The garden still yields treasures
Things are looking a little tattered around the garden. Tomato
vines are leggy with more than a few scorched leaves. The beans
were pulled and peas just a few inches high are growing in their
place. Kale plants are tiny sprouts as well, and the first garlic
is peeking through the soil.
But there are a few stalwarts that continue to press on through
our summer weeks, which arrive just about the time the rest of the
country greets autumn.
The garden still yields treasures
Things are looking a little tattered around the garden. Tomato vines are leggy with more than a few scorched leaves. The beans were pulled and peas just a few inches high are growing in their place. Kale plants are tiny sprouts as well, and the first garlic is peeking through the soil.
But there are a few stalwarts that continue to press on through our summer weeks, which arrive just about the time the rest of the country greets autumn.
Zucchini, even with a coat of powdery mildew brought on by our frequent morning fog, just keeps on going. Tomatoes are at their best, even though the vines that bear them look terrible.
The stars of the vegetable patch are the peppers. We grow chiles. Serranos, jalapenos, habañeros, Thai dragon, poblanos and fresnos are all part of the mix and they’re all coming on strong.
As the days shorten and cool, they’ll slow down, but they will not stop producing until the first frost arrives, usually just around Thanksgiving.
For most people, a little chile goes a long way. For others, they are nearly a secular religion.
Quite a few friends shun spicy foods, but applied judiciously, chiles need not bring beads of sweat to a diner’s face. Most people outside of our immediate family didn’t know – until now – that a dash of cayenne pepper lurks in every pumpkin pie I bake.
Even habañeros, with a reputation as among the world’s hottest, have a unique fruity character when used with great restraint. The rule of thumb that usually holds true is that the larger the pepper, the milder the dose of heat it contains.
We’ll dry some of our chiles, pickle others – there’s never enough of a spicy Indian chile pickle to last through the year – and roast and peel most of the big ones, salting them away in the freezer.
When it’s cold out, a plate of chile verde or chiles rellenos brings back memories of these long, warm days.
Back to that zucchini. Getting kids excited about summer squash can be a challenge. But if children are interested in gardening at all, they can be a hit. The seeds are large enough that they’re easy for little hands to sow, and they grow with such exuberance that what was a flower a day or two ago is a fruit today, and a giant in a few days more.
Part of what makes zucchini a challenge is that it holds a lot of water, and it’s easy to cook it into a limp, somewhat slimy mess that deserves its name – squash.
We’ve found that thin strips dusted with salt, pepper and freshly grated parmesan, run through a hot oven until the cheese starts to brown a bit to be fast, easy and more than acceptable for most skeptics.
The other day, we handled it another way and the results were worthy of serving to company.
Grated zucchini
3 small to medium zucchini
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Grate the zucchini on the largest holes of a grater. Place it in a towel and squeeze it until the zucchini is almost dry. Heat a large pan on high heat until it is quite hot. Film the pan with olive oil and add the zucchini, tossing constantly until the color brightens. Add the garlic and toss a few more times until the garlic is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Most of us tend to think of chiles rellenos as chiles bursting with melted cheese, napped in egg batter and fried. As good as they are, that’s a cholesterol indulgence most of us won’t treat ourselves to very often. When one considers the name of the dish – stuffed chiles – a whole new set of possibilities emerges. Here is one that makes a meal on a plate.
Not yo’ mama’s chiles rellenos
Four poblano chiles
2 potatoes, baked or mashed
½ yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 tsp. oil
¾ c. cotija or feta cheese, crumbled
1 tsp. cumin, toasted until fragrant in a dry pan and ground.
Peel the chiles by holding them over a flame until blistered and placing them in a bag until cool. Slit each chile open and remove the seeds. Saute the onion in the oil until it is transparent. Combine the onion, potatoes, cheese and cumin and stuff each chile. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
