Melon and Pear Salad

by Chef Brittan Wilson Egbert

Ingredients:

1 whole cantaloupe, peeled and diced

4 small pears, peeled and diced

handful of mint, chopped

handful of Thai basil, chopped

Terra Verde Pineapple Balsamic Vinegar

Terra Verde Olive Oil

Method: Mix together first four ingredients and generously drizzle with the pineapple balsamic and then lightly drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy chilled.

Peach Jam

provided courtesy of Kate Payne, author of Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking; yields approximately 1 pint

1. Juice half of a large lemon (~2 Tbs of lemon juice) into a 9 or 10” skillet or saucepan, stainless steel or enameled cast iron preferably. Save spent rind for zesting later.

2. Peel 1-1.5lbs peaches (which is about 2-3 medium sized peaches) and roughly chop directly into the lemon juice. Combine the peach pieces with the juice as you add them.

3. Add 1 cup sugar to the skillet and place over low heat until sugar granules have melted. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to keep bottom from scorching. After about 5 minutes, mash (for chunkier jam) or use a hand-held blender (for smoother jam) the now-softened peach pieces.

You’ll know your jam is done when the bubbles have spaced out, and they are larger and the jam takes on a glassier, slightly darker hue. Depending on your pot, this will take anywhere from 8-10 minutes. The gel point is 221 degrees F, remove the pot from heat and use a thermometer or chilled spoons on a plate to determine whether or not your jam has set to your liking.

4. Add a few shavings of lemon zest from reserved rind and/or any other flavor additions (1/4 tsp vanilla extract or bourbon) or steep herbs like a tied-up bundle of sage or a teaball of lavender. Ladle jam into a just-cleaned (hot, soapy water) jar. Let cool on countertop for an hour or so, then store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

For those of you who visited the Mueller Farmers’ Market on Sunday, please check out this post for the super-small batch fig jam recipe Kate demo’ed and sampled. She used Adriatic, aka strawberry figs, so the color and flavors were more vibrant than when using brown turkey figs.

Zucchini Involtini

Provided Courtesy of Chef Brittan Wilson Egbert

3-4 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/4-thick

8oz Pure Luck Goat Cheese

cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 small shallot,minced

2 small peaches, small dice

small bunch of basil, chiffonade

small bunch of chives, fine chopped

olive oil

salt & pepper

Dice the outer skin pieces of zucchini and combine them with the goat cheese. Add minced shallot, diced peaches and basil chiffonade to the cheese mixture. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and put into the refrigerator.

While the cheese mixture is cooling, Toss the remaining zucchini pieces in a little olive oil and saute until there is a little color and the pieces are pliable enough to roll. Once the zucchini pieces have cooled, put a little goat cheese mixture in the center of each piece. Add cherry tomato halves and roll it up. Top with fresh chives. Enjoy!

Watermelon Salad

Provided courtesy of Chef Brittan Wilson Egbert 

1 small watermelon chopped and deseeded

1 large tomato chopped

1 small bunch basil, chiffonade

1 small bunch mint, chopped

1 small shallot, minced

8-12 oz Pure Luck Goat Feta

Pineapple Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with Pineapple Balsamic Vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 30 min to 1 hour and then top with Feta cheese. Enjoy!

Watermelon Rind Pickles

Makes 2 quarts, recipe based on Linda Ziedrich’s Gingery Rind Pickles in the Joy of Pickling

This recipe uses up about half of a medium-sized watermelon.

1. Cut up watermelon into wedges for eating. Cut red portion off the rind and then carefully slice off the dark green portion of the peel. This process sort of takes forever, but bear with it! Stop peeling rind when you have 2-quarts’ worth of prepared rind or multiply the recipe up and can it! Stash peeled rind pieces in the fridge until you’re ready to start a two-day process with making the pickles.

2. Make a salt solution with 1/3-cup pickling salt and 5-1/3 cups water. Put rind pieces in a large mixing bowl and pour the salt solution over them. Weight with a small plate. Let sit overnight or for up to 12 hours.

3. Drain rind pieces, rinse well. Drain and rinse again. Place rinds in a large saucepan and cover with water, bring to a simmer and let rinds cook for 5 minutes and then drain. Reserve rinds until you make your syrup.

4. Make syrup by combining:

• 1-1/3 cups water
• 1-1/3 cups white wine vinegar
• 2-2/3 cups sugar

Combine in a piece of cheesecloth cinched with twine and drop into brine:

• 1 med lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks broken up
• 1 teaspoon each of whole cloves, allspice berries and cardamom seeds
• 1-inch piece of ginger sliced thinly, skin on

5. Bring brine to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes. Add reserved rinds and boil until translucent, which takes about 15-20 minutes.

6. Remove spice pouch and place rinds in quart jars and pour brine over to cover. Let cool on counter for an hour and then place in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

If canning, pack pint or half-pint jars with rind and pour brine over the top leaving ½-inch headspace. Prepare lids and rims for canning and process either size jar for 10 minutes in a boiling waterbath.

Visit Kate’s blog for more rind pickle photos and other small-batch canning recipes and tips: hipgirlshome.com.