Winter Sowing, Gardening in January

Its winter , Its cold and dark outside , not what you would call good growing weather !! Despite that I always seem to get an itch to get out there and do something ... which due to living in Canada , is usually impossible !   That was until last year , when i discovered winter sowing :))  Such a wonderful, simple way to get your hands in the dirt again , planting seeds ...  

 Winter Sowing Chili Peppers, Basil & Zucchini to start// mostly b/c that was what I had on hand , and I could only scavenge 3 containers this week :)) More to follow ! 


Garden Tip :I highly recommend keeping a garden journal , point form is just fine , it will come in handy , and once you have a few years in the book , a very handy reference esp. if your like me and like to try experiments and tend to forget where or what they were ! Hahaha 

Required :
Good Quality , or Organic Potting Soil
Clean plastic jugs , 2L to 4L sizes , Gallon milk jugs seems to work best
Seeds , organic or heirlium
Sharp Scissors or Knife
Duct Tape
Permenant Marker

 

Simply cut the jug , about 4 iches from the bottom .. almost all the way around , leaving a short side as a hinge ...   fill with soil to just below the cut . 

 

The seeds will need to breathe ...  so a few slashes or cuts around the top are required . ( 6 to 8 seems to be fine )  Also.. use that marker !  If you have more than a few jugs it will be near impossible to keep them all straight without labels! 

 

Pop your seeds in ... I over seed slightly , with the expectation of thinning them out come spring .   If your soil is really dry , you will want to add a little water at this point .. not soaked , damp is good enough .  

 

Duct Tape to the rescue ...   Tape up the cut, all the way round.  Bring your jugs outside ...  somewhere away from dogs if you have them , or they will become pee magnets !  No further coverings are required , if it snows , just leave them be ... no worries at all :)

It is really that simple ... come spring as the weather warms up , mother nature will do her thing ... the seeds will sprout , and the plastic container will act as a mini greenhouse giving your plants the much need protection during the delicate phase ... 

I do hope this helps you get a jump start on spring ... I will be following up with at least two more posts :))

Peace, Love & Happy Gardening

Rich

My Fave Late Night Snack .. Crisps n Cheese

A great late night sack ... old fashioned crisps, a hot chili pepper and a chunk of blue cheese ! MmmmmMmmmm

Oshawa Centre Farmer's Market

Love my local farmers :)  These are from the Friday Market , at the Oshawa Centre . 
September 27th

Starting with Willowtree Farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

F&M Farms

 

 

 

Bruni Farms

 

 

 

Chili n Cheese PIta

Ive been meaning to get back to blogging , and actually typing out recipes for everyone .  Im hoping to be able to streamline them and reduce the amount of typing required ( The hardest part for me ! ) So here we go, Simple Good Food !

One of my favourite go to snacks or light meals :)

Ingredients :

1 Whole Wheat Pita
1/2 cup each of shredded mozzarella & 5yr old cheddar
Splash of Olive oil
One Cayenne Chili Pepper ( minced )
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

  

Lightly spray or brush the pita with oil
place in 350F oven on rack , about 3 minutes per side
remove from oven , should be halfway to crispy
Place onto an oven safe plate or baking tray
Sprinkle on Cheeses and chili pepper
Salt n Pepper, and return to oven for about 12 minutes
or until cheese is melted to your liking :)
You could also use the broiler for this , reduce time to about 3 minutes .

Thats its , So Simple, So Good !
Enjoy   

7 Pepper Birthday Chili

Whats your favourite Birthday meal ??   Mine is a nice juicy steak, with a jacket potato ... but this year for the first time in ages , birthday dinner with Mum ( We share the same Bday ) was a few days early ...  leaving me with a big question ... What to have on my Birthday !!   It didnt take long to realize Id been craving chili all month .. so Chili it was !!    Simple, Good Food !

Basic Ingredients ( I dont cook with a recipe , or even write anything down hahaha )

2 lbs of Ground Beef from local butcher
2 large mexican sausages from local butcher
1 lb of braising steak , Crossrib - Flour for dusting
4 tins of Beans ( Unico , 3 Red Kidney , 1 Romano ) - I prefer dried , but am using up old stock
2 large sweet red peppers
2 large chili peppers
2 cayenne chili peppers
6 long green chili peppers
3 small dried red chili peppers ( Very hot ! )
8 medium onions
1 head of garlic
1/2 tin of chipolte peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 pint of dark ale
1 pint roasted tomato sauce ( Homemade )
1 quart of stewed tomatoes ( homemade )

Chili Powder, L&P, Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Start by sauteing the onions ...  transfer to slow cooker when done 

Next step, the beef , best to add flavour here , chili powder, S&P, L&P, and half the can of beer 

 In the meantime,  I rinsed and boiled the tinned beans ... rinsed again and added to the slow cooker

While the beef is browning ... add in the beans, stewed tomatoes , and roasted tomato sauce 

Once the ground beef has finished, add the sausages , and cubed and flour dusted steak ..   just need to brown these , then add to the slow cooker 

Once done with frying ...  use the other half of the beer to deglaze the pan , add to the slow cooker, this is some amazing flavour here !  

Its starting to look like chili :))   Let simmer for 2 hours 

Once the base chili has simmered , its time to add the peppers in for the last 1 to 2 hours of cooking 

All sliced and diced, and ready for the pot!! 

Five hours after slicing the onions ...  CHILI!    Mmmm its time to eat ! 

The leftovers....  usually i portion this out and freeze it up for easy meals later , this time I decided to pressure can it ...   a future post maybe ??

MmmmMmmm  I do hope you enjoy my spicy chili , this one was quite the sweat inducing bowl of goodness !!  I wouldnt change a thing .. but if your not a big fan of spicy, i would cut back considerable of the hot peppers and add more sweet :)

Don;t forget , you can always follow the daily fun over at https://www.facebook.com/RichsGoodFood

Peace, Love and Good Food to everyone !
Rich

Less Words, More Food 4

I'm slowly getting caught up :)   What I really need is a full day at the PC, in a writing kind of mood.  This is the last of Decembers catch up posts, so at least now I'm in the New Year lol :)  I'm a little pushed for time , as I have dinner plans tonight... so Ill keep this one really short of words , and just show you some food!!!

Always a favourite:) Butcher's Bacon, Hand Cut chips, and farm eggs, cooked in a little bacon grease with chili . 

Free Range Beef, with mushrooms, peppers, onions and cheese on whole wheat nachos :)

Curry Turkey Tacos, with a red wine vinaigrette salad

Spicy Shepherds Pie

I grew up eating Shepherds Pie,  and its always been a favourite of mine .   So you can imagine my surprise a couple of years ago when I found out it wasn't really Shepherds pie , but was in fact a Cottage Pie.  The difference you ask ?  Is really just the meat.   A Shepherds Pie is made with lamb or mutton, while a Cottage pie is made with beef, which is what I grew up with.  After reading that, I was determined to try a real one.  It actually took me a month just to find ground lamb at a reasonable price..  but I did and made my first real Shepherds Pie :) It was awesome !! Since then I make sure to call them by their correct names . You can make them as fancy as you like or just keep them plain and simple.   This one has a few extras , but turned out really well.  

For a basic pie, you will need :

1lb of ground lamb

2 medium onions

2 large or 4 medium potatoes 

2 large carrots 

2 cups of brown gravy ( http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/12/who-doesnt-love-gravy.html ) 

1 cup of peas

Everything else is a bonus :)  The extras 

2 chili peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

3 cloves of garlic 

2 parsnips

jar of stewed tomatoes

baby corn 

Chili Powder

Mozzarella, and cheddar 

Most of the ingredients :)  Everything is local, and half of it was organic .  

Slice and dice all the veggies into small bite sized pieces,  and give them a quick saute. They do not need to be cooked thru as it will be going into the oven.  Pour into the bottom of a lasagna pan.  

MMmmm Meatballs!!

Who doesn't love meatballs ??  You can make them out of almost anything .. Beef , Pork, Turkey , chicken or just about anything that can be ground up :)  They can be baked, pan fried, added to a stew or casserole...  the options are almost endless once you start thinking about what you can put in the meatball itself .  Today I'm going to show you one of my favourites,  simply, easy and loads of flavour.  For this meatball adventure, I'm going to start them in the pan , and finish them in the oven.  So if you are following along , you will need an oven safe pan.  

The minimum required is just a pound of meat , and egg and bread crumbs... but don't be afraid to have a look around in your fridge for some extra flavours.

Here I have diced Red Onion, Red Pepper, Mushrooms, some garlic/mushroom hummus, a couple loves of garlic,  a pound of free range ground beef, a dried chili pepper,  bread crumbs, salt and pepper, Lea & Perrins and a free range egg

Using your hands mix everything well, and form into balls. Ive made them as large as a 1/2 pound each, but golf ball sized is one of my favourites. 

Making Hamburger Frittatas - Creative Leftovers #3

I'll start by explaining Creative Leftovers, its a simple and easy way to use up all the extra food I always seem to cook. Sometimes even on purpose.  I know there are lots of people out there like me , that simply don't want to eat the exact same meal two days in a row. 

So today, I'm going to take two of my favourite meals , and combine them for an amazing leftovers creation.

Homemade hamburgers and Frittatas!!

I could not decide on which one to show you , so I choose three.  All using hamburgers from the night before, and all with different ingredients. 

You will need an oven safe pan for this recipe.  Cast iron,  or non stick works the best. 

Frittatas are really easy to make,   you don't need this many ingredients ... but it can't hurt either.

I like to have everything prepped and ready, bite sized pieces are best. Once you start the process going its all over in ten minutes. 

2 eggs per person is plenty, I also like to add about a 1/4lb of meat each.  Its all flexible and you can get away with almost anything. 

Don't forget to whisk your eggs.  Room temperature produces the best result.  At this moment you can add some great flavour to the dish.  I like to take a small hand full of the grated cheese, whatever herbs I'm using ( Usually Basil ) and a few cracks of black pepper.

My favourite ingredients are : Mushrooms, Onions , Red Peppers, Broccoli and Tomatoes.

Start sauteing, your veggies, I always seem to slip a minced clove of garlic or two in there as well.  About 5 minutes or half to two thirds cooked. At this point you will want to preheat your oven. 

Next up is the egg mixture, I like to shake the pan around until it looks even before adding the egg.  Be ready , and do this fairly quickly.  Pour in a clockwise motion around the pan.  Once it is starting to look like an omelet,  the edges are starting to cook, but still running on top.  Its time for the final toppings.  Depending how well done you like you broccoli , you can add it in here or ,save it for the next step.

Tomatoes, Cheese, Prosciutto salami , green onions and broccoli  are all  good for toppings. Of course we cant forget the cheese. This was freshly grated mozzarella and 6 year old cheddar. 

Into a 350F oven for around 12 - 20 minutes , depending on how many eggs you have used and the amount of cheese and toppings involved.  Just take a look at it ever couple of minutes.  You may need break the seal around the edge of the pan it get it out.  My method for telling when its done properly is, when the frittata can slide around in the pan without sticking, means the middle is done.  This also makes it a lot easier to slide it off the pan.   Otherwise you may have to cut it like pie. I simply slide it onto my butchers block and slice like a pizza.   A couple of minutes rest time before cutting will give you a nicer presentation. 

Tomato, Broccoli, Prosciutto salami, green onions, red peppers , hamburger, mushrooms and cheese make for an amazing lunch. 

Some have a little more cheese thank others. :)  Those crispy edges , to me, are the best part. 

They don't have to be all neat and tidy looking. 

They look just like an egg pizza to me :) So good, healthy, and tasty!!

Simply slice and serve, and enjoy.  They do reheat really well,  if need be.  300F oven for 10 or 15 minutes and they are as good as new. 

I'm going to try something new , and end with a photo for this post.   A couple of  important tips to remember are needed first.

Stove Top/Oven safe pan is a must.  Cast Iron is great.

Pan Size Guideline: 2 to 3 eggs - 6" -8" , 3 to 4 eggs - 8" -10" , 5 to 6 eggs - 12" pan.   

Room temperature eggs, I take them out at least an hour before.

Add broccoli, tomatoes, and deli meats just before the oven for best results.

Experiment and Enjoy, the possibilities are almost endless. 

Rich :)

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