First Taste of Autumn

     The Golden Earthworm CSA box was filled with an assortment of winter  squash this week.  Last night I made a delicious side dish out of a lovely acorn squash and lucky for me, there was enough left over for lunch today.  Sorry, there is  no picture of the cooked squash, I was so hungry I ate first and wrote later!

    Here's the recipe:  Wash and cut the squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds and coat with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Place on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven and bake for about 30 minutes.  While the squash bakes,  cook 1/2 cup of brown rice in 1 cup of salted water or broth with a teaspoon of olive oil.  When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup of muenster(or cheddar) cheese,  salt and pepper to taste, re-cover  the pot until cheese melts.   Spoon rice mixture into the squash "cups" and bake another 10 minutes.

    I served this with pesto- coated salmon and steamed broccoli  for dinner last night.

   This morning  I was alternatively absorbed in paying some bills  and  meditating on my latest haiku effort. Suddenly I noticed  ravenous hunger!  Lunch time had slipped by and my stomach was protesting.     I heated the leftover squash in the microwave and had autumn comfort food for  lunch!!


Thought for today:  New season!  New flavors!

Black Bean Salad Tweaked! And A Dessert to Placate the Carnivore

Black Bean  Quinoa Salad with Tomato Salsa

                                                                  THE MAIN EVENT

  I had a delicious Black Bean Salad recently, made by The Teacher (AKA the Third Daughter.).  It had corn in it, a vegetable I love, but which does not return my affection.  I decided to tweak the recipe and turn it into a main course, to eat on  a hot August evening.  I wanted  to use some of the wildly juicy and delicious tomatoes, some sweet onion and green peppers I am getting in my CSA box every week. We  also have a bumper crop of jalapeno peppers in the  herb garden this year and there was even  handful of cilantro ready to be picked.   Perfect!

Here's my recipe, adapted from the Teacher's recipe.  (Quinoa, an ancient nut-like grain, added to  black beans becomes a complete protein.)

*Cook  3/4 cup of quinoa, letting it cool completely.

*Mix 2 cans of drained black beans with 2 tbs of red wine vinegar, some chopped onion, chopped jalapenos (I used 2)  and 3 chopped green peppers.

* Add cooled quinoa.  Mix in the following dressing:  1/3 c olive oil and the juice of 2 limes, 1 tsp. of ground cumin,  salt and  pepper to taste. Chill.

*  Make this  salsa just before serving:  Chop fresh red and yellow tomatoes, garlic, some onion, a jalapeno pepper, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.  Squeeze on lots of lime juice and mix well.  Serve black bean salad topped with salsa.



                                                            AND FOR DESSERT

Peach Cobbler

               What do you do with 3 pounds of peaches all ripening on the same day?   Make Peach Cobbler, of course!

**Melt 1 stick of butter in a 9x13 oven pan.

** Combine 1 cup of flour(I use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour) with 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1 cup of brown sugar  and a pinch of salt. Add 1 cup of milk (I use soy milk) and stir until moistened. Add to the melted butter in the 9x13 pan but do not stir.

** Slice 4-6 large peaches and place in a sauce pan with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of  agave and a squeeze or two of lemon juice.  Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes.

** Pour peach mixture onto batter, without stirring.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and bake in a 375 oven for 40 -50 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

  I am experimenting with using agave as a substitute for some of the sugar in recipes.  It is purported to be lower glycemic than sugar and since it is sweeter, you can use less.  If you don't have it you can use 1 cup of sugar instead.


THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  AUGUST BRINGS A BOUNTY OF FRESH FOODS TO ENJOY









  

Farm Fresh Treats for Breakfast

  Today, it's all about the goodness and bounty from the August garden, both my own small plot and the Golden Earthworm  offerings in my CSA box this week.  I get my vegetables from the Golden Earthworm Organic Farm in Jamesport . My fruit share comes from Briermere Farms.

   I have breakfast on my mind ! I'm allergic to eggs so  it's easy to become bored with breakfast.  When I need a change from cereal and fruit, I turn to these two recipes to mix it up a bit in the morning.

   Since I've been craving mint  all summer  and I discovered a patch of it in a dark corner of my yard, probably planted there by the garden fairies when we weren't looking, I've been harvesting and drying( and using )  it like crazy, adding it to everything.

  Here are two alternatives to eggs or cereal for breakfast.

                                Minted Peach  Smoothie

                 6 oz. to 8 oz. of  plain yogurt

                 1 juicy ripe peach

                 2 tbs. nuts (pecans are good)

                 4-6 ice cubes

                 fresh mint leaves to taste (5 or 6)

                 cinnamon

                 stevia as needed

                                      Blend together until smooth. Garnish with more

cinnamon and a sprig of mint.  Drink.

       

                                      Tofu Tomato Scrambler

     

        olive oil

        1 14 0z package of extra firm organic tofu

        1 large tomato, chopped

        1 onion

        2 jalapeno peppers

        1 red or green pepper

        2 tsp ground cumin

        1-2 tsp turmeric

        1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
OR a handful of mint leaves, chopped.

       lower sodium soy sauce

        3 0z. extra sharp cheddar cheese, cubed

        black pepper

Saute the onion, jalapenos, sweet pepper, cumin and turmeric in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.

  Squeeze the water out of the tofu, crumble it and add to the pan with about 2 teaspoons of soy sauce.  Cook for a minute or two,  mixing ingredients thoroughly. 

    Add tomatoes, cheese and basil or mint.  Cover pan and cook for another minute or two until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

 Add crushed black pepper to taste. This recipe makes enough for about 4-5 servings.  It keeps well and is easy to reheat.

        

Great for lunch too!

Variations on a theme:

      * Use celery or fennel instead of the pepper

      * Omit the jalapeno  and basil, add oregano and cayenne powder

      * Use feta instead of cheddar and add baby spinach with the basil

  In other words, experiment!

Thought for Today -  The harvest is indeed a gift from God and it's not necessary to wait until Thanksgiving to say 'thank you.'
       





                                       
               

Did Someone Say Zucchini?

    Here comes the zucchini!  Last week I received 5 good sized zucchini squashes in my Golden Earthworm CSA box and two days later, my generous neighbor left 4 equally healthy looking zucchinis on my stoop.

It's an embarrassment of green squash. A plethora of zucca.  The quintessential mid-summer glut. And I just picked up this  week's share  a few minutes ago.  Guess what?  More zucchini!

But what is the point of all these veggies, if not to eat them when they are just off the vine. So I set out to find ways to slip those little green  devils into my recipes.

Here are three fast and easy ways to use zucchini.  As the summer wears on I plan to hunt up an old pickle recipe that is buried in my recipe box.  As I recall, it was easy and worked for zucchini and cukes.  For now, this is what we are eating:

Greek Potato Zucchini Bake

This recipe is strictly seat-of-the -pants peasant food.  I made it up as I went along.  I scrubbed and sliced 2 good sized potatoes , 2 zucchini  and  an onion. Doused them with olive oil then layered them in my favorite souffle pan. Potatoes, squash,  onions.  Sprinkle with fresh basil, hot pepper flakes, and lots of  feta cheese.   Then do it again.  Top with  chopped tomato, lots of fresh basil, and kalamata olives, pitted.

Bake in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Cool slightly and serve in wedges.  (We ate the leftovers cold for breakfast the next day.)

Add a salad and call it dinner!

Italian Style Zucchini Side Dish

Ingredients :

     Olive oil

     Zucchini

           Tomatoes

      Garlic

       Onions

         Oregano

                                 Salt and pepper to taste

                                 Romano Cheese, grated

Toss all ingredients into the foil, seal and put on the grill for about 15 minutes.

Put this on the grill with  chicken and baked potatoes - no pots to clean!

Pasta With Green Squash, White Beans and Fried Sage

Quickly saute the sliced zucchini with lots of garlic, onions and hot pepper flakes to taste in olive oil.  Add a can of white or cannellini beans and cook for another minute.  Go out to the garden and pick about 20 large sage leaves or buy them fresh in the market.  (Do not use dried)  

Cook pasta al dente and add it to the pan with the zucchini. Add some white wine. Mix well and reheat.  

Fry the sage leaves in a separate pan in olive oil until crispy.  Crumble over the pasta.

Frying the  sage gives  a very different flavor to this dish, not at all like the familiar Thanksgiving stuffing flavor. It can also be used to garnish soups and just about anything else.   Try it!   

We had lots of leftovers for a lunch the next day

Garden Sage

Experiment with new ways to use up all that zucchini!  Do you have a  favorite recipe for this ubiquitous summer veggie?  If so, I invite you to share it in the comments section  below.  Thank you!

Kale- Glamour Green of the Year.

Everybody is talking  about kale.  It's good for you and it has become  the darling veggie of chi-chi chefs and nutrition gurus.  And it arrives in the CSA box regularly.   So what do you do with kale?

  Here's a recipe I adapted from one I found  on the Golden Earthworm website.  I didn't have pecorino cheese so I used feta. The results were satisfying and I got the thumbs up from my husband.

 "This was good, you can make it again," he said after having seconds.

   I liked the red kale better than it's  ruffle-leafed cousin. It's milder and not as chewy, if you know what I mean.

                                          Tuscan Red  Kale Salad

1 bunch red kale, cleaned and stems removed
2 slices pumpernickel bread toasted
1 clove garlic
 kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup feta cheese (or  pecorino)
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
red  pepper flakes

Chop kale  into thin ribbons.  Toast bread  and crumble into crumbs.  Crush garlic with salt until pulverized into a paste.  In a small bowl mix the garlic, oil, cheese, pepper flakes and black pepper to taste and lemon juice and pour over kale, mixing well.  Serve topped with bread crumbs.

The recipe works well with regular kale too.  If using regular kale, try using both hands to "soften" the leaves.  After cutting them to ribbons, add the dressing, except for the cheese, then get your (clean) hands messy by 'kneading' the mixture for a while.  Mix in the cheese when you add the bread crumbs.

Today's  Take-Away -  If my three-year old grandson can eat kale with gusto, I can too.

Love my CSA

    I rejoined my CSA ( Community-Supported Agriculture) today and I'm already  day dreaming about the vegetables and fruits to come.  This is our third year in a CSA  and we are loving it.   We discovered the Golden Earthworm Organic CSA  located in Jamesport New York,  last year and since the farm arranges drop-off points all over Nassau, our fruits and vegetables are delivered to a location closer to my house than my local supermarket!

    For me, it's the best of all worlds.  I can eat my veggies, support Long Island organic farmers, and not have to give up my flower garden to grow my own vegetables.  We also discovered some interesting foods that we never ate growing up in the 50's and 60's.

Last year we sampled gooseberries, kale, daikon radishes, heirloom tomatoes, rutabagas, leeks, celery root,  white turnips, exotic lettuces in addition to the usual cast of characters usually found in the produce aisle.

  I  like the idea of eating whatever is ripe in a given  week - it adds a sense  of mystery  to the meal planning.  And  a bit of a challenge too.

  One thing I've learned - when in doubt, grill it!  Almost all vegetables turn into delicious morsels when grilled!


Today's Take-Away -   Supporting local growers through a CSA, a farmers market or a community garden is a win-win for everybody.