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Category Archives: pickles
alchemy
Last week I plucked some leek scapes from the garden. Have you ever eaten green garlic scapes? You can find them at farmers markets in the Pacific Northwest in June. Well, leeks send up flower heads, too, and they’re delicious pickled — more sweet than garlic scapes. Into the crock they went with some other crunchy vegetables…
And today this batch of Giardiniera came out of the crock!
Crunchy, garlicky, refreshing, sour, infused with oregano and thyme… just right for a picnic or a cocktail party or next to your sandwich. Curious Farm Giardiniera with Leek Scapes is available direct from Curious Farm until it’s gone. And, if you’d like to learn how to make your own live-cultured vegetable pickles, think about taking a class at Curious Farm!
finally!
Come to the Beaverton Farmers Market this week for the first batches of Curious Farm Classic Dills and Spicy Garlic Dills. Pickle season is here!
curious farm rude beets
What do you get when you put humble rutabagas and minerally-rich beets in a crock of brine? Curious Farm Rude Beets! I’m excited to share them with you at the Beaverton Farmers Market on Saturday.
These chunky, crunchy, sour pickles will brighten up your picnic table, refresh your palate, and please your tummy. Although they look traditional and jewel-like in their garnet-colored brine, Curious Farm Rude Beets are different from other pickled beets you may have had. These are live-cultured. No sugar or vinegar is used to make them. Their refreshing sour taste comes from a short fermentation time beneath delicious, spiced brine. Curious Farm Rude Beets are alive with rooty goodness and healthful cultures.
pickle watch 2012 with photo
So… I sing to the cucumber plants while I water them. I also share about the customers who are inquiring about their health and growth.
Here is the situation:
I’m starting to see immature cucumbers gow out of the vines. The larger flower heads need to open before the cucumber can become pollinated and begin to grow. Once that happens in the summer heat, the cucumbers grow quickly, and I’ll have to harvest every day.
I don’t know when we’ll have cucumbers. I’ll call other farms again this week.
I had a total cow today, by the way, because a friend in California sent me a recipe for a salad made with tomatoes, peaches, and corn. What a tease! Those ingredients are a month or more away from me right now. I want these flavors *now*, and I want the cucumbers, too. I want to *juice* the too-big-to-pickle cucumbers and just feel their good energy sink into my soul.
So, yes, I sing to the cucumber plants — for selfish reasons.
pickle watch 2012 update
Curious Farm’s cucumber plants are still very small. I’ve called many farms in the area, and they all keep pushing out their estimates on cucumber availability. Two weeks ago, farms were saying “late July.” Now those same farms are saying “middle of August,” “late August,” or “Gosh, the plants aren’t germinating at all!”
So… hang tight. We’ll have some pickles by the Fall. Cucumbers are such tender, fickle beasts. We must be patient.
torshi left
Often I remind myself that I make live-cultured foods as much for the color therapy as for the flavor delights. Here are some jars of Torshi Left — a traditional Middle Eastern turnip pickle that is blushed pink from beet root. They’ll be at the Beaverton Farmers Market this Saturday for you to try!