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Cucumber Soup Recipe

This is a "nonrecipe" for the cold cucumber soup I made when we got together last weekend. I just threw things into the food processor and kept tasting until I liked it. But here is the rough guide.

Big ole bunch of cucumbers. I think I had the equivalent of 4-5 large.
Rice wine vinegar to taste, start with about a quarter of a cup
Buttermilk. Again, this is to taste. I believe I used about a pint.
Salt, fresh ground pepper, herbs. I used sorrel and chives

Cut cukes into medalions and process a little at a time in the food processor. Put through a fine mesh strainer. Once you have all the cukes processed, add vinegar, buttermilk herbs and salt and pepper and some of the cuke juice to the processor and process until fine. Put through the strainer once more. Mix thoroughly and chill 4-5 hours. Taste and adjust (it may need more or less buttermilk, vinegar etc).

Postscript: I made this again and added about a teaspoon of good curry powder. Wow, it was terrific! I also think adding a bit of sweet onion would be very good, too.

Garlic Bread with Chard (B H & G July 2011)

6-8 cups of coarsely chopped chard (6 to 8 0z.)

2 to 3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 1-lb. ciabatta loaves

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl toss chard with olive oil.

2. Cut each loaf in 8 to 10 slices, cutting to bottom but not cutting through loaf. In a small bowl combine butter and garlic, lightly spread on bread slices. Spoon in chard mixture, mounding slightly. Wrap each loaf in foil. Place on large baking sheet.

3. Warm 20 minutes or until heated through. Unwrap and remound any chard that falls out as it is served.

Ex-Boyfriend Gratin

In response to the lordly call to eat more chard, I am posting this recipe, one of my favorites and always a pleaser. This isn't a crustless quiche. It's really hearty, freezes well, and makes a great "work lunch."

1 onion
1 lots of swiss chard
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
2 Eggs beaten
1 dried chipotle (reconstituted by submerging in hot water)
½ cup brown rice or barley, cooked just until firm
1/2 cup french lentils, cooked just until firm
1 lemon, juiced
6 oz of apenzeller or jarlesberg (any hard swiss-type cheese will do)
2 grated oz parmesan
Salt and pepper

*Hint: A wok is probably the best type and size pan to use for this recipe. You’ll also need about a 9 inch deep dish round pan.

Cook rice and lentils until just tender.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until they begin to caramelize. Set aside in a large mixing bowl with lentils and rice.

Cut the stems away from chard leaves and set aside. Chop the stems into 1 inch pieces set them aside. Cut up the leaves into strips. Heat olive oil until it shimmers and add the leaves a little bit at a time until all the chard is wilted but not slimy. Add to big bowl

Blanch chard stems in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove the stems from the water, rinse briefly, and add to bowl.

Finely chop the chipotle and garlic and add to bowl. Add eggs, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Grate 5 oz of Jarlesberg and 1 oz parmesan into the bowl and mix well. Pour mixture into greased quiche pan. Grate remaining cheese on top.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Turn pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 400, or until top of gratin is crusty and a little browned.

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles from Cooking Light

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles From Cooking Light

YIELD: 16 servings (serving size: about 1/4 cup drained pickles)

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 cup thinly sliced onion

1 cup sugar

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Preparation

1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Drain; rinse cucumbers under cold water. Drain; return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to bowl.

2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Some garden photos

The hoop house beginning to sprout.

Gotta love those carrots.

Okay these are Phil and Mindy's but rumor has it that Blackberry Farm tomatoes aren't far behind them.

Another beautiful day in the garden.

A great day in the garden

Smokey Beet n' Greens Tacos

I think the original recipe for this might have come from Vegetarian Times years and years ago, but I honestly forget. It is one of my favorites, a standby for spring-summer.

1 Large bunch of beets with greens
1 Medium onion, sliced
1 Clove garlic
2 TBS good olive oil
4-5 Small corn tortillas
Goat cheese crumbles, to taste. Other fresh cheeses are good too!
Smoked paprika* to taste
Salt and pepper

*You have to use smoked paprika for this to taste right. You can find this at most good gourmet stores--I get mine from Urban Herbs, the spice store inside of the Westside Market in Cleveland, but you can also order it online http://www.urbanherbsonline.com/. Once you use it, you will see that it is indispensable in the kitchen. Buy a little at a time--a little bit goes a long way, and after a few months it loses its magic.

Cut beets and greens from stems. If you like the taste of the stems you can add them, otherwise discard.

Add about 1 Tbs olive oil to large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, season and cook slowly until caramelized. When done, put the caramelized onion and garlic in a container.

Turn heat to medium-high and add 1 TBS of olive oil. Add greens to pan and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook until wilted and tender (about 3-4 minutes). At this point, I usually drain the greens a bit, or just lift them out of the liquid--they can get watery. Place beet greens in container--you can mix with mix with onions and garlic if you like.

If beets are small, you can add directly to the pan with a little salt and a cup of water and cooked on medium heat until tender. If they are larger, you can roast them in the oven at 400 degrees with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, or make it easy on yourself and boil them. When done to fork tender, add to beet and onion mixture. Toss.

While beets are finishing, add a small amount of olive oil to a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add corn tortillas one at a time and fry until lightly crisp on one side, or do a bunch in the oven by brushing them with oil and sprinkling with a little salt.

When everything is done, I usually reheat the greens in the skillet, then fill tacos with greens and top with onions, goat cheese, and smoked paprika to taste.