Easy Paella

What's for dinner? Tonight it is my take on a Spanish Paella cooked entirely in the rice cooker. Aside from only having one pot to clean, an added benefit is that most of the fresh ingredients came directly from our garden.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 hot peppers chopped small

2 large bell peppers (or 3-4 small) roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped red onion

4 garlic cloves roughly diced

3-4 medium tomatoes diced

3 cups brown rice (these are the small cups that come with the cooker, not a standard measuring cup)

1 packet no sodium chicken flavoring

1-2 pinches saffron

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

1 pound shrimp

sliced green onions

Method

1. Saute the peppers, onions, and garlic in the olive oil directly in the rice cooker for about 10 minutes. Our rice cooker is the fuzzy logic type, so I use the quick cook setting. I have also made it in the standard type where you simply use the cook setting for this step.

2. Once they are softened, add the tomatoes and rice and saute another 3-5 minutes

3. Dissolve the packet of chicken flavor into some water and pour it into the rice cooker.

4. Add additional water to raise the level of liquid to the fill line

5. Sprinkle the paprika and saffron on top and stir

6. Reset the cook setting on the rice cooker and let the rice cook until nearly done.

7. About 5-10 minutes before the setting is complete, add the shrimp, peas, and corn. Just dump them on top. They will proceed to steam for the remainder of the cycle.

8. When the cycle is complete and the shrimp is cooked, add the green onions. Fluff the mixture with a fork and serve.

This is a simple, yet flavorful dish. It also smells wonderful as it is cooking. Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

A couple of weeks ago my husband bought a small container of granola bites. I was shocked at the price tag of $5.99 so I searched for an alternate way to get those tasty morsels. What I found were several recipes for homemade granola. After buying the ingredients, I finally got around to making it. Here is the recipe I used based on the one posted at kissmyspatula.

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tbsp flax seeds

2 tbsp wheat germ

1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup clover honey
1/3 cup unsweetened apple juice

Method
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Mix the wet in a separate bowl (I used a large glass measuring cup)
3. Stir the two together until the dry ingredients are coated.

4. Pour out onto a large sheet pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees, stirring occasionally with a spatula (every 5-10 minutes)

6. The granola is done when it is an even golden brown (~20 minutes), but your time my vary.

7. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and let the granola cool completely, stirring occasionally.

8. Store in an airtight container.

The granola had a yummy smell as it was baking. Other than taking some time for stirring, it was a easy process with tasty results.

Tree Protection

Lately, the local deer population has been snacking on our citrus trees more often than not. Since the trees are in the front yard and there isn't a fence, we decided to install protective rings around each tree. The 5 foot stakes are protruding 3-4 feet out of the ground and the wire ring is slipped over them. The rings have been on for about two weeks and already there is new growth. So far so good.

Curing Pumpkins

The first round of pumpkins were harvested yesterday. After doing some research, it is recommended that they be cured in order to have a longer shelf life. Today I started to cure them using the following steps:

1. Washed them in soapy water with 1 part bleach to 10 parts water (this is a rough estimate - I didn't actually measure)
2. Dried them with a dish towel
3. Tried to find a place that will stay around 80-85 deg F, I picked the laundry room
4. Set the pumpkins on top of the dryer with space between them so air can flow (Note: We do not use our dryer so there isn't any chance that the pumpkins will get too hot as a result of the dryer being on)
5. Let them cure for 10 days

That's it. Hopefully they will cure well and last the two months until Halloween.

Fall/Winter Garden '09

Here in Zone 9, it's time to plant the cool weather crops of a Fall/Winter garden. This is the first time I have planted a garden in August. It is a little strange, but exciting. I am looking forward to the sprouting of new seeds and a whole new cycle of life beginning.

To make room, I cleared two rows of plants from our Summer garden. Only 5 of the squash plants and the herb patch remain. For this planting, I decided to try the Square Foot Gardening method. I thought this would come in handy since I had limited space and an assortment of seeds to plant. The new crops are in the lower two rows of the garden diagram.


If the Square Foot method works well, I plan to use it for the Summer garden next year. The prospect of fewer weeds makes me smile.