Saturday, July 14, 2007

jin's day off

First stop:
My Organic Produce Guy.
I meant to take pics of his garden as it is phenomenal.
But I got lost in the moment...
smelling
tasting
enjoying sunshine & chit-chat
diggin' in the dirt
(note to self: next time don't wear a short skirt)

I filled my xB with succulent freshly picked greeeeen
A few dozen free-range eggs, potatoes (he doesn't sell these to anyone, they are only for his personal use, but I got me some...yes I did! Woo-Hoo!), sugar snap peas, squash, flowers (edible & decorative), baby lettuces, garlic & herbs herbs herbs!

Three bags full of French greens. MMmmm.


Next step:
Appropriate tunes for creating a delectable dinner.
Insert CD & turn volume to full.
(If the walls aren't shakin', it's not loud enough honey.)

I recommend dancing & singing until you decide what to make.
I practiced belly dancing to my fave song "Voodoo"
then decided upon Quinoa.
(Pronounced KEEN-wah)
I knew it'd be FAB with the fresh herbs.
Quinoa is a super-protein & tastes awesome if you make it right.
It's easy, I'll show you how!

Any combo of chopped veggies will do.
I used:
1 Vidalia Onion
1 Bulb Garlic (Not a clove, a whole bulb!)
2 Squash (pictured whole- bottom left & chopped- upper right)

Chop & set aside until ready to use.

I *heart* Monini Olive Oils. Superior flavour!
Heat a Tablespoon (or so) on medium.

Toss in about 1-1/2 cups Quinoa & stir constantly until they begin to crackle & pop. (It is not necessary to toast the grains before use, however it gives them a nice nutty flavour.)

I *heart* Rapunzel Vegetable Boullion. No chemicals!
Add 3 cups of filtered water & 2 vegetable boullion cubes to your popping Quinoa. jinny loves to hear it fizzle & spatter at this point! Look out!

Bring to a boil, cover & reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile:
Melt a few Tablespoons of Earth Balance (or Olive Oil or butter if you prefer) on medium. Add your garlic and saute for a minute, then add your onion & saute until translucent. Add your remaining vegetables & season to taste. I use:
because jinny likes it spicy!

Oh, look! The Quinoa is done!
Take it off the heat & leave it covered until you are ready for it.

Never interrupt & jin with her Cilantro.
MMMMmmmmm.....Cilantroooooo.
Smell it &
Taste it &
Chop it:

I've got about a handful of Cilantro & a handful of Italian Parsley.
Chop and set aside.

Now, stir up your cooked Quinoa
and
TASTE IT!

Hmmm....good, but it needs some:
MMMMMmmmm........Perfect!

Now stir your Quinoa into your sauteed veggies.
Finally, add the chopped herbs.

Voil
à!
I served it with a few pieces of Garlic Toast, Calamata Olives & edible Nasturtiums (in the center of the plate). The flower petals are sweet, almost candy-like, but when you get to the center they are hot & spicy! YUM!

Here is mr jins plate. Notice the lack of olives. We disagree about the delicious mouth-watering perfectness of olives. He's wrong. :-P

There's even a takeaway serving for jinmom.


OH!
Almost forgot!
I served this for dessert:

;-)

42 Responses to “jin's day off”

MeHereNow said...

Serve me up a plate of that ..... I'm on my way .... no olives for me either YUK!

P.S. Vegetarian marshmallows - do you have an opinion? Me can't find them,well I can but VERY occasionally,and my kids LOVE them!!

P.P.S. OHHHH I got first!! WooHoo! \o/ \o/

Next time slather the Quinona over a steak. It will help kill the taste of the quinona.

Unknown said...

K, I'm off to get those ingredients, 'cause I need to taste that!
...Plus, I really want to hear the Quinoa popping! LOL! ;)

Dino said...

I agree with Mr Jin about the olives but everything else sounds wonderful

Ace said...

Why can't veggie stuff have real names?

Tempeh. Even sounds dismissive. "Eh."

Seitan. Tasted good, but no clue how to pronounce. (Could it be... "Satan"?)

Quinoa?

At least the seitan/satan was good. (See M's blog for details on the vegan restaurant in NYC.)

Anonymous said...

I'm usually on a liquid diet ;-) I'll find that organic, all natural, vegan whiskey one of these days.

Not Ashley said...

Oh, I was going to go & buy the ingredients and make some, but I see that Jewels is doing the same, so maybe she make me up a plate???

Looks delicious Jin!

jin said...

meherenow:

WOW! FIRSTS!!! YAY!!! :-D

Ahhhhh....the vegan marshmallow story:
several years ago I bought a package of them to taste (in a specialty store an hours drive away). I was under the impression there was only manufacturer in the entire US that made them. They tasted great! Next time I went back to get another bag, there were none. There was a sign on the shelf saying they had been permanently discontinued by the manufacturer. How strange, I thought! After some online research, I found out the *vegan product* this company pourchased to replace the gelatin in the marshmallows had outright LIED about the product being of plant origin. It was gelatin. They just labeled it differently. *GASP* More on that whole deal here.

You can buy them online (it seems they can be shipped internationally) here.

I know they can be made, although I've not tried them yet...I think I shall, soon! Just Google "marshmallow recipe vegan" and you get many options.

jin said...

phos:

Haaahahahaaa!
I expected that from you mister!

You'd eat my Quinoa and like it, too.....
or else!

*evil grin*

jin said...

jewels:

Ohhh...you'll LOVE it!

...and the "popping', too!

Heehee!!!

jin said...

katy:

OMG! You too???

Is not liking olives a Libra thing???

Ohhh....I simply adore them!

jin said...

ace:

LOL!!! (@ pronunciations & your church lady reference! Gotta love her! lmao)

Seitan = see-TAN

poor jin...I can't buy it around here. I have never prepared it myself although I would LOVE to give it a go. I think there might be a place in Milwaukee that sells it.

Oh! I SAW! About your dinner! COOOOOL!

BTW- that is so incredibly awesome of you to try her type of food.
SWEETMUNKEE!!!!

jin said...

andy:

LOL! I think they call that "Moonshine"!... but you'd best stay away as I hear it makes one sleepwalk. :-P

Heehee. *joking* :-)

Shortly after I posted this whole thing...I reread it and heard 'Andy's Garrison Keilor' voice in my head saying, "I thoroughly enjoy your Ingredient 101 posts & would like you to impart more of them." Then I thought, "FUCK! Why didn't I do Quinoa as an Ingredient 101 post?!!?"

But there was no way I was going back and changing it. However, I may add another post sometime under Ingredient 101 as Quinoa. Maybe.

jin said...

M:

Thanks! Oh, it was good!

That is an incredibly brilliant idea...maybe if J doesn't bring you over a plate you could go to the store, buy her a box of Quinoa, leave it on her doorstep with a note that reads: "Please feed me."

:-D

Anonymous said...

That would be awesome an dinner... if it was cooked with strips of prosciutto. Mmmmm... peeeeeeeeiiiiig!

Was that free range Quinoa??

Anonymous said...

And here was me thinking that squash was orange juice. Those things look like something from another world. I'll bet if you threw them really hard at someone they would act like star throwers and slice someone in two. Anyone willing to be my guinea pig with that?! Anyone at all??? It wont hurt much. Honest! :D

L

can you please adopt me!

jin said...

rich:

Ewwwwww!!!!

:-P

You're lucky I like you otherwise I'd kick yer arse.

Then again... maybe I wouldn't... that might be your thing n you'd enjoy it too much.

jin said...

phos:

Fantastic
Recreational
Existential
Existance

Roosters
Anywhere
Never
Getting
Erections (?)

ok, ok...I get kudos for trying...don't I?!

jin said...

L:

I'll try it!!!

*jin whips a squash at L's head faster than the speed of sound*

***THUD!!!!###&&&***

Uh....L?

Uh....are you dead?
:-S

jin said...

evi:

Hmmmm...

*jin thinks about it for a second*

Well...

*jin remembers evi said she is 'Income Generating'*

YES!!!

btw- do you do dishes???

Nice anagram. All I know is free range chickens = free range chicken shit. Unfortunately when the harvest all the organic free range veggies you get the free range chicken shit as a bonus. I guess technically you still aren't eating meat, so to speak.

Yum all around!

Did I ever tell you George and I have an organic garden? Well, the "and I" part refers to how I go out mid summer and cut back to make it less leggy & more attractive...George does just about everything else!

AngelConradie said...

oooh jin, i love your step-by-step recipe instructions!

After seeing all the healthy stuff I think that you need the following diner:

1 Pork Tenderloin cooked in a stoneware pot, with 1 glove of minced garlic clove, pinch of taragona, and a packet of Dry Italian dressing. Rub, cook at your choice. I like to slow cook it at about 325 for a couple hours.

Take all the goodies at the bottom and make the gravy!

Slow bake a couple of tatters, fill with bacon, white chedder, and butter.

Butter, touch of garlic, salt, and flash cook some asparigus(spelling?).

Serve with Red wine of your choice, and bask in the utter goodness of everything that is unhealthy.

Top it all off with frozen oreos and hot chocolate.


Cheers,


Gnat.
.

Pat said...

You are right - and Mr. Jin is wrong! How can anyone not like olives? Especially Calamata olives?!! OMG they are scrumptious!

Drat - now I want some!!

Oh and by the way: thanks for letting me know how to pronounce that there K-Q word (grin!). We won't even go into how I've been pronouncing it all this time!

Anonymous said...

Haha!, you're very right, I do sleepwalk more drunk than sober... But, the last couple of times have been work nights and totally sober?!(I hate my job, but not that much)

If I ever make it to your shop, I will be alcohol free, and might even force myself into a good night's sleep :)

Anonymous said...

OHOHOH!!! I also went to the Ren Faire this last weekend, It didnt suck half as much as I thought it would; Dispite every attempt of mine to get forcibly ejected, everyone was having to great of a time to report me for misbehaving.

Anonymous said...

despite... fuck!

Anonymous said...

Too! ...double fuck!

This is my final attempt at sleep deprivation blogging...

jin said...

CP:

I think I remember you mentioning something about your garden before. I'd be like you with that...just helping occasionally to maintain yet eating out of it frequently! LOL!

Years ago I put a bunch of perennials in at the shoppe so I never have to do anything. Lots of roses in the front, too. When people ask how my huge (like 5 feet tall + 5 feet wide) pink tearose bush got so perfect I DO NOT tell them it's by NOT touching it for 14 years.

jin said...

angel:

Thanks! :-D
I will try to do more like this...I'm usually just in such a hurry! :-S

Yay...looks like you have your computer back?!

jin said...

gnat:

Uh...I think I'll stick with the asparagus.

But I'm sure several of my carnivore readers are going to jump right on that pork recipe!!

As for the
*gulp*
Oreos.....
gnat.....
*tsk tsk*
You should be ashamed!!!
Sacrilege!!!

*jin starts to twitch*

jin said...

EC:

Yay!!! I KNEW you'd agree with me!!! :-D

MMmmm.....Olives!

They make everything better! ;-)

jin said...

andy:

Haha!!! Sleep deprived blogging...I can totally sympathize! Take note: I will forgive typos on occasion, just don't make a habit of it! ;-)

Re the sleepwalking/drinking... I was sorta kidding but I had this experience. :-S
I dated this guy for quite a while. He never was a sleepwalker- UNTIL the first time he drank Sambuca. Had to be something his body couldn't tolerate. He would blank out, sleepwalk, but not really 'see' anything! It was never that big of a deal until he tried to piss on my TV. I grabbed his arm to turn him away/shake him awake & he turned around and tried to punch me in the face! (He missed, I moved FAST!) Next morning he didn't believe me that he did that & the next night he ordered Sambuca when we went out. Fucking macho-wannabe asshole. Needless to say he was history.
So...at least you know you do it....it could be some sort of food/drink allergy. Try to keep track of what you have on the nights that it happens.
Oh, and try not to piss on anyone's TV. It's just rude.
Hee!

jin said...

P.S. andy:

˙ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ ʇsod ǝɹıʇuǝ uɐ ǝʇıɹʍ plnoɥs ı ǝqʎɐɯ

¿ƃuoɹʍ os ʇɐɥʇ sı ˙pǝsnɯɐ ʎlısɐǝ os ɯɐ ı

MeHereNow said...

Hiya! Could you give me whatever I need to put one of those button things on my blog - I've put jewels' on there and its only fair that I put THE BEST cake lady on there too!!

jin said...

meherenow:

You bet!
Just go here, pick out which one you like best (if you can decide ;-) & the code you need is right underneath the button.

Let me know if you have any trouble with it!

jin said...

phos:

This kind of weiner?

Hell yeah! I'll take 2 please.
;-)