QUICK VEGE PICKLES

Gather a variety of veges from your garden.

I have beans, peas, carrots, radish pods, peas, broccoli, green tomatoes, and peppers.

Wash well.

Use the vinegar brine from purchased pickle jars, or your use your own favorite brine recipe. Simply add your vegetables and put in the refrigerator for several weeks.  To hurry the process along, add heated brine.  Keep refrigerated and use within a reasonable amount of time.

I haven't tried radishes before so I made a jar using this beautiful watermelon radish.

I generally eat these pickles after they have marinated in the fridge for 3 weeks.

DILL

 

 

Hang a bunch of dill over your door and you will be protected from witches, is an old folk belief.  Dill has been cultivated and used since the time of the Egyptians.  The old Norse word dilla, from which dill is derived means to "lull".  Dill seed oil has been used to make gripe water which calms a colicky child and sooths stomach problems. 

 

 

 

Plant seeds of dill in the early spring, but not to deep, it needs a little sunlight to germinate.  I plant a large block of dill and harvest the dill weed when it is about 6 inches tall.  As the plant matures they can grow up to 5 feet tall so plant them where they will not be damaged by the wind.  I have found that planting in large blocks also helps the plant to support it's self.

 

To harvest the dill plant, cut off  at the base when the seeds are fully developed and still green.  Tye in bundles and hang to dry.  Use a rubber band around the stems so when they dry, the band will tighten and the dill will not fall out of the bundle. 

 Use the dill as flavoring for pickles, other pickled vegetables, and herbed dill vinegars.

 

To harvest dill seed I simply wait until the dill seeds have turned brown.  Cut off plants at the base and fill a large paper grocery sacks full of the dill with the heads at the bottom.  Set the sacks in a warm, dry place such as the back of a closet.  When the stalks are completely dry, remove the seeds from the stems, letting them  fall to the bottom of the bag.   On a slightly windy day pour the seed out of the bag into a large bowl.  This will get rid of all the smaller stems.

 Store the seed in an air tight jar. 

 

TRY THIS:  when you have eaten all the pickles from a jar, don't pour out the vinegar; add fresh, cleaned, vegetables from the garden into the jar. (try a mixture of baby carrots, thin string beans, broccoli florets, etc.) Put on the lid and place in the refrigerator for a week or two.  These fresh vege pickles need to be eaten within a reasonable amount of time and not stored without refrigeration.

 

The kids like to sip a small amount of home canned pickle juice during the summer.  It is very refreshing and replenishes essentials fluids you loose while working in the sun all day.

 

DILLED TOMATO BREAD

make bread in the usual manner, but substitute tomato juice for the liquid

add dill seeds just before you mold into loaves

I like to use the small, shaped, cylinder loaf pans

 

 

 

 

serve the thick, sliced tomatoe bread with cream cheese,

 topped with diced black olives and fresh dill sprigs

these make wonderful sandwiches for tea 

 

Radish Report/CSA DELIVERY

Well , a busy week, made a trip to Roosevelt and back.  Their gardens look amazing, my neighbor's outside tomatoes are bigger than the ones I have been carefully tending in my greenhouse and cold frames.  Their squash plants are up over a foot, mine that escaped the critters, are may-be 3 inches.  Glen just might get me to move up there permanentally to farm yet, and the best part about Roosevelt is, no wind.   I had a friend at church say she came out to visit me the other  day, and the wind  was blowing so hard it almost took her car door off when she opened it  .She didn't find me home, and wondered where I was at the day it blew so bad.  I assured I was there somewhere and  I laughed and said it's windy like that every day so I didn't know what day she would have come out to visit me.

CSA DELIVERY:

I am not certain what the delivery will be this week, but you can plan on tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, spinach, mixed greens (beet greens, mustard, chard, several lettuce types,--remember to get a good selection get there early, otherwise I will just hold you back a bag of a mixed variety), carrots, cilantro, and radishes.  I will visit with Shelly and see what she has (veges and fruit) when I get to market.  I picked up some delicious cherries in Spanish Fork on our way home.  A family has a small orchard right along the road.  I will have those for the fruit share this week, if I don't eat them all before market.  They are YUMMY!

CSA Full Share          CSA half share

6 tomatoes                                                       3 tomatoes
2 cukes                                                             1 cuke
8 ears corn                                                        4 ears corn
2 large onions                                                  1 large onion
green onions                                                    radishes
radishes                                                               carrots
carrots                                                              mixed greens
mixed greens:
lettuce
chard
beet etc.
cilantro


Fruit Share
cantelope
1 lb. cherries
peaches





On our way home we drove over several of the mountain passes that are on fire.  It was an amazing sight.  Beautiful, yet sad.   The bright orange flames eating the helpless, deeply rooted,  trees. The fire clearing out the old, worn-out, dead, and stubborn,  making room for new growth.  Life is like that isn't it.  Sometimes it takes a good set-back to make us appreciate what we have and makes us get our priorities in the proper order.  With tears in my eyes-------from the smoke-------I did some shuffeling myself, and hopefully my priorities are now in the order they should be. I am one blessed farm-girl.  A family, a home, my faith, a husband who tells me I'm beautiful,( good thing he's at the age he can't see clearly), a beautiful vegetable farm, good friends, and delicious, home-grown food to eat.  I can deal with a few critters, after all they are hungry too............oh, and a nice strong breeze isn't so bad either.

My thought and prayers are with those who have lost their homes, belongings or loved ones in the raging fires.




CUCUMBERS

You will be recieving cucumbers in your share box for the next few weeks.  They are the European cukes that are thin skinned and do not need to be peeled.  They are not waxed but are wrapped to help them keep. Our neighbor's supply the cukes and the tomatoes for our CSA.  The hot steam from their greenhouses allow them to grow almost year round.  I have included quite a few recipes.  Hope you enjoy your cukes.  Our families, favorite is the Cucumber, Rice and Orange salad.

The following ( 5 ) recipes call for the cucumbers to be thinly sliced and placed in a collander.  Sprinkle lightly with salt between layers.  Place collander on a plate to catch the juices.  This draws the moisture from the cucumbers so your salads won't be soggy.  After soaking several hours.  Drain the cukes and pat dry.  If you don't want them salty rince in cold water before drying.


CUCUMBER AND DILL SALAD
2 cups sliced cucumbers
2 Tbsp. fresh dill weed
2/3 cups sour cream or yogurt
freshly ground pepper

Slice the cucumbers, salt and let rest several hours.  Drain and dry.  Mix all ingredents and serve immediately.

CUCUMBER AND YOGURT SALAD
2 European cukes peeled and sliced (Personally I like the peelings)
1 Tbsp. salt
1 cup plain yogurt or 1/2c. heavy cream,( 1 Tbsp.lime juice added to thicken cream) or 1/2 c. cream fraiche (recipe below)
2 Tbsp. chopped mint or cilantro
freshly ground pepper
Slice, salt and rest the cukes for several hours. Mix in  yogurt or cream and herbs.
CREAM FRAICHE:  In 2 cups heavy cream add 1/2 c. buttermilk.  Stir and sset in a warm place for 24 hours.  This will keep for 2 weeks in the refridgerator.


SWEET CUCUMBER AND ONION SALAD
Slice, salt, drain and dry cucumbers.
Place cucumbers in a large bowl.
Add 1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 tsp. honey
1/2c. vinegar
1/4c. vegetable oil
1/4c. minced dill weed, or fennel, parsley or chives
1 large sweet red onion thinly sliced. 
Mix together, chill, and let marinate for several hours before serving


CUCUMBER AND FETA CHEESE SALAD
Slice, salt, drain, and dry cucumbers
add 1/2c. vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
1/4c. crumbled feta cheese
1/4c. yogurt
1/4c. sour cream
1 tsp. Dijon-mustard

CUCUMBER TEA-TIME SANDWICH
slice, salt, drain and dry cucumbers
butter crusty brown bread with lots of real butter add cucumbers.  Put on your fanciest hat and brew a pot of herb tea to go with this sandwich.  And of course eat it out on the Terrace.



SPICY CUCUMBER SALAD
grate 4 cups cucumbers
2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
3/4c. scallions
1/2c. green peppers
1/3 c. lime juice
1/4c. vegetable oil
2 tbs. chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
2-3 minced hot peppers
Chill and serve.




This recipe is our families' favorite:
CUCUMBER, RICE AND ORANGE SALAD
21/4c. orange juice
2c.water
1/2 tsp. salt
2c. uncooked brown rice---see note below---
2 cups diced cucumbers
1/2c. diced scallions
2 oranges peeled and diced
1/2c. roasted peanuts
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Combine 2 cups orange juice and 2 cups water in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and add rice.  Cook for 50 minutes.  Cool rice to room temp.  Add cucumbers, oranges and peanuts.
DRESSING:
in a small bowl combine remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and oil.  Whisk to blend.  Pour over salad.  Toss to coat.  Chill.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro just before serving and serve cold.
NOTE:  I blend a 4 oz. packet of wild rice with a  1 pound bag of brown rice.  I like the combination better than just plain brown rice.



CUCUMBER SOUPS----served cold---

I have tried several soups over the years.  Basically you dice the cucumbers (some like them peeled and de-seeded)  I just throw the whole cuke in.  Put in a food processor add enough yogurt to make a thin soup.  Drizzle in honey to sweeten, or use raw sugar.  Add a splash of lemon juice.  Serve chilled with an ice cube that has mint leaves frozen in it.

You can use buttermilk or sour cream in place of the yogurt, but I like the yogurt best.  If you want a little richer flavor use a good greek yogurt.

CUCUMBER- BUTTERMILK-SOURCREAM SOUP
6 cups cucumbers- seeded and peeled
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
1/2c. diced scallions
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, mint or dill
Process well.  Chill and serve with grated cucumber as a garnish.  Add a spoon full of
yogurt and swirl for a special effect or even add grated carrot as a garnish.

SYRIAN CUCUMBER SOUP
4 cups finely chopped or grated, peeled cucumbers
2 cups yogurt
1-2 cups water
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
Process in food blender.  Serve cold with ice cubes.



EASY PICKLES
Save the juice from a store bought jar of pickles.  Quarter the cucumbers  into lengths that will fit in the jar.  Add baby carrots and green beans if desired. All veges must be covered with the juice. Store in the refridgerator for a couple of weeks.  These are crunchy, crisp vege pickles.  My kids go crazy over these.




Or just slice the unpeeled cuke, sprinkle with a good sea salt and eat!