Harvest on the Table ~ Beet Greens and Pasta

Friends, I have a confession:  I've never used my beet greens for anything.  I am usually amused when I see lowly beet greens mixed in with other lettuces in salads at fancy restaurants.  Really? Beet leaves?  My mom used beet leaves to make a variation of pyrizhky, also known as beetnik buns - pinch off a small piece of bread dough, wrap a beet leaf around it, so that it's a small oblong shape like a cabbage roll, bake, and serve with warm dilled cream and fried onions.  I never liked beetnik buns.  So, each spring I seed my rows of beets and once the plants are a few inches tall, I thin them out.  The beet leaves go in the compost bin.  Yup.

This year I decided to try something different.  What if I let my beets grow a bit more before thinning them out, and then use the thinned ones for the greens?  But what to do with them besides throw them in a salad?

I found a recipe for cooked beet greens at simplyrecipes.com.  Scrolling through the reviews, I saw that most people praised it highly, and some offered further suggestions.  One reviewer suggested mixing the cooked greens with pasta, for a sort of warm pasta salad.  Sounded like a plan.

It took me a few bites to figure out what I thought.  I added in an extra 1/4 tsp of dried red pepper, so there is a nice little punch.  Overall, it is very good, but I think it could be "better" - from the perspective of someone who grew up on Ukrainian cooking, anyway.  I think the next time I make this, I will skip the sugar and the vinegar all together.  Beets + dough + bacon + onions is a very basic Ukrainian flavour combination.  Heh.  This could  be Lazy Beetnik Buns.

Harvest on the Table ~ Lemon Saskatoon Berry Pie

I made this pie for an event in 2007, and haven't made it since.  The first time, I found the recipe online, but of course I couldn't find it again.

Overall, it's pretty simple - pie shell, lemon pie filling, saskatoon berry topping (whipped cream on top if you're game for the extra calories).  I figured it would be easy enough to swing.

You didn't think I was actually going to make everything from scratch, did you?  I did plan to make a graham cracker crust, but the premade crusts were on special, and for 50 cents extra I was willing to take the easy route.  Plus, it's been so hot lately, the less I use the stove and oven, the better.

I unwrapped the pie crusts, and cooked the lemon pie filling according the package directions. For the saskatoon berry topping, I adapted a recipe from epicurious.com:

4c fresh berries (saskatoons or blueberries), cleaned and picked over
1/2c + 2T water, divided
2T cornstarch
1/2c sugar
2tsp fresh lemon juice

Place 1c of the berries and 1/2c of the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Then, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until juice starts to thicken (after 7 minutes, mine still didn't seem to have thickened, but by that point, the liquid had noticeably evaporated, so I figured it was close enough).  While the berries are cooking, mix 2T cold water with the 2T of cornstarch.  Once the berries are ready, add in the cornstarch mixture, the sugar, and the lemon juice.  (Honestly, I didn't have fresh lemons on hand, so I just squirted in some of the stuff from my plastic lemon.)  Continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, until thickened.  Once it starts thickening, it will go fast, so keep an eye on it.  When you have to start scraping the juices off the bottom of the pot, pull it off the heat and quickly fold in the remaining berries.

I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but I like my lemon filling to gel a bit before I put the berries on top.  According to the berry recipe on epicurious, the berries can sit out on the counter for a few days, so they should be okay while you finish up the lemon pies.  After pouring the filling into the shells, I refrigerated them for about 10 minutes.  I then careful sprinkled and spread the berry mixture on top of the pies.

4c of berries makes just enough topping for two 8" pies.  Next time, I'll probably make 5 cups of berries.

I like this recipe because it's fast and easy, and nice for the summer when you don't want to heat up your kitchen too much.  It also doesn't require a lot of berries, so if you don't have too many ready yet, or if you have to buy them from your farmers' market ($$$), you can stretch them a little further.

Cooking up Patty Pan Squash

I cooked up my first patty pan (or scallop or sunburst) squash today. I've never grown them before.  I posted a picture of a baby one on August 1; three weeks later, it was about 4" across.  I had no idea how big they were supposed to get before you pick them, so I finally googled today.  The one I picked was on the big side of the scale - apparently, you want them no more than 3-4" across, preferably smaller.  Who knew?

I've never cooked patty pan squash before either, so I also googled that while I was at it.  Apparently, the easiest way is simply to prick the skin and then steam them for 5-6 minutes.  We all know that "easy" has no appeal for me, so I went with a different recipe - chop up the squash, dot with butter, sprinkle with parmesan and whatever spices your heart desires, and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

The parmesan had a Mediterranean feel to it, so my heart decided to desire an Italian seasoning mix plus a dash of salt.

End result - it takes much longer than 15 minutes, though maybe my pieces were too big (methinks not, 15 minutes seemed terribly optimistic right from the get go).  Plan for 30-45minutes, depending on the size of your pieces.  The smell is heavenly, and the squash is pretty darn tasty.  Might try this again down the road, but for the time being, I will likely try other ways, just to see if there's something better.

Anyone have a recipe for me?

Harvest on the Table ~ Royal Burgandy Beans and Mushrooms Sauteed in Garlic

I have a confession to make. I don't like beans. They were a staple of our diet when I was growing up and I guess I just ate my fill about 20 years ago or so. I planted them this year with plans to use them in the homecooked dog food I make. (Last year, I froze about 100lb of zucchini from my garden for dog food and hope to do the same this year in addition to the beans).

My sister was over a few weeks ago and suggested I try cooking the beans differently. I took her advice and wow! They were really good. I started by sauteing a minced clove of garlic in olive oil, throwing in 2c of sliced fresh mushrooms, and after those started to create steam, 1-1/4c fresh royal burgany beans from my garden.

I cooked them all over med-high heat until the beans were tender.

As promised on the seed package, the beans turned green as they cooked. I seasoned to taste with fresh ground pepper, seasoned salt, and lemon pepper. They didn't even taste like beans. So, unfortunately, I can't tell you if the royal burgandy beans taste different from regular green beans, hahaha. But, they were yummy!

Do you have a good green bean recipe to share?

Harvest on the Table ~ Cream Potatoes

Summertime brings sunshine, fresh vegetables and a lot of calories to Ukrainian Canadians. (I should know!) Certain ingredients that are plentiful in the summer (fresh sweet cream, fresh dill, fresh beet leaves, new potatoes) find their way into really yummy dishes, like pyrizhky. Pyrizhky are basically a baked version of perogies - a filling stuffed inside white bread dough buns before baking. My mom topped her potato and beet leaf pyrizhky with a mixture of cream, onions, and fresh dill. She used the same topping to spice up new potatoes also.

Traditionally, cream potatoes are baked in the oven, but my mom always made hers on the stovetop, and I've been making them the same way.

This is a guess by golly recipe. For two servings, you will need:

Enough new potatoes to feed two people (however many that may be for you!)
About 1/2 of a small/medium yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Fresh dill, enough to make about 2 tablespoons when chopped
1/4 c of whole cream (you can add a little more if you like)


Clean the potatoes, quarter if necessary and boil until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, fry the onions in a little butter or margarine over medium-high heat.


When the onions are transparent, add the chopped dill. Turn the burner down to medium-low and add the 1/4 c of cream. Stir well until it thickens considerably and stops bubbling.

Toss the potatoes with the cream mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper to taste. And enjoy!