Mackerel Cakes with Lemon Balm Pesto
1 can Mackerel, de-boned and skin removed
1 green onion chopped
15 saltine crackers, crushed fine
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Oil to fry
Mix all ingredients but oil and form into patties. Place in hot oil to fry, flipping once. Top with Lemon Balm Pesto, https://coffeepot.wordpress.com/2019/05/29/lemon-balm/ to serve.
Lemon Balm can take over, if allowed. Mine has invaded and I decided I needed to start using more of it.
Here is a Lemon Balm pesto I plan on using with Mackerel Cakes this evening.
3/4 cup lemon balm leaves, washed well and firmly packed
1/2 cup cashews and almonds, mixed
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 TB lemon juice
2 TB fresh chives
1/4 tsp salt
Run all through food processor until smooth.
While I often would push myself into thinking we can live off the land, if need be. Yes,we can do this. The reality of a person aging, and just plain wearing out, has to come into play eventually.
I now suggest that, if one has lofty dreams of being self sufficient, do it while you are young. A front porch rocker won’t plow the soil.
Summer Garden’s last hurrah. A simple Pico D’ Gallo. I am going to miss her.
Link to a simple pico
I figured I better make some tomato soup before the frost gets all my Basil. Here we have grilled cheddar tortillas with Tomato Basil Soup. Our tomatoes are gone now, but I used some of the roasted ones I stored in our freezer. This is so easy. The hardest thing is the mess you make when running the soup through the food processor. Maybe someone else would not be a messy as me.
3 pounds tomatoes chopped, ( I used frozen garden, roasted tomatoes)
1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
½ cup packed basil leaves
1 cup chicken broth
ground salt and pepper, to taste
Cream as needed
Parmesan cheese, for a tangy, flavor enhancing flavor
tablespoon or two of butter, for richer flavor
Just boil the chopped tomatoes with chicken broth,onion, garlic, and basil in a soup pot. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
Allow to cool a bit, then run soup through food processor until smooth.
Pour back into your pot and add cream to the consistency you would like. I added about 1/2 cup.
Heat, but don’t allow to boil. Add parmesan and butter, then serve.
Apple Butter Spice Cake
Apple Butter Spice Cake
Ingredients
The Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 pint apple butter
For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons cream
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9 X 5 loaf pan.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and cream. Beat until smooth.
In another bowl whisk together the flour and dry ingredients.
Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in the bowl. Beat and then add the rest of the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
Stir in the apple butter until the batter is an even color. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake 55 minutes, checking the center with a toothpick for done-ness.
Let the cake cool and turn it out of the pan before glazing.
To make the glaze simply mix together the cream and powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides. Let the glaze set, slice, and serve
Our garden cabbage has been exceptional this year. I canned sauerkraut and we had lots of rhuban sandwiches. We had lots of stir fries and Cole slaw. This was finally our last cabbage of the season and I decided to make a recipe I picked up from Katlyn’s Kitchen at http://www.kalynskitchen.com . Recipe here http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2016/01/low-carb-twice-cooked-cabbage.html
I used cheddar instead of mozzarella and baked my bacon, since I always bake bacon now. I put the casserole together in my copper chef pan to cut back on dirty dishes.
Turned out good. Follow link above to get original recipe.
Covered up in rhubarb at the moment.
This cake is so good. I halved the recipe so it would fit in an eight inch cake pan. I also added a half teaspoon baking powder.
Rhubarb Coffee Cake http://www.food.com/recipe/rhubarb-coffee-cake-25430 6-8 1⁄2 cup butter or 1⁄2 cup margarine 1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups finely chopped rhubarb Topping 1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon butter, softened Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar together in mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Mix flour and baking soda together and fold into batter. Stir in rhubarb. Turn into greased 9x13-inch pan. Topping: Mix all ingredients together until crumbly. Sprinkle over top. Bake 30-40 minutes until done.
These low carb crackers were great with pepper jack cheese. Original recipe adapted from
http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2012/01/low-carb-rosemary-sea-salt-flax.html
Spray and oil parchment paper and rolling pin well. Roll dough out on paper very thin. Sprinkle with salt.
Cut into about 30 inch and one half crackers then transfer to baking sheet.
Bake about 12 minutes and break apart when cooled.
Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp
1 cup oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoon splenda
1 cup diced rhubarb
1 cup diced strawberries
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Microwave butter in a glass 8 x 8 baking dish.
Place oats, flour, brown sugar and salt in melted butter and mix. Stir until clumps form. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumble mixture. Press the rest of the crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan.
Spread the diced fruit over the crust. Sprinkle it evenly with lemon juice, and then the splenda. Scatter reserved crumb topping over fruit and bake 40 minutes.
Let cool in pan and serve warm with cool whip, if desired. Store leftovers in fridge.
Coffee & Cornbread 