Summer Favorites... (so far)

One week into the official start of summer, (aka everyone is out of school), and here are some observations thus far...

*  I was crazy to think my family could or would give up on all electronics cold turkey.  But there have been some pretty extreme (by typical American standards) limits put into place with very little push back and I am beyond happy and delighted with that!  The two biggies being no electronics in bedrooms (at all, period or yes I will just shut off the wifi...) and no screens until your "list" is complete for the day.  Lists are a combo of chores and boredom buster activities, see below...

*  Cooking early in the morning as to avoid the afternoon heat is totally where it is at.  This has us eating many cold style meals but no one is complaining.  Some of our favorites so far have been; this Quinoa Salad, homemade Tzatziki Dip with pita and veggies, our favorite Bok Choy Slaw, curried chicken salad sided with green salad and sourdough bread, and a basic antipasto style meal with cheese, cold cuts, fresh veggies and corn on the cob.

*  If I add 30 minutes each of reading, physical activity, creative pursuits and sunshine to the daily chore list I will be amazed what my girls come up with (reading both Steven King and Shakespeare, sewing, pompom making, baking, tons of biking, volleyball and basketball, and loads of general happiness).

*  We may well eat our weight in popsicles (for breakfast, why not???), corn on the cob and watermelon by summer's end.  More on our favorite popsicle recipes soon.

*  Visits to the library has renewed interest around these parts, (free books, cd's and movies -- what's not to love).

*  I will happily make exceptions to my "no cooking in a hot kitchen" rule for corn on the cob and canning.

I hope everyone out there is finding their own fun this summer, I'd love to hear what all you have going on as well.  Take care and enjoy this lovely sunshine we are basking in these days.

My Favorite Time Of Year...

Yes, it has begun... I bought my first box of fruit this season and I am deep in dreams of Boozy Cherries, Sweet Cherry Butter and Cherry Chutney.  This time of year the Food in Jars Books and website are like my Bible.  The books are dog eared, laying on my coffee table or bed side table when not in use on the kitchen counter.  They are stained and marked with evidence of my past efforts.  If I can figure out a way to can it, freeze it, or other wise preserve it, I will.  It has become a bit of an obsession for me.  I think about one of our favorite book series from when my children were little, George and Martha.  Martha can't stop making split pea soup, and I can't stop canning.  The fruits of summer are such a treat and the thought of finding ways to enjoy them year round is absolute inspiration for me.  A recent Face Book post on Northwest Edible Life was my kick start.  That, and the fact that one of my favorite summer fruit sources started offering cherries.  So yesterday, I found myself watching the clock for that little 1/2 hour window of time where I could pick up my first box of the summer from Valicoff Farms.  Oh why did I only get one box?  I have so many things I'd like to try with these lovely cherries, including this amazing sounding salad.  Well, the saner side of myself forced restraint as to not overwhelm myself or my family.  I will surely be picking up another box or two next week as I am sure by the end of the weekend we will have blown through this first and lonely box.  For now, I'm off in search of gluten free bourbon to make a batch of boozy cherries.

Fermenting...

Are you on the fermenting bandwagon yet?  I'm trying to hitch a ride myself, but still very much in the early learning stages.  I figure that it can't hurt, and within safe reason I love anytime I can present and prepare food for friends and family that has been minimally handled/processed.  So I am dipping my toe into the world of making my own fermented foods.  So far my two attempts have been kombucha and lacto fermented salsa.

A year or so ago I started buying those bottled kombucha drinks at the local natural food coop, and I was quickly hooked.  Those babies are expensive though and so I began researching how to make my own.  About that time I connected with a friend of a friend who had recently started experimenting with making her own kombucha and was willing to share some scoby and teach me the basics.  So after an afternoon spent sampling her variations and gleaning as much as I could from her experience I took home a couple scobys and set out to ferment my own kombucha.  I love this tutorial on brewing your own.  Once the tea was ready, I am finding that 7-10 days is a good amount of time for fermentation in our home (though with cooler temps settling in that may begin to stretch longer), it's time to flavor your tea.  Over the summer we used seasonal fruits, mostly berries, along with lemon and ginger to flavor our tea but now that fall is kicking in I'm thinking a pear/ginger combo sounds really great.  Have you tried making kombucha?  If so what are your favorite flavor add in's?

My second foray into the world of fermenting has been lacto fermented salsa.  We love salsa in this house and during the summer months when tomatoes are at their best we make and consume a lot of it.  That and my obsession with buying produce by the box led me to my first attempt at fermented salsa.  I had an abundance of tomatoes both from the garden and supplemental purchases and was looking for something new to try in the way of food preservation.  I stumbled on this blog post about fermented salsa and made quick work of transforming the remains of my tomatoes into several quarts of the best salsa I've ever tasted.  Not only is it super tasty, it is really fairly quick and easy to make.  A few rough chops, some blitzing in the food processor and a few days on the counter and you are good to go.  And no cooking folks!  No standing over a hot stove water bath canning salsa in 100 degree temps.  From what I've read you can hold fermented salsa in the fridge for fairly lengthy periods, likely longer than you will need because if you like salsa you will eat your way through your jars very fast.  The inner hoarder in me wants to make enough to last us well into and hopefully through winter so I dug a bit deeper and found that you can freeze this salsa with decent results.  I've got a tester quart in the freezer and another gallon plus working it's magic on my counter at this very moment.  Once we crack open the frozen jar I will report back but I do have high hopes.  I took a jar of this along on a weekend trip with friends and it got a raving thumbs up, even by my onion and pepper hating friend.  I was even able to successfully use it as a bribe for a teen friend of ours, its really that good.  I hope you try for yourself, I'd love to hear what you think.

Summer Salad Roundup...

Who wants to spend time at the stove when it's hot outside and there are so many fun things to get busy with?  Come summer,  I happily take a bit of a step back from the typical dinner fare we know and love throughout the rest of the year and cook more "picnic" style around here.  Healthy and filling salads become a go-to for me, as I'd much rather eek out more time at the beach with the girls, go on a picnic to any of the array of summer movies and outdoor concerts in the area, have fun out on our bikes, or let myself get totally engrossed in a great book.  I especially love it when a salad is hearty enough to stand up over night in the refridgerator - we are not afraid of leftovers around here.  Here's a sneak peak at my summer salad line up; variations on a Cobb Salad, must try this Mango and Red Pepper Salad, this Bok Choy Slaw, any sort of cold Rice Noodle Salad with a ginger dressing and slivered veggies, this Fennel Salad is calling me to try out, as is this simple Green Salad With Cherries, this Quinoa Salad is a favorite, a simple green salad loaded with nuts, beans or chicken, and all those little bits of veg needing to get used up, salsa (can we call salsa a salad?), and this Corn Salad looks like it would be a perfect picnic salad along side some sliced meats and cheese.  Last night we feasted on a cold rotisserie chicken, spinach topped with this Garbanzo Salad, and some left over chips and salsa (my oldest is our in-house salsa maker and we happily reap the benefits of such).

Yesterday my youngest came up with a new creation for lunch that I am sure will make a repeat visit as she happily exclaimed she'd take it to school for lunch any time.  She sautéed up a sliced zucchini in olive oil then added some chopped up roasted red pepper, a few cherry tomatoes from the garden and bits of leftover chicken, then she topped it with a few shavings of parmesan cheese.  Even my mostly vegetarian daughter enjoyed it.  We ate it warm as is, but I think it could be great cold with your favorite pasta as a salad or atop some fresh summer greens.  What I really loved about it was that she took a recipe of interest and shifted it to suit what we had on hand and our own personal tastes.  As a parent, one of my personal goals has always been to build a sense of competency in my girls around preparing good food for themselves.  I want them to have the ability to walk into the kitchen, scope the scene and make something tasty and relatively healthful for themselves.  I think we are on our way as the oldest has become my go-to condiment maker (salsa, pesto, guacamole etc...) and has really started developing an interest in baking and now the younger one is building confidence and skills too, she did not shy away from the huge knife I handed her to chop veggies and meat with yesterday.  Though I can't lie, I'd be tickled pink if they found the joy and sense of creative outlet in the kitchen that I do, mostly I want them to be able to feed themselves and those around them well without a box of this or that or a phone to call for delivery.

Well, back to those summer salads, do you change up your typical dinner routines this time of year too?  If so what are your favorite summer salads?  I'd love to hear what you all are living off this summer, I am sure there are so many possibilities that I haven't even thought of yet.

Freezing Fruit...

Oh my, doesn't all that fruit make your mouth water.  I love the bounties of summer, especially the complete abundance of freshly picked fruit.  With what we've got growing in our own garden like rhubarb, blueberries and strawberries, the fact that I can't pass up a local roadside fruit stand to save my soul and that we love to go berry picking each summer there is always an overwhelming amount of fruit in our kitchen throughout the summer.  Berry picking has become a summer tradition for us, what a fun day out and the eat-as-you-go policy that our favorite raspberry farm has is just what the kids need to keep them interested and motivated to fill those boxes.  We went out with friends recently and between the girls and I we picked over twenty pounds of raspberries.  It was unusually hot in our neck of the woods that day, topping 90 degrees, so we had to call it after just an hour or so.  Once we got home we gorged ourselves on berries for days, but knowing that it was not likely we could actually consume our weight in berries before they turned into sad mushy boxes of goo I got right to work, baking some into muffins and baked oatmeal, cooking some into jam, and freezing what I could to tide us through winter.  I love freezing fruit!  It is as low maintenance as it comes in the preserving world and the results don't disappoint.  The method I have settled on with greatest success is to line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and lay the fruit in a single layer on it.  For things like raspberries, small strawberries, blackberries and blueberries I keep the fruit whole and for stone fruits and larger strawberries I cut them in half or wedges.  After the fruit is arranged I pop the tray in the freezer for a few hours or more likely overnight.  Once everything is frozen solid I fill gallon ziplock bags with the frozen fruit and label with date and name of fruit.  So simple and yet it yields such pleasure throughout winter.  Then when you have an inkling for a raspberry/rhubarb crisp or some strawberries over yogurt it is as simple as a quick defrost and you are good to go.  So when you see that fruit stand don't hesitate to stop and pick up a flat or two of fruit, if you aren't into canning or making jam at the very least you can freeze a few gallons for later.