Posting the weekly recipe suggestions from Conne Ward Cameron here on our website instead of Facebook now. — Editor July 6, 2016 Pickled Watermelon Rind Pickled Blueberries Shrimp and Corn Salad Roasted Corn and Tomato Salsa Spicy Thai Green Bean and Summer Squash Salad If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a recipe Read More…
Preparation:
Posting the weekly recipe suggestions from Conne Ward Cameron here on our website instead of Facebook now. — Editor
July 6, 2016
Pickled Watermelon Rind
Pickled Blueberries
Shrimp and Corn Salad
Roasted Corn and Tomato Salsa
Spicy Thai Green Bean and Summer Squash Salad
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a recipe junkie. I love recipes and seldom make the same thing twice. There are just too many flavors out there in the world to make the same things repeatedly. But this note has five recipes I’ve loved and are so good they may persuade me to make them at least one more time.
Did you get the most beautiful little watermelon in your box? Not quite personal size – big enough for a gorgeous fruit salad or just to munch on throughout a day or two.
I’ve been wanting to make pickled watermelon rind and am delighted to have an organic melon for just that purpose. Can I convince you to give pickling a try?
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Pickled Watermelon Rind
Martha McMillin of The Preserving Place suggests wrapping pickled watermelon rind in prosciutto for a great Southern twist on the traditional melon-prosciutto combination. Yum.
2 quarts watermelon rind, green rind removed, pink flesh eaten, cut the rind into small strips or squares, your preference
3 quarts water
3/4 cup salt
5 cups granulated sugar
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
1 tablespoon (about 48) whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 lemon, thinly sliced, with seeds removed
Stir up the 3 quarts water and 3/4 cup salt and make a brine. Put the watermelon rind strips or cubes into the brine and refrigerate overnight. You can do this in a bowl or a well-sealed plastic bag. After its soak, drain and rinse.
Put the watermelon into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until melon is tender, about 15 minutes. Don’t overcook. Drain and put in a large bowl.
In that same saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, 3 cups water, cloves, cinnamon sticks and allspice. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, then pour this over the melon. Add the lemon slices and again, refrigerate overnight.
The next day (last day, I promise), put everything back into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook one hour. Pack the hot pickles into canning jars and cover with syrup. Be sure to leave 1/2 inch head room. Allow to cool and then keep refrigerated until you eat them all. You aren’t canning these, so they’re not stable for shelf storage.
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Pickled Blueberries
Chefs are pickling things like crazy these days. It’s the same tradition that has kept food preserving going for centuries – the desire to put up the bounty of the season so it can be enjoyed throughout the year. This recipe is from chef Tyler Kord of New York City who created them to go with a sandwich of Brie, pistachios and chervil. I think they’d be delicious on any sandwich or with any dish where you might be thinking “chutney.”
This one is so simple you won’t believe it. No heating of anything.
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 pint blueberries
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, water and salt. When sugar and salt are dissolved, add blueberries and onion. Cover and refrigerate overnight before using. Done!
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Shrimp and Corn Salad
I’m back again from another quick trip to the beach with a few pounds of fresh Georgia shrimp. And with ears and ears of corn in my box, how can I resist this quick salad? Sorry I don’t remember the origins of this recipe.
1 pound raw shrimp, shelled
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more for seasoning cooking water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Kernels from 3 ears of corn
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced, optional
1 bell pepper, diced (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine shrimp, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and toss to coat. Set aside in refrigerator while you cook the corn.
Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add corn and cook until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Add shrimp to now-empty pot and cover with 3 cups cold water. Add remaining 1 tablespoon salt along with 1 tablespoon lime juice. Place over medium-high heat and heat until water is barely steaming. Add shrimp and turn off heat. Cover pot and leave shrimp in the hot water until it is pink and firm to the touch. Drain and when all the moisture is evaporated, add to the corn.
Combine cooked shrimp and corn with serrano pepper, bell pepper, cilantro, olive oil, and remaining lime juice. Toss to coat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
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Roasted Corn and Tomato Salsa
And since there were so many ears of corn, I can also make this salsa. It’s from Lyn Deardorff who is “Preserving Now” and demonstrated this recipe at the Freedom Farmers Market.
5 ears fresh corn, shucked
3 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped sweet or hot peppers
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Roast corn ears under broiler or on grill, turning until all sides are a deep golden brown. When cool, cut kernels from cob. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid reduced to about half. Ladle into 2 pint jars or 1 quart jar and refrigerate. This will keep up to one month in refrigerator.
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Spicy Thai Green Bean and Summer Squash Salad
This delicious salad is from Seriouseats.com. The beans get blanched, the squash is raw. The dressing is fabulous.
Kosher salt
3 medium cloves garlic
2 teaspoons Thai red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1 small green Thai chili or 1/2 small Serrano chili, finely chopped
1 tablespoon light brown palm sugar (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lime (more or less to taste)
All your green beans, cut into 1-inch segments
All your summer squash, split in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch disks
1 orange or grapefruit, rind removed, cut into segments
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine garlic, pepper flakes, and Thai chilies and process until smooth. Add sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice, and pound process the sugar is dissolved. Taste dressing and add more sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, or pepper flakes to taste. It should be strongly spicy, sweet, salty, and acidic.
Blanch beans in boiling water until bright green but still extremely crisp, about 1 minute. Drain and run under cold water to chill. Dry well on paper towels or in a salad spinner. Combine beans, squash, orange or grapefruit, mint, and dressing in a large bowl and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
–Conne Ward Cameron