Valentines is here! Getum' while they're hot!

things are starting to sprout in the greenhouse...

I love this time of year, the anticipation of spring and all the yummy veggies.... I will be in the greenhouse and garden every chance I get in the next few weeks!!

Chopped .....but not...mystery basket dilema

I had a mystery basket contest I had to complete recently for  a job opportunity...  all I can say is wow!!!! I watch the TV show chopped regularly. As the baskets are unveiled each week  I mentally prepare food with these chefs trying to beat the clock.....sitting on the couch of course. We all know the show has four ingredients either that have to be prepared into an entree, appetizer, or dessert for each round in  a very short amount of time . Every round , one chef is chopped  and the remaining competitors are left to duke it out for the cash prize at the end! 
As I prepared mentally to compete myself I thought about so many ingredients and what I would do for each one. How I could amaze the judges with something spectacular ....well I  did really well but it was a VERY stressful event!  Nothing really could prepare you for such and event except thinking quick and lots of praying ...and cooking of course....This was different from the TV show. We were timed but we had 17 ingredients and they had to be prepared into three separate entrees!!!! 
When I looked over my tray of ingredients and the beef tenderloin I was to use....(which was defrosting from its still frozen state) I felt a little overwhelmed to say the least ...I had to use all the following basket ingredients ....Beef tenderloin. Green curry paste. Chick peas. Sundried tomato, shrimp, tilapia,  coconut milk,. Lo mein noodles, eggplant, tomatillo,. Garlic naan. Avocado, jicama. Gouda asparagus mozzarella vanilla yogurt....... It was quite a list. 
Heres what I came up with !

Beef tenderloin marinated with green curry With a chick pea and bacon naan encrusted patty. And a sherry mushroom and onion ragout with a caprese spinach salad and a sundried tomato vinaigrette

Garlic naan and Gouda encrusted tilapia that had been brushed and baked with a tomatillo sauce On a bed of roasted asparagus and a jicama avocado and red onion slaw on top. And a vanilla yogurt and tomatillo cold sauce on the side

Garlic naan and Gouda encrusted tilapia that had been brushed and baked with a tomatillo sauce On a bed of roasted asparagus and a jicama avocado and red onion slaw on top. And a vanilla yogurt and tomatillo cold sauce on the side


Well I dont know if I did my best but I did pretty well and I was able to to get the job !!!  YAY!!!

Happy  Cooking Everyone...

Crepes.... so good!!

We think about crepes being so hard to make but really they are very simple and they can be filled with so many yummy things....savory and sweet !!!
Today I had spinach, onions, chicken and mushroom  so delicious .

Leftover crepes can be stacked in between wax paper and put in a zip lock in the freezer for a month....but really,  who has leftover crepes!!!

Combine one cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 1/4 milk in a blender and add 2 eggs and 2 TB of melted butter!! refrigerate for an hour. It helps the flour particles to soften so crepes will be light and fluffy.

Brush a small non stick pan with butter and pour two tablespoons of batter into a pan and tilt the pan quickly in a all directions so batter is covering bottom of the pan in a thin film. Cook a minute over medium heat and lift edge of crepe to test doneness....shake loose and flip it for 30 seconds on the other side and repeat !

I layered my crepes with spinach cheese and onions and covered in a white sauce and baked till hot ...but you could roll like and enchilada or fill with a sweet c

ream cheese mixture and top with fresh fruit ...so yummy!!

Pickles....

 I was not a fan of pickle day as a child. Although I loved eating them , I didn't seem to appreciate to process from farm to table. . Nothing seemed worst than running  in the back door at moms or grandmas on a hot East Texas day and smelling the overpowering stench of vinegar and garlic for an entire day.  Back in the day we did not have super cool air conditioning..... so the hot humid Texas days didn't help the situation. 

Pickling and pickles go back in history to 2000 B.C . Pickles are created by immersing fresh fruits or vegetables in an acidic liquid or saltwater brine until they are no longer considered raw or vulnerable to spoilage. When we think of pickles, cucumbers commonly come to mind. Pickled cucumbers are often lacto-fermented in saltwater brine. . Cucumber pickles can also be made with a salt and vinegar brine, a popular choice for home cooks.  This is my favorite method for sure! The brine, known as “pickle juice,” is sometimes used by athletes to treat dehydration, though it has yet to be proven as a true remedy. Some plants seem to like this boost acid in the soil as well. I have even seen a few pickle juice snow cones at  our local  stand during the summer.

Of course, pickles aren’t limited to the dill and cucumbers.. They can be sweet, sour, salty, hot or all of the above. Pickles can be made with cauliflower, radishes, onions, green beans, asparagus and an assortment  of vegetables and fruits. Earlier in life, I wasn't particularly a fan of in my opinion a bunch of gross pickled veggies in jars...but of course as an adult, I  now appreciate the variety of fruits and veggies I can pickle and how they can expand our culinary creations at home and work ! In east Texas where I live, every BBQ joint you find will have the pickled peppers, onions, Dill pickles l and hopefully a few bread and butter  pickles on their buffet lines .

Last year my elderly neighbor that is a fantastic Gardener blessed me with sacks of cucumbers. Loren is not a fan of the cucumber but definitely loves his bread and butter pickles. Armed with determination, a pressure canner, cucumbers and an assortments of spices I set out one summer day to transform these into a treat for Loren. . Hours later I had hot mason jars resting, cooling and waiting to be eaten. We have enjoyed these all winter and so now with new gardening season on the horizon, I am already planning some different cucumber varieties to enlarge my pantry. I now am looking forward to smelling the pungent vinegar and spice knowing that a delicious treat awaits at the bottom of the pot!

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gardening with grandma

My garden project...

I remember as a little girl spending time with my grandmother..She always had this collection of seed catalogs and i remember her pouring over these catalogs, carefully choosing the flowers she would plant. Of course, she had a bounty of perennials but always added to her beds each year...I thought she was amazing with new plants taking shape in an egg cartons, coffee can or whatever container she had ...then added to the garden just at the right time...I was amazed at her green thumb. Flower beds with peonies . irises, daisies and many flowers... a beautiful canvas changing each season....Not only her flower garden but a huge vegetable garden and orchard...I remember as a child getting in the garden with my cousins and eating raw garlic one day....we were quite a stinky trio for the rest of the day..  But she didn't get mad and laughed it off....she always took time with us and didn't mind if i picked a few daisy's , tomatos or other treasures i found ... I always thought of her as an artist... And her fresh bounty transformed around her formica kitchen table into delicious simple home cooked meals ....So much inspiring me in cooking , ad loving my family with gardening and cooking..Last year I acquired a new greenhouse .. as much as I wanted to have a greenhouse full of plants, I seemed to get a late start on my seedlings and never caught up...always running a few months behind....  But with all my failures, I learned so much and managed to fill a small freezer and many canning jars with a fresh summer bounty...with my moms help of course.  Mom of course as much a mastermind in the kitchen and garden as my grandmother...This year with a little coaching from my neighbor I managed to order and save all my seeds...mostly heirloom seeds form last years garden... .....and I am on time for planting!!! This week I am determined to get them planted   ..I found this picture of a piece of last years herb garden and with hopeful anticipation I look forward to a new garden... a new attempt at new life in my backyard....So get those seeds out  ....and grow your own organic produce !!  and start making your own memories in the garden too

berries for valentines

Time to order strawberries for valentines day....delicious chocolate chocolate and the freshest berries  ...who can resist   Make them yourself its so easy    Melt the chocolate until silky smooth, remove from heat and line a sheet pan with parchment paper...
Hold the berry or cherry gently by the stem and sip the fruit into the chocolate...left and twist...allow the excess chocolate to go back into the pan. Set berry on parchment paper to set and garnish with complimenting chocolate drizzle, holiday sprinkles,   coconut, edible glitter or double dip with another type of chocolate...

tiny dessert bites

Sweet and simples desserts...just a few bites..just right!!

Chocolate mousse cups, spiced pumpkins cheesecake bites with sweet cream and berry cheesecake cups with fresh berries!

check us out on www.pamcarterevents.com    great menus, and other event information!!

www.pamcarterevents.com