In Season NW: Taking Full Advantage

I'm kind of getting the gist of this zombie apocalypse that seems to be the meme of the moment.

What? You haven't heard of millions of the undead rising from their graves from…fill in the blank here…radiation, a rogue virus, too much TV, whatever, to attack and, usually, eat the brains of uninfected humans who then become zombies themselves. This army of the undead then threatens to take over the world unless, and here comes the kicker, some plucky someone or group of same stops them. Yay for Earth!

Carbonara with padrons? Delicious!

The reason I'm getting that "imminent apocalypse" twinge is because almost everyone I know seems infected by the need to can, preserve, pickle, dehydrate, freeze or otherwise squirrel away every last fish, tomato, peach, mushroom, pepper or meat they meet. The number of people I know who have bought hot water-bath canners, dehydrators, kraut crocks and pressure canners is positively mind-boggling.

Tomato bean salad.

I'm finding it kind of intimidating, if you must know. I mean, I've done my fair share of syrup-making, tomato roasting and pig-butchering, but this mad dash to preserve every last shred of summer is a little obsessive. I can only imagine what it must be like for folks who don't have the wherewithal to do any or even a little.

Niçoise, anyone?

So here's my point: I'm putting out a call to simply enjoy the fruits (or peppers or tomatoes or corn) of the season right now, at their peak of ripeness and freshness. Of course you can preserve to your heart's content if you're able, but really, the best way to enjoy the richness of the harvest is, not surprisingly, right when it's harvested.

Stuffed poblano egg casserole.

To that end, I've been throwing padrons from Viridian Farms into carbonara, green beans into salads, tomatoes into pasta and shallots into salad dressings. Basil from the garden has gone into pesto, peppers have been stuffed and baked into an egg casserole and albacore loins have been grilled till they're black and blue. As Dean Martin once crooned, it's the stuff memories are made of, and the memories I'll be calling up when the rains return this winter. Not to mention those that I'll be looking forward to remaking next harvest season.

Get the recipes for the tomato tart (top photo), carbonara (throw the padrons in after the bacon has rendered its fat) and the tomato and green bean salad.

Crustacean Celebration: Crab Niçoise, Anyone?

It was another one of those nights when dinner inspiration was as rare as a 100° summer day in Portland…um…strike that.

It was another one of those nights when dinner inspiration was as rare as a unicycle-riding bagpiper in P…er…never mind. You get the idea.

Suffice it to say that we had no idea what would appear on our table that evening, and going out to eat just wasn't in the budget. So we traipsed to the store with the vague idea of grilling something or other. But there, in the seafood section of the case, we spied several very large, very red, very ready-to-eat Dungness crabs. Eureka!

We had the helpful attendant wrap up the largest one, brought it home, picked it clean and scattered it on top of what I'd like to think was a brilliant stroke of genius…crab niçoise!

Crab Niçoise

1 cooked Dungeness crab, approx. 1.5 lbs., picked clean
1/2 lb. fingerling potatoes, cooked till tender and sliced into 1/8” rounds
1 c. pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 large head romaine, or 2 small, torn into pieces, about 6 c. total
2-3 Tbsp. capers
4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered and roughly chopped
2 green onions, cut in 1/8” diagonal slices
1 bunch asparagus, steamed till just tender and cut into 1” slices
Juice of 2 lemons
1/3 c. olive oil

Combine elements and toss. Serve with sliced ciabatta.

This year's Crustacean Celebration also features a fabulous Crab and Corn Chowder and Beach Cioppino. Read last season's series starting with And They're Off!, and the previous year's series kicking off with a Hot Artichoke and Crab Dip (with links to other posts in the series).