June 30 & July 07, 2007

Summer is here, the produce is burgeoning, and the 4th of July is the epitome of the season with food, friends, and fireworks. In celebration of Independence Day, I’m taking a week of freedom, so the newsletter will, too. Back for the July 14 issue.

With a summer plethora of fruits and vegetables, impulse shopping is the only thing to do at the farmers’ market. If it looks good, buy it. When produce is this fresh and delicious, you don’t have to do much to it even if you’ve never prepared it before. For example, if you impulse shop your way to a little okra, don’t be scared. My father grew okra in the backyard and I was none too fond of the tall stalks bearing strange prickly pods that defied easy picking. But he’d do “things” with the fresh pods to disguise the sliminess inside and it tasted pretty good in the end. “It’s very tender; you don’t need to do much with it at all,” he says. Just cut the pods into 1-inch lengths, add them to a pan in which you’ve sautéed a little onion and garlic, toss in some chopped tomatoes, and “it cooks right up.” If you want to get “fancy” and “thicken it up and give it a little I-don’t-knew-what flavor,” you can season with a little file, the powdered seasoning (it’s dried sassafras leaves, actually) that’s added to gumbo. And of course, since preparing it this way is like gumbo, there’s no reason not to “fry up a little sausage or bacon and add it in.” EcoFriendly Foods or Smith Meadows Meats could help you out here I’m sure, if you just ask ‘em.

At the market last week I saw lots of greens, hot peppers, beets, okra, bell peppers, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, chocolate mint, potatoes, and even fava beans at last. I’ve been waiting for these because I’m a little masochistic. I call it “liking a challenge.” You may have faced fava beans, but maybe not in the raw. You’ve probably had this tasty little number in Middle Eastern restaurants, where favas add that certain something to the food. You might put chickpeas or edamame in your cucumber and tomato salads to make them look “real,” but they never taste just like the dish from the taverna, do they? Step up and face the fava – you can win the battle and secure the prize.

I heard a sensible approach on NPR once, so I looked it up. Bonny Wolf said, “To shell the beans, pull on the stem of the pod and unzip them, on both sides. But you’re not done. Now take the shelled beans and drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and plunge into ice water, and peel off the beans’ waxy outer covering. [Yes, that’s one lima bean-sized bean to peel at a time.] Drain. Now, they are ready for use in recipes.”

If you’re not ready for that, keep shopping. Westmoreland Berry Farm lines grow ever longer as black, purple, and red raspberries; apricots; cling peaches (whites in two weeks, though not many due to frost damage); blackberries; and blueberries appear.

Corn already! Musachio Produce got its Eastern Shore corn to market last week ­– early and welcome.

I’ve just mentioned some produce already out and begging to be bought, but here’s what else July brings to this part of the world: arugula, basil, beets, carrots, chile pepper, chives, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, dill, eggplant, garlic, green pepper, lima beans, mesclun, mint, muskmelon (called “cantaloupe” at the megamart), okra, onions, parsley, sage, shell peas, snow peas, sorrel, sugar snap peas, radishes, snap beans, squash, Swiss chard, tarragon, thyme, tomatoes, watermelon – and the fruits of summer: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries (sweet and tart), currants, grapes, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, and strawberries.

At the megamart checkout the other day, I looked at what I was buying and wondered. Wendell Berry wrote in “The Idea of a Local Economy” (Orion Magazine, 2001), “[T]he first thought may be a recognition of one’s ignorance and vulnerability as a consumer in the total economy. As such a consumer, one does not know the history of the products that one uses. Where, exactly, did they come from? Who produced them? What toxins were used in their production? What were the human and ecological costs of producing them and then of disposing of them? One sees that such questions cannot be answered easily, and perhaps not at all. Though one is shopping amid an astonishing variety of products, one is denied certain significant choices. In such a state of economic ignorance it is not possible to choose products that were produced locally or with reasonable kindness toward people and toward nature. Nor is it possible for such consumers to influence production for the better. Consumers who feel a prompting toward land stewardship find that in this economy they can have no stewardly practice. To be a consumer in the total economy, one must agree to be totally ignorant, totally passive, and totally dependent on distant supplies and self-interested suppliers.”

I’m going to plant some tomatoes tomorrow. And then buy enough from the local farmers to re-enact the pasta “sawce” marathon my vegetarian roommate of long ago would careen into on the occasional weekend. Afterward, there was summer in the freezer for a long time.

Here are a few tips from the MGs for the upcoming month. Don’t forget to stop by their booth at the market for help with your specific questions.

Monitor the environment surrounding you and your plants. Is it too cool? Too dry? Are you wasting resources or preserving what the planet offers?

• Don’t chill tropical houseplants by watering them with cold tap water. Let the water stand until it reaches room temperature so delicate root hairs aren’t harmed, or even killed, by low temperatures.
  
  
• Keep houseplants away from cold drafts caused by air conditioning vents.
  
  
• In the hot, July weather, make sure you mow your lawn to the appropriate height. This reduces water loss and helps lower soil temperatures. Leave clippings on the lawn to decompose.
  
  
• Proper watering means deep soaking. Light sprinkling is often harmful, especially on lawns. Wet the soil to the bottom of the roots (5 to 6 inches deep).
  
  
• Control mosquitoes by eliminating all sources of stagnant water.
  
  
• Check the soil moisture of container-grown vegetables and flowers daily. As the temperature rises, some plants may need watering twice daily.
  
  
• If you can’t water during hot, dry spells, then do nothing. Don’t prune or apply fertilizer or pest controls. Water-stressed plants compensate with relative inactivity. Cultural practices that encourage growth, instead of being beneficial, can induce further stress.
  
  
• Michigan State University reports that over a 50-year lifetime, a healthy tree can generate $31,250 worth of oxygen and recycle $37,500 worth of water. It also provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control and $31,250 in soil erosion prevention.
  
  
• Make good use of that old (or new) plastic laundry basket. When you’re going out to “the North 40” to work, use your basket to carry hand tools, gloves, seeds, and fertilizer, and when you’re finished gardening, haul all those weeds and clippings to the trash can or compost pile in your handy basket. When harvesting root crops such as beets, turnips, or carrots, leave the bounty in your basket while you wash it with a forceful squirt from the garden hose.
  
  
• Some tree-trimming companies shred their trimmings on site and give them away free-for-the-asking to anyone in the neighborhood. Don’t be shy! The cost of chipped wood mulch from the garden center adds up. Coarsely shredded material looks good on pathways and borders, while fine particles compost quickly. And your using the chips keeps them out of the local landfill.
  
  
• The MGs also say, “If you know someone who is ‘turning over a new leaf’ by starting an exercise program, give them flowers or a houseplant as a visual reminder of your support for their effort.”
  
  

Better yet, encourage gardening as an interesting, challenging, and fulfilling way to exercise. You get a little healthy vitamin D from being in the sun (but wear sunscreen most of the time, please), and bending, twisting, digging, and lifting can be pretty aerobic. In fact, you should warm up a bit before doing any serious outdoor work. Try five minutes of arm and leg stretches (like toe touches) to get ready. The cable show dLife points out that gardening incorporates many elements of recommended exercise programs including stretching, stance, and repetition, not to mention the resistance principles of weight training. It’s really exercise – dLife reports the following calories burned (by a 180-pound man working for 30 minutes):

Sitting quietly – 40
Watering a lawn or garden – 61
Trimming shrubs – 142
Raking – 162
Bagging leaves – 162
Planting seedlings – 162
Mowing with gas mower – 182
Weeding – 182
Mowing lawn with a push mower – 243

Got the fava fascination? How bad? Because it takes about five pounds of unshelled favas to serve four people. Some recipes say 1 pound of unshelled beans equal 1 cup of shelled beans, but it all depends on pod size.


Favas & Tuna

This came off Epicurious, originally from Bon Appétit. The editors recommended serving this as bruschetta (bru-sKETT-a my Italian friend always corrected), but it makes a great salad on lettuce leaves instead of toasted bread.

• 18 thin baguette slices
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 ounces fresh fava bean pods
• 1 6- to 7-ounce can tuna in olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley plus leaves for garnish
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, brush slices with 3 tablespoons oil, and bake until bread is crisp and golden, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Bring medium saucepan of water to boil. Shell fava beans, then drop beans into boiling water and cook 1 minute. Drain. Slip beans out of their skins. Place beans in asmall bowl; add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and toss to coat. (I’d salt and pepper too.)

Combine tuna with its oil, minced red onion, chopped parsley, and lemon juice in a small bowl and mash to a coarse paste with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide tuna mixture among baguette slices. Top with fava beans and garnish each with a parsley leaf.


Shrimp & Favas

Recipe adapted from Elizabeth Schneider’s Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables, and I wish I knew from where I copied this. Again, you can serve this as appetizers for four, but why not make it an entrée for two?

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 ounces prosciutto, cut into tiny dice (about 1/3 cup)
  (substitute any firm salty ham you have on hand)
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3/4 pound shrimp, shelled
• 1 pound shelled fava beans (as discussed above in “Fresh at the Market”)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper

Heat oil and butter in skillet over moderate heat. Add ham and garlic and toss for a minute. Add shrimp, favas, and thyme, and toss just until shrimp become pink. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Cover pan and cook on lowest heat possible for 1 to 2 minutes, or until shrimp are just cooked through and juices exude slightly. Serve immediately.


Fava Pasta Primavera

I’ve made a fava risotto; I’ve not made this ­– but it seems similar (the risotto was awesome) and less labor intensive. For garlic-infused oil, fussy cooks want you to put cloves into the oil and refrigerate for a couple of days before using (always refrigerate cut garlic to avoid botulism). But just heat that tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil with a slightly crushed clove of garlic for about a minute (don’t brown the garlic), then strain out the garlic and use the now-infused oil.

• 1 pound fresh fava beans in pods
• 1 pound fresh peas in pods (yeah right, I’d use 1 cup frozen)
• 1 pound thin asparagus spears, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
• 4 ounces haricots verts, trimmed, and sliced in half (use any fresh green bens)
• 4 ounces sugar snap peas, strings removed
• 1 pound orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon finely sliced chives

Place a large pot of water over high heat. When water boils, blanch each vegetable separately (about a minute each). If using frozen peas, dip them in for a minute too. Reuse cooking water, placing each vegetable in a sieve and dipping it into the boiling water to blanch. Rinse blanched vegetables under cold water and allow to drain well. Peel and discard fava bean pods and slip the beans out of their translucent covers.

Bring another large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook orzo according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain well. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in e2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until pasta is well coated. Add vegetables.

Add garlic oil, salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup chives. Mix well and adjust seasoning. Garnish with remaining chives. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

8 to 10 servings