for my next trick, i'll plant the tomatoes too close together.

i planned and prepared, composted and cover-cropped, researched and cross-referenced, and was certain i'd have an award winning harvest this year. then i planted my tomatoes way too close together and over fertilized.

behold the resulting jungle. this photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, back when i had literally not seen one of my plants in the back (a beefsteak variety called "nepal") for a full month because i simply lacked the acrobatic ability necessary to get to it. not only were the poor girls crammed into a bed too small, but one of them is a rambunctious cherry called "matt's wild" who has managed to sprawl into the personal space of all 7 of the other plants. 

i've spent the last couple of weeks hacking away at the foliage, partly so that sunlight can penetrate beyond the first couple of inches, and partly so i could actually see what's going on in there. i've been able to locate the lost plant ("rob! rob! i think i found nepal!"), and i now have an idea of what the yield will likely be. i doubt we'll have enough to put much away, but we'll be set for fresh eating for a while. 

the lovely orange fruits above are called jaune flamme and are tangy and sweet, a flavor much like sungolds. the foliage is droopy and elegant, and the golf ball-sized fruits grow in a cascading pattern. 

the red cherry is the unruly matt's wild. great flavor, and allegedly one of the best tomatoes for salsa, but this plant needs SPACE. 

the pretty yellow ones are called white currant. they are sweet, fruity and wonderful. 

in the back is a variety called black cherry. black tomatoes have a distinct flavor-- it's deeper, earthier, and more perfume-y than the others. unfortunately, the above represents the only harvest we've gotten from this plant. we'll get a handful more before the summer is out, but i want more, MORE! these are my favorites.

the charming heart-shaped tomatoes above are from a plant called anna russian. russian varieties do well in seattle, and this plant is absolutely gorgeous now that i rescued it from a garden center and coaxed it back to life. it won't be a great producer as it got a really late start, but it's totally worth the buck-fifty i spent on it. i haven't tasted this one-- she's a paste tomato, so they are going whole in the freezer until i have enough to make some sauce. 

the sassy striped ones are a variety called tigrella. (seriously, what's with all the drag queen names for tomatoes? tigrella? jaunne flamme? i love my queens.) these are great little tomatoes-- juicy, flavorful, perfect for snacking on right off the vine. this has been one of our better producers, despite the challenges i mistakenly set up for it!

fingers crossed that the brandywines, nepals, romas, mortgage lifters, and polish linguisas deliver pretty soon. i'd sure appreciate a freezer full of garden tomatoes this winter!

pork kabobs with peach salsa

have peaches on the table that are not getting any younger, have pork chops in the freezer, have a garden tomato, finally ripe. i don't know about you, but to me this means pork kabobs with peach salsa!

this is a great combination of summer flavors. the peach and tomato flavors play well together in the salsa, and while the peach comes through, it is anything but sweet. feel free to be heavy-handed with the spice rub on the pork-- it can handle it!

pork kabobs with peach salsa
adapted from grilled pork chops with fresh nectarine salsa
serves 2

2 peaches, peeled, pitted and diced
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 boneless pork chops, 1-1 1/2" thick
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
olive oil

combine peaches, tomato, cilantro, lime juice, and red pepper flakes. season with salt to taste, and drizzle with a little olive oil before giving it a final toss. allow to sit for a half hour or more for flavors to blend.

fire up the grill to medium/medium-high heat. 

cut chops into even chunks and toss with a little olive oil. combine cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper, and sprinkle generously on pork to get an even coating. (you may have some spice mixture left over.) thread pork on wooden or metal skewers, leaving space between each piece for even cooking.

place on preheated grill and cook, turning a couple of times, until cooked through but not dry, about 10 minutes. (i didn't do the cooking on the grill, so i can't quite say how long it cooked. until it was done, basically. pull a chunk off and slice it open to test. if juice run clear, they're done. but don't overcook-- dry pork is sadness pork.)

serve with salsa and enjoy!


sources:
pork chops from the happy pigs at skagit river ranch
peaches from tiny's organic
cilantro from stoney plains organic farm
tomato from our garden!

great summer dish-- zucchini basil gratin

last night, we turned a corner. we finally had our first full-on celebration of the season of light, fresh,  summer food. nothing came from the freezer, nothing could have been from any ol' time of the year-- only fresh, bright flavors of the season of easy livin'.

the star of the plate, for sure, was the first handful of tomatoes from our garden, sprinkled with some fresh basil and a barely-there drizzle of olive oil and aged balsamic. oh.my.god. i've been waiting for that for a long, long time. but, the zucchini basil gratin was unexpectedly incredible. 

when i think "gratin," i think of a comfort dish baked to gooey awesomeness with gobs of cheese and topped with something crunchy. give that idea to seattle chef jerry traunfeld, however, and what you get is a delicate, unfussy dish of green, with a fullness of flavor that is definitely more than the sum of its parts. from the first bite to the last, we both said "wow, this is so good!"

the basil and zucchini, rather than balance or complement each other, actually melt into one new flavor, and the bread crumbs and parmesan topping form a perfect crunchy lattice on top. you might be tempted to tweak the recipe since with only 6 ingredients it seems like it's gonna need a boost-- it doesn't! i admit i was a little disappointed at first that this was the only recipe for zucchini in my new cookbook, but after trying it, all is forgiven!

zucchini basil gratin
adapted from jerry traunfeld's the herbal kitchen
serves 4-6

2 pounds zucchini
2 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbps olive oil
1/2 cup basil, rough chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbps dry bread crumbs (we used panko, as usual)
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano, grated

shred the zucchini using a box grater or the grater blade on a mandoline. in a large colander, mix it with the salt and leave it to drain for at least 30 minutes. 

preheat oven to 400 degrees. spread 1/2 Tbsp olive oil on bottom of 10-inch casserole or gratin dish. sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of the bread crumbs and shake to coat evenly.

gather zucchini by the handful to squeeze out the moisture. there's a lot of moisture! (next time i might wrap all the zucchini in cheese cloth and give it a good squeeze, just to save a few minutes.) in mixing bowl, toss zucchini thoroughly with 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and the chopped basil. loosely press the mixture into the casserole dish.

in same mixing bowl, mix the remaining bread crumbs, the cheese, and 1 Tbsp olive oil. sprinkle topping on zucchini and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

sources:
zucchini from alvarez farms
basil from our garden

summer berries with cointreau and mascarpone cream

i spend plenty of time prepping for blog posts that never make the cut, either because the photos didn't turn out like i wanted, or the dish wasn't that great, or the inspiration just fizzled. this was almost left on the cutting room floor until i pulled out last night's leftover dessert to have for this afternoon's snack and realized, this one needs to get out there. 

now, i know full well that berries and cream is nothing new, but i have to go on record praising its delectability. this one mixes the strawberry-raspberry freezer jam i made a few weeks ago with the berries to give them some extra fruity sweetness, and a drizzle of cointreau for a little heady perfume. the cream is whipped with mascarpone and a squeeze of lemon juice for a slight tang. delish! 

summer berries with cointreau and  mascarpone cream

adapted from  mixed berries with mascarpone-limoncello cream, bon appetit, july 2005

8 servings

3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

4 oz mascarpone cheese

3 Tbps sugar

juice from 1/2 small lemon (or to taste)

1 tsp cointreau + 2-3 tsp more (or other orange or fruit liqueur)

8 cups mixed summer berries-- i used strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries

3/4 cup berry preserves or jam-- i used our strawberry-raspberry freezer jam

beat together with an electric mixer the cream, mascarpone, sugar, lemon juice, and cointreau until soft peaks form. 

prepare berries-- wash, hull, etc. mix the blueberries and strawberries thoroughly with the jam, and carefully fold in the raspberries (if yours are as delicate as mine were). 

serve by layering berries in a bowl, glass, or parfait dish, and drizzle with a little cointreau (about as much as will fit in an everyday spoon). top with some cream, then more fruit, another cointreau drizzle (less this time), and end with cream.

sources:
organic raspberries and blueberries-- jessie's berries
organic puget summer strawberries-- sidhu farms
cream-- golden glen creamery

garden report: the brassicas

we had a lot of fun growing some brassicas this year! in truth we didn't get a ton of food out of our little beds of broccoli and cauliflower, but for a first attempt, it was quite enough to be worth it. and, some of the side-sprouting varieties are still delivering!

our biggest producer, pictured above, was umpqua. these plants made tight heads about the size of two fists, and in the joints where the big leaves meet the stems, smaller heads sprout. the sprouts are great raw in salads, stir fried, steamed, and roasted, depending on their size. i'll definitely try umpqua again next year.

another good producer was italian green sprouting calabrese. these, too, had nice fat heads and plenty of side sprouts, though the sprouts are more wispy. these guys are finished sprouting since i let them go to flower, and the plants are about 3 1/2 feet tall! i should pull them up, but i'm kinda liking their sprays of yellow flowers.

third on the list was decicco. about half of these died right out, and the other half made healthy fist-sized heads. these heads weren't quite as tight as the other two, and that made for a nice variety in texture when we cooked them together. these, too, offered some good side sprouts. 

this one is called purple peacock, and it's a cross between green goliath broccoli and two different kales. i didn't get to the heads in time to try them-- they were slow and loose, and i was never really sure when was the right time to cut these. this head is beginning to flower-- did you know broccoli is the flower of the plant, you're just eating it before it blooms? i didn't. 

purple peacock's leaves are edible, like kale, but i haven't tried them yet. like with last year's kale, the aphids have been a problem. it's a really pretty plant, though! i know a lot of people were growing this one this year. i'm curious to learn what other people thought of it.

**cooking tip i learned! submerge broccoli from the garden in a bowl of salted water for 30 minutes before cooking in order to drive out any hidden aphids!

we planted one variety of cauliflower, snow crown. out of the 8 or so starts we planted, about 3 produced small heads, enough for one pan of roasted cauliflower for 2. but again, being able to bring any amount of cauliflower in from the backyard for dinner was exciting! i'll likely give it another shot next year, and just pay more attention to what they need, and to killing the awful, awful slugs who would eat 'em.  

so, that about wraps up the backyard, early-season garden. now we're just down to the herbs! the salad bowl fed us quite well for months before i decided to let it go on to its next life. once i get the beds cleaned out, it's time to plant some fall crops! beets? carrots? more broccoli? we'll see. 

garden report: the peas

so, the peas are all done, and here's a quick look back at how they did. you may recall that i went a little nuts at the seattle tilth spring edible plant sale, since all of the starts were half price by the time we arrived. i'm glad we had the opportunity to try out so many different varieties, as some did decidedly better than others. 

one success was a variety of snow pea called golden sweet edible podded. as the name would indicate, they were golden, sweet, and the pods were edible. 

the golden sweets were especially fun because they came from beautiful purple blossoms. they grew tall, and produced plenty of peas that were best straight from the vine. the sweetness made them a great little outdoor snack. 

the other winners were the curvy, curly dwarf snow peas (they grew into twisty shapes!), and sugar sprint. these, too, were edible podded and were crunchy and sweet. we ate these, along with the golden sweets, raw, in stir fries, on salads, and mixed in pasta with grilled chicken. yum!

for the shelling peas, it was a different story. above is the extent of the harvest, and, frankly, two of them weren't good at all.

left to right:

green arrow-- we had high hopes for these, because they share a name with a superhero. (superheroes are kind of a big deal in this household...) while the plants didn't produce very much, the peas tasted good. 

blauschokker-- these were a lovely and dramatic addition to the garden with their purple flowers and dark, dusky purple pods. inside, the peas were a pretty light green. however, they tasted bitter. maybe i left them on the vine too long? not sure, but i don't think i'll grow these again unless as ornamentals.

dwarf grey sugar-- i thought at first that these were supposed to be edible podded, but after trying to eat a few i realized i must be wrong. with these, too, the peas inside were bitter and disappointing. in fact, i ended up throwing these and the blauschokkers in the compost bin. there just wasn't enough there to make it worth the effort to cook or save them. (believe me, it takes a LOT for me to throw out anything edible, and especially if i've invested months in growing it! these were just bad.)

so, that's how the peas did. i hope to try some new varieties next year and get a good fresh eating crop, plus some to put away in the freezer. if anyone has suggestions for varieties that do really well here, please leave a comment!

old-fashioned strawberry shortcake with drop biscuits

imagine eating something that, for a few minutes, makes nothing else seem to matter. 

this strawberry shortcake is AMAZING. amazing. like, make-you-forget-that-you-have-questions-about-the-meaning-of-life amazing. the drop biscuits come together like a dream and hold up perfectly while soaking in all of that syrupy strawberry juice. the berries are dark and sweet, the cream is light and dreamy-- between the berries, the juice, the biscuits, and the lightly sweetened cream, each bite actually made me whimper a little. 

but there's a catch-- you have to have the right berries. 

my parents came to visit me in portland a few years ago, and though we were wrapped in jackets and scarves, it was june berry season. we stopped by a produce market on sauvie island where we found a giant table of small and squishy strawberries that looked to me like they were almost ready for the compost pile. they had a sign that said "try me!" so we did. the look on my mother's face was, i'm sure, mirrored on my own-- "that's a strawberry? but it's SO GOOD!" they were a variety called hood, and i learned to look forward to their june arrival every year. i don't even know how to describe the flavor-- it's nothing like the jumbo, shiny, taut, shippable red fruits with the white centers that you find in the grocery. they are full of sugars and flavor, and are solid, deep red all the way through. 

we grew honeoyes this year. not a big yield, but definitely a fine berry. 

a variety i heard of for the first time this year, reported to be even better than hoods, is called shuksan. i'm a little broken hearted that i didn't get a chance to try them before they were gone. thing is, the good berries, the BEST berries, are generally an extremely short harvest, and don't last or transport well at all. you can get decent berries later in the summer, but for true transcendence, you need june-bearing varieties. when they're gone, they're gone, but thankfully, some of them freeze well. 

the variety i did manage to get my hands on this year is called rainier. we got the last flat of berries at the u-district farmers market, and the next week, all of the june-bearing berries were finished. i made a pitcher of strawberry lemonade with one pint and froze the rest. (freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet, then move to a freezer container.) 

yesterday, i thawed some of the rainier berries and made this shortcake. best. idea. ever. 

jon rowley's old-fashioned strawberry shortcake with drop biscuits 

adapted from edible seattle, may/june 2010

serves 6

for the berries:

3 pints organic, local, june-bearing strawberries, the reddest, juiciest, sweetest you can find

1-4 Tbsp sugar  

rinse and hull the berries and chop into irregular chunks. mix the berries with a tablespoon of sugar or two and set aside to macerate for at least an hour. before serving, taste and add more sugar to taste. (the berries and their juices are the sweeteners in this dessert, so don't overdo it, but don't underdo it either!)

for the biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz butter, chilled (the recipe didn't specify, so i used salted since i had it on hand)

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp cream (optional-- i forgot this step and it was fine)

heat oven to 400 degrees.

stir dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl. cube the chilled butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers to get a texture like a rough meal. stir in milk and mix until you have a soft dough that is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. (i tried not to overmix since i've heard that's the easiest way to get rock-hard biscuits. i don't bake, so i don't really know, but these turned out great.)

spoon the dough in 6 portions on a greased baking sheet. brush the tops with cream, if using. bake 10-15 minutes until golden. cool on a rack.

for the whipped cream:

2 cups heavy cream, well chilled

2 Tbsp sugar (or to taste)

whip the sugar and cream together using a wire whisk or electric mixer until soft peaks form.

for assembly:

slice a biscuit in half and top the bottom half with berries and juice, then a spoonful of cream. cover with the top half of the biscuit and add berries/juice and more cream. 

enjoy, and whimper.

sources: 
rainier strawberries-- schuh farms
cream-- golden glen creamery