Summer cooking ... or not

[Boom Boom]

Oh, and kippers! We used to have kippers for breakfast occasionally when I were a tad, and I adored them, still do. Sooo hard to find decent kippers here. The little tinned ones have an acceptable flavour, but they're pretty watery.

Tinned sardines were a lunch item for us as long as I can remember living with my family of origin - mashed, mixed with a bit of mayo and green relish, and used to make sandwiches. I still make sardine sandwiches this way almost 50 years later.

[Croghan27]

It must be a food kinna day at Democracy Now ....The redoubtable Amy Goodman has a couple of stories, here and here, on the food industry in the US.

I believe they are a bit superfluous for Canada as I believe we have some of them thar suoooosalist marketing boards that protect us from the extremes of the huge operations in the US. (We have our own problems.)

[lagatta]

Rosh Hashanah (various transliterations) comes in late summer this year, and I thought some recipes from a recent book on French Jewish cooking would be nice, especially as all the Sephardic ones could also be dishes for Eid al Fitr (festival marking the end of Ramadan), coming up about the same time: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/highholydays/nathanfrenchroshhashanah

It depends on lunar sightings, but normally they should overlap this year.

[deBeauxOs]

On my way home I walked through the Byward Market.  One booth had a wide range of small tomatoes: cherry, mini-plums, tiny yellow and bite-sized black ones.  Black tomatoes are not actually black; they're beautifully variegated in shades of burgundy, vermillion and olive, often with splashes of lighter colour. 
 
I slowly devoured a small pint container after I sprayed them with water to wash off the field dirt.  A few were astonishingly sweet, almost like grapes.  Others were naturally salty.  Each one had a taste different from its sibling - a whole range of sweet, salty and tangy.

[Boom Boom]

On my way home I walked through the Byward Market. 

That was my second home in Ottawa.

[Toedancer]

I used all of my green/red peppers and tomatoes and made a ginormous sgetti sauce and have just placed in airtight glass containers in various sizes for freezing. I still have tomatoes so am making a Tomato Pie and Tomato Basil Tarts tomorrow. Just need to go get some sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Gruyere. Perfect weather, wonderfully fresh ingredients, yum.

[Boom Boom]

I bought all my tomatoes in - not very many, but still nice. I'll leave the hundred or so carrots for another week unless we get heavy frost. I bring in lettuce and chard as I am ready to use them. The lettuce is crispy - better than we get in the stores here.
 
Overall, the garden was a disappointment compared to last year - we just did not get enough warm weather. And this follows our warmest winter on record!!! Go figure. 

[deBeauxOs]

Boom Boom, you just made me think about something.  k'in had some stray tomato plants growing from wild seeds, left by windfall fruit.  One of the bite-sized tomatoes had split skin and I avoid eating those, unless they're plucked from my own plants.
 
I'll retrieve it from the compost pail and save it for the seeds.  I'll put half of them in the ground, after the fall clean-up and I'll start the others inside in late March.  Oh ... a science experiment!  It would be lovely to grow black tomatoes; I believe they're heirloom.

[Boom Boom]

Boom Boom, you just made me think about something.  k'in had some stray tomato plants growing from wild seeds, left by windfall fruit. 

They're tiny seeds, and take a long time to grow. I order cheap plants from Veseys in May, keep them indoors until mid-June, then plant them outside. I might try the seed route again, though, as I have more room for pots inside thanks to my renovations.

[lagatta]

I bought some fresh peas in the pod from the Jiminez brothers - their mother from Spain is dead now, sadly, but the brothers and family members still sell their no-pesticide or chemical fertiliser but not organically certified (they don't want to pay for it) produce out of a truck at Jean-Talon Market at weekends. Most of the pods were still very green so I seethed them with an onion and a small amount of water in my crockpot, getting enough stock to cook a rice with the peas, and a sofrito of Spanish onion and lardons. It isn't quite a risotto as I didn't stir it and it isn't so liquid, but there is also a bit of grated romano cheese and quite a bit of finely-minced parsley. This could be eaten hot, cold or lukewarm.

[lagatta]

Back to the Jiminez brothers at the market early this morning (before the weekend crowds) for fresh gourganes (broad beans/fava beans/fabas) in the pod and a lovely bunch of aragula (rocket, roquette). Then some fresh cilantro for chile I was making from ground bison (on sale), a small tin of Eden organic red beans in spices for chile, a red onion, half a red sweet pepper and various spices and herbs. Pinch of smoked Spanish paprika a biggie - doesn't take much, lovely smoky flavour.

I haven't figured out what to do with the gourganes yet, but I'll thnk of something.

[Antonia]

Your food posts always intrigue me.

[lagatta]

Well, then you'll have to tell me how you cook vlita (on special at PA this coming week as is ewe's milk yoghurt)...

[Boom Boom]

With the veggie garden dead, I broiled a small beef roast and a very small ham for dinner beef submarine sandwiches and breakfast ham 'n eggs. Veggies can be expensive at the local stores, but I'm just cooking for one, so don't need a lot of them. Mostly I shop for lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, but occasionally other stuff like carrots and potatoes - although I rely on frozen veggies as they last much longer and are cheaper. And whatever fresh fruits are in season.

[Antonia]

Thanks for the tip. I will pick some up tomorrow -- although i was hoping to find a minute to make it to the Atwater market for some fresh berries on my way to Lasalle. As for how to cook vlita, I cook it the same way (more or less) I cook dandelions or even rapini.

Big pot, heavy lid. Little bit of olive oil and garlic. Water on the leaves from having been well washed. Maybe a half-cup or more on the bottom, depending on the pot and the quantity of greens. (It's hard to say really. I go by feel.) Cover and keep on a low heat for about 45 minutes. Keep an eye on it, just in case it needs more water, or flipping/tossing.

Drizzle with lemon (and/or vinegar) and good olive oil.

Some people serve vlita with tzatziki or skorthalia, and bread of course. I sometimes crumble some feta on top. I almost always eat this stuff cold or at room temp.

By the way, there is a cheese here in Quebec I am cuckoo about. Cendrillon!