August is here and the markets are overflowing with abundance. I’m especially excited as the corn has arrived.
Did you know that corn is one third of a companion planting trio called The Three Sisters?
For centuries, First Nations have been planting corn, squash and beans together. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, “First Nations always inter-planted this trio because they thrive together, much like three inseparable sisters.
By the time European settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s, the Iroquois had been growing the ‘three sisters’ for over three centuries. The vegetable trio sustained the First Nations both physically and spiritually. In legend, the plants were a gift from the gods, always to be grown together, eaten together and celebrated together. Also from the Almanac:
“Each of the sisters contributes something to the planting. Together, the sisters provide a balanced diet from a single planting.
• As older sisters often do, the corn offers the beans needed support.
• The beans, the giving sister, pull nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil for the benefit of all three.
• As the beans grow through the tangle of squash vines and wind their way up the cornstalks into the sunlight, they hold the sisters close together.
• The large leaves of the sprawling squash protect the threesome by creating living mulch that shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist and preventing weeds.
• The prickly squash leaves also keep away raccoons, which don’t like to step on them.
Together, the three sisters provide both sustainable soil fertility as well as a healthy diet.”
How cool is that?!
Tomatoes are also plentiful right now. From standard red beefsteak through to the heirloom, Yellow Brandywine to Black Krim, tomatoes come in every colour.
Mio of Bakerview Farms at the Port Coquitlam market gave me a short lesson on what makes heirloom tomatoes so special. In a nutshell, heirloom tomatoes grow the way nature intended. They are not hybridized to create uniform, consistent fruit nor are they genetically modified to produce disease-resistant strains. In fact, each plant will have tomatoes of every shape and size.! I think the most important thing to know about them is that they are not meant to travel. Heirloom tomatoes shine when they are eaten right away. Imagine a bowl full of red, orange, yellow, purple and striped tomatoes, lightly dressed with olive oil, a bit of balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. Oh, my.
If you want to grow your own, Mio says to make sure they are covered and kept dry. While easy to grow, heirlooms are susceptible to mould and rot due to the damp west coast air. Bakerview grows all its heirlooms undercover.
Whatever you choose, fresh, locally grown tomatoes are going to be so much better than trucked-in one.
Karen Curtis is the Lemonade Lady (kicslemonade.ca and kicslemonade.blogspot.ca) at the Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam farmers markets. Her column runs monthly.
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RECIPES: CORN, BEANS, ZUCCHINI, TOMATOES
I created this recipe to bring the sisters together.
THREE SISTERS STIR FRY
This makes a fast, light side dish.
1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch dice
1 cob corn, kernels removed
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
3 or 4 leaves basil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Balsamic reduction for drizzling
Sauté all the ingredients together until the veggies are tender crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Finish with a drizzle of balsamic reduction (Nona Pia’s is amazing).
I found this recipe on Pinterest and it’s a perfect showcase for the seasons best tomatoes. (Inspired by Martha Stewart and the Clinton St Bakery Cookbook.)
TOMATO COBBLER WITH
BLUE CHEESE BISCUITS
for the Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
6 tbsp butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles (Golden Ears has this)
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
For the Filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 large onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 pounds cherry tomatoes (or a mix of chopped tomatoes)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375.
To make the biscuits:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter. With your fingers, break up the butter into the dry ingredients. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until well incorporated and the mixture looks like peas. Toss in blue cheese crumbles and combine.
Create a small well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add buttermilk all at once. With a fork, quickly bring together the wet and dry ingredients. The dough will be rather shaggy. Dump dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough about 10 times, bringing it together into a disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the filling is assembled.
To make the tomato filling:
Add olive oil and butter to a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add sliced onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook and brown onions, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 18 to 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute more. Remove pan from heat, add balsamic vinegar and set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together clean cherry tomatoes (no need to cut them), chopped basil, flour, and red pepper flakes. Add caramelized onions and toss together until everything is lightly and evenly coated in flour. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the tomato and onion filling into a square 8×8-inch baking dish and bake tomatoes filling for 25 minutes.
Remove the biscuit dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out biscuit dough into a 3/4 or 1-inch thickness. Use a 1 1/2 to 2-inch round biscuit cutter to cut out biscuits. Dip the cutter in flour should it get sticky. Remove the partially cooked filling from the oven and carefully place 6 biscuits atop the tomato filling in the pan. Brush biscuit tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reshape and re-roll excess biscuit dough to make extra biscuits at another time. (The shaped biscuit dough freezes very well.)
Return warm filling and biscuit dough to oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through, and the tomato mixture is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving. Tomato Cobbler is best served warm.
