Cowboy Caviar at Master Gardener Graduation

Eating fresh from the garden is a priority with Master Gardeners. Bonnie Newhoff brought Cowboy Caviar to the last day of Master Gardener class. Scooping up the delicious fresh ingredients with corn chips, we all enjoyed finishing our final exam and relaxing with graduation ceremonies. Another popular food item was Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Pie using purple sweet potatoes from the garden. What a beautiful presentation. Hopefully, I can get the recipe but Lee created it as she went so not sure it will ever taste the same.
Photo of the graduates include (L to R) Eileen Hayden, Ruth McLeod, Cathie Herrick, Ron Brennan, mentor Bonnie Newhoff, Carol Vie and Serge Vie.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Here we are bringing snacks to our Master Gardener class. The class enjoys it when our turn comes up because they know the recipes are good from Tastes & Treasures cookbook. That's Carol Vie (the blonde) in the green shirt with the oval pan of yummy coffee cake. It was gobbled up very quickly. I'm in the middle with Carrot Bread pg. 197 and Serge Vie (Carol's son) with Salmon Pate pg. 166.

Cranberry Coffee Cake pg. 199
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce

Confectioners' Sugar Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons (about) warm water
2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Coffee Cake: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Beat the butter in a bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the walnuts.
Spoon half the batter into a greased and floured tube pan, 9 X 13 inch baking pan or bundt pan. Spread with 1/2 of the cranberry sauce. Top with the remaining batter and remaining cranberry sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup walnuts. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes for the tube pan or bundt pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes for the 9 X 13 pan or until the coffee cake tests done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and invert onto a serving platter.

For the Glaze: mix the confectioners' sugar, warm water and lemon juice in a bowl until of a glaze consistency. Drizzle over the warm coffee cake. Let stand until set.

Serves 16

Smoked Salmon Pate

I don't even like smoked salmon but this was good. Easy to make and great taste. Serge Vie brought it in for our Master Gardener class. That's Serge with his pate, me with Carrot Bread pg. 197 and Carol Vie with Cranberry Coffee Cake pg. 199

Smoked Salmon Pate pg. 166

2 (7 ounce) cans smoked salmon, or 1 pound hot smoked salmon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the salmon, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, dill weed, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and beat until combined. Chill, covered, for 8 to 10 hours. Bring to room temperature and garnish with lemon slices. Serve with seasoned crackers. You may store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Makes 3 cups

Carrot Bread at Master Gardener Class

League Member Bonnie Newhoff contributed many recipes to the cookbook but this is a favorite. My entire kitchen spelled wonderful when I simmered the carrots and spices. It was like a sweet 'carrot soup.' Debbie Brooks, an intern in my Master Gardener class, bought another cookbook after class. Her neighbor also enjoyed the aroma of freshly baked carrot bread when Debbie made it and wanted a book herself. (This book is so easy to promote. It sells itself.)

Carrot Bread page 197

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup grated carrots (about 3 large ones)
1 cup raisins
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped

Combine the sugar, water, butter, carrots, raisins, cinnamon, salt, allspice and cloves in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Let stand until room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl and mix well. Add the flour mixture to the carrot mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the walnuts. Spoon the batter into a greased and floured 5 X 9 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf

Bechamel Sauce

What to fix for dinner with the ingredients I have? I decided to get creative with left over steak, mushrooms and macaroni. The fresh eggplant from my Master Gardener class was sitting there begging to be included and I also had summer squash, green beans, onions, celery, red pepper and fresh basil from my garden. Tastes & Treasures to the rescue with a creamy Bechamel Sauce. The recipe on page 161 is for Lasagna with Artichokes but I like to improvise. After sauteing the vegetables and adding the cut up steak, I drizzled the sauce over them. It was a hit with the family.

Bechamel Sauce

5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half and half (I used skim milk to lower calories and fat)
1 cup chicken broth (I used beef broth and mushroom broth)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp white pepper

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour. Cook for 3 minutes or until thick and golden brown in color, stirring constantly Add the half and half and broth all at once, whisking, constantly until blended. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the salt, nutmeg and white pepper. Remove from the heat and press a sheet of waxed paper over the surface of the sauce to prevent a film from forming.

Recipes well received at Master Gardener class.

Work in the garden and you'll work up an appetite, as attested by the food consumed at my Master Gardener class. Every 5 weeks my group is responsible for bringing in 'snacks' for the class. I brought in Tabouli Salad pg. 130 and Very Lemon Bread pg. 119. My friend, Carol, brought in Granola pg. 196.
The lemon bread had been stored in the freezer and it served much nicer and firmer than when fresh. It looks so nice with fresh lemon slices and fresh blueberries.
Carol's son, Serge, loved the Tabouli Salad...very refreshing with mint, parsley, basil, green onion, tomato and lemon juice.
Historymaker Eddie Basha commented on this recipe, "As long as I can remember, tabouli salad was a favorite in our family regardless of the day of the week or season of the year. This culinary and Lebanese delight continues to be a most popular salad of the Basha family."

TABOULI SALAD
1/2 cup cracked wheat
4 tomatoes, chopped
3 bunches parsley, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
Small handful of fresh mint, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak the cracked wheat in enough water to generously cover in a bowl for 30 minutes and drain. Press the excess moisture from the cracked wheat. Combine the cracked wheat, tomatoes, parsley, green onions and mint in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Delicious served cupped in a variety of lettuce or fresh grape leaves. Serves 6 to 8.

Option: I used more lemon juice and less oil. Also used whole grain quinoa and cooked it first according to instructions. Used fresh chopped basil from my garden.

Cracked Wheat Quinoa

We are Costco fans. It is that simple. Where ever we travel, we like to visit one...from the Big Island of Hawaii to Calgary, Canada to Cancun, Mexico to the local neighborhood Phoenix store. Yesterday we found Whole Grain Quinoa and I boiled it for dinner in place of a rice dish. Nice and simple. Then I realized that is what Eddie Basha's mother may have used in her Tabouli Salad. Great stuff and so versatile. A classmate from my Master Gardener class brought it as a salad which tasted very much like Basha's Tabouli Salad also. Interesting how a Lebanese staple has now entered the US market.

Pronounced "keen-wa". Quinoa is a complete protein grain (50% more than wheat), high in lysine, more iron, phosphorus, vitamins A, E and B, and more calcium and fat than other grains. Quinoa kernels have a waxy protective coating called saponin which will leave quinoa bitter unless rinsed off under running water before cooking. Expands to four times its volume when cooked. Combine with millet, bugler or buckwheat for variety. Substitute for bugler in tabouli. Makes a very light breakfast cereal.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1/4 cup (43 g)

Nutrient Amount % DV

Calories 160 Calories from Fat 20 Total Fat 2.5 g 4% Sodium 10 mg 0%

Master Gardener Class Snacks

Becoming a Master Gardener has always been a goal of mine so when my girlfriend signed up, I did too. Seventeen weeks at U of Arizona's Extension Office in Phoenix is a big commitment but it is very interesting and I am learning a lot. Each week different groups bring in "snacks" so we have a lovely buffet. Carol brought in Granola pg 196 and I made Luscious Lemon Loaf pg 198. Carol was very creative by serving the Granola in a chip and dip bowl with the spoon resting in the dip bowl. She actually sold two cookbooks because the ladies wanted the Granola recipe and loved the historical aspect of the book.

Banana Bread at Master Gardener Class

Always wanting to learn about growing plants in the desert, I started the U of A Master Gardener class at ASU's extension office yesterday. Very interesting and informative and fun. The instructors are so good at presenting the material, it makes you want to go out and dig in the garden. The best part was finding out that fellow Historical League member, Bonnie Newhoff, is my mentor for the class. So right away I knew someone. The mentors brought a "snack" to serve buffet style at the 10:45 am break and Bonnie prepared Chocolate Chip Banana Bread from the cookbook. She knows the cookbook very well as she was instrumental in organizing and testing the recipes prior to printing. The snack turned out to be a feast of fresh fruits, deviled eggs, pastries, cheeses and breads. Didn't need any lunch yesterday.
Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 or 3 bananas)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the bananas, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and beat until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix just until moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
Spoon the batter evenly into two greased 5 x 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 2 loaves.