Baba Ghannouj (Baba Ganoush)
August 26, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Appetizers, Featured, Grow Your Own, Middle Eastern, Vegetables
My first taste of baba ghannouj was at the cafeteria on the Saudi Aramco compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and I could easily make a lunch out of their hummus, baba ghannouj, and flatbread. Baba ghannouj is a traditional Middle Eastern dish made from eggplant that has been grilled or roasted, and the smoky flavor carries over to this simple dip that’s popular all over the Middle East. Depending on where you eat, it will probably have eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and parsley, and may also have chopped tomatoes, cumin, mint, onions, yogurt, or mayonnaise. So consider this a base recipe, a jumping off point to play with and have fun experimenting with the flavors. Read more
Thai Green Sticky Rice with Mango
Last spring my sister came out for a visit and we had a girls’ day of shopping and of course a dinner out together. We both like sushi and headed for a little Thai and sushi fusion restaurant nearby and ordered our favorites. We also noticed a card on the table advertising their Thai mango sticky rice, a classic dessert made with Thai sweet glutinous rice, and decided we would share some of that as well. Read more
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Garlic Dill Pickles
August 13, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Jams, Pickles, and Preserves, Reviews
Our annual visit to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse has become a must. In between trips we talk about the good food and tell anyone who will listen about the restaurant and dream of slow cooked meats, chili, cornbread, and pickles. Yes, their pickles are very good. They make their own refrigerator garlic dills and they go perfectly with any of the sandwiches.
We found the recipe in our copy of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse, the official cookbook by John Stage (one of the restaurant founders) and Nancy Radke. If you are a fan of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que but don’t live close enough to easily get your fix, this book is well worth adding to your collection. Read more
Zucchini Pickles
August 10, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Jams, Pickles, and Preserves
When we have a glut of a particular fruit or vegetable, we try to find creative ways to use it up or preserve it for later, and making these zucchini pickles is our favorite way to preserve extra summer zucchini. These refrigerator pickles require no processing, you just pack the prepared zucchini slices and onions into jars and add the slightly warm brine. After just 24 hours in the refrigerator, they are ready to enjoy, it could hardly be easier. Because they aren’t cooked, these zucchini pickles retain their crispy crunch, and the simple brine adds lots of flavor. For Michael it took just one taste and he announced that he was forever ruined and would never truly enjoy pickles from the store again. Read more
Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
August 3, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Grow Your Own, Jams, Pickles, and Preserves
Three years ago I started looking for a food blogging event for those who garden, hunt, forage, or raise their own food, and when I couldn’t find one I decided to try starting it myself. I didn’t know if any other bloggers would be interested, but as with many things, I just kind of tossed it out there to see what would happen, and here we are now getting ready to celebrate the third anniversary of Grow Your Own. To all of you who have participated, hosted, or just enjoyed the recipes and stories from all the bloggers over the last three years, thank you. I hope you have enjoyed the event as much as we have. And if you haven’t had a chance, check out the July Grow Your Own roundup from Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks. Read more
Cherry Pomegranate Sorbet
There’s a few things that you’ll always find in our refrigerator, things that fall into our Can’t Live Without category: salsa, lemons, limes, Greek yogurt, milk, half & half, cottage cheese, pickles, hot sauce, baby carrots, beer, and pomegranate juice. Actually I think the list is probably longer based on the amount of stuff that’s regularly in our frig, but those are the very first things that come to mind. Read more
