A Cooking Baker

I just had a taste of an amazing cucumber salsa this morning (yes, this morning - there's never a bad time for salsa).  SO good.  It was so refreshing, and I could see myself consuming an entire batch alone.  So off to the store I went to get what I needed to make it ASAP.  It's the perfect taste for a hot day like today! It had garlic scapes in it - and I had seen them at the farmer's market this weekend, but didn't know what they were, or what I would do with them.  Enter my mom, who introduced me to the salsa, and Google, where I figured out exactly what they are!  Here ya go: Garlic scapes are the curly flower stalks snapped off the garlic plants (which is done to increase the size of the garlic bulbs for harvest).  Garlic scapes can be chopped and used like garlic, or used as garlic-flavored scallions (mmmmmm - stir-fry?!).  You should store them in the fridge, unwashed, loosely-wrapped in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks. So here's the ...

Watermelon and Feta?  Really? Yes.  REALLY.  The salty and the sweet, with a little heat from the pepper, is seriously good.  It's super refreshing in the summer, too. Try it - I think you might be surprised! I'm no carver of fruit, but it was kind of fun to serve the salad in the hollowed-out melon at a shower we did - I think next time I'd slice the melon the long way, though, for a longer, lower "bowl".  It looks great in a Pampered Chef "Simple Additions" square bowl, too.  (You're welcome, PC friends, and again, Pampered Chef, feel free to hook a lady up!)   Watermelon & Feta Salad 3 c.  2"chunks watermelon, seeded (I'm lazy - I use seedless) 1 c. crumbled feta cheese (reduced fat is fine, just get a good brand) Coarsely ground black pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional) OR chop up some arugula and add that for a little peppery taste 1/4 c. red onion, thinly sliced (optional) In a...

I whipped these up the other night when I needed to use up a handful of leftover pizza ingredients in the fridge.  I made my own dough, but you can usually buy some in the deli section of your grocery store.   I didn't measure, so I am kind of guessing on the quantities here - that's the beautiful thing about these, though - you can just wing it with the filling, and it usually works out fine.  Feel free to use what you have on hand, or get creative with your filling ingredients.  I ran out to the garden and just grabbed a few handfuls of fresh herbs, so you can use what you have in your garden, too.  Either par-bake the calzones, and then wrap and freeze for another night (thaw and then bake until golden), or just throw them in the oven for dinner (even better, make a double batch if you have enough ingredients, and do one batch for dinner, and one for another night!).  Freezer-Friendly Calzones 1 recipe bread machine pizza dough (or whatever you pre...

I found some pork tenderloins on special a few weeks ago, so I bought a few, made some into freezer meals and left the rest "plain."  I'm thawing the last one out today for dinner.  Here's the marinade I'm trying, using fresh flat-leaf parsley from our garden - tried to make it easy with the measurements, but you can tweak here and there to your liking.  We're going to grill it, but you could prepare it in the oven, too.  Marinated Pork Tenderloin for the Grill 1⁄3 c. olive oil 1⁄3 c. soy sauce 1⁄3 c. c. red wine vinegar Juice of 1 lemon (about 2-3 tbsp.) 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped 2 tsp. dry mustard 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 1-lb. pork tenderloin Whisk together all ingredients, and either pour over tenderloin in a non-reactive dish, or put it all in a Ziploc bag and marinate in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.  You could toss it in the freezer for another night, too (...