Away for the Weekend...

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Mammoth Melting Snowpeas

Mammoth Melting snowpeas are very popular heirloom variety, and one that has done well for us this summer. Sometimes they are known as Mammoth Melting Sugar, or Mammoth Melting Sweet. I can't find much background on them, beyond the fact that they were introduced in 1896. Most seed catalogues describe them as being "4' tall" and "needing trellising". Um, no and yes. They are not 4' tall. Mr. Ferdzy is 6'2" and, as you can see, is picking a peapod well over his head so more like 8' - so far - and they most definitely do need trellising.


They are named not for the size of the vines however, but for the very large pods they produce. These are not the largest we've had from them, but with the advent of hot, hot, dry weather the pods got smaller and started to fill out very quickly. We've been needing to pick them very small in order to keep them from getting fat and tough, but with the advent of some cooler weather they've gone back to producing larger peas. The "Melting" part of the name comes from the fact that they are very tender, even at their very large size (as long as they are not bolting in the heat.) Flavour is very good; rich and pea-y.

In spite of the fact that pea production suffered during the heat wave of early July, the plants themselves have held up well (with regular watering) and show every sign of bouncing back. All of our peas and most of our beans suffered much more.

Unlike the Norli, which produced very large quantities of peas then dried up and died, the Mammoth Melting are still going. I'm told they may very well last until first frost; we'll see. They don't produce huge amounts at once, but a very steady supply; making them much more useful for the gardener who intends to eat them as they come rather than freeze them. They do take quite a lot of space for the quantity they produce, but on the other hand much of that space is vertical.

Pureed Peas

This is an easy thing to do with peas, especially ones that are fresh and tasty but perhaps a tad overmature. It's amazing; skip one day of picking and the peas go from miniscule to musclebound in just 48 hours. Also, even though they are available all summer, they really don't love hot, dry weather and the quality may suffer a bit as a result. You'll never notice if you use this recipe. And of course it also works just fine with tiny, perfect peas.

2 servings
10 minutes prep time - plus time to shell the peas


2 cups shelled peas
1 or 2 clove of garlic
a little mild vegetable oil
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter

Shell the peas, and put them in a pot with water to barely cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the garlic. Slice the garlic and sauté it in a little oil until lightly browned and fragrant. Put the garlic, salt and butter into a blender or food processor.

When the peas are ready, lift them into the blender or food processor using a slotted spoon (i.e. drain them, but save the cooking water.) Purée until very smooth. Add a little of the cooking water if necessary to loosen the mixture. Scrape out and serve at once.





Last year at this time I made Pattypan Squash Stuffed with Corn & Cheese.

Zucchini Vinaigrette

Oh, now here's a shocker. More zucchini! Who could have ever seen that coming?

Actually this was a big hit. Will definitely do this again. And again...

I was talking to my Dad the other evening and he reminded me that he has a book on zucchini put out by friends of his back in the '70's. (Yeah; a self-published hippie classic full of zucchini recipes, lore and trivia! I really should borrow it. But apparently I don't need that recipe for zucchini ice-cream just yet.)

6 servings
1 1/2 hours - 30 minute prep; one hour to rest


Get Started:
1/3 cup apple cider, white wine or balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon rubbed basil
1 teaspoon rubbed oregano
1 teaspoon dried mint
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put these together in a broad, shallow bowl or pan that will hold the zucchini in a couple layers once sliced, and mix the herbs into the vinegar.

Proceed:
4 or 5 medium zucchini
2 cloves of garlic

Wash, trim and slice the zucchini into 4 to 6 long slices lengthwise. Keep them as even as you can. Peel and mince the garlic.

And Finish Up:
3 or 4 tablespoons sunflower or olive oil

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sauté the zucchini in batches, browning them evenly on both sides, and move them to the dish of vinegar and herbs as they are cooked. Be careful! Frying zucchini in this amount of hot oil is worse than cooking bacon for flying spatters. Wear long sleeves and turn the zucchini with caution.

Once all the zucchini slices are cooked and placed in the vinegar mixture, add the garlic to the pan and sauté it briefly. Stir constantly and the moment it begins to change colour scrape it into the pan of zucchini, along with all the oil in the pan. Do not delay as the garlic will scorch in seconds if left.

Gently turn the zucchini slices to be sure the garlic and herb bits are evenly distributed throughout the zucchini, and that they all have had a chance to have a bath in the vinegar. Set the dish aside to cool at least until all the vinegar has been absorbed, or about an hour ideally. It can be put in the fridge but it is best served slightly warm or at room temperature. It should be able to just sit on the back of the counter until wanted; there's nothing that will spoil quickly there.




Last year at this time I made Jam Tea Loaf.

Primary Colour Fruit Salad

Well okay, that's stretching a point. It was so pretty though. One large mango, a few peaches and a good handful of apricots, a pint of blueberries, and some cherries that I had cooked in honey syrup. Plus some of the syrup. So good. So very, very good. And too beautiful not to share.

Zucchini Stuffed to the Gunwales

A typical summer morning, chez Ferdzy: Mr. Ferdzy is on his knees, rifling through the cucumbers. I'm next to him, peering under zucchini leaves.

"Uh, oh." I say.

"Found a boat?" he asks.

"Noooo... at least... well, a canoe perhaps. Or maybe only just a one-person kayak." I say hopefully.

Then I haul them out, and they're huge. The yellow ones are even the right colour.

Zucchini are like that. I swear, they were cute little babies too tiny and helpless to pluck just yesterday. How did they get so enormous in just 24 hours? We do pick our zucchini every day. The only way get a reasonable sized zucchini crop is to pick them small and pick them often. However, there always seem to be a couple that get missed one day and are the size of small whales the next. As long as you don't leave them so long that they get too tough to be pierced with a fingernail, they can be stuffed. Once the rinds harden, so do the seeds and the flesh becomes watery and insipid. What you've got then is either compost or an entry for the fall fair. Or possibly a nice fishing boat or small yacht. I'm assuming though, that you've caught your zucchini at the canoe stage.

4 servings
2 hours - 1 hour prep time



Prepare the Zucchini Shells:
2 large zucchini, about 500 grams (1 pound) each
salt

Cut the zucchini in half evenly lengthwise. Using a sharpish spoon, hollow them out. It's best to start with a shallow trough down the middle then widen and enlarge it. Be sure not to get within less than a quarter inch of the skin.

Sprinkle the insides of the zucchini generously, even extravagantly, with salt and set them aside for about 20 minutes as you coninue to prepare the filling.

Chop the scraped out zucchini centres fairly finely and set them aside.

Make the Filling:
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
450 grams (1 pound) lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon rubbed basil
1 teaspoon rubbed oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes or other hot dried pepper bits
1 cup fine fresh breadcrumbs
OR cooked rice

Peel and chop the onion fairly finely. Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the onion. Once it has softened a bit, add the chopped zucchini centres. Cook, stirring frequently, until any liquid is mostly evaporated and the onions are lightly browned. Sprinkle the seasonings over the vegetables, and add the crumbled ground beef. Continue cooking and stirring, until the beef is browned all over and broken into quite small crumbles. You do not want big chunks of beef here.

At this point, add the crumbs or rice, and mix in well. Once the mixture is well amalgamated, you are ready to stuff the zucchini.

Finish the Zucchini:
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Rinse off the zucchini shells, and shake them dry. Oil a baking pan that will hold the zucchini nicely. Arrange the zucchini halves in the pan.

Divide the meat mixture evenly amongst the zucchini halves. Drizzle the tomato sauce over the tops.

Bake for 1 hour, until the zucchini are tender.





Last year at this time I made Green Beans in Tomato-Yogurt Dressing.

Apricot or Peach Jam, with Vanilla If You Like

I found some vanilla beans in the cupboard recently. No idea how long they've been around. Let's just say we didn't buy them while living in this house. I decided to throw a couple into one of my two batches of peach jam, and I'm really glad I did. They added a whole new dimension to the peach flavour. I haven't tried the vanilla with the apricots and probably won't, although I don't think it would be bad. I just don't think it would be as good as with the peaches. The apricots are a little too sharp and bold to interact as nicely with the vanilla. I could eat raw fresh peaches all day and all night when they are in season, but apricots have an assertive flavour that just seems to stand up to the cooking process better.

When I know I am going to make jam, I start collecting lemon seeds a few days to a week in advance. Every time I use a lemon, I put the seeds in a little jar with just enough water to cover them. Once I've accumulated a tablespoon or so, I'm ready to make the jam. Lemon seeds are great for providing pectin, and they work even when you are making a low-sugar jam. Of course, when you want seedless lemons you get scads of seeds, and when you actually want the seeds it seems like the growers have finally cracked the secret of growing seedless lemons. However, even a teaspoonful of seeds will help. Add the water they were kept in: it will be so full of pectin it will probably have gelled already.

5 to 6 250ml jars
2 1/2 hours of which 1 hour at least is waiting around



3 quarts apricots or peaches
3 1/2 cups sugar
the juice of 1 large lemon
as many lemon seeds as possible
2 or 3 vanilla beans, OPTIONAL

I blanch and peel the peaches. (Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in peaches for one minute. Fish out and place in cold water. Peel.) I don't bother with the apricots; their skins are more delicate and dissolve away in the jam. Just wash them.

Chop the peaches or apricots, discarding the pits. Put them in a large bowl with the sugar and lemon juice, stir well, and cover them. Place them in a warm spot for about an hour. About 15 minutes before you are ready to start the jam, place your jars in your canner and bring them to a boil.

Strain the juices from the fruit into a canning kettle. Put the lemon seeds into a tea-ball or tie them up in a piece of muslin, and add them too. Bring to a boil and boil for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the juice darkens and thickens a little.

Add the fruit to the pot and continue to boil, stirring frequently, for another 15 to 25 minutes, until most of the juice had been absorbed into the mass, and it passes a gel test - either pours from a spoon in a sheet, or forms a skin when placed on an ice-cold saucer. You will particularly need to watch it towards the end of the cooking, to be sure it doesn't scorch.

Put the jam into the sterilized jars, and seal with prepared lids and rims. Pop the finished jams back into the canner for 5 minutes, then let cool. Test for seals and label.




Last year at this time I wrote about what to do with failed jam... oops. No failed jam this year (*knock wood*) so far, although my apricot jam is a tad soft.

Cauliflower Torta

I had a vision of a rich, cheesy cauliflower pudding - English cauliflower cheese meets something more elegantly Mediterranean - and here it is. It's not quite as dense or smooth as I was picturing it, but that's okay. It tasted mighty fine. Do be sure your cauliflower is very well drained (and the peas too for that matter) in order to keep the texture somewhat dense.

Since both of these vegetables need to be cool when introduced to the egg mixture, there is no reason not to make this with "leftover" vegetables. I say "leftover" because an entire cauliflower is a lot to have left over. It's the opposite of planned obsolescence: planned preparation. If you are cooking cauliflower to have hot one day, cook an extra one and you can make this a day or two later with less fuss. Ditto with the peas.

6 servings
2 hours - 1 hour prep time


1 medium cauliflower (6 cups florets)
2 to 3 shallots
1 to 1 1/2 cups peas
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed oregano
1 cup light cream or rich milk
3 extra-large eggs
200 grams (1/2 pound) old Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
butter for baking dish

Trim, wash and break the cauliflower into florets. Steam it until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and let cool. Meanwhile, peel and mince the shallots. Shell the peas, and steam them very briefly - about 1 minute.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, and sauté the shallots very gently until lightly coloured. Mix in the flour and the seasonings, and cook for a minute or two more, stirring constantly. Mix in the cream a little at a time, until all is smoothly blended. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, then remove from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, put half of the cooked, cooled cauliflower into a food processor, and process to a fine purée. Process in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is very smooth. Fold it into the cream sauce.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9" pie plate and coat it in bread crumbs. Cut the cheddar into small dice and grate the Parmesan. Put half of the remaining cauliflower, 1/3 of the peas, one half of the diced cheddar and one third of the Parmesan evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Spread half of the puréed cauliflower mixture over this. Sprinkle the remaining cauliflower, half of the remaining peas, the remaining cheddar cubes, and half of the remaining Parmesan over the purée. Add the rest of the purée and spread it out smoothly in the pan. Finally, sprinkle the remaining peas and Parmesan over the top of the torta.

Into the oven it now goes, for 50 to 60 minutes, until firm and nicely browned.

You can serve this warm or cold. If cold, it will slice nicely and hold its shape. If warm, however, it will softer and more soufflé or pudding-like. If you want a nice presentation, you are perhaps best off baking it in 6 separate little baking dishes. I'm not sure how long that would take. Perhaps 40 minutes? But that is a just a guess. Otherwise, just spoon it out. It will still taste good.

Bread & Butter Pickles

Bread and butter pickles are a very easy, popular and traditional pickle. I remember making them once with my parents when I was a kid and they decided they wanted to make pickles. We got the recipe from one of my great-aunts. Unfortunately, none of us really liked them. It was a case of poor communication I suspect; we were in love with the garlicky, briney dills that lived in wooden barrels in the shops of Kensington market at the time, but no doubt all we said was "pickles". These are really very different from a kosher style dill. However, as the name suggests they are lovely as a sandwich filling, along with cheese, ham, egg salad, chicken salad, summer sausage... or probably even just by themselves, if your bread and butter was as good as the pickles.

I also suspect that first bread and butter recipe had too much sugar. So many older recipes do. This is a pretty standard version of bread and butter pickles, but I have taken the liberty of cutting the sugar called for in half, and I don't think it is too little. You can always put it back it you must. Note that if you use cucumbers, your 16 cups can be a little on the scant side, but that if you use zucchini you should be a tad generous with them. I used a dozen medium zucchini for my zucchini batch; cucumbers vary more in size but you should use small eating cucumbers rather than pickling cucumbers, and I would think 16 to 24 will be the correct number. Some people put a little green pepper in this. You could put in a cup of sliced peppers with the onions, if you like. I put a few hot pepper flakes and sliced jalapeños with my batch of zucchini pickles. Time will tell what I think of this addition.

6 500-ml jars
4 hours - 1 hour prep time



16 cups sliced cucumbers or zucchini
4 medium onions
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 to 3 trays of ice cubes

2 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons whole mustard seed
1 tablespoon whole celery seed
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
OPTIONAL 1 to 2 teaspoons hot chile flakes

Wash the cucumbers or zucchini well, and trim off the ends. Cut them into thin, even slices, and layer them in a large perforated pot or strainer with the ice cubes and the salt. Peel and slice the onions in equally thin slices, and cut them in quarters. Add them to the strainer. Have a couple of the ice cubes and a little of the salt left to sprinkle over them. Cover and put in a cool spot for 3 hours to drain.

Meanwhile, put the jars into a canner and cover with water to an inch above their rims. When the vegetables have about 30 minutes left to drain, turn the heat on and bring them to a boil. Boil them for 10 minutes.

Just before the jars start boiling, put the vinegar, sugar and spices into a canning kettle or other very large, heavy-bottomed pot. Bring the mixtue to a boil, and boil until the sugar is dissolved.

Meanwhile, strain the vegetables thoroughly, shaking gently to dislodge as much liquid as possible from them. Do not rinse them. Add them to the boiling brine, and bring them up to a scant boil. This should happen about the same time as the jars are ready, but if not, turn off the heat and keep them until the jars are ready.

Put the lids and rings on to boil according to the manufacturers directions; that is they should boil for 5 minutes.

Empty the sterilized jars - half into the sink and half back into the canner - and set them out on a heat-proof board. Fill the jars with the hot pickle mixture. Wipe the rims with a paper towel dipped in the boiling water to be sure they are clean and clear. Top with the boiled lids and rims, and seal them snuggly but not too tightly. Pop them back into the boiling water in the canner, and boil for 10 minutes. Remove and let the jars cool. Test for seals, and label the jars.





Last year at this time I made Summer Vegetable & Lentil Soup. Have to admit I've been taking my lentils in salad form, this year.

Baked Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

Zucchini plants - all squash, really - produce separate male and female blossoms. Both are edible, but the males in particular are useful for cooking since there is no sacrifice of fruit made in picking them, as long as you don't pick them all. You could use female flowers for this, with very small immature zucchini attached, but you do lose the opportunity for them to fully form. Which may be not such a bad thing; I don't know. All I can say is we're not yet ready to do that. (Production is down! We only picked 6 zucchini today. C'mon guys; you're supposed to be churning them out!) At any rate, there seem to be plenty of male blossoms, so I'll be looking for things to do with them.

They do produce more male flowers when stressed by crowding or heat, and our plants are both crowded and hot, so that may explain why we have such a good selection of male flowers. I picked them with a bit of stem attached for presentation, but I don't think the stems are particularly tasty. We left them alone.

These would make an excellent appetizer or light first course. They can be prepared somewhat in advance, but I wouldn't do it too soon for fear of the blossoms getting soggy. On the other hand I think it is best to pick them first thing in the morning in order to get the blossoms nicely open, so you will likely need to keep them for a few hours at least. Wrap them up in damp paper towel and keep them cool.


The blossoms ready to stuff, above.

2 to 4 servings
45 minutes - 30 minutes prep time



Make the Filling:
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (about 1 slice bread)
1 green onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
a good grind of black pepper
100 grams chevre goat cheese

The bread should be dry, but not totally stale. Crumble it into coarse crumbs. Wash, trim and chop the onion fairly finely.

Heat the butter in a small skillet and sauté the crumbs and green onion until the crumbs are nicely browned and the onion is soft. Sprinkle over the herbs, and once they are well mixed in remove the crumb mixture to a small mixing bowl. Let cool.

Add the crumbled chevre, and mix well. The mixture should form a ball, but try not to mash the crumbs too much. They should still be fairly light and chunky.

To Finish the Blossoms:
6 or 8 medium male zucchini blossoms
3 or 4 tablespoons sunflower seed or olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Using a grapefruit spoon or other sharp spoon remove the stamens from the flowers. Conveniently, these are not separate, but fused into one central cone. Discard the stamens. Be sure the flowers are free of any bugs; if not rinse them gently under cold running water until the insects are dislodged. Drain well. You can wrap the blossoms in a moist paper towel and keep them in a loose plastic bag for several hours before proceeding, if you like. Keep them cool, but not too cold.

Divide the filling into equal portions, one per blossom. Roll each portion into a cylinder to fit into the core of each blossom, and slide it in, closing the blossom gently around it. Have your baking pan ready, brushed with oil, and lay the blossoms in it as you work. Once they are all in, brush their tops with more oil.

Bake the stuffed blossoms for 15 minutes, until crisped and browned in spots. Serve hot.




Last year at this time I made Quick Pickled Radishes.

Lentil, Onion & Spinach Salad Redux

This is a salad I've made before; you can see it originally here. It's a salad I really like, and since I have a pile of chard in the garden - it has recovered from being eaten twice by the deer so far; very resilient stuff - I thought I would try it with chard. The chard was a little skimpy, so I stretched it out with beet greens, which are also recovering from The Week of the Deer. (Cue ominous organ music. I suppose if I say that nothing has been eaten since Mr. Ferdzy re-installed the electric fence around the garden I will jinx it and they will remember how to sliiiiide under it again, and everything will once more become expensive deer chow. So I won't mention it.)

I have to say I thought the beet greens were too strong here. That's why I threw in some feta cheese: to balance them out a bit. Still, I think it's better just to not use beet greens. Chard or kale should be fine as long as they are fairly young and tender. Still, I'm looking forward to our fall spinach crop so I can make it with spinach again, because I do think that's the best. However, I also decided that roasting the onions is too fiddly, and it's easier just to caramelize them on the stove. If anyone has any comments on which method they would prefer, I'd be happy to hear them.

4 to 6 servings
1 hour - 30 minutes prep time


Lentils:
1 cup green or brown lentils
1 bay leaf
pinch salt
2 cups water

Put all these items in your rice cooker. Turn on and let cook. Leave until cool, or if you want to assemble the salad right away, rinse them in cold water and drain well. Remove the bay leaf.

Sautéed Onions:
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

Peel and chop the onions. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the onions, stirring frequently, until golden brown; probably 20 to 30 minutes. Remove them at once to a plate to cool. Be sure not to let them get too dark too fast. They should cook quite slowly.

Salad Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
the juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon sea salt, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seed, crushed

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings, crushed if necessary. If you are ambitious, you could toast the cumin seed in a dry skillet before crushing it and adding it to the dressing.

To Assemble the Salad:
450 grams (1 pound) baby spinach leaves
OR tender young chard or kale

Wash and pick over the spinach or other greens. Drain well, and chop coarsely. Cook it in just whatever water is still clinging to it until just wilted. Rinse under cold water at once to stop it cooking any further. Squeeze firmly to remove excess liquid, then chop it finely and toss it with the cooked lentils and onions.

This is an excellent salad to make ahead; but the salad should not sit in the dressing or the lemon juice will bleach the spinach. Toss the salad in the dressing just before serving.

Meek & Mild Devilled Eggs

Okay, I like a devilled egg that bites back as much as anyone. However, once in a while it's nice to have something a little different. If you have a good cucumber relish or chow-chow - and if you don't, it's time to make some (okay, too early to make chow-chow) - these will have plenty of flavour. They're just mellow. And that's okay.


6 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (light is fine)
2 to 3 tablespoons cucumber relish or chow-chow
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard OR horseradish
sweet Hungarian paprika
parsley or chives

Put the eggs into a fairly snug pot with water to cover then well, and about a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Turn off the heat and leave them covered, in the water, for 10 minutes. Rinse them in cold water (or let them cool) then peel. The salted water is supposed to make them peel better, and I think it does help somewhat. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the yolks into a small bowl, and mix in the mayonnaise. If you use chow-chow and it's fairly coarse you may wish to mince it a bit first. Add the relish or chow-chow and the mustard or horseradish. When the mixture is smooth, divide it amongst the waiting half eggs, and sprinkle them with a little paprika, and garnish with a little minched parsley or chives.

Yeah, that was easy.