Blueberries are ready for picking.  Glenhaven Farm is open  for picking but is having a short season.  Grisamore Farms also has blueberries. Luce Farm in Ovid (7381 HALL Road, Ovid 607-532-9475) is closed this week but will have blueberries next week, but that will be there last week..   Check out their websites to get hours and directions.  Or click on "U-Pick" to find other farms in your neighborhood that are open for picking. Hall's Hill Blueberry Farm in Cortland is advertising U-pick until August 26th.  They have coupons in the Ithaca Journal.  

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits to pick.  No need to break your back.  The harvesting is quick and painless and it's a great social activity since you can chat away with your friends.  I always meet someone I know when I'm picking at Glenhaven.  Many children come for the event.  They either help their parents pick, or just have a private blueberry feast, or lay out a blanket in the shade and watch the others pick.  Everyone has a good time.  Blueberries are the best to freeze and baking requires no advance preparation.  We just put a huge bowl  on the table and let passerbyers grab the blueberries by handfuls. 

RASPBERRY CLAFOUTI

THE BEST WAY TO EAT RASPBERRIES IS OF COURSE PLAIN WITH WHIPPED CREAM OR ICE-CREAM OR JUST UNADOURNED!  BUT IF YOU HAVE SOME LEFT THAT YOU WANT TO COOK, TRY THIS RECIPE FOR RASPBERRY CLAFOUTI COMPLETE WITH VIDEO BY ERIC RIPERT  

RASPBERRY CLAFOUTI FROM ERIC RIPERT

 Yield : 2 servings as side

INGREDIENTS

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Corn and maple syrup panna cotta with seasonal fruit

This is an incredibly easy dessert to make and quite elegant.  It isn’t quite as smooth as regular panna cotta but my guests liked the texture.  If you want it really smooth you’ll need to put it through a sieve. 

5 ears of corn taken:  kernels taken off the cobs

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 envelope gelatin

2 Tbs maple syrup

Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

1.      Put the gelatin in a bowl with 2 Tbs water to soften gelatin

2.     Heat the corn kernels up in a heavy skillet for a few minutes so that they become fragrant.  Add the heavy cream and simmer until the corn is cooked: 5-6 minutes.

3.     Add the gelatin and stir together until the gelatin is dissolved

4.     Put gelatin and corn mixture and maple syrup into blender and blend until very smooth. You will need a good blender for this.  I have a Vita Mix which does a good job.  A food processor will not make it smooth enough.  If you want it smoother you will have to put it through a fine sieve after you add the milk. Add milk and pour into individual dishes.  A good amount is about ½ cup per person which will give you  6-7 servings.

5.     Chill in fridge until set.  You can make this the day before.

6.     Garnish with mint and serve with fruit cut into little pieces:  blueberries, nectarines, peaches, kiwis or strawberries.

 [/recipe]

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Arugula and grilled corn salad with pistachios, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes and a preserved lemon dressing

Salad

Baby arugula or mixed baby greens

2 ears of corn, grilled until beginning to brown and then kernels removed when cool

¼ cup pistachio nuts

1 cucumber

cherry tomatoes

Dressing

1 preserved lemon without the peel, chopped finely

1 Tbs. chopped chives

Juice of one meyer lemon

pinch of sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1.       For dressing mix everything together, preferably in a small food processor or chopped and add olive oil gradually. Add salt and pepper to taste

2.      Toss with greens

3.      Arrange the lettuce, corn, pistachios, tomatoes and cucumbers attractively on each plate.

CHILLED CORN VICHYSSOISE  

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

3 Tbs. olive oil)

3 medium leeks, trimmed, sliced and washed

2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced

4-6 ears corn, kernels cut from the cob. Put corn from one ear aside.

32 ounces or 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

½ cup ½ and ½ (optional)

Salt to taste

Snipped chives for garnish

1.  Using heavy casserole, fry the onions in butter until soft and lightly browned.

2.  Adds sliced leeks and cook slowly with onions for another 10 minutes, stirring

     occasionally.

3.  Add chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.  Simmer gently, covered for

     20 minutes or until leeks are soft.

4. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes.

5.  When slightly cooled, pureed the mixture in a blender or food process until very

      smooth.  Add ½ and ½ if desired at this point and mix together.

6. Fry the last ear of corn kernels over high heat with a little oil and some salt until beginning to brown.  Set aside to use for garnish. (This step is optional)
7.  Refrigerate 24-48 hours.

[/recipe]

 There are some people who are mayo-phobes.  They hate anything even remotely associated with jarred mayo including any type of aioli.  I am happy to offer this recipe for a mayo-less crabcake and mayo-less sauce.

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Corn and crab cakes with lemon caper butter sauce

Crab Cake

8 ounces crab meat (good quality, not canned or imitation)

2 green onions (scallions, finely chopped)

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 ears of corn, kernels removed

1 tsp old bay seasoning

cayenne pepper to taste

1 tsp dry mustard

2 egg yolks

bread crumbs

1.      Cook the corn in the heavy cream until the corn is cooked through but still crunchy (5-6 minutes) cool

2.     Mix egg yolks into corn and cream mixture

3.     Mix everything except bread crumbs together gently so as to keep the chunks of crabmeat intact.

4.     Gently make small (2 inch) patties and coat them with the bread crumbs. This is difficult since they are very crumbly

5.     Refrigerate until they are firm and easy to handle.

6.     Fry in vegetable oil until brown on each side.

7.     Serve with lemon caper sauce

Lemon Caper Sauce (hold the mayo)

Juice of one lemon

1 Tbs. capers

2 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. white wine or vermouth

1/4 heavy cream

1.     Boil lemon juice and vermouth until reduced to 1-2 Tbs.

2.  Add cream and reduce until thickened.

3.      Wisk in butter a little at a time while stirring. 

4.     Add capers and season with salt

4.     Refrigerate until ready to use.

5.     Heat gently in microwave

[/recipe]

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Grilled Kielbasa with corn relish

Kielbasa ( I like the small individual smoked Polish Kielbasa from Hilshire Farms)

Corn Relish Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·         1 large cucumbers, peeled, finely chopped

• 1 cup chopped green cabbage

·         2 cups of finely chopped onions

·         2 stalks celery finely chopped (Size of corn kernels)

·         ½ cup chopped pimento

·         4 cups corn kernels (cut from 4-6 ears, depending on how big the ears are)

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 ½  Tbsp Kosher salt

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)

·         1/2 teaspoon turmeric

·         2 teaspoons mustard seeds

·         1 teaspoon celery salt

·         cayenne pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1        Place everything except corn, celery and cucumber and pimento in a medium-sized (4 to 6-quart), thick-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

2        Add celery and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes.  Then mix in pimento.  Taste for seasoning.

3         Spoon the corn relish into clean jars and seal. Will last for 4-6 weeks refrigerated.

4        This is better made a few days before you serve it.

Yield: Makes 3-4 pints.

[/recipe]

It’s time for strawberry picking.  Listed below are some area strawberry growers.   Call ahead to get the latest news on picking.

U-PICK STRAWBERRIES FARMS

 TWO GREAT SOUPS USING SUMMER BOUNTIES

Corn and Cucumbers.  Both ready for harvest and both are the main ingredients for these two great soups.  The hot chowder is great as the main meal with only a salad and crusty bread to complete the feast.  And the cold green gazpacho is a an usual combination of ingredients that is much more than the sum of it’s parts.  No one has yet guessed the two mystery ingredients to this refreshing soup.

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Green Gazpacho

For this soup you will need a really strong blender such as a vita-mix.  The quantities are just approximate.  This is a “taste and adjust” recipe since there are many factors at play.  You will need to let it rest in the fridge for a day and then taste and further adjust the vinegar, salt and olive oil.

2 cups (about a pound) cucumbers (which only need peeling if the peels are thick and  only needs seeding if the seeds are big)

1 cup,(about ½ pound)  seedless grapes green or red

1 cup raw almonds

1 shallot

1 medium garlic clove or more to taste

1 TBS chopped dill

1 cup water

1 TBS sherry vinegar (or other wine vinegar)

¼  buttery olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Blend together in vita-mix or other very strong blender until totally smooth.  Taste and adjust for seasoning and then refrigerate overnight and taste and adjust seasoning before serving.  Serve with a swirl of olive oil and a little chopped dill in each bowl.

 [/recipe]

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Thai Corn and Crawfish Chowder

4 ears corn shucked

1 TBS butter

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped into small cubes

4 cups chicken broth, seafood broth or lobster broth

1 can coconut milk (14 ounce)

1 TBS Thai red curry paste

1 pound cooked crawfish tail meat (comes frozen) or shrimp, crab or lobster

Salt to taste

1.       Fry the corn kernels over high heat in a frying pan with no oil and after 3 minutes add butter and when melted continue to cook for another 2 minutes of high heat before setting the corn aside.

2.      Fry the onions in olive oil until soft and beginning to caramelize and then set aside

3.      Defrost the crawfish and fry over high heat with some butter and olive oil in two batches for 5-6 minutes each and set aside.  IF using other seafood skip this step if the seafood is already cooked.

4.      Place the shucked corn cobs in the broth and boil together for 20 minutes to infuse the broth with the corn flavor.  Then remove the cobs and discard.

5.      Mix the red curry with 1 TBS of the coconut milk until thoroughly combined.  Then add to broth along with the rest of the coconut milk and bring to simmer.  Add the onion, corn and crawfish and bring to simmer again.  Simmer for 10 minutes and taste for seasoning.

This chowder can be eaten immediately or refrigerated for the next day.  If using lobster or shrimp do not add the seafood until right before serving and then add it to the simmering broth and simmer until warmed through.  It is important not to overcook the seafood.

 [/recipe]