Snookie's Cobbler

On our last visit to see my husband's family, his sister Rosemary (Snook's) invited us for lunch and to see her newly remodeled kitchen. The kitchen looks beautiful and lunch was delicious.

For dessert, Snooks made one of the best cobbler's I've ever eaten. While we were cleaning up the kitchen, I asked her for the recipe. She said, "It's the easiest dessert to make." She was absolutely right, it's very easy and delicious.




Snookie's Cobbler

2 cans of pie filling (flavor of your choice)
Yellow or White Boxed Cake Mix
1 stick of butter

In a 9 x 13 pan, spread pie filling. Sprinkle cake mix over top of pie filling. Dot butter on top of cake mix. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Sesame Roasted Asparagus

Looking for a different flavor for another bunch of this Spring's wonderful asparagus, I found a Food Network recipe for Seasame Grilled Asparagus. I adaped the recipe to roast the spears in the oven. I wish asparagus season lasted longer!!!
Sesame Roasted Asparagus

1 pound asparagus
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salt and black pepper
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic and stir with a fork to mix. Brush this mixture on the asparagus. Season the asparagus with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes .

Roasted Dill Potatoes

The dill in my Aero Garden is growing like crazy. I have more dill than I know what to do with. I am searching for new ways to use it. Tonight I decided on Roasted Dill Potatoes.



I adapted my normal roasted potatoes recipe by adding some chopped dill and some garlic. Not over powering, the dill just added a nice flavor to the potatoes.

Roasted Dill Potatoes
4 - 5 New Potatoes, quartered
Olive Oil
1 tsp garlic
2 - 4 tbsp fresh chopped dill
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Combine all in a roasting pan or on a cookie sheet. Roast in a 400 degree oven, 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and browned.

ThIs Week's Farmers Market

Another beautiful Saturday for the Farmers Market. We picked up two unusual vegetables this week.

A Philadlphia White Box radish. An heirloom radish, introduce in 1880's with a mild and creamy. These radishes were forced in cold frames in the late 1800's.

Cue or Eight Ball Zucchini. This squash reminds me more of a patty pan with it's hard skin. My initial thoughts were to slice the cue ball and fry or grill it. In searching for recipes, I find the way it is served most often is stuffed.

What unusual vegetables are available at your local farmer's market?

Cardinal Basil

I needed one more plant for my small herb and vegetable garden. There is a vendor at the Farmer's Market with lots of varieties of beautiful basil. On Saturday, I saw a variety I wasn't familiar with, Cardinal Basil. It flowers and looks much like celosia when flowering. After getting the plant in the ground, I googled to see what information I could find. There's not much information out there. I am looking forward to watching the plant grow and coming up with ways to use it.

Strawberry, Rhubarb Crisp

My sister in law Terry was here last weekend and brought me several pounds of rhubarb. I've never been a big rhubarb fan. My early memories of rhubarb are my mother stewing rhubarb with sugar for my dad. He loves it that way, all I can say is YUCK. Instead of making my husbands favorite rhubarb dessert using a yellow cake mix, I decided to try a new receipe. If rhubarb is mixed with strawberries, I find it a bit more palatable. I did some searching and found this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp recipe and changed it just a bit.



Strawberry, Rhubarb Crisp
Adapted from Food & Wine

FILLING
2 pounds rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
TOPPING
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt


Preheat the oven to 375°.
Filling:
In a bowl, toss the rhubarb with 3/4 cup of the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In another bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rhubarb to the strawberries; discard any rhubarb juice. Add the cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla to the fruit and stir well. Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.
Topping:Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the ingredients together until large crumbs form.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling.
Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and continue baking for about 30 minutes longer, until the fruit filling is bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Let the crisp rest for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Chive Blossoms

My chives are growing beautifully. Even with our terrible winter, they came up with no problems. At the local Farmers Market, there were vendors selling bouquets of chive blossoms. I picked a bunch, they're so pretty. What else do you do with chive blossoms? I see recipes for using them in salads, making vinegar with them and an asparagus recipe that I would love to try. I can't wait to hear my husbands comments about eating chive blossoms.