Summer Gazpacho & Summertime Lovin' Photo Blog

I was just looking through my phone trying to find some pictures from our garden this year. That way I could brag about how cute the Mr. and I are and how we (he) has such a green thumb and we pick our tomatoes while holding hands and blah blah blah. Then it hit me. "Sarah Keith...." I thought to myself because I always think to myself using my full married name.... "Sarah Keith.... why don't you just go outside and take some pictures of your garden for your blog?! Then you can show all four of your readers your beautiful and healthy plants and pretend that you made this recipe from them and them only... " 

But here's the thing. All of that super cute B.S. up above.... is exactly that. B.S. Our garden has been less than productive this year to say the very least. We had one amazing harvest mid June, but, unfortunately, our plants just couldn't hang this summer and all of the veggies that I used to make gazpacho from today are from Whole Foods. WHEW!!! It feels really good to get that off my chest. After all, honesty is the most important part of the blogger/blogee relationship. And honestly, sometimes my green thumb is well, just not. Even Rich's green thumbs (both of his are green... that's how good he is at plant stuff) couldn't keep up with the summer whirlwind that I have been this year. Who needs to water plants when you can pour another glass of rose down your beautiful wife's throat? (Yes, Gingers prefer rose, it's the ginger of wines.) What was I saying again? Oh right. I'm a distraction. Poor plants.

On a more positive note, it is almost time to rip up all of our terribly disappointing excuses for plants and replace them with fall crops! Sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts... you name it, it's getting planted and will be very well documented (dead or alive) for your viewing pleasure. I have the cutest gardening gloves (and freckles), so an excess of photos will be necessary. Which brings me back to where I started in this crazy, rambling mess of a blog post. 

Photos. I love them and thought this would be the perfect time to share some gems that have been lost in the summertime shuffle. 

 

Holy Instagram addict  What am I going to swoon over when summer is over?! Gah- love it. But alas, the days are unfortunately starting to get shorter and tomatoes starting to get a little less juicy and I am going to squeeze every ounce of summer in until I break out the Christmas decorations. (We decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween.)

Wow, this has seriously been the most rambl-y blog of all time. My brain may still be mush from the weekend. Ok. "Sarah Keith... get it together." It's time for a recipe. It's a summery one, so this blog kind of makes sense. (Richard Keith is going to edit this and quite possibly murder me.)

So, today I made Gazpacho. Gazpacho is one of my absolute favorite summer foods! It's healthy, delicious and super refreshing! And the longer you keep it in the fridge, the better it gets! So make a big batch and eat it for days!!! (If it can last that long.... I seriously ate it for dinner last night and breakfast AND lunch today.) 

This gazpacho is all that I ever want to eat again. 

Ingredients:
1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and chopped (not peeled)
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded and finely chopped (you can also use yellow or orange peppers for some more color)
6 plum tomatoes, chopped (if not plum, make sure to seed)
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups of tomato juice (more or less depending on how soupy you prefer your gazpacho!)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp tabasco sauce (do NOT omit this one, I promise it does NOT make it spicy; though if you like spice, add more!)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:
chopped basil 
chopped parsley
(optional.... but fresh herbs make everything 300% better!)

Method:
Sharpen your knives and get choppin! I like to chop everything really small (or make Rich chop everything really small while I sit at the kitchen table eating a popsicle. I am soooo good at being bossy.)If your veggies aren't chopped small enough it ends up looking more like salsa than soup and it's a pain to eat. So, listen to me like Rich does, I know what's up.

After your veggies are chopped, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, tabasco, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop and the more insanely delicious it becomes! 

Before serving, I add some chopped basil or parsley to brighten up the flavors even more! 

Pickles & Things

The Mr. and I recently joined a CSA. CSA stands for community supported agriculture.... And that is awesome. Once a week we wake up to a box on our doorstep filled with organic fruits and veggies of all kinds. Its pretty wonderful and forces us to learn how to cook using obscure new ingredients. plus, it's pretty much like getting mail in the morning...and we all know how much I love getting mail. Anywho, you will hear more about this in some upcoming posts (stay tuned) but for now we need to discuss something.

Food waste.

Look, I'm not proud, but sometimes this produce picker gets a little ahead of herself at the market and we end up with enough fruits and veggies to feed a family of six..... for a week. And then it happens. That awful day once a week where I clean out of refrigerator and find all of the things that are now past their "best by" date and moving into the trash can. So this week, with our first CSA delivery looking for room in the fridge, I decided it was a good idea to jump on that good old pickling bandwagon once again.

Now, I don't necessarily pickle the good old fashioned way. I am more a fan of refrigerator pickles.... You know, the kind that give you almost immediate satisfaction. No canning equipment, no waiting, no bullshit. And the best thing about pickling this was is that it is pretty much fool proof. You need some vinegar, some spices, some things to pickle (in my case.... all of the veggies that are about to expire) and voila. Pickles.

Basic ingredients:
1 cup of vinegar (white or cider work great, sometimes I do a combo of two..... usually I just use white)
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of salt

And whatever of the following tickles your fancy:
Garlic
Sliced jalapeño
Sliced onions
Dill (mmmm dill.....lots and lots,  please)
Spices and herbs (mustard seeds, dill seed, coriander seed, fennel seed, peppercorns..... Go crazy!)


Method:
Slice, dice, and chop your veggies that you want to pickle to your hearts desire and arrange them in a glass mason jar with a few cloves of garlic, about 1/4 of an onion (sliced) and some sprigs of fresh dill. Have some respect for yourself and make it look nice!

In a saucepan combine the vinegar, water, salt, and spices. I usually do 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon dill seeds, 1 teaspoon celery seeds, and 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove it from the heat and pour it into the glass jar with your veggies. Cover the jar with the lid, let it cool, and put it in the fridge. That's it! Now, because these are refrigerator pickles, they must stay refrigerated! Unless you get into all of that fancy canning stuff, you cannot store these pickles at room temperature. They will, however, keep perfectly in your fridge for 2 weeks..... If they last that long!

HOW TO: Pack the Perfect Picnic!

I have this kind of creepy obsession with picnics. This is news to nobody. It all started about 4 years ago when I went to Cinespia for the first time. (For those of you who live somewhere with a little more substance and purpose than Los Angeles, Cinespia is summer movie screenings at the Hollywood Cemetery and they are awesome.) Actually, my obsession started the second time I went. The first time that I picnicked with ghosts and tipsy hipsters, my Trader Joe's shopping bag of pre-packaged goodies was put to shame. I went home, purchased a proper picnic basket, educated myself on cheese and the importance of other incredibly yuppy snacks, and the rest is history. Some may be a little embarrassed by my picnic enthusiasm, but those who are lucky enough to be eating out of my basket (hmmm... that could be phrased in a less weirdly sexual way) are nothing less than thrilled. I just really love picnics.

1. My first Pic-Tip (that's a cuter way of saying picnic tip, obviously) is that any outing can be the perfect time for a picnic! Especially this time of year. Rich and recently went sailing and before the boat was booked, I was already thinking of snacks to pack.

2. Pack a pretty basket. It doesn't matter if you pack it heavy, that's what boys are for. If you are a cooler kind of chick, fine, so be it. But I think picnic baskets should be just that.... baskets.

2. Use jars to pack food. They are pretty AND you can eat right out of them. Again, they may be heavy, but see above. Plus, if you have leftovers, they can go right into the fridge when you get home. 

3. Put sauces and dressings on the side. Nobody likes a soggy salad. 

4. SALADS! Nothing better than a crisp snack on a hot day! Plus, salad possibilities are endless. For this picnic I made a roasted beet salad, a Brussels sprout salad with shallots and dijon, and a caprese salad.

5. This kind of goes with the jar tip.... but pack in food in clear containers! That way you can see what is in everything without having to open each container up. Plus, lets be honest.... it looks pretty. 

 6. Pack your plastics! We always use plastic dinnerware and govino glasses! They are not breakable, but they cut down on waste. I do buy disposable flatware, but made from corn, not petroleum. You may as well be friendly to the planet!

7.  Please, please, don't forget the cheese plate! Every good dinner party has one.... so every good picnic should, too! And make sure to pack your cheese knives- plastic ones are less than helpful. A few of my favorite picnic cheese that everyone will enjoy are manchego, camembert, and gorgonzola!

8. Remember some carbs. Salads are great on a hot summer's day, but we all need some carbs..... especially when there is alcohol involved, which, let's be honest.... what's a picnic without a few adult beverages? In this picnic I packed some quinoa tabbouleh, a baguette (key!) some crackers and some strawberry-basil hand pies!

** note- things you can eat with your hands are perfect for a picnic! Cookies are of course wonderful, but try hand pies in your next picnic! They are easy, delicious, and sure to impress!

9. BOOZE! Summer + day drinking are like two little tipsy peas in a pod....just perfect together. (Just remember a wine opener or look for a screw off top.... you don't want to bring the goods and not be able to drink them!)

10. These guys.... are awesome. I want one.

Happy picnicking!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon Zest, Toasted Almonds, and Parsley.

Here's the thing...... I love carbs. A lot.

Here's the problem.... Sometimes I go to the south for 2 weeks over Christmas and eat every fried pickle and pork sandwich I can get my hands on. So, I come home, try to zip up my jeans, and gear up for a brutal 3 week detox on The South Beach Diet while crying myself to sleep with tears of failure because I ordered 3 egg rolls on DAY ONE! Yup. Day one. I can't even go a god damn day.

Here's the solution..... I've said it once and I will say it as many times as it takes to get it into my head- dieting is ridiculous. Everything in moderation is completely ok and there are amazing recipes that let you have your cake and eat it too.... that saying doesn't necessarily work right there, but cake sounds delicious and you get my point.

Say it with me: "Carbs are not the enemy."
There really are endless ways to prepare good for you carbs.... even pasta!

whole wheat pasta with toasted almonds, parsley, and lemon zest. 

Ingredients:

Whole wheat spaghetti... cooked to al dente, of course

Parmesan cheese, shredded

Olive oil

Parsley, chopped

Almonds, toasted

Lemon zest

Lemon Juice

Sea Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Method:

As you probably noticed, there are no amounts for any of the ingredients listed. This recipe is completely to your own taste. I like my pasta super lemony, so I add tons of zest and lemon juice. I added about 1/2 cup as toasted almonds, and a good handful of chopped parsley. And of course..... tons of parmesan cheese. Then drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and just toss everything together and enjoy!

I made this for lunch, so I just had a serving of pasta. This would be great for dinner served with a roasted chicken breast or a nice piece of fish. 

Baked Beet Chips

Yes, that's right. Beets.

baked beet chips

Ingredients:

Beets

Olive oil

Sea Salt

Pepper

Yep, that's it. 

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Slice the beets VERY thin. Like potato chip thin. 

Rub both sides of each beet slice with olive oil and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the beets with salt and pepper and bake for about an hour until they are crispy. Keep an eye on them because they will start to burn quickly. 

Serve with sour cream or eat alone. They are DELICIOUS. 

You can also break them up and toss them in a salad.

In about a month our garden beets will be ready..... if the dogs quit picking them. 

Vegetable Soup.

Once upon a time I got the flu and this really sweet boy that I had just started dating made this soup for me so that I would get better and he could continue kissing me.

Yes, this is the same boy that I now live with.... I kept him around for his amazing apartment and really yummy soup recipe.

So, here's the thing.... not only does this soup take about 15 minutes to make, but it also keeps for days, can feed you for a week, and costs under $20.00 to make. Seriously....

vegetable soup for your soul... and your super cute wallet.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 28oz can of chopped tomatoes and juices
2 15oz cans sliced potatoes
2 15oz cans corn
2 15oz cans green beans and juices
2 15oz cans sliced carrots and juices
1 15oz can black beans
32oz beef broth or beef stock
1 tbsp "Better than Bouillon" beef bouillon
Salt and Pepper to taste

*note: I buy all low sodium ingredients.

Tools:
Large stock pot, dutch oven, or something that will hold enough soup for an army
A really good can opener

Method:
In a very large stock pot.... very large, this makes A LOT of soup.... heat canola oil and sauté chopped onion until golden brown. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (cooking garlic any more than a minute or so will cause it to burn and alter the flavor of the soup.) Using the "really good can opener" that I conveniently listed above, open all the cans.... all 11 of them. Pour all contents, including juices, of the chopped tomatoes, carrots, green beans into the pot. Drain the potatoes, corn and black beans and add them to the pot. Stir everything together. Add beef stock and bouillon. Bring everything to a simmer, cover, and cook for at least 30 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more the flavors will combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy on the couch with your pups, or find a sick boy and serve piping hot with a good movie and a cuddle- he will think you are a goddess.

PS: This soup freezes well, too! Put one serving portions in tupperware in your freezer and you will be instantly ready to fight chilly nights and sore throats.