by Paula D.
on August 2, 2019 1:49 pm in Food / Recipes
A few weeks ago I wrote about the abundance of kale in my garden. Well, the dill I planted is also growing wild now. It’s called dill “weed” for a reason. And the plant bolts in the heat, so it makes sense with the heat wave last week that my herb plant is three feet tall!
The lemony, sweet and bitter flavor of dill is most pungent when it begins to flower. Snip the feathered leaves for immediate use. Wait until the flowers mature and snip those off at the stem. Put the flower heads in a clear plastic bag in a dry location. In one day or sooner, you’ll see black dill seeds,which you can store and use year-round.
The whole dill plant is edible, so make sure to use all parts including the stems which are perfect for pickling.
For Easter I made a dill cream sauce for a pan-seared salmon and that was a crowd pleaser. Dill is great with most fish. Overnight pickles seasoned with dill and garlic; sauteed carrots with dill; tomato salad with red onion, dill, and feta; potato salad and roasted chicken with dill are a few dishes I’m thinking of off the top of my head — all delicious and seasonally appropriate. If I’m feeling ambitious, I can try okroshka — a staple Russian soup served cold. It’s made with vegetables, dill, boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, kvass (a non-alcoholic fermented beverage) and a protein. There’s no dill-ema when it comes to meal choices here.
This week I decided to make potato salad which I served with veggie hot dogs and coleslaw. My husband gave it rave reviews! It was loaded with dill for a lot of punch. It’s my own recipe that I’ve made countless times. Usually I don’t measure but I made it a point this time so I can share the recipe with you. I hope you give it a try, enjoy.
Paula’s Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 bag red potatoes
1/2 large onion
5 oz. mayonnaise (use Hellman’s and don’t get the low-fat, it tastes bad!)
1 tablespoon mustard
¼ cup white vinegar
5 long sprigs of dill and some for garnish.
4 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Quarter the potatoes (leave the skin on) and bring to a boil until soft. Drain and let them cool for five minutes. Dice the onions and garlic. Chop the dill. In a large bowl add all ingredients. Thoroughly mix so the potatoes are covered well. Refrigerate and let the potato salad sit for 20 minutes before serving.
follow me on instagram – @theglorifedtomato for all things summer gardening.
Last weekend really felt like summer. The ocean water is warm. The weather outside is over 80 degrees and there are hordes of DFD’s and locals alike swarming the boardwalk to experience all Rockaway has to offer.
Seeing as how it was so summery, I packed as much summer fun in as possible. My sister Natalie and my nieces and nephew stayed over for the weekend. Both days we hit the beach! My friend Dave took the kids out on his foam board. They had a blast. The kids made surfing look easy. They have no fear! The kiddies have inspired me to get up on a surfboard this summer.
Friday night we headed to the “Thrilla at Camilla”. I didn’t realize how big of an event this was! The FDNY Bravest Boxing Team vs. The Irish National Police were fighting for the 2019 Transatlantic Championship. This is the 4th year the event has taken place at St. Camillus. It’s a fundraiser to benefit injured service members and Gold Star families through the charity, Building Homes for Heroes. What a fun event and for a great cause.
After the boxing match we stopped into Rustwoods to say hello to a few friends. The kids enjoyed the art gallery and I introduced them to my friend and owner of Rustwoods, Mikal Hameed. We had to dash out to make it to Low Tide for some dancing. The kids cut a rug!
After my family left late Saturday afternoon, I went to Riis Park for the ROCK! AWAY! Music Festival, organized by the one and only Max Power. My husband was playing with his band Ye Mighty Wave. It was a wild show – think hippies in outer space dancing with jiggle sticks in moo-moos. Kendall Hanes joined the band, he’s 8 years old and a fantastic drummer. Everyone was rocking out! Max Power works so hard to put this annual festival together for all of us to enjoy. Thank you Max!
I noticed there are more food options then last year up at Riis Park Beach Bazaar. My favorite is Cuisine by Claudette and for dessert MUD ice cream. I heard the Meat Up Grill, Rockaway Clam Bar and Fit Food Kitchen are delicious too. I had two Frozes – a boozie combo of Rosé, Deep Eddy vodka and a secret ingredient they will not divulge. So good! I was feeling pretty, pretty, pretty loose after those cocktails.
Saturday night I signed up for dinner on the porch at the Rockaway Retreat House. I know Jaime Schultz is an excellent cook so this was much anticipated. Sitting on the porch with a cool breeze after a long day of beach hopping was exactly what I needed. She made an assortment of vegetarian dishes, fresh and light. Thanks Jamie for a wonderful dinner and evening.
Late that night I got news that my friend Jimmy O’Brien (Down by the Jetty columnist) and Mckenzie Dowler got engaged!! The proposal happened down by the jetty, well on the jetty actually!! I’m so thrilled and happy for those two love birds! Congratulations!
Sunday more beach and more Max Power music at the ROCK! AWAY! Fest, this time at Low Tide. We hung out until sunset… ohh those summer nights.
I’m planning on participating in more summer activities tomorrow, Hopefully I can keep up with all there is to do in Rockaway this weekend.
by Paula D.
on August 2, 2019 1:29 pm in Gardening
My vegetable garden is flourishing. I planted tomatoes (no-brainer), basil, dill, cilantro, peppers, chives, eggplant and kale.
The kale has exploded, thriving with minimal care! Kale is a hearty green containing high amounts of vitamin A and C. It’s rich with antioxidants including beta carotene. Kale is high fiber and a great source of calcium, potassium and magnesium. Researchers have also discovered chemicals in kale that may inhibit cancer cell growth. So yeah, this veggie is a superfood that everyone is still obsessed with.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been enjoying kale salads from the bounty of my garden. I’ve tried different types – kale with chickpeas, tomato and feta, with eggs, peppers and onions, and with red beans, olives, cabbage and quinoa. At this point, I’m running out of creative kale salad combos.
Eager to try something new, I decided to venture into the smoothie zone. I’ve had kale smoothies before but never made one myself.
I adapted a recipe from thelemonbowl.com. I omitted the yogurt to reduce my dairy intake, replacing with coconut milk, which makes this recipe vegan. And I changed the proportions a bit.
The kale blueberry smoothie tasted refreshing and delicious!! The cinnamon is key. Overall though, it wasn’t too sweet or sugary which I enjoyed. If you want more sweetness, omit the kale stems which adds bitterness. I was too lazy too and included the whole leaf. Also it’s less organic waste.
Vegan Kale Blueberry Smoothie
Ingredients:
(makes 2, 6oz. smoothies)
1 banana
1 cup chopped kale
1 ½ cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup coconut milk
6 ice cubes
1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a little more for garnish
Directions: Add ice to the blender and pulse for 5-10 seconds. Slice bananas and loosely chop the kale. Add all ingredients and pulse for 20 seconds. Pour into a glass and top with a few blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Drink and enjoy!
If you didn’t plant kale but you’re now having kale FOMO, do not fret. You can plant this versatile crop anytime of year except right before and during the frost. Buy some plants from the garden center. I got mine from my favorite local garden shop, Lisena (12-5 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel, NY 11693). Or try seeding directly into the soil (one inch deep). In two weeks, thin the sprouts so the seedlings are spaced 8 inches apart. Water regularly but don’t overdo it. The kale is ready to harvest when the leaves are the size of your hand. Snap or cut the greens starting from the base. Leave the top intact so the plant can regenerate and continue to grow, extending the harvest.
For more on gardening and recipes visit the glorifiedtomato.com and follow on instagram (@theglorifiedtomato) for all things food, gardening and Rockaway summer related!
by Paula D.
on July 9, 2019 9:44 am in DIY
My husband and I gut renovated our house five years ago. I documented the construction from start to finish here on the blog. It was the biggest project I’ve ever been apart of. Mentally and physically it was so intense for the both of us. It feels like a dream now. I can’t believe we went through it all.
During the process of the rebuild, we accumulated a tremendous amount of tools, wood, paint, sinks, plaster, you name it. To put things in perspective, we had 4 sledge hammers, 10 shovels, maybe 50 screwdrivers, two table saws, four hanging fixtures and enough screws to build a whole new house. And that’s a small list of things compared to all the equipment. We could seriously open up a second-hand hardware store. The tools slowly made there way from the upstairs where we renovated the rentals first, to our apartment on the first floor, and ended up in the basement, essentially untouched for the past two years – now that we’ve got everything [almost] done.
This past week, we had planned to finally tackle the “hoarder situation” in the basement. Our friends Maggie and Or stayed with us for several days to lend a hand. What great friends we have! The situation was monumental and overwhelming. Having Maggie and Or to assist us in deciding what to throughout and what to keep was a huge help. It was easier for them to make the call, as they were detached from all the stuff.
While cleaning, I kept thinking of Marie Kondo, “Let’s spark joy through tidying”. And how I wasn’t feeling any joy. I was feeling complete chaos!
After a while though, I got into a groove and started “thanking each object for the service it provided” and putting it into the contractor bag, or out front in the free pile. We were making progress finally.
While cleaning out under the porch, where most of the clutter lurked, we made a discovery, “Is that some kind of… fur?” Or said. It was, in fact, fur. The fur of a dead possum! We felt really bad, he looked so peaceful, despite being covered in a layer of dust and paint chips. I hoped the little guy didn’t get trapped down there, leading to his death, gesh.
My husband had to scoop the animal up with a shovel. He was about to put it in a garbage bag but just couldn’t. We decided it was only proper to bury Toxy*. The group of us went to the side of the house where Matt dug the grave. We said a few words and buried Toxy. Ashes to ashes; dust to dust. Maybe it was pure exhaustion from the long day or the bizarre experience of finding the dead possum, but we all started laughing uncontrollably.
We still have a little more cleaning and organizing to go but the worst of it is over. We couldn’t have done it without our dear friends Maggie and Or who helped us dig out of the basement trenches, making room for a new chapter of who knows what!
*Toxy, named after what looked like toxic dust and paint covering his adorable corpse.
