Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
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How's everyone enjoying the fresh garbanzos? We're getting more this week (and everybody's getting them! See last week's newsletter for how to use them). I'm also happy to report that the remaining members who didn't get watermelons a few weeks back will be getting theirs this week, and we have enough so that Fruit Bounty members will get one too! So I've got a few more watermelon recipes to share, among other things. - Debbie

Inspired by Lisa's story about the poem, I was compelled to find a watermelon pickle recipe! And I knew right where to go to look for one too: my old Joy of Cooking. The nice thing about this recipe is that only the rind is pickled, so you can enjoy the sweet juicy pink flesh guilt-free, and then make good use of the rind afterwards. Keep in mind this is a 3-day process, but based on the poem, it sounds worth it!

Pickled Watermelon Rind
from Joy of Cooking (1978 edition)
Makes 5 pints. [Original recipe made 10 pints, from 'one large watermelon'; since ours are smaller, I'm halving the recipe. I'm also editing it somewhat, but not materially.]

Cut before peeling and remove the green skin and pink flesh from 1 watermelon (about 2 1/2 quarts). Dice rind into 1-inch cubes. Par-blanch it (see below) for 3 minutes, until it can be pierced with a fork, but do not overcook. Drain.

To Par-blanch: place prepared rind into a large quantity of cold water, bring it slowly to a boil, uncovered, and continue to simmer for length of time specified, then drain and plunge quickly into cold water to firm it and arrest further hot-water cooking.

Combine the following ingredients and bring just to a boil to make a syrup:

3 1/2 C sugar
1 C vinegar
1/8 tsp. oil of cloves [don't know if this is still commercially available; I'd just put a few whole cloves -- 5 or 6? -- into the solution and then simmer it gently for a few minutes to infuse the syrup (let your nose be the judge), then remove]
1/4 tsp. oil of cinnamon [ditto here; I'd just use a cinnamon stick]

In a non-reactive pot or bowl, pour syrup over rind, just covering it. Let stand overnight. Remove rind. Reboil syrup and pour over rind. Let stand overnight as before. On the third morning, pack the rind into sterile pint jars. Boil syrup again and pour over rind to overflowing. [That's interesting... no headspace? Usually when canning you leave about 1/4 to 1/2-inch of headspace. If you overflow it, don't forget to wipe the rims and threads before sealing.] Seal and process jars 15 minutes in a boiling-water bath [or steam-canner; that's what I have and like - uses a lot less water!].

The flavor of this pickle can be varied by placing a star anise, or 1 to 2 tsps. chopped preserved ginger or candied lemon peel into each jar [presumably before adding the syrup].


Storing whole watermelons
Depending on who you believe, whole watermelons will either keep only a week or so (per the National Watermelon Promotion Board, which says, "whole melons will keep for 7-10 days at room temperature. Store them too long, and they'll lose flavor and texture.") - if they're promoting watermelons, maybe it's in their best interest to have you use 'em up and purchase more? - or, according to a couple stories from 'old timers', they can be stored uncut in a cool dark place for as much as 6 months! One story told of "keeping a few under the bed, a cool place, and bringing one out for dessert at Xmas time and birthdays. They were always fine." Whether the newer species and small ones would keep so well, I do not know. I think the long storage would apply if you had a garden that produced several, which you couldn't use all at once...


Here's another watermelon recipe; even though we don't have cucumbers this week, maybe we will in the future, and it sounds like you can safely store watermelons in a cool dark place for a little while anyway...

Cucumber and Watermelon Salad with Hoisin-Lime Dressing
Bon Appetit, July 2002
Serves 6, but you could easily proportion it up or downward

1 1/2 large English hothouse cucumbers, cut into half-inch pieces, about 3 cups [the Armenian 'snake' cucumbers would be a perfect substitute]
3 C half-inch cubes of seeded watermelon
3 1/2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
1/3 C coarsely chopped lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts [or similar]

Combine cucumbers and watermelon in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours. Drain; discard liquid [huh... you'd think the juice would be good for something... a refreshing beverage perhaps?]

Whisk lime juice and hoisin sauce in small bowl to blend. Pour dressing over cucumber-watermelon mixture and toss gently. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and peanuts, and serve immediately.


One more watermelon idea - this one was sent to me by member Amoreena Lucero:

Fresh Watermelon with Chili and Lime
Amoreena says, "So, for those of us who haven't received our watermelons yet, I suggest eating watermelon the way they do in Mexico, which is with a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of chili powder and salt.  It sounds weird, but having tried it in my restaurant days, I have to say it's quite good!  I'm sure some of your crew can verify this delicious approach to watermelon.  BTW, I thought of it because you mentioned the same combination for the garbanzo beans." [Sure sounds yummy to me!]


I've been jonesing to get tomatillos again ever since my friend Mary Murphy served them for me in her paprika roasted veggies. They were absolutely delicious that way! They're also tasty raw. Dean and DeLuca describes tomatillos as having a "fascinating flavor somewhere between rhubarb, apples, squash and persimmons" when eaten raw; as apt a description as I have ever heard. I got some tomatillos a few weeks back and found they were marvelous... in gazpacho! Here's my recipe:

Debbie's Gazpacho with Tomatillos
Gazpacho is very flexible and forgiving; you can puree up quite a number of different summer veggies, season with herbs and vinegar, and dig in! A couple weeks ago I came home with a handful of tomatillos and, looking around my kitchen at what all else I had in abundance, decided to make gazpacho.

I pretty much made a version of the Garden Gazpacho recipe from the database, only I didn't have any cucumber but I DID have these tomatillos, and a lime. So here's what I put in my gazpacho this time:

Summer squash
Sweet peppers
Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Lime juice [or lemon, or a bit of both]
Basil
Tomato juice [I had some homemade, frozen]
and then balsamic vinegar, to taste.


While we're on the subject of tomatillos, here's another fun recipe I really like the sound of:

Pizza Santa Fe Style (with Tomatillos! duh.)
from 'More Recipes from a Kitchen Garden' by Renee Shepherd & Fran Raboff
serves 2 to 4

one pizza crust, ready to bake [or see my recipe, below]

Sauce:
1 1/2 C lightly packed cilantro leaves
1/2 C lightly packed parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno chile, halved, seeded [or a serrano from last week's box?]
1 scallion, cut in pieces
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 C olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Topping:
2 anaheim or other mild green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into half-inch strips [I'd use the Corno de Toro peppers from our box]
5 tomatillos, husked, rinsed and sliced
4 small tomatoes, sliced and drained on paper towels [I find if you cut them in half crosswise then it's easy to scoop out the seeds, then slice. Hate to use all the paper towels.]
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 C grated jack cheese

Combine all sauce ingredients except salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place crust on a large baking sheet [see my notes if making homemade dough!]. Brush the shell with sauce. Arrange chilies, tomatillos, tomatoes and onions over all, sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano.Top with grated cheese and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until edges are crisp, and serve hot.


Debbie's Pizza Dough Recipe
Okay, so Molly, this year's farm intern, has been using this recipe for making all the pizza dough for events on the farm this year, and has asked me several times to include it in the database. Here you go, Molly :-)

2 to 2 1/4 C all-purpose flour [sometimes a little more]
1 pkg. rapid-rise yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. olive oil
1 C warm water [125 to 130 degrees if you use a thermometer, but I find water that's simply on the hot side of warm but cool enough you can stick your finger in it without going 'ouch!' is fine. You don't want it tepid.]

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 C of the flour together with the yeast, salt and sugar. Add warm water and olive oil and stir well. I like to beat it vigorously in a circular motion with a wooden spoon until it starts getting ribbony. When you stop, observe it for a minute; you'll see bubbles from the yeast action rise happily to the surface.

Continue to add flour and beat with your wooden spoon until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl in a mass; it'll still be somewhat sticky, but this is okay.

Sprinkle a smooth counter or table top or cutting board with a goodly amount of flour (not too skimpy) and have additional standing by. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, using a dough scraper if you have one, to get all the stuck bits; sprinkle with more flour (and dust your hands with flour), then knead dough: fold it in half towards you, press into it with the heel of your hand to kind of moosh the two layers together, turn a quarter turn, fold, moosh; turn fold moosh... keep this up, adding as little flour as necessary to keep it from really sticking to you - more at the beginning, but taper it off soon as you can. They always say to 'knead dough until smooth and elastic', but the best indicator for finished dough consistency I've ever heard is to compare it to the softness of your earlobe. Really! You don't want it too stiff or the pizza will be more cracker-like instead of chewy with big air pockets (yum!).

You can let the kneaded dough ball rest on a little flour while you prepare the bowl: wash it out, dry it, coat it modestly with olive oil. Take the dough ball, tucking it kind of underneath and into itself on the bottom, then set it briefly seam-side up in the oiled bowl (to very lightly coat it with oil), then turn it over seam-side down. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp flour-sack-type towel (not terry), and let rest in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk (usually about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how warm it is). You can use it now, or, if you need more time to prep toppings and such, punch it down, ball it up, turn it over, cover it and let it rise 'til doubled again.

If you have one, put a pizza brick or pizza stone (essentially a flat sheet of terra cotta or similar, to simulate a brick oven) into your oven and preheat it while the dough is rising. I like to heat my oven to 500, even 550 degrees for pizza (with the brick; haven't tried this with pizza-on-a-baking-sheet).

Prepping the dough for making pizza on a pizza brick
If you're going to be baking the dough on a brick in your oven, obviously you can't pre-assemble it on it's baking surface, like you can with a cookie sheet. The dough sits directly on the stone to bake. So you have to prepare it on either a pizza peel (a wooden or metal paddle for transferring into the oven), or, what I use as my 'peel' is a rimless cookie sheet.

THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP here is to make sure you have a sufficiency of dry stuff (I use polenta and flour; you can use either or) between the dough and the peel so the dough doesn't stick to the peel!!! When you're trying to slip a pizza off your peel into a 500 degree oven, you can't hover and fuss trying to get it off - ya hafta stick the peel in there so the dough is centered above the stone, give it a quick jerk so the pizza slides off onto the stone, then get the heck outta there and shut the door! [It's hot!!]

So I sprinkle my rimless cookie sheet generously with the polenta, then sprinkle on a little flour too, for good measure - then sprinkle the dough with a little more flour, punch it down in the bowl, stretch it out and place it on the prepared peel. A good trick I've found for making a nice round dough is to punch it all around and flatten it right in the bowl, then you can lift out the deflated disk, flip it over flour-side down, and lay it right on the prepared peel. Now you're ready to top it with whatever toppings you desire, and bake! In a 500 degree oven, I'll bake my pizza 10 to 12 minutes; check on it at 10. Ideally you want the cheese on top to be browned and bubbly. [Ask me another time for how I use this dough to make focaccia.] ;-)


Member Laurel Pavesi sent me this next recipe saying, "I just used [it] and it is delicious!  Out of this world with Tom's dry farm tomatoes, a sprig of basil and a squeeze of Meyer lemon juice!  Oh my!  I used my food processor to pulse the pulp with a little salt and then drained it in a cheesecloth bag, just like [Andy] said. I've never, never tasted any better thirst quenching drink. I doubt we'll have any left over for ice cubes!!" Note to our readers: Andy Griffin is the farmer at Mariquita Farm (part of Two Small Farms CSA), and he is also a terrific writer. You'll find his work published in many places, and it is always a good read!

Tomato Water
by Andy Griffin
The best chefs know how get the most out of their food budget. Extra tomatoes, soft tomatoes and tomatoes that are too damaged or cosmetically challenged to be of other use can be used for tomato water. First the ripe tomatoes are chopped, then lightly salted, and finally put into a cheesecloth bag over a pot and left to drain. The clear liquid that is captured has the clean, flavorful, essence of tomato without any distracting catsup "notes" or pizza "tones". Tomato water can be used to give character to vinaigrettes, sauces, broths, juices and cocktails. Freeze the tomato water into ice cubes and bag them for use in the winter. The pulp that is left behind can be used as the basis for a sauce or broth.


And member Kimberly Potts wrote me with this idea for using greens (see below for my additional comments):

Green Smoothies
Kimberly says, "Hi Debbie - I've been meaning to write to you about a fabulous idea for using those greens that SADLY too many people are leaving in the trades box!  Of course we all know that they are THE healthiest food on the planet, but seem to be a chore to make ourselves eat enough of.  I have been doing a lot of research lately into the "raw/living" diet, and specifically "green smoothies"!  They are THE best way to "get your greens" because blending them in a high speed blender (preferably, anyway) breaks down those cellulose walls so that the nutrients become much more available, yet it avoids cooking them which destroys many nutrients and all the enzymes.  When you mix the greens with fresh fruit, the fruit almost totally masks the bitterness of the greens (depending upon the proportions of fruit to greens and the type of greens used), making it a fantastic drink for any time of day!  Most experts in this area suggest drinking about 3 cups a day. I start off each day with a big ball jar full!  I use whatever fruit is in season, but bananas make it really creamy, and peaches or mangoes make it really sweet [but bananas and mangoes are not local...].  I alternate the greens between spinach, chard, collards, kale, dandelions, parsley, radish greens, beet greens, carrot tops, mizuna, bok choy, romaine or any dark leaf lettuce, watercress, & wild edibles like purslane.  Basically whatever we get in the share, and maybe another bunch purchased at a farmer's market.

"It works well to start with about 60% fruit and 40% greens, depending upon how tolerant you are of the greens taste... I love to add ginger regularly, and add chia seeds daily, too.  That makes it really creamy and so good for you!  Blending with a Vita Mix is kind of essential... you can get by with a "regular" blender but it may not be as smooth and creamy.

"There are more recipes and info. out there on green smoothies than you could ever want.  Lots of good sound research as well.  There is even an International Green Smoothie Day (Aug. 15)!

Here are some to get started with:

http://www.greensmoothierevolution.com (Victoria Boutenko is THE authority on greens and has done extensive research)
http://www.rawfamily.com/prodlinks/gfl.html
http://www.greensmoothiequeen.com"

- Kimberly

Debbie's two cents: I am all for getting plenty of healthy greens into your diet, but don't personally advocate an 'all raw' diet... Sally Fallon, in her book 'Nourishing Traditions, the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats' says, "While we should include a variety of raw foods in our diets, we need to recognize that there are no traditional diets composed exclusively of raw foods. Even in the tropics, where fires are not needed for warmth, the inhabitants build a fire every day to cook their foods. Some nutrients are made more available through cooking and cooking also neutralized naturally occurring toxins in plant foods. In general grains, legumes and certain types of vegetables should be cooked. Animal foods should be consumed both raw and cooked. Some people do very poorly on raw foods - or find raw foods unappetizing - in which case they should emulate the Asians by including small amounts of enzyme-rich condiments [usually fermented] with a diet of cooked foods." I'd recommend getting this book from the library if you're interested in learning more.

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