Portuguese Fava Beans!!

Fava Bean? Think Broad Bean..or Jack and the Beanstalk!

I decided to make a pan of Portuguese Fava Beans the way my maternal Grandmother made them.

I'm going to visit some relatives I haven't seen in a while and thought I'll bring these along for a fun surprise.




The old fashioned way to make the recipe is to start with 'dried' fava beans and soak them overnight.

I buy canned Fava Beans that work just as well if not better.

This is an easy recipe with few ingredients.

Fava Beans

2 Cans Fava Beans
1/2 C Ketchup
1/4 C Green Relish
1 Lg Onion Diced
1 tsp Garlic Salt (I substituted garlic powder)
1 tsp paprika
Oil or Margerine
Hot Pepper Flakes or Tabasco Sauce
Salt & Pepper

Drain Fava Beans reserving liquid. Put liquid aside for later use in this recipe









Dice onion, render in a little margarine or oil over medium heat until tender.









Add Ketchup, paprika, garlic powder. Let pan come back to simmer.









Add Fava beans, relish, salt&pepper, Tabasco Sauce.
If you like it really hot add more tabasco!













Add 1/2 C - 1 C of reserved bean juice.

Note: (Add more or less while cooking if beans seem too thick)

 
Let simmer over low heat stirring on occassion (until thick) about half an hour.






Serve up piping hot!

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant

Another curious vegetable. I couldn't resist buying one of these beauties. They were wrapped individually and so shiny and fresh it was hard to pass them by. I decided it would make a fun blog.

Note: I don't fry the eggplant. I broil it instead.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 Eggplant
3 Eggs
2 C Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/4 C Grated Romano/Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
pinch of thyme
pinch of basil
1-2 tsp salt
2 C Shredded Italian Cheese (usually bagged in supermarkets)
1 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Jar Marinara/Spaghetti Sauce (24 oz)
1 Can Diced Tomaotes
Cooking Spray (opt.)

Pre-heat oven broiler. Move rack to 2nd shelf down from broiler.


First stem and clean eggplant. Slice about 1/4" thick rounds.









Place on plates and sprinkle each piece with a little salt.

Salt helps to reduce the bitterness from the seeds.

Break 3 eggs into shallow bowl. Mix with a fork and a little water till yolks are blended.
Measure bread crumbs into another shallow bowl. Add 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 C grated parmesan/romano cheese and mix well.






Dip each piece of eggplant in eggwash then into the breadcrumb mixture coating both sides. Place each piece on a prepared baking sheet. I used my Silpat but you can use cooking spray.











Place baking sheet under broiler for 3-4 minutes. Turn after first 3-4 minutes and broil other side. Watch carefully as oven broiler temperatures vary. Adjust time accordingly. Move to a rack to cool.










Turn oven temp back to BAKE 350 and put rack middle position in oven.

Prepare sauce and cheese for layering Eggplant.








Put cheese in two separate bowls.
Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, 1 tsp oregano, pinch of thyme and basil, 1 tsp minced garlic in another separate bowl.

Add a little sauce to the bottom of a 2 Quart casserole. Begin layering, eggplant, sauce, cheeses. Continue layering using all eggplant, sauce and cheese.










Place casserole in 350 degree oven for about an hour or until all is hot and bubbly.



Serve with a piece of garlic bread! Enjoy!

Rhubarb Crunch

Rhubarb? What's that you ask.

Rhubarb is an intensely sour vegetable in the genus Rheum which is popular with many people in a cooked and heavily sweetened form as part of a dessert.

I have a few rhubarb plants in my yard. They have been here for close to 40 years. They are a vegetable that is perennial.
Meaning they come back every year in the beginning of June.

Let's see if they are ripe this a.m.

Nice green foliage with bright red stems...perfect for rhubarb crunch!

(See recipe below)










Now to bring them in to clean.
The leaves are massive! All the leaves must be cut off and thrown away.


Never cook, eat, chew the leaves. They can make you very sick.
Only the stems are edible.



After cleaning they look like this.
Rhubarb is fibrous like celery.











De string some of the rhubarb. The strings are hard to chew and take longer to cook.
Leave as much red skin on the rhubarb as possible.
Cut out any dark spots and cut into 1/2" pieces.











Slice strawberries and add to rhubarb.

Note the frozen strawberries in picture.

I tried to chop some frozen but it didn't work too well.
Be sure to thaw them before use.

Add white sugar. Stir to mix well.









Mix oats, packed brown sugar, white sugar and melted butter till crumbly.

Put rhubarb 8x8 ungreased pan.

Top with brown sugar oat mixture






Bake for about an hour.

Note: I placed the pan on a baking sheet lined with a "Silpat". Any spills will wipe up easily. I wonder if Martha would approve?

Let cool on rack. After cool put in refrigerator.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream
and a scoop of lemon sorbet!








Rhubarb Crunch!

4 cups chopped rhubarb (or about 6-8 good size stems)
1 1/3 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Sliced Strawberries

Crunch
1/2 C Oats
1 C firmly packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C White Sugar
2 Tbsp Melted Butter

1 8x8 pan
350 Degree Oven

p.s. You can purchase Rhubarb frozen in some supermarkets.

Potato Salad

It's going to be a hot one today!! It's only 7:00 a.m. and already almost 80 degrees! Today would be a good day to make some summer Potato Salad.

I know everyone has their own version but I thought I'd share mine for the newbees out there.

Potato Salad

6 good size yellow potatoes (whatever type you prefer)
3 Large Eggs
1 Vidalia Onion
1 Green Pepper
2 Stalks Celery with leaves
1 Tsp Celery Seed
3 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1/2 Tsp Celery Salt
1 heaping Tsp of Yellow Kitchen Mustard
Fresh Ground Pepper

Note: If you use more than 6 potatoes increase the amounts of all ingredients appropriately.

First peel potatoes. ( I used 6 for a medium size batch).

Don't forget the eggs!

















I boil the eggs along with with the potatoes. Boil till potatoes are semi-firm.
Test with the tip of a sharp knife.


Strain immediately running under cold
water to stop the cooking process.
If potatoes are too soft the final product will be mushy.



Refrigerate for about an hour. I put a bowl under the strainer (to catch any drips), remove the eggs to a separate bowl, and cover the strainer with a plate while all ingredients chill.

Time to assemble the potato salad!

Chop Celery Leaves. Yes 'Leaves'!
The celery leaves have a lot of flavor and
add a little interesting texture.

De-string your celery and chop fine
along with the green pepper and onion.
Add chilled potatoes.


Next, slice eggs reserving a few slices for embellishment.

If you own an egg slicer it will make your task much easier!

This particular slicer was my grandmother's and slices either lengthwise or shortside.
Slice the egg one way then turn the egg the other way and it will cube the egg easily.

Next are the Celery seeds, mayo,
salt, and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Now for the 'secret' ingredient!!

My 'secret' ingredient is yellow
kitchen mustard.

A tradition passed from mother and grandmother gives the potato salad a little bite and lovely color!

Fold all ingredients together. Season with celery salt, fresh ground pepper to taste.

Chill and enjoy!