FENNEL-MY NEW FRIEND!

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Food, Roasted Fennel, Vegetables

You know over the years I have let others influence my choices, and in the way of food that has not happened often at all, because I love most everything. One vegetable that has a bad rap for this has been Fennel!!

To many times I have heard people say I don’t like licorice, or anise, and I certainly don’t want it in my food! However I found most of these people have never in their lives even eaten fennel. So for years I listened to these people, being just as guilty as they are, rush to judgment of a food without even trying it.

This week in my CSA box, there were two fennel bulbs with the green tops, so I was not going to waste them, I set out to find out different recipes using fennel, what I found out was that roasting the bulb in the over was a popular way to use the bulb, Well let me tell you, I will never turn fennel down again!

No it is not like eating a mouthful of  black jelly beans, it is a subtle mixture of flavors, the fresh bulbs smell like lemony, ginger, with a  subtle hint of licorice. The roasted bulbs have somewhat milder flavor of what I mentioned, with a slight nutty flavor.

I roasted my fennel bulbs with a recipe of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

  

ROASTED FENNEL BULBS

2 whole Fennel Bulbs separated and cut in half

1-2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1-2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Place all in bowl and toss to coat.

Place all in single layer on foil lined baking sheet,

Place in preheated 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve.

Also good sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese.

The Saga of Store Bought Green Beans

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Food, Green Beans, recipes, Vegetables

If you are like me, not all are, I absolute do not like store bought green beans! I guess I was ruined as a child because we always had home canned green beans, which have a different flavor and texture.

Recently on a canning group that I belong to this vary discussion came up and several people wrote in to say that the only way that they like them is by cooking them in the crock pot for about 12 hours on low, with meat, ham hock or bacon in the pot.

I tried this recently and found that they are very similar to fresh green beans that have simmered for hours on the stove. I thought they were very good. In the crock pot pictured I used some side meat that I had, while they were good, I think next time I would use bacon or a ham hock to flavor the beans.

I did put a tablespoon of sugar in as my grandmother always said to take away the green taste.

Slow Cooked Store Bought Green Beans

For mine I used a #10 can of regular green beans, I prefer Italian cut or case knife beans and usually will add some cooked dry beans (white or Cranberry beans) makes them like Shelly Beans at the end of the season. , you could also add a can of corn or take some fresh corn off the cob and add to the beans this is always good. Picture is served with a thick slice of tomato on your plate as well (you have a country meal)

Put # 10 can green beans in slow cooker put you meat/ham hock in the with the beans, season to taste and set the slow cooker for 10 – 12 hours on low. add a bit of sugar stir.

So easy.

My Friend Michelle’s Blog: Mickle’s Pickle (New Zealand)

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articles, blogs, container gardening, flowers, friendship, Michelle, Mickle' Pickle, New Zealand, plants, posts, recipes, Vegetables, Wellington, Zebby Cat

I have a wonderful friend in Wellington City, Wellington New Zealand. We have never met, but we correspond via email and reading each others blogs.

What I like about Michelle’s blog is it give me a glimpse into a part of the world that I will probably never get to see in person. A glimpse from and ordinary person like myself. Michelle has articles, recipes, and pictures of life in her part of New Zealand. also wonderful pictures of her dear cat “Zebby”

What I like about Michelle’s blog is that it comes from an ordinary person. sure I could go online and Google New Zealand and come up with all sorts of information, however I have always had an interest about life in other countries, seen by ordinary people and their lives. I like this about her blog.

The photo above is from Michelle’s blog, beautiful plants that I will never see in person, her blog shows their container gardens and what you can grow in containers, has inspired me to plant a small vegetable garden in several of my containers, I usually plant only flowers, however after reading her posts and looking at the wonderful pictures she has taken I am now going to try vegetables.

I hope that you too will visit Michelle’s blog “Mickle’s Pickle” and please if you see something on her blog please leave a comment, she would appreciate that, as we bloggers usually try to write posts based on what our readers are interested in.

You can also find the link to Michelle’s Blog, on the right hand column under Blog Roll.

Below are several pictures that you will find from posts on Michelle’s blog.

Canning Days

Tags

Allspice, Canning, ceyenne, Cinnamon, Cloves, Pork, Savory, Seckel Pears, Spiced, tomatoes, Vegetables

Days start early during canning season, as you need to can, but also must get the chairs done in the studio also. So days begin when the alarm goes off at 4 am., this week I had a nice visit with a wonderful friend at Pharsalia Plantation in Tyro, Virginia. She wanted to learn to use a pressure canner. I don’t think she has a fear of one now.

While there we canned a couple loads of tomatoes, when I went to leave she insisted that I take several jars home with me. The are a couple of the jars. We canned in quarts and half gallons. Please take a look at Pharsalia Plantation, nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Pharsalia is a plantation home surrounded by orchards and vineyards, and exsquit flower gardens. It was a real pleasure to be there canning this week with Florence Morgan “Foxie”.

That day I also came home with a box of Seckel Pears, for those of you unfamilliar with this old variety of pear they are golf ball sized or a little larger in size, the are canned unpeeled and usually either pickled of spiced. I spiced and canned my pears, as in the pictures below.

These pears are spiced in a medium to heavy syrup, with whole allspice berries, whole cloves and stick cinnamon.

It was a day to stock up for the winter with the making of pork vegetable soup, all made from items in the freezer. This soup has a savory flavor and is perfect on a cold winters day.

This soup consists of slow roasted pork Boston Butt, along with potatoes, corn, peas, lima beans, plenty of onions, celery, ceyenne, garlic, with some pinot noir wine.