Frozen Watermelon

Somehow we got more watermelon than we can eat at one time. And we haven't even tried the ones from our garden yet.

Anyway, I decided to make a Watermelon Sorbet. Haven't tasted it yet, but it can't be bad--or more easy.

Watermelon Sorbet

Watermelon Sorbet base ready to
be chilled.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups watermelon, cubed

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lime juice

• Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor.
• Chill mixture for at least an hour in the fridge.
• Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
• If you don't have an ice cream maker, you could make a granita by pouring mixture in a rimmed baking dish. Put in freezer for about an hour, then scrape with a fork to break up ice crystals. Return to freezer. Before serving, let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving. Scrape again with a fork, then spoon into serving dishes.

I also decided to try to freeze watermelon chunks--essentially turning them into watermelon ice cubes. Cube the melon and set the cubes on a sheet pan (don't let the chunks touch). Freeze. Then, when totally frozen, put chunks in a zipper bag for storage. I don't know if they'll be too hard to eat straight from the freezer (I think so), but you could let them thaw slightly and eat them as a slushy melon. Or buzz them in the blender and add to lemonade or iced tea.

 

On another topic, here's yet another bowl full of garden bounty. Got a bunch more ground cherries, too. The purple pepper was really a cool color--of course it looses the color when cooked.

  

Smart Carnivores

I just read a fascinating article from NPR: Food for Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made us Smarter.  In it, the author talks about theories that say that when our ancestors started eating meat, the evolution of our species changed.

That period is when cut marks on animal bones appeared — not a predator's tooth marks, but incisions that could have been made only by a sharp tool. That's one sign of our carnivorous conversion.

By eating meat, our brain, which uses about 20 times as much energy as the same size muscle, thrived.  Calories and fat from meat allowed our bodies to put more energy into brain development.  Our brains grew, we started using tools and cooking and the rest is, well, history.

There are plenty of detractors to these theories--see the comments after the article, but to me, it makes sense.  What do you think?

The Wild Maine Blues

I've written before about the joy of climbing a mountain on a summer hike in Maine and taking a break to pick the tiny, sweet wild blueberries off of the bushes.  They're so good.

I just found an article from The Atlantic with more about them.  The writing is a bit convoluted in places, but it gives you some interesting info about these little blue pearls. 

By the way, you can buy wild blueberries in many grocery stores--either canned or (better yet) frozen.  Wyman's is the brand you should look for.  Wyman's jelly is mentioned in the article.

On another subject, I hope to see you at the Ottsville Farmers' Market on Friday from 3-7 or at the Plumsteadville Grange Farmers' Market on Saturday from 9-noon.  I'll be both places whipping up sample of tasty treats made from market goodies! 

Peachy!

It's peach time once again!  Really, is there much better than biting into a juicy, ripe, sweet peach for the first time each summer?  Conversely, is there much worse than being psyched up to eat a juicy, ripe, sweet peach and biting into a dry, bland, mealy one? 

Well, check out my Bucks County Taste post called A Circus in Your Mouth (a Seinfeld reference).  In it you'll find out about tips to picking the perfect peach, how to store your peaches and a great peach cobbler recipe.  Plus, find out where you can get fresh peaches at markets in our area.

Enjoy!

Bounty of the Garden

Here's another shot of just some of the veggies I picked from our garden on Sunday, including some really cool yellow and orange striped heirloom tomatoes.  Yes, the squash continues to come.

Still Trendy?

I've written much about the positive trends of local food and sustainable farming--trends in the food world that revert us back to the days of yore--and give us better, healthier and community-friendly food.  Trends (whether regarding food or some other area) will always be there.  Who knows how they start and, in many cases, how they perpetuate themselves?  For the most part, though, at some point, these trends end--usually when another trend takes their place.

I just read an article called Cupcakes and 6 Other Food Trends That Have Lost Their Cool where the writer talks about 7 trends in the food world that she thinks have passed their prime.  As is usually the case with articles like this, I'm not in complete agreement with her, but find it interesting nonetheless.

In no apparent order, here are the trends she sees as being over:

1-Cupcakes: I see nothing wrong here, as long as they're tasty and moist.  I hate dry, overbaked cupcakes.  Portable and cute.  Like me.  (I don't know what that means).

2-Tuna Tartare: I must admit that I've never had this dish.  I'm not a big raw fish guy.  You be the judge.

3-Bubble Tea: I see this as a real trend--something out of the ordinary from a different culture (this one from Asia) that bursts on the scene and is huge for a while.  I've never had it and don't really see the appeal of it.

4-Truffle Salt: Another item I've not used.  I don't see why not, though.  Overuse is where something like this runs into trouble.

5-The Communal Table: If this is on the way out, I'm glad.  If I'm going out for a nice dinner, I want to make sure I'm not sitting with someone who is going to ruin it for me.  That's what blind dates are for.

6-Chipotle: It sure shows up in a lot of stuff, but I like it.  Smoky and spicy. 

7-Lava Cake: I made some of these for MB's birthday and they were really good.  See my previous post with the recipe.

What do you think?  Do you agree?  Are there any other food trends that you think (or hope) will be ending soon?  Let me know!

Mala Insana

Tomatoes.  I think they're the reason that July and August exist.  Not only are they delicious right off the vine, but they are incredibly healthy--full of vitamins and the cancer-fighting substance, lycopene.  Here's a piece I wrote for my August '09 newsletter that gives the history, nutrition and other information about these orbs of happiness.

The heat and humidity of the Dog Days of Summer make our green vegetable friends very happy. Without a doubt, the thing I most look forward to each summer is a fresh, ripe, juicy tomato. In my mind, there’s not much that tastes better than a freshly picked tomato with a little sprinkle of salt. Mmmm…. I know that many of you agree with me. But these fruits (botanically, they really are fruits, not vegetables) haven’t always been favorites.

In the 16th Century, botanists called tomatoes mala insana or “unhealthy apple”. Why? Tomatoes were thought to be poisonous since they are a member of the nightshade family. I suppose that IS unhealthy. This unfortunate belief continued in America long after Italians disproved it by making tomatoes a staple of their cuisine. In fact, it wasn’t until 1848 that the tomato was first mentioned in an American cookbook. And that was only to describe how to temper its taste. Luckily, some brave folks finally started eating and realized that

these gems were far from unhealthy. Today we know that besides great taste, tomatoes are filled with Vitamins C, A, B6 & E among other things. In addition, as many as 72 studies show that the more tomatoes and tomato products people eat, the lower their risk of many different kinds of cancer. Tomatoes contain lycopene, the cancer-fighting chemical that gives them their red color. Cooked tomatoes—including ketchup, tomato sauce, etc—have even more lycopene, since cooking breaks down cell walls and releases the chemical.

Tomatoes come in many different varieties. Salad tomatoes are small to medium in size and are not very juicy—perfect for a salad. Slicing tomatoes are large and are full of juice. Currant tomatoes, the closest we can find to wild tomatoes, are grown in South America and are very tiny and ultrasweet. Cherry and grape tomatoes are plentiful in the U.S. and are delicious in a salad or eaten out of hand. Some of the most popular and versatile tomatoes are the plum varieties, such as the Roma. Plum (or Paste) tomatoes are meaty and firm and are the favorites of sauce makers the world over.

Heritage or Heirloom tomatoes are becoming more available these days—mostly in specialty stores or farmers’ markets. They are grown from non-hybrid plants that have not been grown in large numbers.  These plants have been cultivated from those of the past—before cross pollination spoiled their uniqueness. The result is delicious fruit in a rainbow of colors—red, orange, yellow, purple, green and more. Many have patterns such as stripes or swirls. A colorful platter of heirloom tomatoes looks beautiful on your summer table.

Tomatoes ripen after being picked, but their sugars do not continue to develop, so taste won’t improve after being picked. When choosing fresh tomatoes, pick firm, brightly colored fruits that feel heavy for their size. They should also have a nice “tomatoey” smell to them. You should eat freshly picked tomatoes as soon as possible. Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator—they’ll get mealy and lose their flavor. Store them at room temperature with the stem side down.  This helps to prevent moisture from escaping and mold and bacteria from entering.

This truly is the time to enjoy the wonderful flavor of tomatoes. Did you ever taste a tomato from a supermarket that’s been shipped, artificially ripened and picked out of season? Yuck. These tasteless red balls can be sold as tomatoes, but they sure don’t taste like it. Out of season, use canned tomatoes. They’re

picked and canned at their ripest and have very good flavor.

But now in the heat of the summer fresh tomatoes are everywhere. So grab a salt shaker, sit out in the garden and let the juices flow!