Recipes – Page 5 – Z Life Homestead

Have you ever not done something because you were worried about the out come and perhaps being let down by it? I know I have!

Last summer was when I really got into preserving food from the gardens. More than just the usual of canning tomatoes and green beans, I really broadened my skills by buying this book…

This book has a canning recipe for anything you could imagine. And, this book has paid for itself multiple times over by feeding me and the ZMan.

One of the canning recipes I experimented with was pickled red cabbage. The reason was mainly because we had so much cabbage in the garden, and I didn’t want it to go to waste.

It wasn’t a difficult recipe but it was time consuming.

The jars turned out beautiful, but I have to admit that these jars of pickled red cabbage have set in my pantry for about seven months untouched because I was worried that it wouldn’t taste good for some reason.

I worried I would end up tossing it out and all the time and effort that went into growing and preserving the food would be wasted, ultimately leading to disappointment.

All that is another way of saying I had my head in the sand over it.

BUT, last week when I made pork chops I decided to open a jar of our pickled cabbage.

I added it to a pan with a little bacon fat, celery seed, caraway seed and honey and heated it through as you can see here.

IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

It paired perfectly with the pork chops and the sweet potato in this meal…

We will be canning more pickled red cabbage this season, and I hope that my lesson is learned about sticking my head in the sand. I’m thinking at the very least I’m getting better about it because I took a chance and started this blog.

I suppose a chance for failure is just as easily a chance at success.

Y’all Take Care!

Lori

This is ditalini…..

Everybody is talking about spring.

Wondering if winter is ever going to let go here in Virginia. Looking forward to warmer weather and longer days. I think I’ve mentioned spring in all my blogs this week.

It’s also asparagus season. I haven’t heard anyone talking much about that.

I know I haven’t heard anyone talking about ditalini.

Well, I love asparagus, and I want to start an asparagus bed this year. Which means I want the ZMan to start an asparagus bed this year.

So, in the spirit of celebrating spring, asparagus, and ditalini and looking forward to warmer weather, I made this lovely asparagus ditalini pasta salad this week.

Asparagus Ditalini Pasta Salad

1 box of ditalini pasta
1 bunch of asparagus – chopped
¼ cup of good olive oil
1 can of dark red kidney beans – drained and rinsed
1 can of artichoke hearts in brine – drained and lightly chopped
2 red bell peppers – chopped
1 can of large olives – sliced in half
1 ½ cup of feta cheese – crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil pasta by box instructions. Don’t forget to salt the pasta water. In the last 2 minutes of the boiling time add the asparagus. Drain and let cool. Transfer pasta and asparagus to a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

I like using ditalini pasta for this salad because the chopped asparagus is the same shape and size as the pasta.

This is a great summer salad for entertaining as it does not have mayonnaise to worry about spoiling.

The measurements don’t have to be exact (it’s a salad) and you can add more or less of any ingredient if you choose.

This is another recipe where I have to suggest using a really good olive oil. It really makes a difference.

Serving this with some grilled lemon chicken…. Well, YUM!!!

I suppose this is my attempt to will warmer weather our way… As I look out the window and the snow is falling and we already have about 3 inches on the ground.

Oh well, let them eat ditalini.

Y’all Take Care!

Lori