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This week, our vendor Carla Hall of Alchemy
Caterers prepared a wonderful dish at the Mount Rainier Farmers Market. It is refreshing and full of distinctive flavors which together meld into an exceptional dish. Enjoy,we did.
Watermelon Gazpacho
With cucumber, jicama,sweet peppers and basil
Makes 4 - 1 cup servings
1 3-pound seedless watermelon, diced (about 5 cups), divided
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cucumber, seeded, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium-size jicama, peeled, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium-size yellow bell pepper, seeded, diced (about 1 cup)
1 small jalapeño chile, seeded, minced
3 pale green inner celery stalks, diced (about 1/2 cup)
½ small red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
2 teaspoons lime zest
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
Basil for garnish
1. Puree 3 cups watermelon and olive oil in blender until smooth or desired consistency. Transfer puree to large bowl.
2. Add remaining 2 cups diced watermelon and next 12 ingredients; stir to combine. Cover gazpacho and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
3. Divide gazpacho among bowls; top with dollop of crème fraîche and a sprig of basil.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Salsa
1 pint strawberries, diced
2 ribs rhubarb, diced
1
sprig rosemary
2 tablespoons
chives, snipped
1/4
cup red scallions or 1 small shallot, finely diced
1 clove
garlic, minced (garlic scapes can be used)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch
of sugar
S&P to taste
Combine
all ingredients, with rosemary twig and allow to macerate at least 30
minutes. Remove rosemary twig. Season to taste.
Kale Salad
with
quick-pickled cukes and
radishes
1
bunch kale,
fine chiffonade
3 diva cucumbers, thinly
sliced
1 pound
assorted radishes, thinly sliced
2 fennels, thinly sliced
1/2
cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Pickling liquid:
1 1/2 cups water
7
cloves garlic
3
tablespoon canning or
pickling salt
1½
cups granulated sugar
1½
cups white distilled
vinegar (5% acidity)
1
teaspoon whole juniper
berries
1
tablespoon yellow
mustard seeds
Shallot Ginger Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, roughly
chopped
2 cloves garlic( or garlic chives)
2 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup rice wine or champagne vinegar
¾ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup
pinenuts, toasted
1. Prepare pickles: Combine
ingredients for
pickling liquid in a medium-size pot. Bring to a boil and pour over
cukes, radishes and fennel in a mason jar, just to cover. Allow to sit
for at least 20 minutes.
2. Prepare shallot vinaigrette: In a bowl,
blender or food processor, add shallots, garlic, ginger, Dijon and
vinegar. Process until smooth. Slowly pour in oil while blender is
running to create an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Toss kale in vinaigrette and allow greens to wilt and soften. Drain the
desired amount of pickles and toss with cilantro.
4. Arrange the
tossed kale on a plate and top with pickled veggies and toasted
pinenuts.
Enjoy.
Natural Farming
In the early 1950's, one farmer, Massonobu Fukoka, implemented natural methods of farming on his farm as well as selling directly to consumers.. Recently Mr. has written a book explaining his methods and philosophy. Here is an excerpt.
Four Principles  
The first is NO CULTIVATION, that is, no plowing or turning of the soil.
For centuries, farmers have assumed that the plow is essential for
growing crops. However, non-cultivation is fundamental to natural
farming. The earth cultivates itself naturally by means of the
penetration of plant roots and the activity of microorganisms, small
animals, and earthworm
The second is NO CHEMICAL FERTILIZER OR PREPARED
COMPOST.* People interfere with nature, and, try as they may, they
cannot heal the resulting wounds. Their careless farming practices drain
the soil of essential nutrients, and the result is yearly depletion of
the land. If left to itself, the soil maintains its fertility naturally
in accordance with the orderly cycle of plant and animal life.
The
third is NO WEEDING, BY TILLAGE OR HERBICIDES. Weeds play their part in
building soil fertility and in balancing the biological community. As a
fundamental principle, weeds should be controlled, not eliminated.
Straw mulch, a ground cover of white clover interplanted with the crops,
and temporary flooding provide effective weed control in my fields.
The fourth is NO DEPENDENCE ON CHEMICALS.** From the time that weak
plants developed as a result of such unnatural practices as plowing and
fertilizing, disease and insect imbalance became a great problem in
agriculture. Nature, left alone, is in perfect balance. Harmful insects
and plant diseases are always present, but do not occur in nature to an
extent which requires the use of poisonous chemicals. The sensible
approach to disease and insect control is to grow sturdy crops in a
healthy environment.
* For fertilizer, Mr. Fukuoka grows a
leguminous ground cover of white clover, returns the threshed straw to
the fields, and adds a little poultry manure.
** Mr. Fukuoka grows his grain crops without chemicals of any kind. On
some orchard trees he occasionally uses a machine-oil emulsion for the
control of insect scales. He uses no persistent or broad-spectrum
poisons, and has no pesticide “program.”
This is an excerpt from One Straw Revolution by New York Review Books.
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