Week 4

Last winter I decided I would spend some time looking through my collection of old cookbooks and pull out a few retro recipes for the farm share.  I always enjoy looking at them.  In addition to the recipes it is always a bit of a history lesson.  Ones from the two world wars are particularly interesting as is the commentary about homemaking and the rise of industrial agriculture and prepared foods after the wars.  One of my favorites is Cooking by the Garden Calendar, published in 1955 and written by Ruth A. Matson.  I bought it at a junk store in Maine the summer I met Kelly.  The June chapter is called Eat 'Em Young.  I know July is just around the corner but I really enjoy how the June chapter starts so I thought I would share it with you.

"Luckily, there's a spigot at the corner of the garage nearest the salad garden, so I can indulge myself in the supreme delight of pulling a radish or a carrot or a scallion and munching it while the cool of the moist earth still suffuses it.  There is a moment when the pleasures of eating and of growing merge into one splendid ecstasy.  

I feel it in myself as I've seen it on the faces of like-minded lovers of the good earth, watching the gleam of satisfaction as some ardent gardener gazes on the straight, well-weeded rows of young growth.  He bends unhurriedly to pull a Cherry Belle, turns it to contemplate its glorious scarlet from every angle, brushes off the clinging earth-absently wiping his hand on the side of his jeans-and at last bites into the crisp root.  At this moment his face is rapt.  It has the glow of contentment with the future which will bring countless other moments."

It is a little over the top but it rings true.  The sheen of a young red radish is almost iridescent when you pull it out of the ground and while I quickly grow tired of them the first few are amazing in their beauty and a welcome change from all the spring green.   Carrots are even better.  Sometimes, we even do a little dance.  We celebrate the arrival of each vegetable.

I am including a cabbage recipe at the end from a different cookbook and will occasionally share a recipe from my collection.  The main problem is that most of them look horrible!  Cook peas for 20 minutes.  Yikes.  Having people over for dinner, while then, just dress up your mushy peas with a white sauce.  There are a lot of recipes for vegetables in white sauce.  Not necessarily bad, but not particularly exciting.

What is exciting this week?  Zucchini, I can't get enough of it lately.  We had some Zucchini fritters last week with fried eggs on a night I was too tired to cook a big meal and they were delicious.  I will put a link to the recipe below.

Carrots
Mixed Zucchini/Summer Squash
Snow Peas
Raspberries
Lettuce
Broccoli
Cucumber
Cabbage
Kale-Large Only
Snap Peas-Large Only

Red Hot Slaw - We had this last night with dinner.  I use to make a wilted slaw with a hot dressing but it never was wilted enough by just pouring the dressing on it.  Tossing the cabbage in the skillet for 30 seconds until it softened a bit worked great.  I didn't add much salt and didn't actually measure anything.  We liked the lemon juice but I think cider vinegar would be good too.  

4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
4 cups finely shredded cabbage

Cook 1 slice bacon until it curls.  Set aside.  Dice remaining bacon and cook until crisp.  Saute onion in bacon fat.  Add lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.  Combine with cabbage.  Heat thoroughly.  Put cabbage mixture in serving dish.  Garnish with bacon curl in center and lemon wedges around the outside.

The TIME Reader's Book of Recipes, 1949
Two hundred and thirty favorite recipes of the women who read TIME magazine



Zucchini Fritters

 I added carrots and scallions and they turned out great.  I loved that they were more vegetable than fritter and that you just cook them in a frying pan like a pancake instead of deep frying them.