The most exciting food this week was the most local: blueberries from our backyard.
- Eight Delicious Blueberries
Last year, we put in blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry plants. They were mail-order, and arrived as barely more than twigs. We got 3 of each type of plant, but one of the raspberries died. Only one of the blueberries matured enough to flower and fruit this year. We noticed yesterday ( July 10, 2008 ) that the berries were ripe. We picked and ate our first-ever blueberry harvest: 8 delicious berries.
The photo shows my husband holding our harvest.
Tonight, for the first time this summer, we grilled. We have a charcoal grill, and we used a vegetable grilling tray to make it easier not to lose food between the bars of the grill. The vegetables we grilled were summer squash, beet roots, and beet stems. The beet greens I cooked in the microwave, so as not to heat up the kitchen. Everything was delicious.
To prep it for grilling, I sliced the summer squash, and tossed (briefly marinated) it in olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and jarred dried spices: basil, oregano, and garlic powder. If I were using fresh herbs, I’d sprinkle them on after grilling.
I trimmed the beets, but for the past few years I’ve been too lazy to peel them. I’ve also stopped peeling my carrots and potatoes, and I only buy them organic. I prepped the beet roots for grilling by slicing them, somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick, and then lightly oiling and salting the slices. I also lightly oiled and salted the stems, which I left long (not cut up) to reduce their chances of falling through to the charcoal. The beet slices need more cooking time than the stems. The beet greens I microwaved. Like the roots and stems, I seasoned them with oil and salt, and then also splashed in some red wine vinegar. (I used vinegar because it was out already for use on the summer squash; normally I’d use lemon juice).
Earlier in the week, I used the microwave-to-not-heat-the-kitchen trick on the mizuna. Before microwaving, I tossed on some rice vinegar, soy sauce (tamari), sesame oil, and ginger paste (which didn’t mix in as well as when I sautee the mixture).
It was finally cool enough, by the time we’d finished eating, to blanch and freeze the kale. (See instructions in week 4.)
Just for recordkeeping, a quick rundown of what’s still in the fridge: The napa cabage and parsley (both week 6) are demanding attention rather urgently. The carrots (6 bunches from weeks 6 and 7) and beet roots (3 bunches from weeks 5 and 6) are waiting quite patiently until their services are desired. The kohlrabi (2 from week 6) I’m not sure of, how long it will stay good. The spring onions (week 7)would probably make a lovely stock, but onions and I don’t get along, so I need to give them away. I still don’t know what to do with the fava beans (2 pounds from weeks 6 and 7).
Tags: beet, beetroot, blueberries, greens, kale, mizuna, summer squash
