Food, Glorious Food
June 2014
Summer is here! Many mark the beginning of summer with Memorial Day weekend, the first barbeque or the opening of the pool. For me? Summer has started when I resume my weekly Saturday visits to my favorite farmers’ market.
On my first 12 mile journey to my favorite market this past weekend, I thought about all of the fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, breads, eggs and meats that grace the tables every year and all of the wonderful opportunities for that are available for a delicious meal.
Here’s to a delicious summer!
Where Is My Local Farmers' Market, Roadside Stand
or Pick-It Yourself Farm?
New Jersey Department of Agriculture
Search by county to find your favorite market, stand or farm. This site also has information about when specific fruits and vegetables are in season.
Canning and Preserving
It is a sad day when you pull the last jar of tomatoes from the cupboard or bag of cauliflower from the freezer. The flavors of last summer that once occupied your winter pantry are gone and the cabinet is patiently waiting for this year’s crop. Here are a couple of new canning and preserving favorites as they focus on small batches – you can do this on a Saturday afternoon.
Food in Jars: preserving in small batches year-round by Marisa McClellan
Love this book! Well written, great information and fabulous pictures that take you almost step-by-step from beginning to end.
Pickled: from curing lemons to fermenting cabbage, the gourmand's ultimate guide to the world of pickling by Kelly Carrolata
From the how to’s and the recipes to make your favorite pickle, to what you do now with your pickled product. Yum!
Pickles & Preserves by Andrea Weigl
Salty and sweet! A favorite combination! This book contains recipes that can be refrigerated or frozen for later use. Great for someone who would like to try a batch of pickles or jelly but does not own the equipment to create shelf stable food products.
Saving the Season: the essential guide to home canning, pickling, and preserving by Kevin West
This book is set up by season - Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter - making it easier to identify what is available and how to plan. It contains excellent sections on food safety, equipment and the overall basics. Beautiful pictures, too!
Fermentation
For many summers when I was growing up, there would be a couple of crocks in the dining room under the windows. If you carefully pulled back the linen dish towels from the top, you may have been lucky to catch a glimpse of cucumber becoming a pickle or cabbage become sauerkraut. I now make pickles in the refrigerator and only small batches of sauerkraut.
However, my favorite was the fresh warm yogurt my pulled from the oven once a week. My sister and I would have it for breakfast with a spoonful of homemade strawberry jam. It was best when it was still warm. Unfortunately, I do not make my own yogurt but I have gotten hooked on the fresh cheeses from the farmers’ market that I have ventured into cheese making territory. (By the way, I am going to try making beer before the summer is out – supposedly, it is a little easier than wine.)
Artisan Cheese Making at Home: techniques and recipes for mastering world-class cheeses by Mary Karlin
My favorite cheese-making reference! The book is dedicated to how to make everything from cultured cheeses (sour cream and yogurt) to aged hard cheeses (parmesan and romano) and everything in between. Includes milk suggestions, possible substitutions and start to finish times that are highly defined (making, ripening, pressing, and draining)
Making Great Cheese: 30 simple recipes from cheddar to chevre by Barbara Ciletti
This how-to has easy to read instructions to make some of the most commonly recognized cheeses. The recipes start at the easiest and progress in difficulty.
Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
This book has extensive chapters on ingredients, equipment and technique that are very well written and easy to understand. It also has the best troubleshooting section that clearly states possible problems, a series of possible causes and what possible solutions exist.
Sausage! How to make and serve delicious homemade chorizo, bratwurst, sobrasada, and more by Johan Akerberg and Jesper Lindberg
&
Sausage: recipes for making and cooking homemade sausage by Victoria Wise
Interested in making a little bit of sausage for that cheese? Many farmers’ markets have a farmer that offers meat. Instead of putting it on the grill try grinding it for sausage! I am not a meat eater, so my father (son of a butcher) chose these title as they have a great variety of flavor profile and proteins .I like that they both contain a vegetarian option!
My Favorite Summer Cookbooks
When I am seeking inspiration for a wonderful summer meal, I will most likely search my personal library for one of the following cookbooks for a few ideas. These are my favorites and they either present very seasonal recipes or they gently remind of the best of summer.
Eating Local: the cookbook inspired by America’s farms by Sur la Table and Janet Fletcher
A cookbook for the home chef of all skill levels. It provides easy to understand explanations of techniques and some of the reasons why. The final plates are sophisticated with a sense of simplicity. My person favorite is Grilled Pound Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
Cooking from the Farmers’ Market by Tasha DeSerio
Great cookbook if you don’t know what something is or how to prepare it. My personal favorites are Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, Shallots and Asiago (p. 48) and Grilled Peaches with Honey and Black Pepper (p. 230).
The Way We Cook: Recipes from the New American Kitchen by Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven
My overall favorite cookbook for year-round entertaining. This cookbook has my pickled red onion recipe and everyone’s summer favorite … Shrimp, corn, red potato, and green bean boil with dipping sauces. A great meal for the picnic table which is covered with newspaper and served on paper plates!
The Beach House Cookbook by Barbara Scott–Goodman
Bring the Hamptons to New Jersey with feasts that reflect the sea with farm flavors. Real crowd pleasers that are quick and easy to make!
The Nourished Kitchen: farm-to-table recipes for the traditional foods lifestyle : featuring bone broths, fermented vegetables, grass-fed meats, wholesome fats, raw dairy, and kombuchas by Jennifer McGruther
Found this cookbook while browsing the shelves of my local library and wanted a copy for my personal library. The recipes vary from the simple to the complex but what I really liked is that there is a focus on unprocessed, unrefined ingredients.
List created by:
Donna Perkosky
Public Relations & Adult Programming Coordinator, Paramus Public Library
