Garden Fresh Peas!

I grew up in my favorite vintage period, the 1950s and 60s.  When I think about peas coming to our dinner table, I remember two things.   My daddy disliked peas.  I loved them over mashed potatoes.  Hold the gravy; I still love them over my mashed potatoes!

When I look through my wonderful collection of vintage cookbooks, I find crazy recipes using peas. I could almost understand using peas to fill the center of a creamy lemon gelatin mold or with a combination of vegetables to make a loaf to slice … if the peas had been fresh from the garden.  Our homemakers of that time were using canned peas.  I guess that is no different than me loving little tiny spring peas out of a can … in the well in the middle of my scoop of mashed potatoes!

I think the funniest vintage recipe using canned peas that I’ve found is shown above,  Bologna Cups filled with Peas!  I grew up eating fried bologna sandwiches, but I had never seen or eaten a bologna boat (what the school cafeteria ladies called them) until I had to eat lunch at school one day instead of going home for lunch.  There weren’t any peas in my boat, though … just mashed potatoes! Some of the kids put catsup over that, and I was certain they were crazy!

Here's another interesting bologna boat recipe!  At least this one tops a casserole of macaroni and cheese, and that combination sounds good to me.

A column about bologna is planned for a future date, but it is likely that these 1950s fancy bologna recipes evolved because it was also at that time that plastic packaging hit the scene.  Home cooks  could buy packaged sliced bologna and keep it for some time in their refrigerator!

Peas have been around nearly forever!  When we look at the history of peas, we aren’t finding the sweet little soft green peas during the bronze age, but the hard legumes that were easily dried, stored and cooked.  Egyptians, Romans and Greeks considered peas a staple, but it wasn’t until the 16^th Century that we realized they were good picked when they were new plants, before they had hardened and dried.  Pease were found on the menus of Henry VIII.  Pease Pudding was very common during that time and used dried yellow peas and not the sweet garden variety that we commonly eat today.  The word pease originally was used as the singular, but  eventually the word changed to pea.

In the late 1500s, peas were found in Dutch gardens. This was the beginning of the Dutch Golden Age and it should be remembered that the Dutch India Trading Company made many Dutch citizens wealthy merchants.  The haute cuisine that had emerged in the previous century became commonly available to the middle and upper classes by 1600. 

Still, what we know as sweet peas or sugar peas were only available during the growing season and they were considered a special food item favored by the wealthy.  A little later, the French realized how good the petits pois were and finally, in 1870 in America the Campbell’s Company began canning fresh peas!  By 1920, peas were among the first vegetables to become available frozen.

I enjoy fresh peas. I’m going to share a couple recipes for ways to savor the sweet gems.  A few go a long way in these recipes, so you don’t have to spend hours hulling and shelling them, but you get that wonderful springtime taste!

One of my 1950s cookbooks includes a recipe for topping boiled fresh peas with a sweetened orange juice and butter combination.  That made me realize that an orange salad dressing would be wonderful over a green salad that included a handful of fresh peas.  If the peas are fresh enough, you can eat them raw.  I enjoy them that way.

Orange Vinaigrette

Juice and zest of 2 oranges

½ Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

A dash of salt and a few grinds of black pepper

Whisk these ingredients together and serve on a salad of tender lettuce leaves, red onion slivers, fresh garden peas, orange sections and a boiled egg.

I frequently make pasta dishes that don’t really have a sauce.  I learned how good that was decades ago when I first had pasta tossed in a basil pesto in a big city restaurant!  That was a new thing, but it quickly became one of my favorites.  I make my own pesto during the summer when my fresh herbs are plentiful.  I freeze little packets of it, so I have it throughout the other months. I use carrot tops, fennel fronds and small portions of other greens to make similar concoctions that just add summer freshness to a wintertime meal.

This pasta is dressed with the olive oil left in the skillet from sautéing chicken, lemon juice and fresh thyme. Here’s the way to make it! Be sure you save a little of the pasta boiling water to add to the skillet to create a somewhat starchy creamy finish.

Boil the amount of pasta you need.  In about a quarter inch of olive oil in a heavy skillet, gently fry chicken tenders or chunks of boneless chicken meat.  I dust my chicken in flour, but you don’t have to.  Season the chicken with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

When the pasta is about 5 minutes from being done, add a handful of fresh sweet peas to cook as the pasta finishes.  When the peas/pasta are done, drain it … saving about a cup of the water. 

When the chicken is done, remove it from the skillet and lower the heat.  Immediately, add the juice and zest of a lemon to the remaining olive oil in the skillet.  Stir in a teaspoon of fresh thyme and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Add the pasta and peas to the skillet and stir it to coat the pasta.  Lastly, add a half cup of parmesan cheese (from the green box, not fresh) and toss the ingredients.

When serving, squeeze that lemon one more time and add a little juice to the chicken pieces. This combination of pasta, peas and lemon is delicious.

This column is a part of my 2020 Vintage Vegetables project.  If you’d like to see similar posts, just click the menu tab.  I’ll be sharing this with some blog parties, so take a look at the list on my sidebar.  

Stay in and stay safe.  Save lives.

Don't be Afraid

2 Timothy 1:7   (KJV)

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of sound mind

2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

This scripture popped up in my daily Bible Study app.  It seems so appropriate for these COVID19 times, but it made me think much more deeply than that.  I have always had a ‘mouth’ on me.  Sometimes to my own demise, I have said things that I should not have said.  As this scripture says, God didn’t make me timid.  That kind of assertiveness doesn’t give us power, though.  That is, unless we learn how to say those things with love and unless we learn to discipline our outbursts.  I would like to think I have learned those things, but I honestly admit that times come when I spew things that don’t need to be said or certainly need to have been said in a more loving way.

Right now, for example, I want to scream at people that are not following the stay at home rules.  I want to scream at the members of the media who are not substantiating the news they are creating.  At the same time, I want to shout out praise to all the essential workers who continue to go to work, hoping they don’t infect their families when they return home.  I want to shout out praise to the political leaders who have done their best to get ahead of this virus, protecting the American people.

This scripture comes from the writings of Paul to his friend Timothy who is trying to lead a church in Ephesus.  He is telling Timothy, who history tells us was a little bit sickly and timid, to be strong and powerful but loving and kind.  He is encouraging him to use self-control in his actions. Paul says these things many times throughout his writings. Those instructions are intended for us.

My new retirement is settling well with me.  I am no longer in control of anything other than my household, which is made of of me and my dog!  I am, however, in charge of the way I behave, and the eyes of a 13-year-old granddaughter are always on me!  To that end, I will do my best to follow this scripture! 

These are times when words and deeds really do matter.  We need to express support and kindness in every way possible.  I'm enjoying reading posts about people in self-isolation who are still reaching out to neighbors by sitting on their porches and singing together.  My favorite story from yesterday had a picture of a man standing on one balcony, reaching up and feeding a dog who was standing on the balcony above him.  The dog's owner was in the hospital and the dog was alone.  The hearts movement has taken the world, as people are displaying handmade hearts in their windows for all their neighbors to see.    

God didn't make us to be afraid and we need to share that strength with others.

Celery Root is Delicious!

When I write about vintage vegetable recipes, they often come from childhood memories.  My mother, however, never cooked celeriac.  If Daddy had grown celery in the garden, or if my grandfather had grown it in his garden, Mama would have cooked it, but they didn’t care about celery!  Celery at our house was something used for seasoning.  It showed up on the table for holiday meals and was always stuffed with Kraft Pineapple Cheese from that cute little jar!

Actually, celery root comes from a little different variety of celery that might have been commonly grown in home gardens.  I had never cooked celery root until I was experimenting with a totally white soup recipe for a dinner party I was hosting.  I bought my first one then, but I search for them now.  I love celery stalks and I love celery root.

We know that celery is native to the Mediterranean region and to the Middle East.  It is one of the first vegetables to appear in recorded history.  Confucius wrote about it in China in 500 B.C.   Ancient Egyptians used the plant for its seeds, but they also ate the stalks and leaves.  Ancient Greeks used celery for medicine.  Celery is known as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and has antiviral components.  We should eat more celery, but it is not a popular vegetable.  I’ll write a column about celery stalks later.  Today, I’m focusing on the big ugly root!

The root is full of starch and can easily be substituted for potatoes in many recipes.  It adds a little different flavor to mashed potatoes, but the children will never notice!  It is fantastic in soups, added to slaw or added to green salad ingredients.  If somebody offered me a basketful of the ugly root bulbs, I’d gladly take them!  They store well in a cool dry place and can be kept through cool winter months.  Just look at them frequently and make sure the stems don’t start shooting from the tops because they will rot if they get wet and will cause the bulb to rot, too.

In most of my 1950s cookbooks, celeriac recipes are simple.  You peel it, cube it and simmer it in water until it is done.  It is served with salt, pepper and a little butter.  I love it that way, but there are other ways to use it and dress it up a little!  You can use celeriac the same ways you would use a potato.  Boil it with potatoes for mashed potatoes.  Cube it for soups.  Slice it and add to escalloped or au’gratin potatoes.  Use it like you would use cabbage.  Shredded or julienned celery root added to slaw is delicious.  Add it to braised cabbage or sweet and sour cabbage recipes.  It adds a slightly nutty flavor to what is already delicious. 

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes using celery root.  For this batch of au’gratin potatoes with celery root, I simmer the vegetables before I prepare the casserole.  

Slice 4 big potatoes and the celery root.  Simmer the celeriac about ten minutes, then add the potatoes for another ten minutes. Drain and place the vegetables in a casserole dish.  I like to add just a little salt, but I used pepper that has lemon and orange in it.  I like the citrus notes with celeriac.

I make a cheese sauce stovetop and add it to the casserole.   Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter with 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease.  Add 2 Tablespoons of flour and make a roux.  Add 2 cups of milk and let it heat gently until it begins to bubble.  Any kind of cheese works, but a combination of Swiss and Gruyere is fantastic.  Add 2 cups of shredded cheese.  Let everything melt and whisk it so it is smooth.  Pour the sauce over the casserole.  Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and browned on top. 

If you have too much sauce, refrigerate it and use it later.  It would be wonderful over scrambled eggs or an omelet. 

This column is part of my 2020 Vintage Vegetables project!  If you’d like to see similar posts, just click the menu tab.  I’ll be sharing this with a few blog parties, so make sure you check the listings on my sidebar and click through.

Stay in and stay safe.

Romanesco!

During my childhood … my favorite vintage period of the 1950s and the 1960s … one of my favorite vegetables was cauliflower.  We didn’t have it a lot.  I always figured it was either expensive, hard to find, or both.  It was not a garden vegetable for us, so it came from the grocery store.

Mama cooked it whole.  She used a big pot that she used for lots of things.  She used that pot for so many years that at the end of her life, it didn’t even have a handle!  She still used it.  She cooked it slowly in water, but she also added milk to the water.  I was sitting at the kitchen table one time when I was about six years old.  I asked her why she added the milk, and she told me it helped keep the cauliflower white!   She would flip to see the bright lime green, purple and orange cauliflowers we get these days!  Mother also made the same cheese sauce every time!  Velveeta was the main ingredient!  I cook cauliflower the same way, and Velveeta is my processed cheese of choice, too!

Cauliflower is a word that is thought to have come from the Italian word “caolifliori”, which means cabbage flowers.  Europe enjoyed cauliflower during the Middle ages.  For some reason it disappeared but was reintroduced in the by Italians on the island of Cyprus.  It had been taken to Cyprus from Asia.  Those cauliflowers were different than the Middle Ages style.  They were named Cyprus Cabbage.

By 1600, the Germans had “blumenkohl”.  The English called it “cole”.  Italians loved their “cavolfiore”, and the Spanish cooked “cliforlor”!  There are mentions of the vegetable in various historic texts and we know that King Louis XIV liked his cooked in stock and seasoned with nutmeg and butter!

American cookbooks from the 1700s provide recipes for stewing, boiling and frying cauliflower. Pickling the vegetable was introduced and was served when other vegetables were not available.  In the 1800s, we started serving it with butter and white sauce.  Those recipes suggest boiling it in milk to “gentle its flavor”.  In the 1800s, we also started making creamy cauliflower soup!  And … you thought that was invented in the 1970s!

It isn’t often that I find something I have never seen or cooked!  That was true not long ago when I got this magnificent vegetable in my vegetable delivery box!  This Romanesco cauliflower was so much fun to prepare.  It was also delicious. 

This magnificent vegetable is Italian in origin and history tells us it was being grown in Rome during the 16^th Century.  Its flavor is a little bit nuttier than the regular cauliflower, so I decided it didn’t need any kind of sauce, just a little butter.  I also thought it was a bit regal, so I served it with chicken breasts stuffed with feta cheese and wrapped in prosciutto.  The color of the Romanesco faded during cooking, but it was still a pretty site!

The recipe for cooking this big beauty is simple.  I used the IP and cooked it for 3 minutes … just 3 minutes.  By the time it built up pressure and released the pressure, it was perfect.  I served it with melted butter poured over it.  Browned butter would have been delicious, too.  I also spritzed a little lemon juice over it right before I served it.

The chicken recipe is also pretty simple!

Chicken Breasts with Lemon Feta

4 ounce package of lemon flavored goat cheese

4 thick chicken breasts

8 ounces of sliced prosciutto

Salt and pepper

Lemon slices for garnish

When I want to stuff a chicken breast with cheese, I never want it to melt out of the meat.  Instead of slicing the meat horizontally, I slice a big space from the top and tuck the cheese inside.  That way, it just melts into the little pocket I cut! 

Slice the pocket into each breast.  Slice the goat cheese log into 4 chunks and tuck a chunk into each breast.  Wrap each breast with the prosciutto.  If you cannot get or don’t want to afford prosciutto, deli ham will work just as well.  Place the breasts on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.  Make sure the juices run clear from the chicken.  The amount of time depends upon the thickness of the meat.

I served this chicken and my beautiful Romanesco on a bed of white and wild rice.  I drizzled the melted butter all over the platter!  

What to do with leftover cauliflower?  You will often read about fritters in my blog posts.  As I’ve researched a variety of food topics over the years, I have often encountered the reasons why home cooks prepared fritters.  In the absence of meat during war times, minced meats or vegetables made into fritters took the place of that piece of meat.  In the absence of money, the same applied. Using leftovers or small portions of something and adding an egg and breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs … turned small portions into a meal for several.  The only thing similar to a fritter that my mother ever made was a salmon croquette.  My husband didn’t like salmon croquettes, because his mother made them with canned mackerel instead of salmon.  That was all about cost! 

Abraham Lincoln liked “Corn Oysters”, which were fritters made with fresh corn.  Martha Washington made apple fritters that had dark ale in them.  Menus from the banquet tables of Henry VIII include fritters!  I love fritters.

Cauliflower Fritters

2 cups of leftover cooked cauliflower
2 eggs
1/2 c cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup crushed crackers
1 teaspoon of lemon pepper
Sprinkle of salt
olive oil for frying

Mash the cooked cauliflower and press it in a sieve to push all the water out of it. If you freeze leftover cauliflower, it will have even more moisture in it, so push! Stir cheese, eggs, cracker crumbs and pepper together with the cauliflower.

Put a little olive oil in a skillet and set it to medium-high heat. Form the cauliflower mixture into patties about 3 inches across. Cook until golden brown & set, about 3 minutes per side. Sprinkle with a little salt.

These are fantastic served with a salad or a bowl of soup. They are a great side dish for most any meat. Enjoy!

I'll be sharing this column with a few blog parties, so look at the list on my sidebar and go visit. This post is a part of my 2020 Vintage Vegetable project. If you'd like to see similar columns, just click my menu tab for the project.

Green Beans Again!

Green beans originated in Peru and spread to South and Central America as Indian tribes migrated.   Spanish explorers carried them back to Europe in the 16^th century.  From there, they were transported all around the world.  Native Americans planted them along the rows of corn so the beans could weave their way up the corn stalks.

Green bean casserole was created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly who worked for the Campbell Soup. Company.  According to Wikipedia, in 2018 twenty million households served the casserole at their Thanksgiving Dinner.  I’m afraid my household is not included in that count!  For years, I made it, but ten years ago we decided it was no longer a favorite!

It is interesting to know that Reilly was challenged to create a recipe that would use ingredients that most Americans always had in the cupboards:  Canned green beans and Cream of Mushroom Soup!  She certainly created a winner!

While our family of five children was still at home, my dad grew enough green beans each year to allow Mother to can at least 100 quarts.  That was no small task.  I remember lots of times that we all sat under the shade tree in the front yard and snapped green beans!  Thankfully, he grew the ‘string less’ kind and we didn’t have to mess with that part! 

My brothers enjoy telling anyone who will listen … that I am their baby sister … and when it was time to pick green beans in the garden, Mother would perch me on an inverted bucket to sit like a princess, while they worked!  I guess they are right, as I don’t have memories of picking the beans … just snapping them!

The favorite way of preparing green beans in Mother’s household … and certainly in mine … is to boil them with onions, potatoes and smoked meat.  A ham hock is the most likely addition!  I still love to do this when beans are in season and little new potatoes are still available.  I can make this a meal.  Just give me the saltshaker, more fresh onion and a nice piece of crusty bread!  I’m happy!  The bigger the batch the better!

However, cooking for one doesn’t require a giant batch, and I have discovered a different way to get the same wonderful flavors without having leftovers for a week.  I sheet pan roast my beans, potatoes and onions. 

My husband was a fan of cooking what he called ‘one-potters’!  His favorite was a Dutch oven filled with Polish sausage, green peppers, onions, potatoes and tomato sauce.  He also had a favorite pot, the Pyrex clear brown.  He said he enjoyed watching the food as it cooked!  You could see through the pot itself, not just the lid!

Sheet pan cooking is the modern version of one-potters!  It was made popular beginning in 2009 when a New York Times food writer shared a recipe for sheet pan shrimp.  By 2014, it was all the rage. For the same reasons we enjoyed cooking in one pot in the 1970s, today’s home cooks enjoy using one pan.  Less mess, less time in the kitchen and flavorful combinations have made it a popular method of getting supper on the table!

I’m a fan, but I think it is easy to end up with a big fail!   Everything can taste the same when you pile it on a sheet pan, spritz it with olive oil and leave it in the oven to blister.  We used to hear that same complaint about a crock pot meal, and I don’t disagree with that!  It is important to not overcook and to not smother your foods with too much oil and too much seasoning. Olive oil has a flavor all its own, so I frequently use canola oil instead.  It doesn’t have flavor!  I also make my own spice combinations so I can avoid salt.  That might be a future column! 

Pan Roasted Green Beans, Onions and Potatoes

Wash and clean all the vegetables.  Use small potatoes and onions and they will roast in the same amount of time as the green beans!

Toss the vegetables in a light spritz of canola oil (not olive oil).  Place a single layer on the sheet pan.  You can cut the potatoes and onions into portions, if you think they are too big.

I use two seasonings on my vegetables:  Pepper, and I like a lot of it.   Butter Garlic Rub, and there are dozens of brands to choose from.

The last secret I’ll share with you is that I prepared a big batch of these last summer.  I portioned them in single servings just for me and sealed them to freeze.  They can be heated in a microwave or in the oven.  I use my NuWave counter-top convection oven and in less than 5 minutes, they are ready to eat.

This column is part of my 2020 Vintage Vegetable project.  If you’d like to see similar posts, just click the page tab in my menu.  I’ll also be sharing this with some blog parties, so make sure you click through the list on my sidebar to visit!

Daffodils and Day Dreams

I could tell you that I've had this dinnerware since I was a new bride, but that isn't true.  It is that old, but I bought it in a collective shop about ten years ago.  It is Mikasa Garden Club and what is neat about it is the fact that it  comes in a variety of floral patterns, all under the Garden Club umbrella!  My main set is blue "Day Dreams" and the daffodil soup bowls are "Early Spring".  I have a variety of things in the different patterns, but I mix them all with the Day Dreams set.

Daffodils have started springing through the ground in Southern Illinois, but I've used silk in my composed centerpiece.  The ones in my yard haven't shown their little heads, yet.  We'll just have to settle for silk!

I shopped the house for the elements of my composed centerpiece, which is actually sitting at the 4th place at a table for 3!  Silk flowers in a shabby watering can; the little blue bunny that I've had for years;  The bird cake filled with pastel colored eggs and the faux greenery orb.  I think we are all amazed what we can come up with sometimes! 

The dinnerware is Mikasa; the flatware is Sabatier; the stemmed glasses are Fostoria.  The butterfly napkin ring is one of my favorites from my collection!

I'll be sharing this tablescape with a couple blog parties, so make sure you click through the sites listed in my sidebar.  Enjoy!

Okra Makes Me Happy!

I remember distinctly the first time I tasted okra.  My mother made excellent vegetable soup, but on rare occasions she would fix a quick Saturday lunch of sandwiches and canned soup.  We were in the middle of a big bathroom remodel on this particular Saturday, and she and Daddy were busy doing that work.  Mother made a quick lunch, and because she had accidentally purchased two cans of Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo Soup (instead of vegetable soup), that is what we had.  She was a little bit alarmed because it had okra in it, and she was sure Daddy wouldn’t like it.  When I asked what that little slice of green seeded vegetable was, Daddy told me it was okra and that I should eat it because I would love it.  Oh my!  I did love it and so did he!  From then on, when Mother could find the soup on the shelf of our small-town corner grocery store, she bought it!

Okra is certainly vintage in my estimation!  That Campbell’s soup hit the market in the mid-1940s.  Okra was cultivated by Egyptians a few centuries earlier, in the 12^th century B.C.!  We know that okra came to the Caribbean and to the United States in the 1700s, brought by slaves from Africa.  Those slaves have influenced American cooking in enormous ways, and they taught the Louisiana Creoles that they could thicken soups with okra because of the sticky, thick juice in the vegetable.

Okra is sometimes called gumbo, and most of us know that Gumbo is a great recipe made with okra.  In the Congo, the word for okra was quillobo and the Portuguese created a word quingombo.  According to an article in Wikipedia, that is how we came to the use of the word gumbo.

Whatever name we choose to give it, okra has become popular world-wide.  We used to expect it to be on menus only in the southern region of the United States, but now we find fried okra on restaurant menus in lots of regions.  That is delicious, but I really enjoy okra prepared in many other ways.

I learned a few tips about using okra many years ago.  Buy small to medium sized pods.  Okra is used for making rope in some countries and if you want to eat rope, but big sized pods.  You won’t be able to chew them because of the strong fiber in them.  It is like chewing on toothpicks!  I’ve learned that from experience!

If you freeze okra pods whole, and slice them later while they are still frozen, the sticky juice won’t be sticky!  They will still help thicken your pot of soup or Gumbo, but the bite of okra itself won’t be as sticky!

When the pods are very small, I don’t even take the stem off.  The stem is as tender as the pod.

I’m sharing two recipes today and both are comfort foods for me!  They are healthy eating!

Okra and greens can be made with your favorite greens.  If you aren’t crazy about greens, you can make it with fresh spinach or with finely chopped cabbage.  I love greens, so this recipe is made with collard greens.  If you think the only way to prepare greens is to cook them all day in a crock pot, you are missing something.  You are cooking delicious broth that way, but I think the greens lose their flavor and nutrients.  Try your greens my way!

Collard Greens and Okra

3 slices of bacon

6 cups of washed, stemmed and sliced greens.

½ a yellow onion, sliced

½ a green bell pepper, chopped

As much okra as you’d like!

Bacon grease, salt, pepper and greens seasoning

Greens are so popular these days, there are several prepackaged spice combinations for seasoning them.  If you cannot find that, create a mixture of garlic powder, mustard powder, paprika and red pepper. 

If bacon grease is not in your diet, I’m sorry!  You can use your favorite cooking oil instead, but you lose a little flavor.

Fry the bacon until it is crisp.  Remove the bacon and crumble it. Caramelize the onion and bell pepper in the bacon grease, add the okra (sliced or halved lengthwise) and continue to cook for a few minutes until the okra begins to soften.  Add the sliced greens and stir fry until the greens are limp.  I stop cooking at this point and add the crumbled bacon and the seasonings.  The onions and pepper add nice flavor; the okra is crisp tender; the greens are not mushy … they have a nice bite to them.

Shrimp and Okra Stew

3 cups of sliced okra

1 pound of peeled, de-veined shrimp

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

A handful of cherry or grape tomatoes

3 cups Vegetable or fish stock

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning blend

Several grinds of black pepper

Salt to taste

Sauté the onion, bell pepper, celery and okra until the vegetables re crisp tender.  Add all the other ingredients, except the shrimp.  Let the stew come to a gentle boil and drop in the shrimp.  When the shrimp turn pink, the stew is done.  Serve this with rice, pasta or your favorite grain.

This post is part of my 2020 Vintage Vegetables project.  If you'd like to see similar posts, just click the menu tab.  I'll be sharing this with a couple blog parties, so make sure you check out my list on my sidebar. Enjoy!

Eggplant is My Friend!

A few years ago, I had the privilege of teaching cooking classes, encouraging people to use locally grown produce.  One of the most difficult vegetables to push was eggplant!

What preconceived notions we have about eggplant!  Most people immediately think “mushy” when you mentioned the beautiful aubergine because any time they’ve ever been offered eggplant, it has been in the mushy state.   All vegetables can be cooked that way and in certain regions of the United States that is the only way to cook them.  I’ve come to realize that Americans have an aversion to eggplant because we have an aversion to pureed food, yet many of us preferred our vegetables cooked to that soft state!  Unfortunately, the longer you cook most vegetables, the fewer nutrients they retain, so I encourage you to learn to love veges in the crisp tender state.

Today’s column is devoted to eggplants!  I want you to try eggplant!  Eggplants were first domesticated in India and they come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes.   The first written detail of how to grow eggplants dates to 544 China.  A 12^th century book from Arabic Spain describes growing them and a 1597 English botany book describes the plant that “groweth everywhere in Egypt” but was hard to grow in London gardens.  Thomas Jefferson learned to love eggplant while in France and he introduced it to the United States, but it didn’t become popular until the late 1800s when Italian and Asian immigrants came to us with their longtime love of the vegetable.

Most of us are familiar with Eggplant Parmesan.  I’ve made boatloads of that, but I’m going to share a recipe in this column that is a short cut version of the popular dish.  I’m also going to share a recipe for something sweet made with eggplant.  No matter how you use eggplant, remember that it is like a sponge.  It will soak up whatever oil to use, so be prepared for that.  Too much oil is a bad thing and will totally change the texture and taste of your dish.  Make sure you are using good, flavorful and fresh oil.  When I grill eggplant on the BBQ grill, I usually leave the peel on.  For most other recipes, I remove the peel.

Eggplants are in!  I love them and will probably devote more than one “Vintage Vegetables” column to the beautiful things.  They come in many sizes and colors, so in the next year I will feature a few!  We are enamored by global cuisines, and most of us are surrounded by International restaurants so we feed our love of new or different tastes at a restaurant’s table!  I’m encouraging you to cook at home and teach yourself how to blend these wonderful food cultures with your own!

Easy Pan-Fried Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Peel and slice an eggplant. The slices should be about half and inch thick. Dip the slices in a milk/egg slurry, then in dried breadcrumbs. I’m not a fan of panko breadcrumbs, so I use unseasoned breadcrumbs, but you can use Italian seasoned. Fry the eggplant slices in canola or olive oil until they are brown and crispy. Remove them to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Expect to have to add oil to your skillet as you fry, because the eggplant will soak it up.

Eggplant Parmesan is usually smothered in cheese and sauce and you can hardly taste the eggplant. This dish is not that way! As the eggplant cool, make a quick sauce in the skillet you’ve used for frying. If there is any more than a Tablespoon of oil in the skillet, remove it. To the remaining oil, add a couple chopped Roma tomatoes (any variety will work), ¼ cup of finely chopped onion, ¼ cup of chopped red or green bell pepper and 1 teaspoon of garlic puree. Add a generous grind of black pepper and a good sprinkle of salt. Sauté the vegetables until they are softening, then add about a cup of tomato juice (I use Bloody Mary mix!) to create the sauce. If you want more liquid, add it. If you want more flavor, use V8 juice. Cook this until it starts to bubble, then it is done. This is a quick, fresh sauce.

Pour the sauce over the eggplant slices when ready to serve. Top it with parmesan cheese. Serve it with rice or pasta … or with other vegetables! Make this recipe your own.


My next recipe is so worth making! It takes a little time, but it sure will surprise your family. Don’t tell them that eggplant is in the recipe, if they don’t like eggplant. They will never know it! It is important to use vegetable or canola oil to deep fry these fritters. You want to make sure the temperature has reached 375 degrees. Anything lower will take too long and the fritters will absorb too much oil. Test fry a little drop of your batter before putting a whole scoop in. I have found that it is so simple to use a small ice cream scoop to drop the batter when frying anything like this. If you dip your scoop into the hot oil, before scooping up some of the batter, it will be easier to release the batter. You can make this batter in advance and keep it refrigerated. Notice that there is no milk or water in the batter. The eggplant has plenty of liquid, even after you have pushed all the water out of it.

Dessert Eggplant Fritters

1 medium eggplant

1 egg

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Peel and chop the eggplant.  Boil it until it is tender.  Drain the eggplant and press the excess water out of it.  Mash the eggplant and whisk in the egg, sugar, flour, baking powder and cinnamon.   Deep fry the little fritters by dropping about a Tablespoon of the batter into the oil.  They will float to the top of the oil when they are done and if they don’t turn over on their own, turn them once while frying.  Drain them on a paper towel and sprinkle them with powdered sugar or roll them in a mixture of granulated sugar and cinnamon.  Make a pot of good coffee and enjoy!

This column is part of my 2020 Vintage Vegetables food project. If you'd like to see similar posts, just hit the menu tab.  I'll also be sharing this with a few blog parties, so make sure you click through to see the other posts.  My favorite parties are listed on my sidebar.