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)

FISH FOR SUMMER

Fish for summer

            Living on the coast of Maine, we take good fresh fish for granted. If you are a fishing person yourself, opportunities abound between lakes, streams and the ocean.  And if you are not, fish markets with fresh catch abound.

A number of years ago, I finally relegated myself to the ’non-fishing-person’ category after being shown up by a couple of ospreys on the Medomak river, who caught four fish in a half an hour in a place where I had fished several hours un-successfully. And they did not even have bait, just excellent eyesight.

Salmon probably must be one of the most popular current fish varieties for home cooking, since every issue of most food magazines features at least one recipe for salmon. It is also versatile for summer, since it can easily be cooked on the grill in a rack with just a basting of oil, lemon juice and some fresh herbs, or wrapped in foil with the same flavoring agents.

One summer camping on Brooks lake in Katmai peninsula, Alaska, my family feasted on grilled salmon for nearly a week every night. Qualifying circumstances being limited food supplies that could be brought in on a float plane and a salmon run 30 yards from the campsite, where all you had to do was cast, snag a salmon in the head region by your hook and it was legitimate to keep. The only disadvantage was a couple of local grizzlies who like to patrol the same lakeside, even when chased by arctic terns.

One of my favorite summer fish treats though in halibut made the Norwegian style. It may not truly be Norwegian style, but since I first had it that way in Norway, the name has stuck in my recipe book.

                        Halibut à la Norwegian

Clean and chop in inch sized pieces: ½ green and ½ red pepper and slice 6 large mushrooms. Thinly slice ¼ red onion and separately slice in wedges 2 large tomatoes. Lightly flour 1 – 1 ½ lb piece of halibut, salt and pepper it and fry on medium heat in 2 Tbls. butter and 1 Tblsp. oil, about 4 minutes on side until barely cooked through. In the meantime in another pan sauté the onions, mushrooms and peppers in 1 Tblsp. butter and oil each, for a few minutes, Stir in the tomatoes, ¼ cup broth, ½ Tblsp. balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes with stirring until liquid is just evaporated. The vegetables should  be tender, but firm. Serve on top of the halibut with dilled potatoes on the side.

White fish, such as haddock, hake, cod and flounder also can benefit from additional flavors in baking rather than frying. A very old recipe from Craig Clairbone in the New York times from days when flounder was 45 cents a pound, has evolved at our house in the following version of haddock or hake in mustard sauce. The following recipe is sufficient for 6, decrease amounts proportionally for fewer diners.

                        Haddock in mustard sauce

Spread ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Using thinner cuts of fish, lay 2 pounds haddock (or hake or flounder) on top of the crumbs. Melt one stick ( ½ cup) butter and stir in: 1 Tblsp. wine vinegar, 1 Tblsp. lime juice, 1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, ¼ tsp. Tabasco, 1 tsp. salt, pepper to taste. Pour butter mixture over the fish and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, basting with the butter sauce once. Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika and lemon  wedges on the side.  Serve with parsley potatoes or steamed rice.

These elegant, yet easy fish presentations make delightful summer meals with or without chilled white wine and a delightful Maine summer breeze in the evening.

(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)

WRAP IT 'UP'!

Wrap it up!

            The passing of old and beginning anew get mostly associated with arrival of the New Year in midwinter. And yet, we anticipate the arrival of summer with equal feelings of letting go as well as expectations for the new.  This seems especially true this year, when letting go of snow was such a slow process. However, the season of graduations and weddings inevitably announces change accompanied by both trepidation and joy.

            At our house the anticipatory activities seem multiplied, since most of the children and all the grandchildren have birthdays in the summer.  While we  may turn a jaundiced eye to birthdays in later years regretting the passing of time, but for children and teenagers birthdays are definite marks of passage and achievements and PRESENTS!

            Which brings me to the process of wrapping gifts for all these celebrations. Tantalizing elaborate wrappings may lead to unrealistic expectations that the contents will measure up to the cover, an unfortunate assumption for anything in life.  This I often take as an excuse for being a relative minimalist in this activity. Two of the best gifts I ever received had such wrapping. One was, a notebook wrapped in newspaper at Christmas during WWII in Europe, when I could expect nothing and the second was, a birthday gift many years later from my sons wrapped in brown paper and “tied up with string” for “some of my favorite things” (Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein).

            Fortunately for this column, food wraps are easy, decorative and edible together with their contents, so there is never a question about the equal importance of cover and content. They also fit in well with summer entertaining when time is of importance and it is helpful to prepare things ahead of  time. Pairing fruit or vegetables with thinly sliced deli meats on an appetizer platter can produce interesting variations for your taste buds.

                                                Fruit and vegetable wraps

            Prosciutto wrapped around melon (cantaloupe or honeydew) cubes or sticks is a well-known standard. Prosciutto also pairs and looks elegant wrapped around the center of an asparagus spear that has been cooked for no more than 3 minutes in boiling salted water. A special treat for this is to layer a thin line of cream cheese on each asparagus spear before wrapping with prosciutto.

            Thin sliced salami, ham or smoked turkey make excellent wraps for pickled string beans or thin spears of dill pickles. Anyone on a Paleo-diet would also enjoy them wrapped around a stick of cheese, instead of a sandwich.

            Mandoline or thin wide peeled slices of cucumber or even young zucchini, are good wrapped around strong flavored cheeses or cream cheese blended with bacon crumbs. Tender red or green lettuce leaves make wonderful wraps for chicken, tuna or shrimp salad.

            And then there are sandwich wraps. They first became popular certainly more than ten years ago, when suddenly Lavash bread pinwheels appeared on everyone’s cocktail party plates. Now that wraps are advertised at every supermarket as the sandwich alternative, they have all but disappeared.  However, despite the passing food trend, they make an attractive and easy to handle appetizer for any celebration or to accompany cold soup at lunch served in the shade on a hot day.

                                                Spicy beef or turkey pinwheels

            Soften 8 oz package of cream cheese and blend with 2 Tblsp. sour cream or Ranch dressing and 1 tsp. drained of horseradish. Spread on one side of each Lavash bread or  large flour tortilla. Sprinkle some arugula or baby spinach leaves on top and layer thin slices roast beef or smoked turkey (or ham) on the surface. Cut thin strips of roast red pepper or pimento, drain, blot dry and arrange one or two of the strips lengthwise on top of the meat. Roll each wrap tightly lengthwise, wrap tightly in saran or aluminum forl and chill at least 2 hours. Cut the rolls into 1 inch pieces, discarding the ends.

            The infinite variety of wraps extends also to warm luncheon and supper dishes, but that will have to wait for another column. But how do you wrap a Maine summer? With the best of smiles of course!

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)

WITH OR AGAINST THE GRAIN?

With or Against the Grain?

            Couscous, grits, quinoa, bulgur, faro…No, I have not joined a New Age dance community with the coming of summer. Rather I’m exploring the culinary possibilities of these ancient grains that recently have come again to the attention of foodies everywhere. Suddenly in chic restaurants you may find your lamb chop on a bed of quinoa where previously it may have been lentils, a shrimp ragout served on a bed of couscous, where previously it might have been polenta. Bulgur wheat is cropping up in a variety of Mediterranean dishes. The good news for summer is that most of these grains require minimal preparation time.

            Couscous is a long time Mediterranean staple from western North Africa to southern France.  It is actually derived from crushed unground semolina wheat, just like other pasta, but undergoes further cycles of moistening and steaming before it ends up on our plates. Fortunately for the modern cook, Moroccan or fine couscous, roughly the size 3 times cornmeal, requires very little effort. You simply bring to boil 1 cup of water or broth with 1 Tblsp. butter, salt to taste, stir in 1 cup of couscous, cover, remove from heat, allow to sit for 5 minutes, fluff lightly with a fork and serve. Couscous like grits has little flavor itself, the success of your meal is going to depend on the topping or other flavoring agents you add, such as parmesan, dried currants and pine nuts or even chopped sun dried tomatoes.

                                    Couscous with soppressata

Prepare couscous as described above. For topping: sauté 6 oz of sliced mushrooms with a  chopped onion for 15 minutes, stir in 1 Tblsp. lemon juice and chopped soppressata or other spicy sausage. ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes and finely chopped 5 sundried tomatoes.  When heated through,  sprinkle with 1-2 Tblsp. flour, slowly stir in 1 cup of beef broth and cook with stirring until thickened. Serve ragout on top of couscous.

            Hearty summer salads are welcome both for lunch and dinner and find a new appetizing appeal with grains instead of potatoes or pasta. One of my favorites for years has been Tabbouli salad, which can be prepared ahead and even keeps for a day or two when refrigerated.  Bulgur wheat is a natural whole grain cereal that is cracked and partially processed to shorten cooking time. A staple of Mediterranean diet, it is now estimated by archaeologists that early Neolithic Bulgarians may have used this cooking method as early as 5730 BC, as found in grain excavations. Bronze age fragmented cereal and grain has been found also in Northern Greece

                                    Tabbouli salad

            Cover 1 cup of bulgur wheat with 2 cups of boiling water and allow to sit for 20 minutes, drain thoroughly and place in a large bowl. Add:1 cup finely chopped parsley, 4 thinly sliced scallions with green tops, ¼ cup finely chopped mint, 2 chopped tomatoes and ½ cup finely diced seedless cucumber (optional).  Prepare vinaigrette by mixing ½ cup lemon juice, 1Tblsp. rice vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, dash of Tabasco and whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil. Toss vinaigrette with the bulgur and vegetable mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve topped with halved cherry tomatoes.

            Fortunately there are some grains that are naturally gluten free and can be enjoyed by those individuals who need to avoid gluten in their diets. Quinoa has become recently widely available. As a pseudo-cereal it is gluten-free and unlike grass type cereals it contains the essential amino acid lysine, as well as being high in protein content.. Like potatoes it originated in the Peruvian Andes. Quinoa cooks in 20 minutes and can be served warm as a side dish, with enhancements such as pine nuts, spinach or even pancetta. Because of its texture it also makes wonderful hearty salads, especially when combined with black beans or garbanzos.

                                    Quinoa and garbanzo/black bean salad

            Cook 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups boiling salted water, drain and cool. Drain and rinse one 14 oz can of garbanzos or black beans and combine with the cooked quinoa. Stir in: 1  diced red pepper, 4 thinly sliced scallions and ¾ cups halved grape tomatoes. Toss all with vinaigrette: 3 Tblsp. lime juice, 3 Tblsp. grape seed or olive oil, 2 oz. chopped dill pickle or pickled onion (optional) , salt and pepper. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Exploring these cyclical discoveries by new/old food trends can be a fascinating learning experience and a delicious way to 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)