Category Archives: Recipes

Pickle Success

Posted by marisa rosemellia in Recipes and tagged with , , , ,

The other day, I decided to make some pickles…. I just threw some salt and pepper in a pot with water and brought it to a boil. I stuffed some sliced cucumbers, dill, and garlic in a jar. I poured the hot water into the jar and stuck it into the refrigerator. The next day…

PICKLE FAIL!

Ugh – They were gross… really, really salty. I definitely thought about my method a little more before I tried again.

Needless to say… my next batch was very well thought out. Here’s how I made my brine:

3 cups water

1 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp whole black peppercorns

I got my cucumbers from the Lancaster Farm Fresh stand at central market.

One jar included pickling cucumbers, dill, and smashed garlic cloves.

Another jar included a sliced lemon cucumber, sliced small white cucumbers, smashed garlic, and dill.

The last little jar included the left over pickling cucumbers and some sliced red onions.

I boiled the brine and poured it over the cucumbers in each jar. I screwed on the lids and left them in the refrigerator for at least one day…

…PICKLE SUCCESS!

I am proud to say that these pickles came out splendid! I think the small white cucumbers made my favorite pickles. The pickles with pickled onions were Dan’s favorite. He suggested making relish out of them, which I think is a great idea. The pickle and onion mixture would be a great topping for a hot dog, perfect for summer.

Fresh Summer Salsa

Posted by marisa rosemellia in Recipes and tagged with , , ,

I have an abundance of tomatoes lately and I love salsa. I gathered all of the ingredients to make my fresh summer salsa. There are so many veggies available right now that every ingredient in this is local. Yes, even the garlic is local! This recipe is both green tomatillo salsa and tomato salsa in one. It makes a lot so it is perfect for parties. It’s also super quick and there’s easy clean-up because I make it in the food processor.

Green Summer Salsa Base:

1 jalapeno pepper

1 small red onion

1/2 cup packed cilantro

3 cloves garlic

3 mini bell peppers – yellow, red, and orange (I like to add these for a hint of color and sweetness)

1 lime, zested and juiced

5 medium sized tomatillos, husks removed, washed and quartered

salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in the food processor (you might have to do it in batches depending on how big your food processor is) and pulse until all the ingredients are chopped. Here’s what it should look like:

You can eat it just like this, as a green tomatillo salsa. You can also use it as a base for other salsas. It’s really good stirred into chopped mango for a sweet salsa or stir a little bit into mashed avocado for a guacamole upgrade.

To make Fresh Summer Salsa:

Pulse 3 big (~ 1.5 lbs) red tomatoes in the food processor, working in batches if you have a smaller food processor.  If you’re from Lancaster, I recommend the Jet Stars from Washington Boro that I wrote about a few days ago. Mix your tomatoes with about half (~1 cup) of the green salsa base from above. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. It makes about 4 cups.

Good Morning

Posted by marisa rosemellia in Recipes and tagged with , ,

During the summer, I really take time to enjoy the morning. I could sleep in a little bit, relax, read the paper or a magazine and make myself a great breakfast. I have been creating these towering layered stacks topped with eggs. It’s like an open faced egg sandwich with whatever fresh, local, and in-season ingredients I have from the market.

Here are a few examples:

I start with a base of whole grain or some kind of crusty bread. I add a spread on top…two of my favorites are my Green Meanie dressing or Creme Fraiche. I sometimes use cream cheese too. It is really good when it starts to melt under the warm eggs.

Then I add red onions, thin sliced avocados, and some sort of green. I love spring pea shoots which, thanks to the new sprout stand at the market, I am able to find quiet easily now.

Since it is summer and excellent tomatoes are available, I have been putting tomato slices or cut up grape tomatoes on top. Fresh herbs are in abundance as well so I love to add basil leaves or chopped chives.

I usually fry one or two eggs to complete the tower and put a little extra dollop of dressing or creme fraiche on top as well. Sometimes I just turn it all into a scramble, it’s still just as good.

Green Meanie dressing

Posted by marisa rosemellia in Recipes and tagged with , , ,

I figured out how to make creamy salad dressing at home thanks to an article in “Everyday Food” (my favorite magazine for recipe ideas) last month.

I used their base recipe as a guide and I made up my own dressing. I love it so much and you can use it for way more than just salad.

Green Meanie Dressing:

1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 whole avocado

1 clove of garlic, grated

1 lime zested and juiced

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup packed basil leaves

1/3 cup packed chives

1/3 cup packed cilantro

salt and pepper

put all of you ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth. You can keep it refrigerated for up to two weeks. If you want a thinker dressing, omit 1/2 cup of the buttermilk.

One thing that I have found is that the avocado sometimes oxidizes and will turn the top layer of dressing brown. The lime juice will help prevent this. It did not happen when I only used one avocado, but if you add any more than that to the dressing you might get that brownish top layer. I made it one time using purple basil instead of green basil. The purple actually turned it kind of a brownish hue instead of the pretty green that usually turns out to be… but it still tasted delicious.

It’s not just for lettuce! Try it: on potato salad, as a sandwich spread, as a topping for salmon, an extra condiment on your burger, or as a veggie dip!

Here is some summer chicken salad made with green meanie dressing…