Okanagancook

Nice, think we'll have that tomorrow. Thank you. Made a basil gimlet with the garden bounty 5 leaves basil 2 oz gin 1/2 oz agave syrup 3/4 oz lime juice Muddle leaves with lime.add ice and other ingredients. Shake, strain add spanked basil leaf as garnish

A great big thank you to you both for sharing your adventures and insights on cooking. Oh, not to mention cocktail appreciation

Dejah, yum, yum is all I have to say. Glad you are on vacation! Keep on cooking.

I harvested all my corn the other day. Poor crop this year we think because it has been so hot and dry they have just not gotten enough moisture. Small cobs. Ad hoc has a recipe for creamed corn....quite involved...didn't have the energy to do all of that but did take his idea of juicing some of the kernels and then I cooked the remaining kernels in that juice with added chicken stock and butter. Wow. Turned out very 'corny' and creamy without the use of any cream. Four pouches in the freezer and we'll have the remaining spoonfuls tonight with our baked chicken and okra. Hopefully I can remember to take a pic for the dinner thread. Shelby, those tomatoes look nice and firm. That'll be a lot of work if you are going to skin them before making your sauce. I recently processed ten of my large Cherokee Purples. I like to skin them; deseed over a sieve then cut the flesh into large chunks; the seeds are pressed to extract as much juice as possible and then that juice (plus the juice that has come out as I deseed) is reduced to 1/3. I then put the tomato chunks into the juice for a quick three minute boil. This way I find the sauce has a very fresh feel to it. They are frozen and if I want to simmer them more later I can.

Thanks for doing that. I tried to email them but could not get the email address to work. I think I will try calling them tomorrow. This show looks fantastic.

I really enjoyed your travel dialog and all the pictures. Thank you for sharing your experiences!

Be careful with that stuff, Shelby! Nice looking tomatoes and so many on that plant. I just picked 6 cucumbers and ANOTHER gaggle of zucs. Current green beans are just about spent and the new ones are flowering. Good timing. Harvested some beets and am making southern style beets: roasted then marinated in a ginger, clove, bay leave, cider vinegar sugar syrup. More cherry tomatoes so I think another batch of Elaina's sauce is in order.

We have loads of growing season left, however we are two to three weeks ahead of normal. The potatoes were planted April 26 and the plants started to die off. The potatoes get this kind of scab on them if I leave them in the ground so we dig them up and enjoy them. We have been digging potatoes for the past three weeks, enjoying them small and creamy. Not really about the amount we get. I have a new planting of arugula in and I think the tomatoes will be done in three weeks. We are in growing zone six/seven.

Dug the last of the potatoes. Rest of the haul for today was the usual: a couple of cucumbers; some cherry tomatoes; several 4 inch zucs; a handful of green beans; four cups of arugula; and five Cherokee Purple tomatoes. I'm trading some of that with my neighbour...she has peaches ready

The garlic has been drying for three weeks in the garage. It is good and dry now. Usually I dry it for two weeks but there was so much of it I wanted to make sure the air got to all of them. Need 240 cloves for replanting next year. Sorted it all into non-seeding and seeding. First picture from outside on the cleaning bench and the second one of them hanging in the wine cellar where it is nice and cool (and not too damp). A friend's husband planted hers the pointy end down. Needless to say her crop is not that great so I have some seed cloves for her garden. Never hurts to grow more than you think you can possibly need.

I have to say, Chris, you are winning me over to your method of acquainting yourself with a new cookbook. I've kinda done a "mini-Chris" approach to Down South. I think I will get after this once I don't have to scramble around figuring out how I am going to use the produce that is coming out of my garden. Thank god for Eat Your Books.

I like to 'muck-about' with my food so this would not work for me. Probably good for the youngsters who are obsessed with their iPhones! Just say'n. No worries. Put the meat on and I will be informed as to when it is ready. Where's the fun in that?

Norm, that chicken looks very moist. We are enjoying our garden corn too.

Love the idea of the wooden skewers to hold the tacos upright. Brilliant. We made a basil gimlet for happy hour last night. Your vodka infusion looks very refreshing.

Here it is. Really deep flavours and especially 'garlicy' because I used my fresh garlic. Haven't made the pasta yet. The sauce is in the freezer waiting for the right time. This would also make an awesome pizza sauce.

I made all my 120 burrito wheat flour wrappers with chicken fat but duck fat would work too. Two oz. per pound flour but it would give the tortillas a nice 'animal' flavour like the chicken fat did.

Eagle Rare is good too. How did you like the EC?

Chris, I have to say, I am getting more enthusiastic about your approach to new cookbooks. Cooking from them a ton to familiarize yourself with what the book is all about. Thank you for that. I am winding up to tackling one of my new books with this approach.

ElainaA, thank you for the recipe. Looks delicious. I am going to do that tomorrow. Should be amazing over 18 egg yolk pasta and freshly grated Parmesan.

Oh, I see some Diekel. Good choice.

Great start to your blog. Really enjoyed it. Looking forward to more.

Well, all very interesting folks. as A retired Dietitian I am familiar with all the quirks that people have with food preferences. I am a savoury breakfast person: eggs, burritos (just because I have an excess at the moment), baked beans on toast with eggs, definitely grilled tomatoes seeing they are in season, cold cuts including a spicy Italian, bacon and hash browns, jalapeño waffles, sausage, even pot stickers for breakfast has been on the menu. As for lunch we usually have a robust salad which is topped with some kind of protein such as leftover meat slices from dinner, boiled eggs, lean deli slices, tuna, etc. along with a soup which usually has some lentils or beans initial. Dinner is pretty well anything with an emphasis on vegetables and we now only have 4 or 5 oz. of meat these days. Dessert is not something I do well with. Seem to get a stomach ache with sweet items. As for, breakfast being the most important meal of the day, my two cents worth is this: one has been fasting for 6 to 8 hours while sleeping and the body needs amino acids from protein foods to make enzymes, repair tissues, etc. and all the other functions that amino acids do for our bodily functions. If we do not consume protein from our diet in the morning the body will breakdown muscle to obtain those amino acids for uses described. In addition, carbohydrates are also required to replace liver glucose stores which have been used to maintain blood glucose levels during the night...all that dreaming by the brain uses carbohydrates. Providing the body with nutrition in the morning will make you feel more energized. Having said that, people seem to have the most food preferences at this morning meal. If you are not eating breakfast at the moment, please try something in small amounts to see what works best for you. From my diet counselling experience, clients have remarked at what a difference in their energy levels it made.

I just made this and I have to thank you for the link. It worked perfectly for my frozen jalapeños from last year's garden. What do you use it for besides pizza? Thank you. Cheers

If you can find some Elijah Craig, it's my favourite.

yes please!