Poblano Peppers / Chile Rellenos

Our Poblano pepper plants are waist high. Each plant is producing about 8 peppers a week. Naturally, Chile Rellenos were bound to wind up on the dinner table sooner than later. Our local Mexican restaurants have conflicted variations on the Chile Relleno. So, for that reason I can't exactly tell you that this version is authentic. In fact, the recipe I used as a general guide tonight specified to use green peppers. I like Poblano peppers in this dish. Check out my harvest today.

The base recipe I referred to came from Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Cookbook. I will be posting my version with all of the improvisation.

1. Wash those peppers

2. Blacken the skins and rub this layer off. Two methods can be used, direct flame or oven roasting. I am still tinkering with this step. Oven baking almost softens the pepper too much and direct flame doesn't seem to soften enough. You experiement and let me know which you like best.

Remove the charred layer

Okay, I forgot the photograph the next step so bare with me here!
3. Make a small slit into the pepper, remove the seeds, leaving the top in tact. I used Brick and Monty Jack cheese because that is what I had. Stuff a huge chunk of cheese inside the pepper and toothpick to hold together if needed.

4. Dust the pepper with all purpose flour.

5. Now, here is where the measuring just gets out of control and I am only offering a guideline of one egg per two peppers. Seperate the egg white, saving the yolk. Beat the whites to stiff peaks, gently beat the yolk and fold into the egg white. Season generously with salt (approximately 1/4 tsp. per egg). Add a generous pinch of sugar (Yes Sugar...don't skip it) and fresh cracked black pepper. Dip the whole package into this divine batter.
6. Fry the pepper in olive oil.

7. I am fortunate enough to have tons of fresh vegies for the sauce. I suppose you could use jarred salsa and follow this step as is. I had this mixture on hand. Lemon juice, various chopped peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro. Sooo I processed it all together.

This mixture was simmered on low with a 1 cup of water, and about 1/4 cup of sugar for 15 minutes.

Then......

Smother your pepper with this delicious sauce!

I should have taken a photo with the cheese gushing out once the fork was taken to this little package of joy. At that point....the camera just wasn't on my mind. Photos, as usual, do not do this dish justice!!

Cabbage recipe

This recipe will make the collection. It was found in my new favorite reading of Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Cookbook. I'm always on the search for new unique side dishes and this recipe sounded good. My treasure of a cookbook was purchased for $1.00 at a local flea market. As I read through the whole book I wrote down page numbers of dishes I want to make. Ya never know...a recipe might sound good on paper but taste nasty. Scalloped Cabbage is a keeper.

Here is the recipe as it appeared, with my variations highlighted.

4 cups of shredded cabbage ( I cut mine into strips 1"x2")
1/3 cup canned tomatoes ( I used Rotel with green chiles )
1 cup of medium white sauce (from same book recipe follows)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs ( I used Panko crumbs)

Cook the cabbage in just enough salted boiling water to cover, cooking until tender. Drain. Place into a well buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Mix the white sauce and tomatoes with the cabbage. Sprinkle generously with bread crumbs and cheddar cheese, mixing some down in with the cabbage. I basically just layered everything. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until top is bubbly and golden brown. My bake time was longer... around 35 minutes.

Medium White Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup milk

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth. Add milk slowly. Cook and stir continually over medium heat until desired thickness.

I have to admit, when I think of cooked cabbage, the horror smell of overcooked stinky cabbage comes to mind. This is not that kind of dish. It's mellow well balance of flavors only offers a clean fresh flavor of the vegetable. Hey, cabbage is cheap. How could you go wrong for at least giving it a try?

Of course, my cabbage was free...right out of the garden baby! Look at this bad boy.. delicious!

Campfire Grub

Pineapple Inside Cakes....If we are going camping, you can be certain the following four food items will be going with us. Sliced pineapples, margarine, brown sugar, and cake doughnuts are always on my shopping list.

Split the doughnut in half.
Spread each side with butter/margarine
Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Add the pineapple slice and sandwich the whole deal together.

At this point you can lock the whole package down into a pie iron or wrap it up in some tin foil. Either way... it's going into the coals of the campfire. Cook for about four minutes on each side. This is certainly one of my posts where photos are really rough. My hope is that you can get the gist of this dish, despite the quality of the pictures, and make this swell little treat.

I say yucko to Smores..

It's crunchy on the outside, syrupy sweet and tangy on the inside!

Fresh

Tonight, my evening meal, satisfied like none other. 

 

My plate started out like this. I gnashed on everything seperately and slowly began building the little delicious bundles on romaine lettuce. A chill goes down my spine with excitement when I serve a meal composed almost entirely of food that we have grown. So, let's break it all down.

    Corn from the freezer

(dated August 27, 2009)

was just as delicious and fresh as if it were fresh cut today.

Romaine lettuce, I know...lettuce wasn't on the original garden planning list. I just couldn't resist at least a little lettuce. This was so tender and crisp and scrumptious.

Check this...new red potatoes cooked, buttered, and parsley from the herb garden chopped roughly with coarse sea salt!! New red potatoes are so creamy and subtle in flavor.

Snow peas, sauteed in extra virgin olive oil with broccoli, red pepper flakes, and jalapeno. I squeezed the juice of one lemon over the whole spicy, crunchy greenery. Now all I need is a lemon tree. We grew the peas, broccoli, and jalapeno for this dish. Harvested, cooked and eaten in under an hour!

It's so much fun to wander out to the garden, pick the vegies that are ready for harvest, wander back in the house, and let the fun begin. Fresh herbs are an extra added bonus. If you do not have the space to grow vegetables, please consider a small herb garden. This was such a rewarding meal for me!

Cut Flowers Rule

I have a funky little herb garden, surrounded by marigolds, zinnias, and various rocks. I gather the rocks as I hoe the rows of the vegetables. What started out as a small pile of rocks quickly became a huge pile. To best utilize the natural items of the earth, I formed a cute little border around my herb bed with that huge pile.

Double duty...beautiful cut flowers for a centerpiece at the dinner table. Casually arranged in a manner to show how beautiful they are without being fussy.

Photos