In the crate this week:
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
2 Korean Melons
Chinese Melon
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Corn
Large tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Peaches
Plums
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I combined the cherry tomatoes with balls of fresh mozzarella marinated in olive oil and herbs (boconccini) for a fast and easy appetizer.
I used the large tomatoes to throw together a quick spaghetti pomodoro.
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Quick Pickles
We were headed to a BBQ, so I made some quick pickles with the massive amounts of cucumbers.
Simply heat a large amount of vinegar – I used half apple cider vinegar and half white – with sugar, dill, garlic, bay leaf, and mustard seed. Pour over sliced cucumbers and onions and chill, stirring to distribute the flavor.
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Browsing my favorite food blog led me to a recipe that was quick and easy, and perfect for my ingredients: Corn Tacos with Zucchini Slaw!
To make the zucchini slaw – julienne the zucchini and sprinkle with lime juice and salt. This would have been much easier with a mandoline, but alas I had to go it by hand.
Saute shallots (for a nice onion plus garlic flavor) and corn in butter and oil (butter for flavor, oil so that is doesn’t burn), then top with more lime juice.
Then, simply heat your tortillas and build your tacos! Top with cheese if you’d like, but I don’t think that they need it.
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I decided to throw the plums into a quick Plum Crumble dessert – fast, easy, delicious.
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Cut in butter to make the topping.
Pit and quarter the plums.
Place plums in a dish, top with crumble topping, dot with more butter.
Bake until the crumble is golden and the plums are bubbling.
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Peaches and Cream Pie
With these gorgeous peaches, I decided to make a pie out of my Martha Stewart book. It is very simple – using only the peaches, creme fraiche, and a streusel to make a custard-like filling. It is not very sweet, making it elegant and different from your standard crumble or pie.
Start with a Pate Sucree crust (sturdier and more tender than the flaky Pate Brisee), which you then par bake.
Pit and quarter the peaches, sprinkle with sugar.
Spread creme fraiche into the bottom of the shell, sprinkle with a streusel mixture.
Arrange the peaches in the shell, dot with creme fraiche, sprinkle with more streusel.
Bake, cool, and enjoy!
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Quick Pickles
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp mustard seed
2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 tsp dried dill (4 tbsp fresh)
2 bay leaves
4 kirby cucumbers or 1 english cucumber, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Heat the vinegars in a saucepan with sugar, mustard seed, salt, garlic. Stir in the dill and bay leave. Pour over the cucumbers and onion, stir to coat. Chill before serving. Can be frozen.
Corn Tacos with Zucchini Slaw
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 2
1 small (4 to 5 ounces) zucchini, long and narrow if you can find it
1 lime
Salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for tortillas
2 small shallots, finely sliced
2 ears corn, kernals removed
pinch chili powder (optional)
4 small flour tortillas
Cut zucchini into tiny matchsticks with a mandoline or julienne by hand. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the zucchini and season with salt to taste.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Melt the butter and oil together and once hot, add the shallots. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the raw corn kernels and sauté until corn is just cooked through, about three to five minutes. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the corn mixture, and use the juice to scrape up any stuck bits. Season the corn mixture with salt and chili powder (if using). Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the skillet.
Return the skillet to the heat and brush lightly with oil. Cook each tortilla for about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, until lightly blistered.
Fill each taco with a few small spoonfuls of the corn mixture. Top with a spoonful of the zucchini slaw. Serve with whatever toppings you like (crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream, avocado wedges, lime wedges, etc).
Plum Crumble
Adapted from Real Simple
Serves 4
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
8 to 10 ripe plums, pitted and quartered
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and combine. Add 3 tablespoons of the butter and combine with a pastry cutter or 2 forks until it reaches a crumble. Place the plums in the dish and top with the crumble. Dot with the remaining butter. Bake about 1 hour or until golden.
Peaches and Cream Pie
from Martha Stewart
For the Pate Sucree:
1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 tbsp ice water, plus more if needed
For the Streusel:
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For the Filling:
1 1/2 lbs ripe (4 to 5 medium) yellow peaches, pitted and quartered
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 tbsp creme fraiche
Make the pate sucree: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add egg yolk, and pulse. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube until dough just holds together. Turn out dough onto a work surface; shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
Make the streusel: Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using your hands or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9 1/2- or 10-inch pie plate (about 1 1/2 inches deep). Trim edge to 1 inch; fold under, and crimp as desired. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Transfer to freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover edge of crust with foil. Line crust with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake, covered, 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment (keep foil on edge). Bake until pale golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly; remove foil; reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Make the filling: Put peaches into a medium bowl, and sprinkle with sugar and salt; gently toss to coat. let stand 15 minutes. Spread 2 tablespoons creme fraiche onto bottom of crust; sprinkle with one-third of the streusel. Arrange peaches on top; spread or dot with remaining 3 tablespoons creme fraiche. Sprinkle with remaining streusel.
Bake pie until creme fraiche is bubbling and streusel is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cover edge of crust with foil if it’s browning too quickly. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.