Yummy Yards CSA Box #9

I love cucumber in salad.  Happened to have a bunch of Thai basil in the fridge, so whipped up a refreshing salad with the cucumber in the box.  If I’d had some mango on hand (fresh or dried) I would have thrown that in, too.  And if I wasn’t trying to get certain children to eat it, I would have put in one little hot red pepper, too.

Thai Basil Cucumber Salad

• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• small sprinkling of salt
• cucumber, seeded and sliced thickly
• red and orange pepper, diced
• 1 bunch Thai basil, roughly chopped

Mix 1st 4 ingredients together.  Add veggies and let soak in marinade a half hour before serving.

 

This week’s squash, along with two big zucchinis from my garden and two bigger ones from my neighbour’s garden (4 varieties in all) became a very yummy zucchini relish.  I was expecting to use it in lieu of store-bought for our hot-dog eating pleasure, but Mr. Picky Eater is very sorry, Mom, but he won’t eat it.  So, at the last minute I threw in some finely chopped hot pepper.  Ha!  Take that! 

The original  recipe is at Zucchini Relish Recipe

And here is how I actually did it:

Zucchini Relish

• 6 good-sized zucchinis, cut into pieces that will fit into your food-processor
• 3 onions , halved
• 1/4 cup sea salt (or pickling salt)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1-1/2 cups vinegar (I used a mix of apple cider and regular)
• 1 tbsp. dry mustard
• 1 heaping tsp. celery seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1tsp. yellow mustard seed
• 1 or 2 hot peppers, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. water

Grate zucchini and onion in food processor.  Mix with salt in a large bowl. Let stand overnight   to remove a whole lot of water.  Drain well; rinse and drain again, pressing out moisture.  I used a bowl that just fits inside the strainer to push the water out.

In a large pot, combine sugar, vinegar, spices and hot pepper; bring to boil.  Add zucchini and onion; reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until vegetables are tender and no longer bright green, about 15 minutes.

Mix cornstarch with water and stir into relish; simmer, stirring, 5 minutes.

Transfer to sterilized canning jars, cover with warm seals and bands.  Process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Makes about 9 cups relish.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: September 2006

Tomato, Basil and Chives Marinated in Olive Oil and White Balsamic Vinegar

A neighbour gave me some fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and chives from his garden.  Marinated all in olive oil and white balsamic vinegar with pepper and salt: so tasty.  Next time wouldn’t bother adding the yellow pepper.  It tasted fine, but looked a little confused.

I’m intrigued by the fresh fennel seeds in this week’s box.  I love fennel in Italian sausage, chilli , chai, and those little communal dishes of candy-covered seeds by the cash register in Indian restaurants.  Delicious;  just don’t start thinking about all the hands that have dipped into that bowl, and whether they get washed after they wipe.

Anyway, I love fennel seeds.  And since I have run out of chai concentrate and it’s not at the moment on sale at Costco, and since chai is my primary vice, I plan to make up a batch of chai.  Just not sure exactly how to roast the fennel.  Can you leave it on the stem?

Turns out, yes, you can.  I just put the sprigs in my little cast iron pan, seed side down,  until they smelled good, about 7 minutes.  Man!  Those were tasty seeds!  Then crumbled them off the stems to make the chai.

Chai

Fill a medium saucepan with as much water as you would eventually like to have chai.  (i.e.  if you are making enough chai for 4 cups, put in 4 cups water)

Place into a Ziploc bag:

• 4 or 5 heaping tbsp. fennel seed (or in this case, all the fresh, toasted seed)
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 star anise (optional)
• 12 peppercorns
• 3 inches cinnamon stick

Seal the bag, place it on a cutting board and hit it a few times with a rolling pin to bruise the spices and crack open the cardamom (or use mortar and pestle).  Add the spices to the pot of water, along with a

• big chunk of peeled ginger, crushed. 

Simmer until the volume of water is reduced by half.  Remove from heat, add

• two black tea bags

(pretty much any plain black tea you have in the cupboard) and steep about 10 minutes.  Remove bags.  Strain through a sieve.  Return to pot.  Add

• sugar to taste
• milk to make up to original volume

Bonus: the wonderful smell in the house.  Ahhh, good tea.

Swiss Chard Pizza with Oregano Flowers and Mushrooms

I got to thinking: if you can put spinach on a pizza, why not Swiss chard?  So I did.  After stripping the leaves off the stems,  I layered it on the crust  about 5 deep, topped with cheese, then thinly sliced mushrooms, and a little more cheese.  Crumbled the oregano flowers, which I had toasted in the pan with the fennel seeds, all over the top, then popped it in the oven.  It baked down flat and delicious.  Funny thing, though: I think my husband needs to get his teeth sharpened.  I had no trouble biting through it, but every bite he took pulled off half the toppings.  Next time I will chop the chard first.

The Rest of the Box

Potatoes and beans: boiled and buttered.  So good.

The chard stems, carrot tops, three cloves of garlic and some olive oil and pepper got whizzed up together in the food processor.  Think I’ll freeze it in ice cube trays to sneak in a little green goodness to future pasta sauces and chilli.  I have little Ziploc bags of these hidden in the freezer.  I feel very sneaky and virtuous whenever the kids eat something containing one of these little Cubes of Goodness .