Oh-So-Simple Cedar Planked Herbed Peaches

Peaches! I have them by the case.  And the herbs are just going off in the garden, so Cedar Planked Herb Peaches, but first, a word for our sponsors... oh wait, that's us.

Personal sized Cedar grilling planks, also called single serving planks or just plain ol' 7x4's. Small, convenient to soak, perfect for 4-8 oz. cuts of meat or fish, and fit in any purse.   And they don't break the bank.

Ok, so this barley even counts as a recipe, as there is only a handful of ingredients, but it's so good!

Ingredients

- 7 x 4 Outdoor Gourmet Cedar Grilling Planks, soaked for at least an hour

- a couple ripe peaches

Directions

First- Soak 7 x 4 Cedar Grilling Planks for at least an hour. Pre-heat the grill to medium-high (350°).
Then-  Slice peaches in half, remove pit and rough chop herbs.

Next-   Place cedar planks on grill with peaches sliced-side-up and sprinkle  with herbs.  Close lid of grill then allow to smoke and smolder for  11-14 minutes.

Finally-  Carefully remove from grill and enjoy as a side dish, over a salad or just as is!   It’s just that easy.

Blueberry Basil Salsa and Cedar Planked Shrimp with Quinoa

Summer has slipped by so quickly. All of a sudden, it's September and I haven't gone blueberry picking- not even once. So, I rousted a picking partner and headed out to the U-Pick patch bright and early. For the more season-conscience berry picker, Riley Creek Blueberry Farm is a leisurely saunter through rows full of fat fruit, but for us late-seasoners, it's slim pickings. We scoured the bushes and found the best harvesting method was to hit the dirt, picking the lowest foliage from our bellies.

What our picking failed to produce in volume was made up for in taste- late season blueberries tend to be much smaller than the norm, but pack more of a punch. Our efforts in an hour and a half came out to around 2 1/2 pounds of oh-so-flavorful berries. Now, what to do with them... Basil Salsa over Cedar Grilling Planked Shrimp Salad with Quinoa.

1 Outdoor Gourmet Cedar Grilling Plank soaked for an hour or more

1 lb. of prawns, shelled

1 bunch of Cilantro, rough chopped

3 TBS. Honey

1 lime, juice

2 cups Quinoa,cooked and chilled

Greens (whatever you got will be great!)

Blueberry Basil and Garden Jalapeno Pepper Salsa

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 large Jalapeno, seeded

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic, grated

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

1 handful basil

1/2 lime, juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

Welcome to your weekend. - KB

Outdoor Gourmet Alder Planked Ono

When tsunami sirens sound and beaches evacuate, it’s time to take the hint, run for higher ground. Then fire up the grill.

Fortunately, tropical planking was already in the plan and the necessaries were already gathered- and yes, I packed planks. People are picky about their boards- for some, rental surfboards are out of the question and anything besides my Outdoor Gourmet board(s) make me uneasy. Except no substitutes and all that.

Next: Preheat grill to medium heat, place soaked alder grilling plank on grill and add pineapple rounds. Close lid and allow to smoke and smolder for 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix mango, onion, cilantro, and berries together with lime juice for a topical salsa fresca.

Then: Add fillets on top of pineapple rounds, sprinkle sea salt atop fish, and scoop half of the salsa fresca on top. Allow fish to grill for 10-12 minute.

Finally: Carefully remove from grill, serve over rice and top with remaining salsa fresca. And enjoy!

Come hell or high water (really high water), we’re still getting’ our grill on.
Mahalo and welcome to your weekend. -KB

One stop at Smallwood’s Harvest in Peshastin, WA and 800 lbs. of Golden Delicious later, I was set, so onward and westward!

Golden D’s, while sporting a great juice to skin/pulp ratio, tend to be sweet, yet simple, with little else to offer in regards to flavor profiles. As their coloring and sweet simplicity would suggest, they tend to be the dumb blondes of the horticultural world. So, my truckload of apples provided a good base. Now we just needed to add some interest to the mix. That’s where the other truck of miscellaneous heirloom varietals from an old-growth orchard there on the west side came in handy.

The cider pressing was divided into six different stations, that is, if you don’t count the fine people manning the BBQ pit and just hangin’ around for some nosh and spirited conversation.

And those six stations were as follows…

1. Rinse tub: the apples went from the truck bed, directly into a bathtub full of H2O.

2. Chopping station: the fruit was sorted and quartered.

3. Grinder: the apple sections were sent through the hand-cranked grinder and converted into mash.

4. Press: the mash was squeezed for as much of it’s liquid content as possible with a hand-powered crank.

5. Bottling: the freshly pressed juice was then filtered and bottled.

6. Compost: the remaining mash was then sent to the compost pile.

The cast iron and wooden cider press that we used was built in 1853. Mike Johnson, one of the hosts of the party commented “you can’t exactly go out and pick up parts for one of these.” Which is fine because the press worked splendidly and looks as if it will keep on pressin’ for another 157 years.

An estimated 100-ish gallons of cider was pressed that day and I will go to extreme measures to be invited to this fall fest again in 2011. I headed back with a plenty of cider to drop to any of my friends and family quick enough to respond to my mass text-odus reading “Hear ye, hear ye- freshly pressed cider delivery today only for those who have their own glass containers.”

The rest I took home to hoard and of course, find creative ways to plank with… which leads me to this week’s recipe.

Cedar Planked McIntosh Apples stuffed with Cranberries and Italian Plums… but wait! Soak the planks in cider for an extra-apple-y kick.

First: Soak Outdoor Gourmet Cedar or Maple Grilling Planks in cider (water will work just fine too) for an hour of more.

Next: Glaze 3 cup of cranberries and 1 cup of quartered Italian plums in a simple brown sugar, Cabernet, and butter reduction.

Then: Core apples, but leave some bottom portion to hold stuffing. Set apples on soaked cedar/maple grilling plank, then stuff with plum and cranberry mix.

Now: Place on preheated Medium-High (400°) grill and close lid. Let cook for 12-15 minutes.

Finally: Remove carefully and serve with freshly-made whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

But everything will be drying up soon, so may as well beat the season change to punch. I busted out the ol’ dehydrator at my parents house, and I do mean old... this thing predates me by at least a decade and still works perfectly. Along with making delicious, healthy snacks, the dehydrators are a cheap and aromatic way to heat one's home.

Helpful dehydrator hints...

The thinner you slice, the faster the drying process goes, so consistency is good. Thinner slices create dehydrator goodies that are closer to chips, while thicker slices give you a spongier product. Try both styles and see which you prefer. Store dried foods after they have cooled in jars or loosely packs air-tight bags. Rinse browning-prone fruit in cold water and lemon juice to keep you're dried goods lookin' true to color as possible.

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Cedar Planked Salmon with Blueberry Reduction Sauce

I've got more blueberries and peaches than I know what to do with- I've canned, cobblered, and just plain gorged myself into oblivion on these hot-weather delicacies and there is still fruit to spare. But hey, if that's all I have to gripe about, things must be going pretty well.

I've only consumed 5 servings of cedar planked salmon this week, down from my usual 8-9 weekly servings. Fortunately, just about everything goes with planked salmon and where there's a grill, there's a way!

This week's recipe is Super-Summery Salad with Planked Sockeye topped with a Blueberry Balsamic Reduction, but first, a quick a brush-up on planking technique.

Here's how it works:

First- soak your cedar grilling plank in water. An hour or two prior to grilling will work just fine, but a longer soak time permits the plank to absorb more moisture. This allows for more cedar-infused water vapor to be released during the grilling process.

Then- get your grill up to medium heat, 350-400 degrees. Place the wet plank on the pre-heated grill and heat plank for another 5 minutes before adding the food. This allows the plank to begin to smolder and smoke.

Next- place your seasoned salmon on plank and close grill lid and let cook for recommended time. The average fillet takes between 14-18 minutes, depending on thickness. No flipping, turning, or tweaking is needed. Once cooked, remove from the grill and enjoy!

So, for my salad, I used mixed baby greens, but just use whatever you have fresh in the fridge or from the garden, toss with a little olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper and top with hot salmon, blueberry balsamic reduction and freshly slice peaches!

Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 cup Fresh Blueberries, plus extra for fresh garnish

- Macerate berries until juicy and then add vinegar. Let the berry juice and pulp meld with vinegar for up to an hour.

- Pour blueberry and vinegar mixture through cheesecloth or very fine strainer to remove pulp and seeds. Bring strained blueberry vinegar to a simmer, whisking constantly.

- Reduce vinegar down until desired viscosity- I like it pretty syrupy. Mix in fresh blueberries and top salmon with your hot Blueberry Balsamic Reduction!

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

The Blueberries are Always Bluer in the Next Row...

It's August and blueberry season is in full swing here in the Northwest. And speaking of full swing, we hit up the rope swing along the Pend Oreille River on the way out to the Riley Creek Blueberry Farm for some evening U-Pick.

When picking blueberries, I spend a while scoping for the best row- the row that looks like there is the best size, color, and volume of berries. I find my row and start picking, but then, I peak to the next row and heck if I didn't choose wrong! The next row's berries are WAY better... bigger and bluer (Bluer? Not a word? Oh well). This leads to a terribly ineffective, perpetually row-shift method of blueberry harvesting. I can't help it! They just look bluer in the next row.

Eventually my bucket is full, my mouth is an incriminating shade of purple, and it's time to weigh out. Huckleberries are all well and good, but it's sure hard to walk away with gallons to spare and a full belly. So, here's encouraging you to turn off that BlackBerry for a couple hours and pick some blueberries.

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

The strawberries from the Brandt Family patch are ripe for the pickin', so we made the 2010 Chateau Syringa Confiture de fraise . I think this vintage is one of our best thus far. Here's how it's done...

INGREDIENTS

•2 cups hulled strawberries, from the Brandt patch preferably

•4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl

•3/4 cup water

• 2 TBS. Lemon Juice

•1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin

DIRECTIONS

Rinse clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 minutes; stirring occasionally. Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring mixture to boil on high heat, stirring constantly.

Continue boiling and stirring for 1 minute. Stir pectin mixture into fruit mixture. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy, about 3 minutes. (A few sugar crystals may remain.) Fill all containers quickly to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; quickly cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use.

Prep Time: 30 mins.

Ready In: 30 mins.

This is our back yard strawberry patch! Welcome to your weekend! -KB

High price of tomatoes got ya down? No problem. This Cinco de Mayo, I made two different types of tomato-less Pico de Gallos to accompany my Alder Planked Halibut Fish Tacos.

Pineapple Pico de Gallo

Pineapple: 2 cup, diced

Red Onion: 1 cup, diced

Cilantro : 3 Tbs., fresh minced

Serrano Peppers: 1 pepper, minced.

Juice of one lime

Green Onion: just a sprig or two for garnish

Strawberry Salsa Fresca

Strawberries : 2 cups, diced

Juice of one lime

Walla Walla Sweet Onion: 1 cup, diced

Jalapeño Pepper: 3 Peppers, diced

Cilantro: 3 Tbs., fresh minced

Tip: For all of you heat junkies, leave the seeds in the Jalapeño/Serrano peppers to give these salsas the extra BTU’s (piquance) you’re looking for.

The directions are the same on both of these recipes: Chop everything up, toss with lime juice and enjoy with tacos, fajitas, or corn chips!

Welcome to your weekend. Ole! -KB