How glorious to have the rain we have seen in the past couple of days! We plant a small garden each year because it is a real thrill to walk into our backyard and harvest veggies and herbs as our own mini “farm to table” experience. The much needed water out here in the 20141 has made our tomato plants jump into hyper-drive as there are globes of all sizes popping out all over our plants. We did have a little scare as one of the storms that rumbled through with its sideways rain just flattened out our squash plants – I am happy to report they recovered :-)
I can't believe it is Week 5 Market Basket time from Stoneybrook Farm already!! This week's bounty included cukes, tomatoes, basil, baby carrots, beets, red leaf lettuce, swiss chard and yellow squash. I hope you check out the pic of each week's blog post to see what a lovely bouquet this produce provides!
When I was growing up my Grandparents had a garden that was huge. I mean it was at least a third of their property, and in Herndon (way back when) that was not unusual! They grew everything, and I had the honor to help with planting to weeding to harvesting. During the summer and a little into the fall, we had fresh produce with almost every meal. We canned and froze some for use during the winter and even put up our own jellies. Since becoming a member of the CSA at Stoneybrook and getting to speak with the folks there – it brings me back to the precious memories of the passion surrounding food in general.
Let's focus on the cukes this week as they are the most plentiful at this time of the season:
We all know they are a great accompaniment to any garden salad but did you know you can also eat them hot? YEP, and they are goooood. It is a pretty simple process as you'll see below and you can switch up how you season based on your own particular taste in herbs.
Sautéed Cucumbers
Ingredients:
4 Large cucumbers peeled split in half lengthwise and seeds removed
2 Tablespoons butter
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg (use pre-ground if you don't have fresh)
2 Teaspoons fresh herbs (your choice, recommendations: mint, tarragon, flat leaf parsley ,oregano or thyme)
How to:
Once you have prepared the cukes per above instructions, cut each half into 3 equal pieces. Drop the cuke pieces into boiling salted water for about 2 min and drain immediately.
While cukes are boiling begin to melt butter in a large saute pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add cukes and toss in pan for about 3-4 minutes to insure they are tender. Remove from heat toss in the seasonings and the herb you choose and serve immediately. This is a very simple side dish, and most people don't think to “cook” cukes! Great choice for fish or chicken dinner!!
I mentioned my Grandparents earlier and one of the items on the dinner table during the summer months were what my Grandmother called “Supper Pickles”...I have heard others call this simple application “Icebox Pickles” (even though most of my reading public won't know exactly what an icebox is!! No, its not a cooler.)
Supper Pickles
Ingredients:
How ever many cukes you want to use (typically I do 5 or 6 at a time)
½ to ¾ cup Cider vinegar
½ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Sugar
How to:
Slice all the cukes (pickle size) and put them in a large container with a sealable lid or a ziplock bag
Pour in Cider Vinegar and add salt, pepper and sugar. Close up the container and shake vigorously to melt the sugar/salt and coat all the cukes
Put in the refrigerator and chill till ready to serve. These will keep for several days!
The only change I make to this recipe is to add a thinly sliced red or vidalia onion to the mix.
Enjoy!
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