Picklin’ Pickles!

It’s a fight to shut my refrigerator door- bags of produce tumble out – maybe they are jumping out with hopes of being cooked before they reach the point of no return. My evenings have been spent working rather than cooking this week, and I realize, once again, I have way too much perishable food for two people. While planning the news segment this week, my first thought was spring potato salad, but I know that’s just because I’ve been craving its cool crunch. Then, my thoughts went to a lovely napa cabbage salad with buttermilk dill dressing–but, that wouldn’t stay crisp in the fridge, it should be eaten in the moment, and I needed something easy to grab and snack on this week. But alas, a revelation…pickling!

One of the easiest remedies for too much spring produce is to do a quick refrigerator pickle. No canning, no pickling salt– just vinegar, plain ole’ salt and a bit of creativity.

Remember to:

1. Stick to vegetables with a crunchy or crispy texture rather than greens or things that will get mushy (although, Ive heard you can make a mean swiss chard or kale stem pickle). I recommend, onions, carrots, cruciferous veggies (broccoli or cauliflower), beets, snow or sugar snap peas, radishes or kohlrabi.

2. Pick your vinegar– rice wine, white wine, red wine, apple cider, champagne…just make sure you keep the water to vinegar ratio about 1:1

3. Mix in some seasoning, fresh or dried– garlic, herbs, red pepper flakes, fresh peppers, ginger, curry powder, sesame seeds, mustard seed…the combos are endless.

4. Be sure to add some salt (and sugar, if you desire).

5. The veggies will be good after one evening, but really really good if you wait for up to two weeks. If you can make it past eating them right out of the jar, try mixing them with your favorite potato salad (I’ve got a one track mind) or topping your favorite sandwich with the pickly, crunchy goodness.

Let us know if you come up with any amazing combinations, here are two recipes from the WVLT cooking segment!

Ginger Sesame Spring Pickles

Yield: 1 qt.

1/2 lb. Snow Peas, stems removed

2 bulbs kohlrabi, peeled and cubed

3 small carrots, peeled and sliced

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 1/4 C. rice vinegar

1 1/4 C. Water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. salt

4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1 Tbsp. Ginger

1 Tbsp.Sesame Seeds

1 tsp.- 3 tsp. hot pepper flakes (optional)

1. Place the snow peas and kohlrabi in a 1 qt. mason jar. Add the ginger, sesame seeds, garlic and hot peppers (optional).
2. In a saucepan, combine the oil, vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a boil, stirring. Once sugar and salt are dissolved, remove from heat and add the cold water. Once completely cooled, cover the snow peas with the brine. Let stand until the brine has cooled, then cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 weeks to brine, before consuming.

Dilly-Spiced Spring Onions

Yield: 1/2 pt.

5 spring onions, finely chopped

1/4 C. white wine vinegar
1/4 C. water
1 tsp. kosher salt (I use Diamond brand; use less if you’re using Morton or table salt)
1 tsp. sugar

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

2 hot peppers, whole or 1 tsp. dried cayenne powder

1 Tbsp. dill, chopped

1. Place the onions in a small mason jar. add the garlic, peppers (or cayenne) and dill.
2. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let cool to warm, and cover the onions with the brine. Let stand until brine and cooled and then cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days before consuming.

Egg salad… it can be the most amazing thing you’ve ever eaten or an utter disappointment. Avoiding the mushy, sad and tasteless version is a cinch. The key to creating a tantalizing salad is found in the name- EGGS. The farmers’ market eggs are superior in color and quality. The deep orange yolks are rich in heart-healthy omega fats, making a beautifully colored egg salad with an enhanced depth of flavor.

Now that we’ve got our base covered, let’s talk mixins’. Egg salad follows the less is more rule. It is best to pick a few ingredients that really shine, rather than having a flavor overload. I know it’s hard to narrow down the search when there are some many delicious veggies at the market. Texture and taste should be your main focus. I decided to go slightly sweet and crunchy with sugar snap peas from A Place of the Heart Farm and add a natural pepperiness with watermelon radishes from John Ledbetter. Other great options include: daikon radish, sweet and beautiful purple carrots, broccoli, hot peppers, you name it! To season things up, I went the more subtle route with dill, but you could always kick it up with curry, cilantro, tarragon or green onions. Use this recipe as a guide that can be mixed and altered. If you come up with any great variations, let us know and we can add it for testing for our Market Square Farmers’ Market Cookbook!

Watch Kimberly make her version of spring egg salad here:

May 18, 2011 WVLT Segment

Farmers’ Spring Egg Salad

Serving Size: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
3 Tbsp. mayo or yogurt
Salt and Pepper
dash of lemon juice
1/4 C. radishes, minced
1/4 C. snow peas, chiffonade
small handful dill, chopped
4 leaves of Butter crunch lettuce (or other crunchy spring variety)
1 C. sprouts, divided into 1/4 C. portions
8 slices, crusty bread, toasted

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized pot, add cold water and eggs. Bring to a gentle boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for seven-ten minutes for a harder or softer egg. While the eggs are sitting, make a ice water bath. Add eggs after the seven-ten minutes elapses, and let sit for three minutes. Crack and peel each egg, then roughly chop. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In another small bowl, mix mayo, yogurt, salt, pepper, lemon juice and dill. Stir until well mixed. Add to chopped eggs and mix until evenly incorporated.
3. Stir in radishes and snow peas. Season to taste.
4. To assemble sandwich, top a slice of toasted bread with a leaf of lettuce, followed by the egg salad and topped with sprouts. Finish the process by adding the second slice of bread.

Thanks to the following farms for being part of this awesome sandwich

Organicism Farms- Bulls’ Blood Sprouts

Hillside Bakery- Bread

JEM Farm- Sandwich Leaf Lettuce

River Ridge Farm- eggs

DiEva’s Herb Farm- dill

A Place of the Heart Farm- sugar snap peas

John Ledbetter- watermelon radishes

We are excited to announce that we will have our own farmers’ market cooking segment with WVLT‘s Whitney Kent every first and third Thursday of the month at 6:10 a.m. We’ll be highlighting seasonal produce and fruit from our vendors and promoting special events such as the Chef Challenges and Market Mixers. For the inaugural 2011 taping, we made strawberry lemon-basil ice cream.

Check out Kimberly’s video here

This is the recipe, it is reminiscent of the milk left over from fruit loops (in a good way!)

Strawberry Lemon-Basil Ice Cream

2 C. heavy whipping cream
1 C. whole milk
3 large egg yolks
3/4 C. sugar + 1 Tbsp. for strawberries
2 C. strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
12, 3-4” sprigs of lemon basil

1. Place strawberries and 1 Tbsp. of sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Macerate
berries using a fork or potato masher. Allow strawberries to develop flavor and
release juices in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
2. To make ice cream, combine the cream, milk, sugar and lemon basil sprigs in a
saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Allow herbs to steep for 30
minutes. When removing herbs, press them using the back of the spoon to release
any remaining extract.
3. Bring lemon basil-infused milk to a low heat. In a small bowl, gently whisk the eggs
and add 1/4 C. of the warm milk mixture and whisk. Add another 1/4 C. of milk
mixture and whisk. Pour the mixture into the saucepan with the infused milk, and
cook. Stir constantly for until the custard lightly coats a metal spoon, approximately 5
minutes.
4. Strain the mixture into a bowl, and then cool in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
5. Follow manufacturers instructions. Add the macerated strawberries during the last 5
minutes of churning.
6. Garnish ice cream with strawberry fans and a sprig of lemon basil.

Thanks to–

• Colvin Family Farms and Rushy Springs Farm for the delicious, sweet strawberries
• Cruze Dairy Farm for the cool, refreshing whole milk
• DiEva’s Herb Farm for the aromatic lemon basil plant