Dry cooked bean and beef skewers

This cloudy, wet and not too hot weather is perfect for beans, runner bean, climbing bean and mangetout all have very steady harvests. 

For runner bean, I like the dry cooked method to get them soft and the flavour out. Traditionally done in a wok to stir-fry at medium heat, I use oven to achieve the result without slaving over the hot stove. 

Season climbing beans and carrot with minced garlic, salt, pepper, may be curry powder and olive oil. Spread on baking tray and bake at 180˚C until soft, around 25 minutes.

Easy to pack in a food box to bring to bbq area for a beef skewers dinner. 

A variation to the dish is to mix with tomato paste when out of the oven, another taste profile. 

Summer boating in the lake

It is just that hard to find a calm (no wind no rain) period to get on the boat to tour the lake this summer. So when there is one we drop everything to get in the boat. 

Always a pleasure to see the fast changing water and sky views of lake Shannon.

Venison ribs with berry sauce

The dense meat and stronger flavour of venison goes well with a rich fruity sauce. I used Jotaberries (or blackcurrants) as the main ingredient and season with soy sauce, 5 spices powder, brown sugar and juice from baking ribs. 

Ribs first seasoned with salt and pepper for a few hours, bake with a lot of bay leaves and branches below (from pruning of the tree) at 220˚C for 10 minutes. Being a dry meat it cooks fast, cooked through and still very tender. 

Tomato paste

 

種菜廿多年，每年都會種數個不同大小的番茄品種，無論在法國和愛爾蘭，還是頭一次在七月初就有中碼的番茄成熟可吃，密密地煮，早、午、晚三餐都吃些。

也是第一次來到七月尾，已經趕不及十株番茄樹的收成，要開工把吃不完的轉化儲存，先做茄醬。

天氣轉變，在種植的人一定有深刻感覺。

 

To make tomato paste, first peel skin off (blanch in boiling water), cut into big chunks and remove the center top hard core. Use potato crusher to turn into pulp, season with minced garlic, salt, olive oil and a few cloves. 

Bring to boil then pour into large baking trays, bake at 120˚C until thick enough, around 3 hours, open oven door to let steam out every half hour and give it a stir. 

Keep in portions and freeze.

New coffee shop

 

上星期有天日間停電，成為去附近小鎮新開咖啡店吃午餐的好理由。

由兩間相連地下單位打通翻新而成，地方頗大，有住家氣氛，多窗開揚，木傢俬，看見喜歡感覺舒服，已擠滿人客，十分熱鬧。

看介紹由三位年輕女郎負責，在瘟疫期間愛上做酸種麵包，然後決定聯手開店。

餐牌只有一張紙，做早餐和午餐，午餐有十幾個選擇。看完一輪，估計廚房只有以下材料：

-白方包、全麥方包

-bun

-雞蛋

-雞肉

-煙肉

-番茄

-牛油果

-鷹嘴豆蓉

-沙律

-pesto

午餐的十幾個選擇，是以上材料的不同組合，每款食物都有四、五個材料，結果放眼看四周各枱，碟碟都差不多樣子和顏色。不是不好吃，只是見到就覺得悶，年輕人開的店，怎麼仍然如此水平。剛剛從哥本哈根美食之都回來，特別覺得失落。

Blue potatoes

While I am on a diet of having less carbohydrates, I still grow potatoes, but half are blue potatoes, at least more nutrients than white ones. Also I boil a batch at a time, keeping them in the fridge to use in the next few days, apparently re-cooked potatoes have less spike on Glycemic index. 

The left side is variety Bleuet, totally deep blue inside, the right hand side is variety Purple Rain, with patches of purple blue and cream flesh. I planted 6 of each and Bleuet is much more productive. 

When small both are mid way between waxy and floury, if kept in the ground longer and hence bigger, they become more floury. 

Shakshuka variations

With continuous ripening of tomatoes, I have to use them more to keep up, before transforming the excess to conserve. Other than using in lunch and dinner, also thought of serving in breakfast as Shakshuka, with my twists. 

First I cut tomatoes into halves and bake for 10 minutes at 180˚C, much faster to use in meals and skin slips off easily.

 

-Baked Shakshuka with potato

  

Much easier than the cook on stove version, this one I prepared the small baking dishes with tomatoes, cooked potatoes and seasoning. The next morning crack an egg into each and bake with lid on, at 190˚C for 20 minutes, straight from the fridge and no preheating of oven. 
Serve with a drizzle of basil oil on top.

-Shakshuka cross over with Chinese Tomato scramble egg

Cook the typical childhood dish of tomato scramble egg as you like, using the half cooked skinless tomatoes, season generously with paprika, turmeric, curry powder, salt. Add whisked eggs into the mixture and serve when set. Place lumps of fresh cheese and drizzle basil oil on top. 

Fresh cheese is made from milk a dairy farmer friend brought to my house in her visit. Noticing it is too much to use up in time, decided to turn into fresh cheese, set with rennet, following instructions on rennet bottle.

Eggplant Czech and Japanese Long

Very pleased to have eggplants ready to harvest in mid July, so early in the season. While I have a lot of tomatoes to use, bake them together suits me fine.

Half the eggplant, cut criss cross pattern on the flesh, for the long one I brushed miso then pile on tomato mixed with oil and salt. 

For Czech early, I put the halves in the right size baking dish and cover with a lot of tomatoes seasoned with salt pepper and olive oil, on top and around. Takes a long time to soften eggplant, 180˚C for 50 minutes, at least nothing to do just wait. Add on fresh rocket before serving. 

Lamb skewers

Made some lamb skewers to cook on bbq near the lake to enjoy the pleasant calm evening, no wind, not cold and not hot, very rare. 

Season lamb with salt, pepper, 5 spices powder, olive oil and a lot of fresh rosemary for a few hours. 

Green Victoria plum pickle and liqueur

Victoria plum trees are bearing a few huge fruits each on their branches, one branch is too heavy and broken. The plums are hard green and very sour. In order not to waste them, I cut some into slices and pickle in dark miso, the others cut into halves and made Japanese plum wine. Basically put into big preserving jar, add sugar to taste and cover with alcohol (I used Gin).

After a day the miso pickled plum is a nice condiment as the sourness is removed. 

For plum wine after a week, the plums shrink a lot and I start enjoying it with an ice cube and soda water to make a cooling cocktail, mildly sweet and sour, very refreshing. 

 

Summer harvest

Going into the peak production period of the veg garden, with a larger variety of veg and fruit to harvest every day. Most veg like runner bean, pea, mangetout, tomatoes, Tung Choi, beetroot, carrot  are just harvesting a handful everyday, and easy to use up in stir-fry. 

Other like cauliflower, all seedlings mature and reached the same size at the same time. So have to give some away to reduce storage in fresh or transformed forms. 

Tomato

It is a great year to enjoy ripe tomato, medium red St Sulpice and yellow cherry Sun Viva, from early July. I do like to eat them transformed, cooked or semi-dried, more than raw. A simple way is to cut half, spread with pesto sauce and bake in the oven while cooking other stuff. 

The first time to grow indeterminate tomato, attracted by the name Tibet Apple. The plant is really vigorous, spreading fast and bearing a lot of fruits. Have yet to find out the taste of the fruit, hope delicious, otherwise will be the last time to grow indeterminate type, a bit messy. 

Venison Wellington

Found frozen puff pastry made with only pure butter and flour, great. 

So thought of making a simplified wellington with venison loin. Season venison with salt and pepper for a couple hours. Sear at medium heat until pink inside (the cooking degree you like), quite long around 20 minutes. Let it cool down. 

Roll puff pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3mm thick, cut to right size for the size of meat used. Spread pesto sauce on all sides of meat and lay on puff pastry, wrap up. Brush with melted butter and cut a cross in the middle to let steam out. Bake at 220˚C until surface golden, around 18 minutes. The meat inside will be warm through and still pink.

Melon, potato and pepper

Finally found 2 cantaloupe melons formed, such a pretty sight, they are from seeds saved from the only cantaloupe successfully formed and ripen last year

 

Also peppers are developing, they are supposed to be Padron pepper but looks more squarish and balloon up like a bell pepper!

Dug up some potatoes, 3 varieties, colour of blue potatoe is intense, nutty flavour of red skin yellow flesh is great and waxy texture of white one is lovely.