Hot Berries, Cool Daikon, Peeled Shallots

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Date: July 8th 2010

Rain, rain, beautiful rain . . . softening seeds, slaking the thirsty earth. Big rain clouds gathered and then moved in from the west each of the past two late afternoons/evenings. The timing was nearly perfect, because, after a month of wet weather that prevented us from planting, we had a dry week, during which Henry planted and planted and planted (and weeded, and weeded, and weeded . . . somehow also finding time to mulch, stake, trellis, and harvest -- including harvesting out all the garlic, onions, and shallots). Then, after that dry week, and after last Saturday's market, Henry went straight back into the fields to plant sorghum-sudangrass. (Learn why this is Henry’s favorite hot-weather cover crop here.) He needed to do this Saturday (even though he’d been up since 1 a.m.) because the weatherman was calling for rain Sunday or Monday. Since it hadn't yet rained on Sunday, Henry and the family spent the Fourth planting even more seeds your late summer squash, beans, corn, okra, and cucumbers, and for fall and winter squash and pumpkin. But Sunday came and went and it stayed dry. Ditto for Monday. We were starting to seriously worry about all those seeds languishing in the dry, dry ground, doing precisely nothing.

But then on Tuesday around 6 p.m. the dark clouds blew in -- battleship gray on the bottom and rising up thousands of feet to whitest white at the top. And the rain came beating down, dumping one and a third inches on our fields in little more than an hour. The thirsty soil was happy, the swelling seeds were happy, and we too couldn’t help but smile and be happy along with them – grateful for life-giving rain.

EXTRAS:

At the end of this email, don’t miss exciting news from Henry and Hiroko’s daughter Zoe

And also the opportunity to participate in a new Certified Organic 100% Grassfed Beef CSA.

This week at the Market, look for:

· peeled shallots (put them in your refrigerator, and use them within a few weeks)

· Lots more summer veggies: cucumbers, summer squashes, tomatoes, the first of the cherry tomatoes, and the first of the peppers – green, jalapeno, Czech black, and Hungarian Horvath.

Don’t look for:

· head lettuce. Henry was unable to plant any lettuce all of May (too wet). A few heads will start being ready in a few weeks, but after a few more weeks, will disappear again because of the wet July (again, no ability to do what are usually consecutive weekly plantings). We will have a limited number of bags of mesclun salad mix, and also some nice amaranth for use as a cooking green (like an earthy spinach).

FOOD NOTES: DAIKON

What you should really try this week is daikon radish. It is a large, mild radish that is high in nutrition (like all of the Brassica family), and low in calories. It is excellent either raw or cooked, and can be boiled, grilled, sautéed, or put into soups or combined with roaster root vegetables. When cooked, it is mild and sweet. Try it!

Carrot and Daikon Salad

Light vinegared salads can be made with most any vegetable. In Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, the author pairs carrot and daikon radish in a refreshing dish with a sweet and sour dressing called amazu. Salt shreds of deep orange carrot and white daikon radish to release their liquid, then knead the vegetables to create icicle-like shards of daikon. The dressing is made from mild rice vinegar, sugar, and water heated and then cooled. Toss it with the crunchy vegetables and refrigerate the dish for at least 30 minutes (it’s even more flavorful if left overnight). Traditionally, the salad is served in small plates but add this mixture to a bowl of salad greens and you have an appealing variation.

1	large carrot, cut into 2-inch-by- 1/2-inch matchsticks
1	medium (1 pound) daikon radish, cut into 2-inch-by- 1/2-inch matchsticks
1	teaspoon salt
1/4	cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2	tablespoons sugar
1/4	cup water

1. In a large bowl combine the carrot and daikon radish matchsticks. Add the salt and toss lightly. After several minutes, mix and lightly knead the vegetables with your hands. Working over a colander set in a bowl, gather up the vegetables in your hands and squeeze out the liquid. Rinse and dry the bowl. Place the vegetables in it.

2. In a glass bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, and water. Heat in a microwave for 1 minute or until the sugar dissolves. Alternatively, heat the mixture in a small saucepan. Cool to room temperature.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the vinegar mixture onto the vegetables. Mix with your hand and then squeeze the liquid from the vegetables. Discard the liquid.

4. Add the remaining dressing to the vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to two days.

Pan-Fried Daikon

1. Slice the daikon crosswise into ½ inch medallions.

2. Heat a large frying pan to medium and add a little bit of sesame oil, just enough to cover the surface.

3. Just before the oil starts to smoke, arrange the daikon slices in a single layer on the surface of the pan. Fry until they start to smoke slightly. The cooked surface should have dark brown marks, but not black.

4. Flip'em and wait for them to smoke slightly again.

5. Remove from pan, and arrange on a paper towel to soak up a little oil. Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with a little salt.

Japanese-Style Potato Salad with Daikon and Cucumber

Dressing

· 1 cup mayonnaise

· 1/2 cup white wine vinegar

· 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

· 1 tablespoon honey

· 1 teaspoon dry mustard

· 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

· 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

Salad

· 3 pounds potatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

· 1 2-inch-long piece daikon, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices

· 1 large carrot, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

· 8 large escarole or lettuce leaves, torn into 1-inch pieces

· 1 cup very thinly sliced red onion

· 1 cup very thinly sliced white onion

· 1 cup thinly sliced peeled Japanese cucumber or half-rounds of peeled English hothouse cucumber

· 1/2 cup diced red, yellow or green bell pepper

For dressing:
Whisk first 6 ingredients in small bowl. Mix in onion. Season with salt.

For salad:
Steam potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer potatoes to large bowl; mash coarsely. Steam daikon and carrot until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix 1 1/2 cups dressing into mashed potatoes. Cool to barely lukewarm.

Gently mix daikon, carrot, and remaining vegetables into potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Teresa’s Fruit and Herb News

Hot, Hot, Hot!!

The past two days I’ve felt like I’m back in the Philippines during the rainy season (I lived there as an exchange student my senior year of high school), what with the hot muggy weather and a shower just like clockwork in the afternoon. We were getting pretty dry so the showers were welcome, but the heat makes work hard, especially in or near the blueberry row covers which radiate heat like a giant oven. We picked the last of the red currants there this afternoon and after only an hour or so, were drenched with sweat down through every layer of clothing.

The blueberry row covers suffered in the winds we had earlier in the week too and now instead of the smooth, flowing “Christo-like “ installations that we initially had, we have sad rows of tattered and torn white cloths patched together with clothes pins. Our neighbors probably think we’re crazy!

Fruit this week

We will have lots of blueberries this week again, but this is probably the last big week for them. Even though we will have some for 2 or 3 more weeks, there will be less and less. We will also have the last of the red currants, so don’t put off making that summer pudding or currant crunch. And we will have very small amounts of raspberries. The Japanese beetles really reduced our summer raspberry harvest this year, but hopefully the fall crop will be better.

No cilantro for your salsa? Try Mint!

It’s that time of year already when market-goers are running from one stand to the next frantically searching for cilantro….and NOT finding it. Why? Because cilantro is a cool weather crop. It needs cool weather to germinate well and even if some does germinate, the hot weather tends to make it bolt fast. The heat is telling the cilantro it better hurry up and flower and produce progeny because it’s going to die soon.

And I’m telling you it’s time to expand your horizons. This mint salsa is fabulous! Everyone seems reluctant to try it, but everyone who has tried it has come back to tell me how much they love it. Use my regular mint, Wrigley’s spearmint, or my mojito mint.

Mint Salsa

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 jalapeno or Serrano peppers

1/2 c. fresh mint leaves, gently packed

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil

2 pounds tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of one lemon

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Process first four ingredients in food processor until finely chopped. Add rest of ingredients and process until tomatoes are in small chunks. Serve with chips or over pasta with black olives. Great on hamburgers too.

Herb of the Week: TARRAGON

Tarragon is an herb that I’ve had to get to know over the past ten years. My mother didn’t use tarragon and I wasn’t used to the taste of anise with anything but licorice (which I loved!). So, ever since I started growing tarragon 10 years ago, I have experimented with it. We love it on baked fish with a little marjoram, onion, and lemon. It’s classic on chicken. Delicious thrown in a salad with your favorite lettuces. And, perfect for this time of year when the squashes, eggplants, and peppers are just starting, it is wonderful on grilled veggies. Try this recipe:

Grilled Vegetables with Tarragon from The Good Herb, by Judith Benn Hurley

4 small to medium zucchini (about 1 lb), cut into 1/3 inch slices

4 small to medium yellow summer squash (about 1 lb), cut into 1/3 inch slices

1 large eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/3 inch slices

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and quartered

4 scallions, cleaned but roots left on

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves

pinch of sea salt

Combine the zucchini, squash, eggplant, peppers, and scallions in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, tarragon, and salt. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well. Let the vegetables marinate for at least an hour, or as long as overnight.

Prepare the grill or preheat the broiler.

Using tongs, lift the vegetables out of the marinade, knocking off the tarragon leaves so they won’t burn. Grill the vegetables 4 inches from the heat, turning once, until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the individual vegetables as they finish cooking and set them back in the marinade. Serve warm as a light entrée, or as an appetizer or side dish.

Tarragon gives dimension to the earthy flavor of mushrooms in this recipe:

Fresh Mushroom Spread with Tarragon

1 teaspoon olive oil

12 ounces fresh button mushrooms, very finely minced

1 clove garlic, mashed through a press

1/4 cup minced onion

4 sundried tomatoes, minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon

Preheat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, then pour in the oil. When it’s hot, add the mushrooms, garlic, onion, tomatoes, and vinegar and sauté until all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Quickly swirl in the tarragon and remove the pan from the heat. Serve warm or slightly chilled on crusty bread as an appetizer or snack, or make a sandwich on a baguette with melted mozzarella.

And now, as promised:

EXTRAS

Henry and Hiroko’s daughter Zoe learned that she will be spending her senior year of high school in Tokyo. This means she is leaving us in mid-August! So before then, she is visiting universities, and is very interested in the writing/journalism programs at Univ of Chicago or Northwestern. If any of you have advice concerning these programs, or (especially!) insights into how to find scholarship money, please get in touch with Zoe at aozorarocks at hotmail.com. Thanks!

And finally, since I have heard a number of you ask about 100% grass-fed beef over the years (and since my Dad raises only enough to feed our family), I wanted to let you know that there is a brand new CSA offering shares of Certified organic AND 100% grassfed beef from a wonderful local farm.

Trail’s End Organic Farm is owned and operated by Greg and Janet Morse and is located in the Crow Creek valley 4 miles west of Putnam, IL. The farm has been in the Morse family for 89 years. The land has been certified organic for 18 years, and chemical-free for twenty-one. For more information, look for Trail’s End Organic Farm on Facebook where you can see the daily events i n the life of an organic farm, and also visit Local Harvest where you can read customer reviews. For detailed CSA information contact Janet Morse at 815-437-2606 or at trailsend56@yahoo.com

See you at the Market!

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