Recipes

Basil Pesto

basil pesto

Pesto is so versatile, you’ll never run out of ways to enjoy it. Toss spoonfuls of this no-cook sauce with hot pasta or steamed vegetables, use it as a spread on sandwiches and wraps, or serve as a dip with raw veggies or pita chips. You can easily adapt pesto to your budget by substituting sale-priced nuts, herbs/greens and cheese, …

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Green Pork Chile

This Green Pork Chile is a variation on a Bobby Flay recipe.In the summer, when tomatillos and peppers are fresh, I would make the slow salsa. At other times of the year, use the quick salsa.

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Marinated Olives with Rosemary and Lemon

In October I harvested Mission olives from a tree. The ripe black olives I packed into coarse salt (dry-cure). The green unripe olives I placed in a salt-brine. It’s now November and the black olives have cured (the salt has leached out the oleuropin compound that makes them bitter). The black olives are now shrunken and wrinkled. They will keep …

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Dry-curing olives (Part 1)

In October 2015, I harvested around 4 gallons of Mission olives. Most of them I brine-cured. The ripe olives I am dry-curing using just coarse kosher salt. Why not use regular salt? Because dry-cured olives are very salty and regular table-salt contains iodine (to prevent iodine deficiency)  and too much of a good thing is bad. I am dry-curing them …

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Brine-curing Your Own Olives

I decided that 2015 was the year to home-cure olives. I visited my parent’s home in Almaden Valley in south Santa Clara County. Their neighbor has a large Mission olive tree that generously drapes over the fence. Olives cannot be consumed without curing. All olives contain oleuropein, a glucoside compound, that tastes very bitter. You have to cure them using …

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California BLT

A perfect use for your beefsteak tomato: a California BLT Avocado Bacon Lettuce A beefsteak tomato (in this case: a Mortgage Lifter) Mayonaisse Sourdough bread – toasted

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Roasted Red Peppers

Roasting sweet and hot peppers at home is easy. Liven up Mexican dishes, sandwiches, antipasto platters, and salads with sweet, freshly roasted peppers. Starting around the Fourth of July in Sunnyvale (USDA zone 9).

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Marionberry Lemon Ricotta Cake

When it comes to ricotta, think beyond fillings and pastas. Ricotta’s mild flavor and high fat content makes it an ideal addition to cakes, creating a perfectly moist and tender crumb. Full-fat supermarket ricotta is your friend here—fancier brands may not have the moisture content you want for this recipe, and using a creamy ricotta is key. Aside from an …

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Horseradish Sauce

You have got to try making your own horseradish sauce at least once. See this link about harvesting your Horseradish.

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Lentil Walnut Burgers

veggie_burger

Ok. This Lentil Walnut Burger recipe from Whole Foods is a bit of a stretch to be garden-related. But it’s a good recipe. So if you grow carrots or celery or parsley or thyme or cayenne, it qualifies. Walnuts add crunch and brown rice takes the place of bread crumbs making these savory vegetarian burgers a great gluten-free meal. Serve …

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