Quick& Cooling Asian-Inspired Cucumber Salad

Monday, July 28, 2014

Our cucumber plants are producing a nearly overwhelming number of cukes. (Note to self, next year, we do NOT need six cucumber plants for a family of four.) In the meantime, our pantry shelves are lined with enough bread & butter pickles and sweet relish to last until next summer. And there's a Mason jar full of refrigerator dills chilling in the fridge that we've been dipping into on hot days - enjoying this crunchy, slightly tangy treat as the salty brine drips down our fingers.

Cucumbers growing on the vine by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But the plants are in high production mode and the cukes keep on coming. Not to mention that we're also getting quite a few cucumbers from our CSA. So I am always on the lookout for new ways to showcase these delightful green monsters. Like this lovely, little cucumber salad which is both refreshing and quick. And does not require me to turn on the stove - a definite bonus with the hot, heavy weather we've been having. Some days, the air is so thick it feels like soup, but not any soup you'd want to eat.

Quick Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

It's a little bit sweet and a little bit salty. And a lot crunchy. The ingredients are very simple - cucumbers (the fresher the better), a little bit of onion, shallot or scallion, cilantro, rice wine vinegar and olive oil.

Cucumbers, onion and cilantro - ingredients for the Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

You do a little slicing and dicing, then toss it all together with the vinegar and oil.

Slicing the cucumbers by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

That's it. Done. I like to make this in one of our glass storage containers and just pop it into the fridge to let it stew for a while before I serve it.

Quick Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

When you're ready, just pull it out of the fridge and serve it up. Crunch, crunch. Yum.

Quick Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Asian-Inspired Cucumber Salad
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 3-4 fresh cucumbers, rinsed and ends removed (if they're supermarket cukes, I'd peel them since the skin is usually waxed)
* 1/8 onion, skin removed (feel free to use more if you like onion)
* Handful of fresh cilantro leaves, washed and dried with the stems removed
* 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
* 1/4 cup organic olive oil
* pinch of sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Slice the cucumbers - the thickness is really up to you, depending on how you like 'em, but I'd slice them thinly enough to ensure they can soak up some flavor from the dressing, especially if you're not making this much ahead of time. Slice the onions - these I'd recommend doing very thinly. I like to use my beloved mandoline to quickly produce paper-thin slivers of onion but a knife will also do the job fine. Coarsely chop the cilantro.

2. Toss the sliced vegetables and herbs in a serving bowl with the rice vinegar and the oil. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as needed. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve or put it in the fridge to soak up some flavor for at least half an hour. You can also make this up to a day ahead and store it in the fridge.

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Don't Piss Away Valuable Fertilizer - Pee on Your Compost Pile

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Are you peeing on your compost? You should be!

Why, you ask? Because human urine is rich in the nitrogen that plants need to thrive. The chemical fertilizers widely used to add nitrogen to the soil come at a steep cost to our environment and our health. Their application results in algal blooms, oceanic dead zones, contaminated drinking water, human health problems and more. Meanwhile, we're literally flushing billions of tons of free, naturally-created nitrogen down the toilet each year.

Compost by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I first learned about this idea from permaculture and edible forest expert, Dave Jacke, when he came to Woodstock early this spring to walk the land at the new Thorn Preserve, a beautiful, 60-acre parcel that was recently gifted to the Catskill Center and is being jointly managed by the Woodstock Land Conservancy of which I am a board member.


According to Dave, peeing on your compost is a wonderful, completely free, non-toxic way to replenish essential minerals like nitrogen in your soil. And if you want to go one step further, make some biochar (the pure carbon that is leftover from burning wood without oxygen - it makes an incredible absorber and adsorber of minerals and nutrients) and then pee on that as the you'll be creating an all natural, long-lasting plant feeding system. Or, if you're not quite ready to take the biochar-making plunge, just put the ashes from your woodstove or campfire in your compost and pee on the whole mess, as research seems to indicate that wood ash and pee is a great combo for the plants, too.

Peeing on the compost pile by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I did a bit of digging and found several studies that support Dave's claim. A field study done in Kathmandu, Nepal found that sweet peppers fertilized with human urine and compost yielded the most fruits and tallest plants of the eight treatments they tried.

Another study led by an at the University of Finland found that greenhouse tomatoes fertilized with a mixture of human urine and ash yielded nearly four times more tomatoes than non-fertilized plants. The tomatoes fertilized with urine alone actually yielded a bit more but the plants did not grow as tall or strong and the tomatoes contained less magnesium than those fertilized with both ash and urine. According to the researchers, one person could provide enough pee to fertilize roughly 6,300 tomato plants a year, yielding 2.4 tons of tomatoes. That's a lot of tomatoes...

Ulster Germaid tomato from our garden by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Although this idea may be new to many of us, it's actually a pretty old one. Nepalese farmers have been applying urine to their crops for centuries. And "night soil" (a.k.a. human manure) served as a traditional fertilizer in Japan and China  right up until World War II in Japan and the 1960s in China. But I would not recommend using "humanure" -- in addition to the very considerable ick factor, there are far too many pathogen and heavy metal-related pitfalls to make it safe or practical for home usage (plus, who really wants to go there?)

Some have raised concerns about hormonal or pharmaceutical residues in human urine but, ideally, your compost should get hot enough to burn off any potentially harmful residue in your urine. It's this same magic of composting that allows commercially-run composting facilities to transform all sorts of waste, including meat scraps, bones, cardboard, waxed paper, grass clippings from lawns that may contain both insecticides and weed killers into rich dirt that even an organically-certified farm can use. And use it, they do.

Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants by Carol Steinfeld
According to Carol Steinfeld, the author of Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants, we Americans are pissing away enough nitrogen to fertilize roughly 12 million acres of corn every year.

So get out there and pee on that compost pile! If you don't have a penis, you can pee in a bucket and then get someone who does have a penis to make use of his superior upper body strength and haul it out to the compost for ya.

At our house, we've begun adding the ashes from our wood stove to our compost pile and we pee on it every chance we get (which is a lot.) This is good news for our two boys though it will take the younger one a few years to be able to manage it as he's still in diapers. But it gives him something to look forward to.

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Wild Wineberries - The Tastiest Invasive Around

Monday, July 21, 2014

They may be invasive but wineberries taste waaaay too good to yank up by the roots. Native to Japan, northern China and Korea, wineberries were introduced to North America and Europe in the late 1800s as an ornamental and for the potential to create hybrid raspberries and quickly escaped from cultivation to become a flavorful fugitive.

Wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But I never saw them growing wild here in New York's Hudson Valley until about 15 years ago when a large patch near my family's home in Shokan caught my attention. I'd never seen anything like those jewel-like, red berries. They seemed too dazzling, too showy to be real.

Now I see them everywhere - in the woods around my house, along the side of the road,and in fields. Not so surprising since, like all invasive species, they spread readily -- by seed, by sucker and by rooting the tips of their canes where they touch the ground.

Wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Their flavor is delightful - similar to a raspberry but a little bit tarter and a little bit juicier - somehow it adds up to being even more delicious than a regular raspberry. They are also lightly sticky to the touch, unlike a raspberry's dusky look and feel.

The berries are protected by a hairy, red calyx - a remainder of the flower that blossomed in the spring. As it grows, the calyx opens and peels back until the berry is fully exposed and ready to pick.

Wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

There are no poisonous look-alikes in North America, so go ahead and pick some. My advice is to wear long pants and sleeves (there are lots of thorns, ya know), keep an eye out for poison ivy and make sure to check for ticks after you get home.

Picking wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We went picking yesterday and tramped through tons of poison ivy but it's not a problem - we just stripped down when we got inside, tossed all the clothes in the wash with a generous splash of Tecnu and scrubbed all the skin that'd been exposed with it, too. Between yanking out Japanese barberry (my least favorite invasive), pulling up poison ivy, and picking wineberries, I should really buy stock in Tecnu...

A handful of wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I'd hoped to make something with our small haul (it's really just the beginning of their short season) but ended up giving in to the demands of my hungry children and allowed them to simply devour them on the deck this morning. It was either that or keep tripping over them as they'd been twining themselves around my legs just the way the cat does when I open a can of tuna fish...

Eating wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But if you get a lot (and/or don't have small children in your house), below are some ideas that you might want to consider. These wild wineberry preserves from Kaela at Local Kitchen have a million yummy uses, this wineberry pie from Abbie at Farmer's Daughter would make a classic dessert, and this wineberry bavarian from 3 Foragers looks really decadent. And, if you imbibe, this wineberry cordial by Ian Knauer on Bon Appetit sounds pretty darn good.

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Salty Sweet Roasted Cabbage - My New Favorite!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I made up this new way of preparing cabbage last week and had to make it again today. It is that good. Roasting brings out the cabbage's natural sweetness and the mellow flavor is enhanced by the fruity richness of the coconut oil, the salt of the soy and the smoky sweetness of the maple syrup.

I had two thoughts on tasting the first bite. The first was, "Damn, this is GOOD!" and the second was, "Thank God! Now I can stop leaving those heads of cabbage at the CSA pick-up site every week!"

Coconut oil, maple syrup & soy sauce by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

The idea was inspired by some roasted cabbage wedges my mom-in-law served a year or two ago as part of one of the many dinners she's made for us. I'd been well and truly surprised by the delicate flavor, sweetness, and appealing softness of those wedges and had had it in the (very) back of my mind to try roasting cabbage ever since.

A head of red cabbage from Hearty Roots Community Farm by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

So when we started getting cabbages from our CSA, Hearty Roots a few weeks ago, the idea floated up from the murky depths of my mind. Our friend, Liza (the one who introduced me to these wonderful gluten-free muffins), who was over for dinner when I made this told me that the flavor brought her back to her time in the West Indies. Whatever culture it fits with, the flavor is really good.

As with all my favorite recipes, this one is simple and easy. Start with a big head of cabbage. Give it a rinse. Peel off any limp or damaged outer leaves.

A head of red cabbage from Hearty Roots Community Farm by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Cut the head of cabbage in half. Remove the core from both halves.

Removing the core from the cabbage Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Slice it up. You're not going for paper-thin strips here - it needs to be able to stand up to the heat of the oven and still have something left to show for itself at the end.

Slicing the cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Mound it up on a thick baking sheet. You may need to use two if it's a big head of cabbage. Pour coconut oil, soy sauce and maple syrup over it and use your hands to mix it all up and ensure that it's all well-coated. You can also do this step in a mixing bowl if you'd prefer but that's one more bowl you'll have to clean and it's not necessary.

Tossing the salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Put it in the oven. Set a timer for 15 minutes (since my once sterling memory is now more like a very dull, tarnished silver, I have really come to embrace the timer on my stove) and go clean up whatever mess you made so far. When the timer beeps, take the sheet(s) out and stir them up to give any bits that weren't in contact with the metal a chance and put them back in the oven. Set the timer for another 15 minutes and repeat. And repeat one more time after that. roughly 40 minutes in the oven total.

Salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Serve warm or cool (but not cold.) I served it with these ginger-soy baked tofu squares, a big bowl of my favorite peanut sauce which is a variation on Deborah Madison's quick peanut sauce in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and a pot of short-grain brown rice. In addition to being delicious, this cabbage is also gluten-free, dairy-free and completely vegan so you should be able to serve it to pretty much anyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions.

Salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

-- print recipe --
Salty Sweet Roasted Cabbage
Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

* 1 large head of cabbage (red or green, no matter)
* 2-3 Tbsps coconut oil - if the coconut oil has solidified, heat it briefly to get it to a liquid state
* 2-3 tsps maple syrup
* 3 tsps soy sauce

Directions

1. Turn the oven on to 325. Rinse the cabbage, remove any wilted outer leaves. Cut it in half and remove the tough inner core and stem from both halves. Slice into 1/4 inch strips and mound on a thick baking sheet.

2. Pour the coconut oil, soy sauce and maple syrup over the mound and use your hands to mix it up, making sure all the cabbage is well-coated in the mixture.

3. Put it in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking, until the cabbage is soft and tender and some of the thinner strips have turned brown and crispy. If you slice it thinner, it will cook more quickly, thicker strips take a little bit longer - hence the range in cook time above.

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A Glimpse Of My Garden

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Come take a peek at what's happening in the garden. Things are growing like crazy from all the rain we've been getting. Although I much prefer the sunshine, I am grateful for the heaven-sent break from watering.

Playing hide n seek in the potato plants by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We harvested our first artichoke (the big one below) two days ago. So good! These are shockingly easy to grow here in the northeast. Try some next year - you won't regret it. But make sure you leave room - they need some space.

Artichokes by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

About two weeks ago, I noticed these pretty little flowers on one of our many potato plants. Then this week, these little fruits appeared. They look like tiny tomatoes but they are the fruit of the potato plant! Who knew??? But you can't eat them since they're filled with solanine which is toxic to humans. I'm just going to hope it's also toxic to chipmunks...


The cucumbers are ripening in waves and we made our first batch of bread and butter pickles this past weekend.

Cucumber vines by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

The beans we planted are up and just beginning to climb (this picture is a few weeks old - they've grown a bunch.)

Bean seedlings by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

There are also tons of tomatoes growing. The plants have become trees and my husband is just trying to keep up with them - this year, he's experimenting with stringing twine down from above. So far so good.

Cherry tomatoes on the vine by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

And the sweet potato vines are starting to explore their cardboard-covered bed.

Sweet potato vines by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

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Bunnies and Chipmunks and Bears, Oh My!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

There's a whole lotta activity in the animal kingdom around our house lately. We had a surprise visit from a young black bear the other morning. Here he/she is ambling along on our deck, taken very hastily through the window behind our couch.

Black bear on our deck by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

I'm hoping it was a one-time visit as it's way too close for comfort with two small kids playing on the deck all the time. In my quest for bear deterrent strategies, I've gotten advice including a shotgun loaded with rubber bullets, a flare gun, an air horn, an electric fence, and leaving spicy food out (but what if the bear likes it hot?) For now, I've ordered this air horn in case we see him or her again, swept the deck of any fallen food since that is undoubtedly what drew him/her, and have my fingers crossed that our ursine friend stays in the woods.

There are several adorable, little eating machines bunnies who've been systematically decimating our flowers, ferns, and hostas. They even chewed up all the potted succulents I'd moved outside for the summer. Buh-bye, jade plant. Buh-bye spider plant. Buh-bye string of pearls... I am seriously considering shooting them and eating them but am not quite sure I can work myself up to committing acts of violence.

Bunny in the garden by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

There's also a pair of robins who have taken up residence in a nest that was just abandoned about a month ago - not something I'd ever heard of them doing but there they are. Whenever we open the kitchen door, there's this panicked flap of wings as they fly off, then settle a short distance away and squawk angrily at us until we leave. I like watching them forage for food - they're remarkably good at it.

Robin on its nest by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

And there are chipmunks galore. My personal theory is that the boom in hickory nuts last fall fueled their population explosion this spring and summer. They somehow manage to eat the strawberries right through the netting we put up... But they're usually too quick to allow for good photos.

Strawberry plant by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

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Bread & Butter Pickles

Monday, July 14, 2014

As a child, I had a huge sweet tooth. So bread and butter pickles were the only kind of pickles I ate. I've since come to embrace salty and sour foods and my pickle horizons have widened accordingly but these sweet, crunchy chips still hold a special place in my heart.

Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

My not quite two-year-old son seems to have inherited my fondness for them based on the way he stuffs them into his mouth with both hands. He can fit an astounding amount into that adorable little mouth of his...

Spices for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We made a big batch of these last summer but polished off our last jar two months ago and have been forced to bridge the gap with a jar from Trader Joe's so I was very happy to see the first pickles getting big enough to harvest. It's that time of year when things happen quickly in the garden. I could've sworn this cuke was only the size of my pinky finger just the day before I took this picture...

One of our cucumbers on the vine by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We began by grabbing our copy of Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton off the bookshelf. This is one of our favorite canning and preserving cookbooks as you can probably tell by the ridiculous number of recipes I've bookmarked.

Sherri Brooks Vinton's Instructions in Put 'Em Up for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Then the slicing began. Luckily, my husband is something of a ninja with the kitchen knife. The end result of his hard work was a big bowl of sliced cucumbers and onions that got salted and placed under ice for two hours.

Salting and Icing the Cucumbers and Onions for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I made lunch, made a stab at cleaning up the ever-present mess that fills our entire home, fed the younger child (the pickle enthusiast), changed his diaper, and played a few sweet if utterly mind-numbing games with him. Then it was time to drain the cucumbers and onions and get the brine going.

Sliced Cucumbers and Onions for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Once the simple brine was ready, my husband tossed the cukes and onions in to soak up some flavor.

Preparing Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

While that was cooking, we sterilized our jars and lids.Unfortunately, it was quite a hot day but it will be worth the sweat come winter time when we can grab a jar of these crunchy chips out of the pantry. And then it was time to fill the jars and process them.

Filling the jars with Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

The payoff for slaving over a hot stove in 90 degree weather is being able to restock our pantry shelves with jars of these delightful coins, the perfect way to add a little sweetness and crunch to burgers, sandwiches and more.

Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Bread & Butter Pickles from Sherri Brooks Vinton's excellent book, Put 'em Up!
Makes about 7-8 pints or 3-4 quarts

Ingredients

* 5 lbs cucumbers (Kirby's are ideal), ends removed and sliced into 1/4" coins
* 1 lb sweet onions, sliced (you can also roughly chop but I actually like to eat them along with the pickles and the slices are easier to handle
* 1/2 cup kosher salt
* 2 cups ice cubes   
* 4 cups distilled white vinegar - I like to buy white vinegar in bulk so I'm not caught out when I want to pickle something
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup organic cane sugar
* 2 Tbsp mustard seed
* 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
* 1 Tbsp celery seed
* 1 Tbsp turmeric
* 1 Tbsp kosher salt

Directions

1.Layer the cukes and onions with ½ cup of the salt in a large bowl and cover with a layer of ice cubes. Set aside for 2 hours. Drain and rinse in a colander.

2. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, mustard seed, peppercorns, celery seed, turmeric, and the remaining 1 tablespoon salt in a large nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the drained vegetables and return to a boil, stirring to ensure that all of the vegetables are heated through. Remove from the heat.

3. Now it's time to preserve them. You can either refrigerate them for short-term usage or can them for longer storage.

Refrigerate:
Ladle into bowls or jars. Cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

OR

Can:
Use the boiling-water method. Ladle into clean, hot pint canning jars, covering the pickles by ¼ inch with liquid. Leave ¼ inch of headspace between the top of the liquid and the lid. Release trapped air. Wipe the rims clean; center lids on the jars and screw on jar bands. Process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let jars rest in the water for 5 minutes. Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours. Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

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Monday, July 28, 2014

Quick& Cooling Asian-Inspired Cucumber Salad

Our cucumber plants are producing a nearly overwhelming number of cukes. (Note to self, next year, we do NOT need six cucumber plants for a family of four.) In the meantime, our pantry shelves are lined with enough bread & butter pickles and sweet relish to last until next summer. And there's a Mason jar full of refrigerator dills chilling in the fridge that we've been dipping into on hot days - enjoying this crunchy, slightly tangy treat as the salty brine drips down our fingers.

Cucumbers growing on the vine by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But the plants are in high production mode and the cukes keep on coming. Not to mention that we're also getting quite a few cucumbers from our CSA. So I am always on the lookout for new ways to showcase these delightful green monsters. Like this lovely, little cucumber salad which is both refreshing and quick. And does not require me to turn on the stove - a definite bonus with the hot, heavy weather we've been having. Some days, the air is so thick it feels like soup, but not any soup you'd want to eat.

Quick Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

It's a little bit sweet and a little bit salty. And a lot crunchy. The ingredients are very simple - cucumbers (the fresher the better), a little bit of onion, shallot or scallion, cilantro, rice wine vinegar and olive oil.

Cucumbers, onion and cilantro - ingredients for the Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

You do a little slicing and dicing, then toss it all together with the vinegar and oil.

Slicing the cucumbers by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

That's it. Done. I like to make this in one of our glass storage containers and just pop it into the fridge to let it stew for a while before I serve it.

Quick Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

When you're ready, just pull it out of the fridge and serve it up. Crunch, crunch. Yum.

Quick Asian-inspired cucumber salad by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Asian-Inspired Cucumber Salad
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 3-4 fresh cucumbers, rinsed and ends removed (if they're supermarket cukes, I'd peel them since the skin is usually waxed)
* 1/8 onion, skin removed (feel free to use more if you like onion)
* Handful of fresh cilantro leaves, washed and dried with the stems removed
* 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
* 1/4 cup organic olive oil
* pinch of sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Slice the cucumbers - the thickness is really up to you, depending on how you like 'em, but I'd slice them thinly enough to ensure they can soak up some flavor from the dressing, especially if you're not making this much ahead of time. Slice the onions - these I'd recommend doing very thinly. I like to use my beloved mandoline to quickly produce paper-thin slivers of onion but a knife will also do the job fine. Coarsely chop the cilantro.

2. Toss the sliced vegetables and herbs in a serving bowl with the rice vinegar and the oil. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as needed. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve or put it in the fridge to soak up some flavor for at least half an hour. You can also make this up to a day ahead and store it in the fridge.

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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Don't Piss Away Valuable Fertilizer - Pee on Your Compost Pile

Are you peeing on your compost? You should be!

Why, you ask? Because human urine is rich in the nitrogen that plants need to thrive. The chemical fertilizers widely used to add nitrogen to the soil come at a steep cost to our environment and our health. Their application results in algal blooms, oceanic dead zones, contaminated drinking water, human health problems and more. Meanwhile, we're literally flushing billions of tons of free, naturally-created nitrogen down the toilet each year.

Compost by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I first learned about this idea from permaculture and edible forest expert, Dave Jacke, when he came to Woodstock early this spring to walk the land at the new Thorn Preserve, a beautiful, 60-acre parcel that was recently gifted to the Catskill Center and is being jointly managed by the Woodstock Land Conservancy of which I am a board member.


According to Dave, peeing on your compost is a wonderful, completely free, non-toxic way to replenish essential minerals like nitrogen in your soil. And if you want to go one step further, make some biochar (the pure carbon that is leftover from burning wood without oxygen - it makes an incredible absorber and adsorber of minerals and nutrients) and then pee on that as the you'll be creating an all natural, long-lasting plant feeding system. Or, if you're not quite ready to take the biochar-making plunge, just put the ashes from your woodstove or campfire in your compost and pee on the whole mess, as research seems to indicate that wood ash and pee is a great combo for the plants, too.

Peeing on the compost pile by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I did a bit of digging and found several studies that support Dave's claim. A field study done in Kathmandu, Nepal found that sweet peppers fertilized with human urine and compost yielded the most fruits and tallest plants of the eight treatments they tried.

Another study led by an at the University of Finland found that greenhouse tomatoes fertilized with a mixture of human urine and ash yielded nearly four times more tomatoes than non-fertilized plants. The tomatoes fertilized with urine alone actually yielded a bit more but the plants did not grow as tall or strong and the tomatoes contained less magnesium than those fertilized with both ash and urine. According to the researchers, one person could provide enough pee to fertilize roughly 6,300 tomato plants a year, yielding 2.4 tons of tomatoes. That's a lot of tomatoes...

Ulster Germaid tomato from our garden by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Although this idea may be new to many of us, it's actually a pretty old one. Nepalese farmers have been applying urine to their crops for centuries. And "night soil" (a.k.a. human manure) served as a traditional fertilizer in Japan and China  right up until World War II in Japan and the 1960s in China. But I would not recommend using "humanure" -- in addition to the very considerable ick factor, there are far too many pathogen and heavy metal-related pitfalls to make it safe or practical for home usage (plus, who really wants to go there?)

Some have raised concerns about hormonal or pharmaceutical residues in human urine but, ideally, your compost should get hot enough to burn off any potentially harmful residue in your urine. It's this same magic of composting that allows commercially-run composting facilities to transform all sorts of waste, including meat scraps, bones, cardboard, waxed paper, grass clippings from lawns that may contain both insecticides and weed killers into rich dirt that even an organically-certified farm can use. And use it, they do.

Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants by Carol Steinfeld
According to Carol Steinfeld, the author of Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants, we Americans are pissing away enough nitrogen to fertilize roughly 12 million acres of corn every year.

So get out there and pee on that compost pile! If you don't have a penis, you can pee in a bucket and then get someone who does have a penis to make use of his superior upper body strength and haul it out to the compost for ya.

At our house, we've begun adding the ashes from our wood stove to our compost pile and we pee on it every chance we get (which is a lot.) This is good news for our two boys though it will take the younger one a few years to be able to manage it as he's still in diapers. But it gives him something to look forward to.

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Monday, July 21, 2014

Wild Wineberries - The Tastiest Invasive Around

They may be invasive but wineberries taste waaaay too good to yank up by the roots. Native to Japan, northern China and Korea, wineberries were introduced to North America and Europe in the late 1800s as an ornamental and for the potential to create hybrid raspberries and quickly escaped from cultivation to become a flavorful fugitive.

Wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But I never saw them growing wild here in New York's Hudson Valley until about 15 years ago when a large patch near my family's home in Shokan caught my attention. I'd never seen anything like those jewel-like, red berries. They seemed too dazzling, too showy to be real.

Now I see them everywhere - in the woods around my house, along the side of the road,and in fields. Not so surprising since, like all invasive species, they spread readily -- by seed, by sucker and by rooting the tips of their canes where they touch the ground.

Wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Their flavor is delightful - similar to a raspberry but a little bit tarter and a little bit juicier - somehow it adds up to being even more delicious than a regular raspberry. They are also lightly sticky to the touch, unlike a raspberry's dusky look and feel.

The berries are protected by a hairy, red calyx - a remainder of the flower that blossomed in the spring. As it grows, the calyx opens and peels back until the berry is fully exposed and ready to pick.

Wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

There are no poisonous look-alikes in North America, so go ahead and pick some. My advice is to wear long pants and sleeves (there are lots of thorns, ya know), keep an eye out for poison ivy and make sure to check for ticks after you get home.

Picking wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We went picking yesterday and tramped through tons of poison ivy but it's not a problem - we just stripped down when we got inside, tossed all the clothes in the wash with a generous splash of Tecnu and scrubbed all the skin that'd been exposed with it, too. Between yanking out Japanese barberry (my least favorite invasive), pulling up poison ivy, and picking wineberries, I should really buy stock in Tecnu...

A handful of wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I'd hoped to make something with our small haul (it's really just the beginning of their short season) but ended up giving in to the demands of my hungry children and allowed them to simply devour them on the deck this morning. It was either that or keep tripping over them as they'd been twining themselves around my legs just the way the cat does when I open a can of tuna fish...

Eating wild wineberries by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But if you get a lot (and/or don't have small children in your house), below are some ideas that you might want to consider. These wild wineberry preserves from Kaela at Local Kitchen have a million yummy uses, this wineberry pie from Abbie at Farmer's Daughter would make a classic dessert, and this wineberry bavarian from 3 Foragers looks really decadent. And, if you imbibe, this wineberry cordial by Ian Knauer on Bon Appetit sounds pretty darn good.

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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Salty Sweet Roasted Cabbage - My New Favorite!

Salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I made up this new way of preparing cabbage last week and had to make it again today. It is that good. Roasting brings out the cabbage's natural sweetness and the mellow flavor is enhanced by the fruity richness of the coconut oil, the salt of the soy and the smoky sweetness of the maple syrup.

I had two thoughts on tasting the first bite. The first was, "Damn, this is GOOD!" and the second was, "Thank God! Now I can stop leaving those heads of cabbage at the CSA pick-up site every week!"

Coconut oil, maple syrup & soy sauce by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

The idea was inspired by some roasted cabbage wedges my mom-in-law served a year or two ago as part of one of the many dinners she's made for us. I'd been well and truly surprised by the delicate flavor, sweetness, and appealing softness of those wedges and had had it in the (very) back of my mind to try roasting cabbage ever since.

A head of red cabbage from Hearty Roots Community Farm by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

So when we started getting cabbages from our CSA, Hearty Roots a few weeks ago, the idea floated up from the murky depths of my mind. Our friend, Liza (the one who introduced me to these wonderful gluten-free muffins), who was over for dinner when I made this told me that the flavor brought her back to her time in the West Indies. Whatever culture it fits with, the flavor is really good.

As with all my favorite recipes, this one is simple and easy. Start with a big head of cabbage. Give it a rinse. Peel off any limp or damaged outer leaves.

A head of red cabbage from Hearty Roots Community Farm by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Cut the head of cabbage in half. Remove the core from both halves.

Removing the core from the cabbage Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Slice it up. You're not going for paper-thin strips here - it needs to be able to stand up to the heat of the oven and still have something left to show for itself at the end.

Slicing the cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Mound it up on a thick baking sheet. You may need to use two if it's a big head of cabbage. Pour coconut oil, soy sauce and maple syrup over it and use your hands to mix it all up and ensure that it's all well-coated. You can also do this step in a mixing bowl if you'd prefer but that's one more bowl you'll have to clean and it's not necessary.

Tossing the salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Put it in the oven. Set a timer for 15 minutes (since my once sterling memory is now more like a very dull, tarnished silver, I have really come to embrace the timer on my stove) and go clean up whatever mess you made so far. When the timer beeps, take the sheet(s) out and stir them up to give any bits that weren't in contact with the metal a chance and put them back in the oven. Set the timer for another 15 minutes and repeat. And repeat one more time after that. roughly 40 minutes in the oven total.

Salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Serve warm or cool (but not cold.) I served it with these ginger-soy baked tofu squares, a big bowl of my favorite peanut sauce which is a variation on Deborah Madison's quick peanut sauce in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and a pot of short-grain brown rice. In addition to being delicious, this cabbage is also gluten-free, dairy-free and completely vegan so you should be able to serve it to pretty much anyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions.

Salty, sweet coconut maple soy roasted cabbage by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

-- print recipe --
Salty Sweet Roasted Cabbage
Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

* 1 large head of cabbage (red or green, no matter)
* 2-3 Tbsps coconut oil - if the coconut oil has solidified, heat it briefly to get it to a liquid state
* 2-3 tsps maple syrup
* 3 tsps soy sauce

Directions

1. Turn the oven on to 325. Rinse the cabbage, remove any wilted outer leaves. Cut it in half and remove the tough inner core and stem from both halves. Slice into 1/4 inch strips and mound on a thick baking sheet.

2. Pour the coconut oil, soy sauce and maple syrup over the mound and use your hands to mix it up, making sure all the cabbage is well-coated in the mixture.

3. Put it in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking, until the cabbage is soft and tender and some of the thinner strips have turned brown and crispy. If you slice it thinner, it will cook more quickly, thicker strips take a little bit longer - hence the range in cook time above.

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Thursday, July 17, 2014

A Glimpse Of My Garden

Come take a peek at what's happening in the garden. Things are growing like crazy from all the rain we've been getting. Although I much prefer the sunshine, I am grateful for the heaven-sent break from watering.

Playing hide n seek in the potato plants by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We harvested our first artichoke (the big one below) two days ago. So good! These are shockingly easy to grow here in the northeast. Try some next year - you won't regret it. But make sure you leave room - they need some space.

Artichokes by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

About two weeks ago, I noticed these pretty little flowers on one of our many potato plants. Then this week, these little fruits appeared. They look like tiny tomatoes but they are the fruit of the potato plant! Who knew??? But you can't eat them since they're filled with solanine which is toxic to humans. I'm just going to hope it's also toxic to chipmunks...


The cucumbers are ripening in waves and we made our first batch of bread and butter pickles this past weekend.

Cucumber vines by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

The beans we planted are up and just beginning to climb (this picture is a few weeks old - they've grown a bunch.)

Bean seedlings by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

There are also tons of tomatoes growing. The plants have become trees and my husband is just trying to keep up with them - this year, he's experimenting with stringing twine down from above. So far so good.

Cherry tomatoes on the vine by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

And the sweet potato vines are starting to explore their cardboard-covered bed.

Sweet potato vines by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Bunnies and Chipmunks and Bears, Oh My!

There's a whole lotta activity in the animal kingdom around our house lately. We had a surprise visit from a young black bear the other morning. Here he/she is ambling along on our deck, taken very hastily through the window behind our couch.

Black bear on our deck by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

I'm hoping it was a one-time visit as it's way too close for comfort with two small kids playing on the deck all the time. In my quest for bear deterrent strategies, I've gotten advice including a shotgun loaded with rubber bullets, a flare gun, an air horn, an electric fence, and leaving spicy food out (but what if the bear likes it hot?) For now, I've ordered this air horn in case we see him or her again, swept the deck of any fallen food since that is undoubtedly what drew him/her, and have my fingers crossed that our ursine friend stays in the woods.

There are several adorable, little eating machines bunnies who've been systematically decimating our flowers, ferns, and hostas. They even chewed up all the potted succulents I'd moved outside for the summer. Buh-bye, jade plant. Buh-bye spider plant. Buh-bye string of pearls... I am seriously considering shooting them and eating them but am not quite sure I can work myself up to committing acts of violence.

Bunny in the garden by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

There's also a pair of robins who have taken up residence in a nest that was just abandoned about a month ago - not something I'd ever heard of them doing but there they are. Whenever we open the kitchen door, there's this panicked flap of wings as they fly off, then settle a short distance away and squawk angrily at us until we leave. I like watching them forage for food - they're remarkably good at it.

Robin on its nest by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

And there are chipmunks galore. My personal theory is that the boom in hickory nuts last fall fueled their population explosion this spring and summer. They somehow manage to eat the strawberries right through the netting we put up... But they're usually too quick to allow for good photos.

Strawberry plant by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating copyright 2014

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Monday, July 14, 2014

Bread & Butter Pickles

As a child, I had a huge sweet tooth. So bread and butter pickles were the only kind of pickles I ate. I've since come to embrace salty and sour foods and my pickle horizons have widened accordingly but these sweet, crunchy chips still hold a special place in my heart.

Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

My not quite two-year-old son seems to have inherited my fondness for them based on the way he stuffs them into his mouth with both hands. He can fit an astounding amount into that adorable little mouth of his...

Spices for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We made a big batch of these last summer but polished off our last jar two months ago and have been forced to bridge the gap with a jar from Trader Joe's so I was very happy to see the first pickles getting big enough to harvest. It's that time of year when things happen quickly in the garden. I could've sworn this cuke was only the size of my pinky finger just the day before I took this picture...

One of our cucumbers on the vine by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

We began by grabbing our copy of Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton off the bookshelf. This is one of our favorite canning and preserving cookbooks as you can probably tell by the ridiculous number of recipes I've bookmarked.

Sherri Brooks Vinton's Instructions in Put 'Em Up for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Then the slicing began. Luckily, my husband is something of a ninja with the kitchen knife. The end result of his hard work was a big bowl of sliced cucumbers and onions that got salted and placed under ice for two hours.

Salting and Icing the Cucumbers and Onions for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

I made lunch, made a stab at cleaning up the ever-present mess that fills our entire home, fed the younger child (the pickle enthusiast), changed his diaper, and played a few sweet if utterly mind-numbing games with him. Then it was time to drain the cucumbers and onions and get the brine going.

Sliced Cucumbers and Onions for Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Once the simple brine was ready, my husband tossed the cukes and onions in to soak up some flavor.

Preparing Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

While that was cooking, we sterilized our jars and lids.Unfortunately, it was quite a hot day but it will be worth the sweat come winter time when we can grab a jar of these crunchy chips out of the pantry. And then it was time to fill the jars and process them.

Filling the jars with Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

The payoff for slaving over a hot stove in 90 degree weather is being able to restock our pantry shelves with jars of these delightful coins, the perfect way to add a little sweetness and crunch to burgers, sandwiches and more.

Bread & Butter Pickles by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Bread & Butter Pickles from Sherri Brooks Vinton's excellent book, Put 'em Up!
Makes about 7-8 pints or 3-4 quarts

Ingredients

* 5 lbs cucumbers (Kirby's are ideal), ends removed and sliced into 1/4" coins
* 1 lb sweet onions, sliced (you can also roughly chop but I actually like to eat them along with the pickles and the slices are easier to handle
* 1/2 cup kosher salt
* 2 cups ice cubes   
* 4 cups distilled white vinegar - I like to buy white vinegar in bulk so I'm not caught out when I want to pickle something
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup organic cane sugar
* 2 Tbsp mustard seed
* 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
* 1 Tbsp celery seed
* 1 Tbsp turmeric
* 1 Tbsp kosher salt

Directions

1.Layer the cukes and onions with ½ cup of the salt in a large bowl and cover with a layer of ice cubes. Set aside for 2 hours. Drain and rinse in a colander.

2. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, mustard seed, peppercorns, celery seed, turmeric, and the remaining 1 tablespoon salt in a large nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the drained vegetables and return to a boil, stirring to ensure that all of the vegetables are heated through. Remove from the heat.

3. Now it's time to preserve them. You can either refrigerate them for short-term usage or can them for longer storage.

Refrigerate:
Ladle into bowls or jars. Cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

OR

Can:
Use the boiling-water method. Ladle into clean, hot pint canning jars, covering the pickles by ¼ inch with liquid. Leave ¼ inch of headspace between the top of the liquid and the lid. Release trapped air. Wipe the rims clean; center lids on the jars and screw on jar bands. Process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let jars rest in the water for 5 minutes. Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours. Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

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