Cucumbers...Zucchini...Beans! A true veggie bombardment.

Every winter, I order seeds.  This I am sure comes as no surprise to any of you.  I typically give the plants away, and keep a variety for myself.  I like to experiment with different types, varieties, shapes and colors.  This year, I decided to try Turkish orange eggplant, Hungarian cheese peppers, and Romanian Gold Beans of Bacau.  I also choose all time favorites such as Roma, and cherry tomatoes, Blue Lake Beans, and Chicago Pickling cucumbers.

My garden this year is all about new discoveries.  I have more space to work with, more sun, less tree roots, and better soil.  I dug three extra beds this spring, in order to house my veggies, and knowing how I like to over crowd my plants (thinning seedlings is not one of my strong suits) I vowed to give everything enough space...even the tomatoes...sort of.  

I planted about 6 zucchini seeds, spaced nicely apart.  Then I planted three thin rows of cucumbers, a pickling variety and a regular cucumber.  I made two areas for my beans and peas to climb, sowing purple, yellow wax, bush, pole and the beans of Bacau, in designated areas.  They filled in nicely, each producing abundantly at a different time.

And then, I accidentally watered two packets of cucumber seeds...and instead of drying them out, or discarding them...I planted them.

So this is pretty much what it looks like every day at my house....

and this.......

and now this......

Needless to say, I have stopped picking cucumbers for the time being....

What does one do with all of these cucumbers you ask...I made pickles.  Lots and lots of pickles.  In fact I should be making pickles right now.  

 

The true fact of the matter is that this mass quantity of cucumbers has brought with it, the opportunity for me to experiment with various types of pickle making and pickle recipes.  I have tried garlic dill pickles,  hamburger dill pickles, and bread and butter pickles.  

At one point, at the height of my pickling frenzy, with some brine to spare, I began pickling the string beans.

 

  I also decided to make Tzatziki Sauce.  Cucumber, dill, mint, yogurt, garlic and lemon. Yum!

Ok so now moving on the other veggies...Zucchini.  One night I decided to make a dish that I used to order at restaurants in Italy, Fritto Misto.  Often served on brown paper, this crave-worthy dish is usually made up of a variety of fried veggies and seafood.  

I decided that I would fry some zucchini flowers, along with zucchini, and string beans in a light batter that I usually use for the zucchini flowers.  Not sure how the beans would turn out ( even as I added them to the oil) I was surprised to find that they cooked so quickly and were incredibly tender while still a little crunchy.  This dish made a perfect side for the main course...and I made zucchini parmigiana with the leftovers!

( Please note the wrapped up cucumber in the background...they are everywhere!)

And this leaves us with the beans.  Oh the beans.  Producing wonderfully, I have purple, yellow wax, green, and Gold of Bacau.  Typically I like to blanch the beans in salted water, and toss them with olive oil, fresh mint, garlic, salt and pepper, and add a little splash of vinegar at the end.  This is one of my favorite summertime side dishes.  This year however, because of the shear abundance of beans, I wanted to try something different.

The Gold of Bacau, heirloom Romanian Pole Beans, are tender and light, but I had never cooked them alone.  So in order to highlight and understand their true flavor, I isolated them, and decided to make these beans in a tomato basil sauce.

I prepared the beans by blanching them lightly in salted water, while in another pan, sauteing a few  lightly smashed garlic cloves in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Once the beans were ready, I added them to the garlic to saute, and then added Italian Cherry Tomatoes.  These tomatoes are so sweet and fresh, they make a delicious sauce.  I finished the dish with some purple basil leaves from my garden. 

The beans came out so tender and full of flavor that they almost could be used as a substitute for a pasta dish.  This is one recipe that I will add to my list of summertime favorites!

Stay tuned for more updates from the garden...as the tomatoes and peppers are finally beginning to make an appearance...

Snowy Saturday Recipe-Creamy Cauliflower Winter Soup

Ok Ok, so winter is upon us.  There are mounds of snow everywhere.  And they don't seem to be getting any smaller.  After days of shoveling and being cooped up inside, I decided to attempt a soup recipe that was sure to raise my snowy spirits.

This recipe was inspired by a creamy cauliflower soup that I often order for lunch at a restaurant in New York City.  It is hearty and filling, and the perfect comfort food on a winter night.  I decided to try to recreate the flavors of this yummy dish, while adding a few elements of my own. 

I began the soup by cutting up a head of cauliflower into flat segments, so that the pieces would caramelize when browned, adding a nice roasted flavor.

In a large enamel soup pot, I began to saute the cauliflower in olive oil and Italian butter that I found at my local grocery store.  This butter is sweeter than regular butter, and created a complex richness in the soup.  I also added a piece of pancetta that I had been saving in my freezer and browned this along with the cauliflower.  I often try to keep a piece of this handy in order to flavor soups and sauces.

Next, I chopped shallots, onion, and garlic and added them to the pot along with a dash of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and dried french thyme for flavor.

Once the veggies were softened and browned, I added two boxes of chicken stock, freshly chopped parsley, and about 1/4 cup grated grana padano cheese (parmigiano would work well too).  I allowed this to simmer for a few minutes so that the flavors could become incorporated.

In the meantime, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, and chopped up bread pieces to use as croutons, tossing them on a cookie sheet with olive oil and rosemary seasoned salt.  

 

On a separate cookie sheet, I spread chopped kale that I drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with steak seasoning, salt, pepper, and smoked spanish paprika.  I wanted the kale to be a smokey and crispy element that would add complexity to the soup.

While these were baking (making sure not to let the kale burn), I removed the pancetta pieces from the soup pot and pureed the soup using my immersion blender.  Once the soup was creamy, I added about two cups of milk, and a little more butter to get a thick but smooth consistency.  Salt and pepper were added as needed.

Next, I made a chili oil to drizzle on top of the finished soup.  I don't keep chili oil in my pantry, so I mixed olive oil with chili pepper, smoked spanish paprika, chipotle seasoning, and a splash of tabasco.  I let this sit for a while so that the dried spices would become incorporated into the olive oil.

When the kale was brown and crispy, I added some slices of imported capicola to the cookie sheet so that I could crisp it and crumble it over the soup.  This would add a smoky crunch that would balance the nutty flavor of the kale and the sweetness of the soup.

Once everything was finished, it was time to assemble the soup!

I put the left over kale and crispy capicola in a little bowl on the side to munch on and add to the soup.  The flavors combined into a perfect balance between sweet, nutty, smoky, and salty.

This is a wonderful soup to make and freeze to have for lunch or dinner.  Just save the crispy kale and croutons in an air tight container to add as a garnish and enjoy!  Yum!

Fall Colors!

 As the season winds down and the days are getting shorter, it takes a little more effort to find the colorful blooms and signs of life among the yellowing leaves and exhausted plants.  During  September and October, I often forget that there are indeed things happening in my garden, veggies are ripening, flowers are re-emerging, enjoying the warm days and cool nights.  It is important to recognize the last efforts made by these plants before the weather gets cold, and skies turn gray.  I have cataloged a few of these blooms in an effort to pay close attention. 

Reblooming Purple Clematis.

Delphinium.

Zinnias planted later in the season allow the colorful blooms to paint the flower beds.

Nasturtium flowers make a colorful and edible addition to salads.

Monk's Hood.

Blue Hydrangeas display a beautiful jewel-like purple color in the fall.


Not only are the fall flowers full of color, but the veggies too!

Purple Stringbeans.

 Bananarama Pepper.

 Fairytale Eggplant.

Sweet Thing Pepper.

Good as Gold Pepper.

 
Tomatoes.

Rainbow Chard.

Re-seeded lettuce mix.

Peppermint Stick Celery.

With these fall colors in mind, and the abundance of fresh grown produce coming in each day, I decided to make a few fun dishes.

The weather has been both warm and chilly, as if it is having trouble making up its mind.  After harvesting from my own garden, and visiting the local farm markets, I settled on a hearty vegetable soup, and gazpacho with a side of fried squash blossoms.  These soups make great dinners, and will last, saved for leftovers.

For the veggie soup I used an abundance of fresh greens as the main ingredients, like Red Russian Kale, Mustard Greens, and Rainbow Chard.  I also added purple dragon carrots, rosemary, thyme, purple sweet potato, butternut squash, celery and onion.  First, I sauteed the ingredients, adding each one gradually, saving the greens for last, until they are browned.  Next I added chicken stock, salt, pepper, and parmigiano cheese rinds for flavor.  I also added some pastina stars to thicken the soup, rice could also work well for this.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground pepper and grated parmigiano cheese. 

For the gazpacho, I sampled a variety of peppers from my garden, along with heirloom tomatoes, scallions, cucumber, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.  I chopped all of the veggies, along with a clove of garlic, added salt, pepper, tobasco, and tomato juice.  With an immersion blender or standard blender, I pureed the veggies until finely chopped.  Chill soup in refrigerator for an hour and serve with garlic bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.   

For the side dish, I made my all time summer favorite, fried squash blossoms.  I found these blossoms at the Union Square Farmer's Market in NYC this week and nearly jumped for joy.

The batter consists of a cup of flour, salt, pepper, an egg, olive oil, and a splash of dry white wine.  Combine Flour, salt, pepper, 5 tablespoons wine, 2 tablespoons olive oil and egg yolk, adding warm water until a smooth batter forms.  Save egg white to use later.  Let batter sit for an hour and then add egg white.  Dip each flower into the batter and fry in olive oil until golden brown.  Sprinkle fried flowers with sea salt and eat.

Yum!

Though the leaves are falling and the days are getting shorter, there are plenty of things going on in the garden during this time of year.  Try not to forget about it just yet!