Garden Recipes

‘Tis the season for gardeners and u-pickers everywhere to start taking advantage of all the bounty that summer growing has to offer.  I have felt very fortunate lately to be the recipient of fresh, ripe produce from the gardens of friends, new and old.  Recently, my sister and I visited to our dad in Washington.  While we were there, we were invited to pick all sorts of homegrown goodies from the beautiful garden of a Senator and her husband.  What a garden (and what amazing antiques...but that is a whole other story) that property had.  We picked raspberries, basil, onions, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, and cucumbers.  

We split the produce between three families, and the zucchini was the only thing we had an abundance of.  Those, in combination with several more zucchini and squash given to my husband and I from friends who were going out of town, and I had to come up with some recipes that would allow me to preserve this wonderful overflow.  Did someone say vegan chocolate chip zucchini muffins?  Here is the recipe, which I modified a bit (see notes) from the Get Natured, Get Nurtured blog (www.getnutured.com):   

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (vegan)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour works well)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

• 2/3 cup non-dairy milk

• 2/3 cup real maple syrup (this is a pretty sweet bread and this could be reduced to 1/3 cup)

• 1/4 cup oil (canola, coconut, olive - your choice)

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 1/4 cups grated zucchini

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

• 1/4 cup hemp seeds (optional, adds protein, iron, and omega 3s)

1. Preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C). In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.

1. In a small bowl, combine the milk, syrup, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add to the dry mixture and stir gently to combine. Fold in the raisins, walnuts, and hemp seeds.

1. Pour batter into a loaf pan* lined with parchment paper (or lightly oiled). Bake for 45-50 minutes, until lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes:  I poured the batter into large muffin tins and baked for 25 minutes.  I left out the cardamom, nutmeg, raisins, walnuts, and hemp seeds.  Instead, I doubled the vegan chocolate chips.  I also doubled the recipe, which gave me two dozen muffins, most of which I plan on freezing.  Also, I used 1/3 cup maple syrup instead of 2/3, and it was plenty sweet since I doubled the chocolate chips.  You could also use agave instead of maple syrup.

Next, I plan on trying some vegan zucchini fritter recipes and maybe a recipe for salt and pepper zucchini chips.  More to come on the outcome of these.  I really try not to throw away perfectly good produce, even if it means a few hours of cooking, baking, and/or preserving.  After all, how often do we Oregonians get to enjoy fresh produce from warm weather crops?

Another fun recipe that I tried this week was ketchup.  I used an onion and three cloves of garlic from the Senator’s garden, as well as a jar of stewed tomatoes that I picked and canned last summer from the garden of some friends.  The ketchup was then poured over roasted cauliflower, and it turned out great.  I got the recipe from the Nourish Me blog (nourish-me.typepad.com):

Roasted cauliflower, Manchurian-style – feeds 2-4, depending on greed

1 good cauliflower

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

1 onion, finely chopped

1 x 400g (15 oz) tin of chopped tomatoes

Glug of red wine vinegar

Glug of balsamic vinegar

2 or 3 teaspoons of sugar

3 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Good pinch  of chili powder

Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Core, trim and break the cauliflower into florets of even-ish size. Arrange in a single layer in a baking dish. Toss with 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and loads of pepper and roast, turning twice, for 30 minutes.

For the Ketchup, fry the onion in a little oil until soft. Add the tomatoes, juice and all, followed by a glug of each vinegar, the sugar and some salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, until reduced to about a cup. Puree if you like, but I wouldn't bother.

Five minutes before the cauliflower is ready, heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook for a minute or two - don't let it burn. Pour in the tomato ketchup and cook, stirring often, for a few minutes. Add the chili powder to taste and, when ready, tip the cauliflower florets into the pan. Toss over and over, making sure they are well coated in the sauce. Eat hot.  

The ketchup was wonderful, and so easy.  I’m purely guessing here, but I bet the ketchup would stay good in the refrigerator for a week or so, or I’m sure you could can it.  I assure you, it is worth the extra effort to make ketchup from scratch, especially if you can get the produce fresh from the garden or farmer’s market. 

I was able to go blueberry picking this week with a friend and her two adorable kids.  She found a farm nearby that only charges $1.25/pound, and kids eat free (haha, but really, the sign says you can eat as you go).  Last year my husband and I picked about ten pounds of blueberries to freeze and use the whole year, and that was the plan this year.  But I only picked about six pounds, and we ate a bunch and gave some away.  That means I get to go picking again, and I will probably pick some raspberries while I am there, since they are also only $1.25/pound.  Since we make a lot of smoothies, freezing the berries works great for our needs.  But you could use them to make jams, jellies, pies/crumbles/cobblers, or whatever your heart desires.  You can’t beat the price (and flavor) of u-pick, and going with friends is so much fun.

On my way home from blueberry picking, I stopped at one of my favorite farms to see about pickling cucumbers.  My mom, sister, aunt, and grandma have canned fabulous dill pickles the past two years, so I was on the lookout for small, firm, green pickling cucumbers for a good price.  And they had a great selection.  I bought a pound while I was there to test them in a basic quick pickle recipe.  Here are some photos of the process:

They turned out good and very crunchy, so I called the farm and reserved three 25lbs bags for pick-up next week.  They were only $27 for 25lbs, which is a great price, especially considering the quality.  I bet you did the math there...don’t worry.  One bag is for my mom and one is for my sister.  I will only be canning 25lbs for our household, which equals about 25 pints.  And at the rate my husband and I can eat pickles, I’d say we are being overly safe...stingy even.  But at about $1.25 a pint after we calculate in dill, garlic, peppercorns, salt, and vinegar, it’s still an unbeatable price for one of our favorite snacks, with no preservatives or dyes like what you usually find at the grocery store.  I will be sure to post pictures of the canning process next week.

Also coming up from the Beyond the Kitchen Series is home cleaning products.  I’m very excited about these recipes because they are easy, cheap, all natural, and they leave your home smelling great.  

What are you planning on canning and/or picking this season?  How are your gardens coming along?  I know many of you out there are doing what you can with what you’ve got (containers, limited space, not-so-green thumbs), and I say more power to you.  What an accomplishment to feed your family from your garden.  I hope you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather, and thank you for reading.