Columbus Foodie

There’s no feeling in the world like going into your own yard and harvesting your own produce. This year, I’ve planted quite a few things, and already, just a few weeks later, I’m starting to realize the fruits (literally!) of that labor.

I know it’s not much, but it’s as fresh as it gets. And will make a yummy snack in just a couple of minutes.

For the Grow Your Own #3 blogging event, I’m contributing pico de gallo that I made with the last of the Roma tomatoes of the summer, which were grown on my back deck. The other ingredients (onions, garlic, additional tomatoes, poblanos, jalapenos, cilantro) are also local, with only the lime juice and salt being not Ohio grown or made. Wow - with the weather we’ve been having lately, summer seems like a lifetime ago. I love the reds and oranges and yellows of autumn but I think I’m already beginning to miss the bright reds and greens of August.

Pico de Gallo

10 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped and seeded
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 small poblano pepper, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
juice from 1/2 lime
10 stems cilantro leaves, minced
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, and then cover and let sit overnight in fridge to steep and allow flavor to develop.

After being inspired by the fantastic meal I had last week at the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, we proceeded to take recipes from here and there and ended up with one of the best-tasting home-cooked meals we’ve ever made! Just like having a restaurant in your own house, but with a lot less hassle.

While Adobo Pork is more of a Pinoy dish than a Cuban one, it paired wonderfully with the yellow rice, black beans, and maduros. This combo of flavors is going in the “repeats” file.

And I’m also submitting this as part of the Grow Your Own #2 foodie event, hosted by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes. Both the peppers (I used fajita bell, which are just a slightly hotter variation of sweet bell) and the tomatoes (Better Boys and Romas) were grown on my back deck.

Without further ado, here’s the recipes:

Traditional Adobo (Pork in Vinegar and Soy Sauce)
courtesy Recipezaar

1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 c. vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bay leaf
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. cooking oil

Combine all ingredients except cooking oil in a pot and let stand for 30 minutes. Simmer covered for 1 hour or until meat is tender (It took mine almost twice that amount of time to get it really tender). Drain and reserve the sauce. Heat cooking oil in a skillet. Brown meat on all sides. Transfer to serving dish. Pour off all remaining oil from skillet. Add reserved sauce and cook for a minute or two scraping all browned bits sticking to pan. Pour sauce over meat and serve.

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Arroz Amarillo (Spanish Yellow Rice)
from The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook

1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
1 medium-size green pepper, cut in strips
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tomatoes, seeded, peeled, and chopped
2 c. long-grain rice, uncooked (I used medium-grain instead)
1/2 tsp. saffron or yellow food coloring
2 tsp. salt
4 c. chicken broth
Green peas (cooked), pimento or roasted red pepper strips, and parsley for garnish (didn’t use these)

In casserole or ovenproof skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion, green pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Add rice, saffron, salt, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook for 18 minutes, either on top of stove (medium-low) or in oven (400 degrees). Garnish with peas, pimentos and parsley. This is a very good side dish for fish, chicken or meat. Serves 2 as main dish.

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Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Beans)
courtesy Recipezaar

2 (10 oz) cans black beans, drained (with liquid set aside)
1 medium onion
1 green peper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Fry the onion and pepper in a little oil. Add the garlic and saute a little. Introduce a little of the bean liquid until all previous ingredients are soft. Add the beans with the remaining liquid. Add spices and simmer about 30 minutes (mine were done after 20). Add the vinegar just before serving.

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Maduros

Maduros (ripe plantains) are simple to make. Go to your local Mexican grocery (some mainstream supermarkets will carry them too) and look for plantains that are black or almost black. This means they are ripe. Figure 1 whole plantain for each person. Peel, and then cut on the bias about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick. Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in frying pan until hot, and then fry plantains in batches, careful not to crowd the pan. Look for the edges to brown, and flip them over until done. When they are finished, they will be dark brown and caramelized (you can tell this because you will smell a sweet smell instead of a starchy smell when they are caramelized). Take them out and put them onto a plate with a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Salt them while they are hot, and enjoy.

For Week 7 of One Local Summer, I wanted to highlight the beautiful and tasty heirloom tomatoes that are in season right now. Between the box of fancy heirlooms I bought at the farmer’s market last weekend, and the overflowing bounty of Black Prince and Roman Candle tomatoes from my patio garden, I had to find a creative way to use the tomatoes. I was inspired by Sher’s Angel Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes, so I decided to use her recipe. I served it with some chicken breast that I sprinkled with salt, pepper, and herbes de provence, and sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Absolutely delicious!

For the breakdown of sources - the chicken breast is from OMC Farms at the Worthington Farmer’s Market, which is also where I got the fancy heirloom tomatoes (can’t remember which vendor at the moment). The cream is Smith Dairy, and I got that and the Parmesan cheese at Carfagna’s Market. The angel hair is also Carfagna’s fresh. The butter is from Hartzler’s Dairy, which I got at Whole Foods, I believe. Some of the tomatoes and the basil come from my patio garden. I don’t know if the shallots are local are not.

For dessert, we had peach cobbler, made with beautiful Ohio peaches that I also got at Carfagna’s. More about that later.

I am so enamored with my Aerogarden - I’ve honestly got to say its one of the best (and most useful) Christmas presents I’ve ever received. Having done its job well the first go round with herbs, a few weeks ago I decided to start a batch of salad greens. Here’s what it looked like last week, on the 13th, when it was about 1 1/2 weeks from the start:

And here it is yesterday, with just a couple days to go before I can start harvesting it.

What a difference! I have such a black thumb when it comes to indoor plants, but this system is foolproof. Each “kit” has about a 3-4 month lifespan, next up will probably be cherry tomatoes, so I can have tasty tomatoes in the off-season.

BTW, if there’s any question, I’m not getting paid to push this product or anything - its just something I got that I’m really impressed with and felt the need to sing the praises of.

This year, instead of planting anything into the ground, we’re trying our hand at container gardening - about 6 varieties of tomatoes (Brandywine, Black Prince, Romas, Cherry 100s, Roman Candles, and I can’t remember the last variety offhand), 2 varieties of peppers (Anaheim and Fajita Bell), and some herbs (parsley, rosemary, basil, cilantro, and catnip) - just to see if we fare better than we did trying to plant it directly into the clay-heavy Ohio soil the past few years. While our previous attempts were OK, we had trouble getting enough compost and organic matter into the mix.

I’m amazed at how prolific these tomato plants are - these were tiny seedlings just three weeks ago when I bought them at the North Market. No fruit set yet, but soon.

Here’s the Black Prince:

and the Brandywine:

I’ll keep you all posted as the growing season continues.

ETA: By the way, if you want to try your hand at growing tomatoes, it’s not too late, especially if you choose early varieties - check out these wonderful tips for growing tomatoes from Veggie Gardening Tips.