Patience (Cucumber Salad)

Last Friday morning I did the shopping for our camping trip in the Catskills.  Since we would be buying up most of our food at the Kingston Farmer’s Market, there was a short list.  I got in and out, but as I was driving home, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up some extra batteries for the lantern.  After a quick u-turn, I was back at the Giant, searching for the battery display.  Since everything has a charger these days, batteries are no longer stocked with the impulse items at checkout.  I had to ask two stockers before I found what I needed and hurried to pay. 

It seems that there are never enough checkers at Giant.  They run everything off of metrics or matrices, nothing gets done without a stat to support the decision, however they can never seem to get the right number of folks to the registers to take care of the people who want to get going.  The self checkout lines were jammed and only three registers were open at a time when double that would have been about right.

I thought I had lucked out.  There was one register with a single person in line.  Too bad, because the woman in front of me had a cart filled to the brim up top and fully stocked on the bottom with cases of water and mixers.  I knew that this would take some time.

The clerk eyed up the situation and asked the woman with the $300 order whether she would let me slip by to pay for my single pack of batteries.  The woman rolled her eyes, groaned, then plainly stated, “Then I would have to wait!”  She wasn’t gonna budge, in spite of the clerk’s reasonable suggestion and the absolute stone cold fact that I would have been gone and out of her life in under a minute.  So I waited and tried to pull something zen out of waiting for her to go through her accordion file of coupons and try two credit cards before the good one worked.

I did get something out of this experience, a bit of calm, a meditative moment and a recipe for those who don’t like to wait.

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Cucumber Salad

1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced 

           (preferably bought from Migliorelli’s at the Kingston Farmer’s Market)

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 

           (once again, preferably bought from Migliorelli’s at the Kingston Farmer’s Market)

1 tbs. fresh mint 

           (the best is out of Cathy Farrell’s garden)

2 tbs. olive oil

the juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and fresh black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 

Stir. 

Serve, eat.

‘nuf said.

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Some shots from the Kingston Farmer's Market.  Give me a call, we'll meet in front of the stand where the guy sells blue potato chips, buy the place out, then go down to Fleisher's for Denver steaks to grill.

Dogs Hate This Time of Year (Preserved Lemons, North African Cous Cous)

Look for our ad in Natural Awakenings magazine.  A full schedule of classes is here.

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It really is too hot to cook in Pennsylvania at this time of the year.  I know this because Rufus, our handsome, brilliant Golden Retriever, spends the day crashed out in the mud room.  Normally, any talk of a walk elicits barking, jumping and dog spins.   

This time of year, Rufus gives me that, “You kidding me, right?” look so familiar to parents of teenagers. 

But we still have to eat, and we should eat well this time of year.  Even the supermarkets have what they bill as LOCAL produce.  Really, just inside the door, the Giant has a faux market cart filled with zucchini and other stuff that they have marked with the farm where it was grown.  Some of it might be Astroturf local.  That they should be doing this all year is another discussion. 

You ought to be buying up everything at farm markets and roadside stands now.  I’m doing that and, with lust in my heart, awaiting the first local cantaloupe.  Not the refrigerated ones that come in from the Carolinas, the real melons with deep longitudinal ridges and a sweet perfume, because they were gathered in when ripe, rather than when the semi pulled up to take skids of produce to market.  Cathy insists that I have a weird, unnatural relationship with late summer melons and, as always, she is correct.

This time of year, cooking times should be shorter and we need to avoid turning on the oven.  That means that grilling is the way to go, sautéing is the preferred method for vegetables and that a starch like cous cous is a natural, because quickly boiling up a pot of water will not heat up your kitchen.  Tonight’s dinner should take less than 30 minutes to make.  Try preparing this menu of mint grilled turkey legs, string beans with balsamic vinegar and garlic and North African cous cous. 

Begin by marinating butterflied turkey legs (1 per person) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, some chopped fresh mint and a little salt and pepper.  If you are not good with a knife, ask your butcher to butterfly the turkey.  Let the legs marinate for 2 hours, then grill.  As the turkey is grilling, blanch then sauté some fresh green beans in olive oil.  Glaze them with balsamic vinegar and season with salt pepper and a little chopped garlic.  Set them aside to serve at room temperature.  I prefer the beans from Cathy Farrell Farms, a local organic place where the owner always treats me well.  Now, you can get to work on a deceptively complex, North African style, cous cous that is easy to make and sure to impress your friends.  The recipe follows.

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 Preserved Lemons

3 large firm lemons

2 tbs. kosher salt

4 tbs. olive oil

1 large bay leaf

Slice the lemons into thin rounds.  Lay them on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt to pull out water and concentrate their flavor. 

After 1 hour, dab the lemon rounds with a paper towel to remove the water that has been drawn out.  Pack the lemons in a small glass jar, alternating layers of lemon and olive oil, until the jar is filled.  Lay a bay leaf on top of the preserved lemons in the oil.

Preserved lemons do not have to be refrigerated.  Store them in a cool, dark place.  They will keep almost indefinitely, but are better if used within 6 months.

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North African Cous Cous (serves 4)

1 1/3 cups uncooked cous cous*

1 tbs. olive oil

2 cups water, boiling

3 tsp. sliced almonds

3 tsp. raisins

2 tsp. preserved lemons, chopped

2 tbs. parsley, chopped

salt and fresh black pepper

Heat the olive oil on high in a large pot with a tight fitting lid.  Sauté the almonds, raisins, preserved lemons and parsley for just a minute, stirring constantly.  Add the cous cous, lower the heat to medium and toast the cous cous until it begins to pick up a light brown color.  Season with salt and fresh black pepper. 

Add the boiling water, stir once so that nothing has is sticking to the bottom of the pot, cover it tightly.  Allow the cous cous to rest for 5 to 7 minutes, according to the package directions.  When the cous cous has soaked all the water and has absorbed all the aromatics from the almonds, raisins and preserved lemons, fluff it with a fork and serve.

*Read the package directions before preparing the cous cous.  The brand you are using may have slightly different  proportions of water and cous cous.

A Facebook Request (Wilted Dandelion Salad)

We eat weeds at our house.  Really, I graze the back yard like a ruminant and grab up all sorts of tasty things.  There’s one weed that makes a nice tea to settle the stomach.  We just finished mulberry season and the blackberries are about to come in.  Oyster, puffball and bricktop mushrooms bloom after a rain.  The hops are for tea and beer.  The best thing we gather is dandelion.  It is probably the best reason not to take care of your lawn.  Richly flavored, a mix between arugula and watercress, dandelions eat well stewed with butter and white beans or raw, sliced thinly, topped with orange slices and walnuts, dressed with Balsamic vinaigrette.   

During the hot midsummer, dandelion is scarce, but I did find enough in the yard this morning for a lunch salad.  Try to pick the greens when they are still tender, about 6 inches long, when the flowers are bright, before the heads turn to seed.  After that, the greens toughen and are only good with long cooking.  To make our Wilted Dandelion Salad as an appetizer for 4, you’ll need about 1/2 pound of dandelion leaves.  You’ll have to make some real croutons and a warm bacon dressing.  Double the recipe if you want to serve it as a main course.  You can also locate dandelion greens in many grocery stores in the produce section. 

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Wilted Dandelion Salad (serves 4)

1/2 pound young dandelion leaves

1/2 red onion, sliced

4 slices of Italian bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tbs. unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, chopped

4 slices of smoked bacon, thick slice

3 tsp. salad oil

2 tsp. cider vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350° F.  Heat a sauté pan on the top of the stove that is large enough to hold the bread in one layer.  Melt the butter, sauté the garlic for just a minute, then add the bread cubes.  Season with salt and pepper, toss the bread to coat it evenly with the seasonings.  Toast the croutons in the oven for about 20 minutes, until they are toasted through.  Keep warm.

Roughly tear the dandelion leaves into 1 inch pieces and put them in a large salad bowl.  Add the red onion.  Set aside while you make the dressing.

Slice the bacon into matchsticks.  Heat a large sauté pan, add the bacon slices and cook them on high, stirring constantly, until they crisp.  Remove the bacon slices from the pan and put them on top of the salad.  Do not dump out the bacon grease.  It will be used to make the dressing. 

Return the pan to the heat.  Add the cider vinegar.  Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen all those crispy bits.  Add the salad oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add the warm croutons to the salad bowl.  Pour the dressing over the salad and quickly mix the greens.  Divide the salad onto 4 plates and serve immediately.