Posted on

Garden Update – Happy Growth

Happy Summer Solstice! Hope you are enjoying the first day of summer. Summer is my favorite time of year!

garden overview

Well, we’ve had more hot days, which means great growing environment for my plants, even though it might be uncomfortable for me (however, I’m in a large air conditioned office building M-F).  I’ve spent time watering, aerating soil, and feeding the plants with compost when necessary.  They are looking great!

First, tomatoes.

june tomato collage

I’m growing 7 tomato plants total.  From the top left image, clockwise:

Amish Paste, Pruden’s Purple, Yellow Pear, Amish Paste, detail of Silver Fir, Silver Fir, mystery volunteer, Pruden’s Purple flower.

Both the small paste tomato and the Yellow Pear looked just awful Saturday afternoon – droopy and flaccid, and just not in good shape.  I sturdied up their dirt, added compost, and plenty of water.  On Sunday they looked great!  I think they are on the mend.

I’m particularly impressed with the Pruden’s Purple flower – it doesn’t look like any tomato flower I’ve ever seen, and it’s a gorgeous shape.  I’m looking forward to seeing it in bloom.

Cucumbers – my lemon cucumber isn’t fruiting yet, and I found a volunteer cucumber plant across the yard!  That was a very fun discovery.

june cucumber collage

The lemon cucumber is in the top left corner photo, and the rest are of the volunteer.  Looks like the volunteer will produce a more classic shaped cucumber.  I’m happy with this discovery and can’t wait to see what happens with it.

Ground cherries and tomatillos continue to increase in size, and I’ve even seen one or two flowers.

ground cherry

vibrant tomatillos

I’m going to have to stake the tomatillos, or perhaps get a tomato cage for them.  Tomatillos are very sprawling plants and need support early on.  I’ve inserted a bamboo post for right now, which is helping  with support.  I can’t wait for tomatillos!  I plan to make lots of salsa verde.

There’s plenty of wild stuff in the garden, too.

wild june

Although they are a bit of a pest, these morning glories sure are pretty.  I’ve seen a number of ladybugs in the garden, which makes me happy.  Saw a bunch of yellowjackets, too, and honey bees!

Thyme is slow growing but steady, and tatsoi is steady and fast growing! It makes for a delicious salad, simply dressed in lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper. I like it a lot – it’s like a gentle arugula as far as the peppery taste goes.  It’s delicious.

thyme update

abundant tatsoi

I spent time weeding on Saturday and there were far less weeds than a couple weeks ago.  This is a good sign.  Hoping that my weeding efforts here in June will make for a mostly weed-less summer.

Happy for all this growth!

Posted on

Jerusalem Artichoke Fritters

plated

[This post is based upon a post I wrote for the Hellgate CSA blog earlier this week.]

So, our CSA started up this week – I am so happy about this!  We have six months of beautiful, local, organic produce ahead of us, and I can’t wait to see what the season will bring.

This week I was intrigued by the inclusion of jerusalem artichokes in our initial season share (I thought for sure we’d get radishes!). I didn’t want to eat them raw, nor did I want to roast them, so I searched the internet for something interesting and tasty-sounding. I found that in these jerusalem artichoke fritters, which I prepared Tuesday night.

in the pan

I loved them! The combination of the jerusalem artichokes, carrots, and shallots is lovely, and the chive-lime sour cream is wonderful – this is some seriously good sauce. These fritters are easy to put together and take only about a half hour, start to finish, to make.

cooked fritters

I was also happy to be able to use some of my Cayuga Organics cornmeal in them as well! Sprouted wheat flour worked perfectly in place of conventional white flour, so I was pleased by this adjustment.

Jerusalem Artichoke Fritters
Lightly adapted from the New York Times

While grating them, the jerusalem artichokes oxidize quickly, so don’t be alarmed by dark coloring that appears after grating.

1/2 pound jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed
1 carrot, peeled
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sprouted wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Fresh black pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
2 eggs
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Oil for frying (coconut oil would be wonderful)

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Grate Jerusalem artichokes and carrot into a mixing bowl. Add shallots. Stir together cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder, and stir in, mixing well. Season with pepper and hot sauce to taste. Add eggs, and mix thoroughly.

Combine chives, sour cream and lime juice, and set aside.

Pour oil into a large skillet, so that it just covers the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until sizzling. Drop mixture in by tablespoons, flattening slightly. Fry until crisp and golden brown, turning once. Transfer to oven on a baking sheet lined with paper towel while frying more. Serve with sour cream mixture.

Yield: 4 servings.

Posted on

Omelet – a Quick and Delicious Dinner

omelette

I don’t remember how I came up with this dish, but it was probably inspired by having a bunch of leftovers combined with my love of eggs. Basically, “omelet”, as I call it, is vegetables and meat sauteed in a pan, topped with uncooked scrambled eggs and cheese, and steamed until the eggs are cooked through. It doesn’t sound exotic or fancy, and isn’t the prettiest thing around, but it is tasty, nourishing, and easy to prepare. It’s an excellent dish to cook when you have little time or are just plain tired and want something to eat fairly fast. It’s also a great canvas for improvisation.

I mentioned leftovers above – it’s a great dish for leftovers – greens work especially well, as do onions, potatoes, carrots, summer squash, and tomatoes. You can mix in some pesto with the eggs, add diced or ground meat, sausage, or cured meats. You can also make it very simple with just onions, potato, egg, and cheese. You can even add a sauce you like at the end. This dish is incredibly flexible, which is one of the things I like about it.

Last night, I used half a white onion, leftover garlic lemon greens, chopped cooked chicken, pesto ricotta, eggs, and grated Locatelli (a salty hard cheese). In this case, everything but the eggs and cheese were leftovers from last week. It was a very tasty combination.

So, what I did was:

  • Diced up the onions and sautéed them in olive oil (about 1 T) until they became translucent.
  • Added the chicken and cooked that a little bit.
  • Then came the greens, and I cooked everything together until it was heated through.
  • I also made sure that the pan was completely covered with this mixture, so that eggs would not leak through to the pan surface; it’s best if they sit atop the vegetables.
  • Scrambled the eggs and poured them on top (I used 5 eggs this time, which was perfect)
  • I then put small dollops of pesto ricotta across the top of the mixture, and sprinkled on the grated cheese.
  • I put a lid on it, turned the heat down to low and let it steam. I’d check on it from time to time to make sure the eggs were cooked through. It took about 10-15 minutes for the eggs to cook and the dish to come together.
  • I only salted the onions a little bit, as the leftovers had all be seasoned when I cooked them originally, so extra salt was not needed.

If I were skipping the pesto ricotta, I’d probably use a sharp cheddar in place of the Locatelli and eat it with hot sauce!

So, in general, the order of ingredients would go as follows:

  • aromatics (e.g. onion, garlic, bacon)
  • ground/chopped meat (if using)
  • hard veggies (e.g. carrots, potatoes)
  • soft veggies (e.g. greens, summer squash, tomatoes, sauce)
  • herbs
  • eggs (solo, or combined with sauce like pesto, tomato, or salsa)
  • cheese
  • The order of things can even be re-arranged if it works better for you.

Like I said, there is room for improvisation and the dish is extremely customizable.

It’s been a quick and delicious dinner staple in my household and has provided us with delicious and nutritious meals numerous times. I hope you find it a useful and enjoyable dish as well.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Posted on

Raw Carrot Apple Salad

Have you ever made a dish that crazy exceeded your expectations?  I have, and it comes in the form of a raw carrot apple salad.  These two simple ingredients, when mixed together with some citrus juices and a few spoonfuls of currants, are transformed into a wonderful salad that is refreshing and delicious.

carrot apple salad smiling

Mixing carrots and apples together is a classic approach.  I can remember numerous potlucks from my youth that featured a carrot apple salad, more often than not laced with jello or mayonnaise (or possibly even Miracle Whip), sometimes with pineapple or pecans added.

The jello ones were never finished.

carrots and apples

lemon zest

This salad has none of those creamy, fruity, or nutty extras in it.  Its beauty is in its simplicity.

According to the cookbook Sundays at the Moosewood, this salad is Czech in origin.  In that book, the dish is called apple and carrot confetti.  No matter what you call it, it’s delicious.

carrot apple salad

So, I’m fond of taking this carrot apple salad to potlucks, especially in the summertime.  It’s naturally vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, raw, and sugar-free, so it caters to almost any dietary restriction you might encounter.  It’s also light and refreshing, and goes well with light summer fare. It even is suitable for brunch!

Raw Carrot Apple Salad

I have left out the sugar that was indicated in the original recipe; I find that this salad really doesn’t need it. If you wish it to be sweeter, best to use a sweeter apple.

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 cups grated apples (about 4)
2 cups grated carrots
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons currants
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste

Combine lemon and orange juice in a large bowl.  Grate the apples directly into the citrus juices to avoid oxidation of the apples.  Toss the apples with the rest of the ingredients and serve immediately.