Kitchen Garden Journal

I love tacos. There's nothing quite like that combination of fresh corn tortillas, crispy, fatty meat, pickled vegetables and cilantro. Before tomatoes are in season I like to make this spring version of pico de gallo using baby root vegetables, spring garlic or scapes, green onions and the first of the homegrown cilantro. 

I served this at my Wednesday lunch this week along with my goat meat tacos made with an amazing piece of goat shoulder from Wild Mountain Farm at our Tuesday Springfield market. FYI, I made the goat meat according to this method for making carnitas. I also made some cilantro cream to drizzle on top, which was truly a revelation. I took cilantro, garlic scapes and the juice of a lime and whizzed it with the stick blender with a pint of sour cream. It's like Mexican tzatziki.

Caroline just picked me up a new bag of pickling lime from the Greenfield Farmers Coop so I can make another fresh batch of masa for tortillas with the corn from last year. I'm so excited.

1 bunch baby carrots

1 bunch radishes or Japanese turnips

1/2 bunch spring garlic or a handful of scapes

1 bunch scallions or spring onions

fresh or frozen chili peppers to taste (I used 3 Thai chilies from the big bag in my freezer) 

1/2 bunch cilantro

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

Dice the vegetables and herbs into small cubes. Add, salt, lime juice, vinegar, sugar and stir. Good the next day, too.

Comment (0)

This week I’m not going to talk about the weather. Well, let’s just say I feel jerked around. 

The good news is that after last week’s heat wave and storms, we had a massive bursting forth of growth on the farm. The squashes are pumping, the beets are plumping, we’ve got the first cucumbers from the greenhouse, and generally everything looks twice as big as it was last week. 

So do the weeds. We were staking tomatoes last week and kind of squandered a great opportunity for hoeing.

But let’s not dwell on that for a moment. What I’m enjoying right now is the feeling of having some real food to cook with.  Summer always seems to start for me when the first herbs come in. Our three favorite herbs are basil, cilantro and parsley and I can hardly think of a summer meal that doesn’t begin with at least one of these three. 

I love insalata caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, & basil), and I am looking forward to harvesting June tomatoes next year from our newly completed greenhouse. I love pasta with the first basil and the first zucchini. I love clams or mussels steamed with garlic, white wine, and parsley. I love spaghetti alle vongole (clam sauce). 

I love pico de gallo made by dicing up whatever vegetables are fresh and combining them with chilies, lime juice and cilantro. I love it with chips, I love it with tacos and burritos and beans and rice. I love cilantro and mint wrapped into a Vietnamese rice paper roll with fresh lettuce, rice noodles and grilled lemongrass pork. I love tabouleh, the greener—with parsley and mint—the better, especially when served with a spread of Middle Eastern or Greek foods. 

Oh yes, all of this is what I think of when I think of summer. But the thing I love best about all of these foods is making them with the fresh herbs that we grow. Everything takes off from there.     

Comment (0)

Photo by Candace Hope

In the first apartment I ever had, when I was 18 years old, a vegetarian, and new to cooking, I made this at least twice a week. The recipe has evolved somewhat since then, but the basic concept is the same: noodles, peanut sauce, fried tofu, and vegetables. It’s also my favorite thing to order at two of my favorite local restaurants: The People’s Pint and The Lady Killigrew. Always fills you up. Never lets you down. 

1 lb pasta: whole wheat spaghetti, buckwheat soba, or udon noodles

Peanut sauce: 2/3 cup natural peanut butter
¼ cup tahini sesame paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 hot chilies, minced, or 1 tsp cayenne
3 Tbsp soy sauce or 2 Tbsp soy and a heaping spoonful of miso paste
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp sesame oil 1/2 -1 cup water, to thin the sauce

Garnishes:
Fried tofu slices Blanched broccoli florets
Shredded cabbage
Shredded carrots
Sliced radishes
Sliced cucumber
Chopped scallions
Chopped cilantro 

Method:
Boil the pasta until al dente, drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Toss with a little  sesame oil and set aside.

Prepare the sauce by mixing together all the ingredients and diluting it with lukewarm water to the desired consistency. It should be moderately thick: thin enough to coat the pasta without clumping but not at all runny.

For the fried tofu, cut a block of firm or extra firm tofu into thin (3/16”) slices. Dip the slices in soy sauce and fry them in hot canola oil until crispy, turning once, like you would fry bacon. Drain on paper towels and chop coarsely into bite sized pieces. Put in a serving dish on the table.

Toss the sauce with the noodles and serve each person clump in a large bowl. Prepare the rest of the vegetables and herbs and arrange artfully on the table for the diners to serve themselves. 

Comment (0)

“Toasting” the ingredients either on a grill, hot dry skillet (comal) or under the broiler until the skin chars gives this salsa its special character. Raw, it’s great for dipping tortilla chips; cooked, it becomes the red sauce found in the red or green squeeze bottles at a California burrito bar, great for squirting on just about anything.

Ingredients:
2 lb tomatoes
1 lb smallish onions (extra surface area)
1 large head garlic
3-4 chilies
1 bunch cilantro
lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt

Method:
Toast the ingredients on a hot surface until the skins are blackened: tomatoes and chilies are left whole; onions are quartered; garlic is left unpeeled as individual cloves. After toasting, “sweat” the tomatoes and chilies in a covered bowl or container so the skins loosen. Leave until cool, then peel and discard the skins. Peel the onions and garlic and scrape off any excess char.

Squeeze as much liquid out of the peeled tomatoes as possible. Blend or puree tomatoes, onions, garlic and chilies together in a blender or food processor. Add lime juice, vinegar, sugar and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings so that it tastes good to you. Personally I think the secret to a delicious salsa is the added sugar and vinegar. It really heightens the sweet-sour flavor of the tomatoes. Remember, this is a condiment, after all.

When making a red salsa, it is important to use only red, orange or yellow colored chilies. If you use green chilies, they will turn your salsa an unappealing puce color if blended with red tomatoes. If all you have is green chilies, chop them by hand and add to the rest of the pureed ingredients. Same goes for the cilantro: always hand-chop it rather than blending it. It makes for a much nicer appearance.

At this point the raw salsa is done. If you wish to make cooked salsa, heat a few tablespoons of cooking oil in your tomato sauce pan and add the sauce. Simmer until reduced by about 1/3 and thickened. It becomes a completely different sauce when cooked, turning and orangey red and having the pronounced sweetness of cooked onions.

Keep it for winter:
You can make a huge batch of this and can it, as I’m doing today, raw or cooked. Sterilize your pint jars, bring the salsa to a slight simmer and hot-pack the jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. The high acid and sugar content of this salsa makes it pretty foolproof and easy to can.

Comment (0)

Having fresh herbs around really inspires me to cook. One recipe I always associate with the flavors of cilantro and mint are these Vietnamese Spring Rolls. This is a recipe that I have blatantly stolen from one of my favorite food blogs, Rasa Malaysia. View the original with all the gorgeous photos here. I recently made this for a crew lunch for 8 and served it do-it-yourself style (Candace took this photo), everyone soaking the rice paper and making custom fillings at the table. In addition to the pork I served fried tofu strips and blanched shrimp. It's also nice to have some nuoc cham on hand for dipping.

For the grilled pork:

1 lb pork chops, loin, butt or shoulder. Sliced thin.
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil

Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe

1 cup (8 oz) hoisin sauce (if sauce is thick, add about 1/4 cup warm water to reach desired consistency)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbs rice vinegar
2 garlic, crushed
1 minced thai chili, or more for desired spiciness

For spring roll rice paper assembly:

About 10 rice paper wrappers
Lettuce
Cucumber, cut into long slices
Fresh herbs: mint, cilantro, basil, vietnamese coriander, balm or perilla
Bean sprouts

Method:

1. In plastic bag, combine all ingredients for the grilled pork. Let marinade for about 20 minutes. Grill both sides of pork for about 2-3 minutes, or until desired texture.
2. In blender, combine all ingredients for the hoisin peanut dipping sauce. Blend until everything combines smoothly together. If it is too thick, continue adding warm water until desired consistency.
3. In bowl of warm water, dip each rice paper wrapper for about 3-5 seconds (depending on rice paper thickness). Do not over soak your rice paper wrapper! Place on work service and allow rice paper to soak up water and become gelatinous and pliable (about 30 seconds to 1 minute, again, depending on the thickness rice paper).
4. On top 1/3 side closest to you, lay lettuce on the bottom for added strength to the wrapper. Then place meat, herbs and other vegetables. Roll up spring roll about 1/3 way through, then fold in the sides.
5. Serve with hoisin peanut dip.

Comment (0)

This recipe is an adaptation for cabbage of Thai green papaya salad (som tam) and makes a refreshing and fat-free alternative to mayonnaise-based salads (not that there’s anything wrong with mayonnaise!). 

• 1/2 to 1 head cabbage, shredded
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small hot red or green chili, minced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• Thai basil, spearmint (optional)
• 1-2 scallions, chopped
• ¼ cup roasted shelled peanuts, ground or chopped fine
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp light colored vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)

Mixed thinly sliced cabbage and grated carrot in a large bowl with the garlic, chili, cilantro and other herbs if using.  Add the lime juice, salt, sugar, vinegar and fish sauce and stir well (the volume of salad should decrease within minutes as the cabbage sheds its liquid).  Refrigerate until needed.  Just before serving garnish with the ground peanuts and chopped scallion. 

Comment (0)

• 4 Tilapia fillets
• Flour for dusting
• 6 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1-3 small hot chilies, sliced
• 1 inch ginger root
• 2-3 scallions, in 1-inch pieces
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp white or rice vinegar
• 4 Tbsp chopped cilantro 

This dish is prepared using a method commonly used in Chinese cooking.  Heat the oil in a fairly large skillet. Cut the fish fillets into 1 inch chunks. Put some flour on a small plate or saucer and roll the fish pieces in it before adding them to the hot oil. Fry briefly (only a minute or two per side) as the fish cooks fast and you don’t want it to crumble. Drain the fried fish on paper towels and set aside. Drain all but 2 Tbsp of the oil out of the pan. Meanwhile, cut the ginger root into matchsticks by slicing it very thinly and then chopping the slices into  narrow slivers. Add garlic, ginger, chilies, and scallions to the oil.  Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking or burning.  Combine the sauce ingredients and add to the pan, stir once, then return the fish to the pan, stirring gently to coat with the sauce, about 1 minute. Turn off heat and garnish with the cilantro.  Serve immediately with rice. 

Note: this dish can be made with any kind of meat, tofu or eggplant, but fish is good luck in China.

Comment (0)

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or 2 slicing tomatoes)
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Hot chilies, to taste
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp sugar, optional
• 1 Tbsp vinegar, optional

Chop everything to a fine dice and toss with the liquids. Allow to sit for 1/2 hour to meld the flavors. Eat with tortilla chips or quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, etc.

Comment (0)