Over Abundance

Which brings me to salsa. Last year was the year of the apple. This year the tomato gets the prize. And when life gives you too many tomatoes, make salsa. Here's how:

Chop as many tomatoes as you want to use, discarding any bad spots. I keep the skins on and the seeds in. It's all chock full of vitamins and good for you, right? When done shopping put them in a big bowl.

Cut a bunch of sweet peppers into small piece. I might use one medium pepper for every four big tomatoes. Any color is good, but I like the way the green ones add to the color.  Add to the bowl.

Chop a few carrots and add to the bowl.

Chop up a jalapeño (or two if you like it spicy) and add to the bowl

Chop a handful of cilantro and add to the...

Stir bowl ingredients and add salt to taste and about 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar or more if you like it a more sour taste.

Put in a few ladle full at a time in a blender and pulse on grate or grind for a few seconds to blend but not liquefy. You should be able to see chunks of the ingredients.

Keeps well in fridge for about a week or two, if you can make it last that long!

Call me a Mountain Mama but the trouble (or the ease) of my recipes is that I hardly every USE a recipe. Did I mention that already?? I just gather what's there and start cooking.  

A while back I was going to write a cookbook with another friend who also cooks this way and we were going to title it "The Approximate Chef". That was also going to be the title for this blog, but then I saw that someone else had already taken the name. That doesn't however, prevent me from being an approximate chef.

So, here are a few more approximate recipes that use up garden goodies. 

Quinoa Goat Cheese cakes with herbs:

Rinse quinoa (however much you want)  thoroughly then add twice as much water as quinoa. and bring to a boil. Turn down to low, cover and cook 15 minutes till water is gone. Let sit a few minutes. Add some chèvre, maybe a 4 oz. log for every cup of quinoa cooked, and some chopped fresh herbs, whatever you like. A few tablespoons of rosemary works really well. My favorite, though, is lemon thyme. A nice big handful of leaves tossed in gives a lemony flavor that is perfect with the goat cheese. By the way, IF YOU HATE GOAT CHEESE (as a friend of mine does) you can do this with cream cheese instead. Mix thoroughly while quinoa is warm then let cool a little. Form into patties and cook in olive oil till nicely browned on each side. Serve topped with a slice of tomato, a teaspoon of pesto (cilantro pesto is divine with this), and a dollop of greek yogurt.

Mango Kale salad (goes really well with the Quinoa Goat Cheese Cakes):

De-stem and chop a bunch of your favorite kale

Massage with a few tablespoons of olive oil and some salt (Malden is terrific for this)

Add a peeled and diced fresh and juicy mango

Add 1/2 - 1 squeezed lime (depending on how much kale you have used)

Sprinkle toasted pumpkin seeds or almonds on top

Grated potato cake (also yummy with kale mango salad)

Grate a few potatoes

Heat about 4 T. oil in a  pan

Spread 1/2 potatoes in the hot oil to cover bottom completely and then some

spread Goat cheese (or other cheese if you prefer) on potato

sprinkle on fresh herbs of your choice

spread remaining potato over top and press down firmly

Cook till brown on bottom

Loosen from bottom with long blade spatula 

Put a plate over top of pan and flip cake out onto the plate then slide back in pan to cook other side.

Any fruit pie with honey (to finish off your dinner)

Make crust - For a 2 crust pie I put 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour in a food processor along with 12 T. butter and pulse till like cornmeal. Add 6 T. water and pulse till it forms a ball. Cut in two parts and roll out separately in enough flour so it won't stick.

Filling: 4 c. of whatever fruit you want (sliced if not a berry),  1/3 c. honey. 1/3 cup white flour or tapioca starch. Cinnamon if you want (for apples definitely),  a squeeze of lemon, perhaps if the fruit is very sweet like ripe peaches or blueberries. Fill pie plate lined with one crust. Dot top with butter if you want a richer taste. Top with second crust and sprinkle with brown or turbinado sugar if you like it sparkly and crunchy on top. 

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 and bake another 30-45 minutes till golden brown.

Two years after starting this blog, I am about to write the first post! And what has been coming to me, lately, are food ideas. With the harvest heavy upon me, and too many cucumbers, tomatoes and other things, I am faced with the constant challenge of using up this abundance in a productive and delicious way. So... stories later and food now.

The first entry: Cucumber Soup.

Caveat: I am not a follower of recipes. I take a look at what I have on hand and figure out what I can do to make something delicious. The recipes that will be included in this blog are places to start, and I encourage you to change the "recipe" depending on what you have in YOUR pantry or fridge or sitting on you kitchen counter because you have run out of storage.

I had a WAY overabundance of cucumbers this year. And finding them... well, it was a little like an Easter Egg hunt. They would hide amongst the leaves only to be found weeks later, GIANTLY overripe. Some people might have chucked it on the compost, but that seems shameful. So, here's what I did.

• Peel giant, misshapen, or slightly aging cakes that you wouldn't usually use for pretty eating or pickles. 
• Scoop out the seeds and discard and chop cucumbers into largish cubes.
• Depending on how many cucumbers you use, peel and chop between 1 and three onions and saute till translucent in a little salt and some olive oil. You can saute longer and caramelize them which will give a richer and sweeter flavor. 
• Chop and add between 1 and 3 potatoes. I had lots of teensy baby potatoes from my garden this year that weren't much good for storing, so I used about 2 cups of them with 1 large onion and about 7 cukes. Saute with onions for a few minutes.
• Add cukes and between 4-6 (or more if you are large batching) veggie stock (or chicken if you are not a vegetarian as I am)You can add herbs to the stock if you want. Thyme is great. Dill if you like. I avoided garlic because it took away from the sweet and fresh flavor. 
• Bring to a boil and simmer till potatoes are soft. Set aside till cool.
• Puree in a blender or use my new favorite tool, an immersion blender, till blended to your taste. Longer for really creamy and less so if you like a little texture.
• Store in fridge and serve hot or cold.
• Add a little heavy cream if you want, or a dollop[ of yogurt. The Greek kind is great. garnish with fresh herbs if you want, like chives, lemon thyme, or basil.

Enjoy with a nice loaf of crusty bread, a mozzarella and tomato and basil salad, and a bottle of white wine. Ah... summer!