June’s Garden-Fresh Veggies

It’s BAAAACK!!! And preparing artichokes is once again easy with Melissa’s 5-Minute Artichoke.  Simply place the whole choke with its wrapper in the microwave to cook according to the label instructions. If you prefer to cook by other means, simply remove the wrapper and go for it! Oil and grill, steam, or cut into quarters and roast. Melissa’s 5-Minute Artichoke is pre-washed and ready to cook or use, making it the perfect easy, healthy snack with sources of fiber, Vitamin C and folate. Don’t forget to use a spoon to scoop out and dispose of the hairy inedible choke in the center, then stuff with crab or shrimp salad, egg salad, or crumbled Melissa’s Cooked Quinoa mixed with Italian dressing, leftover chopped veggies and egg salad or chopped meat.  Or take it easy on a busy night and simply cook and serve with a packet of Melissa’s Hollandaise or Four Cheese Sauce. EASY-PEASY!!!  Available year-round.  Product of USA, California Grown.

For many, a favorite ‘fruit’ that is botanically a vegetable. Tasty and cheek-stinging tart when eaten raw, most will cook the fruit by any method and enjoy as a side with other veggies and meats or bake, often paired with strawberries or stone fruit. But have you ever tried pickling it for a relish? Or possibly subbing tomato with rhubarb in a zippy salsa?  Plan ahead and roast some for later in the week to toss into mixed veg, fruit, or dress a dessert pizza drizzled with Melissa’s Hot Honey and dollops of yogurt or crème fraiche. Available out of Oregon.

Who doesn’t love sweet onions? Often, the onions are too large for many recipes, but not the case with sweet onions grown in Hatch, New Mexico. Medium in size, about one cup ¼” chopped, is just enough for most recipes. But the best part of Hatch Sweet Onions is their flavor, produced by the same microclimate as Hatch Peppers. Whether served raw on a burger, added to salsa or DYP salad, or served grilled, roasted, or braised in soup, you’ll have a sweet onion with great flavor. Go luscious for your next gathering and slowly caramelize onions until dark, then cool them about ten minutes and mound on top of a round of brie.  Encase the two in puff pastry and bake at 350ºF until pastry is golden. Cool slightly, then serve with crackers and an array of fresh fruits and veggies. Give them a try, but don’t wait, as they are only in season for a few weeks, then like Hatch Peppers, it’s now or next year! 

Select onions that appear firm with shiny peel and no gashes or signs of mold. Store at room temperature with good ventilation and no moisture. As with all onions, we suggest washing off the onion before cutting through the root end to prevent any transfer of bacteria into your food.  Unused onion may be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a sealable container. Use leftover raw onion within one week. Available June through July. Product of USA, Hatch, New Mexico.

Oh Boy! It’s Tomato season!!! There is a bevy of variety tomatoes available nowadays, and not all of them are red. This luscious fruit—yes, seeds indicate fruit species—are often presented ‘on the vine’ or ‘TOV’, as round cherry, or grape shapes. Some are even simply named for their color. Regardless of how they look, you know they are chin dripping luscious alone and flavorful, with burrata or cottage cheese and a grind of Melissa’s Peppercorn Grinder, hugged between two slices of bread and grilled with cheese and ham, on a burger stacked a mile high, simply wedged and stuffed with tuna or grains, sliced into colorful rounds and dressed with good oil and some fresh snipped herbs, or cooked down and pureed for a nice scratch sauce I’m certain you have other favorite combos too! Bon Appetit!

Time to stock up on lots of bacon (real, vegetarian, or vegan) and good bread, then buy some nice crisp romaine or salad greens, possibly an avocado or fried egg, and do not forget the key ingredient to summer: Melissa’s Heirloom Tomatoes for BLTs!!!

Heirloom tomatoes are those grown from seed, generally older than fifty years. These are varieties that were most often grown in Papa and Nana’s Garden and are small crop.

Characteristically odd in shape, gnarled, some medium-sized, most are about the size of a man’s fist. Variety names range from classic Cherokee, Brandywine, Zebra, Stoney’s Neighbor and so on. Because of their often gnarled, odd shapes, they are best cut following the lobes or gnarls.  If you happen to fall upon one that is nicely shaped, then slice or wedge with a serrated knife for easier cutting and less smooshing. Do NOT refrigerate tomatoes unless they have been sliced or cooked. Refrigeration causes tomatoes to lose their flavor, so eat up!

Select tomatoes that feel heavy for their size and have a bit of fragrance. Firm, but not rock hard, they may be stored at room temperature on their bloom end, preferably on a towel or a few layers of paper to prevent bruising. Ripe with gentle yield to pressure. Moisture will hasten spoilage, so make certain there is ventilation around the tomatoes. Tomatoes can be frozen if thoroughly cooked and packed in freezer-safe containers or bags. They can then be added to scratch pasta and pepper sauces, soups, tomato water drinks, or used to season and roast.  Freeze up to two months for best retained quality and flavor. Available June through August.  Product of USA, California Grown. Also available year-round, Mexico.

Fun pints of colorful variety baby heirloom toms with shapes from grape, cherry, and Roma and colors ranging from reds, yellow, orange and green. Add to cocktail skewers, side cars for mixed drinks, salads, snackin’ poppers, roasted with other summer veggies, chopped for salsa or spread on sammies, tacos, gazpacho! Available Year Round. Product of USA or Mexico.

Cherry Tomatoes are called such because of their cute little round shape, like cherries.  This variety makes great snackin’ toms or ‘poppers’. Add to skewers for apps or kabobs, halve for salads and such. Go a step up and seek out Cherry tomatoes on the vine or ‘TOV’, generally eight to ten little orbs harvested on the vine. Be careful with them so they do not separate from the vine if you wish to retain the ‘just-grown’ effect on grazing boards. Cherry tomatoes are generally sweeter as they ripen, but can also soften and become squishy at this stage, so it’s best to consume them when they have a slight yield and easily pluck from their vine. Available in colors of red, yellow, orange, and sometimes brown. Available June through August. Product of USA.

Yes, this tomato is ‘heavenly’ when it comes to the Roma variety. Heavenly, because they are fleshy, flavorful, full red in color, and so easy to include raw or cooked in dishes because their thin skin requires no peeling as large Roma’s do. Give a quick rinse in a colander and snack on them. Kid-friendly because of their elongated shape, these allow school-age children to bite off pieces similar to Melissa’s Peeled Baby Carrots, or add them to snack bags, crudité plates, and dips. They skewer well (through the center, not head-to-toe) for kabobs and apps. But they really shine when added to a roasting pan at 400°F with a drizzle of oil and a toss of Kosher salt, then roasted, or put into a screaming hot pan and charred (cast iron works great for this). Then add them to sautéed baby broccoli or baby bok choy halves and cauliflower with a few grinds of Melissa’s Spicy Sesame Seasoning Grinder.  They make a really good, quick scratch tomato sauce, too! Wash, quarter, and cook in a pan with olive oil, chopped onion, minced garlic, and some turns of Melissa’s Tuscan Seasoning Grinder. Add just a bit of chicken or veggie broth to moisten and cover to simmer. Pour over cooked pasta of choice and toss with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Select a reusable tote of Heavenly Villagio Marzano® Tomatoes that are dry, firm, and have no signs of mold. Best stored unwashed in the original bag in a cool area, out of refrigeration, for up to 4-7 days.  Product may be refrigerated once cut or cooked. Freezing is not recommended unless an ingredient in soup or cooked sauces, stews, etc., as the natural liquid will leach from the tomato and the flesh will turn mushy.  Melissa’s Heavenly Villagio Marzano® Tomatoes are available year-round. Product of Canada, May through October. Product of Mexico November through February. 

Time to start thinking about grilling with family and friends.  This is a fab way to enjoy the outdoors, keeping the house cleaner and cool, as well as preparing extra add-in ingredients to grill for later in the week lunches or dinner sides. It is simple to do while your grill is heating.  

Three very simple veggies to have on the grill are zucchini, yellow squash, and ‘white’ or tatuma squash. All three are pretty mild in flavor, and may be consumed raw, yielding a slight crunchy texture at this stage. But washed and cut into long, thick quarters or halves and lightly brushed or tossed in oil and grilled just long enough to have grill marks makes for a great simple side, stacked on veggie or meat sammies, cut into smaller pieces for pasta or green salads or added color and texture to quickly made Heavenly Marzano® pasta sauce. For a bit of eye interest, these summer squashes may be sliced very thin lengthwise on a mandolin and used as a ‘collar’ to encase grain salads garnished with a sprig of fresh herb or topped with a pretty TOV half. Available year-round. All three varieties are products of USA or Mexico.

Another great grilling item is Asian eggplant, especially Chinese or Japanese varieties because they are generally sweeter and only need to be washed and halved for the grill. Yes, they may be cut into rounds, but that requires more loose pieces on the grill to turn. As halves with calyx removed, a simple brush of oil just before placing cut side on the hot grill, you’ll have fleshy planks of eggplant that may be also added to a platter, layered for a sammie with hummus, pickled sweet red onions, marinated cherry tomatoes and freshly sliced Melissa’s Mini Cucumbers, or a great add in for a nice “kitchen sink salad” with a good Italian dressing.  Available year-round. Both varieties are Products of USA or Mexico.

Sweet to eat whether raw or cooked, Melissa’s Organic Veggie Sweet Peppers add color to any grill platter, kabob, or antipasti board. Yes, there are seeds, but not so many that they are bothersome. You can easily remove them once the peppers are grilled with a small slit at the neck and a pull of the stem. Loaded with Vitamin C, which helps quell the effects of the sun, sweet peppers don’t have to be peeled once grilled, as their skin is thin. Of course, the pepper may be left whole for crunch on a platter, pickled and added to a Bloody Mary garnish skewer, or sliced into mini rounds and tossed into potato, pasta, or grain salad. Available year-round.   Product of Mexico. USDA Certified Organic.