lemon yogurt

 I always have yogurt in my fridge, and often I have a half a lemon that I need to use up.  This is a tasty treat.

- 2 cups yogurt

- lemon zest & juice (1/2 - 1 lemon)

- 1 Tbsp. sugar

Stir it up and enjoy!

calamondin marmalade

 I've been letting the calamondins on my tree stay on because they're pretty in a drearier season and in a prominent front yard spot, but today I was inspired to use them instead.  I first encountered this fruit when I lived in Oceania, and they were known by the local name "ging gong."  The juice is outstanding with fish - such as with sashimi, and also as a marinade.  Also outstanding as a beverage and I drank a lot of lemonade with it and with gin and tonics.  I was delighted to find out that they grow well here, so last year I put in a tree and it's already giving me a lot.  

So how about marmalade?  I've got everything on hand.

This recipe is across the internet in numerous places so not sure of an original source.

Ingredients (ratios):

• 4 cups calamondins, deseeded and thinly sliced (keeping all juice, pith, skin, etc.) - could use a food processor
  
• 3 cups water
• 4 cups sugar (or if lesser amount of fruit, make it match, and 3/4 c. water for 1 c. fruit)

Steps:

After processing fruit, put into a pan and add the water.  Bring to a rolling boil and keep it there for 15 minutes.  Remove pot from the heat and let it sit overnight.  

The next day, bring it back to a boil and very slowly add the sugar (can take 10 minutes).  Stir until it completely dissolves.  Bring temperature to 220 degrees.  

Prep (sterilize) jars and lids, and put marmalade into them.  No need to hot water bath.

recipes for seasonal abundance and cravings

 Saving recipes here to try because I have a lot of tabs open with them right now.

Got some mirlitons from a neighbor with a very bountiful vine - https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chayote_with_tomato_and_green_chile/

I have a heap of bananas to use up that I harvested from my yard - https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/vegan-menus-collections/banana-recipes-ways-to-use-ripe-overripe-bananas/

It's time to shift back to using greens for salad - https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020002-kale-salad-with-cranberries-pecans-and-blue-cheese?campaign_id=58&emc=edit_ck_20221120&instance_id=77916&nl=cooking&regi_id=149152460&segment_id=113766&te=1&user_id=60bb0b0e27845588c0500af6a8422617

Oh how I miss Liberian food - https://www.lovepeaceandtinyfeet.com/west-african-rice-recipes-liberian-potato-greens/ and https://www.lovepeaceandtinyfeet.com/quick-and-easy-west-african-dishes-jollof-rice-recipe/.  

greens (mizuna) with potatoes and ground turkey

 The greens in my garden are going gangbusters and I want a tasty meal with plenty of leftovers made from what I have around.

1. Boil whole potatoes (1.5#) for about 20 minutes.  Cool enough to cube.

2. Brown ground turkey (1/2#), remove from pan.  

3. Add oil to same pan and cook potato cubes until browned.  Remove from pan.

4.  In same pan, lightly saute garlic (2 large cloves or more) a few minutes until aromatic and softened.

5. Add in a bunch of chopped mizuna and lightly saute a couple of minutes to soften a little (let it keep texture).

6.  Add back in the turkey and potatoes (or serve them separately) to heat together. Add pepper.  I also salted it but it needed more something, so next time I would probably instead use oyster sauce and soy sauce. 

Serve with kimchi.  

Sausage or ground beef can substitute in for ground turkey, or can be omitted altogether. 

okra bean stew

 This was ok.  Idea from here.

- 1/2-1 onion, chopped

- 1 stalk celery, chopped

- 1-2 carrots, sliced 

 - 2 cloves garlic

- diced tomatoes (1 can was too much if they're saucy)

- 1 c. (ish) stock or bouillon

- 1/2-1 jar white beans

- 10 oz-ish okra

Heat up a pan and saute onion, celery, and carrots until soft. Add garlic for 30 seconds or so, until aromatic.  Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 10ish minutes.  Add okra and beans and let it cook another 10-15 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's.  Eat with rice. 

pickled okra

 Years ago I made an amazing pickled okra but I apparently did not record the recipe. 

So here goes.

This is what I did today, and I can adjust accordingly.

Sterilize jars in boiling water bath.  Warm lids.  

Make brine:

- 2 cups white vinegar

- 2 cups filtered water

- 1 T. salt

Heat it up for salt to dissolve.

Clean okra and trim caps (but not all the way).

Into each jar (pint size or somewhat larger*):

- 1 tsp mustard seed (scant)

- 1 tsp dill seed (scant)

- 1 tsp peppercords (heaping)

- 1 garlic clove

Fill with okra, pour in the brine to 1/4".  Put on lids.

Process in hot water bath** for 10 minutes.

Let them brine for three weeks or so before opening.  Shelf stable though I refrigerate after opening.

*I reused some jars a neighbor gave me, probably about 24 oz, that had grape leaves in them and were nice and round.

**The jars were too tall so I processed on low in canner for 10 minutes. 

kale-ground beef-sweet potato meal

 I like simple fare, and this using up of things I have on hand was very tasty and nutritious.  All sort of substitutions would work great.

Bake 

• sweet potatoes.  (New trick I learned: cut in half and cook in toaster oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Perfect!)
  

Saute:

• onion (I used leftover 1/2 of a large onion)
• garlic 
  
• ground beef (3/4# or so, from a local farmer who grinds in organ meats - liver, heart)

 Once the onion is soft and ground beef barely pink, add:

• kale (I put in an equal amount of kale as ground beef, by eyeball; it was frozen)

Let it cook until kale is preferred texture.  Season with salt, pepper, etc. (I used garlic powder instead of cooking garlic in it.)

Put sweet potato on plate, serve with ground beef/kale and sides (I added sauerkraut and feta).  

It makes enough for about four meals so I'll have it for breakfast the next few days.

*I got this from a local farmer, and they added in organ meats (liver, heart).