Fresh, perfectly ripe fruit

So this is how I'm spending my afternoons now that I'm working on night shift ... Lazing in bed catching up on my Pinterest and munching on fresh SLO Veg fruit! Here are some delicious apricots and strawberries. Life is pretty good.
Dinner is already in the crock pot. I had defrosted some pasta sauce with country-style ribs and added some rigatoni noodles that I had cooked about halfway. Hopefully they won't be mush when the boys get home, because I will have already left for work. They are going to have to get used to a lot of casserole in crock pot dishes.

When Lee makes lunch....

A guilty Lee in the making our lunch the other day, because I have been cleaning house all morning. I basically pulled out what we had to eat which consisted of some salad greens , tuna fish, and an avocado. We were all out of mayo so I suggested he use Ranch dressing in its place . I think you did a pretty decent job. What do you think?

Thai green chicken curry

We were heading out of town for the weekend, so I wanted to make something using up my leftover chicken from our Chicken Fajitas the other night, and I wanted to make use of the rest of the broccoli and snap peas. That meant a Thai curry was definately in order. Thai food is spicy and the spices are similar to those used in my fajitas, so I figured the chicken would be just perfect. What would make this Thai-like would be the coconut milk and lime juice. I usually go with the curry paste, but I was all out. However, I have a jar of green curry powder and one of red curry powder for Thai cooking, so that would do for tonight. Next, I wanted ramen noodles, something I buy by the case for the kid and his friends. I had two packages left, so perfect. One was beef, and the other was chili flavored. I opted to cook both packages but just used the chili flavoring in the water. I was draining it off anyway, so I figured it would all work one way or the other.

I put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles and set about gathering some vegies: broccoli, cut into florets; snap peas, ends cut off; leftover sauteed green peppers and onions; and mushrooms, sliced. I put them all into the boiling water for 5 minutes, then lifted them out with a spider strainer. Then I put the noodles in and let them cook for 10 minutes while I made the curry sauce.

To make a good curry sauce, I prefer to start with a tablespoon of curry paste and a teaspoon of oil and simmer that together, then add the thick coconut cream and let it sizzle, then add the rest of the coconut milk. Since I was using powder today, I just poured the entire can of coconut milk into a pan and added a tablespoon of lime juice, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the green curry powder and let that come to a simmer. Then I added the leftover chicken and vegetables and turned off the heat. Next I drained the noodles and divided them between two pasta bowls. The curry sauce topped the noodles and I garnished it with a sprig of cilantro. 

It was a new meal using leftovers and a few vegies and it really hit the spot!

Pasta-bilities!

Slow cooked country-style pork ribs with bow tie pasta... Hey, dinner that almost cooks itself!

Earlier in the day I started off by browning the country-style pork ribs in some olive oil and then putting them into a crock pot with a concoction of spaghetti sauce. My sauce consisted of tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, chopped up celery, diced garlic, diced onion, salt and pepper and a good dash of balsamic vinegar. That cooked in the crock pot on low for about 6 hours.

Just after Lee arrived home from work, I cooked the bow tie pasta for about 10 minutes, then I added in some asparagus that was trimmed into 1 inch pieces. I let that boil for another 3 minutes then I drained it all and put the pasta back into the pot . I sauteed some shallots and olive oil and then mixed it with the pasta and asparagus, adding a little more olive oil, some chopped parsley and some Parmesan cheese.

I served the pasta in my pasta bowls with some of the country style pork ribs on the side. I am saving most of the meat-flavored sauce for another spaghetti dinner later on.

New recipes for these seasonal stars

I have got to try the cream cheese french toast with strawberries! Mmmmm! Also the beer battered asparagus and the grilled fennel salad with oranges.

Fruit, Vegetable, Herb, and Juice List for 04/29/2013 - 05/03/2013

THIS WEEK'S TOTE INCLUDES:"Organic" Garbanzo Sprouts, Sugar Snap Peas, Spring Mix, Fennel, Artichokes, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Purple Top Turnips, Sweet "Oro Blanco" Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Vine Ripened Strawberries  

THIS WEEK'S RECIPES (http://www.sloveg.com/recipes.cfm):Sugar Snap Peas Tempura; Sugar Snap Peas with Onion and Bacon; Spring Greens with Smoked Fish and Herb Aoili; Lemony Crab Salad with Baby Greens; Grilled Fennel Salad with Oranges; Celery, Fennel and Apple Salad; Grilled Artichokes with Bacon and Rosemary Dip; Grilled Artichokes with Creamy Champagne Vinaigrette; Cauliflower and Feta Omelet; Roasted Cauliflower with Kalamata Vinaigrette; Beer Battered Asparagus; Chicken with Grapes, Cous Cous, and Roasted Asparagus; Glazed Carrots and Turnips; Creamy Tangerine Dressed Asparagus; Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast 

THIS WEEK'S LOCAL FARMERS:Bautista Farms, Bell Farms, Cal Poly Organic Farms, Green Family Farms, Martinon Farms, Mt. Olive Farm, The Fruit Factory  THIS WEEK'S SLO FRESH CATCH:Monday Fresh Fish: Black Cod. Tuesday - Friday Fresh Fish: Sand Sole. Recipes: Poached Cod in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Oven Fried Sand Sole with Caper Mayonnaise. View recipes @ www.slofreshcatch.com .

Roasted cauliflower

Freezing vegies