Quick Cucumber Kimchi

I am flush in cucumbers! I planted 5 varieties this year, and even though the 5th, tiny watermelon looking cucumbers, are still just barely starting, the other 4 are prolific. Which means plenty of pickles and cucumber salads, and now, thanks to a lack of any protein other than sardines (which I love with rice and kimchi for easy dinner), cucumber kimchi! I made it once before in 2012 according to this food blog. It was a whole cucumber stuffed with the kimchi paste/fixings. Why have I not made it again?! (I see I made that first version sans korean pepper flakes or fish sauce, so um, no wonder it wasn't as good! These two ingredients are fairly critical.)

 

This time I made a quick version and just tossed cucumber slices with salt, then mixed that with kimchi fixings. YUM! It was so easy, and so delicious. I ate it first with rice and sardines and sesame greens, and then the next day with fried eggs and green beans. The latter was reminiscent of cold cucumber sesame noodles in a bibimbap kind of way. I love this quick kimchi, espcially since I am at the final dregs of last year's fermented napa iteration. I grew my own daikon this year, and my carrots are just starting to get big enough to pick, so this is a nearly entirely home-grown concoction.

I looked up a few recipe inspirations, and mostly followed this one from David Chang of Food and Wine, except for slicing my cukes up, not using sugar or shrimp paste, and only using red onions. It was still good. I wanted more ginger. I was also worried about what was more or less raw garlic, bc usually that means I taste garlic for hours afterwards, but that didn't happen. I assume it was chopped finely enough, and had just enough time in the salty mix. Unlike napa kimchi, this version doesn't release as much liquid due to a shorter ferment time, if you can even call it fermentation. I made a big batch, and left half out 4 hours or so, and the other half for about 20 hours. The latter was softer and a bit more mild and liquidy. I preferred the first version, so next time I'll refrigerate any leftovers. I am sure this would still be good after 30 minutes, so just mix it up and eat if that is all you have time for!

 

My (loose) version of the recipe (see linked recipe for measurements) for my future reference:

• cucumbers, sliced thin
• salt
  
• Korean red pepper flakes
• garlic cloves, minced
• ginger, finely sliced (a lot!)
• red onion, sliced thin
  
• small amount of julienned carrot and daikon
• fish sauce
• tamari

Mix a fair amount of salt with cucumber slices and sit in a colander while you mix up the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. The cucumbers will sweat and start to drain. After 10 minutes, rinse the cuke slices and add them to the bowl. Stir well, and add salt to taste. It should be salty - it's more of a condiment, so a little saltier than you salt your regular food. 

This was delicious with sesame greens (mustard and tatsoi greens sauteed with garlic in sesame oil), sardines and rice, and also with green beans and fried eggs. I love rice with kimchi, you really can't go wrong!

Dried Sour Cherries (and cherry oxymel)

I got A LOT of sour cherries this year thanks to my generous neighbor, and because I had some big plans: cherry mead, cherry oxymel and dried cherries, cherry bounce, and I made one cherry crisp. The mead did not work, or rather, I jettisoned it because it smelled a little off (I was making in conjunction with my first ever mead, so in retrospect I wonder if it would have been better to start with sugar, but alas). After I composted it, I wondered if it was okay and it was just the lack of sugar that tasted bad. I don't know, but it was definitely different than my previous two fruit wines (made with sugar). I ordered a few new wine implements to check the sugar/alcohol and acid levels, so they will offer better guidance as I continue to make fruit wines.

I was most curious about making dried sour cherries to replace store bought craisins. I experimented with soaking the cherries in a few different ratios of honey/apple cider vinegar to infuse some sweetness, and I dried some straight up. I enjoyed the experimentation, and in each case got cherry syrup, oxymel or juice along with the cherries - win/win! My favorite ratio was the middle sweetness one, though all had their merits. I hadn't realized the difference it would make to use more/less vinegar/honey overall, and the one I used the least of that started to ferment like my wine. It was the largest vessel, and now I am left with an effervescent cherry juice that is fizzy to drink. Yum! It's like cherry juice with kombucha - or really, sour cherry shrub. (It is good plain, and I did try some mixed with gin, which was also delicious, see photo at right of what remains in the half gallon jar!)

Here were my trials that I set out for 2 weeks, except the last one which was just 1 week:

1. Half gallon jar filled with cherries plus 1 c honey and 2 c apple cider vinegar (my favorite one that is also an oxymel that I will use for salad dressing, or I could cook it down for a sweet/sour syrup);
2. Quart jar with 2/3 c honey plus 3 T cider vinegar (sweetest version where the cherries tasted distinctly of honey and the resulting juice was more of a cherry syrup, this was my least favorite);
   
3. Gallon jar filled with as many cherries as I could stuff in with 1 1/2 c honey and 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (least sweet and least honey/vinegar to stabilize the cherry juice. It was most active/fermenting and I stopped the process after a week because I feared the fermentation could eat up all the sweet. I have the most of these and they are good, but #1 is better, even though this is the batch that resulted in the very delicious shrub).

*Note if you make any of these, you need to release some pressure from tight fitting jar lids, or to have an air release because of the apple cider vinegar. I did use some gadgets to try to keep the cherries submerged, but the cherries kept popping up. No mold emerged, so I think there was enough sweetness to prevent that.

I think the most magic combo might actually be something I did not do: 1 quart of cherries with 1/2 c honey and 1/2 c cider vinegar. That is less vinegar than version #1, which I don't think is needed with all of the cherry juice, so the oxymel might end up a little more shrub-like (sweeter, less vinegary). Next year!

To dehydrate:

• I set the dehydrator for fruit at 135 degrees. All of my cherries were pitted, though varied in size. I didn't have the time/capacity to sort through and sift out cherries as they finished, but most of the cherries seemed done after about 20 hours. 
• Some cherries got very dry and hard, and some stayed plump, but most were in the middle. The straight up cherries (with no honey or vinegar) were the most tart, and edible to my palate, but no sweetness. I have snacked on them with some nuts and a piece of dark chocolate. :) 
• The plump cherries seem less shelf stable to me, so I put them in the freezer, but they are delicious. If I wasn't going for shelf stable things, I would just make a bunch only midway dried because they are amazing: a bit plump and chewy, sweet with a tiny bit of tang.
  

Sour cherry pancakes (Cherry blintz style)

We are in the time of sour cherries! I think I have harvested about 8 gallons worth, and I might have hit my max. Cherries are soaking in various vinegar/honey oxymel ratios on the counter, they are fermenting for wine, and are in bowls waiting to be pitted, with more pits strewn on the floor, and my compost bucket heaped with more (thank you cherry pitter - what an amazing tool). My prime experimentation right now (besides the wine) is to dehydrate the cherries and make a version of craisins, hence the variety of ratios of honey/apple cider vinegar jars on the counter. I will post my favorite results, but it will be a couple of weeks yet.

My current favorite way to eat the cherries is to mash them up with some heavy cream, shredded coconut, and a splash of maple syrup. It's like ice cream that isn't frozen. And because I had an open package of bacon, I thought I might try that topping on pancakes, except I wanted something a little less rich. So I used yogurt and tahini instead of cream, which was stellar. It made me think of cherry blintzes, though I think those usually mean a more crepe-like pancake. Somehow the tahini-yogurt combo creates that cheese-like quality, and flavor-wise, this hits the blintz mark (at least as I seem to have it in my memory!). 

I had lots of whey from my raw milk yogurt exploits, so I tried an oat soaked pancake recipe that I found very tasty. To be fair, all of this extra sweet in the form of maple syrup or honey is not standard operating procedure for me, so it's like party time over here. I mean, OF COURSE stuff with a little maple syrup or honey is delicious. This is why the sugar industry is big business! Still, it's moderate enough for me, and feels like a seasonal treat that I am willing to indulge.

The pancake recipe is courtesy of Nourishing Days, which is a blog by a couple who lives off grid and favor traditional, fermented foods. It's super simple, and hearty. I followed it closely, except I made only 1/3 of it (I did not add any honey). I did use a little extra whey and water, just to make sure the oats were thoroughly covered. Basically, the soaking is just enough liquid to fill the oats up. The version below serves 3.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup whey, yogurt, buttermilk, or water with a splash of vinegar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• coconut oil or butter for cooking

Directions

1. The day before you wish to serve the pancakes for breakfast combine the oats, warm water, and whey in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well, mashing the oats down into the liquid as much as possible. Leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours. (I used a little extra whey and water here.)
   
2. In the morning preheat your skillet over a medium-low heat.
3. Combine the eggs, baking powder, salt, and other flavorings in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the oat mixture and stir to combine. It will be thick, unlike regular pancake batter.
4. Allow your coconut oil or butter to melt in your warm skillet. For each pancake scoop a heaping tablespoon or two of batter into your skillet. Gently spread the batter until 1/16-1/8 inch thick. (It really is quite spreadable, so even though it looks like a small amount, it stretches.)
   
5. Allow to cook until the bottom has set and the edges and top begin to dry out, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and allow to cook another 3 minutes or so.
6. Serve warm with butter, nut butter, jam, honey, or real maple syrup. *For Cherry Blintz version, see below!
   

Cherry Blintz topping (approximate measurements, this is highly dependent on the thickness of your tahini and yogurt):

• 1/2 c cherries
• 1/2 c thin yogurt  (if thick, use half water half yogurt)
  
• 2-3 T tahini 
• 1-2 T maple syrup

Mix the yogurt and tahini first to get a smoother consistency. My yogurt is quite liquid-y (think thin kefir), so it worked to thin out the tahini, and with the cherries and their juice, hit the perfect consistency. You would need to add water if your yogurt is thick. Add the cherries and use a spoon to press/mash them against the side of the bowl to release more liquid. Add maple syrup to taste.

*I also added some black raspberries and a few milkweed flowers just because I'd picked them this morning and they seemed in the right color pallet!

Pollen Honey Fudge

I was really excited to make this recipe from my new favorite blogger, Forager Chef. I almost missed cattail pollen season, but last week while doing my regular walk around Lake Hiawatha, I spied the cattails and went in for a closer look. Sure enough, the tops were emitting yellow powder. I feel hesitant to collect pollen from plants so near the golf course or roads, cattails being useful for removing toxins in the environment by absorbing them, but I'd been cataloging a few locations on some hikes around the city that felt a bit more remote. So that night I headed out to one spot, and another the following day. That 2nd day was windier, and I only got about a tablespoon of pollen, despite some of the cattail shoots just opening and turning yellow. When people say it is a short harvesting season, they are right! 

I got about a cup of pollen from both trips, a low return on two hours of time, but enough to do something with. I consoled myself that first attempts at anything have lower yields, and now I am more aware of what I am looking for. 

So! This pollen fudge - it totally highlights the pollen. It's so yellow! I had to add a little more pollen than Forager Chef suggested, but that might be because I loosely measured my honey and may have been a little off. In any case, his recipe follows, which he says was inspired by Chinese and Iraqi pollen confections. His recipe links to this YouTube video of Pine Tree Flower Cake made by a woman in China, which is totally stunning. I watched more of her videos - no wonder she has millions of views! I found this fudge tasty, unlike anything else I've eaten, and a nice post dinner bite. I found I wanted a little crunch, so I tried rolling one in shredded coconut (good), and will try another in some crushed roasted nuts.

My one cup of cattail pollen.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons pine or cattail pollen (previously frozen to sterilize it)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or coconut oil for a vegan version
• 4 teaspoons mild honey
• Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, working with a fork until it just comes together, then switch to your hands and knead to a soft mass.
• Gauge the texture of the fudge, if it seems to soft to work with, add some more pollen.
• Chill the “fudge” to make it stiffen if it gets too soft on you. I like to form them, then chill to hold their shape. Just imagine you’re working with PlayDoh
• Shape the fudge into truffles, or another shape, dust with powdered dried pine needles, chopped fresh spruce tips, or more pollen as for truffles, and serve as a small sweet after a meal.

Lamb's Quarter Saag Curry

Had I thought of making this dish when I still had raw milk, I would have made some paneer to go along with it! But, I used up all of my raw milk to make yogurt, so that will have to come another day. Instead, I made a straight up saag curry, as well as a shrimp curry with tamarind and fresh peas, and a couple of baby zucchni from my garden. I almost attempted a daylily version of Nepalese style okra with jerusalem artichokes, but that got a bit too ambitious for my weekday evening. 

Both curries turned out really delicious, very distinct from one another, though I took some liberties with the latter. It was my first time using tamarind paste, which I bought at the Ethiopian market sometime last year. I love the tang! Even without curry leaves, it was still really good. That recipe inspiration is here (I also used coconut cream instead of fresh coconut, which went fine), and the only thing I'd do differently is be more attentive to the shrimp - mine overcooked because I did not turn the heat all the way off for the curry to thicken. Next time I'd let it simmer a little longer before adding the shrimp, then just serve as soon as the shrimp is cooked.

I made my lamb's quarter saag following a combination of this recipe and this one. I promptly harvested more lamb's quarters on my post dinner walk to freeze for more of this exact preparation. Yum. (Though, this morning as I was steaming them, I noticed a distinct pee smell. Some of my greens came from around my boulevard tree, and I think that was not the most judicious choice. I rinsed them again and added some extra ginger - I'm hoping for the best.) 

Lamb's quarters work especially well here because you blend them up, so you can be extra forgiving with leaves and stems (just remove the tough main stem of larger plants), but you could use any green. Note: you blend up the lamb's quarters with ginger and garlic and some jalapeno, and you add a little extra ginger/garlic later to saute. They are listed separately below, but heads up for your "mis-en-place" if you do that kind of thing. Also, the nuts here serve to thicken the saag. I liked that addition, but it would be fine without, or just add extra cream at the end. I had leftover soaked and dehydrated almonds that are soft and blend well, so I used them. If I hadn't, I would skip that.

Lamb's Quarters Saag Curry

• 4-6 cups lamb's quarters (4 if they are pretty tightly packed; this is flexible)
• 1" knob of ginger, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/8 jalapeno pepper, chopped (or more if you want extra spicy)
• 10 soaked cashews or almonds (opt)
  
• 2 T ghee or butter
• Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
• 1" cinnamon stick piece
• 2 cloves
  
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 c red onions, minced (I used part onion part garlic scapes)
• 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
  
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tomato chopped (or 1/2 c frozen tomatoes)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
• 1-2 T heavy cream to serve 

1. Prepare the lamb;s quarter puree: Steam or blanch your greens. I did this by bringing 1-2" of water to a boil in a pot,  then adding the greens and covering the whole thing. I stirred them a couple of times, so that in 2-3 minutes the greens were all wilted/steamed. You could also do a 1 minute blanch and then rinse in cold water. You don't want to overcook because you will lose the bright green. Once the greens are cool, add them, the ginger, garlic, jalapeno and nuts to a food processor and puree until smooth. 
2. For the Saag sauce: heat ghee or butter in a heavy skillet/pot over med heat. Once hot, add your whole spices: cardamom seeds, cinnnamon, cumin seeds. Saute just for 30 seconds or so, and add your minced onions. Saute until soft, a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Add your tomatoes and sea salt, and stir to combine well. The tomatoes will have lots of juice, so let that release. You want a sort of wet paste. Once the tomatoes are soft, add the garam masala. Saute 2-3 minutes. You may need to add a little extra water here to keep the mixture wet.
3. Once the sauce is thickened, lower the heat and add your green puree. Heat just for a couple of minutes, until the curry starts to bubble. Taste for seasoning, add more salt or a little hot water if it is too thick. *If you have paneer, you would also add that in now, also stir in 2-3 T cream if you prefer that to nuts. Serve with some swirled cream on top. 

This would be great with dosa, which is on my list of fermented things to try making, and also of course rice or the Indian spice Kohlrabi or again, the Nepalese style okra and jerusalem artichokes.

Argentinian Style Marinated Lamb Tongue

At the behest of my friend who grew up eating lamb and goat tongue (it is so delicious, she said), I ordered some lamb tongue on my quarterly meat order from Hilltop Family Farms. I've been eyeing tongue for awhile - sort of wanting to try it, but cow tongue is so enormous that it was more of a side-eye look. I hadn't totally thought about smaller animals until she mentioned it. Goat and lamb tongue seem like great entry options, they are small and seem less intimidating. Also, my Odd Bits cookbook describes lamb tongue as mild, which I found reassuring. Jennifer McLagan (of Odd bits) is a fan of tongue brining, which I'll try in the future.

It seems people most often slow braise their tongues, and then peel the outer tongue layer while warm. This family recipe was passed on to MN chef, Alan Bergo, who I stumbled upon while perusing internet tongue recipes. He has a website called Forager Chef, and a book coming out in two weeks called The Forager Chef's book of Flora that looks lovely. I mean, how serendipitous to find him - it's everything I want in a food blog: foraging (thus seasonal and local), creative, and looking at various cultural food traditions for inspiration. I can't wait to dive into his website some more - my jaw dropped when I saw his recipe for pollen honey fudge. What?!! Genius. (Especially b/c he uses a little butter to cut the sweetness, which is thumb's up from me.) He even has a post about roadkill. 💕

So, tongue!! I mostly like it - I am interested to try it some more. (I liked it enough that I am drinking the braising broth, which is good cold and a bit like collards/nettle pot liquor meets a light bone broth.) Tongue is slightly pate-like to me, but more firm. Firm the way smoked oysters out of a tin are. I especially liked this marinated tongue on some seed crackers (perhaps sparking the smoked oyster thought), which was super tasty. My salad was good, and modeled after Alan Bergo's video. He used avocado and cooled potatoes (think salad nicoise) and radish. I used cooled jerusalem artichokes and asparagus (steamed and also cooled), and fresh pea pods. Both of us used lettuce and a hard boiled egg. The marinade was very tasty, though I used a bit too many red pepper flakes so the tongue was spicy. I think it is a really nice appetizer (I ate mine for dinner), and I really like the fresh herbs in there. The marinade (with cilantro and mint) made me think of chimichurri, no surprise, which was really nice in this summer heat. I would make this again, except maybe I'd actually just use a chimichurri sauce and serve it on crackers. 

One note: tongue is both the part visually discernable as tongue, but also with some other meaty part. Both tasted good, but differed texture-wise. Also, thankfully Jennifer McLagan menionted that tongues come in all variety of hues, from pink to gray, and some are mottled. One of mine was, and it was weird looking, causing me to wonder. But it's normal. Also, it is normal that 3 out of 4 tongues will peel really easily, and one will be stubborn and require a paring knife. FYI. That was true for me, too.

This is the tongue without other stuff

Braising the Tongue

• 1-1.25 lbs Lamb or Goat Tongue (about 4-8 tongues, depending on size)
• 5 cups chicken stock or water
• 1 each: small carrot ½ small yellow onion and 1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 dried bay leaf
• salt

Final Marinade

• ½ cup blend of fresh herbs: parsley, cilantro, mint, tarragon (I used cilantro and mint)
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
• Crushed red pepper about ¼ teaspoon, or more to taste (optional)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove lightly crushed with the back of a knife
• lemon zest (opt)

Instructions

• Combine the tongues and ingredients for braising in a high-sided pan, such as a 3 qt sauce pot. Make sure the tongues are covered with water, if they aren’t add a little more water until they’re covered by approximately ½ inch.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook slowly, covered, about 1.5 hours, or until the tongues are tender when pierced.
• When the tongues are tender, take them off the heat and cool in their liquid until you can handle them. Peel with your hand or a paring knife, it will be easier if they’re still warm.
• Trim any excess connective tissue and bits of skin that may be left on if any were resisting being peeled.
• Refrigerate the tongues for a few hours to firm up and make them easy to slice.
• Slice the tongues into ¼ inch slices, then combine with the marinade ingredients. Double check the seasoning and add more salt, vinegar, or crushed red pepper to taste, keeping in mind the seasonings will get stronger as the tongues sit and the flavors meld.
• Transfer the tongues to a container, pressing them down so the vinaigrette and juices cover the top and refrigerate until needed. They're best after marinating for a few hours/overnight. The tongues will keep refrigerated for 4 days. 
  Serve the tongue on crackers, or add some veggies to the marinade and toss it up for salad. I think a little sweetness is a good gesture here (potatoes or jerusalem artichokes, carrots, avocado, peas, asparagus, maybe beets) along with some lettuce and herbs.
  

Raw, Grain Free Granola

I am riding an inspiration train of making my own food lately. What if I could make/grow/forage most things rather than the grocery store? Sometimes I take this to more extreme imaginings than others, but right now I am experimenting with direct farm purchased raw milk to make yogurt, and raw cream for my morning tea. Next up will be to try making butter, and then cheese from raw goat milk. 

Raw milk has lots of great benefits, and in MN the only legal way to purchase it is direct from the farm, in my case Humble Beginnings Family Farm. They are lovely - I held a baby goat that snuggled into my arms, met the baby turkeys and ducks, and 2 of the 7 human kids, both of whom were so great, and one who is also a redhead. :)

I also got some raw yogurt from the farm so that I have a culture to make more with (it is delicious). All to say, I am about to be flush in some yogurt, so I decided to make some granola (which is um, decidedly not local and requires the import purchasing of nuts, but I'm moving in stages here). Because it is hot, I decided to make it in the dehydrator, which then meant I might as well soak them first and get all the benefits of such a thing. Maybe I will feel totally amazing after some weeks of raw cultured dairy products and nuts free of phytic acid and increased nutrient availability? We will see!

I used these guidelines for nut and seed soaking, basically you soak in water and salt overnight, and then dehydrate at a low temp for 12 hours. 

I then riffed on this recipe for my granola, which turned out great. I used very little sweetener, so it is minimally sweet except for whatever dried fruit you add. Dehydrating the granola means it is less toasted, but still crispy, with all of the enzymes and nutrients intact.

• 1 c sesame seeds
• 1 c pumpkin seeds
• 1 c walnuts
• 1 c almonds
• 1 1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 2 T maple syrup (or more if you want a sweet taste)
  
• 1/3 c coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• splash of vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 c craisins or other dried fruit (opt)

1. Mix the nuts and seeds together. I opted to chop the walnuts and almonds up a bit (I just did it by hand), you could leave them whole or pulse them and the seeds in a food processor for a more crumbly granola.
2. Stir in the maple syrup, coconut oil, salt, cinnamon and vanilla until everything is coated.
3. Spread on dehydrator sheets (I used those tray sheets so as to not lose any bits through the mesh) and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 10-12 hours, until crunchy.
4. Mix in craisins (or dried fruit) if using. Keeps in the fridge for up to 6 weeks, or you can freeze. (Or keep in a cool dry place, likely for a month? Maybe more?)