Author Archives: Pumpkin Ridge Gardens

Dilly Beans

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  • 6 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 36 black peppercorns
  • 3 lbs young, tender snap beans, trimmed, if necessary, to 4 inches
  • 1-2 heads dill seeds
  • 3-4 heads coriander seeds
  • 3 ½ cups white wine vinegar
  • 3 ½ cups water
  • 2 Tbs. pickling salt

Into each of 6 sterile pint mason jars, put 1 sliced garlic and 6 peppercorns.  Pack the beans vertically into the jars, adding ½ dill head and  2 coriander heads to each jar.  In a non-reactive saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water and salt.  Pour the hot liquid over the beans, leaving ½ inch headspace.  Close the jars with hot two-piece caps.  Process the jars for 5 minutes in a boiling-water bath, or pasteurize them for 30 minutes in water heated to 180-185 degrees, F.  Store the cooled jars in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month before eating the beans.

Dilled Zucchini

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  • 3 medium zucchini, sliced 3/8″ thick
  • 1/4  cup chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  • 1 tablespoon snipped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

In a covered saucepan, cook zucchini and onion in small amount of bioling light ly salted water about 5 minutes or just till tender. Drain well. Add butter or  margarine, parsley, lemon juice, and dill weed; sprinkle with a little salt and  pepper. Toss to coat.

Deep-Dish Hazelnut Vegetable Pie

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  • 3/4 c. cauliflower
  • 3/4 c. broccoli
  • 2 c. chopped fresh or frozen spinach
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3/4 c. grated Cheddar
  • 1 c. coarsely chopped hazelnuts
  • 1 1/2 c. milk
  • 1 c. biscuit mix
  • 3 eggs
  • salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut broccoli and cauliflower into small florets and steam until almost tender. Drain and mix with spinach, onion, garlic, and Cheddar cheese. Spoon mixture into well-greased 10-inch pie pan or baking dish. Top with hazelnuts. Beat together milk, biscuit mix, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour over hazelnuts and vegetables and bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Serves 6.

From the Winter Harvest Cookbook by Lane Morgan.

Daniel’s Kim Chee

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This is a general kim chee recipe, adaptable to any vegetable, sent to us by our friend Daniel, who did an internship at the Cultured Pickle in the Bay Area. While these instructions are for turnip, cauliflower and carrot, the method works for any combination of vegetable.

-Shredded pickles: this is essentially the same method for sauerkraut but it works really well with root vegetables. Basically you shred the vegetables (with a food processor is easiest) and then salt them. The salt draws moisture out of the veggies creating a brine. Here are step-by-step instructions for this method.

1. Wash the roots and cauliflower and trim off any soft spots

2. Weigh all the veggies and record the weight

3. Calculate anywhere from 1.5 – 2% of the vegetable weight and weigh out that much salt.

4. Shred the root vegetables and cut the cauliflower into small pieces combining all in a giant bowl as you go.

5. Thoroughly mix the shredded roots and cauliflower with the salt (you can add any spices, chopped garlic, shredded ginger, minced anchovies, herbs or citrus zests that you want at this point. Be aware that garlic flavor tends to bloom and get stronger during the pickling process).

6. Let the mixture sit for a couple of hours and see how the liquid is drawn from the vegetables.

7. Pack the vegetables with their liquid into a crock or as many gallon glass jars as it takes to hold them. Try to press out as much air as you can and leave some head room because the fermentation will bubble up.

8. Put some sort of cover on the surface of the veggies and a weight on top of the cover to keep them pressed under their liquid. I like to use the outer leaves from a head of cabbage folded as needed to cover the shredded vegetables with a gallon jug of water as weight.

9. Let the jars ferment for anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks. It should be in a corner somewhere with a temp around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Taste it as it goes. Push it back down every once in a while. Skim off any mold or white yeast blooms that show up on the surface (they are not harmful, don’t worry).

10. When the flavor has gotten sour enough for you, pack the pickles into jars in the fridge to stop them changing further, or move them to a cool root cellar. (If you want the pickles to be stable for months and years at above refrigeration temperature, you can up the salt percentage to near 3%.

 

-Whole Brined pickles: these are very easy and quick and take less shredding.

1. Wash and trim the vegetables

2. Cut the cauliflower into florets and if the roots are large I would cut them into about two-inch chunks.

3. Make a brine: measure out enough water that you will be able to cover all the prepared vegetables in your crock or gallon jars. Then dissolve in this water 50 percent of its weight in salt. For example, 1 liter of water gets 50 grams of salt, 6 liters gets 300 grams of salt. Also add any flavoring to the brine like flowering dill and smashed heads of garlic. I like to add a bunch of dried chiles. Chile flakes and ground spices are good too. You can also heat the brine to dissolve the salt and add the spices like a tea for more flavor,  just make sure it has cooled completely before the next step.

4. Put all the prepped vegetables in your fermentation container and pour the brine over to cover them completely.

5. Again put some sort of cover with a weight to keep the vegetables from coming to the surface.

6. Let them ferment for at least two weeks. Check them as they go.

7. Refrigerate to stop the process or put in a cool place to slow it down.

Czech Fried Celeriac

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  • 2 large celeriacs
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup canola oil for frying

Clean and peel celeriac: slice into pieces about 3/4 inch thick.  Simmer in salted water with vinegar 2 to 5 minutes.  Drain and pat dry.  Dip in flour, egg, and then bread crumbs.  Meanwhile, heat oil, then fry celeriac until golden brown.  Serve warm.

From The Cook’s Garden seed catalog.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

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  • 1 large onion, diced
  • ¼ c. butter
  • 1 tsp. curry powder
  • 2 ½ c. chicken broth
  • 3 c. pumpkin puree
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 c. half and half
  • sour cream (optional)
  • fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute diced onions in butter until softened.  Sprinkle in curry powder.  Pour mixture into blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Return to saucepan and add chicken broth, pumpkin, salt and half and half.  Heat through over medium heat.  Do not bring to a boil or soup will curdle.  Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

From Portland’s Palate.

Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes

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  • 2 green chiles, seeded and cut into long slivers
  • ½ inch piece of ginger, julienned
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp. black mustard seed
  • 4 Tbsp. ghee or a mixture of vegetable oil and butter
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into spears
  • 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 medium red or green tomatoes, quartered
  • ½ tsp. turmeric
  • 2 tsp. ground coriander
  • ½ tsp. garam masala
  • 1 tsp.; brown sugar
  • 1 ¼ tsp. salt
  • 3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro or parsley
  • Lime or lemon wedges

Combine chiles, ginger, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds in a small bowl.  Heat the ghee or oil-butter mixture in a large nonstick saucepan over moderate heat.  When it is hot, but not smoking, pour in combined seasonings and fry until mustard seeds begin to pop.  Drop in potatoes and cauliflower and stirfry for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables pick up a few brown spots.  Add the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, brown sugar, salt and half of the fresh herb.  Stir well, cover and gently cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. You may want to sprinkle a few tablespoons of water over the vegetables if they begin to stick.  Stir gently to avoid mashing or breaking them.  Serve garnished with remaining fresh herb and lime or lemon.

Serves 5 or 6.

From The Best of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine by Yamuna Devi.

Curried Carrots and Lentils

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  • 1/2 c. dried lentils (red or brown)
  • 1 1/2 c. water
  • 3 carrots, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 c. chopped onion
  • 1/4 c. raisins
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 t salt
  • 3/4 t. curry powder

Combine the lentils and about 1 c of the water in a saucepan, cover and simmer, until the lentils are just cooked. Add the carrots, the rest of the water and all of the other ingredients. Cook until done. Might need to add a bit more water. (The directions for this are actually for a microwave, so I do it on the stove and if the truth be known, I’m not  very good about measuring carefully.)

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook .

Curried Cabbage

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  • 1 Tbsp. canola oil
  • 1 ½ tsp. curry powder
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 ½ tsp. lemon juice or 1 Tbsp. lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
  • Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add curry powder and cook just until fragrant, 30 seconds.  Stir in onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until just wilted and soft to the bite, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in lemon or lime juice and yogurt.  Season with salt.

Makes 4 servings.

From Eating Well Feb./Mar. 2006.

Cucumber and Fennel with Orange-Mint Dressing

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  • 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely slivered
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, sliced
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. toasted walnuts, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

  • 2 Tbsp. orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp. walnut oil
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh mint
  • 1 Tbsp. cilantro
  • 1/8 tsp. paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine salad ingredients except walnuts in a salad bowl and gently mix. In a small bowl, whisk all vinaigrette ingredients until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and pour over salad. Serve immediately or marinate, covered in fridge, for 1-2 hours. Before serving, toss and garnish with toasted nuts. From Yamuna’s Table by Yamuna Devi.