Fresh Ingredients from Beaverton Farmer's Market

We are approaching the middle of July and I FINALLY made it the Beaverton Farmer's Market . For a food lover, I was long overdue, especially since I live ten minutes away from one of the best farmer's markets in the NW. I decided to go in the morning with my mom and sister before I had to head to work - bad idea. I say this because I spent so long sampling and buying fresh ingredients that I hardly left enough time to do anything with them!

Beaverton Farmer's Market - located on SW Hall Blvd between 3rd and 5th Streets

SATURDAYS 5/8/10 - 10/30/10 8am - 1:30pm WEDNESDAYS 6/16/10 - 8/25/10 3pm - 6pm

We ended up walking around for a couple hours, saw the entertainment and ate plenty of samples. We tried some many tasty things - like homemade jams, breads and juices. There were also a few stands with incredible bouquets of flowers (next time I am taking my camera). After all the walking around, we left with the following: fresh tomatoes on the vine, red onions, cilantro, basil, garlic, a macadamia butter spread and a loaf of Dave's Killer Bread.

By favorite purchase was our basil - it was only $1 for a bunch from a vendor from the Yakima Valley. Such a deal! You cannot get that price anywhere, unless you grow it yourself!

So the plan was to make fresh pico de gallo but I also wanted to make caprese with my basil. So, I had to stop at the store for a couple of items (jalapeno, lemon and lime).

SO delicious and I cannot wait to go back this Saturday! Go check it out - the weather is going to be beautiful this weekend. It is a great place for families too!

Chicken/Shrimp Kabobs and Chocolate Mousse

Alright so I am a couple weeks behind on this one...but I have to tell you about the awesome kabobs and chocolate mousse we made on Memorial Day. I lucked out for two reasons, one - I had the day off on Memorial Day and two - the weather was nice! You know what that means, time for barbecuing!

On the menu - chicken and shrimp Kabobs (with an array of veggies) and an easy easy chocolate mousse



We already had most the ingredients for the mousse and we had shrimp and pineapple already for the kabobs. But, we still needed a few more things so, my sister Kenzie and I headed to the store for the remaining ingredients:

Chicken (look for the $1.99 a lb chicken on sale at Albertsons)

Zucchini

Bell peppers

Sweet yellow onion

Red potatoes

Strawberries

Heavy whipping cream

A great baguette (which was gone before it hit the table...oops)

When we got home, we fired up the grill and cut up all the vegetables while we waited for it to heat up. Kabobs are fun because you can give everyone a couple skewers and they can customize their meal however they would like.

We then added the spices to the kabobs. You can do whatever you want (lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, coriander...), but we used Dean Jacob's Seafood Rub for the shrimp and Poultry Rub for the chicken. A tasty melody of spices and each rub complemented the meat nicely.

*When you are grilling kabobs, remember that some items cook faster than others. We cooked the shrimp on separate skewers because they cook so much faster than the chicken and vegetables. Also, cut the potatoes smaller than your zucchini, onion, peppers etc...because they take a lot longer on the grill and you don't want undercooked potatoes.

While that was cooking, we starting to make our easy chocolate mousse. We found a recipe online that we used and I usually add or subtract ingredients, but this one was perfect the way it was and it took us 5 minutes to make:

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 c. strong hot coffee
1 tbsp. rum or Kahlua  (We used Kahlua)
2 eggs
1/2 pt. whipping cream

It looked so good, we doubled it...and thank goodness we did because it was gone in less than 24 hours!

So another successful dinner and I had leftovers to take to work which was even better. Now it is your turn, get cooking and enjoy!

Grilled Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Beautiful days in the Northwest always call for some outdoor grilling on the barbecue. On last night's menu were some good looking pork chops so I decided to find a quick and easy glaze to whip up that was light but had some good flavor. On allrecipes.com I found an easy brown sugar glaze that got excellent reviews. It had of course two of my favorite ingredients, brown sugar and ginger (but, who am I kidding? I have a lot of favorite ingredients!). Oh and we also cannot forget the 1/2 cup of apple juice, which was the selling point for me on this recipe. You can't go wrong with pork and apples.



I did not do much modifying to this recipe because I liked all the flavors, so I will just list the ingredients below:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed


• 1/2 cup apple juice


• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil


• 1 tablespoon soy sauce


• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger


• salt and pepper to taste


• 2 teaspoons cornstarch


• 1/2 cup water


• 6 boneless pork chops

All you have to do is combine the oil, soy sauce, juice, ginger and brown sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once you do this, mix the cornstarch and water in a separate blow and then add to the sauce slowly until you get your desired thickness. I just kept adding the cornstarch and water mix until my sauce had a consistency similar to maple syrup.

Of course while you are making the glaze, sample it a few times to make sure it has the flavor you want. I added a little more apple juice for flavor, but that was about it.

For a marinade, eliminate the cornstarch and water and just marinate the pork chops in the sauce for 30 min and then place on the grill. Yum!

Here is the full recipe and reviews at allrecipes.com - Grilled Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Enjoy!

Coconut Shrimp with Southwestern rice

A couple of weeks ago I was craving shrimp, but I did not just want boring shrimp with cocktail sauce. I love trying new recipes, especially if they are easy ones. In another life I am supposed to be a chef, but in this life, I will stick to simple cooking. On the menu was coconut shrimp with southwestern rice and a side of asparagus. I was going for a zesty southwestern dish, so that is how I came up with the coconut shrimp and rice. As for the asparagus, that was just something I had on hand and it adds color! Why not?

My starting recipe was one I found on Food Network, this is usually my default Web site to start looking for delicious dishes. When I find a recipe, I usually end up adding and subtracting ingredients or I combine multiple recipes. Here is what you need for my coconut shrimp recipe...

Canola oil for frying (or anyone you have on hand)

1/2 cup seasoned crushed croutons (or bread crumbs)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 pinches ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of ginger

1 cup shredded coconut

2 egg whites

1 lime

1lb large fantail shrimp, deveined and peeled

The recipe online calls for Chinese Five Spice and that can be used instead of all the spices I used, I just did not have Five Spice.

Directions -

Heat oil over medium heat.

Mix coconut, bread crumbs and all spices together in a bowl.

Lightly beat the egg whites. Dip shrimp in the egg whites, then dredge shrimp in coconut mixture.

Fry shrimp 5 minutes in hot oil until evenly golden and crispy. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

So simple! Next, you can bake or cook your asparagus and season with salt and pepper to taste. If you want to add a southwestern or yellow rice, be sure to start cooking it on the oven before the coconut shrimp, so it is all ready to serve at the same time!

Eat and enjoy.

It is pumpkin season!

As we approach the holiday season, many people have the sudden urge to bake and I am certainly not an exception. One of my favorite holiday ingredients to bake with is pumpkin. So far this season I have only made one pumpkin dessert but I wanted to share it with anyone who is looking for a sweet treat. It combines the delicious flavors of pumpkin and cinnamon with a yellow cake crust. Follow the three easy steps and your mouth will be watering in no time! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Cookie Bar Bake at 350° for 60-75 min

Crust

1 yellow cake mix (Pillsbury) reserve 1 cup for topping

½ cup butter or margarine (melted)

1 egg

Mix and spread in butter/floured 9x13 pan

Filling

1 29oz can of solid packed pumpkin (large can)

3 eggs

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar packed

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon (or pumpkin spice)

Pour over cake mixture

Topping

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup butter or margarine

remaining 1 cup of cake mix

Mix until crumbly, sprinkle over pumpkin mixture