These were corn fritters that we paired up with some homemade salsa. Everything in the salsa and the corn in the fritters were from our garden. Can you believe it?

Check out more recipes that utilize this salsa blend.

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Wait! Before you put that grill away for the winter, there's still time for one last cookout isn't there? Yes! By golly, while the sun still shines, it's as good an excuse as any to burn some charcoal.

This is our last, but hopefully not, effort on the the grill. It's getting almost too cold and too dark to cook outside for dinner now, but if you get home early enough and plan ahead, this still might be possible. You'll have to try this one. First, use thighs because I just think they have more flavor and tend to be more moist. These are the skinless and boneless types. They were really good, paired up with some potato salad and the last of the zucchini squash from the garden. The flavor that carries this dish though is the sauce. You'll have to try it out.

Here is the recipe for this grilled chicken and peanut BBQ sauce.



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Sauces spice up a meal and do we love our sauces! This is one of our favorites and it is also one of the most versatile. You can use it for any meats, especially those that are roasted or grilled; or over vegetables; or over seafood.

There really isn't a recipe for this dipping sauce, it's just a matter of finding the right proportions of Soy & Vinegar to suit your taste. From there, you can vary the recipe by adding other ingredients like onions, peppers or cilantro.



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This is a slight twist on a previous recipe for Shrimp in Garlic Butter. For this variation, a garlic aioli is served as an additional sauce or dip for the shrimps.

Here's how to make aioli:

Oh it's grilling time again, and if you're blessed with lots of basil from your garden, it's probably pesto time also. We have been blessed with pesto for the second year in a row but as much as I love it, we just can't eat enough pasta and pesto to use it up. So we've been giving it away and using it up for other dishes like this grilled chicken marinated in pesto.

This is a very simple recipe. Just marinade the chicken pieces in pesto sauce for 30 minutes to overnight and grill.

If you missed the pesto sauce recipe I use the first time, here it is again.

2 Cloves of fresh garlic
3 cups of fresh basil leaves, stems removed
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of olive oil

In a blender, blend the above ingredients together until smooth. Done!

COOKING TIP:
From experience, I found that this sauce will last in the refrigerator for two to three weeks stored in an airtight container. You can also freeze this sauce and use it to flavor anything that requires a basil flavor. You can freeze small amounts for sauces in an ice cube tray then after they harden, transfer the cubes in a ziplocked freezer bag. It is best to freeze them in portions that you will need so you won't have to defrost the bags before using.

If you are making a batch specifically for freezing, you can omit the parmesan cheese and pinenuts and add those fresh later when you are ready to use the basil.

In honor of the Clone (my youngest daughter) whose birthday is tomorrow and who loves anything with pasta, this is for you, baby! We actually had this last week, as we have to have something akin to spaghetti at least once a week for the clone, but I just haven't had time to post much since it has been a hectic week for me at work. This is you basic tomato sauce, only with italian sausage instead of plain ground meat.



My basic spaghetti sauce recipe is here. I took the sausage out of the casing, since for some reason the Clone will not eat sliced sausages in her sauce. She like it this way though.

Garden Harvest Dinner

This is a plate that Jade made for dinner, and got carried away with the photography. I think it looks pretty though. The vegetables are from our garden. Here is what was on the menu:

Tilapia Parmesan

Tilapia Fillets
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. of dried basil
1/2 tsp. of dried oregano
1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup of vegetable oil for frying

Sauce:
Capers
Pine Nuts
Butter

Heat the oil in a skillet to medium high heat. In the mean time, beat the eggs in one bowl, and in a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Dip the fillets in the beaten egg, then dredge in the flour/bread crumb mixture. Fry in the hot oil until brown on both sides.

For the sauce, place the pine nuts in a small skillet and toast on medium heat, when lightly toasted, add 2 tablespoons of capers with some of the brining liquid. When the liquid has been reduced by half, slowly incorporate as much butter as needed to make a light sauce. Pour over the fried tilapia fillets.

Angel Hair Pasta with Basil Pesto

2 Cloves of fresh garlic
3 cups of fresh basil leaves, stems removed
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of olive oil

In a blender, blend the above ingredients together until smooth. Pour the sauce over cooked pasta, preferably while the pasta is still hot. If it seems too thick, add a bit of the hot water that the pasta was boiled in to thin the sauce. Toss together, and enjoy.

Tomato Basil Salad

We have an abundance of tomatoes from our garden and they are sooo sweet! So we have been eating them with almost every meal. For this meal, we sliced yellow and red tomatoes and topped it with sliced red onions and basil leave. Nothing else. Simply delicious!