Tasty!

Trying out a new indoor grill today, and made grilled sweet corn. Yummy! About as good as actually grilling on the outdoor gas grill (but it still can't compare to corn grilled in hot charcoal coals).  

Brush on some vegetable or canola oil, a little salt and pepper and 12 minutes on the indoor grill. Then a little butter......YUM!!!! (Still tender and juicy.........)

Easy Aloe Prep

 Getting the gel out of the aloe leaves is really not a difficult task. Just time consuming and repetitive, if you are harvesting multiple plants instead of just one or two individual leaves.  

Step 1. Cut larger leaf from aloe, leaving the smaller ones to develop further. Wash any soil off. This leaf could have been a bit larger, but as this was from one of the whole plants that we harvested, this was actually one of the larger leaves on this plant. 

Check for resin in the leaf. This is done by allowing the leaf to stand upright for 10-15 minutes in a cup. The resin has a yellowish look to it and will drain out into the cup. The resin should be drained, as it contains latex, which can be an irritant.

  

 

Step 2. Cut off both ends of the aloe. You can either put these aside to use later or throw away.

 

Step 3. Remove the spines from each side of the leaf. While this may seem like an unnecessary step, since you will only be removing the gel, removal of the spines does two things......keeps you from stabbing your finger while stripping the leaf (the spines can get into fingers like a splinter), and makes it easier to filet the top off of the leaf.

Step 4. Remove the thin green skin from the top side of the aloe leaf. It is similar to filleting one side of a fish. If you have ever done that....you can easily do this. If not, it won't take long to catch on.

Step 5. After the thin green skin is removed, the gel is now exposed.

Step 6. Using a spoon or the edge of your knife (carefully, so that you don't dig into the skin underneath or cut yourself), pull the gel off of the aloe leaf. It should come off VERY easily, albeit maybe a little messy.

Step 7. The gel removed. Cut up into pieces and refrigerate until needed. If you want the gel more liquefied, you can put it in a blender or mash till liquefied. Because the fresh aloe can have a short shelf life in the fridge, you should only do as many leaves as you think you might use in a week. If, like I am, you are having to harvest entire plants, the gel can be frozen. I would use ice cube trays to do the initial freezing, then when frozen, remove from the trays, place the frozen cubes in a bag or container. Do this quickly, so that the pieces stay frozen. That way, you can go into the freezer and pull out only the pieces you need at the time.  

Out of Control!!!

 The aloe had gotten out of control. It was just too much. So, yesterday was harvest day, and yes, entire plants were removed! 🙈 But the plants that remain are much happier for the space. I did save about 10 plants to put elsewhere. What is here in the picture, is what I won't be keeping. They won't go to waste. I will be harvesting the gel out of the plants then freezing. I will be posting how I am doing it, so stay tuned!

Check Out My Saving the History Blog!

Hey All......Please take a gander at my new blog "Saving the History"

Sometimes things may cross between NCH and Saving the History, just as we sometimes cross with "Throwback Kitchen"  Even when we don't, I'm sure that you'll be finding interesting pieces for your reading pleasure, as well as links to the STH podcast!

Little Sprout

Earlier in the year, I potted a golden coconut, in hopes that at some point it would sprout. Sometime within the last 2 days, it did just that! If this one does well, it will be the second coconut palm that I started from "seed".

Coconuts can take a while to sprout, and this one took over 8 months. 

I will leave it in the pot until it gets to a decent size, then transplant it into the ground. Probably sometime next year. So, watch for updates on the little sprout!

Freezing Dandelion Greens

I decided to go out and pick dandelion greens to bag and freeze. Not sure how this will work out, but I decided not to blanch them first before freezing, to try to keep them a bit sturdier when they thaw. I'm thinking the will be very much on the limp side, but as i would only put them in the garlic and oil where they will wilt some during cooking anyway (and they don't have to be pretty in the pasta dish itself), I'm thinking it will work out fine.

A little later I am going to try to make dandelion pesto from some freshly picked greens too!

I also picked some of the tight flower buds to maybe deep fry later on today if I have the time.

Interview with Business Innovators Magazine

An interview that I did with Business Innovators Magazine just came out yesterday. Check it out at:
http://businessinnovatorsmagazine.com/kim-pezza-business-leader-interview