THE BOUNTY OF COLORFUL BEANS

 The Bounty of Colorful Beans

            August is supposed to be our one chance at real summer in Maine as experience has taught us from past summers. But apparently mother Nature has other designs for us this year. There is actually a cricket chirping on our patio already, signifying that it thinks that fall has come.

            My relatively shady garden seems to be equally confused by the cool and dry weather. The cherry tomatoes are extremely reluctant to turn red, the pickling cucumbers seem to be stuck at the miniature stage, but beans are having a field day.  We started with a good crop of the tender wide Italian Roma II beans followed by some good and straight stringless beans destined for jars of dilly beans, but the amazing abundance of yellow wax and blue beans has me scrambling for a variety of new recipes for string beans.

            The blue beans have been particularly prolific this year. It is always fun to grow some, since they look so dramatic on a raw vegetable tray, especially when paired with the yellow wax beans.  It would be so nice to serve the same combination as well steamed, but alas the blue beans turn green when heated and the anthocyanin color is converted to regular chlorophyll green. Amazingly, this does not happen with blue potatoes, since they remain blue upon cooking.

            Crisp steamed or cooked green colored beans pair well with small white beans or garbanzos in a filling and colorful summer salad.

                                    Two bean and chorizo salad

            Cook 1/3  to  ½ pound green or blue beans in salted water for 3 minutes, quickly chill in ice water and cut in pieces about an inch long. In a large bowl combine: One 15 oz can of drained small white beans, ½ small onion finely chopped, ½ cup chopped red bell pepper, ¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley, 3 oz. finely diced ready to eat chorizo and the cut green beans. In a small bowl combine: ¼ cup exta-virgin olive oil, with 3 Tblsp. sherry or white wine vinegar, ¼ tsp. dried oregano and 1/4 tsp. cumin. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and serve over lettuce leaves.  Garnish with 2 hardboiled eggs cut in quarters lengthwise and sliced radishes.

            A festive way to serve warm string beans to a group is toss them, after cooking for no more than 3 or 4 minutes, with melted butter, ½ a cup of slivered almonds and juice of half a lemon. A more elaborate dish can be made with green and yellow wax beans and an Oriental style topping. The dish can be made also with only green beans, but the contrasting color adds eye appeal.

                                    Oriental two color beans.

            For this you will need a long serving plate and about ¾ pounds  each of slender yellow and green (or purple) beans. Have beans cleaned and ready to cook in salted water for 3 to 4 minutes. To prepare the topping, heat 2 Tblsp. olive oil in a 10-12 inch frying pan over high heat and stir in 1 large chopped onion, ½ lb. sliced mushrooms, 1 large seeded red pepper cut in ¼ inch strips, 2 cloves chopped garlic and 1 Tblsp. chopped fresh ginger. Cook with stirring until liquid has evaporated and the mixture starts to brown. Then stir in ¼ cup water, loosening any brown bits from the pan and repeat the step once more. Then stir in ¼ cup water with 1 Tblsp. honey and 3 Tblsp. reduced salt soy sauce. Stir until liquid has evaporated, set aside to keep warm until the beans are ready. Cook the beans for 3 minutes, drain and arrange on the long platter with each color beans on different sides sideways.  Spoon the topping the center length of the platter, covering part of the beans. Garnish with ½ cup chopped salted peanuts.

 

            Gardens invariably lead you to discover new ways of cooking the summer bounty.

(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)

PEAS AND PODS

Peas and Pods

            Shelling a large quantity of fresh peas can become an almost zen like experience as I discovered recently. You push the pod at one end, hear a slight pop as it opens, your thumb pushes a row of fresh peas in the bowl, the pod gets discarded in a bucket and you repeat the process again and again until it develops a rhythm of it’s own. This time there were no visiting grandchildren to enlist for this fun activity. with full expectations of reduced yield as they discover how delicious a snack these peas make right out of the shell. They don’t even notice that it is a ‘healthy’ snack.

 Last week the garden decided to give me a bountiful crop of peas after all the rain -  all at once! There were shelling peas, snow peas and snap peas, all clamoring to be picked and utilized, since they had done their part so dutifully by being abundantly productive. Peas grow well in my garden and the cool spring this year was more favorable to them than the rest of the vegetables that still seem to be behind their annual schedule.

Once shelled, the peas require only five minutes of cooking in water with a dash of salt or chicken broth to be ready to serve for dinner. If you want to dress them up, add tiny onions or make a cream or cheese sauce, but fresh peas have delightful flavor of their own, possibly enhanced with a small dab of butter.  Like corn, peas will taste best soon after harvest.  They will keep in the shell in the refrigerator for a day or so, but once shelled should be cooked reasonably quickly. Snow and snap pea pods will keep refrigerated for a week in a closed container.

Fresh peas always remind me of the ‘spring soup’ my mother used to make with seasons first vegetables.

                        Spring creamy vegetable soup

Sautè a medium sized onion finely chopped with 1 Tblp. butter for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock and bring to boil. Add 1 cup sliced new carrots and 2 cups of scrubbed and cubed new potatoes. Cook vegetables for 8 minutes, then add 1 cup of freshly shelled peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup whole milk or half and half. Heat just to boil and serve in bowls garnished with chopped dill or parsley.

Snap peas make a delicious snack just raw with or without a dip. Both snow and snap peas can be sliced and added to salads for extra crunch.  They also are a great addition to any stir fry and like shrimp require only minimal cooking of 2 or 3 minutes. For a more spicy version, snap peas taste wonderfully in a curry and mint rendition as an accompaniment to grilled meat dishes.

                        Curried snap peas with mint

Stir together ¼ tsp. red Thai curry paste with 2 Tblsp. water and 1 Tblsp. soy sauce in a small dish. Heat 1 Tblsp. vegetable oil in a large pan and sauté ¼ cup sliced shallots or white part of scallions for 2 minutes until softened. Add 1 lb. snap peas trimmed and sliced crosswise in half.  Continue to stir fry for 2 minutes, then stir in curry paste mix and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1-2 Tblsp. lime juice and ¼ cup finely sliced fresh mint. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A hundred years or more ago, shelling peas was a social occasion for family members and sometimes even neighbors in the afternoon. It was a relaxing time where news and gossip were exchanged.  Fortunately the relaxing quality of this activity has remained even now, so one can contemplate with equanimity the ripening of another 6 ft. row of late peas for the future.

(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)

FISH - TALES

Fish-tales!

            Saturday morning, as I was planning my dinner menu and a trip to Delano’s Seafood in Waldoboro for some fish, the fish came to me! This is not to imply some fanciful scenario, where a fish hopped up our front steps and announced itself with a tap of a fin. Hallucinations do not manifest themselves on beautiful sunny June mornings. Rather our friend Alfred, who takes good care of our lawn and is an accomplished fisherman, arrived on our doorstep to generously share a fish from his bounty.

            It was a beautiful lake salmon, which unfortunately reminded of my own love-hate relationship with fishing. The problem is, I am seriously ‘challenged’ in this endeavor. I love to go fishing, with the fresh air, interesting scenery and the lack of guilty feeling for not doing something strenuous, since fishing is an active verb. But to be honest, I have only caught 3 things in my entire life.

            Years ago in Pennsylvania, fishing with my sons, I managed to catch a catfish so large, I was afraid to dislodge the hook from it’s mouth. Good to have sons that are not so squeamish. The second incident occurred near the mouth of a river in Oregon, I was standing on a large rock in the river, when with a mighty yank I pulled up next to me on the rock – a large Dungeness crab, which was waving his claws dangerously in my direction. While I contemplated wading or leaping ashore, the crab sensibly let go of the hook and went back home. Yes, I did catch a mountain lake trout in the Sierra’s once, but on closer inspection it turned out that I had hooked the leader of another line that the trout had managed to break. The salmon I caught in Katmai, Alaska don’t count. They were running so thick that if you snagged one with a cast hook anywhere above the gills, it was a legal keeper.

            When we moved to Maine many years ago and bought a house on tidal Medomak, I had high hopes for changing my fishing record. My husband obligingly would take out our small boat at high tide and I would fish. The typical results of a morning’s endeavor were 4 for the two ospreys fishing in the same area and 0 for me. At that point I gave up fishing and concentrated on recipes suited to what was available locally at the fish store, or on the kindness of good fishermen like Alfred.

                                    Baked or grilled whole fish

            This recipe can be used for 1- 1 ½ lb cleaned fish like lake salmon or trout or a smaller middle section of a large fish. If the fish is frozen, thaw it first in the refrigerator. Rinse the fish inside and out and dry with paper towels. Rub inside with salt and a little pepper. Line the cavity with: 1 thinly sliced lemon, and sprigs of thyme, parsley, chives, oregano and celery tops. Use skewers to pin the two halves partially closed. Place the fish on an oiled pan with sides and lay the fish on several pieces of celery as a rack. Baste the fish with 2-3 Tblsp. melted butter and bake at 400 degrees for about 12 - 15 minutes, or until the flesh is barely opaque. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before removing the herbs. Serve whole with lemon slices on top.

            The fish can also be baked at lower temperature, like 300 degrees for 25 minutes, but in that case carefully pour in the pan around the fish ¼ cup orange juice mixed with some chopped thyme, pepper and orange zest and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.

            The fish served with basmati rice and some grilled asparagus is bound to please even a person accomplished in fishing.

LOW CALORIE GRILL TIME

Low Calorie Grill Time!

Last week we finally hopped into summer and in accord with this year’s temperamental and unpredictable weather – we seemingly skipped spring. Unfortunately the black flies and the mosquitoes stuck to their own calendar and thus there was no relief there. Still, it is now summer and grills have been uncovered from their winter hibernating places and we look forward to summertime cooking on the grill.

However, after the first few times of mouthwatering steaks, our brain is bound to recollect some of the healthy eating advice in which meat does not constitute the centerpiece of the meal. This brings us up to grilling meat together with some vegetables or even fruit on a stick or skewer, or kebabs.    

Since, anticipation and planning are part of the enjoyment of food, I  have been visualizing the variety of meals that can be easily produced at home with the help of a combination of meat and vegetables artfully arranged on a skewer for grilling.

Skewers can be long or short and are usually made of either metal or wood. Metal skewers can of course be reused for many meals. But, wooden skewers serve equally well, provided they are soaked in water for at least 15 minutes before use.  Beef, lamb, chicken and shrimp easily adapt to being cooked on a skewer, although each benefits by a marinade and pairing of the meat with alternating pieces of different colorful vegetables, depending of your taste. Do not pack the meat and vegetables too tightly on the skewer, or it will not cook very quickly. Here are some marinades and vegetable combinations that go especially well with individual meats.

                        Rosemary chicken kebabs

Stir together: 1/3 cup red or white wine, ¼ cup olive oil, 1Tblsp. honey, 1 minced garlic clove, 1Tblsp. Dijon mustard, 1 Tblsp. rosemary, ½ tsp. salt. Cut 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat in 2 inch pieces and marinate at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Skewer with pieces of red pepper and slices of yellow summer squash dipped in the marinade. Grill on medium heat about 6-8 minutes on a side.

                        Beef or lamb kebabs

Stir together: 1 cup red wine, 1Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tblsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 ½ Tblsp. wine vinegar, 2 Tblsp. catsup, 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ tsp. dried thyme, ½ tsp. dried marjoram, ¾ tsp. salt. Marinate 2 inch cubes of sirloin or lamb for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight in the refrigerator. Skewer the meat with pieces of green pepper, zucchini, wedges of at least 2 layers of red onion next to cherry tomatoes and mushrooms dipped in the marinade. Grill on high heat 4-6 minutes to a side depending on the desired level of rare meat.

                        Shrimp and sausage kebabs

Stir together: ½ cup light olive oil, 4 Tblsp. sherry or white wine vinegar, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 Tblsp. fresh thyme, ¾ tsp. salt, 3 tsp. smoked paprika (optional), ½ tsp. crushed red pepper. Marinate 12 peeled and deveined extra large shrimp for an hour in the refrigerator.  Skewer the shrimp with alternate 2 layers of red onion next to a cherry tomato, a cube of pineapple and 12 one inch pieces of cooked smoked sausage. Grill on medium high heat until shrimp are pink and the onion browned on the edges.

                        Chicken kebabs with yoghurt

For a Mediterranean flavor stir together: 3/4 cup plain whole yoghurt, 2 Tblsp. olive oil, 1 Tblsp. grated onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 Tblsp. oregano.  Marinate 2 inch pieces of chicken breast or thigh meat 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Skewer the chicken with 2 layers of sweet onion pieces and grill about 6 minutes to a side. Serve with pita bread or rice with cucumber-yoghurt sauce: 8 oz yoghurt, 1 peeled and chopped small cucumber, 1 clove minced garlic, ¼ small onion chopped, 2 Tblsp. chopped mint.

Each one of these colorful skewers will make a delightful, easy and healthy meal served with crusty bread and a salad. Welcome summer!

(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)

IT'S RHUBARB TIME!

It’s Rhubarb Time!

          This year’s fickle spring has brought many disappointments. The list runs from lack of just some warmth to butterfly bushes and roses frozen to the ground and even   lack of flowers on my rhododendrons and peaches because of winter frozen buds. This of course makes the successful appearance of anything in the garden a treasured event.

            We had gone away to the sunny south of Maryland and Virginia with trees bare and the grass barely greening here in Maine. We returned ten days later to find leaves finally reluctantly unfurling, while the weeds among the tulips and narcissi were asserting their right for equal space thanks to plentiful rain. What really shocked me was that our rhubarb, which had barely emerged when we left, now stood two feet tall and had even bolted to produce a flower. Such exuberance needed to be tamed giving me a good rhubarb harvest and sent me scrambling for my favorite rhubarb recipes.

            While rhubarb and raisin compote is easy and quick, requiring only a cup or so of sugar and 10 minutes stovetop cooking time, my favorite at this time of the year is a rhubarb-dried cherry pie. This can come in several varieties, but the simplest one is still the best and with pre-made pie crust takes very little time.

                                                Rhubarb-dried cherry pie

            Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash and trim about 1 ½ pounds of rhubarb stalks and cut stalks in ½ inch pieces. If the stalks are very thick, make the cuts for smaller pieces. In a small bowl stir together  1 ½ cups sugar and 2 Tblsp. cornstarch. Line a 9 or 10 inch pie plate with bottom layer of the crust and sprinkle with 3 Tblp. of the sugar mixture. In a large bowl toss the rest of the sugar mixture with  the rhubarb pieces and 2/3 cups of dried cherries and turn into the lined pie plate. Grate the zest of a lemon on top and dot with a Tblp. butter cut in small pieces. Place the second crust on top, crimp the edges tightly and cut vents on the surface.         Brush the crust lightly with cream or reduced fat (not skim) milk, not allowing the liquid to pool anywhere. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until browned and juice starts to bubble up through the vents.

                                                Rhubarb-cream pie

            My friend Elizabeth Lenz used to make a richer version of rhubarb pie by mixing the sugar with: 3 Tblsp. flour, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 2 large eggs lightly beaten and 1 Tblsp. melted butter. For this, fill the bottom pie crust with cut up rhubarb, pour the sugar-egg mixture on top and cover with a pretty lattice top upper crust. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

            Either of these pies is bound to please. Rhubarb, cut in smaller dice can be substituted for apple or cranberries in muffins, coffee cake or even pancakes, with appropriate adjustments for sugar to compensate for the tart flavor. For an appealing upside down coffee cake, melt 3 Tblsp. butter in a 9 x 2 inch round cake pan, sprinkle with 1/3 cup packed brown sugar and place a mixture of ¼ inch rhubarb slices and toasted pecans on top, then cover with your favorite coffee cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, cool in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting on a plate for the rhubarb-nut mixture to be on top.

            The annual rhubarb appreciation time is happily here!

(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)