Using a Bounty of Produce: Pickles, Salads, and Bread

Remember that Summer Challenge with the neighborhood coop?  Well, I have not posted about it much, but have been ordering on a regular basis. I thought I would recap what came in this week’s basket and how I used it.

The basket contained:

• Red Leaf lettuce
• Green beans
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Peaches
• Plums
• Apples
• Oranges
• Cucumbers

A nice mix of fruits and vegetables, this how I used them:

• Green bean and broccoli salad – Simply steamed them so they were still firm, then rinsed in cold water.  I dressed it with a champagne pear  vinaigrette and will be able to pull out a great salad/side dish all week.  It has a nice crisp taste and I often toss other items at the last-minute, like pine nuts, peppers, tomatoes, just to add a little more flavor and color. I’ve also tossed it in a cilantro dressing.  This has become a nice staple dish to make and use all week.
• Peaches and Apples – These were used in a Peach Almond Bread, subject of a future post.
• Zucchini and Tomatoes – These were sliced up and sautéed with garlic and onions, served over polenta.  Some of the tomatoes will just be used for salads.
• Cucumbers – I had a ton of these – about 9 big cucumbers.  Three of them will be used for salads, the others were turned into refrigerator pickles.  I’ve never made this before, but wow, so easy!  Recipe is below.
• Lettuce, plums, remaining apples – These were simply used for normal eating.
• Oranges – These were boiled – yes, strange, for an Almond Citrus Cake, and will be included in a future post.

Refrigerator pickles

• 1 cup of white distilled vinegar
• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 cloves of garlic
• small handful of black peppercorn
• 6 big cucumbers sliced

Boil the first five ingredients, let it cool a bit.  Pour over the cucumbers in large bowl.  It will seem like there is not enough liquid for the cucumbers, but they will release their liquid and it will cover all the cucumbers.  Chill and then transfer to clean storage containers.  These must stay in the fridge.

Enjoy!