“What the heck am I going to do with all these vegetables?”

“How on Earth did I forget to celebrate “National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch” night?”

If you missed the opportunity to celebrate on August 8th - or have neighbors who take a dim view of trespassing, here’s a tasty alternative.

Use your extra squash, zucchini, and peppers and whip up a batch of “Late Summer Refrigerator Pickles.” After one taste of these sweet treats, your neighbors will be begging for more.

These fresh packed pickles taste more like marinated vegetables than traditional brined and canned pickles. Fresh packing has several advantages over traditional pickling:

· Lower in salt
· Crisper taste
· No boiling water bath required!

The downside is that they must be kept refrigerated and only keep for a couple of months. Of course, ours never last longer than a week or so. They make a great snack or side dish on a hot summer day.

The recipe is really flexible.
Basically, you need about 10 cups of your favorite vegetables. For this batch, I used the morning’s garden harvest of squash, zucchini, and peppers – which is pictured here. I also tossed in some sweet onions for flavor and a carrot for color.

Earlier in the summer when we had lots of cucumbers, but less squash and peppers, I substituted some cukes for zukes. And sometimes, I slice some hot peppers and toss them in to make a good, spicy mixture.

Late Summer Refrigerator Pickles
Makes approximately 2 quarts
(adapted from a recipe in “The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest” by Carol W. Costenbader)

2 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar (you can use white, but the cider gives the marinade a better flavor)

6 cups squash and zucchini, sliced very thin (use a mandolin or food processor if available)
3 cups bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 cup onion, sliced into thin strips
1 large carrot, sliced into thin rings
1 very thin-sliced jalapeno (optional)
1 tablespoon pickling salt
1 teaspoon dill seeds

1. 1. Pour the sugar and cider vinegar into a saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat; don’t let the mixture boil.
2. 2. Place vegetables in a large bowl, sprinkle with pickling salt and dill. Mix well. Set aside for about ½ hour.
3. 3. Gently pack vegetables into clean glass jars. Pour sugar/cider mixture into each jar to completely cover vegetables.
4. 4. Cap tightly and refrigerate for 1-2 days before eating.

These keep for several months in the refrigerator. The original recipe said they keep 2 months, but they’ve never lasted that long in our house!

Note that you don’t have to use traditional canning-type jars. Because these don’t go through a water bath or pressure canner, any tight-fitting lid will do. I save small jars throughout the year and use them in the summer for refrigerator pickles. They make great gifts for friends and neighbors and are welcome at all potluck dinners!

Finally, if you’re looking for more ways to preserve your summer bounty, the book I referenced earlier, “The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest,” is an excellent resource. It has chapters that explain how to can, dry, or freeze foods, make jams and jellies, pickling, and even hints on packing food as gifts. Every chapter contains recipes and safety tips.

But my favorite tip is this nugget from the West Indies:

“Spicy foods make you perspire more, which cools the body. Spices also help stop foods from spoiling as quickly, and give you an endorphin rush that feels good in any temperature.”

Wow! Who can say no to food that cools you off, tastes great, improves your mood, and also may help you avoid Alzheimer’s?

It’s time to whip up a bowl of fresh, homemade salsa.

This is absolutely the best time of year to get fresh ingredients (at least it is if you live north of the equator). Vegetable gardens and farmers’ markets are overflowing with fresh tomatoes, onions, and peppers. You can make quite a respectable salsa using with just those ingredients, but here’s a recipe that’s slightly more complicated.

The addition of some citrus really brings out the flavor of the other ingredients. You get a sweet-hot taste that’s absolutely delicious. Here’s how to turn this plateful of ingredients into yummy salsa.

We use a food processor and fresh ingredients from the garden. Canned tomatoes make perfectly good salsa. They have a better taste than the tomatoes from the grocery store in the winter. But I like to take advantage of the fresh ones during the summer.

Remember that salsa is a forgiving recipe. You can add more of ingredients you like and make substitutions if you need to.

Spicy Citrus Tomato Salsa

2 jalapeno peppers
1 cayenne or other hot pepper (the one shown in the photo is a variety that’s aptly named “Hotter than Hell”)
1 bell pepper
1 small sweet onion (about 3 inches in size)
2 ½ cups (approximately) tomatoes (in the photo, there are sweet cherry tomatoes and a small variety of Roma)
1/3 cup Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix (if you don’t have any, substitute lime juice, water, and sugar)
salt to taste

1. Cut the bell pepper in chunks and remove stem and seeds. Cut the stems off the jalapenos and cayenne and slice into small pieces. Seed them as well if you want a milder tasting salsa.

2. Peel the onion and slice into chunks.

3. Cut tomatoes in half (or smaller pieces if you’re using larger tomatoes than shown)

4. Place the hot peppers, onion, and margarita mix into food processor and dice into tiny pieces. Add bell pepper chunks and chop just for a few seconds.

5. Add tomatoes to pepper and onion mixture and chop until the desires consistency is reached. Less for chunky salsa, longer for smoother salsa.

6. Salt to taste.

Let the salsa sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld together before serving. This keeps several days in the refrigerator, but there’s usually not any left in our house!

Home-dried herbs are less expensive than the commercial variety and taste better too. Fresh-dried herbs have a more intense flavor, brighter color, and are less likely to have been irradiated.

Most herbs are extremely easy to grow and hard to kill – kind of like weeds. They grow well in the garden or in a group of pots arranged on a sunny windowsill. Delicious fresh, herbs are also easy to dry and store. Homegrown and dried herbs also make great gifts.

Learn the basics of sun-drying or air-drying as we follow an entire pound of fresh basil leaves through the picking, washing, and drying process.

What Herbs Can You Dry?
Why, you can dry almost any of them! The leaves generally have the best flavor because they contain the most amount of essential oils. Some herbs have thin stalks that can be crumbled when dried, but stalks generally don’t add much flavor (dill being the exception here). They can add an unpleasantly crunchy taste though and become lodged in your gums if not ground finely enough.

Seeds are also great candidates for drying: dill, sunflower, coriander, fennel, and mustard are some of the most familiar. Less often, roots are dried as well, as with dandelion, horseradish, and sassafras.

For best flavor, pick the leaves right before the plant flowers. Don’t be shy about picking heavily and breaking off some of the longest stalks. The plants respond quickly to harvest by putting out new, tender growth – more leaves for you to dry later! See what happens to parsley that goes to seed. There’s very little greenery left on the plants for harvest.

Regular harvest can keep plants from flowering and extend the amount of time you have to harvest for drying and enjoy them fresh.

Herb Drying Techniques
Without a doubt, a food dehydrator is the quickest and most efficient way to dry foods. Types of dehydrators run the gamut from $30 tabletop models found at discount stores to large models costing hundreds. Solar-powered dehydrators are also available for purchase or can be built by hand.

However, drying herbs doesn’t take any special appliances. If you have sunlight, relatively low humidity, and an oven, you can dry your garden bounty quickly and easily.

Air-drying is a traditional method where the stalks are tied and hung upside down to dry. Sometimes, they’re placed in a paper bag to catch the leaves and seeds. It’s possible to air-dry herbs indoors or out. Outdoors, you need a sheltered, shady spot and low humidity. Indoors, you need a spot where they herbs won’t be disturbed and good air circulation.

Sun-drying works well, when there’s relatively low humidity, sunlight, and a light breeze. If the outside temperature is too high or there’s too much humidity, your leaves may cook or even rot before they’re well-dried. Too much sunlight and heat can turn the leaves brown and tasteless.

Small batches of herbs can also be dried in a microwave oven or in a traditional oven set on a very low temperature.

I use a combination of sun drying and oven drying. It seems to be the best of both worlds. The sun-drying stage takes advantage of free energy to do the initial wilting. Then, an oven set to “Warm” temperature quickly removes the rest of the moisture and maintains good color and taste.

Drying One Pound of Basil Leaves

Step 1: Pick the basil. Yes, it takes a lot of basil to make one pound! The basil shown here was harvested from several beds of basil – a total of about 30 plants. I picked it in the morning, just after the dew dried, rinsed it, and patted it dry using kitchen towels.

Step 2: Remove the leaves from the stalks. Some sturdier herbs like parsley, rosemary, and thyme can be easily dried on the stalks, but basil leaves and stems contain so much more moisture that it’s much quicker to dry just the leaves and discard the stems. You can’t eat them anyway.

Step 3: Place in the sun for several hours. Here, I used window screens raised up about 10 inches off the surface of the deck. This mitigates the heat rising up off the deck and lets air circulate above and below the leaves. The leaves are arranged individually on one screen, with another on top to keep the leaves from blowing away or being damaged by insects.

Step 4: Complete the drying process in the oven. After 3 hours in the sun, the basil leaves are quite wilted and much smaller! Remove them from the screens and arrange on cookie sheets. Heat the oven to the lowest setting – about 125 degrees is ideal – and then turn it off! Place the sheets with the basil leaves in the warm oven and leave undisturbed (don’t turn the oven back on) at least several hours. Overnight is better.

Here is is before the sun takes over:

And here it is after 3 hours in the sun!

This process is complete when the whole leaf is dry. Don’t try to speed it up by increasing the oven temperature. You’ll get dried out, tasteless, colorless herbs. The process takes time, but it’s worth the wait to get a high-quality result.

Step 5: Crumble leaves and store. The leaves should be completely dry before you do this. Crush the dried leaves by rubbing them between your hands over a plate or bowl. Then, store them in an airtight container until ready to use or give away.

The herbs will keep better and retain their color and flavor longer if you keep them in the freezer. To make cooking more convenient, keep a small jar out in your kitchen and replenish it from the large freezer jar as needed.

And look at the dried result from our one pound of leaves! About 2/3 cup dried basil.

But what wonderful basil it is! You won’t believe the difference in flavor when you compare it to the expensive jars found in grocery stores.

And because the herbs are fresh, you can use less than you would otherwise, but still get a big burst of flavor.

Summer wouldn’t be complete without Berry Pie and this is my all time favorite berry pie recipe. Not only does it taste out of this world, but its full of antioxidants to help keep you healthy so you can enjoy it and be guilt-free.

This recipe is surprisingly simple and fast. The lemon juice and the lemon zest are the secret ingredients that really bring out the berry flavor.

Crust
9-inch Deep Dish Pie Crust (with top)
1 beaten egg

Filling
2 cups blueberries
1 cup blackberries
1 cup strawberriesv
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 teaspoon grated lemon peel (I like zest so I put in the 3)
3 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare crust in deep dish. Wash and pat dry berries.
Combine berries, sugar, flour, salt, lemon peel, and lemon juice in mixing bowl.
Add berry mixture to pie shell.
Drop butter bits on top.
Add the top crust and seal. You can use any extra dough to decorate top. Cut a couple of slits in top crust.
Take beaten egg and brush it on the top crust to give it a shiny finished look.
Bake on cookie sheet for 20 minutes.
Cover pie with foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Crust should be lightly browned and juices should bubble.

Once cooled, serve with ice cream for a memorable desert experience.

Whether you eat it raw in salads, stir-fried, or added to soups and sauces, purslane is a delicious addition to many recipes. It’s easy to grow, tastes great, and - best of all to anyone struggling with rising food prices - it’s free.

Purslane used to be cultivated as a food crop in the United States, and is still a major food drop in many countries, including India. Its popularity has increased recently, with articles in the Washington Post and other publications highlighting the nutritional benefits and taste of this hardy little weed:

The plant is rich in vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene, and quite high in protein. Most noteworthy of all, it is considered a better source of essential omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy plant. These are compounds the body cannot make itself, which are needed to complement the omega-6 fatty acids we get from grains and grain-fed meat. Wild-caught salmon and freshly hulled walnuts also deliver this prize, but for a steady supply what could be handier than a plant that leaps into your own personal food system with the ardor of an overactive puppy?

How to harvest Purslane
Harvesting purslane is easy; it grows just about anywhere that gets two frost-free months per year and loves to spread around cultivated fields, back yards, and any place that has fertile, moist soil. Even so, purslane is drought-tolerant and readily reseeds from one year to the next.

Take care when picking wild purslane though. Be sure the field hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides or other dangerous chemicals. Avoid picking directly next to roads because car exhaust can contaminate plants with chemicals and heavy metals.

Also make sure you’re actually picking purslane and not its evil twin: spurge. Purslane is a healthy food, but spurge will make you sick. Note the difference in these pictures. The purslane stems are thicker and succulent, as are the leaves. But spurge stems and leaves are much thinner, and when the stems are broken, leak a milky sap that irritates the skin. The white sap means the plant is spurge, so feel free to pull it up to make room for more purslane.

Here’s a photo of spurge and another of the milky sap from a broken spurge stem:

Purslane Recipes
The easiest way to add purslane to your diet is to toss a few, washed leaves into your salad or stir fry. The crunchy, zesty flavor has a slight lemony, peppery kind of flavor.

Purslane Cucumber Salad     Serves 4
This recipe includes two of the earliest garden vegetables and herbs: cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. It’s a good, light side dish.

Ingredients:
· 1 cup cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced.
· 2/3 cup halved cherry tomatoes
· ½ cup purslane leaves
· 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
· 2-3 T rice vinegar (start with 2 tablespoons, and add more if needed)
· 1-2 teaspoons sugar

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover, and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Purslane Potato Salad with Curry     Serves 4 - 6
Since purslane is such a popular food in India, it just makes sense to spice up your purslane potato salad with a bit of curry. Mix the salad while the potatoes are still warm (not hot!) and they’ll soak up more of the flavors of the salad.

Ingredients:
· 3 cups potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks, and boiled just until tender.
· 3 stalks celery, minced
· 1-2 green onions and stems, diced
· ½ cup sliced bell pepper
· 2/3 cup raw purslane leaves
· ½ to 2/3 cup mayonnaise
· 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
· 1 teaspoon curry powder
· salt and pepper to taste

While potatoes are still warm, add remaining ingredients and stir well to coat vegetables. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Over the years of social events and get-togethers I had to find a recipe that even lousy cooks could master. I wanted something that was easy and required little preparation as I lacked experience in the kitchen. Anyhow, here is the wonderful bean dip recipe that has gotten me very far with guests.

What You Need:

• 1 – Large can of vegetarian baked beans (so you don’t have to remove pork)
• 1 – Small bag of shredded cheese (whichever type your taste buds like)
• 1 – Box of cream cheese
• Garlic powder if you want a hint of extra flavor (optional)
• 1 – Small glass baking dish (pie size works great)
• 1 – Bag of tortilla chips

Directions:

• First pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Next, take cream cheese and smear evenly across bottom of glass dish.
• Then, drain baked beans and pour over cream cheese in dish. Make sure they are evenly spread out as well.
• Finally, sprinkle shredded cheese over beans evenly creating a blanket where you don’t see any of the beans.
• If you want to add garlic, this is the time to sprinkle a little over the top before putting it into the oven.
• Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. If you pull it out and it is still a little cool in the middle, put back in for another 15 minutes. You want to make sure all the cheese on top is melted and typically it is boiling around the edges.
• Take out of the oven once ready and serve with bowl of tortilla chips. If children are involved make sure and let cool for a few minutes until the glass is not hot enough to burn. Enjoy!

Basil pesto is delicious, but the price of prepared pesto is alarming: expect to pay $5 or more for as little as half a cup! It’s amazing how something so expensive is so easy to make.

Fresh basil is easy to grow in the garden or on your windowsill. Take a pile of leaves, add some garlic, olive oil, and turn a cup of homemade pesto into three delicious meals - some left over to freeze for later. If you grow your own basil, ingredients for all three meals won’t cost much more than that measly little jar of pesto from the supermarket.

Growing and Harvesting Your Own Basil
Growing basil is easy! The term “herb” denotes a plant that’s valued for its taste or medicinal properties. Remember though, that another name for “herb” is “weed” as in “grows like a.” Just ask any gardener who once planted “just a little” mint only to have it take over the garden in a single season.

The good news is that basil is a form of mint, but not nearly as invasive as its cousins peppermint and spearmint. Grow it from seed in pots or transplant seedlings into your garden once the weather is warm. Or, if you’ve bought some fresh-cut basil, take one of the stems (with leaves still attached) and keep it in a glass of water until the stem begins to root. Then, transplant it into a pot and it will grow into a whole new plant.

Harvest basil when the leaves are young and tender because they taste better – a lot better! Beginning gardeners often hesitate to cut much off the plant, but cutting the leaves makes the plant grow new ones. If you don’t keep the plant cut back, it will start to bloom and put more energy into flowering than making leaves. Also, the leaves from a blooming plant will have a sharper flavor that’s not as good.

Be ruthless when you harvest. The plant signals that it’s getting ready to bloom by forming this four-leaf arrangement at the top of the stem. Before the flowers start to form, pinch it back 2-3 inches or more to keep the plant producing leaves.

Three Meals from One Cup of Pesto
Each recipe contains two common ingredients: pesto and cherry tomatoes. Sweet cherry tomatoes are about the only supermarket tomato that’s reliably fit to eat all year round. They taste even better in the summer, straight out of your garden or the local farmer’s market.

You can always substitute other tomato varieties too. Just make sure to use fresh tomatoes, not canned.

Easy Basil Walnut Pesto Recipe Makes about 1 cup
This recipe uses walnuts instead of pine nuts. Walnuts cost less, are lower in fat, and also contain heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. If you prefer the taste of pine nuts, just substitute an equal amount for the walnuts. You can further reduce the fat and calories – and make the recipe vegan - by leaving out the Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup walnuts
4-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (optional)
½ teaspoon lemon juice
salt to taste

1. 1. In food processor, blend 1 cup basil leaves, garlic, walnuts, and olive oil, until everything is well-chopped. This pulverizes the garlic so it blends evenly into the pesto mix.
2. 2. Add remaining basil, Parmesan, and chop until mixture forms a paste. Add additional olive oil if needed to reach the desired texture.
3. 3. Add lemon juice and salt to taste. The lemon juice helps preserve the bright green color that otherwise fades quickly (within minutes) to a dull brown.

Note: traditionally, in Italy, pesto is prepared by hand. That’s certainly an option, but it’s a lot of chopping!

Pasta with Pesto and Cherry Tomatoes Serves 2
This is an easy pasta dish that looks pretty and makes ample portions for two people. Double it – or triple it – for additional guests. There shouldn’t be many leftovers, but just in case, the dish is also good served cold or reheated.

Ingredients:
½ pound dried pasta
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3-4 tablespoons pesto (to taste)
4-6 fresh basil leaves for garnish

1. 1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
2. 2. Add pesto to the hot pasta and stir to coat evenly.
3. 3. Top with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.

Pesto Focaccia Pizza
Focaccia is a flat, chewy Italian bread that tastes wonderful on its own or with added herbs and toppings. In this recipe, the focaccia serves as a thick, chewy pizza dough. Because you top it with fresh tomatoes and bake only until the cheese melts, the tomatoes retain their fresh flavor. It’s delicious and serves for 2-3 people as a main course or 4-6 as an appetizer.

Instructions for baking your own focaccia are below. But if you’re pressed for time, go the easy route and buy a prepared loaf for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 prepared focaccia loaf (be prepared to pay $3 or more per loaf)
2 cups sliced fresh tomatoes (sweet cherry tomatoes complement the pesto perfectly)
2-3 tablespoons pesto (to taste)
½ to 2/3 cup shredded Mozzarella and Provolone cheese

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. 2. Mix pesto and tomatoes together in bowl until tomatoes are evenly coated with pesto.
3. 3. Top focaccia with tomato/pesto mixture and sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.
4. 4. Bake approximately 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Don’t bake too long or the focaccia will burn!

Although you can use a bakery focaccia, it’s such an easy and quick bread to make, why not give it a try? Note that to make the focaccia pizza with homemade focaccia, you bake the bread halfway, remove from the oven, add the toppings, and finish baking. Pay close attention to that step; it keeps the bread from getting wet and mushy from the tomatoes.

Easy Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Italian Seasoning
Even the basic focaccia recipe is tasty, but this recipe gives a layer of added flavor because you mix dried herbs in with the bread dough. Focaccia is one of the easiest yeast breads; it only rises once and the dough is easy to shape. Focaccia is supposed to be freeform and irregular. The shape adds interest and shouts: “I’m homemade!” to your family and guests.

Mix the ingredients using a large stand mixer with a dough hook. If you don’t have one, it’s ok to mix/knead by hand, but it will take longer.

Ingredients:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons bread flour
2 1/12 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup hot water (110 to 115 degrees)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried, minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt

1. 1. Optional: If you have a baking stone, get it out and pour hot water over the top. Let it stand and absorb the water until the dough is ready to bak. This gives the bread a better, moister texture because the stone doesn’t pull moisture out of the dough as the bread bakes.
2. 2. Mix yeast, sugar, and water in a small bowl and let it sit until mixture foams (about 10 minutes)
3. 3. Place 2 cups flour, olive oil, and yeast mixture in mixing bowl and use the dough hook to blend – about 2 minutes.
4. 4. Add salt, garlic and Italian seasoning.
5. 5. Add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time if dough is too dry. The dough should look smooth and not feel sticky to the touch. If you accidentally add too much water, mix in a little additional flour – again 1 tablespoon at a time – until the dough feels right. There’s no exact measurement to this final step. Dough changes according to the type of flour you use and even the humidity. Don’t be afraid to feel it and adjust the flour/water measurements as needed.
6. 6. Place dough in large, oiled glass bowl (to keep dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises). Cover with either a wet towel or plastic wrap (neither should touch the dough!) and let it rise in a warm (80 degrees or so) place. If your kitchen is chilly, heat a cup of water in the microwave until the water boils. Then, place the dough inside the microwave. The yeast will love the warmth and humidity.
7. 7. Let dough rise until it doubles in size (about half an hour).
8. 8. When dough is almost finished rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
9. 9. wipe excess water off the baking stone and evenly spread 2-3 tablespoons cornmeal over the top or grease a 9×12 insulated baking pan.
10. 10. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour on a cutting board.
11. 11. Punch down the dough, remove it from the bowl, and knead it lightly on the cutting board. Flatten the dough and spread it out until it’s about 1 ½ inch thick.
12. 12. Transfer the flattened dough to the baking stone (or baking sheet). Use a small brush and lightly brush cold water over the top of the dough.
13. 13. Bake focaccia for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned on top.
14. 14. Serve warm!

Pesto Focaccia Pizza with Homemade Focaccia

1. 1. Mix tomatoes and pesto as noted above. Have the grated cheese ready.
2. 2. Follow steps 1 – 12 for homemade focaccia.
3. 3. Bake focaccia 7-10 minutes, until crust starts to form on the top.
4. 4. Remove bread from the oven and top with tomato/pesto mixture and cheese.
5. 5. Return focaccia to oven and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes.
6. 6. Slice and serve hot from the oven.

Roasted Vegetables and Pesto Pasta Serves 2
Roasting the vegetables adds to their sweetness and introduces extra levels of flavor into a very simple main dish.

Ingredients:
½ pound dry pasta
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes
1 large bell pepper, sliced into 2 inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
dash of salt and black pepper
3-4 tablespoons pesto (to taste)
6-8 fresh basil leaves

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. 2. Place tomatoes and bell pepper chunks into a small bowl. Add olive oil and Italian seasoning. Stir until vegetables are evenly covered with oil and herbs. Pour the mixture into a small baking dish (use one with sides so you can stir during cooking without making a mess) and place in the oven. Roast for approximately 15 minutes – until peppers have softened, but not charred. Stir several times.
3. 3. While the vegetables roast, cook pasta according to the package directions.
4. 4. Drain pasta and stir in pesto. The hot pasta makes it easier to evenly distribute the pesto.
5. 5. Place pasta on two dinner plates and top with roasted tomatoes and peppers. Garnish with several fresh basil leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Freezing Pesto For Later
Pesto doesn’t can well, but it freezes beautifully! It also keeps for quite a while in the refrigerator if you keep tightly covered. However, basil made in June and refrigerated won’t be very tasty in December. Freeze the excess and enjoy that green taste of summer during the dark winter months.

As you’ve seen from these recipes, a little bit of pesto packs a powerful wallop of flavor. Mini-muffin tins (the kind that hold about ¼ cup of batter) are ideal for freezing a single serving of pesto that can be quickly defrosted and added to sauces or used alone.

1. 1. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. This makes it easy to remove the pesto after it freezes.
2. 2. Spoon pesto into muffin tin and freeze.
3. 3. Remove frozen pesto by prying it out with a small spoon. If it doesn’t want to release from the tin, quickly run a bit of hot water over the bottom of the tin; the pesto “muffins” should pop right out.
4. 4. Immediately place frozen pesto servings into a freezer bag.

If you’re using it in a sauce or soup, you don’t even have to defrost before using. Just add the frozen pesto to the hot liquid. Be very careful about defrosting in the microwave! Pesto has a lot of oil and heats quickly. In just a few seconds, you could end up with a slimy boiled mess. It’s better to let it defrost on the counter. Sit it close to the warm stove and the small serving will defrost pretty quickly with no loss in quality.

The frozen pesto will keep at least 4-6 months. Maybe longer, but we always eat ours pretty quickly!

However you eat it, asparagus is a tasty powerhouse of amino acids, phytochemicals, fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and more. Oh, and it’s also fat and cholesterol-free.

History of Asparagus
Asparagus is a perennial plant and member of the lily family. It grows wild on many continents and has been cultivated for over two thousand years. Ancient Egyptians offered it to their gods. Greeks and Romans revered it as well; Roman farmers were among the first to cultivate the wild plants and grow them commercially. King Louis XIV of France so loved asparagus that he had special greenhouses constructed to allow it to be grown and harvested year round. He’s credited with naming it the “king of vegetables.”

American Indians ate asparagus and also used it for its medicinal properties. Cooks in Africa and Asia revered it for its flavor, medicinal uses, and as an aphrodisiac. In China, people enjoy eating candied asparagus as a special treat.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, asparagus became wildly popular in Europe. Colonists took seeds with them, and spread asparagus cultivation to Australia and other new lands.

Nutritional benefits of Asparagus
Asparagus has grown in popularity during the past decade as we rediscover the health benefits and medicinal properties that our ancestors noticed thousands of years ago.

Half a cup of raw asparagus contains just 12 calories, but is a nutritional powerhouse full of:

• Folic acid: helps prevent birth defects, liver disease, heard disease, and colon cancer.
• Gluthathione: a phytochemical and important antioxidant that regulates other antioxidants in the body. It also helps build immune cells and fight the growth of cancer cells.
• Rutin: this bioflavonoid helps increase the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity and also helps the body recover from injuries.

It’s also a fat-free, cholesterol-free source of Vitamins A, C, and E, as well as a good source of fiber. Asparagus contains small amounts of iron and calcium.

It’s like having a little vitamin tablet tucked inside each tender, green spear.

How to buy and store asparagus
First, consider growing asparagus if you have any backyard space. The taste of fresh-cut asparagus is truly sublime. It’s easy to grow and, if weather and climate conditions cooperate, you can often get a small fall crop in addition to spring asparagus.

Fresh asparagus should look fresh! Only buy spears that are firm, bright green, and have tightly formed heads (the leaves at the top of the spear). Thin spears tend to have a better taste and texture than thicker ones.

Eat it as soon as possible after purchase. Remember that harvest, packing, and transportation take time. The spears in your local grocery store could have been harvested a week or more before you bring them home. Asparagus is quite perishable, so try to buy from farmers markets or as close to the growing source as possible.

If you have to store your asparagus for a few days, keep it moist, covered, and cold. Wrap the bottom stems in a wet paper towel and store in a moisture-proof container in the refrigerator for several days. When you get ready to cook, check the spears for firmness. If they seem a little limp, snip off the bottom few inches and place upright in a cup or bowl with a few inches of cold water for 10-15 minutes. That may help rehydrate them.

Tips for cooking and serving asparagus
Asparagus cooks quickly. Very quickly. This fact has been known for centuries. Asparagus-lover and Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, had his own phrase for quickly completing a task: “quicker than you can cook asparagus”.

Overcooked asparagus is a terrible, limp reminder of your time in the elementary school cafeteria line. “Mystery meat” was bad enough, but overcooked asparagus is a “mystery vegetable.” The mystery being why anyone would even think about eating it!

Asparagus is easy to cook and adapts well to multiple techniques. Before you cook asparagus, snap off the white, bottom part of the spears.

Steamed: Some people have special, tall pots for cooking asparagus, and others use a vegetable steamer. Neither is necessary; even if you don’t have any special cooking equipment, you can still enjoy steamed asparagus!

Take a large frying pan and put about ½ inch of water in it. Bring water to a boil, add the asparagus and cook only until it turns a bright green – usually less than 2 minutes! The idea isn’t to boil it, but to heat it up and steam it a bit.

Serve topped with a spritz of fresh lemon juice or melted butter. Very fresh, tender asparagus doesn’t need any topping at all.

Grilled: Asparagus tastes delicious grilled. Brush it with olive oil or a marinade and grill for 4-6 minutes, depending on the temperature of your grill and the amount of “crunch” you want in your asparagus.

Stir-fried: Asparagus is a tasty addition to any stir-fried dish. It mixes well with other vegetables or stands out as the star of the dish. Chop the spears into small pieces (about 1-inch) before cooking.

Stir-frying doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to serve asparagus in a Chinese-style dish. Use your imagination, because it combines with a number of flavors and cuisines. Asparagus is tasty, versatile, and nutritious.

Pasta and Asparagus with Fresh Oregano
Serves 2 as a main dish
This is adapted from one of Rachel Ray’s five-ingredient main dish recipes. In this 8-ingredient version, the onions and peppers are soft, but the asparagus remains a little crunchy. It’s a nice texture contrast.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound pasta (spaghetti, linguine, etc)
4T olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced (you’ll want about half a cup of sliced onion)
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed (depending on size & your love for garlic)
1/2 - 2/3 cup thinly sliced red and green bell pepper (you can use just the green, but red pepper adds a nice color contrast)
10-12 stalks Asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch slices
3T minced fresh Oregano (you can also use dried, but the fresh packs a lot more bright flavor)
Salt to taste

1. Heat water for pasta according to directions on package. While the water heats & pasta cooks, prepare the rest of the dish.

2. Heat olive oil and add onions & bell peppers. Cook over LOW heat until onions are clear.

3. Add garlic and cook about 5 minutes more. The slow cooking process sweetens the onions a lot.

4. Cook the Asparagus 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave. You just want to warm it up and soften it a bit.

5. When the pasta is almost ready (within a 2-3 minutes), add the asparagus and oregano to onion/garlic/pepper mixture and raise the heat to medium. You MAY want to drizzle a bit more olive oil over it right before you add the pasta.

6. Mix the drained pasta with the asparagus mixture and serve. ]]> http://www.culinarymusings.com/2008/05/celebrate-spring-with-asparagus/feed/ http://www.culinarymusings.com/2008/04/i-cant-believe-its-not-bacon/ http://www.culinarymusings.com/2008/04/i-cant-believe-its-not-bacon/#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:22:33 +0000 larisa http://www.culinarymusings.com/?p=79 Use Herbs and Spices to Get a Smoky Taste Without Smoked Meat

Southern cooking, also called “country cooking” or “soul food,” often describes foods loaded with fat, salt, and pork – sometimes all three in the same dish! Traditional dishes include fried chicken, fried okra, fried green tomatoes, and fried squash. See a pattern? Fried, fried, fried. What’s not fried is likely to be cooked with bacon or a chunk of fatback as “seasoning.”

That “seasoned” taste is so common that many people can’t imagine cooking beans without side meat. As Scarlett O’Hara notes in Gone With the Wind: “Black-eyed peas are no good without bacon. There’s no strength to them.”

Here, as in so many areas, Scarlett was wrong.

Want that good, smoky taste without the fat and salt? Set the pork aside in favor of these three ingredients: sweet marjoram, epazote, and black cardamom. You’ll never add bacon again.

Sweet (and smoky) marjoram
Marjoram is related to oregano, but has a softer, less intense flavor. The most common use is in Italian and Mediterranean cooking (but the French love it too), where it’s used to flavor meats, vegetables, and beans.

Add dried marjoram to beans – especially peas and pintos – at a measurement of approximately ½ teaspoon to each 2 cups of cooked beans. Add more or less to taste, keeping in mind that herbs and spices lose their aroma over time. If your marjoram is old, you may need to even double the amount to get the correct flavor.

Marjoram is aromatic and adds just a hint of smoky flavor. Add a dash of olive oil or a pat of butter and you get the flavor and feel of bacon seasoning.

Epazote has other benefits
This Mexican herb (pronounced eh pah ZO tay) grows wild throughout Latin America and is known by a number of different names, including Mexican tea, skunkweed, pigweed, and goosefoot. Epazote has a pungent scent that some have described as “old gym socks.”

But wait! It gets better when cooked! Why else would it have been used for thousands of years as both a medicinal and cooking ingredient?

Epazote’s flavor is pungent and lemony. It combines well with other flavors in a dish and helps intensify them. When cooked with beans, the herb acts as a carminative – meaning it reduces gas. Some people experience, well, discomfort after eating beans, so epazote can be a welcome addition to bean dishes.

Add dried epazote to beans at about the same proportions as marjoram – ½ to 1 teaspoon for every two cups of cooked beans. It doesn’t add much smoky flavor, but helps intensify the flavors of the marjoram and cardamom.

Black cardamom – who needs pork when you have pods?
Don’t confuse black with green cardamom. The latter is used mainly in baking, in combination with other sweet flavors. But black cardamom has a strong, smoky scent and taste that won’t go well with your cookie dough. The smoky flavor of black cardamom comes from the traditional method of drying the spice over open flames.

Black cardamom is used a lot in Indian cooking, and it’s the secret ingredient in many soups and bean dishes. The flavor is so authentically smoky and bacon-like that I’ve had vegetarian guests who were reluctant to eat dishes flavored with it. I had to show them the pods!

Cardamom degrades quickly after it’s ground. For best flavor, buy whole black cardamom pods and store them in the refrigerator. Just before adding the cardamom to your dish, cut open the pod and scrape out the seeds. You can also toss in the pod for extra flavor, but rinse it well first and remove it before serving.

Marjoram, epazote, and cardamom in combination
All three ingredients work well for canned beans as well as dried beans cooked from scratch.

Smoky Pintos from the Can – Guests will think you got up early to cook a big pot of beans just for them! Note that a 1-pound can contains approximately 2 cups cooked beans. In our house, that serves two people. This recipe is for one can; you may need to double or triple it for a larger crowd.

Ingredients
1 can vegetarian pinto beans - Read label carefully because many brands contain pork or pork broth.
½ can water
1/3 cup diced onions
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon dried epazote
½ black cardamom pod

1. 1. Heat saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and onions. Cook until onions are softened.
2. 2. Add marjoram, epazote, cardamom, water, and beans. Bring to a boil.
3. 3. Lower heat and simmer at least 10 minutes. 20 minutes is better because it helps the flavors meld together. Remove cardamom pod before serving.

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Smoky Pintos from Scratch – Dried beans are cost-effective and great sources of soluble fiber and protein. They’re easy! You can cook them using a pressure cooker, slow cooker, or in a saucepan on the stove. Not many dishes give you so many options and nutritional value for such a low cost.

Ingredients
1-pound bag dried pinto beans
1 large onion, diced.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (this small bit adds a lot of flavor, but replace it with olive oil if desired)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried epazote
2 black cardamom pods, rinsed and cut in half

1. 1. Soak beans according to directions on package. Note: it’s important to soak and rinse the beans before cooking. Don’t skip this step!
2. 2. Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in large, heavy-bottom pan. Add onions and cook on low heat (you don’t want to burn the butter) until onions soften.
3. 3. Add vegetable broth, water, soaked beans, marjoram, epazote, and cardamom. Bring to a boil.
4. 4.Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are soft – about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Pintos cook in a pressure cooker much more quickly. About 10-12 minutes after coming up to pressure. Be careful not to cook them too long, or you get pinto mush instead of pinto beans.

2. Healthy Heart:
Are you getting to the middle ages in life and worried about your blood pressure? Well if you eat dark chocolate on a regular basis you can actually lower your blood pressure. This beats taking blood pressure medication every morning. Take it upon yourself to have a nice chunk of dark chocolate as desert after dinner instead of ice cream. Preventative actions are always a plus.

3. Increased Energy Level:
Dark chocolate contains caffeine which is a great “pick me up” in the morning or after a long day. Instead of grabbing a cup of coffee, consider picking up a nice dark chocolate bar. Make sure the chocolate is pure and not full of fat because then you will be paying for it later on at the gym.

4. Feel Happy:
If you break down a dark chocolate bar you will find serotonin, which is a chemical your body produces that makes you feel happy. By eating the chocolate you are automatically increasing your body’s levels of serotonin which will inevitably make you feel a little better. It’s no wonder we love this stuff!

5. Ditch a Cough:
Dark chocolate has been found to contain theobromine which is a new and more effective cough suppressant to codeine. With this in mind a chunk of dark chocolate bar on your way to bed when you have a cough sounds great. Maybe chocolate before bed is not such a bad thing after all?