What a summer we have had! It’s hard to believe I am writing this while hoping for rain.
I had a conversation with one of my farmer friends recently that really opened my eyes to just what a challenge it is to farm in this kind of weather. You might think all this sun would be great for the crops but, surprisingly, it isn’t. Farmers plant with an expectation that certain crops will be ready at a certain time so that they can stay on top of the harvest. This year, with everything early, many of the crops are ready at the same time — which makes for quite a challenge for harvesting and replanting.
Even sun-loving crops are suffering. Corn, that fabulous August staple, has been ready for a couple of weeks already and some of the corn crop has “tasseled out” already — that means the annoying tassel on the top of the cob is already brown but the kernels are not developed.
(Did you know that each piece of that silk tassel is attached to a kernel of corn? I didn’t.)
So what else is ready now? The list is long. Actually, with the exception of the fall squashes and apples, there isn’t much that is not available.
Now would be a good time to start stocking up if you are planning on putting up any produce. Grab a few pounds of blueberries and throw them in the freezer. All you have to do is rinse them, spread them on a cookie sheet and freeze. They will store beautifully in zip-top bags. For that matter, you can do that with whole tomatoes, too. Storing tomatoes like this means they are always ready for cooking — when the weather cools off, you can make a big batch of fresh tomato sauce.
Lots of produce can be preserved this way. I have talked about freezer storage before as it really is an easy way to take advantage of nature’s bounty. Cherries, raspberries, blackberries, corn, beans — the list goes on. There is nothing better in the long, cold days of December than to pull out a bag of cherries and make a fruit crisp.
If you want to put in a bit more effort, peel and slice peaches to freeze. I also like to freeze grated zucchini. Aside from making zucchini bread or muffins, it makes a great side dish. Just thaw the grated zucchini, sauté it with a bit of finely diced onion, place it in a shallow ovenproof baking dish and cover it with grated cheese
(Rathtrevor from Little Qualicum Cheese is a great choice). Bake it at 350 F until the cheese is melted and brown on top.
That’s the great thing about summer produce: You can enjoy it now and enjoy it later.
--Karen Curtis is the Lemonade Lady (www.kicslemonade.ca and kicslemonade.blogspot.ca) at the Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam farmers markets. Her column runs monthly.
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As is often the case when I write this column, I start out thinking one thing and end up writing another. It seems I am full of zucchini ideas so here is another one. I found this on Pinterest and it is wonderful. I have changed it up a bit to better use local market treasures.
BLUEBERRY ZUCCHINI BREAD
And because every fine meal needs a bit of sweet to end it...
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lemon or 2 tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 to 1 cup of blueberries
LEMON GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon or 2 tbsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9×5” loaf pan, set aside. In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt.
In the mixer bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add oil and sugar, and beat on low until well combined. Add the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest, and blend everything well. Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed in mixture. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and blend everything together but don’t over mix. Stir in blueberries.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. While loaf is cooling, you can make the glaze.
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set. Enjoy.
ZUCCHINI BOATS
Cut a zucchini in half lengthwise and trim a little off the bottom so it sits flat in a baking dish. Scoop out the centre where the seeds are with a spoon.
Spread 1 tablespoon of Aji (available at the market) up the middle. Arrange halved grape tomatoes into the grooves, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in a 350 F oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove and place diced gouda from Golden Ears Cheesecrafters in between the tomatoes, place them back in the oven under the broiler until golden and bubbling.
Remove and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of one of the Salt Dispensary’s finishing salts.
