Notes on Spring Produce

Another amazing week of vegetables. That head of romaine is just right for grilling – if you’re so inclined. I shared directions for grilling lettuce a few weeks ago, but basically – wash the head, cut it in half lengthwise, brush the cut sides with olive oil and grill. Dress it with a simple vinaigrette. Read More…

CSA Salad with Buttermilk-Green Onion Dressing

The gorgeous head of lettuce in my CSA box made me run for the salad bowl. Slice up the radishes you don’t put into a sandwich, add the cucumbers and then make this simple dressing. You could sliver some of the Napa cabbage into your salad as well. And what about boiling up a few of those eggs and adding egg halves? Now you’ve got a perfect lunch or light dinner.

Cucumber Cooler

A recipe without provenance. Simple syrup is a mixture of one part granulated sugar and one part water, heated enough to dissolve the sugar. It will keep in your refrigerator for weeks and is the perfect way to sweeten iced tea – no undissolved sugar in the bottom of the glass.

Homemade Refrigerator Pickles

The contents of a box like this one just beg to be turned into refrigerator pickles. You should have just enough cucumbers for this recipe. You’ll use a pepper or two, and if you’ve still got an onion around (mine are all gone – sadly), then you’ve got most everything you need. This makes a sort of bread-and-butter pickle. Other fresh refrigerator pickles don’t use sugar and add garlic and dill to make a kosher style pickle. There’ll be a million recipes online.

Cucumber Soup

Yes, Virginia, you can eat cooked cucumbers. (Goodness, am I the only one old enough to get that reference?)
Probably 2 years ago I put out a recipe that called for adding peeled chunks of cucumber to a stir fry. You put them in just at the last minute and cook only until the cucumbers are heated through, stopping before they lose their crunch. Really delicious.

And we’ve a recipe or two for cold cucumber soups, usually yogurt- or buttermilk-based, and with the cucumbers used raw. This recipe for a soup with cooked cucumbers is from Paige Witherington of Serenbe Farms. She adapted it from “Home Made” by Yvette Van Boven.