Ypsi Cooks

A Bean!

This weekend we noticed that a couple early beans are a ready. There are lots of blossoms, so we will be rolling in beans shortly. The one pictured is a provider bush bean. Looking at our pole beans we will have a bunch soon.

Rhubarb peeking out from the leaf mulch.

Did we mention that rhubarb is loved around our house?

We have some friends with a giant patch of rhubarb. Every time we see them they tell us to come over and cut as much as we can. For a while we will keep doing that, but hopefully we won’t have to in a few years.

When we moved in five years ago we transplanted  a couple rhubarb plants to our backyard, but they never did well. I think there wasn’t enough sun, plus they’re choked out by the oregano. Earlier this month we transplanted some more, but this time to the front yard. We planted them right when it was really hot, and a few days later the leaves we all brown and dead. Bummer.

But then a week later Bridgit tells me that a few are sprouting tiny new stalks and leaves. Now, a couple weeks more and they are all looking great!

If you’ve got rhubarb ripe for the picking, try your favorite rhubarb-strawberry pie, but swap out the strawberries for some mulberries (they grow like crazy in out town), and cut down on the sugar just a smidge. And if you’re feeling wild, add a quarter teaspoon ginger. Or go simple and stew together rhubarb, mulberries, a pinch of salt, some ginger and sugar to taste with the juice of a lemon. Cook it up until it thickens, let it cool and spread it on some toast. What a way to wake up!

Onions, carrots, and potatoes in the foreground.

This past weekend we got a bunch of work done in the annex garden. We had nice weather and spent about six hours over two days. We got everything weeded. between the corn and bean plants, and the second planting of carrots.

The most work was hilling the rows of potatoes. I had to keep alternating between hilling and weeding carrots.

Bridgit in the Garlic

We also noticed the presence some pests. We had a couple of plants picked clean from Potato Bugs so we spent some time doing a sweep and kill operation. Also our beans were getting hit by deer. We had delayed getting the fishing line fence up, but it is up now.

We did a bit of planting and got some broccoli and carrots in. I also cut scapes of most of the garlic and made some pesto out of them.

This was my moms rule for every food: two bites every time, whether you like it or not. Now we enforce the same rule with our children (though she doesn’t, but that’s another story). And that is how Eli came to love Moroccan stew. Well, that and garbanzo bean races with Uncle Abe… Maybe the golden raisins had something to do with it? Anyway, the recipe came from my mom, and it’s now a Ypsi-Cook family favorite, so much so that I made 2 HUGE batches in order to store some for the winter. With a little reheated frozen brown rice, I’m looking forward to those no-cook/just a little bit of cleaning nights.

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Serve with brown rice, millet or cous-cous (not GF). The vegetable suggestions (especially the quantities) are suggestions, really. But do be sure to include something orange (carrot, sweet potato, winter squash cubes), and make the pieces small enough for a comfortable bite.

Ingredients:

• Oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp curry powder (or 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp ea. ginger, garlic, mustard, coriander seed)
• 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans (or 2 cups cooked)
• 1 14 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes (or 2-3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes)
• 2 lg carrots, sliced fairly thick on the diagonal
• 1 medium zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced (I often sub green beans, and in the summer, I use both)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 c. golden raisins
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add oil to enough for a thin film. Add onion and a little salt and sauté until the onions have gained a little color. Add spices and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add garbanzo beans, tomatoes and carrots. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally and cook until carrots are mostly tender, about 5 min. Lid if necessary. Add zucchini (and/or green beans), garlic and raisins and cook for about 5 min until zucchini is tender. Season to taste & serve over grain or potato of choice. Enjoy.

We were introduced to this fabulous “tomato glut sauce” last summer. It’s a great recipe to have when the tomatoes are coming with such force that you’re not sure what to do with them. (I just tallied and we’ve picked 85 pounds so far this year. And yes, we need to make more sauce.) But really, what about zucchini?

Everybody knows about having too many zucchinis (though I’m sure the accurate plural is zucchino or something), I mean, Prairie Home Companion recommends you lock your car doors at night so the neighbors don’t generously stick you with their squash. It seems most people fight a mountain of zucchini with a shredder (good plan) and bake it up into bread (another good plan). But that gets a little old, right? My mom also her’s and bags it up to freeze in appropriate quantities to make the bread winter long. To break us out of the zucchini bread rut, I offer 3 “I have too many zucchino” solutions. With so many choices, you can start accepting the insanity of zucchini that people keep trying to sneak into your car. (I’ll have a 4th idea soon… and it will help use up those tomatoes, too!)

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I’ve been making this for a few years, so I thought I should share it here. To match the simplicity of the recipe, I will be brief. I think there is no better way to consume cabbage than this. If you like the ubiquitous ramen noodle potluck salads, try this: it’s much healthier and, if I do say so myself, more delicious.

Asian Slaw  (This is enough for several small batches of slaw. I love to have this dressing in the fridge for an easy salad all summer long. Cut the recipe in half if you’d like, and it will probably still be plenty for a small head of cabbage or two.)

Measure into a jar with a good lid:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
• 1-1 1/2  tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced or grated, optional

Put it in a jar with a good lid and shake until the mustard is dispersed. Pour a little (you can always add more) over chopped cabbage (I usually use 1/2 a head), sliced carrots, green onions and/or vegetables of your choice.  Toss. Sprinkle with chopped almonds, sunflower and/or sesame seeds if desired. Store leftover dressing in the fridge.

This morning we spent a bit of time before it got too hot doing some stuff in the garden. I did some tomato plant wrangleing and it looks like we are going to have tomatoes coming out of our ears soon. We harvested the first couple eggplant. It has been really hot here for the past week or so and our basil started to go to seed. Bridgit headed that off by snipping off the top of the plant and I made the first round of pesto this afternoon. I made an ice cube tray worth and then noticed that I had left a third of the basil in the salad spinner. Bridgit is going to put it into bread for dinner

This combined with the Potatoes, carrots, beets, onions and beans that have started to become ready means we are in for a good harvest this year!