Pacific Northwest Harvest Calendar

S P R I N G
asparagus	chard	chicories	lettuce greens
strawberries	onions	herbs	spices
E A R L Y _ S U M M E R
apricots	beans	blueberries	cherries
herbs	edible flowers	peas	mixed greens
onions	raspberries	squash blossoms	strawberries
summer squash	zucchinni	chard	spices
L A T E _ S U M M E R
beans	blackberries	blueberries	edible flowers
figs	chard	leeks	peaches
peppers	plums	squash blossoms	summer squash
tomatoes	herbs	spices	mixed greens
A U T U M N
apples	blackberries	cardoons	chestnuts
chicories	edible flowers	grapes	herbs
leeks	mixed greens	peaches	pears
peppers	plums	radicchio	tomatoes
winter squash	spices	beans

This year's seed starts: arugula, basil, beets, parsley, apple (unknown variety), citrus (unknown variety, maybe a grapefruit), sugar snap peas, cherry tomato (hybrid).

Perennials from last year: blueberry, garlic, green onion, strawberries (Hood River)

Thinking about, but haven't planted yet: sugar pumpkin, corn, watermelon

Basic Pizza Dough, take 2

I am muckying around with what was a pretty decent recipe to start with. I had all this leftover whey from making cheese and thought.. hmm, what to do with it. I am also experimenting with added gluten, specifically Bob's Red Mill Gluten Flour. The whey was still warm from making cheese, but I heated it up again and let it cool to 110 degrees F before adding it to the flour. Supposedly using a pizza dough made only from all-purpose flour yields a chewy crust and a flour rich with gluten makes a crispier crust; well, this ingredient ratio will see what it really does.

Also, the last few pizzas were baked on the middle rack. I think I may just use the bottom rack in the oven. I did manage to procure an Italian-made pizza stone; but it is slow to heat up.

Ingredients Used

3 1/2 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tbsp BRM gluten flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 envelope)
1 tsp organic granulated sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 c. whey (or water heated to 110 degrees F)
2 tbsp olive oil

This batch is resting-to-rise in an olive-oiled gallon-size resealable freezer bag in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 lbs.

Homemade Herbed Cheese

This is my first attempt making farmer's cheese from scratch. Since it is a trial run, I am only using a quart of whole milk rather than a gallon. Now I have to figure out what to do with the leftover whey. The next time you look at mozzarella cheese prices at the grocery store, it takes a gallon of milk to make one pound. A quart of milk makes roughly 6 oz of cheese. If only the dairy farm near my neighborhood sold direct to consumers, then I could really call it a farm-to-table recipe. Who knows where Trader Joe's gets its milk. When I buy that organic stuff from Fred Meyers, it trucks in from half way across the country. At least the herbs came from the garden.

Ingredients

1 quart whole milk
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice (used two medium lemons)
kosher salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp each fresh herbs, finely minced (used thyme, chives, and garlic)

Directions

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat milk over low-medium until the liquid temperature is 180 degrees F.

2. Stir in lemon juice and wait for curds to form.

3. Ladle curds into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and let drain over a bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours. You can also gather the edges of the cheesecloth and tie it with butchers twine at the top.

4. Once all the whey has been drained, transfer cheese to a small bowl and mix in salt and fresh herbs. Store cheese in a sealable container in the refrigerator for another 2-3 hours before serving.

Tomato curry rice

This recipe uses Alton Brown's method of making brown rice, except I cook for one and this is too much rice for me to eat, even for a couple days. Only white rice has a 1:1 ratio with water. Brown rice has more substance to it and requires a bit more water.

Basic recipe

1 c. brown rice (long grain like basmati, or short grain)
1 1/2 c. water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
pinch of saffron (optional)
pinch of salt

1. In a small saucepan, boil water, butter, and saffron (optional) together.

2. In an 8" x 8" baking pan (preferably glass), add rice pour water-butter liquid over it. Cover with a heat-proof lid or with aluminum foil.

No need to preheat the oven. You can put this into the oven as it heats up, just set the timer for 10 minutes longer, depending on how fast the oven comes up to temperature.

3. Bake at 375 degrees F for an hour.

Tomato curry rice

Instead of using water/butter/saffron as the liquid, use an equal amount of the sauce from the tomato curry chicken recipe, up to 2 cups of liquid for half a cup of brown basmati rice (long grain).

This dish tastes a lot like a rice pilaf or a rice dish that you'd find at an Indian restaurant. I'm sure someone has given this rice cooking method a name.

Tomato curry chicken

This is basically two dishes mixed together. This is tomato soup plus an already baked sweet potato that was diced, and a batch of curry chicken. The curry chicken is a family recipe.

Curry Chicken

4 tsp mild curry powder + 1 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped (optional, if you like it spicy)
about 1 lb chicken parts, such as drumsticks

Directions

1. In a small prep bowl, combine curry powder and water to form a paste.

2. In a kettle, bring several cups of water to a boil. Set aside.

3. In a 2-quart pan (with a lid), heat olive oil until it spreads easily across the pan. Add the curry paste and stir until the oil is fragrant with the smell of curry. Quickly add the chicken and brown the sides of the chicken.

4. Add soy sauce and chili pepper. Then fill the pan with boiling water until the chicken is submerged.

5. Cover the pan with its lid and cook the chicken over low-medium heat for 45 minutes. If you were using a glass, enamel, or stainless steel pan, you could also bake this covered in the oven at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Tomato curry chicken

One batch of curry chicken, cooked
One batch of tomato soup
One baked sweet potato, diced (optional)

In the same pan that has the chicken, add the tomato soup and diced sweet potato. Cook until the liquid has reduced somewhat. Serve over rice.