The cucumbers and tomatoes are in full production – I’ m harvesting about 5 tomatoes and 3 cucumbers each morning… more than I can consume on my own. So I’ve been having garden parties.
I slow roasted tomato wedges with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. By cooking them slowly, the excess water evaporates and the flavors intensify. The drier tomato paired beautifully with fresh ricotta that was seasoned with basil and lemon. I served them with crackers, though a cucumber base would work well too.
And speaking of cucumber bases, I sliced several cucumbers and served them with lobster salad.
Lobster Salad
1 cup chopped lobster meat (about 1/2 pound) 1 – 2 tbs. mayonnaise 1 tbs. fresh tarragon 2 tbs. chopped celery 1 tbs. chopped scallions 1 – 2 tsp. lemon juice salt to taste
Mix everything together. Serve with buttered rolls or cucumber slices.
I requested a piece of salmon from the thick end. The owner of the store assured me the salmon was sushi grade – a good thing to know when you might consider serving fish rare or raw.
When I got home, I noticed the thin belly-flap. Some fish-mongers may trim this section away because it’s fattier than the center portion. And it has the added challenge of cooking properly – it cooks through so quickly that it would be grossly overcooked before the rest of the fillet is even medium rare.
Knowing that the grade of fish was suitable for eating raw, I opted to slice it off and turn it into a small appetizer. With thin slices of cucumber from the garden, I seasoned it with kaffir lime, chilies and scallions. I drizzled a sweet and sour glaze on top and garnished it with fried shallots.
This turned out to be a refreshingly light way to start off a summer meal.
Salmon and Cucumber Carpaccio
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 salmon belly
1 cucumber
1 kaffir lime, thinly sliced
1 small red chili, thinly sliced
1 scallion thinly sliced
Sea salt
1 tbs. fried shallots
1. In a small stainless steel pot, combine the vinegar and sugar. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Add the chili and fish sauce and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
2. With a sharp knife, thinly slice the salmon across the grain. Lay the slices on a serving plate. Thinly slice the cucumber and layer it along the salmon.
3. Season the salmon with the kaffir, scallions and sea salt. Drizzle the vinegar reduction on top. Garnish with fried shallots.
Every summer of my childhood, my family drove to Rehoboth, DE for a week-long respite from the Washington, DC heat. About an hour from the shore, we’d stop at Elmer’s Farm Stand. We’d load up on tomatoes, corn and cantaloupes. The corn was boiled for dinner. The tomatoes were slathered in mayonnaise and sandwiched between two slices of toast for lunch. And the cantaloupes were cut into wedges for breakfast. If we were feeling frisky we’d sprinkle blueberries on top.
Though cantaloupe shouldn’t be cooked, it’s certainly more versatile than my childhood experiences would suggest. Their firm texture is juicy and definitely sweet, but less cloying and floral than honeydew, making it perfect for savory preparations, where just a touch of sweetness is desired. Classically, it’s paired with prosciutto for an Italian style summer appetizer. Alternatively, you can puree the melon with mint for a refreshing soup to start a meal.
Even Star’ Farm grows the varietal: Edisto. It was named after the island off the North Carolina coast, so famed for its cantaloupe. It’s extremely aromatic, very sweet, with good texture. It has a florally perfume, almost like a gardenia.
You can tell it's ripe when the skin underneath the outer "netting" turns from green to yellow-ish.
When serving melon in a savory preparation, it’s easy to peel the melon whole.
First, cut off the ends.
Stand it up on one of the newly flat edges. Cut around the edges with a large knife.
Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds.
Last night, we made a cantaloupe salsa to serve alongside seared tuna.
Cantaloupe Salsa
½ cantaloupe
1 cucumber
1 small onion 1 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped
1 tbs fresh mint or cilantro – of combination of the two
1 lime juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp sriracha or 1 small chile
1. Peel cantaloupe and cut into a fine dice. If large cucumbers with tough skins (or commercial, waxed cucumbers), peel cucumbers. Scoop out the seeds. Chop fine. Dice the onion, and herbs.
2. Mix cantaloupe, onion, cucumber, ginger and herbs together. Season with lime juice, salt, pepper and chili paste if desired.
As I opened up the grocery bag of full of vegetables, I had flashbacks to culinary school – visions of my first practical exam. We were given a medley of ingredients and told to create an entrée in one hour. This was not unlike the show “Chopped” on the Food Network (though the ingredients were more user-friendly)
Matthew’s roommate was out of town and he was left alone to contend with the weekly CSA box of produce. He called me in a panic, “Can you do something with this?”
“Of course,” I calmly replied. “What do you have?”
“A bunch of green stuff, spring onions, summer squash and what not.”
What not? Could he be less specific? Now, I was in a panic.
Nonetheless, I agreed to cook dinner for him and his partner. I picked up a piece of swordfish, armed myself with "Even Star Farm CSA Cookbook” and prayed that the ingredients he brought would somehow come together into a cohesive meal.
I unpacked the bag to discover the “green stuff”: kale, basil, cilantro, lettuce and radicchio. There were plenty of spring onions – the bulbous, young onions as well as the more traditional-looking scallions. And the “what-not”: A kousa and yellow squash, 2 tomatoes, a tiny fennel bulb, a bunch of carrots, cucumber and a yellow bell pepper.
As an additional challenge, I didn’t want to supplement with anything beyond the fish and what I had on hand. I also didn’t want to use any vegetables that weren’t in the CSA box or in my garden.
Alas, I couldn’t figure out how to work cilantro into this, otherwise, European meal. That will get used later in the week.
Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad I only had one pepper and one tomato to use, but for a more generous serving, I'd recommend using at least 2 peppers (and maybe even two tomatoes)
2 bell peppers — red or yellow 2 ripe tomatoes 1 tbs. balsamic vinegar 1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 tbs. fresh basil salt and pepper to taste
1. Blacken the skin of the pepper over a gas burner (or under a broiler) until blackened on all sides. Put in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stem for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes.
3. When peppers are cool, peel away blackened skin. Cut in half; remove and discard the stem and seeds.
4. Cut the peppers into 1/2" wide strips. Mix with the tomatoes. Coarsely chop the basil and add to the peppers. Add the balsamic and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Buried in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator are packets and baggies of seeds – mostly opened and half used. Most are labeled with their contents, but one bag has a generic label “Mixed Lettuces.” The handwriting is decidedly of my friend Brett. And the seeds surely came from his farm.
Every spring when I plant lettuce, I use these seeds as well as a stash of mizuna, tat soi and arugula that I purchased from FedCo several years ago (I bought a 4 oz. bag which has managed to last me several years and the seeds don’t seem to suffer from the long-term refrigerator storage). The mixed lettuces never seem to yield anything of substance for me. But this year, when all the arugula, mizuna and tat soi bolted from the heat, the tender green leaves of the “mixed lettuce” just perked right up with no signs of withering. Even after 2 weeks of scorching (for New England) heat, the leaves are tender, not too bitter, and make a lovely salad. I wish I knew what variety they are – because I will plant them again with the idea of having a mid-summer salad.
I still have a few more beets to harvest and the first cucumber came in this morning. For lunch, I made a “garden” salad; a fry cry from the generic mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, carrot shreds and red onion rings that too often tries to pass itself off as such.
These greens are still quite tender and need to be dressed gingerly. The beets requested red wine vinegar and goat cheese. I first tossed the lettuce in olive oil to coat and protect them before adding the vinegar which tends to wilt things quickly. I then add the salt and pepper. The sweetness of the beets, the crunch of the cucumber and the softness of the greens provide the perfect explosion of flavor – no additional seasoning is necessary. (I did have some leftover chopped pistachios which seemed to pair beautifully… I couldn't resist)
Last week, a friend came over for dinner. Immediately when he walked in, he complained that the house was too cold, and could we please turn on the heat. He was right – the windows were wide open, outside temperatures were hovering in the low 50’s and inside wasn’t much warmer.
Normally, I’m more accommodating of friends’ requests, but on this evening I knew that closing the windows meant summer was over. And I wasn’t ready for that admission.
I acquiesced.
The garden has also succumbed to autumn. The blight finally overcame the tomatoes. And the cucumbers stopped growing just shy of being sweet.
With the last sweet cucumber, I made a relish to accompany spicy Thai Tod Mun. These fish cakes get their heat from red curry and brightness from kaffir lime leaves. They give warmth to summer’s last breath and welcome in the fall.
Thai Style Fish Cakes 1 lb. 2 oz. white fish filets, minced (use food processor if necessary) 5 tbs. red curry paste (more or less to taste) 4 tbs. fish sauce 1 egg, beaten 8 tbs. tapioca flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tbs. palm sugar or brown sugar 10 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced, stems discarded 8 Chinese long beans or string beans, thinly sliced
Oil for frying
Sauce 6 tbs. water 6 tbs. sugar 1 tbs. chilli powder 2 tbs. roasted peanuts – chopped 2 tbs. cucumber, thinly sliced ½ cup chopped cilantro
1. Make dipping sauce: put water, sugar and vinegar into a pan, bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add chilli powder and cucumbers. Garnish with cilantro
2. Mix ingredients for fish cakes together in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Form into cakes.
3. Fry fish cakes in medium hot oil until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towel. Serve while still hot with sauce.
Forget what your girlfriends told you, size does matter. Too small and they’re bitter. Too large and they have a tough skin.
Cucumbers.
Every morning, I forage through the dense cucumber foliage looking for perfectly sized specimens. The way the vines spread and crawl across the garden, cucumbers can be spotted as far as 10 feet away from the original seedling, and buried under another plant’s leaves. Sometimes, I get overzealous and pick them when they’re too small. And I’m usually disappointed: the small ones are bitter and would have benefit from an extra day on the vine. Just as often, I discover a cucumber that I somehow missed in my regular morning inspection and is now too big for my taste.
For a cost-benefit analysis, it would make sense to let the cucumbers grow as large as possible. After all, it doesn’t cost any more to leave them on the vine – no extra resources are required. Nor does letting them grow longer hinder the prolific production rate of the plant. However, as they grow the skin toughens, the seeds overtake the flesh and the insides become watery. I may have more volume by letting them grow, but this would be a case of diminishing returns.
That sweet spot is about 5 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. The cucumbers are sweet, crunchy, firm and refreshing. Delicious! I usually eat 2 or 3 a day, just as a snack. With the remainder, I’m making pickles.
Dill Pickles The recipe for dill pickles is mostly technique with a splash of precision.
For every quart of water (4 cups) dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt. To that, add crushed (fresh) garlic, dill sprigs and black pepper (and jalapenos if you’d like).
Cut cucumbers lengthwise into wedges. Submerge in above salt bath. In order to fully submerge cucumbers, you may need to weight them down with a stainless steel sieve or a plate.
Let them sit at room temperature for 48 hours to ferment and turn slightly sour.
To stop the fermentation, refrigerate them. Enjoy within 2 weeks.
