Sunday 17 November 2019

Edible tidbits


This post should have gone out ages ago but it somehow slipped down the list.  Never mind, it gives you another glimpse of summer as winter begins and downunder summer is somewhere in the air.




Dill
We use a lot of dill in our cooking.  In the winter a lettuce salad is not greek without some finely chopped dill.  It's essential for any spinach dish and stewed peas with tomatoes always have a good handful of fresh dill.  Or freshly frozen.  It can be hard to find in the summer so I wash it and freeze it in bunches in plastic bags.  When I need it I don't need to defrost, it crumbles easily straight into the pot


Capers are at their best in July when they are picked and preserved.  I love the leaves and the buds but leaves are hard to find.  My daughter always brings back bags of salted capers when she visits her sister-in-law on the island of Paros (not Poros). They are extremely salty which means they last for ages.  I put the capers in a big jar and fill it up with water, nothing else.  The water becomes salty and the capers less so.  I love them in salads.
We do have capers growing around us but the plant has big sharp thorns and it is a lot of hard work picking enough to pickle.  They are also mainly found on the side of the road and I'm put off by the thought of car fumes and dogs lifting legs.


The last of my sourdough.  I lost my starter when the power went off for two days.  Being mid-summer, and a heat wave, it was in the fridge and I didn't even think of it as the fridge temperature went down and the sourdough temperature went up.  By the time I found the bowl it had actually formed a thick layer of green mould.  Such a pity.  I had that starter for over 5 years.


Preparing fresh tomato sauce to freeze for the winter





A simple Greek salad
On every table at just about every meal
Thank goodness it's the season for lettuces and cabbages!


 
                                         

Watermelon is another summer staple.  This year we found much smaller ones with a thinner skin at the market.  They were perfect for us.  Those huge 10 kilo watermelons were just too large for two people to consume.





17 comments:

  1. I often think what you say about roadside caper collecting when I see people collecting blackberries.

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    1. Animals and passing cars make a lot of pollution. Lots of people here pick greens from the side of the road. Definitely wouldn't want to eat those

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  2. Always hate to see a watermellon come into the house! Too hard to get all eaten!

    That salad looks delicious.

    Perfect to have fresh dill. Sadly we don't grow anything but flowers now.

    Enjoy!

    ❄ ❄ ❄ ❄

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    1. Watermelons be are just too big for the two of us. We were really pleased to see these small ones.

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  3. I love the flavour of fresh dill but it is not easily found so I usually have to grow it myself. Your suggestion with peas and tomatoes sounds delicious.
    I'm sorry you lost your sourdough starter. I hope you can get another plant going that will last you just as long as this one did.

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    1. I tried to make a new starter but it didn't take. It was too hot then I think. I've started another one now. Cross fingers

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  4. Here, dill is mostly used for chicken soup, but there is a lot of similarity between Greek and our food.

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    1. Chicken soup is one thing we don't add dill to...here. it would add great flavour

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  5. I eat huge amounts of Capers; both the flower buds and the seeds. I once heard someone saying that they FRIED lumps of Watermelon; I have yet to try it.

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    1. I've heard of all sorts of wierd things made with watermelon. Watermelon pie for a start. Can't imagine that of fried watermelon. Cold and fresh is definitely the best

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  6. That looks a delicious watermelon and I like the look of the Greek Salad as well.

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    1. That was a very simple salad. Just our daily dish

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  7. Noticed you grow Nasturtium.Did you know the once they have flowered and the seeds form they can go brined and are a brilliant substitute for capers

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    1. I have heard that but for some reason never tried to pickle them. They are now on my list. Along with cros walnuts.

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  8. I had a mistake, it is bookdepsitory.

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  9. I might try and grow more dill this year
    I lost my herb garden when the crate I had planted it in finally rotted and crumbled away
    Might look into getting some large concrete ones this time

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  10. oh Greek salad - my favourite but I confess I've never cooked with Dill, perhaps I should try it.

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