Blog – Page 33

Pasta with Fresh NoCook Tomato Sauce

March 28, 2016

So many tomatoes! And in their travels from farm to us, a few of them got bruised along the way.

Here’s my general plan of attack for tomatoes. I sort through them and set aside the ones that are perfect and will live to be enjoyed another day.

For the ones with bruises and the occasional very soft spot, I rinse them and then cut out all the bad spots. Chop the remainder with olive oil, garlic and herbs of my choice, and then season with salt and pepper. Now I have a no-cook pasta sauce that can sit in the refrigerator getting better and better for a couple of days. Here’s a more formal recipe.

Delicata Squash – Easiest Preparation

March 28, 2016

We were told they were coming, and here they are – delicata squash. Always the first “hard”-shelled squash of the season. Easiest preparation is to wash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds and then bake, cut side down at 350 degrees until tender. Turn them right side up, season with olive oil/herbs/salt/pepper or butter/honey/brown…
Read more

Cucumber Soup

March 28, 2016

Yes, Virginia, you can eat cooked cucumbers. (Goodness, am I the only one old enough to get that reference?)
Probably 2 years ago I put out a recipe that called for adding peeled chunks of cucumber to a stir fry. You put them in just at the last minute and cook only until the cucumbers are heated through, stopping before they lose their crunch. Really delicious.

And we’ve a recipe or two for cold cucumber soups, usually yogurt- or buttermilk-based, and with the cucumbers used raw. This recipe for a soup with cooked cucumbers is from Paige Witherington of Serenbe Farms. She adapted it from “Home Made” by Yvette Van Boven.

Bread and Butter Pickled Onions

March 28, 2016

How did I miss this in the bounty of onion ideas we’ve been sending your way? Hope you still have a few onions to experiment with.

Field Pea Tamales

March 21, 2016

This is an adaptation of an African street food dish called Abala. In Senegal, the little packets are wrapped in banana leaves. At one time I had a banana tree in my yard, and could harvest my own banana leaves for wrappers. I used them to make a Burmese dish of steamed sweet rice – yum. But I digress. If you don’t have your own banana tree, there are plenty of banana leaves for sale at the DeKalb Farmers Market in both fresh and frozen form, and probably at any store that caters to a Caribbean or African customer base.

Or – make it simple – use corn husks as I suggest here. Those are pretty ubiquitous these days.

Just reading through the recipe will remind you that many cultures have leaf-wrapped dishes with a starch – like field peas or corn masa – surrounding a savory filling. And the relish here? If this were a recipe from Mexico, we’d be calling it pico de gallo.

Okra Creole

March 21, 2016

Unlike melons, okra is one tough vegetable. This old-time recipe is a great way to enjoy and truly, cooking the okra in tomatoes seems to cut down on the “slime” factor. But full disclosure – I love okra in any form, I never get the “it’s slimy” contingent, so can’t promise this still won’t seem “slimy” to the okraphobe.

By the way, perfectly fine to eat the little okra caps, as long as the okra is small and tender, like the ones we’ve been getting.

If you cooked and froze some of the corn bounty from earlier this year, then you’ve got a cup of frozen kernels perfect for this dish. If there’s no fresh, or your own fresh-frozen, corn available, it’s ok to use commercial frozen corn (the only frozen vegetable you’ll ever find at my house), or just skip it. Try adding a cup of diced squash instead. Or in addition to the other vegetables. It’s up to you.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

March 21, 2016

Have you saved up enough jalapenos to try this recipe? Easy enough to cut it down to fit the number of jalapenos you do have. Thoroughly decadent. Thoroughly delicious and a great way to eat up a bunch of jalapenos. The original recipe was printed in Saveur magazine.

Okra Rellenos

March 21, 2016

Yes, it will be a lot of trouble, but for those who don’t like okra, this might be worth it to use up that okra. You can adjust the size of the pepperjack sticks to the size of the okra you have. This recipe is adapted from one that appeared in Southern Living about a half dozen years ago. Pico de gallo is a combination of chopped tomato, onion and jalapeno, usually seasoned with cilantro and lime juice. You’ve got three out of five of those ingredients in your box.

Fresh Tomato Soup 2

March 21, 2016

Fresh tomato soup recipes abound. A few years ago I suggested a similar one to this, but it wasn’t heated and used sugar instead of honey. This one has more peppers in it ( you could use a jalapeno or two if you like) and just a tiny bit of cream. Serve it with a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich ?

Eggs Baked on Grits with Bacon and Tomatoes

March 21, 2016

Veering away from a focus on onions and garlic, just a reminder that those veggies make great breakfast food. This recipe from seriouseats.com calls for quick cooking grits, but you can (and should!) substitute long cooking grits like those from Riverview. Grits are another one of those things that you can cook up in a slow cooker – start them the night before and let them cook on slow overnight. Season to taste in the morning.