Friday the 13th!

[bluechick]

Well, the "13th" started on the 11th and just.got.better. :-/

Phones for about half our street went out on the 11th and weren't restored until this afternoon. Then, the power went out suddenly this morning even though a minor storm that blew in had been over and done for hours. Seems our local power co had a lovely planned outage. If they'd tried to call to warn us we wouldn't have known. If it was anything like the last "upgrade" they didn't warn anyone anyway.

*grump*

So, it wasn't raining and the temperature was in the upper 70s with humidity at only 2000% or thereabouts. So, DH and I decided to check out the garden and see what was ready to harvest. Lo and behold the Cubanelle peppers I put in the bed affected by Mysterious Pepper Wilt had gone crazy. Not only were they not wilted, they had each produced a large pepper so I picked all three. I have plans for them. We got a few more blueberries, another cup of blackberries off the back fence of the garden (and another of those great big Kiowi berries). And the San Marzano plum tomato plants had three tomatoes ready to grab. Given that we'd already picked a nice sized tomato off one of the Goliaths, we were happy to get some tomatoes before July 4. The borage next to the tomatoes is about a day away from blooming. I can't wait since I've never gotten them to bloom before some bug or other calamity has struck.

The cream of today's crop has to be the Dolman Red raspberry. We were told that no one around here has been able to grow raspberries. We, in our clueless innocence, have had better luck. I got 22 berries from it today alone. In the past three days I've gotten 55 gorgeous ruby red and ripe raspberries off ONE plant that was transplanted less than three months ago. It's supposed to be more heat tolerant than the average raspberry and I can't recommend it enough. For anyone in hot southern climes who want to try a raspberry, do what we did: plant it where it gets afternoon shade. We have a large tree that's west of where we planted the Dolman and it seems to absolutely love it. It's shaded at the hottest part of the day and otherwise gets full sun from the east and south. It's a sweet and tasty raspberry too and I'm not even a big raspberry fan. I think I'll have to make a chocolate cheesecake and adorn the top with these babies. Yum.

Time to go outside and marvel at the full moon.

[Fran Farmer]

:-)) Well thankfully for me, yesterday (which was the 13th in this part of the world) went well for me. I had booked in for a cancer checkup before noticing that the test was going to be on Friday the 13th. I'm not particularly superstitious but most people who had the sort of cancer history that I do, would have had second thoughts about proceeding on such a day. Thankfully, I got a clear report.

What are you going to do with them?

[mjciccarel]

So happy for that. Continued best wishes !!!

I want to know too !!!!??

[songbird]

wonderful news! :)

songbird

[bluechick]

I can understand why you'd be wary. I'm so glad you had a good report!

I found a chicken dish we enjoy that uses mild Anaheim chiles and fresh herbs. I like to use home grown instead of buying any chiles and our herbs are ready to go but I had to wait on the Cubanelles. We had a red onion in the garden that was ready too, an added bonus. I usually chop up one large or two small Cubanelles and omit the pimientos. Since all three Cubanelles were large, I'll probably use the others to make chiles rellenoes since they're available, even though I usually use poblanos for that.

Gazpacho-Sauced Chicken Breasts With Basil Oil

Original recipe by mygourmetconnection.com (with my tweaks) Yield: 4 servings

----Gazpacho----

14-1/2 oz can tomatoes; undrained 1/4 cup pimiento peppers; drained 1/4 cup fresh Cubanelle or Anaheim pepper; roughly chopped 1 slice bread; crust removed 1/4 cup red onion; chopped 3 cloves garlic; chopped 1 tablespoon fresh parsley; chopped 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar salt & black pepper; to taste

----Chicken----

8 medium chicken cutlets; thinly sliced olive oil salt & black pepper; to taste

----Basil Oil----

1 cup fresh basil 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 pinch salt; or to taste a few drops of lemon or lime juice

Place all gazpacho ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside at room temperature. (I use canned tomatoes for this if we don't have fresh but I prefer to throw a couple of large, roughly chopped and seeded fresh tomatoes into the blender instead; the original recipe called for canned fire-roasted tomatoes but I can't always find them).

Basil Oil: Place fresh basil leaves in a blender. (Sprinkle with a little lemon or lime juice; pulse once or twice). Add olive oil and salt. Puree. Reserve until needed for chicken.

Chicken: Preheat broiler (or grill).

Rub both sides of the chicken cutlets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Oil broiler pan. Broil until lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. (We usually throw these on a hot, oiled grill instead of heating the broiler).

To serve: Spread a few tablespoons of gazpacho sauce on each of four plates. Top with two of the cutlets and drizzle with Basil Oil.

(It's a tasty dish, wonderful when using fresh stuff from the garden. I keep meaning to try it with a pork tenderloin instead of chicken.)

[bluechick]

Hee! I just posted the recipe for Gazpacho-Sauced Chicken Breasts With Basil Oil when I answered Fran's message. If it doesn't show up for you I can repost it, if you're interested. As I told Fran, that recipe uses only 1 large or 2 small Cubanelles. Since I picked 3 large ones I will use the others for chiles rellenos.

[Fran Farmer]

Thank you. I've only got one more cancer to be get a full 5 years clear reports on and then I can count myself as being fully clear.

:-)) I think she was putting out a bait so we'd ask......

[Fran Farmer]

Thank you 'bird, I thought so too ;-))

[Fran Farmer]

Oooooh! That does sound lovely. But a questions...

What part of the chook is a chicken cutlet?

[bluechick]

It's a cut I never buy because it's easy to make it without paying a butcher to slice a chicken breast in half. Basically, take a boneless chicken breast and cut it in half lengthwise into two thin pieces. Or, you can pound a boneless breast until it's very thin but I think slicing it is easier and it's easier to cook, imo.

I should have put that in my additions to the recipe since I never buy "cutlets". Sorry for the confusion. :)

[bluechick]

Hee! Yep, it's one of those mysterious chicken parts that make the butchers more money. :)

[Fran Farmer]

Ah! Now I understand. We'd just call it a half of a breast.

Or,

Yep. I agree.

No problemo.

I've become reasonably good at understanding USian but some of your terms still evade me. I've recently discovered what Graham flour is but every time I read that a recipe requires 'a stick of butter' I have to go off and find out what that mean in terms of the weight of the butter. Numbers and I aren't naturally good friends......

[Ecnerwal]

4 sticks to a pound. Assuming you get a half-kilo instead of a pound, 125 g/stick.

Now picture a USian who enjoys baking (yes, for fun on vacation even) visiting friends in Britain and trying to figure out what in heck a gas mark is. I winged it and came out OK (yeast bread is fairly forgiving if you keep an eye on it and adjust as needed.) A while after I got back here I actually found a conversion chart, but it was not easy to track down (I don't know if you folks also use this system?)

F .vs. C I was educationally equipped to deal with. "Gas Mark 1 - 7" I had not a clue about.

On the blueberry reading front, add Maine (ME - Univ. of Maine at Orono, or UMO is the home of the ag. extension) to your list as a major producer of the "wild" lowbush types. What the heck, I'll throw you a couple of links:

[bluechick]

Works for me. :)

One pounded chicken breast can take up a whole pan or a good part of a grill. It's awkward to turn, etc. I'd much rather slice them in half.

I completely agree with "a stick of butter" being confusing. I know what it is but many outside of the US don't. Besides, I've started using European butters more and more often lately and a "stick" isn't interchangeable in quantity. It's more accurate to say "1/2 cup" or "4 ounces" and avoid confusion.

[Fran Farmer]

Indeeeeeeeeeed!

Bloody stupid way to indicate the temp at which something is supposed to be cooked IMO. Give a sodding temperature in any of the accepted forms of F or C - that should be easy enough.

I winged it and came out OK (yeast bread is fairly

Yep. If it's bread it's hot - I'd use about 220C or 425F but gas mark - not a clue.

A while

Nope. All C these days but I'm bilingual with temps and inches/cm.

:-)) Me neither. I wouldn't even know just looking at it bare there on my screen, which end of the numbers is is hot but it'd be easier seeing it on an oven front - then (if 7 was the high temp) I'd probably bake bread at 6.

Ooohh - thanks - some quiet reading before I leave the computer.

[Fran Farmer]

Yep. I have a huge leather bound book which I've been using to record my recipes since soon after metric measures were introduced in this country. A lot of my recipes came from my Mum and of course she cooked exclusively with Imperial measures.

In the early days I used scales that did either Imperial or Metric so if I needed 4 ounces then the scales told me that. Over time and the replacement of equipment, I've had to go through and update all of the measures with metric.

Sometimes, even now, I will locate a recipe that includes only Imperial measures so I know it's been a very, very long time since I've cooked that recipe.

[Drew Lawson]

Hadn't heard of that one before. There is an approximate conversion table at:

It sounds like a strange system, but I have to say that I work that way with electric stove settings. I couldn't say what heat is delivered by 7, but I know it is about right for my eggs in the morning.

[bluechick]

I've been fortunate enough to be sent some lovely British recipes and I have to convert the quantities and temperatures, but I don't mind since those conversions aren't that difficult. But, as we've noted above thread, things like "stick of butter" and "Gas Mark 7" are head-scratchers to those who aren't familiar with those terms.

I collected vintage recipes for awhile and have used some but some have been unusable due to the way they'd measure things 100 or 200 years ago - not to mention weird ingredients, spice blends usually, that were in use in ancient Roman or Medieval recipes. I've run across things like a 'dessert spoon of sugar' (now I know it's about 2 teaspoons), a 'square of chocolate' (still in use and I hate that one the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still don't know what it means. And whose finger? :D

[songbird]

bluechick wrote: ...

a long time ago, someone said i'll give you the finger and ever since then it has never been returned no matter how many times and how many different people give it.

songbird

[David Hare-Scott]

It means the width of one finger in the bottom of a glass. Obviously the amount depends on the diameter of the glass and the width of a finger, so start with a little less and taste before you add more. But this is more accurate than the way I cook where except for bread and baking nothing is measured. My daughters ask me for recipes that I don't have so it has been known for one to follow me around the kitchen writing it down as I do it.

D