Lone Prairie Brewery, Kitchen & Garden

Trying This Week: Scallop Gumbo

January 31, 2010 · Leave a Comment

This looks pretty easy and tasty.  I may try it with a whitefish like pollock to cut the cost.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/dining/031mrex.html

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Salt and black pepper

2 to 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, or water

2 cups chopped tomatoes with their juice (canned are fine)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

Cayenne to taste

1 pound scallops

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish.

1. Put oil and butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. When butter is melted, add flour and cook, stirring almost constantly, until roux darkens and becomes fragrant, about 15 to 20 minutes; as it cooks, adjust heat as necessary to keep mixture from burning. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic and raise heat to medium. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables have softened, about 10 more minutes.

2. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and cayenne. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat so soup bubbles steadily. Cook for about 20 minutes or until flavors meld. Add scallops and cook until they are no longer translucent, about 2 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve, garnished with parsley.

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Potato Salad with Yogurt & Curry…

June 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment

DSCF1002 19…and cilantro, red bell pepper, green onion, ground coriander, garlic, Sriracha sauce, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.  I thought about tossing in some fresh Thai basil but thought this was flavorful enough.  Maybe next time.  Anyhow, I threw this together for J&A’s midsummer night’s hot dog cookout tonight.

I dunno, maybe 7-9 poatotes, 1/2 bunch of green onions chopped, 1/2 red bell pepper diced, about 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp Sriracha sauce, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped, salt, pepper, curry powder, garlic, and ground coriander to taste.  I know, vague, but sometimes you just gotta take some chances…

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Roses…

June 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

roseThe old lady from whom we purchased our house had planted, here and there, several different roses but this one has to be the weirdest.  I think it looks like a deranged peppermint and Anna thinks it looks like a white rose in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I’ll snap some pictures of the others later.  Based on this, they should be interesting.

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Herb & cheese pizza…

May 31, 2009 · Leave a Comment

herb_cheese_pizzaJust made my regular crust, schmeared on some crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Piled on some basil, oregano, and flat leaf parsley from Brent’s garden, and cheese.  Baked at 500 degrees F.

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The garden is growing!

May 31, 2009 · Leave a Comment

28gard500.1After some false starts from the tomatoes, all the vegetables are growing well.  One of the Romas and a couple of the peppers even have blooms!  The hops are growing enough to train onto the lines I ran for them last weekend and one is now taller than me.

Erin has been busy planting flowers everywhere: petunias, lavender, hostas, salvia, lilies, phlox, coneflower, and more.

While we’re waiting for our own garden to produce, friend Brent brought us some of the bounty of his own: lettuce, spinach, endive, lemon balm, Greek oregano, and thyme.

Here’s to home gardens and hopefully yours is growing well, also!

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Manhattans for dessert…

May 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Want to dress up your bourbon a little bit?  This is the ticket!

2 parts bourbon
1 part sweet vermouth
At least 1 maraschino cherry
1 tsp maraschino cherry juice
3-5 ice cubes

These are perfect after dinner…

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Grapes…why not?

May 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

grapesWe planted two Catawba grape vines along the back fence today.  Why?  Well, Shopko had them for $16.99 and 25% off so we said, “let’s do it!”  These grapes will be good for wine or jam, as long as the birds and squirrels don’t get them first.

Pay no attention to the neighbor’s nasty can of Behr waterproofing sealer…

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Rain Barrel

May 3, 2009 · 2 Comments

rain_barrel2Building a rain barrel is easy and you should do it if you garden – especially in Nebraska or any other dry state.

Obtain a 55 gallon plastic drum, preferably not used for noxious chemicals, from the Keep Nebraska Beautiful – Materials Exchange Program at (402) 486-4622 or (402) 486-4562.

3/4 inch brass spigots for garden hoses x2
4″ – 6″ plastic drain grate
1 foot square of window screen
teflon tape

Rinse the barrel thouroghly.  Cut a hole in the top of the barrel large enough to place the drain grate. Wrap the bottom/sides of the drain grate with the window screen and place into the hole.  With a 1″ spade bit, drill one hole in the side of the barrel near the top for the overflow valve. Rotate the barrel 90 degrees and drill another hole near the bottom for the drain spigot.  Wrap the threads with teflon tape and screw in the spigots (leave the overflow OPEN and the drain CLOSED).  Paint with Krylon Fusion spray paint for plastics.

Set barrel upon cinder blocks or some such to use gravity to feed your hose when you water your garden.

You will have to adjust your downspout but that isn’t difficult either, though you may have to use some tin snips (and gloves!) to cut it to the right length.

It takes all of about 20 or 30  minutes.  You can do this!

UPDATE: Last night the barrel was empty.  It rained but officially, the amount was not measureable because it was so little.  Yet, the barrel was 1/3 full which is about 18 gallons of water.  Woo Hoo!

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White Russians

April 24, 2009 · 1 Comment

white_russiansWhether you’re a fan of The Big Lebowski or not, there is no denying the devastating power of the White Russian or Caucasian.

Equal parts vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream on the rocks.

Enjoy in moderation, yadda yadda yadda…

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Tofu Satay

April 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment

peppers_tofu_kebabs15 oz firm tofu, drained & cut into 1″ cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T packed brown sugar
1 T finely chopped green onion
1T finely chopped cilantro
1 t curry powder
1/4 t crushed red chilis
1 red bell pepper cut into 1″ squares

Mix all ingredients except tofu and peppers.  Then toss with tofu and peppers and allow to marinate at least 1 hour.  Skewer tofu and peppers and grill or broil until browned on all sides.

Serve with rice, soy sauce, and hot chili sauce.

Serves 4

I doubled this recipe and used both red and yellow bell peppers.  It was a hit with everyone, including all the kids!

Thanks to the Nebraska Soy Bean Board for the recipe.

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