ALL IN A PICKLE!

All in a Pickle.

            The garden bounty always catches me unaware in August. The crops this year were supposed to be poor. Between the cold and the rain in June even the chard and the beets were poky starting up and the cucumber seedlings transplanted from the house gave a shudder, died and had to be replaced with a new batch from Moose Crossing in Waldoboro. Only peas and lettuce seemed to thrive.

            Then came July and beginning of August and everything dried up. Most of the natural moisture did not have the strength to get anywhere north of southern Maine. Daikon radishes, arugula, broccoli raab and kale bolted and while the white and yellow blossoms were decorative, the rest was only fit for the compost pile. Since our water source is our well, only limited watering of my raised beds was advisable and that went to tomatoes, cucumbers and a bit toward beans and carrots that were growing at minimal rates.

            Here it is August!  Somehow the onions survived, the sunflowers that were planted by the birds last fall are magnificent and the edamame beans were just enough for a couple of steamed snacks with our sushi. But, the summer squash, yellow, purple and green beans, as well as the cucumbers have decided to outdo themselves. We and our friends without vegetable gardens have well exceeded the USDA guidelines for vegetable consumption. So, besides freezing string beans for the winter months, it is time to pickle some of this bounty for a tangy and tasty supplement to winter meals.

            Crunchy cucumber dill pickles enhance any sandwich and add a tart note to  potato, tuna, egg and other salads. My version uses natural fermentation and with minimal heating and refrigerator storage will keep for 6 months easily.

                                    Naturally fermented dill pickles

            Start with 20-30 fresh young pickling cucumbers 3 – 4 ½ inches long. Wash with cold water without scrubbing and allow to dry. Have ready a clean and dry 1-2 gallon glass jar or crock. Use only pickling or coarse (kosher) salt, without iodine. Bring 3 quarts water and ¾ cups coarse salt (scant) or 1/3 cup fine salt to boil in a stainless or enamel pot and allow to cool covered.  When cool stir in 1 Tblsp. white vinegar. Liquid will have to be proportional to cucumber volume, which will vary depending on their size and may need to be adjusted.

            Before assembly have ready 3 peeled and halved garlic cloves, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 6 very large mature dill stalks with seed heads and 8 fresh cherry leaves..

Assemble pickling jar with a layer of dill on the bottom followed with a layer of cucumbers packed fairly tightly. Put largest cucumbers in the bottom layers. Another layer of dill and cucumbers, placed at right angles to the first layer and so forth until the jar is filled. As you pack the jar, insert halved garlic cloves and crumpled cherry leaves in different layers. Finish with a layer of dill. Sprinkle mustard seed on top and pour in the cool water/salt/vinegar mix. The liquid should completely cover the last layer of dill. Place a clean jar filled with water on top to weigh down the pickles. Store in a cool place for a week to 10 days.

During that time you will see bubbling of the liquid as the fermentation occurs and some mold may form on the top. DO NOT worry or disturb anything. At the end of this time, carefully remove the jar weight and scoop off any mold (it is only a bit of rough penicillin). Cover the jar and refrigerate. Remove pickles for use and rinse before serving.

If you wish to keep the pickles for more than a month, they need to be processed. Remove the pickles, saving the liquid and discard garlic, leaves and dill. Rinse the pickles thoroughly and dry on paper towels. Assemble quart or pint canning jars with lids.  Pack dry pickles tightly in jars. Bring pickling liquid to boil and pour over the pickles packed in jars to within a ¼ inch from the top of the jar.  Immediately seal tightly with the lids. Allow to cool and you will find that the jars have pulled a vacuum. Store in refrigerator and the pickles will keep up to a year. Some sediment will appear in the jars with time, which is natural and not harmful. Rinse pickles before serving.

The following recipe for dilly beans is really quick and easy and adapted many years ago from Sunset magazine.

                                    Quick refrigerator dilly beans

Trim and wash about 2 lb of fresh straight (stringless) string beans. Blanch beans in boiling water for 3 minutes, remove to ice water to cool and dab dry with paper towels. In each of 2 pint jars place 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. dill seed, 1 tsp. mustard seed, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes and pack with stacking leghtwise the blanched string beans cut to lengths that leave ¾  inches below the rim of the jar.  In an enameled pot bring to boil 2 ½ cups water, 2 ½ cups white vinegar and 2 ½ Tblsp. coarse pickling salt. Pour the boiling liquid in each jar to below ¼ inch from the rim and seal tightly. Refrigerate when cool and they will be ready to savor in a week.

Then of course there is Jardinera, the Italian delight of pickled vegetables, but that will have to wait until the carrots mature.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

SIMPLE DISCOVERIES

Simple Discoveries

            Travel is bad for your waistline!  Not exactly a new or novel observation, but it asserted itself again this summer. It started out earlier in June with a series of family celebrations in North Carolina and seems to have continued even back home in Maine. Those weekend or overnight ‘get-away’ trips revisiting some of our favorite places lead not only to eating out, but also discovering interesting food combinations.

            Some of these tasty combinations are worth remembering and trying to duplicate at home, judiciously interspersed with more dietetic fare. Our Southern sojourn gave us not only tastes of masterful barbecue, but also reminded me of some of my recipes for summer garden bounty, fried with a crisp light coating of crust. Thin slices of zucchini or eggplant are delicious fried in vegetable oil after dipping in beaten egg and some bread crumbs. Topped with a slice of cheese they make an excellent light lunch.

            Then there is the classical Southern dish of fried green tomatoes, which came to national attention in the 1990’s with Fannie Flag’s novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café  and the subsequent movie. I was reminded of that at a restaurant named Frogs Leap in Waynesville, NC where a most elegant Fried Green Tomato Napoleon brought this dish to a new level. My approximation comes close to the original.

                                    Fried Green Tomato Napoleons

            Select firm medium sized green tomatoes, slice in 1/3 inch slices and blot with paper towels.  Set near the stove 3 shallow dishes: one with ¼ cup flour, two with ½ cup buttermilk (mix with a beaten egg for thicker coating) and third with ¼ cup flour mixed with ½ cup cornmeal and salt and pepper to taste. In a heavy pan heat ¼ inch peanut oil to hot, but not smoking, dip each tomato in sequence in flour, buttermilk and corn mixture and fry  2 minutes to a side. Drain tomatoes on paper towels. Assemble Napoleons by placing a slice of buffalo mozzarella on each slice of fried green tomato, sprinkle with a few drained capers, top with a second slice of fried green tomato, some lightly shredded Assiago cheese and decorate with a halved cherry tomato. Serve a dollop of sauce on the side made by mixing ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tsp. drained horseradish, 2 tsp. ketchup and ¼ tsp. chili powder.

                        Another fried dish that originally seemed like an anomaly was Fried Pickles. There is a French recipe for adding slices of dill pickles to a sauce for pork chops, but actually fried pickles make a good tangy appetizer.

                                    Fried pickles.

            Drain and pat dry about 2 cups of dill pickle slices. For batter: mix ½ cup flour, ½ tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning in ½ cup water.  Dip pickle slices in batter and fry in ½ inch peanut oil for 1-2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve with dipping sauce: mix ¼ cup Greek yoghurt, dash of garlic salt, ¼ tsp. Cajun seasoning, ¼ tsp. dry mustard.

            The ingenious and delicious combinations by chefs these days can be found just about anywhere. Here is an adaptation of an incredible nacho dish we encountered in a restaurant in Greenville, ME with the curious name of Stress Free Lobster.

                                    The Ultimate Chili Nachos

            Assemble in a large baking dish in layers: multicolored corn chips with 1 ½ cups shredded jack cheese. In the layers sprinkling some black olive slices, some drained and rinsed black beans, some jalapeno slices, some drained capers and some finely diced red pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 6-8 minutes, remove from oven and place ½ -3/4 cups of hot, thick ground beef chili in a strip on the top. Sprinkle with grated cheddar and chopped scallions and serve some sour cream on the side. It looks very festive and is actually a whole meal.

            Travel food discoveries can be most pleasant.

           

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)