Japanese-Style Pickles and Roasted Beets and Carrots

Who can resist going out into the garden, picking fresh vegetables, and coming inside to create something delicious for the days ahead? Nobody I know. Today, I picked a few Asian cucumbers and knew just what to do with them. The same irresistible thing I did last week!

First, I sliced the cucumbers on the thick side (1/4 inch?), but you can slice them paper thin if you want. Use a mandoline if you're looking for a more elegant slice and presentation. I tossed them in a glass bowl with half a teaspoon of salt, covered them, then put them in the fridge till the salt had extracted some of the juices and a touch of the bitterness that comes in a freshly picked cuke (about half an hour). While waiting, I toasted a tablespoon or two of sesame seeds, then let them cool. In a measuring cup, I put 2 tablespoons of sugar, about 1/3 cup of rice vinegar, and several shakes (maybe 1/3 tsp) from a bottle of Japanese citron juice, aka yuzu, in a bowl. When the cucumber slices had drained, I tossed it all together and put the pickles in back in the refrigerator. The sour-sweet of the vinegar yuzu and sugar is a really nice alternative to most of the sweet pickles you can buy off the shelf, and though salting these pickles softens them up a bit, they are still crisper than most of what you can buy. They are best eaten after sitting overnight, and definitely should not sit more than a day or two.

I also came back into the kitchen with about a dozen small beets and the greens, and a fat carrot. After I washed them all, I sliced the carrot about 1/4-inch thick, peeled, then cut the beets in half (about 1/2-inch thick, they cook faster), and tossed them in a ceramic baking dish with some salt (I used truffle salt this time) and a drizzle of olive oil to coat. I covered them with foil and put them in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes. While waiting, I mixed about 1/3 cup of toasted sunflower seeds with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of good balsamic vinegar, a few twists of fresh pepper, and some minced garlic. When the 30 minutes was up, I took the foil off and left them in for about 10 more minutes to brown up a bit. If they don't caramelize enough, turn the broiler on for three or four minutes.Once they look perfect, add the sunflower mixture, and either serve them right away, or put them back in the turned-off oven to keep them warm and to dry them up a bit more if need be. You could also serve this cold with some crumbled feta if you'd like. Mmm, and it would be delicious in a pot pie with some chicken-apple sausage. Hmm... it's that time of year!