fiddlehead ferns

Fiddlehead ferns have arrived. These were harvested nearby by local foragers. I hope to find my own spot some time. The edible fern here is the Ostrich Fern. I'll be looking for it this summer. The fiddleheads are only around for about two weeks; then the ferns unroll and become poisonously inedible.

I steamed the fiddleheads and then rinsed them in cold water. The steaming water turned a dark tea color. Supposedly the steaming or blanching removes a bitter flavor and possible carcinogens. The fiddleheads definitely were not bitter after cooking. I souteed them in butter with garlic, then added lemon juice. It was good, but too reminiscent of shrimp scampi. Next time I would use a cider vinegar in place of the lemon juice.

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what is this plant?

It is apparently a popular ornamental plant, but I don't know what it's called.

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container tomatoes

The local humane society had a garden sale / bake sale this past weekend and we picked up two cheap tomato seedlings. There's no place for a garden, so I'm trying a container garden this year. I'm basing my efforts on the blog Backyard Granger, the owner of which produced great tomatoes in the same 5-gallon buckets I'm using. This variety of tomato was labeled "patio" and is supposed to be good for growing in containers. Not much to say about them yet - all I did was drill holes in the buckets, add rocks and dirt, and plant the tomatoes. We'll see how they do. I have them in a bright sunny place between the electric meters and the driveway.

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leek and olive tart

An excellent recipe for leeks.

This recipe is from Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville.

Ingredients:
1 recipe tart dough, with 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest added
1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
3 medium leeks, thinly sliced and washed
salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 to 10 good black olives
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 Tb dried parsley
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
2 oz. parmesan cheese, grated

1) Make tart dough
2) cook leeks in olive oil until tender. Toss leeks with olives, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper
3) preheat ovent to 375
4) Beat eggs, mix with hald-ald-half, salt, pepper, and lemon zest
5) Spread cheese over bottom of tart dough. Add leeks and olives. Pour in egg mixture. Bake about 40 minutes or until set.

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couscous salad

This recipe for Israeli couscous with roasted butternut squash and preserved lemon. comes from Epicurious. It's very, very tasty and quite quick once you make the preserved lemon. You should try it! Preserving the lemon takes about three weeks.

To make preserveld lemons:
Start with a large, sterile jar.
Take enough lemons to fill the jar, plus one extra. Rinse and then cut four lengthwise slits in each lemon. Rub sea salt into the slits and pack the lemons into the jar. Fill with fresh lemon juice, leaving 1/2 inch at the top. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 3 weeks. We vary the Epicurious recipe slightly by adding the flesh of the preserved lemon, not just the peel.

If you can't find Israeli couscous, you can use other small pasta like orzo or something else that size such as pastina.

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