Sautéed Broccoli with Black Olives

A friend of mine made this dish long time ago for me, and I remember being so inspired by it then. So when I went back to Japan, I made this same dish for my family, and they loved it, too. The aroma of olive oil is really important in this dish, so use a good bottle of olive oil. One time, I made it with the olive oil infused with black truffles, the kind you can see the bits of truffles in the oil, and it was heavenly! I personally like regular black olives for this dish, but I used kalamata olives this time. If you've never been a big fan of broccoli, this might just change your mind. 

Red chili peppers will give you a little extra umph!

Sautéed Broccoli With Black Olives

1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp black olive, chopped
Sprinkle of red chili peppers
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt, adjust to taste

Blanch broccoli al dente in boiling water, for about two minutes. Slowly sauté garlic, black olives and chili peppers in olive oil over medium low heat. When the oil gets fragrant, add broccoli and salt to the pan. Toss to coat. Adjust the amount of salt depending on how salty the olives are. Kalamata olives are usually saltier than the regular black olives that come in a can. I like this dish on the saltier side. Splash lemon juice and serve warm.

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Cucumber and Green Tomatoes in Honey-Lemon Dressing

Some of the cucumbers have grown quite big. You can only consume so much cucumbers if eaten raw, but you can pickle them for a day or two, and they will make a great condiment or a side dish. I also added a few green tomatoes that had fallen off the vines before turning red. It's a nice summer flavor that makes you think of a cold glass of lemonade.

Honey adds a nice touch

The cucumbers, the green tomatoes and the fresh dill are from our garden. There is something satisfying about cooking with the veges from your own garden, isn't there?

Cucumbers And Green Tomatoes In Honey-Lemon Dressing

3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded 
3 small green tomatoes, about the size of cherry tomatoes, sliced
2 slices lemon
2 Tbsp pickled jalapeño peppers, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp dry tarragon
1 Tbsp fresh dill
2 tsp honey
3 Tbsp sushi vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice

Slice cucumbers and sprinkle salt. Set aside for 15 minutes to draw excess water. Rinse salt off the cucumbers with running water and gently squeeze water out. In a bowl, combine cucumbers with sliced red onions, pickled jalapeño peppers, sliced green tomatoes, sliced lemon. Add vinegar, honey, fennel seeds, tarragon, dill and lemon juice. Stir to coat well and chill in the fridge. Tastes even better the next day!


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Vegetable Garden Updates (24)

Look at this ginormous okra! I think I left it on there too long. It will be most likely too tough to eat, but I thought I would share the picture with y'all. 

This can be used as a weapon

Another thing that's enormous is this Super Fantastic Tomato. It is still slightly green but within a few days, it will be ready. The tomato plants are getting so heavy with the fruits and also the vines are getting bushy, we had to get a metal reinforcement pole to support them. 

It's not as big as our dog, just an optical illusion!

The gigantic pepper finally turned red on the kitchen counter. It is a beautiful bright red pepper. We can feed an army with this pepper!

Compare to my hand

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Vegetable Garden Updates (23)

I found some baby shishito peppers this morning. They look great. Judging from the number of flowers on the plants, we will have abundant shishito peppers this season. I can almost taste the grilled shishito peppers on a stick with sprinkles of sea salt. Mmm.

Flower and pepper side by side

They are tiny, about pea size

Shiso is growing vigorously in the planter. Just love what I can do with them. Such a clean flavor and a nice aroma!

Shiso leaves

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