Garden To Table

THE CARDINAL GARDENS RECIPE COLLECTION

"My garden has provided me with endless hours of entertainment.
At every turn, a new surprise thrilled and amused me."
                                                                    The Country Cardinal

One of the biggest thrills of having a garden is taking just a few steps and gathering what will end up on the table whether for lunch, dinner or a fresh-from-the-plant snack. The second big thrill is the togetherness a garden grows. My brothers and sisters are scattered around, but we come together, in spirit and on email, text messages, cell phones and celebrations because of our gardens. And together... my husband and I created variations on themes or cooked up some imagined recipes... sometimes in the most inventive ways. This ever-growing compilation reflects the meals we prepared in 2010 and continue to concoct in 2011 with most, if not all of the ingredients straight from garden to the table.

RECIPE 1:

HUEVOS A LAS ESTRELLAS

Ingredients:
A Starlit Night
Your Other Half
2 Eggs / Person

4-6 San Marzano Tomatoes (for 2)
1-2 Small Onions

1/2 -1 Serrano or Jalapeño Pepper (Green)
Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Tastes best when prepared 
under the stars.
 First, crack the eggs into a bowl and set aside. Dice the San Marzanos and the onions. Dice the Serranos or slice into pinwheels. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onions, and sauté 
until soft. Stir the San Marzanos and Serranos into the sautéd onions and mix together. Let the juices blend 
while cooking for a few minutes. Pour in the eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scramble till cooked. Serve.

Try this recipe for breakfast.
 

Don’t change anything, but the name:
Huevos al Sol.

Cardinal Rule!
To spice things up, dice a hot pepper
 into miniscule cubes or slice into pinwheels; 
sprinkle over everything. 
WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING! And do not rub your eyes!

RECIPE 2:

FLORBELLA

 

Almost too forbidden to pick, the blossom's beauty on the plant is short-lived. Opening day and closing night happens in what seems like a blink, so channel your inner Eve and pluck away. Their rushed and momentary beauty, however, can be frozen in time for a day or two at the most. Both male and female flowers are edible, but even the weakest Eves should resist the temptation to remove them all from the plants. No worries if you missed your opportunity one morning; the zucchini plant is so giving, that there's always the next when the new day brings new flowers (see THE LESSON re: perfect timing). Here's just one of the many recipes readily available on the internet (and I intend to try them all). This variation takes on a twist with last year's discovery and this year's new staple... my beloved Jalapeños.

Ingredients:
Failure To Resist Temptation

5 Zucchini Blossoms
1 Jalapeño Pepper (julienned & optional)

1 Egg

3 Tbs Flour
Milk
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Directions:

Inspect the flowers on the plant. The ones that are open are the ones that you want. Wear gloves! The plants will pinch you if you don't. Find your flower anatomy book... the male has the stamen (single), the female, the pistil (multiple). Pick a female only if it has a baby zuke growing where the flower meets the fruit. "Prune" the male leaving a little bit of the stem. Store in the fridge to keep them fresh (but no more than a day or two). 

Beat the egg and add the milk (for 5 blossoms, about 3/4th of a cup). Stir in 3 heaping tablespoons of flour and the juliennes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip the blossoms into the batter and drench till they drip. Set aside on wax paper and heat the olive oil. Place the blossoms on the oiled pan and remove when golden brown. Serve (in this case) with a side of sautéd zucchini and indulge!

RECIPE 3:

TRUMPETS A LA MANGO SALAD

Thank you, Nasturtiums! Your trumpets are instruments of unique beauty, and without a doubt, you are a dish! A snip, a bath, and in you go... adding a musical note to salads.

Ingredients:
Music, Imaginary Or Real

Nasturtium Trumpets & Leaves

Spinach, A Bunch
Garden Tomatoes, Red For Color

Champagne Mangos

Boiled or Roasted Chicken Breast

1/2 Garden Jalapeño Or Serrano

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Directions:

Let the trumpets inspire the music you hear... whether it's in your head or through your headphones. Rinse the spinach leaves and pat dry with a paper towel. Pinch off the pistils from the trumpets and the stems from the leaves. Wash and pat dry. Slice the tomatoes (I used Camparis, but any red garden tomato will give it the color and taste you want... Granaderos, coming soon). Pull the meat off the chicken breast and dice the Jalapeño or pepper of your choice. Stand the mango vertical and slice each side parallel to the pit. Scoop or, with a knife separate the fruit from the peel and cube. If you're alone and no one is watching... eat the excess fruit right off the peel and pit. Toss all the ingredients into a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drench with olive oil. Serve.

CARDINAL RULE!
DO NOT... I REPEAT... DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR VEGGIE SCRAPS. INSTEAD, FEED YOUR COMPOST BIN. IT'S HUNGRY FOR THE NUTRIENTS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY NOURISH YOUR GARDEN (AND YOU).

RECIPE 4:

CHRISTMAS BELLS

Among the many WOWS that 
Cardinal Gardens gave us in the Summer of 2010,
 one of the most intriguing was watching the green peppers turn red on the plant. 
Who knew! Before they blush, a black shadow 
darkens them and signals 
that in about a month you’ll be seeing red. I don't know
what anybody else calls that, but I call that a miracle! If you like them red, it’s worth the wait.
If not, go green! 

For this recipe, it's all in what you use to stuff them... anything goes! The must-haves are red and green peppers.

Note to brothers and sisters... whip up some Picadillo or Arroz con Pollo and for sure, you will
 channel Mom.
 The Bells update this Cuban classic with 
a twist that brings family, familiarity 
and memories to the table. Note to everyone else... give it a try.

Gotta go to work... I'll post later or tomorrow a.m.