Joe Bonamassa and Roy's Birthday With Great Friends

         Last night PBS Channel 8 aired the New York concert by Joe Bonamassa. I had invited a few friends over to watch, and as a little celebration for Roy's birthday the next day. Big guy turned 73...wow, that's amazing. Oh well, better older than not, eh???
        So in preparation for some great music, laughter, and fun with friends, I wanted to prepare things that were easy to eat and scrumptious. I think I came up with a great selection!
        First, I  Stuffed Mushrooms with a combination of goat cheese, Herbs de Provence, chives, and the finely chopped stems from the mushrooms. Delicious! 
         Next, I took the small red, yellow and orange sweet peppers and stuffed them with stuffing for Stuffed Bell Peppers. Little and in their own shell, they were great with a little marinara sauce on top. Made extra and will put extra sauce and the little delights over fettuccini for dinner tomorrow night! 
        So then I wanted something delicious, and international.  Ah ha....Bolani and Samosas came to mind!  For the samosas I used wonton skins, large ones cut in half to form little strips. I made different fillings:  mushroom, green onion, garlic, onion; sambal beef--ground beef with Panch Phoran, onion, garlic, sambal powder, grated carrot; and chicken samosas with small diced cooked chicken breast, avocado, salsa, and extra chili flakes for a bite. 
       Bolani is a new one for me and it was fabulous. An Afghanistan dish, but somewhat like Roti or other stuffed breads served around the world, it is comfort food on steroids!  I love stuffed breads, even though I'm gluten intolerant I sometimes eat it and suffer....it's good enough to suffer for and these two versions are nothing short of phenomenal!!  And served with a little yogurt with crushed mint and grated cucumber in it takes it to an entirely new deliciousness.

Panch Phoran

1 T. Cumin Seeds

1T. fennel seeds

1 T. Nigella Seeds (find on the internet)

1 T. Fenugreek Seeds (also internet is the easiest place to find)

1 T. black or brown mustard seeds

Mix together and store in air tight container.

 

Potato and Scallion Bolani

Ingredients:

Dough:

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup water room temperature

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. olive oil

Stuffing:

1 lb. russet potatoes (about 2 medium-size potatoes)

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/2 cup finely chopped Scallions white and green parts

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions: Mix the flour & salt in a bowl.  Add the water & teaspoon of oil & mix the dough together, kneading it a little until it forms a ball.  If the dough is too dry, add little more water. Once the dough is formed, knead it for 10 minutes on a lightly floured cutting board.  Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a cloth & let it rest for one hour.

In the meantime, boil the potatoes until soft in the center when pierced with a small knife.  Remove from the water & when cool, slip the skins off the potatoes.  Put the potatoes, cilantro, scallions, 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, salt & pepper in a bowl & mash together with your hands or a potato masher until thoroughly combined.  Some lumps are ok.

(Okay, here’s where I upped the ante on this recipe---put some oil and Panch Phoran (Benagali Five Spice) into a skillet. Heat until the seeds begin to pop, then add the potatoes and other ingredients. When mixed well, add turmeric to taste and color…it’s a wonderful warm succulent spice that adds so much to the potatoes. Recipe for Panch Phoran is in the index here.)

Take a small amount of dough the size of a small apple & roll into a smooth ball.  Spread some flour on the wood board & roll out the dough using a rolling pin.  Continue to flatten the dough until it takes a round shape, as thin as a tortilla, & about 10-12 inches across. Spread ¼ cup of potato mixture on one side of the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border around the rim.  Fold the other half over & press the dough together with your finger to form a seal.

Heat the remaining ¼ cup of oil in a medium-size sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Brown the Bolani, two at a time, until golden on both sides.  The Bolani should sizzle when they hit the pan.   Lay cooked Bolani on a paper towel. Add more oil to your pan if your oil starts to reduce. Can be kept warm in the oven, covered with foil.

To keep down the fat content, instead of frying, brush with a small amount of oil and bake in 400 degree over for 10-15 minutes, watching for perfect brown crunchy crust. Cut into pie-shaped pieces and service with chutneys for dipping.

Or try this delicious variation…any yellow winter squash can be used, not just pumpkin.

Pumpkin Bolani

For the pumpkin filling
1/2 of a 15oz can of pumpkin purée
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp finely diced onion
1/4 tsp (I used 1/2 tsp) minced Jalapeño or Serrano Chili pepper
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander

¼ t. grated nutmeg
Fresh ground black pepper

1. Make the dough the same as in the first recipe. Complete and let rest.

2. In the meantime, prepare your ingredients for the pumpkin filling. Mix together all of the ingredients either in a bowl, or in a food processor to ensure that they are fully blended.

3. Once the dough has rested for an hour, prepare per instructions for Potato Scallion Bolani. Flour a large, wooden cutting board and roll out the dough into a flat disc with a rolling pin. It should be about 10 inches in diameter and as thin as you can make it. Spread 2-3 Tbsp of the pumpkin mixture on one half of the dough circle, leaving a small border around the edge and the other half empty. Fold over the dough and press it together to form a seal. Repeat for the remaining 3 balls.

4. Heat about ¼ cup of oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Make sure that the pan is just hot enough so that the bolani will sizzle when it hits the pan. Brown the bolani about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. They can either be served immediately, or for a party, you can slice them into appetizer slices and serve them a little warmer than room temperature.

PEACEFUL TRANQUIL GARDEN SUNDAY

            It’s a beautiful day. No new gopher kickouts in the rose garden or surrounding areas. Maybe there was just one. Doubtful, but hey, maybe the God of Rodents has decided I’ve been plagued enough and just let there be one rogue gopher to deal with this time.

Second, it’s a beautiful day. The garden is quiet this morning, except for the song of hundreds of birds.  There are 3 giant Monarch butterflies sharing the zinnias with two adorable humming birds. The Mama and Baby quail were there too…the babies now big enough to fly over the fence and into the rocks when they feel threatened. And a myriad of big and baby lizards run and hop through the rocks and gardens at will, while Guayo is nowhere in site to chase them.

The pumpkins are ripening (although a few have squirrel chompings on them), there are many eggplants that just need another week to be of ample size to harvest (again, IF the squirrels don’t annihilate them first), I harvested another handful of Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes  (a daily occurrence now), and harvested half of the red onion crop and they are beautiful. Only two yellow onions…they just aren’t doing as well I’m afraid. And the garlic…none existent this year. I also harvested a basket full of basil and made almond basil pesto and put it in the freezer…14 cups of it.  I’m so happy….I love pesto, and when we used the last bag from last year out of the freezer in April, and a few of the plants weren’t looking so good now, I thought I would not be able to get enough put away for the winter. But the 4 plants that are doing great, and more than completing my 30 bag goal.

The sorrel still needs to be harvested along with the parsley, and then I will put more Sorrel Pesto in the freezer…a wonderful alternative from basil pesto that tastes fabulous on fish due to the citrusy flavor of the sorrel.

So while I watered, harvested, listened to the birds, watched the birds, hummers, and butterflies in my lovely garden, I felt a peace and contentment that is always short-lived in my life. But it was definitely there for at least 30 minutes today.

RODENT REVENGE AND GRILLING DELICIOUSNESS

 I did it!!!  After a summer of being plagued with squirrels eating the garden, the gophers decided to start on the front yard…my rose garden.  Rodent demolition!  So after 2 weeks of trying to flood them out, running water down the holes for hours with nary a little rodent nose poking up, and only managing to raise the water bill and burn my neck in the sun and get a headache from the heat (in case I haven’t informed you, it’s been HOT AND HUMID), I went to the True Value Hardware store and purchased 2 gopher traps and 5 Big Giant gopher hole bombs. I was determined.

Upon arriving home with the weapons of mass destruction, I read the directions. First and foremost, you must find the runs. Oh yeah, that’s easy…NOT!  So I dug and probed, and probed and dug….then got the hose. I filled the bermmed rose garden area with water until WHOOSH, the holes where the gopher had back filled previously used holes, opened up and water ran in. Stupendous….now I could see where they were and which way the tunnels ran.

Then I went to the wells around the nectarine tree and did the same. Three opened up. Then last I went to the climber on the arbor. As I stood there filling up the well, one hole opened up and began taking water. An instant later, Mr. Gopher stuck himself out of a hole on the other side of the well, soaking wet  and looking miserable. He slowly trundled out of the hole, while I yelled for Roy to get  the shovel. Being Roy and only having one speed, too slow, I dropped the hose, grabbed the shovel and chased the vile critter to where he stopped under the plum tree. As I got close, he turned around and looked at me with his beady eyes and big bucky teeth and…..whack. Right on the head!  Second whack, and he was a goner. Just like playing Whack a Mole….and I won!!!!

I know, it sounds vicious and cruel, but he had already eaten dead two roses, numerous snap dragons and mums, and perforated my side yard like Swiss cheese, and was working on my 2 year old healthy beautiful nectarine tree.  I love nectarines and home to have bumper crops in the future. He had to go, and this was pretty quick and humane, which I understand that sometimes the traps are not. 

So, strike 1 against the rodents. Now if I could just sharpen my aim and get those damn squirrels I would feel completely vindicated!!!

The rest of the day was spent with Roy and Carly, talking, resting, relaxing, and grilling. The grilling was delicious!  Rib Eye Steaks with Montreal Seasoning, Yellow Crookneck Squash and Zucchini sliced into large slices and marinated in Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette and grilled, Fresh Pineapple Slices sprinkled with cinnamon and grilled, and the best were the Shrimp Drizzled with Persian Lime Olive Oil and grilled in their shells. They were fabulous!!!  No formal recipes here, just delicious easy grilling fare spiced to perfection and eaten mostly with the sounds of “ooooh” and “yummmm”, and “ahhhhh”.  Remember, use those spices, marinades and especially deliciously flavored olive oils for all your grilling this summer and keep things simple and delicious.  The Persian Lime Olive Oil, along with others (the 18 Year Old is fabulous) and all kinds of delicious balsamic vinegars, can be ordered on line from Olive U in Prescott at http://oliveunaturally.com/