Charlie Abowd: The perfect recipe for summer’s end

It is time again for The Greenhouse Project’s Grateful Harvest Dinner taking place Monday, Sept. 23 at Nashville Social Club.

Just 17 tickets remain and doors open at 5:30 p.m. Be sure to get your place at the table reserved to enjoy an evening of fabulous food prepared by Chef Matt Farag and paired with your choice of wine or beer.

All money raised at this annual event continues TGP’s mission of agricultural education of Carson City students and provides fresh produce to the community’s food insecure.

To purchase tickets or to bid on auction items, visit www.carsoncitygreenhouse.org. Some items will go past the 8 p.m. close, due to “popcorn bidding” meaning that if someone bids during the last three minutes, the time is extended by three minutes each time there is a bid until three minutes pass without a bid. This prevents someone bidding during the last 30 seconds just to win an item.

Now let’s talk about food. The following recipes are featured in my book, “Recipes and Rambles that made Adele’s a Nevada Hot Spot,” available online at major retailers or locally at Purple Avocado, the Legislature Gift Shop and more.

When you purchase the book, you are supporting TGP, as all proceeds after expenses goes toward TGP’s sustainability via the Pay it Forward fund, which accepts donations of any size year around. We are working to ensure the program continues long after we’re gone.

Pork tacos with spicy watermelon salsa and goat yogurt baja creme offers the perfect way to enjoy summer’s end. Suitable for a small dinner or for a larger gathering, simply increase ingredients accordingly. This recipe is one that would also be easy enough to allow children to help with food preparation. Just be sure to keep them away from the jalapeños!

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Now let’s get cooking!

Pork Tacos with Spicy Watermelon Salsa & Goat Yogurt Baja Creme

Makes 4 servings of 3 tacos each

Ingredients

1 pound chili-ground pork shoulder, preferably locally grown or FFA or 4-H sponsored

One hour before cooking, season with:

1/4 teaspoon really good chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas

24 pieces of arugula for garnish

Directions

When ready to cook, pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Gently, carefully place pork in the pan slowly stirring. Let simmer over medium heat, until done.

Of course, you need tortillas for this dish, and while some prefer flour, I prefer the taste and texture of corn for this recipe. I cook my tortillas directly on the stove burner, which can be done on both gas and electric ranges. That said, it is especially easy to burn your fingers on an electric range, so I suggest using tongs. Simply place tortilla over heat, and cook until it puffs a bit, then flip and repeat; not even a minute per tortilla. As tortillas come off the range, place in a towel to keep warm. This will also allow them to steam and soften a bit.

Spicy Watermelon Salsa

Ingredients

1 cup cubed watermelon, cut in 1/2-inch squares

1 cob, approximately 1/2 cup of fresh corn, uncooked

2 tablespoons fine-chopped jalapeno, deseeded

3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup cucumber, deseeded and cut into 1/4-inch squares

6 large red radishes, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon local honey

Juice of 2 ripe limes

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

Mix ingredients together gently, and let sit to allow flavors to marry.

Goat Yogurt Baja Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain goat yogurt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili sauce, your preference; mine is Tapatio.

Pinch salt and pepper

Directions

For service, place 3 tortillas on each plate, adding pork down the center. Place a spoonful of salsa over the meat and garnish each taco with 2 pieces of arugula. Folks can add the Baja Creme themselves, to taste.

A beer of your choice will go well with these. I suggest visiting Shoe Tree Brewing Co. for their recommendation. I enjoy their Revision Specialty IPA, which is a bit funky and skunky.