Cooking on an August Monday

The garden is slow this year because we've been struggling to hit 80 degrees, but the green beans and the wax beans are doing just fine and have arrived! Use or lose it, so I guess we're having beans for dinner. This is how most of my meals start out - I have lots of this or I need to use up that, and a meal builds around a specific element. Today I picked a couple quarts of green beans and wax beans, and I know that the meat we have the most of in the freezer is venison, so it's looking like venison and beans are my two elements for the day!

I saw a recipe the other day for a tossed salad that used a raspberry vinaigrette and candied pecans, and I think I can adapt that to go with steamed beans. Okay, we have a plan! I'm going to steam a combination of golden wax beans and bright green beans, then drizzle with fruit vinaigrette and sprinkle candied pecans on top. In fact, I have some cherry vinegar that has been steeping in the cabinet for almost a month now, so I should be able to make a simple dressing using cherry vinegar!

Now what to do with the venison? I retrieved from the freezer two pieces totalling 2 lb 13 oz so that I can have some leftover venison for another use later this week. One piece is definitely thicker than the other, so I'm going to thaw them in the microwave, then cut the thicker piece in half to make three equal thickness pieces. I'm going to marinate it in a simple balsamic garlic vinaigrette then we'll grill them tonight.

The kids aren't much for eating meats, and they are pretty picky about vegetables, so we need a third part of our meal that they'll be happy to eat. Tonight, I think that will be a new recipe: soft honey dinner buns, recipe courtesy of http://www.cookingbread.com/. They sound great, and the kids will be quite happy to spread jam across them and eat a couple. I'll get some veggie in at lunch time and let dinner be bread and fruit!

Add in some homemade applesauce from the pantry, a variety of homemade pickles and jams, and this should be a tasty, well balanced, and easy meal! The colors should be wonderful, too: the deep brown of the outside of the venison plus the pink tinted interior, the gently glowing wax beans with the brilliant green beans topped off with the rich nut pieces and the vinaigrette, the beautiful golden rolls, the bright colors of the jams and of the pickled carrots, garlic, and cucumbers. Crayola should never hire me to name crayons - they'd all be food colors!

Cherry Vinaigrette
1/4 c. cherry vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Makes about 3/4 cup. Recipe from *The Big Book of Potluck* by Maryana Vollstedt.

Candied Pecans
1 T. butter or margarine
1 T. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. pecan or walnut halves (I'm using pieces because that is what I have)
In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter and then stir in brown sugar. Add nuts and stir. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dry on a piece of foil and separate so they won't stick together. Cool and store in an air-tight container. Makes 1/2 cup. Recipe from *The Big Book of Potluck* by Maryana Vollstedt.

Balsamic-Garlic Vinaigrette
2/3 c. olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T red wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl. Makes about 1 cup. Recipe from *The Big Book of Potluck* by Maryana Vollstedt.