Sully's Garden

Dr. Pepper Cider

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:21:00 +0000

Download Recipe

This is a milder, sweeter version of Mulled Apple Cider.

Mocha Silk Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Download Recipe

Recipe Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman (with modifications)

This was my first successful attempt at a vegan, gluten-free chocolate dessert. The original recipe was not vegan, so I was flying into uncharted territories with the changes I made. I definitely think it's harder to cream soy butter than regular, but maybe that was because I didn't start with room-temperature butter, so I'll be sure to remember that for next time!

Mulled Apple Cider

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:11:00 +0000

Download Recipe

Recipe Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman (with modifications)

Since being diagnosed with food allergies almost a year ago, I've learned to acquire new tastes, including overcoming a lifetime hatred of cinnamon. Mulled apple cider made it very easy to accomplish this goal. It's simple and quick to make, and goes down a treat on a cold night.

23 Days Into Gardening Season

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:46:00 +0000

I should thin carrots in the next planting.

The cilantro is doing great alongside carrots.

Shouldn't have planted peas next to squash because peas, especially southern peas, require a lot of direct sunlight.

I'm afraid this plant may never produce due to lack of sunlight, which is a shame because there is no substitute for fresh southern peas.

I like to plant basil just so I can rub my fingers on it when I walk by. It smells so good!

Also, I've got a spectacular recipe for Sunflower Basil Pesto Linguine (vegan and gluten-free) that I should make again soon.

According to directions, this Early Girl should have ripe tomatoes in 16 days, but I doubt that will happen. I guess we'll see!

The Park's Whopper did so well in Mississippi, but it didn't taste very good when I planted it in my first Virginia garden. That could have been due to the soil, so I thought I'd give it another shot this year.

I thought the Asparagus Bean would've grown faster.

2011 Garden Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:43:00 +0000

2011 Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:34:00 +0000

Vegetable Fried Rice with Tofu and Bok Choy

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 12:43:00 +0000

This was my first time tasting and cooking bok choy, and it was surprisingly delicious. The white, celery-like part tastes like cabbage, and the leaves taste like collards.

This was also my first time cooking firm tofu. I've eaten it at restaurants, of course, but I've never had the courage to try it on my own. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the results.

***Make brown rice at least one day in advance, or use leftover rice from other meal***

Perfect Rice:

1. Combine 1 cup brown rice and 1 1/2 cups water in a pot, and bring to a boil

2. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes

3. Turn heat off, but leave rice on the hot eye and do not remove the lid; allow the rice to sit for 30 minutes

4. Spread rice onto a large plate, and place uncovered in the refrigerator for at least one day

If you are not going to use the rice after 24 hours of refrigeration, place a sheet of plastic wrap over the plate and leave in the refrigerator for up to four days

Fried Rice Directions:

1. Remove firm tofu from package and rinse with cool water

2. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch-thick rectangles; cut rectangles into squares, and the squares into triangles

3. Place the tofu between several layers of paper towel and press firmly (but not too firmly or you'll pulverize it!) until most of the moisture has been removed

4. Heat olive oil on medium to medium-high heat (depending on your stove) in large sauté pan or wok

5. Place a portion of the tofu in the pan being careful not to overcrowd the pan

6. Cook until the tofu is brown, flip, and then brown the other side

7. When the tofu is sufficiently browned, place it on dry paper towels on a wire rack where it should sit until it's ready to be mixed into the rice mixture

8. Cook remaining tofu in batches, remembering to add and heat more oil if necessary

9. Once tofu is done, heat more oil in the pan, and then add diced bok choy (white part only, the leaves will be added later), coat with plenty of soy sauce, and cook until the bok choy has softened

10. Add 1/2 diced white onion and the chopped bok choy leaves, and cook until softened

11. Add drained and rinsed can of water chestnuts, and cook until moisture has evaporated

12. Add rice, more soy sauce, and cook for a couple of minutes

13. Add frozen peas, and cook until peas are warm

14. Add tofu, and cook for a few minutes

Makes 4 servings

Edamame Stir-fry

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:59:00 +0000

Recipe Courtesy of Eating Well

This dish is very healthy and surprisingly delicious. It's even good cold. Serve with a slice of hot, crusty bread, and voi·là.

1. Boil edamame according to package directions and then drain

2. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat

3. Chop a white onion, a squash, and a zucchini into bite-sized pieces

4. Sauté vegetables until softened

5. Add pico de gallo (my grocery store has pre-made pico de gallo, but you could use drained Ro-tel)

6. Add drained edamame and continue cooking for a few minutes

3-4 servings, serve with French bread

2011 Spring Garden (Complete)

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:53:00 +0000

After a year off, I'm back to gardening! I've got a decent spot at my house picked out, with only a few small trees to be moved to a new home before I can officially call it my garden. There's one large tree that may or may not have to be moved, so before I install a permanent fence and watering system, I'm going to have one season with two temporary 8'x3' raised beds to see how much sunlight the area gets without moving the tree.

Right now, I'm putting down layers of newspaper and mulch just to stamp out the grass and weeds and get the ground ready for spring. Come March, I'll bring in several loads of topsoil/compost to ready the beds for an early planting of lettuce.

I should post pictures so that I have before and after shots.

To Do:
1. Pictures (before shots)
2. Research installing drip system (instead of soaker hoses, is drip system less expensive?), read http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_tutorial.php
Thoughts--drip definitely works best for beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash, but a microsprinkler may work best for carrots, lettuce, and herbs; how difficult is it to take up whole system for winter? soaker hoses are easy; can pieces be used again and again? soaker hoses dry out easily; drip system may require too much effort (went with soaker hoses--just too easy)
3. Keep layering newspaper and mulch
4. Move Crape Myrtle and Border Forsythia to new home (decided to keep in place until the fall)
5. Remove small pine for chipping

Turkey Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:07:00 +0000

Steak and Grilled Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0000

This isn't much of a recipe, really, but the photos of my homegrown vegetables were so pretty that I just had to post them. I simply tossed the chopped vegetables (carrots, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers) in a little olive oil and seasoning, and marinated the strips in Dale's. The steak was a little overcooked for my liking, as it usually is when I let my husband run the clock, but it was still absolutely delicious. As always, the dinner rolls were heavenly.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Download Recipe

Normally, I make chicken salad the same way I make tuna salad (mayonnaise, mustard, plenty of kosher dill pickles, and dill weed), but I tried some of my neighbor's chicken salad a few months ago and have been wanting some ever since. I finally made some this weekend, although I have to say that mine wasn't nearly as good as Phyllis'. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

The BEST Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:14:00 +0000

Download Recipe

Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten (Food Network)

This is the most wonderful cake I've ever tasted! I've refrigerated it and I think that makes it even better. I cut down the amount of liquid that Ina used in her recipe--the cake batter was just too runny. Also, she includes coffee granules in the buttercream icing, but I left that out.

It's very important to make sure your cake is at room temperature, or even refrigerated, before adding the icing. Also, don't make the icing until the cake is ready for it.

Calzone

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Download Recipe

Shrimp Sandwiches and Sweet Potato Fries

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Download Recipes

These recipes are my own concoctions. Shrimp po-boys are a favorite in southern Mississippi (where I'm from), though the shrimp are normally battered and deep-fried. I would've preferred using po-boy buns for this recipe, but I believe in making do with what I have (yes, Mom, I finally learned that lesson!), and Kaiser rolls are what I had.

Barbecue Chicken and Cole Slaw

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Download Recipes

The barbecue chicken recipe is from Cooking Light magazine (July 2009 page 122) and the coleslaw is a knockoff of KFC's. Of course, the CL version removed the skin from their chicken, but damn, that's the best part! A little advice, though: DO NOT cook this on the same day you're canning tomato sauce from 70 Roma tomatoes and two kinds of pepper jelly. What was I thinking?

This Week's Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:30:00 +0000

As you can see from this picture, I have jalapeno and bell peppers coming out my ears! I'm using the jalapenos for pickling and jelly, the bell peppers for caramelizing to make omelets, and even though it may look as if I picked a lot of purple hull peas, I only had enough for two large servings. These peas have become my new favorite vegetable... not only are they simple to cook (water + a little salt), but it is also great fun to pick your lunch from a bush! It's just not the same with peppers, tomatoes, squash, etc. because those things usually go in a larger dish or have to be given extra flavoring. Not purple hull peas... they're perfect.

Canning

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Canning is a pretty easy process (as long as your husband reads the directions for you, since I am quite incapable of following instructions... I just read them and then unknowingly start doing stuff completely wrong), but it's a time-consuming process. A process that you should never start at 7 pm on a work night!

My instructions came from Pick Your Own.org. It's a great website and even has step-by-step photos (unless you're me, of course, and just dismiss what you see!).

Tomato Sauce

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

Pepper Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Download Recipe

I've made pepper jelly using jalapeno peppers and a combination of jalapeno and red bell peppers. I definitely prefer the red bell pepper mix as it is prettier and sweeter.

Recipe Courtesy of Tabasco.com

This jelly is great slathered over a homemade biscuit, or poured on top of cream cheese and served with crackers or bread.

Ingredients for Pepper Jelly:

4 cups peppers (use any pepper or combination, such as red bell and jalapeno), cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
4 cups granulated sugar
5 oz pouch pectin (or 3 packets)
1 tbsp Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce (your choice)

Directions:

1. Grind peppers and 1/4 cup vinegar in a food processor
2. Scrape into a large non-aluminum, add remaining vinegar, and bring to a full boil over high heat
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly thickened
4. Stir in sugar, raise heat to high and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly
5. Let boil 1 minute, stirring constantly (Be careful—jam has tendency to boil over and is very hot—reduce heat slightly if necessary
6. Remove from heat
7. Stir in pectin and mix until completely blended, then skim off foam that rises to surface (if any)
8. Stir in hot sauce
9. Ladle jam into hot sterilized jars, (1/2-pint size are ideal) leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe inside and outside rims clean with damp paper towel. Seal with sterilized 2-piece lids, following manufacturer's instructions. Cool jars on wire rack.

Store in cool place up to 6 months. Once opened, keep refrigerated.

Makes 7 cups

Succulent Pot Roast and Gravy with Dinner Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:20:00 +0000

Download Recipes

The pot roast recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and the dinner roll recipe if from Cooking Light magazine.

Pot Roast:

1. Using a cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat
2. Cut the roast in half, rinse, and dry thoroughly, and once the skillet is heated, sear each side of the roast a couple of minutes per side
3. Meanwhile, whisk one tbsp prepared horseradish with 1 cup beef broth
3. Cut carrots, potato, white onion, and place with whole garlic cloves in a crock pot
4. Season vegetables with salt and add broth to the crock pot
5. Once the roast is seared on each side, remove from heat and slather each side with prepared horseradish, then place on top of vegetables in the crock pot
6. Cover the dish and cook on low for about four hours, then on high for another two

Pan Gravy (prepare once roast is done):

1. Heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat in a small skillet or sauce pan
2. Once the butter has melted, add ¼ cup all-purpose flour and continuously stir until lumps are gone (turn down heat if mixture bubbles)
3. Add 1 ½ to 2 cups liquid from crock pot (according to how thick or thin you like your gravy)
4. Stir until blended and serve tableside

Dinner Rolls (begin preparation once roast is halfway done):

1. Stir a package of yeast and 2 tbsp sugar into 2/3 cup warm water and let sit for five minutes
2. Meanwhile, add 1 ¾ cups lightly packed flour to a large mixing bowl and whisk in ½ tsp salt
3. Add 3 tbsp melted butter to yeast mixture, then stir this into flour, forming a ball (if your dough is still really sticky, add a little more flour; the original recipe calls for 1 ¾ cups of flour, but I usually have to use at least 2-2 ¼ cups)
4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead (how to knead: press down with your knuckles several times, fold over, rotate ¼, repeat) for about four minutes (you'll know when it's done because you'll feel like a real baker!)
5. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled large bowl, turning the ball over once to oil both sides
6. Place in a draft-free, warm place (85 degrees) for about two hours or until dough has doubled in size (I place a 4-cup measuring glass filled with hot water inside my turned-off oven along with the dough)
7. Once dough has risen, punch it down and let rest for five minutes
8. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and tear apart to form 12 pieces that you should form into a semi-round shape
9. Place individual pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes
10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
11. Bake rolls for about 10 minutes
12. Meanwhile, melt remaining tbsp butter and stir in a little garlic powder and thyme
13. Remove rolls from oven and brush on butter mixture (if you don't have a pastry brush, just use a paper towel as a brush)
14. Return rolls to oven and place oven on broil—watch the rolls through the oven window as it will only take about one minute to brown the tops!!! Do not leave them unattended in the oven (or on your countertop for that matter, since they are so good, they will be gone in no time)

Tip: If you want to use a cutting board as a place to work with dough, simply place a wet paper towel under the cutting board to stop it from moving around (I do this every time I use a cutting board)

Pickled Jalapeno Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Download Recipe

Recipe Courtesy of David Lebovitz:

1. Stab each pepper three times with a sharp paring knife and place them in a large glass preserving jar
2. In a non-reactive saucepan, bring the other ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes
3. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes, then pour the brine over the peppers. Place the lid on the jar and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate for at least a week before using, if possible.

My peppers won't be ready to taste until Saturday, so I'm not sure if they'll be good or not. I'll update this post with results...

Results: Good, but HOT, HOT, HOT!!! They really just taste like pickles with extreme heat. Maybe next time I should de-seed the peppers first.

Recent Harvests

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:14:00 +0000

The Brandywine is from my community plot and the other two, a Husky Cherry and a Fourth of July, are from my home garden. The tomato plants in my community garden, which get 10 hours of direct sunlight each day, are short and bushy and the tomatoes are already ripening... the Brandywine is 25 days ahead of schedule. My home garden tomato plants, on the other hand, only get two hours of direct sunlight each day and the plants are tall and spindly and the fruit is just now ripening, 35 days behind schedule. Big difference, huh? However, the plants at my house are green and thriving... no dead leaves, no wilt, no bad fruit. Whereas the plants in my community plot are fighting fusarium wilt (at least, I think that's what it is). According to Kathy at Skippy's Garden, it's difficult to manage pests and disease in community gardens because you have no control over what your neighbor gardeners are doing or what they've done in the past. Thanks to birds, bugs, and wind, damaging diseases can run rampant through an entire community garden. I've been lucky so far because my homemade bug spray has kept the worst of the bugs away (neighboring plots are being decimated by Japanese Beetles), but there's not much I can do to prevent wilt.

Click on photo to view mouseovers

Fried Chicken and Southern Potato Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Download Recipes

This was my first time to cook fried chicken in over a year and it did not turn out as wonderful as the last time... oh well. The problem with fried chicken is that (or at least when using my method of a fry daddy) by the time all the pieces are cooked, my husband and I have already eaten the done pieces! And trust me, eating a whole chicken in one sitting is not something I'd normally do. I messed up this batch because I started off cooking it at 375 degrees, which was way too hot. The crust started burning (as you can see in the last pic) before the chicken was done. Once I got the right temp (about 275 degrees), things got a lot better.

I don't have any pics posted of the potato salad, but trust me, it was pretty and scrumptious. I boiled squash with my potato (one of the many ways in which I'm attempting to use the squash I'm growing) and it turned out better than I could have ever hoped. Of course, if you put enough mayonnaise in something, it's bound to taste good.

Fried Chicken:

Recipe Courtesy of Sonny Anderson (Food Network):

1. Whisk together salt and cider to create brine for the chicken
2. Add all the chicken pieces to the brine and add in enough water to cover the chicken
3. Cover and place in refrigerator for about one hour (longer won't hurt)
4. Mix flour, cornstarch, and seasonings; unless you add a lot of seasoning, your chicken crust will be bland—when the flour is no longer white, then you've added enough seasoning; do not add more salt
5. After the chicken has sat in brine for at least an hour, remove the chicken and dredge each piece in your beaten eggs, then coat the piece in flour and set it on a wire rack; let the coated chicken rest for about 10 minutes while the fryer preheats
6. Fill a deep fryer to the recommended line with vegetable shortening or vegetable oil; then preheat to about 275-300 degrees (if using a Fry Daddy, it takes 1 ¼ tubs of shortening)
7. Once the fryer is hot enough, place one to two pieces of the chicken on the fry basket and slowly lower into the grease, flipping once halfway through cooking—the small pieces will take about 10-12 minutes and the breasts will take about 20
8. Carefully remove the chicken from the fry basket with tongs and place the chicken on a clean wire rack to cool

Tip: I line my counters wax paper for easy cleanup and place a baking sheet (lined with wax paper) under each wire rack to catch flour and grease

Southern Potato Salad:

1. Add potatoes and squash to a medium-sized pot, adding salt and enough water to cover the vegetables
2. Allow the vegetables to boil for about 10-15 minutes until tender
3. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining ingredients
4. Once the vegetables are done, drain the water, and place the vegetables in a large bowl
5. Give the vegetables a light smashing using a potato masher (you don't have to do this at all if you prefer large pieces in your potato salad; I find, though, that mashing the vegetables helps them to absorb the marinade better)
6. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the vegetables and stir until combined
7. Cover and refrigerate until serving, at least 3-5 hours, but preferably overnight

Vegetable Casserole and Bean Stir-fry

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Chassity Johnson) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:50:00 +0000

This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. I am not posting the cooking directions because, honestly, I did not enjoy this dessert at all. The batter tasted excellent, but once baked it was extremely bland. Of course, it's possible that I did something wrong, but I will definitely not make this again.