KEEPING THE CROP

 

 Garden harvesting is in full swing, and each day finds me out in the garden and then into the kitchen to preserve the bounty.  To make things a little extra challenging this year, I must find ways to preserve the harvest that do not rely on freezer space.  We are moving in a few weeks and will be downsizing to one refrigerator.  In other words, we are going from a house with a deep freeze and two upright refrigerators/freezer units down to just one!  Day by day I am using up whatever we've had stored in these freezers, but I am starting to wonder how I am going to work with less freezer storage.  

     Our garden produces so much kale each summer that I usually blanch and then freeze it in Mason jars.  I did some of that this year, but I am also trying out a couple of new techniques.  The first idea I got from my sister who really loves kale.  I was over at her house one day and noticed she was juicing a lot of kale and then pouring the juice into an ice cube tray and freezing it so that she could use cubes of kale juice in her smoothies in the winter.  It's a great way to use up lots of kale and very little freezer space, which is perfect for me.

     I've also been giving my dehydrator a work out drying kale.  This way I can powder it and add it to whatever I like in the winter - popcorn, soups, smoothies, baby food - really the possibilities are endless.     

     I am also back into the lacto-fermentation groove.  The beets from the garden are now delicious lacto-fermented Pickled Beets.  The cabbages that barely survived a full out attack from some sort of caterpillar army managed to produce a nice large jar of Cortido once I cut off all the nasty bits and removed the critters still living in and on them.  The onions and fatty carrots Scott planted also made their way into the cortido, which was really exciting because pickling is so much more gratifying when you use vegetables from your very own garden.

     It was also high time I dug up the rest of the potatoes and figure out what to do with them until we are ready to eat them.  I had no idea you need to be very careful when you harvest potatoes.  Any little blemish or scratch on the surface of the potato could cause it to spoil and ruin the bunch when they are in cold storage.  Next year I will be extra careful not to stab them with the pitch fork when I dig them up, nor will I carelessly toss them into the basket.

     I had big plans to spend the afternoon packing, but when I got home from the market all I wanted to do was pickle and make immune boosting herbal remedies for the winter.  No one was home, so I went with it.  Besides, something had to be done with all the cucumbers growing in the garden.  Last week I made a batch of my favorite Cucumber Relish, and really wanted to use the rest to make my ultimate sweet sliced dill pickles that taste amazing on sandwiches.  

SWEET SLICED DILL PICKLES

Makes about 5-500ml jars

4 lb organic pickling cucumbers

6 medium sized organic onions

3 cups local honey

4 cups organic apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 cup sea salt

5 cloves organic garlic

5 heads fresh organic dill

Method:  Slice cucumbers into 1/4" slices, and the onion into thin onion rings.  Set aside.  Combine honey, vinegar, water and salt in a large stainless steel saucepan, bring to a boil.  Add the onion and cucumbers to the liquid and return the mixture to a full boil.  

     Place 1 clove of garlic and 1 head of dill  in a hot jar.  Pack cucumber and onion slices to within 3/4" of top rim.  Add pickling liquid to cover cucumbers to within 1/2" of top rim.  Remove air bubbles, readjust head space and wipe jar rim.  Screw on lidd and place jar in canner.  Repeat.  Return water to boil and process for 10 minutes.

     My oldest son is starting Kindergarten this year, and so I've been getting him prepared for school - getting him a knapsack and clothes, organizing his lunch kit.  I am now starting to think about winter colds and him being exposed to so many children on a daily basis.  The whole family has started taking fermented cod liver oil to bump up our vitamin A & D, not to mention all that essential fatty acid goodness.  While at the health food store I was about to pick up a bottle of elderberry syrup when I suddenly remembered this post by a friend of mine over at Sparrow Tree who shared a simple homemade version.  Now I must admit to having fantasies of finding a spot nearby where wild elderberries grow so I could wildcraft and then make healing syrups, but I have yet to locate this special place.  So, until then I will use dried berries from the store.  This stuff is so delicious, I am pretty sure I won't have any trouble getting my son to take a spoonful of it every day to keep him healthy.  I think I am almost ready to send my little boy off into the world.  Sigh.

FEEL THE RHYTHM OF THE BEET

The beets were bulging out of the ground, and so it was time to pickle.  I've discovered that it only really makes sense to can and preserve when you grow your own produce.  Luckily our beets really didn't mind the cool and wet temperatures of our coastal garden.  I really wish I could say the same for our tomatoes.  I am on the lookout for a good source of organic (or just not poisoned ones, I'm not really that picky) tomatoes for canning this year, and am in the process of negotiating a good deal.  Who knew preserving was such a hustle?  A strawberry farmer in the valley who apparently grows nice unsprayed strawberries wouldn't even let me come for a little u-pick this summer.  She has preferred clientele and basically told me not to bother driving out.  Wow.  I really need some fertile farmland so I can grow all of my own goods.  Geesh.  Anyway, so far our freezer is stocked with leafy greens and rhubarb, and now I have 5 jars of pickled beets.  It's going to be a lean winter.  

PICKLED BEETS

Makes about 6 x 500 ml jars.

10 cups (about 16 large) organic beets, prepared

2 1/2 cups  local organic apple cider vinegar

3 cups  water

¾ cups local honey

Method:  Prepare beets:  Scrub beets, leaving root and 5 cm of stem intact to prevent bleeding. Place beets in a large saucepan; cover with water; bring to a boil; cover and simmer 20 to 40 minutes until beets test tender with fork.  Be sure not to over cook.

Place 6 clean 500 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside; heat SNAP LID sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and lids sealing discs hot until ready to use.

Combine the vinegar, water and honey in a stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat, keeping solution hot.

Drain beets; rinse with cold water to cool; slip off the skins removing tap root and stems. Quarter beets to yield 14 cups.

If necessary, return pickling liquid to a boil. Pack beets into a hot jar to within 2 cm of top of jar. Add hot pickling liquid to cover beets to within 1 cm of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more beets and hot brine. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining beets and hot brine.

When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least 2.5 cm of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 30 minutes.

When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Fish and Gratin

Our menus around here are dependent upon many factors - what is seasonally available, what the weather is like, what needs to be used up in the fridge and on and on and on.  This weekend I forgot to bring my cooler and ice when I went urban foraging, so the frozen hook and line haddock I bought defrosted by the time I got home.  Sooo, we had fish for supper tonight.

P.S- both dishes in this post are very yummy but I highly recommend making them separately as they didn't really go well togethere.  I would have liked to eat a nice raw coleslaw with the fish and maybe baked fish with the gratin or something light like a tofu dish.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED HADDOCK with Cucumber Pickle Tartar Sauce

Every summer I pickle and can produce for the winter.  One of my favorite recipes is for a Cucumber Relish.  I love to make a quick and yummy tartar sauce with it when we eat fried fish.

1 pound hook and line haddock, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup organic cornmeal

1/4 cup organic unbleached white flour

sea salt and pepper

organic butter

Method:  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Combine the cornmeal, flour, sea salt and pepper in a bowl and toss the fish pieces in the mix.  Melt some butter in the pan and cook each side of the fish until golden brown.  Serve with tartar sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

CUCUMBER RELISH

7 cups organic cucumbers, washed, and chopped in small dice

4 cups organic green peppers, washed, seeded and chopped in small dice

4 cups organic red peppers, washed, seeded and chopped in small dice

2 cups organic celery, chopped

1 cup organic onion, chopped

1/2 cup coarse sea salt

2 cups local honey

3 cups organic apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp organic celery seed

3 Tbsp organic white mustard seed

Method:  Combine cucumbers, peppers, celery, onions and salt in a large stainless steel bowl. Cover and let stand 4 hours.

     Fill boiling water canner with water.  Place 7 500 ml canning jars in canner over high heat.

     Rinse vegetables well in a colander and press out excess moisture.

     Combine honey, vinegar, celery seed, mustard seed in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Mix well and bring to a boil.  Add vegetables, return to a boil and boil gently for 10 minutes.  

     Place snap lids in boiling water, boil 5 minutes.

     Ladle relish into a hot jar to within 1 cm of top rim.  Remove air bubbles and wipe rim.  Place lid and screw cap.  Place in canner and repeat.  Process all the jars in a boiling canner for 10 minutes.  Cool.

TARTAR SAUCE

3 Tbsp organic mayonaise

3 Tbsp cucumber relish

Method:  Combine the two ingredients and serve.

SWISS CHARD AND SWEET POTATO GRATIN

Ever since I started a food blog, I've been interested in other food blogs.  One I really like is Smitten Kitchen, who inspired this adaptation of a yummy gratin.

1 organic onion, chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

1 bunch of organic swiss chard, chopped into 2 cm pieces

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

2 cups organic whole milk

2 cloves organic garlic, minced

2 Tbsp organic flour

3 medium organic sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices

some fresh or dried organic thyme and parsley

sea salt

pepper

1 1/4 cups organic swiss cheese

Method:  In a large pot, pour in enough water to cover bottom of pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, add chard, cover and cook until chard wilts.  Drain in a colander over the sink, pressing out excess water.  Set aside.

     Saute the onion in some butter until soft.  Set aside.

     Melt two tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour.  Cook, whisking, and then add the milk and garlic, whisking over heat for one minute.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

     Preheat oven to 400*.  Butter a large cast iron skillet or baking dish.  Spread half of the potatoes, sprinkle with the onion and some salt and pepper, thyme and parsley, and 1/2 of the cheese.  Distribute all of the chard, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, some more herbs and half of the sauce.  Layer the rest of the sweet potato, followed with some salt and pepper, the rest of the sauce and end with the rest of the cheese.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.