Recipes/Food ideas
Wendy Gordon's PEACH CHUTNEY
This summer’s hot spells produced an especially delicious and abundant local peach crop. Unfortunately fresh peaches don’t last very long and there’s only so much peach jam and peach cobbers one can eat. This savory peach chutney captures the nuances of fresh peaches as well as any pie and serves as a wonderful accompaniment to sandwiches or Sephardic dishes.
About 10 firm peaches or unpeeled nectarines
2 cups golden raisins, dried cherries, apricots, or currants
One and one half cups chopped onions
1 cup cider vinegar
One-half cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 hot peppers (jalapenos work well), minced
2 tsp ground coriander
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp kosher salt
One-half tsp turmeric
1) Plunge the fruit into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove, plunge into cold water and strip off the peels. Chop into half inch pieces.
2) Combine all the ingredients in a heavy 2-3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by about one half and the mixture has a syrupy texture.
3) The chutney can be canned using the boiling water method or frozen in half pint containers.
Local honey for Rosh Hashanah by Liz Schwartz
Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate the New Year than with local apples and honey? Sourcing your ritual foods locally is as easy as a trip to your nearest farmer's market.
My favorite honey is sold by Mark and Sue Johnson under the name Nature's Best Oregon Honey, at the Hollywood Farmer's Market. They produce a number of flavors, including berry (to die for), clover, and my newest discovery, Meadowfoam, which has to be tasted to be believed.
The Johnsons also sell their honey at Uncle Paul's Market, located at 2310 SE Hawthorne Blvd., in inner SE. If you live on the west side of town and have a great honey source, share it with us! Send us an email at csa@portlandtuv.org and we'll publicize it on our web site. Not sure where to find your nearest farmers' market? Visit http://www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org/directory/directory.html.
Chana's Mint Limeade (served on our Garden Bike Tour on June 28)
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
3 limes wedges, plus additional slices for granish
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
sugar or honey to taste
2 cups water
Club soda
Muddle the mint leaves and lime wedges in the bottom of a large pitcher. Add lime juice, water, honey or sugar and mix thoroughly. Top off with club soda, to taste. Pour into glasses over ice and serve. Garnish each glass with a lime wedge and mint sprigs, if desired. You can also add white rum to this if you like.
Indian Black Garbanzo Humus by Chana Andler
(served at our kickoff event on May 31)
Ingredients
Soak beans overnight. Drain. Put beans in a pot. Add 4 cups water + 1 tsp salt to the beans. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2+ hours till beans are tender. Stir occasionally.
When beans are cooked, chop onion and garlic and add to beans, along with garam marsala, chili powder, cumin and 4 TBSP lemon juice. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper as needed. The beans can now be served as part of an Indian meal.
To turn them into humus, let cool. Then, put into a food processor with 3 TBSP lemon juice. Use the knife blade to puree. As it is pureeing, drizzle in olive oil until it reaches the consistency you like for humus. Correct the seasonings (add additional, salt, lemon juice, or cumin as needed). Serve with pita and/or raw veggies.
**Note: Kala Channa is sold locally in Portland by Trikona Food Inc. (503-617-9507). I bought my beans at Sheridan Produce on MLK, but if you contact the company they can probably tell you other local stores where they distribute their products.