Gardening in an Apartment

While this blog is about cooking, it's also about how to prepare great food at home even if you're living the apartment life, like me. I have just 1 oven, 4 burners (3 of which are small), and limited counter space. Yet nearly everything on this blog, I made at home. Which means you have no excuses. So when it comes to gardening, I want to encourage you to know that you can do it in your apartment, too! You're not going to grow an apple orchard, but there is no reason you can't grow some herbs and things!



The first thing I've been practicing with is what I call shot glass scallions. This is the easiest thing you can try at home! I have managed to kill many a plant in my day, but this has been a great success!

When you're cutting up your green onions, leave just a little bit more than the roots at the bottom. Instead of tossing the ends, plop them in tall shot glasses with a little bit of water. I forgot to take a picture the first day, but after 2-3 days they had already started to sprout this much.  You can see from my arrow where I had cut them.  The green had all grown in that quickly!  I was excited.



I changed the water once every 3 days or so.  After another week, this is how big my green onions were.  Almost usable!!  I'm so excited.  They needed barely any maintenance: no soil, just a little water and sunlight on our windowsill.  My mom had this great bud vase growing up that was the shape of 6 shot glasses connected to each other.  I think that would be perfect for this if I could find one. I might never need to buy scallions again if I just keep re-growing them!!



This was such a success that I'm going to start trying to grow a few more herbs - basil, rosemary, thyme, and peppermint - in pots outside.  I have a history of killing all of the above herbs (and even letting a small basil plant disappear off my DC balcony in a thunderstorm once) so we'll see what happens.   We're also trying some cherry tomatoes and habanero peppers, which are even more of an experiment.  I have a pretty little flower, too.  So we'll see what happens.  I'll give you an update in a couple of months!

Mango Habanero Glazed Salmon

I'm back!  I'm sorry, I know it's been a while.  I've missed you!  I was traveling quite a bit last week and just wasn't able to find the time to cook or blog.  However one of my stops on my trip up the east coast was at home in NH - so I did get the chance to make a meal in Mom's amazing kitchen.

When I got home to the Lake, Dad was out fishing on the dock.  Although we threw back his catches, he inspired me to make fish for dinner.

A couple weeks ago, I came downstairs to see the Monkey Scientist about to cut his hand in half trying to open a mango.  I taught him how I do it - do you want to know too?  This is my trick - I cut the cheeks off of the mango (avoiding the oblong pit in the middle).  Then I use my knife to draw lines horizontally and vertically through each cheek, being careful not to pierce the skin.  Then I invert the cheek and carefully cut off each little cube.  It's super easy!

Shortly after our mango lesson, I found this recipe on one of our favorite blogs.  Remember when I made those awesome Stuffed Peppers? Those were adapted from Cara's recipe - so I knew I could trust her.

 

Now, I love some heat.  I decided to double the habaneros in this recipe.  I should warn you - this salsa/glaze was HOT!  Mom and Dad found it a little too hot, although I enjoyed the kick.

I had never roasted mango before.  It was a nice and different way to enjoy mango.  I really enjoyed it!

At the Lake, grilling is our number one way of cooking.  It allows Dad to help and also we can be outside and enjoy the lovely weather.  So instead of baking the salmon, we threw it on the grill.  It added a little smoky flavor, which was perfect with the roasted mango.

Overall, I loved this recipe.  Unless you really love a kick, I'd keep it at only one habanero pepper.  The sweet and spicy glaze went wonderfully with the salty, well seasoned salmon.  We served it up with roasted asparagus and cauliflower for an easy and delicious dinner.

Mango-Habanero Glazed Roasted Salmon
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients
2 wild Alaskan salmon filets, 6-7 ounces each
1/4 cup roasted mango and habanero salsa (see below)
1 tablespoon Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Vinegar, or champagne vinegar
pinch of salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF or heat the grill. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the salmon filets on the sheet, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper.

Puree the mango salsa and vinegar until almost smooth; season to taste with salt.

Spread the puree evenly over the fish. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or grill until desired doneness is reached

Roasted Mango and Habanero Salsa
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
big pinch of salt
1 small habanero pepper
juice from 1/2 of a lime

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Arrange the mangoes, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, spray with cooking spray, and toss to combine. Roast for 25 minutes, turning once or twice, until the onions are tender.

Meanwhile, roast the pepper over a gas flame or under the broiler until charred on all sides. Allow to cool, then peel, seed, and mince the pepper.

Place the roasted mango mixture in a food processor (I used Mom's Vitamix) with the habanero pepper (start with half of the pepper and add to taste, if desired.) Squeeze the lime juice in and add another big pinch of salt. Pulse to desired consistency.