THE EDIBLE PUMPKIN

The edible pumpkin

We are once again in the midst of the annual October Pumpkin Mania, centered in Damariscotta, but like ocean ripples, it spreads throughout Maine and New England.

Friday morning’s drive though Damariscotta showed the lineup of pumpkins in every size and shape ready to be transformed into works of art. The artists though had one eye on the predicted rain. Except for the black witches kettle ready to bubble and the pumpkin array as a lobster attempting to scale a wall, small tent structures were sprouting everywhere over the evolving objects of art as well as the artists. The show must go on!

When you are looking at a pumpkin in the 200 to 500 pound range, it is difficult to remember that it is a vegetable and hence edible. After all, it would take a chain saw to cut it and the flesh might be stringy enough for basket weaving. Has anyone ever roasted seeds from a giant pumpkin for a snack?  Fortunately they will sprout (unroasted) next year for aficionados to compete growing a new crop of art objects.

However, since this is a food column, I will focus on some of the less glamorous members of the pumpkin family: These are pumpkins in the 3-6 pound range, with rich, thick and tender flesh. Although there are dozens of edible varieties, excellent cooking qualities can be found in Sugar Pie and New England Pie varieties.

Peeling and cubing a pumpkin is a bit difficult, but worth it for relish, pumpkin gratin or pumpkin strudel. For most other uses, cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and the pulp and roast face down in a 375 or 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or longer, until easily pierced with a fork. Scoop out the flesh for use in soups or mixed bakes.

                                                Curried pumpkin soup

            In a 6 quart pot sauté 2 chopped onions in 2 Tblsp. butter for 2 minutes, stir in 2 minced cloves garlic, 1 ½ Tblsp. minced fresh ginger, 1 tsp. ground coriander, 2 tsp. ground cumin, ½ tsp. ground cardamom, 1 ½  tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes. Continue to cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, 4 cups water, 3 cups baked pumpkin flesh and one chopped apple. Bring to boil, stir in 1 can (14) oz unsweetened (not low-fat) coconut milk and simmer for 30 minutes with occasional stirring. When slightly cooled, purée in batches. Reheat and serve with toasted pumpkin seeds scattered on top.

            Sweet and sour pumpkin relish makes a fine accompaniment to roasted meats and even chicken. This is an old recipe from my mother.

                                                Spiced pumpkin relish

            Tie in a small spice/gauze bag: 1 cinnamon stick, 6 cloves, zest of 1 lemon, 5 allspice. Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 2 cups water and ¼ cup white vinegar in an enameled pot. Add 3 cups of bite sized cubed pumpkin and the spice bag .Bring to boil and cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes, until pumpkin is softened. Remove from heat, discard the spice bag (or the pumpkin will turn grey), and fill in glass jars. Refrigerate for a week to develop flavors, but will keep refrigerated for more than a month.

            Pumpkin strudel sounded to me like a bad joke, the first time I heard of it. But a delightful German great aunt of my friend Joan in Philadelphia convinced me otherwise by serving it to us at lunch one day.  She of course did not have a recipe, but here is my adaptation and like apple strudel, it is most tasty.

                                                Pumpkin strudel

            Since phyllo dough needs to be worked quickly, assemble all the ingredients beforehand and follow the directions for thawing and handling commercial phyllo dough. The filling is for ½ package of dough.

Peel a small pumpkin, slice ¾ inch strips and cut each strip in ¼ inch slices to give you 1 ½ cups pumpkin. Set aside ¾ cup raisins and ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional). Stir together ¾ cups sugar with 1 tsp. ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg. Set aside 2 Tblsp. fine white bread crumbs. Melt 6 Tblsp. butter.

Assemble on a damp towel: spread out 3 sheets strudel, lightly brush with butter, sprinkle with a little bread crumbs, spread out 1/3  of the pumpkin and raisins (and nuts) and sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar/spice mix. Layer with 3 sheets of phyllo dough and repeat the process. Do this the third time and fold back a bit on the short ends of the dough. Then using the towel, wrap the whole package lengthwise in a jelly roll form. Transfer to a baking pan and brush the entire strudel with lots of butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

            Yes, the edible pumpkin comes in many forms. All of them delicious!

(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)

TIME FOR ROOTS

Time for roots

            Without fail the wildlife in Maine ensures that you do not forget the arrival of fall. It does not matter that the weather still does not reflect the seasons of the calendar, the wildlife knows! 

 Our house and garden sit in a sizable clearing of woods, but in and out of season we get a number of wild visitors.  In order to harvest the things I plant in the spring, it takes a variety of measures to keep ‘the critters’ out!  By end of summer these methods seem to have become old hat to them and temptation overcomes the natural wariness of deterrents.

The first sign that the arrival of fall was here was a raccoon, the size of a small bear, braking branches in one of our pear trees and gorging himself on still unripe pears. Then just this week some deer must have needed a breath freshener, since all my flat leaf and curly parsley was munched to the ground.

 The signs were clear, if there was to be any harvest of beets and carrots, it had to happen now.

So, when the kitchen counters are covered with root vegetables, it is time to think of favorite recipes for them. Although root vegetables will be with us for months to come, the first harvest has the freshest taste. Root vegetables provide a change in menus from summery greens, and some of the recipes can be served either warm or cold, thus yielding a substantial salad dish.

                        Roast beets with carmelized onions and feta

Roast red or yellow beets wrapped in aluminum foil for 40 minutes at 400 degrees, or longer if beets are large. Peel when beets are slightly cooled. If beets come with greens attached: remove the greens before roasting, wash and set aside. OR – drain a can of whole beets and pat dry. Cut beets in half and in wedges to make 2-3 cups.

Vinaigrette: mix together 1 tsp. chopped capers, 2 Tblsp. cider vinegar, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard,  ¾ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 3 Tblsp. olive oil

To carmelize onions:  cut 2 large quartered onions in thick slices and sauté on medium heat in 2 Tblsp. light olive oil for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. If  beet greens are also to be used in the dish, heat 1Tblsp. olive oil in a medium pan and stir fry the cut greens with 1 clove of minced garlic for a couple of minutes, add ¼ cup broth, cook only until all liquid is evaporated and set aside.

To assemble the dish:  Toss carmelized onions with the vinaigrette, then the beets, add the cooked beet greens (if used) and finally ½ cup crumbled feta cheese.  Spread all in a shallow bowl and garnish with 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts. This dish can be eaten hot or at room temperature. If made ahead and reheated, garnish with pine nuts just before serving.

            Carrots are one of the most versatile vegetables in the kitchen to be eaten raw with dips or a snack, basis for soups alone or in combination with other vegetables, they are great as part of a mixture of roasted vegetables,  in salads in combination with cabbage or coarsely shredded with a slightly tart dressing combined with raisins. However, when you dig up a whole row of carrots from the garden, there is always the question what to do with some of the tiny carrots that did not grow too well because of dry conditions or the gardner’s lack of diligence in thinning the row during the growing season.

 My solution has been to make curried carrots as a slightly tangy side dish to accompany chicken or pork. This can be made equally well with peeled normal size carrots cut in two inch pieces and then each piece cut in half or quartered depending on the size of the carrot.  With any tiny carrots 2 -2 ½ inches in length, it is only necessary to cut both ends and do a quick hand scrub in cold water. No peeling is required, since the carrots are quite tender.

                        Curried baby carrots

Scrub, trim and blot dry 2-3 cups of baby carrots. In a medium pan melt 3 Tblsp. butter, stir in the carrots, ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth, 1 tsp. or more curry to taste,  ¼ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. sugar (optional). Cover tightly and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove cover, stir in 2 tsp. rice vinegar and continue to cook until all the liquid is evaporated. Serve sprinkled with minced parsley.

These colorful roots will grace our table for months to come.

(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)

'Ai revoir' Summer

‘Au revoir’ Summer

            Goodbye and even farewell are words with such a feel of finality about summer, that it is more pleasant to use the French equivalent, which at least implies a repeat encounter. As the days get shorter, in the words of Anderson-Weill September Song “the days dwindle down..”, it is tempting to slip in nostalgia about summer.

Thinking about daily menus the nostalgia is likely even to extend to musing about the feeling of relaxed summer meals and bright colors and fresh tastes of the season. Labor Day came late this year, so there is really no need to give up all those tastes of summer yet, especially since the weather this year seems to be ‘topsy-turvey’ with Maine summer temperatures in September.

Fortunately the garden does not quit until frost, so there are still cucumbers, tomatoes and naturally zucchini. With the mild weather, the traditional salad-soup gazpacho is a refreshing addition to any meal. We alternate between the traditional ‘red gazpacho’ and the somewhat milder form of ‘white gazpacho’ at our house.

                        White gazpacho with almonds

Peel and roughly cut in pieces 1 medium zucchini and 2 medium cucumbers. It is unnecessary to peel thin skinned cucumbers. Heat 2 cups of chicken broth to boiling, cook zucchini for 2 minutes, then add the cucumbers and cook for an additional 2 minutes adding 1 minced garlic clove. Cool slightly and in batches blend with 1 additional cup chicken broth and 3 cups yoghurt. Adjust seasonings to taste with: 2-3 Tblsp. white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tomatoes that have been peeled (immerse in boiling water for 30 seconds for easy peeling), chopped and drained of juice: ½ cup thinly sliced scallions, ½ cup finely cubed cucumber, ¾ cup blanched slivered almonds, ½ cup (loosely packed) chopped parsley. Garnish with croutons and chopped parsley.

Stone fruits like peaches and plums seem to gather the late summer sunshine at their best.  Unfortunately my peach tree had gone on its biannual vacation this year and while I was surprised to discover a single peach last week, my joy was short lived. Our resident chipmunk took it as his right to harvest our one peach. Fortunately farmers markets and stores have more reliable sources of peaches, so a peach crumble was still possible for a recent gathering.

                        Peach and pecan crumble

Prepare crumble by combining in a food processor ¾ cup flour, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup pecans. Pulse until nuts are finely chopped, add 6 Tblsp. butter in chunks and pulse until butter still shows small lumps. In a large bowl combine ¼ cup orange juice, 1 Tblsp. lemon juice and grated peel of a lemon. Blanch 6-7 large peaches for 30 seconds in a pot of boiling water, peel, pit and slice each in 8 slices, dropping them in the citrus juice to coat and prevent discoloration. Pour all in a 8x13 baking dish, Top with ¾ cup brown sugar; 2 Tblsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tblsp. white sugar, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp. ground ginger; ¾ cup pecan halves. Toss all ingredients together to distribute evenly in the baking dish. Press the crumble with your fingers to make coarse lumps and top the fruit with it evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature with dollops of whipped cream.

The coming crisp fall air and the sight of colorful baskets of apples from local orchards will soon chase away summer nostalgia, but in the meantime summer flavors are here for us to savor a bit longer.

(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)

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)