Shakshuka

 If you're ever stuck as to what to fix for dinner and you don't have a lot of time, Shakshuka is right up your alley. This meal comes together in under 30 minutes and you can adapt to use whatever garden vegetables you have on hand. 

I started out by sauteing diced bell peppers (one of our local stores had an amazing deal on bell peppers, so I picked up all colors of them, diced them all up, put a quart up in the freezer and have half a quart to use up in recipes. I also used half of a peeled zucchini and a quarter of a Walla Walla sweet onion. There's also a couple of cloves of minced garlic in there, too. 

Now, why am I mincing everything up so finely and peeling the zucchini? My husband has had all of his teeth removed and will be getting dentures. He's been dealing with the after effects of having radiation treatments for throat cancer over 10 years ago. There's a spot in his throat that the muscle just doesn't work and food hangs up there and it chokes him. Pair that issue with the fact that radiation treatment wiped his teeth out and he didn't have any molars to properly chew food, well...you get the idea. Cooking has been a challenge, to say the least.
I only have a few more months and he'll have dentures and he'll be able to eat proper food again. First on his list, I'm sure, is a steak and a salad.

Here is my spice blend that I used. It contains paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, basil, oregano and some palm sugar (just a pinch). 

I use 2 eggs per person for this recipe. If you only want one per person, that's fine. Eggs are completely subjective in this recipe.

Now, with the tomatoes, you can either use a can of tomatoes or you can use fresh. It's all up to you. I didn't have enough ripe tomatoes, so I opted to use a can of diced. If you used canned tomatoes, you can use pureed, diced, whole, stewed, it doesn't matter. Since I used canned tomatoes, I used a pinch of palm sugar to take the tin taste out of them. This is when all the vegetables get cooked down into a homogeneous pan full of deliciousness.
This is a different type of cooking for me. Usually, I like my vegetables to retain some of their texture. For Bob, they have to be cooked super soft. Last night, I didn't quite achieve that with the bell peppers. Next time, I will.
Let this stew, over low heat, until the vegetables are done to your taste preference.

Once the tomatoes and vegetables have cooked to your liking, make a well with a spatula and crack an egg into. Continue to cook, over low heat, covered, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. 

You can serve this dish over rice or with toasted bread. I actually put it over mashed potatoes so that Bob could get some substance in him.

Shakshuka
2 servings

 

1 tablespoon avocado oil
1/2 small zucchini, diced (you can peel, if desired)
1/4 small Walla Walla sweet onion
1/3 cup finely diced bell pepper (whatever colors you like, or a mix of colors)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon palm sugar
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste

In large skillet, over low heat, cook all vegetables, except for canned tomatoes, and garlic until very soft, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix all spices together, with palm sugar, and set aside. Once the veg is cooked, sprinkle the spice mixture over evenly and cook for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Let heat until simmering. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Make a well in the sauce, with a spatula, and crack an egg into it. Repeat for all eggs. Cover, and continue to simmer over very low heat until the egg whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes or serve with toasted bread.

Harvest Refrigerator Pickles

Yesterday, I decided to do a bit of harvesting out of the garden. I wanted to make some room to grow some more beets for a fall crop. Now, I grow beets exclusively in a black tote. It's 2x4 feet, but it's deep. I do not put any sort of filler in the bottom. I use it for root vegetables. Upon looking at my beets, I saw that I had taken them about as far as I could and it was time to pull most of them. I grew three different types this year: Golden and Chioggia, both of which, I bought the seeds from Baker Creek. I also grew a new variety, which I obtained in a seed trade called Yellow Mangel. They are the longer yellow ones. I also thinned out some of the Longue Rouge Sang carrots (Baker Creek) and some of the bigger onions.

Golden beets from Baker Creek. These are always a favorite and a huge hit with us.

 

Chioggia beets from Baker Creek. This was a new variety for me this year as I tend to stick with the Golden variety exclusively. I am sure glad that I branched out! These have a really cool white bullseye pattern inside. They are pretty stunning to look at.

I opted to boil the beets to loosen the skins. The thing when cooking beets is that, yes, you want to rinse the majority of the dirt off of them, but you want to leave an inch or two of the greens and the long roots on them, otherwise they will bleed the color onto everything.

I managed to fit them all into one pot, thankfully!

I knew I wasn't going to have quite enough veggies to fill my half-gallon Mason pickle jar, so I peeled up 3 carrots that I had in the fridge.

The carrots and onions are packed raw into the jar. I do not cook them first. If I did that, the texture would be gross. I did not peel the Longue Rouge Sang carrots, either. I just scrubbed them well.

When the beets were fork tender, I drained them and then let them soak in cold water in the sink to cool enough to be able to comfortably handle them.

Then I started slicing the beets up and layering everything into the jar.

It's quite pretty to look at. Behind the jar are 2 dozen farm eggs that were a bonus for Bob helping out one of the old volunteers from Fences For Fido. That is a great organization that puts up fences for dogs for people who qualify.

You bring the brine up to a boil.

Those are pink peppercorns. Pink peppercorns are interesting. They are not a member of the pepper family. They are actually a member of the cashew family. They impart a delicate taste and it's hard to describe it. You'll have to try them...try them on a bit of vanilla ice cream. I'm not even kidding!

All set! I use a wooden chopstick and poke it down in several spots to make sure there are no air bubbles and to work the peppercorns and mustard seed down to the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harvest Refrigerator Pickles

Enough veggies to fill a half-gallon container (I used beets, carrots and onions. If you use beets, make sure to peel them first before slicing)
1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
4-5 whole cloves
1-1/2 teaspoons pink peppercorns

Pack veggies into the jar.
Meanwhile, bring all the ingredients, except for the pink peppercorns, to a boil and stir until sugar and salt have dissolved.
Add pink peppercorns to the top of the jar on the veggies.
Pour hot brine over the veggies and use a wooden chopstick to make sure there are there are no air bubbles and to disperse the peppercorns and mustard seeds to the bottom of the jar.
Let cool.
Seal and refrigerate.
This will last up to 4 weeks in the fridge.

Enjoy!