Some of the awesome dishes Aunt D and I made

To the left is a trellis with lights around it. Brian, my husband, and I were married under this last summer in my aunt's backyard. She mad made good use of it in her garden and it looks beautiful with vines around it and these lights. This particular garden of hers looked like a fairy garden at night with the lights and other garden decorations.









Aunt D and I tried some new and delicious recipes while I was there canning. The meals we prepared were more than enough to entice me to come back and work with my aunt ANY time! (Not to mention the awesome company). The foodie in me could not help but take a picture of some of the dishes we made.

The first one is a picture of some basic mushrooms we sauteed for some steaks one night. I thought they were pretty so I took a picture.

The next picture is of a salad that we made with corn and black beans. 

The basil and tomato were great additions. I am personally not a big fan of raw tomatoes but I picked those out and enjoyed the corn, beans, and basil. We did not put dressing or anything on this. The flavors really complimented one another.

The next dish we made was a bruschetta dish. We chopped up tomato and garlic and baked it for a while on 350 degrees. Then we tossed in the basil after it was done cooking. We served it with soft goat cheese and toasted bread slices. You spread some cheese on the toast and then put the bruschetta on top of that. It was AMAZING!!

One of the last dishes we made that was incredible was breaded and baked eggplant with smoked Gouda cheese on top. Normally we would use a sharp Asiago cheese but since we could not get that we tried the smoked Gouda and it wad equally amazing.

We had amazing dinners every night that I was there. On the last night, Saturday night, we sat by one of her flower gardens, made a bonfire, and roasted marshmellows. A great time was had by all. Thank you Aunt D and Uncle John for your amazing cooking, beautiful gardens, and most importantly the awesome company you provide. I am blessed to have such great family with which I can break bread.

Day Two - Canning with Aunt D

     On the second day of canning with Aunt D we worked on more apples. I don't know exactly how many apples we peeled but by the time we finished I was proud of our work, loved the way they smelled as they were processing, and did NOT want to see apples again for a VERY long time. We added sugar and cinnamon to the apples and processed them for pie filling. They smelled like apple pie as they processed in the canner.

 We all had smiles once the apples were finished.

 Above is my Aunt Carolyn and below is my Aunt D. They are the two best aunts anyone could ask for.

After we finished the apples we worked on cleaning and processing cucumbers and beans. Actually I think we did the beans on the first day as well but since I forgot to mention them I am including them here.

The cucumbers were used to make pickles and relish.

First we sliced the pickles and put them in a salt brine and let them sit for quite some time.

One of the many things we did while they were brining was to clean some peppers and garlic to eventually boil with some pickling spices that we would use to pack the jars and give the pickles their flavor. We also prepared some of these same items for the pickle relish we were making.

Above are the spices that we boiled to pack the pickles and relish. We added some vegetables to the spices as you can see on the right. We boiled this down and then packed our jars.

The above left picture is before we put the pickling spices and liquid into the jar and the picture on the right shows the jar once it is filled. 

One of the last things we made was salsa. This involved prepping some vegetables. 

Once the salsa was finished we were basically done canning. It was two full days of hard but satisfying work. The picture I took of all the jars lined up does not do justice to how pretty it was to look at in person. 

Tasty Asian Soup featuring LEMONGRASS and YUMMINESS!!

Tonight I wanted to make an Asian soup that had the Thai components of Tom Kha soup, with its spicy clear broth and definite hints of  lemongrass, that I have tasted in many different recipes and restaurants. I have also been wanting to try this soup called Pho that I have seen at some new Vietnamese sandwich shops that have started to pop up all around town. The main thing I noticed about Pho is that it comes with an assorted side of condiments. The other day I noticed a gentleman eating this soup and his condiments included bean sprouts, cilantro, and jalapeno slices. I have seen others as well. Tonight I decided to focus on these because, well, it just sounded good to me! I have also seen mint, basil, and green onion.

You take these condiments and place them on top of the soup just before eating them so they are still basically raw.

So, my soup was a combination of these two. I started out by making some chicken broth. I cheated and basically heated some pre-made broth. I added fresh basil, straw mushrooms, and bok choy.

I also took some cheese cloth and used this to tie up my lemongrass once I had bruised the stalks and cut them into approximately one inch pieces.

I used two stalks of lemongrass for about 7-8 cups of soup. I let this boil for a while. During this time I prepared my condiments. I chopped some cilantro, jalapeno, and placed some bean sprouts in a bowl. I would have added green onions as well but I forgot when taking these pictures. Once the soup was at a good boil I placed some skinny vietnamese rice noodles into a pot to boil.

When the soup had sufficient time to boil I removed the cheesecloth with the lemongrass. I love lemongrass and I also loved the intensity of the flavor in the broth and did not want it to change by leaving the bag of lemongrass in there. I have done this before with soups where I added ginger and was disappointed to find out that the ginger eventually overpowered the soup. Now when working with ginger and even lemongrass, though it is more subtle, I remove it from the broth once I like where the intensity is at.

Let's talk about lemongrass while on the subject! Not only is it a lovely essential oil that is used to make citronella and repel bugs but it is also refreshing, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, etc. and generally cleansing. It just has a clean and crisp but pleasant smell. When working with the actual stalks the smell is less intense and more soothing.  

DO NOT use essential lemongrass oil when cooking. In fact, unless you are specifically using COOKING GRADE oils it is important that you NEVER ingest essential oils. They are too intense and will make you sick. 

Lemongrass is a stalk.



When cooking with it you should bruise or pound on the stalk to release the flavor and aroma from the stalk. It doesn't soften very much so you want to remove most of it before consuming the food you are making it with. This is why I wrapped it in the cheesecloth. Rather than fish out the individual pieces, I simply remove the cheesecloth.

I placed the remaining pieces that I did not use (the upper third of the two stalks) into my tea pot and let it steep awhile so I could sip on some soothing tea.

Lemongrass, in addition to being soothing, is also mildly sedating. It fights cancer cells. It detoxifies your kidneys, and lowers cholesterol. It contains a wide array of beneficial vitamins and minerals. Vitamins include C, A, and B including folate which is B9. Minerals include manganese, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Lemongrass fights digestive issues, infection, and last but not least it helps to improve symptoms of the common cold.

Now back to the soup!

Once the both was done cooking and the rice noodles had softened (a matter of minutes), I placed the noodles in a bowl. I did not combine the noodles with the soup because sometimes rice noodles dissolve and lose their consistency and I did not want to chance this happening in my broth.

I added the broth atop the noodles and then last but not least I poured my condiments on the top.

The result was beautiful to gaze upon, yummy in my mouth, and soothing on my tummy.

The tea was a lovely addition.

P.S. for dessert I ate some fresh figs which were equally as divine.

Quick re-cap on the recipe:

Noodles: rice noodles or whatever you want
Broth: Chicken broth (or whatever you like), a meat of your choice if you like, two chopped stalks of lemongrass tied in cheesecloth, basil, mushrooms, and bok choy.
Let this boil for 30 minutes or so. Add salt to taste and remove the lemongrass once you are happy with the flavor it adds to the soup.
Condiments: You can top this with whatever you like. I personally enjoy jalapeno, cilantro, bean sprouts, and green onion.

Voila!! Bon appetit!