Confident Kitchen

Lettuce from the garden, beets from the garden, kohlrabi from mom-in-law’s garden, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, bell pepper, red onion, grilled steak (salt, pepper, garlic), topped with a bit of gorgonzola cheese and cilantro.

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Fresh nectarines paired with blueberries freshly picked from our yard.

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Adapted from here.

• 1/2lb chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
• peanut oil
• 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 bell pepper (I used half an orange bell pepper and half a red pepper)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 large bunch fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted cashews

Heat wok with peanut oil.  Add garlic and saute until golden, about 30 seconds.  Add chicken, turning occasionally until almost cooked through.  Add bell peppers and jalapeno, cook 2-3 minutes.  Add fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, chicken broth, and black pepper, add corn starch and mix thoroughly.  Add mixture to the wok, stir to coat evenly.  Add basil, stir til wilted.  Serve over rice and garnish with cashews.

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Salmon, lemon, sliced Anaheim peppers.

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Original variation here

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I substituted tomatoes on the vine for the canned tomatoes, and served over fresh polenta.

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I love lentils. They’re my go-to main ingredient when I’m out of ideas. I prefer French green lentils or black lentils, they don’t turn mushy.

For a basic lentil soup:

Saute a chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil. Add stock or water. Add lentils. Simmer. Add spices: thyme, salt, and pepper are my favorite. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Variations: brown ground sausage, then add onion, celery, etc. Or towards the end, add torn chard leaves, spinach, or other greens such as kale or collard. Sometimes potatoes are good too.

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I have 3 huge tomato plants that have just started to produce little green ‘maters. Beets are coming in, leeks are growing, squash is flowering, peas are almost done. Started breaking ground on a new garden bed that I hope will be ready for fall/winter root vegetables.

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Kung Pao Chicken (via Serious Eats)

Parm chicken w/proscuitto (via Jaime Oliver/Mark Bittman)

Homegrown chard

Wilted with olive oil, red pepper flakes, and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

More to come.

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School is almost out (2 weeks until I complete my BA!), and I have a backlog of stuff to post.

The first strawberries from our garden!

Asparagus risotto

Everything but the kitchen sink lentils: homemade sausage, lentils, potatoes, corn from leftover corn on the cob, onions from 2 leftover onions, the last of the celery and carrots.

Leftover burgers

Peas are growing in the garden

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