From Cooking Light October 2010. Great with corn chips or fresh corn tortillas. Serve with pork or roast chicken if you eat meat, or a bean taco if you don’t.
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Tomato boxes fortified with makeshift critter barrier (masking tape and heating duct material)...
Earlier this fall I wrote about the challenges of backyard farming amidst a rampant rodent invasion.
For the story, click here: Gophers, Tomatoes and Peaceful Coexistence
Since that installment, friends have asked for a status update and I must sheepishly admit, the saga continues…
A little background – we live in a lovely area, just on the edge of development, rolling hills on one side, secluded creek on the other. Devoted nature lovers, we’re fortunate to catch glimpses of wild creatures every day – quail broods running across the yard, lizards climbing stucco walls, hawks, rabbits, deer and when we’re really lucky the occasional bobcat sighting at dusk. Unfortunately, there’s also a couple of critter varieties we’re less excited about – the toothy, subterranean pocket gopher, at work devouring unprotected roots. Perhaps even more notorious is the Norwegian roof rat, not just a household pest, an unseemly intruder in the kitchen garden as well.
For variation try adding some chopped olives or lemon zest. Some roughly chopped arugula and/or fresh spinach from this week’s farm bounty would be fantastic too!
“What’s that bulbous vegetable that looks like pregnant celery with giant feather stalks?”
– Anonymous CSA member
Perhaps you’ve also been wondering about the funny looking bulb that came in last week’s bag. If you happened to break off a wispy leaf and take a whiff you’d have been treated to the delicate, refreshing licorice like scent of the fennel plant. Native to the Mediterranean coast, fennel figures prominently in both raw and cooked dishes of the region. The bulb, delicate leaves, celery-like stalks and seeds are widely used. Fennel popularity extends as far eastward as India, where it is appreciated primarily for its seeds – for their medicinal properties as well as in cooking. In Hindi, the seeds are called sanf and they are consumed after meals as a breath freshener and digestive aid.
This basic recipe works with all kinds of leafy greens (and thinking slightly outside the box, even chopped broccoli). Add some toasted pine nuts for serving if you like or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Fold into cooked grains like nutty Italian farro or earthy brown rice. Serve on top of pasta with shaved Parmesan or stir into a pot of cooked lentils such as soupy, Indian mung dal or chewy, French lentilles du Puy.
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