GHERKIN

The Mexican Sour Gherkins are here! And they've arrived in full force. My gherkin plant is covered in the teeny little cucumbers that look a lot like miniature watermelons. I tried this variety for the first time this year and purchased it as a start. I must say it's now on the list of things to plant every year. These guys struggled a bit when I first planted them. Apparently they need full sun, and lots of it. As soon as I moved them into a spot that gets 6-8 hours a day, they began to thrive. They don't need a lot of attention, and so far they haven't run into any pest or disease problems. 

I think they taste great fresh off the vine. You can pop them in your mouth cherry-tomato style, but they are so so so good pickled. I've read online that some folks have seem them in farmer's markets, but they're rare, so you may have to just grow them yourself next year. I plan to save some seeds, but you can pick up a packet here or here. Seed Savers also carries the West Indian Gherkin which I may try out next year.

Mexican Sour Gherkin Pickles

• 8oz jar
• large handful of gherkins 
• 1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp salt (Kosher if you have it--to keep it from getting cloudy)
• 1 tbsp sugar 
• 1 chile pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• several whole cloves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns

*You can substitute 2 tsps of pickling spice for the mustard and pepper, too.

Wash and remove the blossom end points from the gherkins. Place them in an 8 ounce jar. Mix the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Add the garlic, chili, and spices. Remove from heat and allow the contents to steep with a lid on until the mixture is warm but no longer hot. Pour the brine over gherkins in jar, cover with lid, and allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator. If you want to formally can them, process the jars as you normally would while the contents are still warm.

Pickled Beets

I've yet to meet a person who's on the fence about pickled beets. I think you either love em or hate em. I personally LOVE this recipe. The beet pickles are sweet and tender with a little mulled wine-like spice that reminds me of fall. Once again this is a small batch/refrigerator pickle recipe as I haven't really had a huge harvest of anything to justify formal canning.

Part of what made this batch so good was the HONEY. My family knows how much I love the honey from this little, off the beaten path, farm and petting zoo in Cottageville, South Carolina. 

I recently received a care package that included some goods from Bee City. Thank's y'all! I was especially excited about the honey dipper. I've always wanted one of those. Anyway, use high quality honey if you can--it really makes a difference. 

PICKLED BEETS

Makes 1 quart (two pint jars)

Approximately 4-5 beets

1 cup vinegar

1 cup water 

1 tbsp mulling spices (cloves, orange peel, cinnamon, allspice)

2 tsp pickling spice

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup honey

1/4 medium sweet yellow onion

2 sprigs of tarragon

Boil the beets in water for about 30 minutes until tender. Allow to cool and remove the skins. Slice or chop them depending on your preference. Bring the vinegar, water, garlic, bay leaf, pickling spice, and mulling spice to a boil. Add the honey. Remove from heat, and remove the bay leaf. Leave the other spices in the solution. Pack your jars with the onions, beets, and tarragon. Tarragon and beets are my new favorite flavor combination right now. You can't leave out the tarragon--this is a must! Pour the hot vinegar solution into the jars over the beets. Leave 1/2 inch from the top and seal. Allow to cool before placing in the refrigerator. Ready to eat the next day, but the flavor is better if you can wait two days. 

These beets are great added to salads, straight out of the jar, or served as a snack with some cheese and crackers.

Summer Veggie Pasta Salad with Japanese Eggplant

While this recipe isn't that innovative, and most folks already have a go-to-pasta salad, this one was so good and colorful I wanted to share it. If nothing else I wanted it documented to make it again myself.

Check out today's haul:

This recipe used many of the veggies I harvested this morning. Japanese eggplant is my new favorite vegetable. It's very thin skinned compared to western varieties, so there's no need to peel it. Also it's seedless and not very bitter like the kind you usually see in the grocery store. I've been harvesting them regularly after my pollination experiment. I've mostly been sautéing them with a little garlic and olive oil, but they're also especially good on the grill, or in stir fries with a little soy sauce and sesame oil.

SUMMER VEGGIE PASTA SALAD 
1 box rainbow penne pasta
1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
1 yellow squash, sliced and quartered
1  japanese eggplant sliced and quartered
Large handful of french green beans, trimmed
1 cloves of garlic
Large handful of lettuce/greens of your choice (I used spinach, baby chard, and mache)
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt/pepper
Shredded italian cheese
Splash of olive juice

Boil pasta, drain, and set aside in a large bowl to cool a bit. In the mean time, chop all your veggies. Saute one clove of garlic and the eggplant first, as it needs a little more time to cook. After five minutes add the zucchini, yellow squash, and green beans. Go ahead and add the handful of lettuce, tomatoes, remaining garlic clove, and fresh basil to the bowl with the pasta. Once the veggies have softened, but still have a bite to them, add them straight into the bowl with everything else. This causes the lettuce to wilt slightly, which I like, especially using a sturdier green like spinach or baby swiss chard. If you don't like warm salads, wait for the veggies to cool before mixing with the lettuce. Top with cheese, salt & pepper, and a little extra olive oil. I tossed in a splash of olive juice at the end, but this isn't required. You could try adding lemon or a light vinegar to give it some acid as well.

Oops! I forgot to add the cherry tomatoes!

Tomatoes: Blossom End Rot & Cuttings Update

Well it looks like my pear tomato has some blossom-end-rot. Blossom-end-rot can be caused by several things, but it's most closely associated with calcium deficiency. It's also caused by erratic watering which prevents the plant from absorbing calcium. We've had some hot days recently, but I've been pretty good about consistent watering. Also none of the other tomatoes seem to be suffering (at least not now). A soil test would be the best thing to do, but I don't have one, so the next best thing: eggshells!

Putting eggshells in the planting hole when you transplant tomatoes is a great preventative as eggshells provide a slow release of calcium. Other flowering veggies like squash are also susceptible to blossom end rot, so this is a good idea for those, too. If you're like me, and didn't plant with eggshells--you can add them to the base of your plant later in the season. I used a hand shovel and tried to mix them up a little bit with the soil. I'll post later with an update.

It was perfect timing because I'm baking a birthday cake for someone special, and had some fresh eggshells ready to use.

In other tomato news, my cuttings in water are doing well. It's just been two days and they already have some roots on them. Looks like I need to add some more water though. I'm pumped at how successful this experiment was, however these tomatoes in water bring my tomato plant total to a ridiculous number I'm a little embarrassed to share.

Wild Berry Cobbler

I must admit that when I went to Kruger Farm to do some late season berry picking I was bummed to discover that the season is over. Currently, only flowers are available through U-pick. Peaches will be ready soon though!

Since we were already there we decided to check out one of the trails on Sauvie Island we've yet to visit. We stopped at one off Reeder Road on the way to the beaches. Drew and Jim saw some cool birds, and Drew got to check off a few he hadn't seen before in his bird book. The most exciting part for me was that we also found hundreds of (fairly accesible) wild blackberry bushes! Most were ripe and ready for the pickin, and I luckily had an empty plastic bag in the car. We walked out to Coon Point picking (and eating) berries and looking for birds. It turned out to be an even better Sauvie Island trip than I expected.

I came home and made cobbler. This is the third time I've had this cobbler this summer. My friend has made it twice, and I can't get enough of it. I didn't have regular milk on hand and substituted almond-coconut milk which I thought gave it a really nice subtle flavor.

Also, a word to those who are using wild berries. I would soak the berries in water for several minutes before cleaning them more in a strainer. This will allow for more dirt (and I hate to say it, but bugs) to dislodge from the berries. After that, you basically just mix up the batter, pour it into a skillet, mash up some berries, pour those on top of the batter, and bake the cobbler for about an hour.

Then serve it with some ice cream, and begin to tell yourself that two servings of dessert is okay.

Suckers! aka Tomato Pruning

Man is it hot these days, but the tomatoes are lovin' it. I've eaten a few red cherry tomatoes here and there, but like almost everyone else in Portland, I've mostly been waiting patiently for the day when they all turn red at once. This is how it usually goes down out here even with indeterminate tomatoes.

In order to spend more energy ripening the fruit I have on the vine, I've been pruning my plants a bit. I spent yesterday morning cutting off unnecessary growth, and also removed the tomato "suckers." I think they're called "suckers" because they suck the energy away from the fruit, but I can't say for sure.

Tomato suckers are basically side shoots. The new growth occurs in the center between two branches or at the 'V' or 'crotch' of the branch. See pics below.

Once your tomato is at a shape and size you like, just snip away the new growth so the plant dedicates its energy toward producing and ripening fruit. While there are mixed schools of thought on tomato pruning, I tend to lie closer to the "let them be" end of the spectrum. I really only prune a little from time to time.

Some folks remove the new growth from the very beginning so that tomatoes just grow on one central stalk, but I like my plants a little bigger. I think having few more side shoots makes them better able to hold the weight of more fruit. I do think pruning is especially helpful when growing out-of-control cherry tomato varieties. Also, FYI, pruning is only important for indeterminate tomatoes, so if you're going determinants, I wouldn't recommend it as it could reduce your yield.

In addition to removing the suckers I also cut off a few branches that were getting too tall. I decided to put them in some water to see if they'd root. My dad successfully rooted a tomato branch he lost in a storm, so I'm giving these a try. I don't really have more room for more tomatoes at this point, so if you're in the area and need some extra plants, just let me know. :)

Zucchini Fritters & Beet Salad

Since this year's zucchini is rolling in, I thought it best to use up the frozen zucchini I saved from last year. Frozen zucchini is perfect for the obvious zucchini baked good, but it's also great for zucchini fritters.                                                                  To freeze zucchini, shred it and leave it in a strainer for several hours, squeezing as much excess water out as possible. Several cups of zucchini will fit in a gallon plastic freezer bag. Press it flat, and place in the freezer until frozen. Once it's frozen, you can stack the large squares, but refrain from stacking them until frozen. Otherwise the bags stick together.

ZUCCHINI & TOFU FRITTERS

This recipe is adapted from the Veganomicon

1 lb firm tofu 
2 medium zucchini, shredded
3 cloves garlic
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 TSP salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs, plus more for for coating
Chopped fresh oregano
Chopped fresh dill
Chopped fresh mint

I defrosted the last of the frozen zucchini, and placed it in a strainer again, squeezing out as much water as possible. This recipe is great for fresh zucchini, too. Just shred and strain as you normally would. Squeeze out the water from the tofu as well. Place in a food processor with lemon juice and garlic, and pulse a bit. It will look kinda like ricotta cheese.

Transfer to a bowl and mix in the bread crumbs and herbs. The mix should be fairly stiff. Fold in the shredded zucchini. 

Press into balls that are about an inch thick, coat with more breadcrumbs, and place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, flip 'em, and bake for 15 minutes more.

BEET SALAD
2 beets, roughly grated
1 shallot, thinly sliced
Chopped parsley
Chopped tarragon
Dijon mustard
Oil & Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Dressing: Mix vinegar and oil 2:1, add two spoonfuls of dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste. 
If the beets are young, small, and have a thin skin, no need to peel them. Otherwise, peel the beets before grating by hand or in a food processor. Add sliced shallots, dress the beets, and top with chopped herbs. The tarragon is a MUST in this salad, It really enhances the flavor of the beets. I've also had this salad with shredded carrots mixed in, and it tastes great as well. 

The beet salad only takes about 5 minutes to prepare, so I also made my go-to early summer garden salad: greens, radishes, carrots, and green onions. I made a quick buttermilk dressing using some leftover buttermilk and greek yogurt.

BUTTERMILK DRESSING
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup buttermilk
4-5 tbsp greek yogurt
Mustard powder, salt, and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh thyme 
Chopped fresh parsley
Chopped fresh chives

I'm sure you could mix this up in a bowl, but I placed everything in a mason jar and shook it. :)

This was our first meal of the season exclusively using produce from our garden--which I must say, has yet to get old.