Category Archives: vegetables

Jul 29 7 comments
appetizers, garden, preserving, vegetables

Pickled Tomatoes

I love pickles. Pickled okra, pickled cucumber, pickled onions, pickled squash, pickled tomatoes, pickled peppers, pickled you name it. Year round they are my go to hit-the-spot salty treat. I can’t imagine a world without pickles. This summer I planted five or six yellow pear tomato plants. Unfortunately, two of the ones planted in our backyard garden have already died because of the record high temperatures and others are looking pathetic. At the community garden, however, it’s a different story. Two have merged to form a giant mega tomato bush. It’s at least 5 feet in diameter and has overtaken three or four other plants. It has literally hundreds of tomatoes growing on it and I could not be happier. It’s my mega-mater. I’ve named him Ernest.

Since we’re drowning in tiny yellow tomatoes I decided do some small batch pickling. Two or three jars at a time I’m throwing these suckers in a spicy vinegar bath to stew until sometime midwinter when I’m sick of potatoes and all I want in my life is a burst of tomatoey goodness.

*If you’re a Baltimorean and around this weekend you should come see Fluid Movement perform at Patterson Park. I’m in the Boom Boom Room, come find me after the show!

Pickled Tomatoes

*This recipe will work for small ripe tomatoes such as these or any variety of green tomato

Enough tomatoes to fill all your jars

6 pint sized canning jars with lids and bands

3 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

3 1/2 cups water

6 tbsp red pepper flakes

12 cloves garlic

2 tbsp salt

6 tsps whole mustard seeds

6 tsps whole cumin seeds

1 jalapeño, sliced

Begin by sterilizing your jars. About an hour before you want to can fill two large pots with water. I recommend that you have some canning equipment, at the very least a large pot with a rack and a pair of tongs. You’ll need a separate pot for sterilizing your jars and lids. Bring both pots of water to a boil. In one pot (the one without a lid) place your jars and the lids (not the screw bands). Allow them to boil for at least 10 minutes, but keep them in the pot until right before you fill them.

In a non reactive sauce pan heat vinegar, water, and salt.

Rinse the tomatoes. In each sterilized jar, place two cloves of garlic, one slice of jalapeño, 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, and as many tomatoes as you can pack in tightly. Ladle vinegar mixture into each jar, leaving about 1/4″ headspace. Wipe the rim down, place a clean lid on each jar, and screw band on tightly. Process in your large pot (with rack) for 10 minutes. Remove from water, give the band another squeeze, and allow to sit. Once the jars have sealed (you’ll know if you can’t pop the lid up and down), set them in a cool, dark place for at least two weeks. They will stay for up to a year.

**As with any preservation process, there are risks. If you notice anything abnormal, discard the pickles immediately. Botulism is no fun.**

Jun 11 1 comments
grilled, barbequed, smoked, and fried, vegetables

Grilled Asparagus

This time of year is one of my favorites.  It’s finally warm , the markets are bursting with fruits and vegetables after what seems like a hundred years of waiting (and potatoes).  Yes, we make exceptions.  We say goodbye to the un-airconditioned kitchen and hot coffee.  We welcome sorbet, cold showers, and (perhaps most importantly) the grill, back into our lives.

The past month everything we’ve cooked has been on the grill. We’ve rotated through different combinations of grilled vegetables and meats, relishing in the time outdoors, the charred flavors that unique to summertime.  With nothing but a little oil and vinegar the grill brings all manner of things to life.  For now, we’ll savor the season.

Grilled Asparagus

10-12 asparagus stalks

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt & pepper

Toss the asparagus in the oil & vinegar.  Salt and pepper.  Grill for 3-5 minutes.  Turn, grill another 3-5 minutes or until tender.

Jan 26 4 comments
roasted meats and veggies, vegetables

Roasted Chicken & Root Vegetables

This year we managed to make Christmas last until January 15th.  One benefit of having large families spread all over the country is that there’s a great excuse to celebrate and celebrate and celebrate.  We started in the beginning of December with my grandparents, visiting a beautiful lighted garden and enjoying a nice dinner.  After that we (I) broke all rules about withholding presents until, you know, Christmas, and started giving Dan his presents a little at a time.  That was a great idea.  Next came Meredith’s dance recital and Amelie’s baptism.  We love nieces.  After that we headed to North Carolina to do Christmas with my family.  We were so lucky that we were able to see aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings, and friends.  Once we returned we had a week of New Year’s downtime before we celebrated first with Dan’s parents and then the next weekend with Megan, John & the nieces.  These last two celebrations were at our house, which gave me the opportunity to cook recipes I’d had tucked away for company, something I love to do.

For these celebrations I made a roasted chicken on a bed of root vegetables, rice, sauteed beet greens, and a lemon meringue pie.  The first week the pie was a disaster (because I used tapioca beads, silly me) but the second week it was silky and perfect.  The flip side, of course is that the fudge I made for the Turcotte family to take home the second week was grainy and totally off.  Because- and I say this in all seriousness- there is no such thing as a perfect meal when I have company. Something always goes wrong.

The roasted chicken, however, was perfect.  Rubbed down with butter and stuffed with garlic cloves it had brown crunchy skin and moist, flavorful meat.  The vegetables were bursting with flavor, all pink from the beets in the mix.  It was a wonderful meal to wrap up this year’s Christmas celebrations!  And now that the decorations are down, I’ll just need it to be spring… immediately (closes eyes and ignores freezing rain outside the window).

The nieces and I with their new Christmas hats! Photo by Dan

Roasted Chicken & Root Vegetables

1 whole chicken

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp salt

8-10 cloves garlic

3 beets

4-6 medium size carrots

3 red potatoes

1 large vidalia onion

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt & pepper

1 hour before you’re ready to cook your chicken, take your chicken out of the fridge.  Remove the innards, rinse with cold water, and allow to come to room temperature.  Also allow your butter to come to room temp.  Tie legs together.

Begin by rubbing your chicken down with butter.  Then, cut slits throughout the body and legs of the chicken.  Stuff each slit with a clove of garlic.  Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 475.

Peel and dice your beets and carrots.  Cube your potatoes and cut your onion into large chunks.  Place all vegetables into a large roasting dish.  Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Make a bed in the vegetables and place the chicken on top.

Cook at 475 for 20 minutes and then lower the temperature to 400.  Cook an additional 45 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.  Baste with juices.

Nov 12 1 comments
beans, slaws, quiches, mashers, and casseroles, holiday, vegetables

Butter Beans

The hardest thing about being a vegetarian in the south is that everything, especially the vegetables, has pork in it.  I’m not kidding.  It’s hard to find a dish that hasn’t been slow cooked with ham hocks, started with drippings, or sprinkled with bacon.  When I was a vegetarian it drove me up the wall.  These days I’m more accepting of the pork life but I still find that I save those vegetables- ones that have been cooked to oblivion in a ham bath, for special occasions.  And while some people I know would have you believe that a green bean can’t be cooked any other way, I tend to disagree.  Until the holidays, that is.  So, for my last savory recipe of Thanksgiving 2010, I bring you a family favorite- butter beans. Cooked with love and bacony goodness, these are butter beans done right.

For other holiday recipes, see our Guide to Holiday Eating.  And with that, I’m off to take care of my face, which is less its wisdom teeth and experiencing all sorts of discomfort.

Butter Beans

2 tbsp butter

1 lb bacon

1 large yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

1 lb butter beans, shelled

2 cups vegetable stock

Salt & pepper to taste

Cook your bacon until cooked through, but not crisp.  In a medium pot melt butter. Dice onion and garlic.  Saute in butter until translucent.  Add butter beans.  Stir in vegetable stock and bacon.  Season with salt & pepper.  Allow to cook, over low heat, for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Cook until soft, add more stock if necessary.

Oct 26 4 comments
holiday, roasted meats and veggies, vegetables

Balsamic Mushrooms

This weekend I went to Charleston, SC to visit my bff Megan.  This week Megan is turning 25, and to mark this special occasion (and help prevent a quarter life crisis) I flew down on Friday and spent a long weekend taking in the beauty (and warmth) of the south.  Charleston is one of my favorite places with its history, culture, and charm.

After a weekend of eating (wonderfully) out, I told Megan that on Sunday I was going to teach her how to cook something.  Megan’s experience in the kitchen is limited, though I’ve been trying slowly to domesticate her over the years.  One of these days it’s going to stick.  So on Sunday we made brisket (recipe to come on iVillage this week), balsamic mushrooms, and tarheel pie.

While the brisket and pie were both delicious, these mushrooms stole the show.  Cooked over low heat for four hours in butter, balsamic vinegar, and red wine, they were so intensely flavored and delicious.  They were hands down the best mushrooms I’ve ever eaten and I love mushrooms.  They’ll have a place on my holiday table this year.

Speaking of the holidays, this is the official kick off of Thanksgiving 2010 recipe season. Starting today, over the next few weeks, I’ll be bringing you this year’s Thanksgiving recipes.  I’ll also post links to our tried and true holiday favorites.  In other news, I was the featured blogger on A Bloggable Life yesterday.  It’s a nice little feature that, I’ll admit, I really opened myself up for.  I’d love to hear what you think.  And, of course, be sure to wish Miss Margaret Elizabeth Patrylick a happy 25th birthday.  She needs your good thoughts, girl is a hot mess.

Balsamic Mushrooms

2 lbs button mushrooms

1/2 bottle red wine (merlot)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 stick butter

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp cumin

In a deep dish combine mushrooms, wine, vinegar, cubed butter, salt, pepper, and cumin.  Cook at 315 for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.