watermelon feta salad

 Watermelon feta salad which I planned to make today but I used up all my cucumbers making relish so I'll pick some up tomorrow and make it then!  

Ingredients 3 cups watermelon, cubed 1 cucumber, thinly sliced ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled Handful of fresh mint leaves 1 Tbsp olive oil Juice of ½ lime Pinch of salt & pepper

Instructions Combine watermelon, cucumber, feta, and mint in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Toss gently, season with salt and pepper, and serve chilled.

dill relish (for canning)

One of my favorite farms has pickling cucumbers ready, so I rushed out to pick some up and actually ended up with a very good deal.*  I eat dill relish especially with tuna, and what I can find in the store has a lot of additives.  So why not make my own?  I can control quality better and it's local (the garlic is from my yard).  

Recipe from here. I doubled the recipe because I ended up with 5 pounds of cucumbers and it looks like it'll fit into my stockpot (I'll probably have to do two canning loads though since I have such a little canner).  (Note:  actually it filled the canner with odd various jars from pickles and such, and then there was about a pint and a half left over that I will just put into the fridge to eat first)

Ingredients 

5 lbs cucumbers (weighed prior to peeling and seeding),peeled, center row of seeds removed, and finely diced

2 large yellow onion, finely diced

2 small red bell pepper, finely diced

2 small green bell pepper, finely diced (I used anaheims as I don't really care for green bell peppers)

6 cloves garlic, finely minced

0.5 cup kosher or pickling salt (neither of these have additives which is important to avoid when canning)

6 cups white vinegar

1 cup sugar (optional or use less according to taste) - I put in 1 T for this double batch

4 teaspoons dill seeds

2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds (note: don't use heaping spoons as it's already a lot)

4 teaspoons celery seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

4 bay leaves

 Instructions

• Place the diced cucumbers, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the salt and pour water over the mixture until covered. Let sit for at least 6 hours or overnight (I did not refrigerate). Drain the cucumber mixture in a fine mesh strainer, rinse thoroughly with water, and drain again.
• In a large stock pot, add the sugar, vinegar, and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the drained cucumber mixture and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.
• Ladle the hot relish into hot sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and seal tightly with the lids.

  Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
• Sealed jars will store in a cool, dark place for a year. If the seal is broken, the relish will keep in the fridge for at least a month. Makes 4 pints (you can use pint-sized or half pint jars).  

  Best eaten at least a week later after the flavors have had time to meld and the vinegar mellows out a bit. In addition, the relish needs to sit to give it time to absorb some of the liquid and to thicken.

 

*(This farm is run just like the farm that used to exist down the road, where I worked after college for several months until I figured out what to do with my college degree with honors.  Just kidding, I just went to other low-pay no-education-required job for years.  I finally became a teacher when I was about 30 years old, which at least requires my college education.  At the time of working at the farm, I had no idea why people would get so excited for these massive bags of pickling cucumbers, often little old ladies.  And now here I am, rushing to get them.)

jams with Pomona pectin

 I'm a big fan of weighing things instead of measuring with a cup.  Especially with things that need to be mashed, it seems a better way of handling them since I can measure them in whole and then crush them. 

crushed raspberries weigh about 230 grams for 1 cup 

Couldn't find it accurate on-line so I measured it myself.   

Guessing about the same for strawberries but was advised 166 g per cup.  I'll measure it out again.   

A flat of raspberries - with half pints - will make two batches of jam and a couple of pints left over for eating.   

roasted zucchini with parmesan

 At first I thought this roasted zucchini with parmesan was kind of meh, but I ate a heap and I do like the flavor and the texture, so it's a keeper for sure.  

Ingredients

• 4 small zucchini ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise
• ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
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• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, dill, or a mix (optional)

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a cooling rack with nonstick spray and place on a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir together the Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Place the zucchini in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the Parmesan mixture. Toss to coat, then arrange the zucchini on top of the cooling rack on the prepared baking sheet, being careful not to overlap the spears. Place in the oven and bake until the zucchini is tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the oven to broil. Cook until the Parmesan is lightly crisp on top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t walk away! The second you stop watching the cheese, it will decide to burn. Remove the zucchini from the oven and immediately squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Sprinkle with herbs. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

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white bean vegetable soup

 Isn't it great when you have all the ingredients for what you're craving?  Score!  Celery to use up, an onion about to turn, canned tomatoes I need to start using, a tub of "baby" greens to start working on. Idea from here. 

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 2-3 celery stalks, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp thyme
• fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 jar of canned tomatoes
• 2 jars of white beans or cooked equivalent - if from a can, rinse and drain
• 2-4 cups broth 
  
• salt & pepper
• bay leaf
• a few handfuls of chopped greens 
  
• parmesan
• parsley (optional)
  

Process

• Heat olive oil, saute onion, carrot, celery for several minutes until softened.
• Add garlic a minute, then add herbs.
• When aromatic, add tomatoes and beans.
• Add broth (less if tomatoes with juice, less if bean liquid included).  
• Cook about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the greens and cook a couple of minutes.
• Stir in parmesan.
  
• Top with parsley if desired.
  
• Add
  

green borscht

 I picked up some sorrel at the farmers market and what to make, what to make?  This recipe for green borscht popped up.  I made it vegetarian because I don't care for pork, and I didn't put the raw egg in because I don't care for egg drop soup and such, though I did put in hard boiled eggs.  

Ingredients

• 500 grams Young Potatoes cubed
• 200 grams Sorrel fresh
• 1 Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 4 hardboiled eggs
• 1 raw egg
  
• 1 tbsp Sour Cream or Smetana if you can find it
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Oil

Instructions

1. Bring broth to boil; add in the potatoes and bring back up to a boil. Let cook for 10 minutes.

 2.  While the potatoes are cooking quickly fry some grated onion and carrot in a pan with a bit of oil. Add to the borscht and give everything a stir. Also chop up the hard boiled eggs and add that in. 3.  In a small bowl beat together an egg and the sour cream. Swirl the pot of boiling borscht and slowly pour in the egg mixture so it cooks immediately as it hits the soup. 4.  Turn off the heat and add in the chopped sorrel. Give everything a good stir and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

millet beet salad

 Idea taken from here.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry millet - cooking instructions from here
• 1 cup water or broth 
• 1 large beet or 1 jar of canned beets
• 1/2 lemon, juiced or 2 T lemon juice
• 2 T olive oil
• salt, pepper
• large garlic clove, pressed
• 2 T coarsely chopped almonds
• arugula or other salad green
  

Lightly toast millet for 4-5 minutes in pot, then add 1 cup water or broth and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit for 10 minutes, then fluff.

Make dressing: mix together lemon juice, oil, salt & pepper, garlic.  Stir into millet.  Add drained beet, almonds, serve with arugula.