Quasi-Cuban feast from the garden

Life has been so crazy since the middle of July.  It feels like there hasn’t been a weekend (or many weeknights) when we haven’t had something to do.  The garden has taken a back seat to so many things- moving Matt to the new townhouse, fixing stuff  (slowly) up at the townhouse, having guests, spending time at the Duplex because the kitties went on strike (I was spending too much time at the townhouse) getting ready to go back east… the list goes on and on.  Thankfully the square foot garden is low maintenance, so our plants haven’t suffered too much from neglect.  Back a week or two ago, Matt and I made an impromptu Quasi Cuban feast with leftovers from the fridge and veggies/herbs from our garden.

First up: Mojitos

I planted mint with the intention of makng mojitos- a classic cuban drink (sigh- I loved them since before they were fashionable!).  I found this traditional recipe and went to work.

Fresh Lime Juice, Fresh Mint from the garden- yummm

muddle with pestal

some sugar, rum, and seltzer water (in the glass and on my shirt) and enjoy.. yum

Next up: Salsa

The tomatoes are really starting to come in and we have quite a few jalapenos. You know what that means? Salsa!

Matt adapted this recipe a little: Fresh Tomato Salsa

The result? Amazing!

A little watery here but a little cornstarch fixes that

Finally: Grilled Turkey Cuban Sandwiches

We had some turkey and cheese left over and decided to run with the Cuban theme. Trusty Epicurious to the rescue with this recipe. We supplied fresh mint. No Panni press? No problem- the recipe suggested placing tin foil over the sandwiches,then a skillet, and finally place heavy cans in the skillet to weigh down the sandwiches-your own panni press!

Panni Hack!

Yum!

Not bad!