Summer-cum-autumn suppers and a bit about the wonders of glass

Summer’s back – we had a spell of early winter – and that called for salad meals. Here are two.

Salad Pita

First up – pita stuffed with heirloom (yellow) tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and a cottage cheese, pesto and mayo dressing.

Of the three sourdough products I make each week, by far my most favourite and most successful are the pitas. I often eat them for supper and today, part of the reason I had one for lunch is because I sold all the rolls at the market on Saturday. Usually, I have some left and bring them home and pop them into the deep freeze and pop one into the air fryer for lunch.

An not aside

For the last nearly five years, and for a couple of years prior to that, I've been doing two things: firstly, I stopped eating commercial bread and pasta, potatoes and rice. Over the weekend, I'd eat locally baked bread and, occasionally, a bit of potato. I continued making my own pasta. Within six months, I'd decreased by two clothing size.

Secondly, I stopped eating breakfast. Some people call this intermittent fasting and, I admit, that most days I'm quite disciplined about making sure that there are at least 14 hours between having supper and - literally - breaking my fast. This was not so much about losing weight, but feeling better. And I did.

Then, when I started making sourdough, I began eating bread again - that bread. And probably more bread than I've eaten in my life. And guess what? As the main source of carbohydrate, I have not put on weight. Yes, I have lost weight in the last year, but that had nothing to do with diets or eating plans.

Moral to the story - not medical advice -

There must be something in commercial bread that makes us put on weight - and feel bloated. I don't know whether it's the yeast, preservatives or the quantity of added sugar (or other additives). I also gave a friend who has a bit of a wheat issue - or so he thought - some pita breads. After I had told him my experience with commercial bread which was similar to his and he was beginning to think he had an issue with wheat.

Guess what?

He had no reaction.

I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions.

Summer two salad supper

This supper consisted of two very different salads. A bright and cheerful raw corn and capsicum salad dressed with lime juice and fresh coriander. Next to that, one of my regular go-tos: beetroot on a bed of rocket and with blue cheese.

A point about the corn (mielie) salad: it was #inthejar for Saturday. I continue to be surprised at the longevity of these salads. It’s been in the jar nearly a week and it’s still as fresh and crunchy as it was nearly a week ago.

Virtually all of last night's two salad supper was sourced either from the garden (yes, I'm gradually getting back into that) or from the market. Mostly from the market, truth be told.

The bright, cheerful one came out of Saturday's jar (I'll come back to this) and was a raw corn and capsicum (red bell peppers) with a little tomato, cucumber and red onion, salad dressed with lime juice and fresh coriander.

The other is one of my favourites and a now go-to that continues to "wow": roasted baby beets on a bed of rocket with a soft, salty cheese. Traditionally it should be a chevin goat's cheese, but I've successfully served it with feta and last night, with a creamy blue.

Rocket (arugula) works particularly well with a combination of sweet and salt and just needs a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

About #inthejar

Each Saturday - probably from since mid-way through Covid - I do a weekly special in jars. It's always vegan and always seasonal. So in winter, it's often a soup or a curry. In summer, it's a salad. What I don't sell comes home and goes into the fridge and feeds me during the week.

So it was with this week's salad which has also become a firm favourite. When I opened the jar last night, it had been in the jar nearly a week and it’s still (because I'll eat the other half tonight) as fresh and crunchy as it was nearly a week ago.

Which reminds me -

A local bought the raw zucchini salad from me, and then told me that he'd kept it - unopened - for two weeks. I confess to having been a little anxious. He has a genetic condition which causes serious gut issues. It also means he cannot eat any wheat or dairy.

When he said he was still going to try it, I suggested that when he did, to open it, tip it out and let it "air" for a few minutes: it includes both garlic and onion. He subsequently told me that not only that the salad had been deliciously edible, but he'd had no ill effects.

My reflections/ruminations

The soups that I put into jars are generally "bottled". In other words, I sterilise the jars in the oven and then bottle the soup when it's still boiling. So both the soup and the jars are sterile and then when the lid goes on, they jars seal as they cool. That soup will keep - on the shelf, not the fridge - for months.

Not so the salads: one can hardly pot cold, crunchy salads in hot jars. I do work hard on making sure that they're pristine (I love Daisy, my dishwasher which helps) before I "dish up" and close them.

Both C's experience - and my own - is showing me that using glass jars for storage - including of fresh and cooked food in the fridge, results in superior and longer lasting - safe storage.

Until next time
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma
Post script

If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm still re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?

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