Good or Bad, Keep on Cooking

Good or Bad, Keep on Cooking

Last weekend’s Farmers Market got off to a very cold and rainy start, but in the end the crowd picked up and I think vendors and customers both enjoyed the day.  The “Play in the Hay” theme of Farm City Day created a fun atmosphere and leaves us looking forward to what next year’s Farm City Day will have to offer.

            My days have gotten busier, if that’s even possible, because in addition to picking the wide variety of summer vegetables that are still coming out of the garden, I have started in on many fall tasks.  These include picking and shucking Indian corn, cutting corn shocks, picking pumpkins and squash, and digging sweet potatoes.  There is a veritable cornucopia of vegetables available at market these days.

And don’t forget about fruit—the apple harvest has begun in earnest.  Each week more varieties are available.  I am really fond of a variety called Honeycrisp and so far this week I have eaten two per day.  If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, I wonder what two will do for me?

These fall tasks remind me that winter will be here before I know it and I’m still trying to squeeze in some time for canning.  A couple of weeks ago I started fermenting a five gallon crock of whole pickles using a recipe I had never tried before.  Last Saturday evening, while entertaining a few friends, I decided we should test the pickles to see how they were coming along.  I uncovered the crock, fished a pickle out of the brine, sliced it and passed out pieces to everyone who was gathered around the kitchen table.  They all agreed that something seemed a little “off.”  After tasting my piece, I could tell that they were being polite—it was terrible.  It took us a while to decide what the problem was, but in the end I came to the conclusion that the pre-mixed pickling spices I used had way too much mustard seed.  For it was mustard that I was tasting instead of the garlicky dill flavor I had hoped for. 

So, after tossing the entire contents of the crock onto the compost pile, I told myself that next time I would not use pre-mixed pickling spices and come up with my own mix.  It was a cooking lesson learned the hard way and, unfortunately, it was the last of my cucumbers for the season so I can’t try again until next year.  Cooking is often an experiment.  Sometimes the results are good; sometimes they are bad.  In any case, I keep trying out new recipes on unsuspecting family members and friends--my track record must come out slightly more on the good side or they wouldn’t keep eating what I put in front of them.    

Here is an easy and tasty fall side dish from the blog smittenkitchen.com

Cabbage, Apple, and Walnut Salad
1 small savoy cabbage
1/3 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons creme fraiche, heavy cream, or sour cream
2 apples (any crisp, tasty eating variety)
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Tear off and discard the tough outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut it in half and cut out its core. Slice the halves crosswise into fine pieces. Toast the walnuts in the oven for 8 minutes. Then chop or coarsely crumble them. To prepare the dressing, mix the vinegar with the lemon juice, some salt, and a generous amount of pepper. Whisk in the olive oil and then the creme fraiche or cream. Taste and adjust the acid and salt as desired. Quarter, peel, and core the apples. Slice the quarters lengthwise fairly thin and cut these slices lengthwise into a julienne. Toss the cabbage, apples, and walnuts (and blue cheese, if you’re using it) with the dressing and an extra pinch of salt. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, taste again, adjust the seasoning as needed, and serve.