27 October 07Squash and Pumpkins

Winter Squash, Leek, and Saffron Risotto

From From Asparagus to Zucchini ~ A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce

• 5-6 cups chicken stock
  
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, pulverized
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 - 1 cup finely chopped leeks (white and pale green sections only)
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 2-3 cups cooked, pureed winter squash
• 3/4 - 1 cup grated Parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese
• salt and pepper
  

Bring stock and saffron to a simmer in saucepan. Heat olive oil in large, heavy saucepan. Add leeks; cook over medium-low heat until softened, several minutes. Raise heat to medium-high and stir in rice. Keep stirring rice 1-2 minutes, then add wine. Stir and cook until nearly all the wine has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add two ladlefuls hot stock (enough to barely cover the rice); stir frequently until most is absorbed. Continue to add stock a ladleful at a time and stir very frequently until nearly absorbed. Risotto is done when rice is barely tender and mixture is creamy; this should take 25-35 minutes. (Adjust heat if rice is absorbing liquid too quickly.) Stir in squash during last 10 minutes. Fold in most of the grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, with a little more cheese on top of each serving. Makes 6-8 servings.

Pie pumpkin

Is it a pie, or is it a cheesecake? Well, it's a little of both, and consequently it's exponentially delicious. You can see the commercial now: at the left, a man with pumpkin pie in hand; at the right, a woman with cheesecake in hand. They are walking toward each other, their eyes on their own desserts, lips smacking, and WOOPS! They collide and the pie falls on the cheesecake. Light bulbs appear above their heads and they dig in, smiling, happy, and then they fall in love. You will fall in love with this Pumpkin Cheesepie.

Pumpkin Cheesepie

From Farmer John's Cookbook ~ The Real Dirt on Vegetables

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer or graham cracker crumbs (about 45 wafers or 22 crackers)
• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted, divided
• 3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup sour cream
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare fresh pumpkin: cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half in half and lightly brush with oil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until very tender when pierced with a butter knife. Scoop and scrape the flesh from the skin, and mash it as you would when making mashed potatoes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Combine the crumbs, 5 Tablespoons of the butter, and 1 Tablespoon sugar in a small mixing bowl. Mix well.

Grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with the remaining 1 Tablespoon butter. Press the buttered crumbs into the bottom of the pan to form a crust. Press on the crumb mixture with the bottom of a glass to form a solid, tightly packed crust.
Bake the crust until lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Reserve 2 Tablespoons of the sugar. Beat the eggs with the remaining sugar. Stir in the pumpkin puree, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Pour the mixture into the crust; bake until the top is browned and the center is still a little jiggly, about 40 minutes.

Remove from oven; let stand on a rack for 5 minutes.

Combine the sour cream, the reserved 2 Tablespoons sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Spoon the mixture on top of the pie. Bake until browned and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Let cool; then chill before serving.

About Dried Beans

Taken from The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker

Remember: 2 cups dry Jacob's Cattle Bean equals 4-5 cups cooked.

Always wash your beans before soaking. Soak in 3-4 times as much water as beans. Remove any that float or that may be moldy. They are usually soaked overnight. Bring them to a slow boil in the water in which they were soaked. Reduce the heat and simmer. All beans should be cooked until tender. (In this case, cannellini beans take about 2.5- 3 hours.) One test, provided you discard the beans you have tested, is to blow on a few of them in a spoon. If the skins burst, they are sufficiently cooked.

After soaking overnight, you can speed up the cooking process by pressure cooking for 18 minutes instead of the slower stovetop way.

If you have forgotten to soak, a quick method to tenderize for cooking is to cover beans with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. After removing them from heat let them stand, tightly covered, 1 hour. Alternatively, blanching for 2 minutes is almost equivalent to 8 hours of soaking.

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20 October 07Green Tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin Soup, Butternut Squash Fettuccini

Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

From Cheri Sicard, editor of FabulousFoods.com

Here's an elegant side dish that puts all those extra green tomatoes you have to use. Greek style feta or French style chevres (both goat cheeses) work equally well here. Serves 4.

• 4 medium green tomatoes
• A tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
  
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese (feta or chevre)
  
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
  
• salt and coarsely ground fresh ground black pepper

Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat a shallow baking dish with oil. Place tomato slices, in a single, overlapping layer, in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle tomatoes with vinegar and scatter minced oregano over tomatoes. Top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Broil 5-8 inches below a preheated broiler and broil until tomatoes are hot and cheese is just starting to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Traditional Fried Green Tomatoes

From Cheri Sicard, editor of FabulousFoods.com

Here is a good basic version of the classic Southern side dish. Of course you can get creative by adding different seasonings to the coating mixture.

• 4 large or 6 medium green tomatoes, thickly sliced
• 1 Cup flour
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
  
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• oil for frying

Serves 6-8

Soak tomatoes in a mixture of about 2 quarts water and 2 tablespoons salt for about 1/2 hour.

In a large plastic food bag, mix flour, salt, pepper and cayenne. Drain tomatoes and drop a few slices at a time into the bag and shake to coat completely. Heat oil in a large skillet and fry coated tomato slices until browned on each side, about 2 minute per side. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic

From Kitchen Gardeners International

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
• 3-5 cloves garlic depending on your garlic tolerance
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim bottom of Brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 1/2 hour. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and serve hot or warm. Makes 4 servings.

Braised Brussels Sprouts with Mustard Butter

Braising is an excellent method for cooking Brussels sprouts. Braising refers to cooking food with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.

• 1 pound small, firm, bright green Brussels sprouts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter or margarine
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Check each head, peel off any loose or discolored leaves. Using a paring knife, cut an X through the core end of each head. Bring sprouts, water and salt to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower heat, cover and simmer. Shake pan once or twice during braising to redistribute sprouts.

Cook until just tender 8 to 10 minutes. Test by piercing with a knife tip. Drain well.

Melt butter in a large skillet of medium heat. Whisk in mustard until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy, about 30 second.
Add sprouts to skillet, coating well with the butter mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. Serves 3 to 4.

La Soup au Potiron (Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin)

From Saveur, November 1998, page 136

• 1 7-lb. Rouge vif d’Etampes (also called Cinderella Pumpkin)
• 7 Tablespoons butter
• Salt
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs, toasted
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
• 4 cup vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a 4" lid out of the pumpkin. Remove and discard seeds and string. Rub inside of pumpkin with 1 Tbsp. salted butter, season with salt, and place on a baking pan.

Melt remaining butter in a skillet over low heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs and cook for 2 minutes. Add nutmeg and sage, and season generously with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, stir in cheese, and spoon mixture into pumpkin. Add enough stock to fill pumpkin to within 1/2" of the rim. Put bay leaves on top, and then replace pumpkin lid.

Bake until pumpkin begins to soften and brown on the outside and the stock bubbles inside, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and transfer to a serving platter. Scrape flesh from bottom and sides of pumpkin with a spoon. Just before serving, stir in heavy cream if desire.

Butternut Squash Fettuccini

• Butternut squash
• 8 shallots or more
• Salt, pepper
• Olive oil
• Fettuccini
• Sage (you can use dried if you have it but you can also use the fresh sage that we gave you)
• Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

Peel and cut butternut into 1/2" squares. Put in 13x9 pan. Peel and cut shallots and place in pan. Coat the butternut and shallots with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees until soft (around 20-30 minutes). Halfway through baking, pull out and rub/sprinkle sage on top and then continue baking.

Mix with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

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13 October 07Cabbage, Winter Squash, Jalepenos

Shredded Cabbage Salad

From Food Book ~ for a Sustainable Harvest, By Elizabeth Henderson and David Stern

• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. wine vinegar
  
• 1 large head cabbage, shredded
  
• 1 t. dried rosemary
  
• 1 t. ground cumin
  
• 1 1/2 t. oregano
  
• 1 t. dried basil
  
• 1/2 t. salt or to taste
  
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
  

Saute onion in oil, until clear and slightly golden. Halfway through cooking onion, add garlic. (If you prefer, you can toss in the onion and garlic raw.) Add onion and garlic to olive oil, vinegar, and herbs. Mix well. Toss with shredded, raw cabbage and serve.

Squash and Apple Bake

From Food Book ~ for a Sustainable Harvest, By Elizabeth Henderson and David Stern

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 T. flour
  
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
  
• 1/2 t. salt
  
• 1/2 t. mace
  
• any winter squash
  
• apples

Peel and slice winter squash into a greased baking dish. Cover with sliced and cored apples. Top with other ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees until tender (about an hour). Note: maple syrup, molasses and honey also make good sweeteners to a dish like this.

Hot Pepper Sauce

From Farmer John's Cookbook ~ The Real Dirt on Vegetables

Where do you put your hot sauce? Eggs? Pasta? Green beans? Steak? On everything you eat? When you see how easy it is to make your own scorchin' hot sauce, you'll soon become a hot-sauce-over-everything person. And then you'll start improvising, adding maybe a few garlic cloves, or some tomato paste, or rosemary sprigs. Different people have different secrets to a great hot sauce, but here we give you the basics. You can make this in a quart-size mason jar, or you can do it like they do in the South: in a big old rum bottle. Measurements are approximate; you do what you need to fill your container completely. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

• about 1 pound of jalapeno or Serrano peppers or other hot peppers, or a combination, washed, stems removed.
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• about 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stuff as many peppers as you can in the bottle or jar, dropping in a few peppercorns between peppers. Bring the vinegar to a boil in a medium pot. Stir in the salt and remove from the heat. Let it cool for about a minute. Pour the vinegar over the peppers until they are fully covered. (You might not use all of the vinegar.)

Pound a cork into the jar or bottle (an old clean wine cork works fine) or screw the lid on tightly. Put the peppers in a cool closet for 1 week; then transfer to the refrigerator. The sauce will be ready to use after 1 week, but it will get even better and hotter with time. Once the sauce has reached a heat to your liking you can transfer it to a smaller clean container and store it in the refrigerator; at this point it will keep indefinitely.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Taken from Simply Recipes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.
2. In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
3. Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack for 20 minutes or until the seeds begin to brown. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.

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06 October 07Beans 'n' Spinach

Beans au gratin

From Food Book ~ for a Sustainable Harvest, By Elizabeth Henderson and David Stern

• 4 cups lightly steamed green or romano beans
• 1/4 t. salt
• dash cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 T. butter
• 1/3 cup cream
  

Mix together the beans, seasonings, and 1/4 cup of the cheese, 1 T. butter, and the cream. Place the mixture in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and dot with the remaining butter. Bake in a hot oven (425) for about 20 minutes.

Beans with Ginger, Walnut and Raisins

From Food Book ~ for a Sustainable Harvest, By Elizabeth Henderson and David Stern

• 1 lb. green (or purple or romano) beans
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 t. fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 T. lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
  

In wok or frying pan, sauté ginger, raisins, and walnuts in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add steamed beans and lemon juice and stir. Salt and pepper to taste.

Beans with Sesame Sauce

From Food Book ~ for a Sustainable Harvest, By Elizabeth Henderson and David Stern

• 1 lb. green (or purple or romano) beans
• 3/4 cup tahini
• 4 T. water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. tamari or soy sauce
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
  

Combine tamari, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. Serve cold over steamed, cooled beans, or hot over hot beans. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Spinach Quiche

From Food Book ~ for a Sustainable Harvest, By Elizabeth Henderson and David Stern

Filling:

• 2 T. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup steamed spinach (or any other green)
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. oregano
• 1/2 t. salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cup milk

Prepare a bottom crust using your favorite recipe. Saute onion in butter until translucent. Take off heat and add remaining ingredients. Pour into crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, till knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

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29 September 07Winter Squash and Beets

Baked Winter Squash with Sundried Tomatoes

From Local Vegetarian Cooking - Inspired Recipes Celebrating Northwest Farms

By Debra Daniels-Zeller

Serves 4 to 6

• 8 to 10 sundried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee
• 1 very large onion, sliced
• 1 head regular garlic, cloves separated and sliced or 2 cloves elephant garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon, chopped hot peppers such as Mama Lil's (can buy at PCC)
• 4 cups 'Carnival' squash - seeds removed and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheese (*for nondairy version see below)

Pour boiling water over sundried tomatoes. Let sit for 10 to 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid, and cut tomatoes into quarters and set aside.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add oil, onions and garlic. Stir, cover, reduce heat and sweat the onions and garlic for 10 minutes or until they are very tender. Remove lid, stir and continue to cook until onions are brown - about 15 minutes. Add the reserved tomato liquid and hot peppers.

Preheat oven to 325. Oil a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Layer half the onions and garlic, sundried tomatoes, squash and cheese. Make a second layer, exactly the same as the first. Push vegetables down firmly into the dish. Bake covered, for one hour. Remove cover and continue to bake for 1/2 hour, adding a little water, if necessary. Topping should be nicely browned. If not, run it under the broiler for a few minutes.

*Nondairy version: use 1 cup breadcrumbs and combine with 1 tablespoon coconut or extra-virgin olive oil. Brown breadcrumbs in oil in a heavy skillet. Sprinkle on during the last ten minutes of cooking.

Roasted Rosemary Beets with Horseradish Sauce

From Local Vegetarian Cooking - Inspired Recipes Celebrating Northwest Farms

By Debra Daniels-Zeller

When beets are roasted, the sugar caramelizes making them even sweeter. Add Horseradish Sauce, and the sweet earthy taste is balanced with a perfect blend of flavors. As long as the beets are fresh, leave the skins on for this recipe.

Beets:

• 6 medium-large beets
• 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (or use fresh!)
• Dash of salt and pepper

Horseradish Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soft silken tofu
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon Rapadura or honey
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Cut beets into small cubes and combine with ghee and rosemary, blending well. Place in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until fork-tender. While beets roast, prepare Horseradish Sauce. Blend all ingredients for the Horseradish Sauce in a blender or with a hand blender until smooth and creamy. When beets are done, serve beets with a dollop of sauce on top. Serves 6.

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22 September 07Peppers, Eggplant, Squash

Chiles Rellenos

From Diana Rattray

• 3 fresh Hungarian Hot Wax peppers
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend or Cheddar cheese
• all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• dash salt
• vegetable oil
• salsa

If using fresh peppers, place under broiler, about 4 inches from the heat. Broil just until skins blister. Let cool in a food storage bag or paper bag for a few minutes. Peel, remove stems and seeds. Cut the peppers or canned chiles in half crosswise.

Stuff each pepper with cheese; roll in flour. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. In another bowl, beat flour and salt with egg yolks until thicken and lemon colored. Fold beaten yolk mixture into the egg whites.

In a large skillet heat a little oil over medium heat. For each relleno, Spoon about 1/2 cup of egg batter onto the hot skillet. Spread egg mixture out slightly to make a circle. As egg begins to set, place a filled pepper on top of the mound. Cover with more of the egg mixture. Continue cooking until bottom is browned. Turn carefully and brown the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with salsa. Serves 6.

Eggplant with Herbs

The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins with Michael McLaughlin

This is a simple thing, but good. Serves 2.

• 1 tablespoon minced basil, thyme, rosemary, or oregano
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1 medium-size eggplant, about 1 pound
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the minced basil, parsley, and garlic.

Cut the eggplant into halves. Cut several slits in the eggplant flesh, being careful not to cut through the skin. Push the herb and garlic mixture into the slits. Season eggplant with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil, about 1 tablespoon per half.

Bake eggplant halves for 30 minutes. Serve hot or, even better, at room temperature, sprinkled with additional chopped fresh herbs.

Sauteed Zucchini with Red Onion, Dill, and Aged Gouda

Gardeners' Community Cookbook

compiled and written by Victoria WiseRecipe by Joan Holmes (Westminister, MD)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large or 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced (1 pound)
• 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
• 6 medium zucchini (or other summer squash), sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated aged Gouda cheese

Preheat the broiler.

Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté until crisp-tender.

Stir in the dill, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Sprinkle the Gouda over the top and place the pan under the broiler until the cheese melts and turns slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Serve right away.

Serves 4 to 6.

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