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by Vanessa Barrington
Even with California’s blessed climate and long growing season, summer is fleeting. Back when farming was a way of life for the majority, late summer was a frenzied interval of intense work preserving the harvest. It was a matter of necessity. A family’s very survival through the winter months depended on a well-stocked larder. The work was shared, the mood was festive and there were feasts to celebrate the abundance and make the work go easier.
Though most of us no longer live on farms, we may still feel a twinge of an ancient agrarian memory that makes us want to bustle around the kitchen creating a feast of late season produce; that causes a desire to memorialize and preserve tastes of summer like sweet, crunchy corn, rich, juicy tomatoes and the deep, earthy flavor of peppers that have been left on the vine to ripen completely.
And, even though very few people actually preserve food for the winter in the old ways, we can still hold onto a little bit of summer using simple preparation techniques and our freezers. Enjoy the following “summer memorial” menu and maybe even try your hand at preparing and freezing some corn or tomatoes. Come January, you’ll be glad you did.
Menu:
Frittata with roasted chilies and corn
Stewed white beans with slow roasted tomatoes
Grape and celery salad with blue cheese and toasted walnuts
Bulgur salad with dried apples and pumpkin seeds
Freezing corn:
Husk and wash the corn and bring
a large pot of salted water to a brisk boil. Drop the ears of corn in the water
and boil for 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of the corn. Drain and immediately
plunge in ice water to stop the cooking. Pat dry, cut off the kernels (see below)
and freeze in heavy-duty plastic freezer bags for up to 4 months.
To cut corn off the cob:
Using a clean kitchen towel
to catch the kernels, hold the corncob by the stem end at a 45-degree angle.
With a sharp chef’s knife, slice downwards and away from you in one smooth motion, cutting close to the cob to remove the kernels. Rotate the corn and continue cutting around the circumference of the cob. The kernels will gather up easily in the towel.
Slow Roasted Tomatoes:
2 pounds of medium sized,
fleshy, ripe tomatoes
Coarse sea or kosher salt
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. Place
them, cut side up, in a single layer in a shallow baking dish or on a baking
sheet lined with parchment. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake
for 2-3 hours, depending on your oven, the size of the tomatoes and their moisture
level, until they begin to shrivel and caramelize and brown around the edges,
but remain firm. Use in sauces, stews or soups and on bruschetta. Keep tightly
covered in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks or frozen for up to 4 months.
Stewed White Beans with Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 4-6
1/2 pound white beans
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh chopped sage
1/2 recipe slow roasted tomatoes
Salt & pepper to taste
1. Wash and pick through the beans and soak them overnight. Drain and place them in a medium pot. Add cold water to 2 inches above the surface of the beans. Add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot, leaving the lid ajar, and cook until the beans are nearly tender. Add salt and continue to cook a bit longer. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid and put them back in the pot. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and celery along with a little salt and pepper. Sauté the vegetables until soft. Add one-half a recipe of slow roasted tomatoes, cut up into smaller pieces, and cook for about three minutes, stirring. Pour the entire contents of the skillet into the cooked white beans and turn the heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes to blend flavors, adding reserved bean cooking liquid to achieve the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Grape & Celery Salad with
Blue Cheese & Toasted Walnuts
Serves 6-8
3/4 pound red seedless grapes
3/4 pound green seedless grapes
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes
4 celery stalks, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1/3 pound blue cheese, crumbled
Dressing:
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1. Wash, stem and dry the grapes. Chop the toasted nuts coarsely. Put the grapes and walnuts in a large bowl. Add the celery and crumbled cheese.
2. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss into the salad, and serve immediately.
Bulgur Salad with Dried Apples,
Cranberries and Pumpkin Seeds
Serves 4-6
1 cup bulgur wheat
2 thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup dried apples, soaked for 10 minutes in warm water, drained and chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries 1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seed
s
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
Cider vinegar to taste
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Place the bulgur in a small bowl. Add boiling water to cover and let stand for about 20 minutes until the bulgur is tender. Drain the bulgur and strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Squeeze as much water out as possible.
2. Transfer bulgur to a medium bowl and fluff with a fork. Add the onion, apples, cranberries, pumpkin seeds and parsley.
3. Drizzle olive oil and cider vinegar over the salad and mix. Add salt and pepper and taste and adjust flavors.
Frittata with Roasted Green Chilies,
Corn & Potatoes
Serves 6-8
3 Pacilla chilies, roasted whole under the broiler
until charred and wrinkled on all sides 3 medium waxy potatoes, boiled whole
in salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender
2 tablespoons butter or
olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
3 green onions, white and green parts, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 dozen eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 pound crumbled queso fresco or feta
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1. Once the chilies are cool, peel them, seed them, and cut them into thin one-inch
long strips. Set aside. Slip the skins off the potatoes and slice them thinly
with a sharp, thin bladed knife. Set aside.
2. Heat the butter or olive oil in
a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the yellow onion and garlic and cook,
stirring, about five minutes. Add the corn, green onions and 1/2-teaspoon salt.
Cook, stirring, until soft, about eight minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Once the vegetables are cool, put them in a large bowl with the beaten eggs,
the potatoes, the chilies, parsley, cheese and salt and pepper. If you want to
check your seasonings, place a small amount of the mixture in a small ramekin
in the microwave for 20 seconds (or put a little in a small non-stick pan and
cook until the eggs are done).
4. Pour the mixture into a lightly oiled three
quart baking dish, and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until the eggs are
firm and the edges begin to brown slightly. Serve hot, cold or warm.
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