Green Options

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Tis the season . . . for harvesting wonderful herbs that is. There are many books, articles and probably millions of blog posts on the many ways to use and abuse herbs.

Other than drying or freezing them, another way to use fresh herbs to create delicious herbal taste into the colder months when we may not have as hearty a harvest available (although window herb planters are kind of cool for winter-fresh herbs.

Herb-Infused Vinegars
As Kelli Best-Oliver wrote earlier this week in her ‘five cool things to do with herbs’, making herb-flavored vinegars is pretty easy. She suggests heating the vinegar slightly. I’ve never done that, but it seems like a good idea!

I usually use white wine, white balsamic or champaign vinegars for these. My current favorite (and the one people are getting for x-mas this year) is tarragon vinegar, which of course makes an awesome bernaise sauce (always served at our traditional McWilliams family Christmas eve dinners).

As I walked through the farmers market this weekend I saw the first pumpkins showing up alongside the still abundant tomatoes and even corn and peppers. I love this time of year where it feels like everything is in season all at once especially zucchini. Except, perhaps, the fresh berries that I will miss. As the corn and peppers give way, we get a short “second season” of greens to pair with the winter squashes that are just coming in. It’s all good, the harvest, the weather, the food.

We got no less than NINE cucumbers in the CSA bag. So, this week, of course I am doing a recipe for cucumbers. The taste of this is not unlike a “fresh pickle.” It uses a LOT of cucumbers

Recipe and entries after the jump.

Guest contributor Pamela Price is the founder of Red, White & Grew, a blog devoted to “Promoting the Victory Garden Revival and other simple, earth-friendly endeavors as bipartisan, patriotic acts in an age of uncertainty.”

If you’re a full-fledged foodie, then you’re well aware of this weekend’s Slow Food Nation ‘08. Sandwiched as it is between the nation’s political conventions, the first-ever SFN promises to be a palate-cleanser for those of us who regard good food and sustainable agriculture as bipartisan paths to unity. According to the official web site, SFN conventioneers will be invited to Celebrate, Learn and Act this weekend to create a “deeper connection to our food.”

Not surprisingly, and as Kelli Best-Oliver reported here earlier, many SFN events are already sold out. And the major networks won’t be providing round-the-clock coverage for the San Francisco-based convergence (drat!).  But don’t feel left out of the party! There are several ways you can stay connected both with the convention goings-on and general spirit.

Is it a cake, a pie, or a wrongdoing for which a legal claim for damages may be brought? A torte - not to be confused with a legal tort - is a sweet, rich Austrian cream cake covered with nuts or fruits that originated in Austria. This savory version resembles a vegetable pie. I use the best of summer’s bounty, layer it with fresh mozzarella and enclose it in pastry. The flavorful roasted red pepper sauce adds a touch of sweetness and color.

Legend has it that mozzarella was first made when cheese curds accidentally fell into a pail of hot water in a cheese factory near Naples. For this recipe, use fresh, high-moisture cow’s milk mozzarella that contains more than 52% moisture, or Capriella (half goat’s milk, half cow’s milk mozzarella) from the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas. Paula Lambert founded the business in 1982, using the same exacting methods for handcrafting fresh mozzarella that she witnessed while living in Italy.

As August turns to September, the seasons’ bounty becomes a mixed blessing of both summer and fall. The last of the sweet corn is sold alongside the first few small butternut squash. It’s time to relish the last of the beautiful heirloom tomatoes. The final week of berries, a longer lasting crop this year by the blessing of a milder summer. Eggplants and peppers fill the tables. And the zucchini, more than I could possibly ever cook, the zucchini. This has to be the most remarkable of times, this point where summer still bears fruit and autumn harvest begins as well.

There is simply no other time like it.

Here is a recipe that celebrates the last of summer’s bounty, all in one dish. The okra is a Cajun addition, giving the dish a twist on the classic French version of Ratatouille.

Recipe and links after the jump.

At home, we rank king and queen of our own kitchen – declaring local and seasonal priorities, treating area farmers like valued citizens, banning high fructose corn syrup and declaring kale royalty. Once we cross the moat of our island home base, navigating reality can get a bit more treacherous and sticky, especially when organizing an event outside your kitchen confines. Our quest for sustainability deflates through the reality of standardized event menus, venue restrictions and catering managers rolling their eyes and commenting, “But we’ve never done it that way before.”

Enter Greg Christian, owner of Greg Christian Catering and Events, Chicago’s “Conscious Caterer” on a mission to bring the healthy, sustainable food message to the event scene. Wearing his white chef coat like a cloak of armor, Christensen proves that commitment, passion for healthy food and a dedication to constantly questioning and evolving can prompt true change.

Christian’s journey toward sustainability sparked when his young daughter’s asthma improved significantly through eating organic foods. “But I was living two lives, eating organic at home and using conventional foods in my businesses,” Christian confesses. “I realized I couldn’t live these two separate lives anymore and I started literally diagnosing where my food inputs came from on a world map.” This mapping system prompted not only change, but a deep sense of humility for Christian. “I’m humble and honored to be part of the global food system,” adds Christian, an emotion fueling his catering company’s constant quest to buy from area farmers, run a zero waste kitchen and continually work towards further greening his operations.

Planning an event you would like to keep green? Here are five tips to get started:

Premium food doesn’t have to come at a premium price.

Those big perfect peaches in the bags at the farmers market are awesome to look at. They are the “firsts”, the best looking, blemish-free, ripe peaches. They get a premium price.

The next grade down is “seconds”. Seconds have a slight blemish or bruise, a stem scar or cosmetic damage from insects or weather. They taste every bit as good as the firsts do, but at a savings of up to 50%. These are what will allow you to gorge on fresh fruit now and have enough to put up for winter.

Buy a case of seconds and freeze half of them. It’s so easy, you won’t believe it.

It’s still August, and thus, still tomato season. Around our house, we are eating about 15 lbs. per week. It’s a lot of tomatoes. Yet, tomatoes are so versatile, so easy to cook in so many ways. Come December, they will be the first on the list of fresh produce that I miss most.

If you have been headed out to the farmers market each week and are getting used to “la vida local,” you should consider signing up for this October’s Eat Local Challenge. Here’s some details on the challenge and how you can participate.

And, here’s this week’s recipes and posts for Farmers Market Fare.

It’s raining zucchini!

Well, maybe not literally, but it can feel that way at this time in the summer, when home gardens, farmer’s markets and fresh produce aisles abound with these versatile and prolific veggies.

There is something kind of funny about these little green monsters. It could just be the word ‘zucchini’, which by the way has its roots in the very food-associated Italian language. ‘Zucca’ is the Italian word for squash. Not to get bogged down in an etymology thing . . . the point is that zucchini has been party to many silly jokes, such as:

What is a zucchini’s favorite sport?

Aside from being dubbed the Green Diva, I’ve also been called the salad queen (these may actually be different variations on the same title!). Since my earliest memories of food, salads have been and remain a favorite staple in my world. I was somewhat of a natural vegetarian, gagging on most meat and thus being extremely particular about what meat I managed to stuff down as a child, I always gravitated towards any type of vegetable.

This time of year, us salad-lovers are in heaven. The fresh, crisp and colorful bounty beckons the creation of all kinds of fresh veggie meals.

I’ve become an unofficial expert on making meals out of salads. I can be extremely happy with a large bowl filled with lettuce and a variety of other food groups that make up a healthy combination all mixed up. In fact, I have a special hand-crafted wooden bowl that was given to me when I attended ‘farm camp’ in Vermont last year, that I love to make these salad meals in.

While there are several million ways to create a core group of salad meals, I’m going to pick just two that I’m currently rotating through the menu these days.

Farmers Market Fare is back this week for the seriously hot days of summer. Despite the heat, I’ve been out and about doing farm tours. Last weekend was Tomato Fest, with a celebration of heirloom tomatoes, chef demonstrations, barbecue, music. If you have a chance to get out to a farm tour event like this, it’s well worth it. Plus, you can see the farm where your food is grown for yourself. Try that at the grocery store.

Here’s a lovely Panzanella salad that I had to try and recreate after tasting it at the Tomato Fest, along with some recipe submissions from our favorite regular contributors. Both of which have corn on their minds this week!

Recipes and links after the jump.