425°F for 15 minutes (or until the beans start to get nicely browned on the edges).  obviously, the beans got moved to the serving dish thereafter; trying to put a baking sheet on the table (with everything else) just wouldn't work!

verdict:
i had been having problems with underseasoning some of my previous roasted vegetables, so i had tried to compensate accordingly today.  in this instance, i think i got a little too much salt.  not to say that i completely overdid it, but it's more than i would prefer.  lesson learned, i suppose.

also, i had somehow expected a slightly crispier texture overall, but that did not quite happen.  this could be partially explained by my overall poor meal timing; i took the beans out of the oven well before the meat was cooked, and the rice took longer than anticipated.  so the green beans sat a little while before being eaten.  sadness.

still, i think that, in principle, roasted green beans are a good idea.  possibly only for special occasions, though.  because ordinary green beans are nice, too.  and they're so much less fuss and bother.

tomato and broccoli salad

nothing says summer like fresh, home-grown tomatoes.  nothing.

so when i go home to visit my parents in summer, i of course carry off as many as i think i can possibly eat.  and normally i might be content with simply slicing them onto a plate, adding a dash of salt and pepper, and either eating them with a fork or between two pieces of bread.  but i thought i'd try something different today.

ingredients:
- 1 medium tomato (in this case, i think it was a better boy)
- 2  trees of broccoli (is "tree" the technical term?)
- crumbled feta cheese (i used a garlic and herb variety)
- basil
- cracked black pepper

preparation:
cut up the broccoli and tomato (i peel the tomato, too), add a liberal amount of basil, feta, and black pepper.  stir and dig in.

verdict:
i had originally intended to use cucumber instead of broccoli, but the cucumbers at the grocery store were not very good looking.  and i wasn't near any farm stand to pick a good one.  but in the end, i'm glad...the broccoli was a nice crunch, and i think a cucumber might have made the whole thing too watery.

this can never replace a tomato sandwich, but it's definitely a worthwhile side dish.  or, you know, as the meal itself...whatever works!

parmesan roasted vegetables

ah, summer.  that time of year where it gets sticky and hot and humid.  but fortunately, the season also brings forth a bounty of fresh vegetables, which more than makes up for the perspiration.

new potatoes and zucchini mean dinner for brian.  in fact, this means two dinners for brian.

ingredients:
- potatoes (handful of small to medium)
- zucchini (1 medium)
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese
- garlic powder
- thyme
- pepper (black, ground hot, cayenne)

preparation:
quarter the zucchini lengthwise and then cut into approximately two inch lengths.  cut the potatoes into similar size chunks (quarter or half, depending on the size of the potato to begin with).  toss with olive oil, and mix in garlic powder, thyme, and pepper.

spread the vegetables onto a baking sheet (covered with parchment paper) and roast at 400°F for 20 minutes, mixing occasionally.  with about 5-8 minutes left on the timer, sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.

verdict:
i'm not sure i like the thyme as much as the rosemary, but the vegetables were still tasty.  beyond that, i should have added carrots.  but i forgot that i had some in my fridge.  sadness.  also, i should have cut the potatoes a little smaller because some of them were still a little less than tender in the center.

and be warned: the potatoes are hot.  i mostly blame it on the melty cheese.  and the roof of my mouth doesn't like me now...

bacon and zucchini frittata

since it was looking like rain earlier, i decided to play in the kitchen.  because why not?  i decided an almost-july needs bacon...even if there aren't any worthy tomatoes to go with it yet.  and i had a zucchini left over from what dad gave me.  so i decided on a frittata.  because they're easy.  and they taste good.

this recipe took a total of about one hour, and it is probably sufficient to feed a brian for four meals.  jealous yet?

ingredients:
- one pound bacon
- one zucchini
- 8 eggs
- milk
- parmesan cheese
- shredded cheddar cheese
- texas pete
- ground hot pepper
- seasoned salt
- paprika
- garlic powder
- basil
- cayenne pepper

preparation:
crack the eggs into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  add in about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of milk.  additionally, mix in 5-6 shakes of hot sauce, ground hot pepper, cayenne pepper (not too much), a little seasoned salt, paprika, garlic powder, and basil.  stir in shavings of real parmesan cheese...not that fake kraft powder.  nothing against the fake kraft powder, by the way...it has it's place.  i just happened to have some real parmesan that i felt like using.

take a whole package of bacon and cut it into thirds.  fry in skillet on medium to medium-high heat until browned and crispy.  i didn't think to time it, but i would guess the bacon frying took around 20 minutes or so.  drain the grease, and add the zucchini, chunked.  (and yes, "chunked" is a technical term).  at this time, start preheating the oven to 350°F.

once the squash is browned, pour in the egg mixture.  be sure to stir it all together to adequately mix the squash, bacon, and eggs.  also, the parmesan shavings will be on top, so mix them in, as well.  sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese, ground black pepper, and some paprika on top.  continue cooking on medium-high until the edges begin to congeal.

move the skillet into the oven and bake for 25 minutes; the top should be nicely browned, and the egg will be set (and not runny) when poked with a fork.

verdict:
i have to say that i got the bacon about right...it turned out nice and crunchy inside the frittat, but it didn't get to that point of complete brittleness.  and the zucchini was also thoroughly cooked, which is nice; crunchy bacon is one thing, but crunchy squash is not generally desirable.  unless it's fried, of course.

all together, this frittata turned out  well.  i think it's an improvement over my previous attempts because i had sufficient filling ingredients; previously, i had skimped out of the misapprehension that i had a lot of filling material already.  apparently the trick is to add more when you first think you have enough...and then you might be okay.  also, anything with freshly cooked bacon has to be good!

the heat/spice factor was nice, too; there was good flavor throughout without being either overpoweringly spicy or underwhelmingly bland.  i am pleased.

roasted zucchini

my dad brought me some fresh vegetables last weekend, and i decided to try my hand at roasting zucchini.

this would be an excellent side dish.  or alternately, you could do like i did and simply eat just the squash for dinner.

- one zucchini
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- rosemary
- black pepper
- ground hot pepper


preparation:
for the purposes of this roasting experiment, i cut the zucchini lengthwise into quarters, and then i chunked these lengths into pieces about 2 inches long.  basically, i was looking for a manageable size piece (but not too small).  toss the squash with olive oil and add liberal amounts of garlic powder, rosemary, black pepper, and hot pepper.

put parchment paper on a baking sheet, and spread the zucchini on it.  roast at 400°F for 20 minutes (or until browned).  sprinkle salt on top after removing the squash from the oven.

verdict:
i've never quite noticed a nutty flavor to zucchini before, but i picked up a hint of it after the roasting process.  in terms of doneness, i think it got a little more cooked than i might have liked, but it wasn't overly limp.  also, considering the size of the vegetable i used, maybe i should have sliced the squash into eighths...that would have given more surface area and allowed for a more even seasoning.

i am pleased.

pork and aubergine casserole

this past weekend, i was browsing the clemson farmer's market and started talking to a local farmer (of walker century farms).  as i was buying some ground pork from him, he was providing commentary on how it is hard to mess up cooking (unless you simply fail to pay attention to what you're doing).  as it turns out, this fellow also likes to cook, and he was kind enough to provide me with a recipe.

this is not that recipe.  but he did give me an idea.  and the concept for this particular dish didn't get finalized until i was halfway through preparation.  so this pork and aubergine casserole is truly an experiment.  "aubergine" sounds so much more sophisticated than "eggplant," don't you think?

prep time took about 30 minutes, and cooking time took upwards of 40 minutes.  this gave me about 6-7 servings.

ingredients:
- 1 aubergine (one goes a long way...these eggplants are a lot bigger than they seem)
- about 1 pound of ground pork, thawed
- 1 pint diced tomatoes (these happened to be home-grown and home-canned)
- 15 oz can of corn
- 8 oz (or so) of feta cheese
- parmesan cheese (real, not fake kraft version)
- basil
- garlic powder
- oregano
- black pepper
- ground hot pepper
- cayenne pepper
- tarragon
- thyme
- paprika

preparation:
i drained the corn and mixed it with the tomatoes in a bowl.  with it, i mixed basil, garlic powder, oregano, cracked black pepper, ground hot pepper, and some tarragon.  i happen to like basil and oregano with tomatoes (it feels so italian), and since mom doesn't add anything to the tomatoes when she cans them, i added quite a bit of herbs.  the pepper was mostly to keep things from getting too bland, and i thought that the anise-flavor of the tarragon might add a little extra zip.  whether it made a difference or not, i let the mixture sit for about half an hour in hopes that the flavors would meld a little more.

thinly slice the eggplant, and add a layer to the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan.

brown the pork over medium-high heat with garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, black pepper, and paprika.  i figured that some of the cayenne would cook off (and/or be lost in the grease), so i added a bit more than i might otherwise have thought appropriate.  browning took approximately 10 minutes, after which i drained the excess grease.  the pork was surprisingly lean, i must say.

once the pork is drained, stir into the tomato and corn mixture before pouring the entire bowl into the baking pan.  layer any remaining eggplant on top.  crumble the feta cheese on top and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.  sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

verdict:
flavor-wise, this turned out surprisingly well.  the herbs and spices weren't overpowering, but i also managed to avoid underseasoning the dish.  in and of itself, that is impressive.

to be self-critical, though, this casserole had several flaws:

• too watery: i think i should have drained the tomatoes as well as the corn.  also, the tomato wasn't really all that present.  either i should have used more tomatoes, or i should have added some tomato paste to help coat the meat.
• upper layer of eggplant was a little tough: i probably should have brushed the top layer with olive oil or something before adding the cheese.  it still tasted fine, but you could tell the baking process left the eggplant a little dry.
• lack of binding agent:  i'm not sure this was particularly cohesive dish.  in some ways, it felt like a deconstructed soup.  fixing the first point may solve the problem, but i wonder if a thin egg mixture poured on top would have helped, too.

all that said, i would probably cook something similar again.  however, i'd probably dice the eggplant instead of having thin slices.  homogenizing the ingredients might prevent a tough(ish) layer of eggplant on top and make things feel more like a single, cohesive dish.

live and learn, right?  and yes, i realize the pictures are kind of pitiful this time...everyone has an off-day!