Greatest Creation

As a former art student and pretend carpenter, I have created a great many things in my life - some big, some small; some pretty, some not so much ... below is a video of the greatest creation I have ever made. I hope you enjoy it.

-Chad

Crystallized Borage Flowers

Borage has a very cucumber taste to it, and the flowers are very edible. They are so pretty too! One of my favorite edible flowers. I mean they are this gorgeous blue color and they look like stars! Sweet.



It doesn't take much to crystallize them - the flowers, watered down egg white, a paint brush, and superfine granulated sugar. Or you can do what I did, use regular granulated sugar run through a coffee grinder or blender for a few minutes.

Bad pictures, but I assure you, they are much cuter in person. They can go in lemonade, or tea. On top of cupcakes, in salads, on top of summer soups, or just eaten as is. Awesome!

awwww

My baby is so cute.

Birthday at Grandma's

We celebrated Autumn's Birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Lenger the other day. It was great! They had a cake and we ate lunch. They also had gifts for lil' bit. Her favorite one was the digital camera (specific for kids, it can be dropped and held underwater for 30 min before anything would happen to it!). Here are some of her best pictures! The cake (which was very good!)

Grandma!



Self Portrait. ;)

Her movie of choice this morning, LOL!

A little gourmet delicousness

I tweaked two new recipes tonight to my liking. I had never made them before, and the chicken was kinda off the top of my head.....but based on another recipe I ran across. It was AWESOME. We served it over angel hair pasta, but I think it would be REALLY tasty over garlic mashed potatoes w/ some green beans too. Recipe to follow.



These little gems are some Zucchini Cakes. Need something savory and delicious to use up the excess zucchini we have all been getting in our CSA boxes lately? Try THESE on for size. Again, loosely based, heavily tweaked recipe. Again, to follow.

Braised Balsamic Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

DIRECTIONS
Season chicken breasts with ground black pepper and garlic salt. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet, and brown the onion for a few minutes and then add in seasoned chicken breasts. Brown on both sides for a few minutes.

Pour tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, along with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme into a bowl and mix together. This will keep the herbs from clumping together. Pour this all over the chicken. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

Zucchini Cakes

2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used grapeseed oil, but I use that for everything!)

DIRECTIONS
A few hours before dinner time, shred up the zucchini. Add in some salt (a teaspoon or two) and toss it with the shredded zucchini in a bowl. Put it in the fridge. When you are ready to start, pull the bowl back out, and drain the zucchini. Rinse it in cold water and drain well again. Dry with a paper towel or a tea towel.

In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.