Seed Planting Time

Pepper seeds need to be soaked before planting. Here are some left from last year.

It's that time of year again. Our basement will be a nursery for about six weeks before I put seedlings into the greenhouse prior to planting them into the gardens.

Only the beginning: tomato seeds from Penny's Tomatoes and a variety of packets I picked up from the Kaw Valley seed exchange a few weeks ago. Many more seeds on the way.



Prairie turnips. I also planted a lot outside last year. Hopefully some will sprout. 




Filling up. Shelves by the south window.




Tomatoes by the heater.



More of my gourds and peppers from last year by the east window. I'll add a light in a few weeks.

Vegetable Dinner

We watched the exciting KU-Missouri game yesterday and I needed to get some food cooking before the kids ran off to various activities. I did not want to stand in the kitchen so I found things that could cook without much attention. There was a bag of bag of yellow, orange and red peppers in the fridge drawer that I mixed with garlic cloves, then sauteed with olive oil and black pepper (top)

A bunch of carrots went into another pan with a sweet onion, black pepper, sage and olive oil.

Sweet potatoes with nothing on them. I nuked them for about 6 minutes.

A nice winter radish that has a mild flavor provided crunch. Later we had apples and peanut butter.

Easy Tacos

Here is an easy taco night dish. Left: brown venison (or whatever ground meat you prefer) in a skillet with 1 or 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add chopped yellow peppers and sweet onion and continue to mix until all is done and soft. Game meat won't leave much, if any, grease behind. If you use beef, drain the liquid.

The white tool is a "Chopstir" and is one of my favorite gadgets.

In a smaller skillet (because my daughter is not crazy about mushrooms), I sauteed mushrooms, green chilies, red peppers, garlic and black pepper until soft.

Place ingredients according to who-likes-what on warmed corn tortillas. Top with green chili sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos, cilantro or salsa. I like everything except cilantro. I also added prickly pear cactus strips on the far right taco.

Speaking (or, writing) about cilantro: when you buy herbs from the store, you can make them last longer by cutting off the botton half inch of stems then place the bunch in water and keep in the fridge. This bunch has lasted 6 days.

Quick meal: tuna salad

Continuing with the theme of "what is in the house to eat because everyone is hungry and I have not been to the store"--here is what I found for tuna salad.

Two cans of tuna, mustard, Craisins, green chilies, light Italian dressing, chopped garlic, pickles I canned last summer, the tall bottle of hot peppers mixed with olive oil (far left) I made in August, dried tomatoes from summer and a bunch of celery that I perked up by cutting of the end and setting the stalks in cold water.

We don't use mayonnaise. The mustard and Italian dressing add enough flavor and Craisins contribute an interesting sweetness. Eat with celery or crackers. You can also make this with salmon, turkey, pheasant or chicken.

Quick meal: Breakfast Burrito

What do we do at our house in winter when there is no garden and I haven't been to the store in a while? We have to search the fridge and pantry to see what is still edible.

This morning I found some Mission tomato/flour wraps in the produce drawer, cheese in the back of the top shelf, remnants of the romaine lettuce bag, an onion on the apple bowl, a lonely tomato next to a lonely apple on the table, a new jar of salsa in the garage from the last trip I made to Costco, chopped red peppers and hashed brown potatoes from yesterday. The freezer is always filled with venison.

I sauteed the onion, venison and peppers in a skillet, then spooned all that along with the potatoes and salsa onto the burrito and folded it. I placed in the pan to warm it all together and topped with the lone tomato and bagged salad items. Sometimes I also add black beans.

Cooking Wild Turkey

I cooked a wild turkey Josh got a few weeks ago. Since these birds tend to be dry, I soaked it first a large water container (left, with Hank) in a solution of water, orange juice, salt water, brown sugar, black pepper, and vegetable stock.

A good recipe to follow is Alton Brown's (the guy on Iron Chef and host of Good Eats):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

The turkey was much juicier than other birds I have cooked without brining. After we ate the meat, I made what a friend calls "carcass soup," which is actually turkey stock. You can easily make stock and then use it when you need broth for beans, soup, etc. Here are directions on my site:

http://www.aihd.ku.edu/recipes/vegetable_turkey_game_stock.html

Pretty Quick Enchiladas

 My kids' cross country banquet was this weekend and I needed to make something fast. I came up with roasted vegetable enchiladas.

On left is the mixture of black beans, chopped onions, green chilies, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and sweet corn. I sauteed the onions, squashes, jalapenos, and corn, then when done (vegetable are soft  but not mushy), mixed with the other ingredients in a bowl. I also added 3T of chili powder, 1T of garlic powder and 1T of cumin.
Place store-bought corn tortillas in the bottom of a baking dish, then pour one can of canned green chile sauce over the tortillas. Layer the vegetable mix over the tortillas, then add another layer of tortillas and shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, then another layer of vegetables. Top with one more layer of tortillas, cheese and pour a can of chile sauce over the whole thing. Cover with foil and bake in oven at 350 for 15 minutes, then uncover and cook another 10 minutes. Take out and let set for ten minutes before cutting.

Top with salsa.