As this past summer wound down, one of our neighbors encouraged us to raid their garden. They’d planted multiple vegetables and most ripened all at once. They were saturated, and had picked, canned, eaten about all they could, so they actively pushed us to hit their garden as frequently as we wanted and grab as much as we wanted. So I did.
With an open invitation like that, the tendency is to just take what you need. But when it became clear that many veggies were rotting on the vine, I started picking more and filling the counter in our kitchen as I contemplated what to do with the extras.
Tomatoes, cucumbers and onions were the primary culprits of the coordinated ripening problem. The question became: What “different” dish can you prepare to give tomatoes, cucumbers and onions a radical look, taste and feel?
This is a cooking challenge in general. There is tremendous variety god’s given us in his creation to consume. We can stay in a rut though in terms of how we prepare those foods.
For example, take the simple salad. Do you put the same ingredients in yours on a day-to-day basis? Do you typically use the same salad dressing? How often are you inspired to use a new vegetable in your salad?
If you’re like most people, you fall into the routine and don’t experiment. Why not add some chopped-up purple cabbage once in awhile to change the taste, texture and vitamins you receive when you eat? Ever thought about putting a red or yellow pepper in that salad instead of a green one? These are small decisions, easy to make, and yield taste and nutrition benefits.
The challenge I had with the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions was that those were the three vegetables in over-abundance. They served as the core for any dish I created. So the challenge became, “What to add to those three items to make the dish taste different?”
The solution – beyond mixing in different spices – also lay in what “type” of dish you wanted to create. Would it be an appetizer? Could they go into a soup? Do you want to create a dip? How about a casserole? Can they serve as the main meal with some added garnish? And so on.
The blitzkrieg of the ripening vegetables lasted about three weeks. In that time, I made fresh salsa – adding a jalapeno pepper, vinegar, cilantro, a touch of sugar and some squeezed lime juice to the core three veggies. I put together a Greek-type salad by adding feta cheese to an oil and vinegar base and tossing in some chopped black olives along with the initial three vegetables. I created a grilled cheese sandwich with the tomato, onion and cucumber in it for added texture and taste.
They all worked. They all tasted good. They all pushed me to think differently on what spice to work into the new dish, how to cook it (if it needed cooking at all) and what other base ingredients mixed well with tomatoes, onions and cucumbers.
It’s a good challenge to have. We’re fortunate to have fresh food coming from a local garden and a kind neighbor who shares. Then it’s up to us to do something with it. Experiment. Taste. Savor. Then give it a whirl. It’s fun, and you get to eat what you put together.
With an open invitation like that, the tendency is to just take what you need. But when it became clear that many veggies were rotting on the vine, I started picking more and filling the counter in our kitchen as I contemplated what to do with the extras.
Tomatoes, cucumbers and onions were the primary culprits of the coordinated ripening problem. The question became: What “different” dish can you prepare to give tomatoes, cucumbers and onions a radical look, taste and feel?
This is a cooking challenge in general. There is tremendous variety god’s given us in his creation to consume. We can stay in a rut though in terms of how we prepare those foods.
For example, take the simple salad. Do you put the same ingredients in yours on a day-to-day basis? Do you typically use the same salad dressing? How often are you inspired to use a new vegetable in your salad?
If you’re like most people, you fall into the routine and don’t experiment. Why not add some chopped-up purple cabbage once in awhile to change the taste, texture and vitamins you receive when you eat? Ever thought about putting a red or yellow pepper in that salad instead of a green one? These are small decisions, easy to make, and yield taste and nutrition benefits.
The challenge I had with the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions was that those were the three vegetables in over-abundance. They served as the core for any dish I created. So the challenge became, “What to add to those three items to make the dish taste different?”
The solution – beyond mixing in different spices – also lay in what “type” of dish you wanted to create. Would it be an appetizer? Could they go into a soup? Do you want to create a dip? How about a casserole? Can they serve as the main meal with some added garnish? And so on.
The blitzkrieg of the ripening vegetables lasted about three weeks. In that time, I made fresh salsa – adding a jalapeno pepper, vinegar, cilantro, a touch of sugar and some squeezed lime juice to the core three veggies. I put together a Greek-type salad by adding feta cheese to an oil and vinegar base and tossing in some chopped black olives along with the initial three vegetables. I created a grilled cheese sandwich with the tomato, onion and cucumber in it for added texture and taste.
They all worked. They all tasted good. They all pushed me to think differently on what spice to work into the new dish, how to cook it (if it needed cooking at all) and what other base ingredients mixed well with tomatoes, onions and cucumbers.
It’s a good challenge to have. We’re fortunate to have fresh food coming from a local garden and a kind neighbor who shares. Then it’s up to us to do something with it. Experiment. Taste. Savor. Then give it a whirl. It’s fun, and you get to eat what you put together.