Cucumber - Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Mint

I made cucumber salad last night. Bill requested the addition of chickpeas. Have I mentioned Bill's addiction to chickpeas? It seemed a reasonable addition and one that would guarantee that Bill's interest.

2 Large cucumbers, seeded and cut in 1/2 " pieces
1 15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 scallions, white and green bits, finely sliced
1-2 tsp dried mint (or 2T fresh)
1/4 C lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepared Blue Cheese Dressing for garnish (Optional)

Put cucumbers through pepper in a bowl with a tight fitting lid (1 1/2 qt capacity). Toss everything by shaking the container. Let sit in the refrigerator for several hours. Serve with a small dollop of dressing.

Summer is flying by

This week's CSA share
Arugula
Beets with greens
Cauliflower
Chinese cabbage (1 head)
Cucumbers (1 regular and 2 Asian long)
Italian frying pepper
Peaches (3 lbs)
Red leaf lettuce
Scallions
Spring onions

ROT REPORT: 2 casualties
This evening, I discovered 2 cucumbers that didn't get used in time. I failed them. They were going slime/mush/mucky, so they were tossed.

I've actually been doing very well compared to past seasons. At this point, when it seems like I'm getting behind, I try to preserve something. So far the fridge contains (shelf life in brackets)

Broccoli with garlic, lemon juice, raisins and toasted pine nuts (up to a week)
Kimchee (up to 2 months)
Pickled Daikon sushi condiment (indefinitely)
Chopped, cooked red chard- 1 qt freezer bag full (up to 6 months)

So tonight, I will chop some cucumbers for a salad

Peach Melba My Way and Weird Slaw

This week, it finally feels like summer.

Peach Melba My Way
2 peaches, peeled and cut up as you like
1 t sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 container of raspberries
cream
Divide peaches between two dessert dishes. Sprinkle with sugar and salt. Top with raspberries, cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, pour about 1 T cream over each portion.
Weird Slaw

• 
  
  White Radish
• 
  
  Red radish
• 
  
  kohrabi
• 
  
  carrot
• 
  
  snow peas

Shred the vegetables (use food processor) and toss with salt, sugar, and a bit of lemon juice. It will last a few days as is. Serve with salad, rice, make sushi rolls, or as a filling in summer rolls. If you want a more traditional slaw, add mayonnaise, more sugar and vinegar.
Other meals from this week:
-Codfish with Greens using black kale and red chard, served with pasta and pesto. Used this recipe, but substituted cod for the scallops.
-Salmon burgers, and green chard served with toast with smoked mozzarella.
-Pasta with pesto, Sicilian Squash Pickle, and steamed broccoli with a bit of julienned bresaola.
-Frittata with bresaola and BB Artichoke pesto served on bruschetta.

Kim Chee

A crock of kim chee is resting in the fridge. I can't believe how easy it is. Adapted (simplified the process) from Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cookbook. The hardest part was finding a suitable jar. I use a half gallon jar that held marinated artichokes from costco),

1 lb bok choy, cut in 2" sections, or whole if using baby
1 lb white radish, peeled, halved then cut crosswise in thin slices
3 T salt
2 T finely minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 T minced garlic
5 scallions with greens, sliced
1 T cayenne or hot Korean pepper (I have used crushed red pepper flakes and sricha)
1 t sugar

Combine 2 T + 2 t salt and 5 cups water, stirring to dissolve salt. Place choy and radish in a crock, large jar or a bowl if that's what you have. Pour salt solution over veggies, stirring and dunking them in water a few times. They tend to float. cover loosely (I rubberband a papertowel over the top) and let rest on the counter for 12 hours or so, dunking the cabbage back into the liquid if you think about it.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour off most of the soaking water into a large glass measuring cup or other container. Stir spices into cabbage, then add soaking water to cover (about 2 C). Give the mix a final stir, cover loosely, and let ferment on the counter for 3 - 7 days, depending on the air temp (summer will be quicker than winter). Taste after 3 days to check sourness. When it's to your liking, cover the jar and store in the fridge.

Serve about 1/4 C per person. You can use the pickling liquid to flavor soups.

MSL Spring Onion Soup (for H)

Here's a way to use up lots of onions. It's pretty good. For a delicate appetizer, serve as suggested, with 'crisp flatbread.' For a more substantial meal, serve it with (or over) grilled cheese.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 pounds spring onions (or yellow onions), trimmed and thinly sliced
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/4 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
2 cups water
8 pieces crisp flatbread, for serving

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent but not brown, about 15 minutes.
Stir in salt, stock, and water. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, and let cool for 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree in a blender, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, blending until soup is smooth.
Divide soup among 4 bowls, drizzle with oil, and serve with flatbread on the side.

Cucumber Cream Salad

I saw this recipe in Good Housekeeping Cookbook ca 1963 that Bill rescued from somewhere. I couldn't reisist. We served it on Bill's Gigantic Lettuce, Rotisserie Chicken and Radish Salad with Chickpeas. It's kind of like wobbly dressing.

1 3 oz package of lemon gelatin (YES! respect the JELLO MOLD!)
1 t salt
1 C hot water
1-2 T vinegar
1 t grated onion (dry onion flakes or powder would be fine, this ain't haute cuisine)
1 C sour cream
1/4 C mayonnaise, plus garnish (I omitted on principle; Bill garnished with blue cheese dressing)
1 C drained, finely chopped cucumber
Salad greens

Early in day: Dissolve gelatin and salt in water. Add vinegar, onion. Refrigerate until syrupy, then beat in sour cream, mayonnaise and cucumbers. Pour into 6 individual molds. Refrigerate until firm. Unmold on salad greens; top with mayonnaise. Makes 6 servings.

Saturday morning

A summer cold has hit the Barnacle household, which has slowed the pace of cooking adventures. During the week, Bill was inspired by gorgeous basil at the local supermarket, and made a batch of pesto with thin linguine. It was delish.

I'm feeling a bit better, Bill is feeling a bit worse. I felt like cooking, so this morning's adventure, I made pickles with the yellow squash, more Spicy Radish Leaf Furikake (recipe from Just Hungry website), and started a batch of Kimchee.

Yellow Squash Pickle - Sicilian style
2 yellow squash, sliced in rounds
olive oil
garlic scape, minced
salt
pepper
lemon juice

Brown squash, and set aside. Saute garlic scape in the same pan, adding oil if necessary. Turn off the heat, and add lemon juice to deglaze pan. In a wide mouth jar, layer squash, salt, pepper, spoonful of scapes, and pouring the remaining juices from the pan over the last layer of squash. Refrigerate. Serve with toast, over macaroni or with salad.