Summer Garden Wins and Losses

I've been having a bit of an uneven success rate with this summer's garden.  I'm 99% sure it has to do with my use of the new brand of soil and compost/manure mix.  The other 1% is weather.  It got warm towards the end of June and never topped 85, which is perfect for what I planted, just a little late.

The other problem I had was a poor germination rate for some crops.  When I looked at the back of the carrot and cauliflower packages, they were almost 5 years old.  Ok, that's my fault, and I transplanted some other things into the locations I had set aside for them.

The hero of this summer's Pond garden is the lacinato kale.  It loves the compost amendment and all three are still going strong long after I thought I would have to pull them.  I gave my boss some because I can't eat it all.  I've been harvesting every couple of weeks and chopping it up for the freezer.  I'm going to have to cook it up frequently over the winter, before the next round starts producing.

Another winner is the stevia.  I'm trimming it every few weeks, like I did the year the basil did well, and it is responding in a similar manner.  I've almost filled a quart jar with dried leaves, and have tried using fresh ones in my teas.

I'm finally getting eggplant.  The plant hated the mid-seventies weather that I personally love.  Once summer truly hit, it grew by leaps and bounds and started to flower at the end of July.  That didn't help the meal plans I had made, assuming there would be some before then, so I had to buy eggplant for those.

My attempt at green beans in the Dollar Tree planters was a bust, but I'm blaming the soil.  Same with the beans in the window box and 6" pots against the wall, which were all from the same batch of soil mix.  The same packets of seeds in the Pond are going to town.  I'm going to try lettuces and herbs this winter in the Dollar Tree planters with a more broad-spectrum vegetable potting soil like Miracle-Gro.  And fresh seeds.

I don't think I've mentioned my bowl of herbs from a free packet of seeds in a long time.  A few dill, basil, and one savory survived.  I can't seem to grow marjoram to save my life.  Really, a mint-family plant I can't grow?  I'm going to set up another bowl once the weather cools and give it another try.  I still have plenty of seeds in the packet.

The mystery gourd in the front yard is a pumpkin, but I can't get it to produce mature female flowers.  The tomato plants in that area are producing, but not well.  That spot is always a challenge, and I did get a boatload of thyme out of it last year, so it isn't a total loss.  The pumpkins in the Pond are much closer to fruiting.

I'm already starting next year's celery, since that needs about three months of babying before it can be transplanted.  Broccoli, kale, and herbs will be started in the next couple of weeks.  I'm going to direct-sow lettuces, but that has to wait until it is reliably under 80, preferably with nights below 60.

Quick Taco Salad

Continuing the themes of opening cans to find out what I might like to pressure can and meals that take less effort because I'm closing more often, I threw together a pretty taco salad.  I used leftover pitas instead of buying tortillas or chips, but it's the same thing.

A lot of the pantry videos I watch for ideas are from people with huge families.  There aren't that many out there from singles or couples.  I have to keep in mind that what they eat in a day would feed me for a week.  Odds are, when I do get around to canning beans, I'm going to do a couple of pounds of two or three varieties to make a full canner load and call it for the year, as I seem to be opening one or two cans of beans a month.  It still saves a lot of money over buying canned, plus I get the bonus of not having to search for the one or two cans of No Salt Added on the shelf.

Even with going out to the garden to harvest kale, dicing half an onion, and cutting up the tomatoes instead of using canned, this cold salad took about fifteen minutes to throw together.  The first night, I did it as layers for the photo, but I tossed the leftovers, put them on top of freshly shredded kale, and finished them with salsa and cheese until the salad was gone.

*4 C fresh chopped lettuce, spinach, or kale
*1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
*1 can kernel corn, drained and rinsed
2 Roma tomatoes, diced, or one can diced tomatoes, drained
1 C diced red onion
1 diced or pickled jalapeño, optional
*1 C salsa verde
*sliced black olives, avocado, shredded cheese, and sour cream for garnish

1.  In serving bowl or on plates, layer washed and dried lettuce, beans, corn, diced tomato, and onion.

2.  Spoon salsa over the salad evenly and let it percolate through the ingredients.

3.  Top with garnishes of choice.  Yes, I used kalamata olives instead of regular black.  I had an open jar in the fridge, but black would have tasted more appropriate.  And that's artichoke instead of avocado, because I got a couple of surprise buds past the usual season.  Serve chilled with tortillas or chips on the side.

Difficulty rating  π

Pesto Turkey Burgers

I keep joking about using pesto instead of ketchup because I made so much of it, but it sounded really good as part of a burger.  I had grilling on the menu plan, then it took an unusually long time to get home from work, so we're doing this in the oven.  Trying to be flexible.

I've been slacking off on the whole Mediterranean, low-carb thing, and started to feel early symptoms of insulin resistance again.  Recent posts have included pie, cake, and cookies, so not a complete surprise.  I suspect that a nasty cold that insisted on testing negative and all the otc remedies I took for it didn't help.  So, instead of hamburger buns, I opted to have these burgers on top of some farro.  Back to plenty of protein, whole grains, and vegetables.  I like these foods, but it's starting to feel a little restrictive, a year and a half on.

So here we are: two ingredients, mix together, shape into patties, and toss in the oven.  I didn't realize the ground turkey was going to be so soft, so it's just as well I didn't try to grill them.  Half of it probably would have fallen through.  You could do these on a countertop grill, or in a grill pan.  I was already preheating the oven and wasn't in the mood to change the plan again.

*1 lb ground turkey
*1/2 C pesto

1.  Preheat outdoor grill, stovetop or electric griddle, or oven to 350º.  In a bowl, knead together turkey and pesto until uniform.  Divide into four portions.

2.  Shape mixture into patties.  Remember that meat seizes up as it cooks and make them flatter and wider than you think you need to.

3.  Place burgers on cooking surface and cook to an internal temperature of 165º.  Remember, this is ground poultry; there is no rare.  In the oven, this took about half an hour.  It will likely be quicker on the grill or stove.

4.  Serve on buns with the fixings, or with grains, pasta, or in a wrap.

Difficulty rating  π

Sweet & Sour Sheet Pan Dinner

I haven't done a sheet pan in a while, possibly because it's kind of warm to turn on the oven.  But, it was bread-baking week and it was going to be on half the day anyway, so I decided to throw in some roasting veggies at the end.

I do miss when I used to go grocery shopping twice a week, on cooking days.  Ultimately, I spend less and plan more this way, but it means I have to strategize my fresh produce usage.  I used the cucumber and ripe tomatoes at the start of the week and the root vegetables and brassicas at the end.  It's all about what stores best.  For the mushrooms, I bought whole instead of sliced and crossed my fingers they wouldn't go bad.

As I continue to decide what I want to try pressure canning, I'm looking for ways to open and use store-bought canned goods.  Up this week was kidney beans.  I thought they would make a nice, meat-like addition to a vegan meal.  Some of the Brussels sprouts I bought were kind of icky by the time I got to this, so I emptied the rest of a bag of edamame beans from the freezer to green it up.  When I pulled the pan out of the oven, the wonderful colors and contrasts convinced me it was the right choice.

I opened a jar of home-canned sweet and sour sauce to complete this dish.  You can make your own with my recipe or buy your favorite brand.

1 lb carrots
1 lb Brussels sprouts
8 oz whole or sliced mushrooms
1 small onion (red or white) or *1 bunch green onions
1 Tb olive oil
*1 15 oz can kidney beans
*1 C shelled edamame
1 to 1-1/2 C sweet and sour sauce
rice for serving

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment for easy cleaning.

2.  Wash and peel carrots.  Cut into desired shapes.  I went for round and about 1/2" thick.  Place in a medium bowl.  Wash and trim bottoms off sprouts and add to bowl.  If whole, remove stems from mushrooms, wash, and cut into bite-sized pieces, like halves or quarters.  Wash onion, peel, and slice into 2" pieces.  For a red or white, that's sliced and cut in quarters.  For green, just 2" lengths.

3.  Once all the veggies are in the bowl, toss with olive oil.  If your sauce is on the bland side for you, toss in a bit of chili flakes.  Spread evenly on the baking sheet.

4.  Roast veggies for 20 minutes.  This is a good time to make your rice.  Drain and rinse kidney beans and edamame.  My edamame were from frozen, so I just rinsed them with the kidneys to defrost.  Add them to the baking sheet and continue to roast until the veggies are as done as you like them, about 10 more minutes.

5.  Serve veggies with rice and spoon over the sauce.

Difficulty rating  π

Greek Salad with Lentils

I had no idea what to have with the arayes.  A leafy salad seemed appropriate, but uninspired.  Then I ran across some leftover feta and started scrambling for the rest of the ingredients for this.  All I needed to pick up was a cucumber and a couple of tomatoes, and here we are.

One of the best features of a salad like this is that you can make it ahead and it won't get soggy.  It actually gets better as the dressing marinates the vegetables.  I made the lentils in the morning and tossed together the rest as the arayes were cooking, but the leftovers were at least as good as day one.

1/2 C brown lentils
*1/2 red onion
1 cucumber
1 lb Roma tomatoes
2 Tb white wine vinegar
3 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tb Italian seasoning
*1/2 tsp dried mint (optional)
kalamata olives and *feta for garnish

1.  Sort and rinse lentils.  I found an unusual amount of non-lentil debris in half a cup, including a split pea.  Add water to cover by one inch.  Bring to a low boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are split, about 40 minutes.  Drain.  This can be done up to 24 hours ahead.

2.  Peel onion, quarter, and slice.  I actually used one of my gigantor green onions, since I had used the white part of it for the arayes.  The light green parts were still plenty for this.  Peel and cut cucumber in chunks, and cut the tomatoes in chunks.  Toss vegetables together with lentils in a bowl.

3.  For the dressing, whisk together vinegar, oil, salt, and herbs.  Pour over salad and toss to coat.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.  To serve, either put in a bowl or serve on plates.  Top with olives and feta.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side

Difficulty rating  π

Rugelach

I'm not a super fan of rugelach, but they are what I tend to snack on after Shabbat services most weeks.  They have chocolate ones.  I have leftover cherry filling from the cake, so that's what I'm making first.  It was also one of the photos on the can.

For those who have never heard of them, they're cookies from Eastern Europe that are popular in the Ashkenazi Jewish community.  Properly pronounced ruh'-ge-luch', with the "ch" being a glottal stop, they're more commonly pronounced rug'-uh-luh, or "you know, those yiddish cookies".

What I did not realize until I bookmarked Ina Garten's widely respected recipe, from her book Barefoot Contessa Parties!, was that these are essentially shortbread cookies.  No egg, lots of butter, and cream cheese to hold it together.  It makes four dozen, so I made up one quarter and froze the other three as discs.  I can defrost, fill with whatever I want, and bake off the rest at a later date.  Chocolate ganache or Nutella make great chocolatey fillings if you aren't into my cherry or Ina's fruit and nut.  A thick layer of cinnamon sugar is also a good flavoring.

I'm only posting the dough recipe, so please refer to the links if you want the whole thing and a video.  Without filling, you could also make these as eggless rolled or refrigerator cookies.  They would be a touch on the bland side, so a chocolate dip or drink for dunking would be in order.

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks (1 C, 1/2 lb) unsalted butter, also room temperature
1/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour, plus more for rolling

1.  Realize there are equal parts fat and flour in this recipe, get over it, and move on.

2.  Cream together cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with the paddle.  Scrape down and beat a little more.  Add salt, sugar, and vanilla and beat 1 minute.  Scrape down and beat again.

3.  With mixer on low, slowly add the flour until evenly blended.  Liberally flour a work surface and pour out dough onto it.

4.  Divide dough into 4 pieces.  I did it by weight, and Siri comes in handy when your hands are doughy to do math for you.  Shape each quarter into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 hour or freeze for later.  Use this time to prepare your filling.

5.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Roll out each disc on a floured board into a 9" circle.  Spread filling all over the circle, including the outer edge.  Cut in 12 wedges.  Roll each wedge from the outside in.  Transfer to baking sheet, point down.  Chill for 30 minutes.

6.  Preheat oven to 350º.  If desired, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with an appropriate garnish like sugar, cocoa, nuts, or coconut.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.  Allow to cool several minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack.  Cool on a rack before dusting with powdered sugar or a drizzle of icing, if using.

Makes 4 dozen

Difficulty rating  :)

Arayes

This was actually the recipe that sent me down the rabbit hole leading to gozleme.  Somewhat related, these use store-bought pitas and you don't pre-cook the meat, so they're faster to make.  I'm basing my recipe on the one on RecipeTin Eats.  I think she got 5 pitas' worth because 500g of meat is more than a pound.  Not a lot more, but enough that I could fill four pitas and the meat layer was still thin enough to cook properly.

When I was making the meat mixture, it looked like way too many spices.  A tablespoon of cumin and coriander?  Since I don't keep ground coriander, I used the mortar on coriander and cumin seeds.  I could have run them through the spice grinder, but I kind of wanted the seedy crunch.  It turned out to be flavorful, but not overwhelming.  I could still taste the lamb as the primary flavor.

You don't have to use lamb.  85/15 or 90/10 beef will work well in this.  I was wanting lamb.  I would caution against ground poultry or pork, just in case the meat comes out slightly rare.

The yogurt tahini sauce for this is very nice, but I kind of didn't feel like it needed it.  Maybe if you put the cayenne in and needed something to cut it.  I'm not even listing cayenne in my ingredients.  I really liked this as a mild dish and would hate to overpower the meat with too much heat.

4 pitas
1 lb ground lamb or 85/15 ground beef
*1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb parsley flakes
1 Tb ground coriander
1 Tb ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp kosher salt
olive oil for brushing

For the sauce:

1 C plain Greek yogurt
2 Tb tahini
1 Tb lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1.  In a bowl, combine meat, onion, garlic, and spices.  Divide into 8 portions.

2.  Start heating a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.  Cut pitas in half and gently open them.

3.  Flatten each meat portion and gently place inside a half pita.  Spread out the meat evenly to fill the whole inside with a thin layer.

4.  When the pitas are filled, brush both sides lightly with olive oil.  Place as many as will fit comfortably on the skillet and prep a baking sheet to keep them warm in a 175º oven.  Cook about 2-3 minutes, until the pita is well browned.  Flip and cook the other side another few minutes.  Remove arayes to the oven sheet and start on the next batch.

5.  While the batches are cooking, make the sauce.  Whisk together yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.

6.  Serve arayes hot, with a generous dollop of yogurt sauce.

Makes 8, four generous servings

Difficulty rating  :)

Brandied Cherries

There was a pretty good sale on cherries, and I just ordered a ridiculous number of canning lids.  What I need to get are more jars.

Brandied cherries, or any spirited fruit, are way overpriced.  You tend to find them at niche markets with charcuterie items.  They're just fruit poached in syrup with enough alcohol to taste.  If you're making it fresh to serve that day, it takes less than half an hour, and most of that time is waiting for water to boil.

While I did process can these, it's a water bath recipe, so it doesn't have to be canned to achieve the desired effect.  There will be regular stovetop directions.

The recipe I found said you can make these whole, which is good because these were huge cherries that didn't fit in my pitter.  There is nothing wrong with pitting them first, but they should be treated with lemon or a crushed aspirin in water to preserve color.  What I didn't realize was that when a cherry is cooked the flesh naturally separates from the pit.  As long as you know it's in there, it's very easy to eat the fruit and tactfully spit out the pit.

I'm giving sample quantities, about as much as you would need for a dinner or cocktail party.  Does anyone do those anymore?  You can scale it to what you need.

1 quart (about 1 to 1-1/2 lb) red cherries
1 C water
1/4 C sugar, or less if the cherries are very sweet
*2 Tb brandy

1.  If canning, prepare water bath canner, jars, and lids for your expected quantity.  These can be done as pints or quarts.  For non-canning, you only need a non-reactive final container like glass or ceramic.

2.  Remove stems from cherries, pit if desired, and wash thoroughly.  If pitted, soak in a water with either lemon juice or a crushed aspirin to preserve the color.  Drain.  For whole, pricking the bottoms with a sterilized pin will reduce splitting.  It's also a lot of work when you bought five pounds of cherries, so I skipped it.

3.  Stir together water and sugar in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add the cherries and return to a strong boil.  Stir to make sure all cherries have touched the boiling syrup, then remove from heat.  The cherries will be par-cooked and softening.

4a, non-canning: Allow mixture to stop boiling, then stir in brandy.  Allow to steep as mixture cools.  Once room temperature, transfer to a non-reactive container and store in the fridge for up to three weeks.

4b, canning: Ladle 1/2 C of syrup into the bottoms of the jars.  Fill with cherries to 1/2" headspace.  Add 1 Tb brandy to each pint, then fill with syrup to 1/2".  Debubble and adjust headspace as necessary.  If you run out of syrup, add boiling water for the last little bit.  Wipe rims, center lids, and screw bands down finger-tight.  Process 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.  After 24 hours, check seals, clean jars, and store.  Despite quite a bit of siphoning, all of my jars sealed.  I was surprised.  I wiped a lot of syrup off the rims and really didn't expect all of them to seal, even before they went in the canner.  The syrup level in two of them is below the one-inch mark, so I'll use those first.  The rest should be good for at least a year.

Makes 1 quart

Difficulty rating  :)

Berry and Apple Pie

I cut back the boysenberry too much last year to get a big harvest in 2024.  However, I still had one quart bag of berries left in the freezer from 2023 and decided to make a pie.

Being a little short on berries for even a 7", I had to cut it with something.  Apples meant I didn't have to make a trip to the store.  Berries can also be a little intense, so the apple mellowed it out and meant I didn't have to add as much sugar.

I'm going to scale this to a traditional 9" pie crust, or about three more servings than the one I made.  Served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, it makes a great summer dessert.

*Crust for a 2-crust 9" pie
*6 C berries: blackberry, raspberry, and/or boysenberry
*2 large apples: Gala, Fuji, or Granny Smith would be ideal
1/3 C sugar
2 Tb flour
2 Tb butter
egg wash and sanding sugar for top, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Roll out and place bottom crust in pie pan.  Roll out top crust and have it waiting.

2.  Peel, core, and dice apples.  In a bowl, combine apple chunks, berries, sugar, and flour.  Pour into crust.

3.  Dot top of filling with pieces of butter.  These will melt and use the flour to thicken the juices.

4.  Place top crust over the filling.  Crimp edges shut.  Make several slits in top for venting.  If desired, brush crust with an egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

5.  Place pie on a parchment, foil, or Silpat-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Odds are, it's going to bubble over.  Bake until filling has boiled for at least 5 minutes and crust is medium brown, about 45-55 minutes.

6.  Remove pie to a rack and allow to cool before slicing.  This will allow the filling to set.  Serve on its own, or with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes one pie, about 8 servings

Difficulty rating  :)

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

Found another can of coconut milk near its date and decided to make soup.  I'm no longer hoarding canned sweet potatoes, which are super spendy, now that I can make my own for half the price.  I do like baked sweet potatoes and sweet potato toast, but sometimes a recipe calls for the texture of canned.

The recipes I found are generally Indian and served hot.  I was shooting for a summer soup and struck out on my own.  I wanted it to have a faintly North African flair, to go with the tilapia's Mediterranean theme.

For something so simple, this was really good.  The mix of sweet and savory spices keep it from being a dessert, but if you omitted the onion you could run this through the ice cream maker or make popsicles.  I may have to try that.

*1 small onion, diced
1 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp each salt, paprika, cumin, and cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ginger and sumac
1 15 oz can sweet potatoes
*1 15 oz can lite coconut milk

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook the onion and spices in it until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

2.  Empty sweet potato and its juices into food processor.  Add onion mixture and purée until smooth.

3.  Return purée to saucepan and add coconut milk.  Heat until smooth.  If desired, thin soup with water or broth.

4.  Soup can be served hot or chilled.

Difficulty rating  π