Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Pasta

Posted on March 28, 2013 by mo

This is one of my favorite summer meals. The melons are such a short season we try to have this at least two or three times in the summer. I often make this without prosciutto as I did this time in the photo. You can substitute bacon, turkey or vegetarian bacon if you like. The key is to have something salty to stand up to the melon. If you leave out prosciutto (or prosciutto substitute), use a little more Parmesan cheese.

Melon Prosciutto Pasta

  • 1/4 cup fruity olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe, diced
  • 1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, very coarsely diced
  • grated zest of 1 med. lemon
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 T. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
  • RECOMMENDED PASTA: 8 oz. medium shells (conchiglie rigate).

Combine olive oil, cantaloupe, prosciutto, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper and  Parmesan cheese in pasta serving bowl.

Set aside to warm to room temperature, or just till flavors mingle.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water till al dente. Drain pasta well & immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with basil & toss. Serve at once with extra Parmesan cheese. Pass the pepper mill.

Posted in 2012, Melon, Recipes | Comments Off on Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Pasta

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Posted on March 21, 2013 by mo

These are a very sweet pepper called Carmen. Roasting them brings out even more sweetness and complex flavors. To prepare these you simply need to rinse off most of the charred peel and seed and de-vein them.
Roasted Red Peppers

You can put some olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar on these peppers and essentially you will have what you get a Whole Foods olive bar or buy in jars that you would pay big bucks for.

I like to use these on grilled cheese sandwiches. But I really love roasted red pepper sauce.

Roasted red pepper sauce is almost as easy as making pesto. Seed and de-vein your peppers as above and take the peppers for a spin in your Cuisinart or blender.
Process the Peppers

Add some onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil.
Add Onions and Garlic
And take that for a spin. If you are going to eat it right away you can add a splash of cream or 1/2 & 1/2 and some Parmesan cheese. Use this like you would pesto, on pasta or bread as a spread or to compliment some grilled vegetables or meat.

I wanted to save mine for winter eats so I am going to freeze it at this point and add cream when I use it.
Sauce in Bag
Yeah. I love putting some things away for winter.

Posted in 2012, Peppers Roasted, Recipes | Comments Off on Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Roasted Delicata Squash Salad

Posted on March 21, 2013 by mo

Delicata are one of a few winter squash that you don’t need to peel. The flesh and peel are firm with a nutty flavor. I like to roast them in smaller pieces to get more caramelized areas, but you can also just cut it in half and roast it like you would an acorn squash. Delicatas are nice stuffed with grains or vegetables and roasted, too.

I want to show you one of my favorite winter salads. This is a good way to use up anything you have in your refrigerator.

Delicata squash work really well with this salad because the flesh is so firm when it is cooked and can hold up to being tossed with vinaigrette and mixed with other ingredients.

Cut up your squash, removing the seeds and stringy pulp.  Drizzle the slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast in a hot 400˚F oven.
Sliced Delicata

Tossed with Oil
Roast the bejeezes out of it, about 40 minutes. You want these really done, almost dry.

Crisp Roasted
Put the cooked squash in a bowl and chop up any vegetables that you have on hand. Make sure you add some sort of onion and some crunchy stuff like celery or peppers. The contrast of soft and crunchy is nice. I wish I had some hard cooked eggs to add here.
Add to Salad

I drizzled this with a Dijon vinaigrette but any dressing will do. Mine was 2 teaspoons Dijon, 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. I tossed it all and served it on some lettuce. This is also great on grains or rice. The leftovers are so good too. The flavors meld so make lots. You will want more than one meal out of this.
Finished Salad

Posted in 2012, Recipes, Salads-Fall-Winter, Winter Squash | Comments Off on Roasted Delicata Squash Salad

Moussaka

Posted on March 6, 2013 by mo

This week I thought I would share some of my favorite go-to recipes with you. First is moussaka, or my take on a moussaka-like dish using what I have on hand.

Moussaka

  • 2 globe/Italian eggplants, unpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  • Olive oil
  • 3 cups total of any vegetables you have available to you (onion, carrots, celery, fennel, rutabaga, kohlrabi, mushrooms…any combo of these works here)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • About 2 cups of tomatoes, cut up (fresh or canned, whatever you have)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 cups milk
  • 4 egg yolks

Sprinkle both sides of eggplant rounds with salt and brush with oil. Either bake or grill the eggplant until it is tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 3 cups of vegetables and saute until the vegetables are very tender. Mix in garlic. Saute until juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Mix in oregano and cinnamon. Add tomatoes and parsley. Cook until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange half of eggplant rounds in single layer in dish. Spoon half of tomato mixture evenly over eggplant. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant, tomato mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese.

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot sauce. Pour sauce over vegetables in dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over sauce. (Can be made 1 day ahead. If you’re making this ahead, cover and refrigerate here.)

Bake moussaka at 350°F until heated through and sauce is golden brown on top, about 45 minutes (or about 55 minutes for refrigerated moussaka). Cool 15 minutes.

Posted in 2012, Eggplant, Recipes | Comments Off on Moussaka

Spaghetti Squash

Posted on March 6, 2013 by mo

I hear some people say that they are intimidated by cutting winter squash in half in order to bake them. I have read that you can microwave winter squash for 5 to 10 minutes, making them easier to cut, then proceed with baking. I had never tried that, so I did.

I poked some holes in the spaghetti squash so it wouldn’t blow up in the microwave.
Spaghetti Squash

I microwaved it for a total of 10 minutes. After 5 minutes I turned it over and cooked it another 5 minutes. This is what it looked like after 10 minutes of microwaving. You can see how it is partially cooked, but very raw in the middle. While I was microwaving it I preheated the oven to 400°F. After doing this I am positive it will work with any winter squash.
Scooping Seeds

I scooped out the seeds and added some onions, herbs, salt and pepper. I rubbed all that with olive oil and put it in the 400°F oven for about 35 minutes.

Spaghetti squash are the ultimate in stringy squash. To optimize the stringy ‘spaghettiness’ of the squash you want to dry it out a bit so bake it uncovered, cut side up the whole cooking time.

See the meat of the squash pulling away from the squash shell? That is how you know it’s done.
Baked Till Done

Discard the herbs if you used them and use a fork to fluff up the squash to make it look like spaghetti. Don’t stir it or smash it. Try to keep it fluffed up.
Making the Spaghetti

My very favorite thing to do with spaghetti squash is to cut up one of my last very ripe tomatoes and add a little olive oil, parsley and Parmesan cheese. This dish tells me that summer is well and truly over. What a great goodbye.
Dressed with Tomatoes

Posted in 2012, Recipes, Winter Squash | 2 Comments

Hasselback Potatoes

Posted on February 21, 2013 by mo

This is one of my favorite ways to make potatoes. By cutting them you get more roasted crunchiness to contrast the creamy inside of the potato.

Set your oven to 400F.  Make even cuts in your potatoes (don’t cut all the way through) and place them on an oven proof pan. Brush the potatoes with olive oil. Carefully brush oil inside the cuts you made and salt and pepper them. The potatoes will fan out and all the surface areas will crisp up so you want to get oil on all the surfaces.
Hasselback Potatoes

Roast them about 35 to 45 minutes, depending how big your potatoes are. Just keep an eye on them. When they are done to your liking you can eat them as is or add some cheese or herbs. I added a little cheese and some rosemary and let that melt down and inside the cuts.
Hasselback Slices

Oh my goodness are these easy to make and so good.

Posted in 2012, Potatoes, Recipes | Comments Off on Hasselback Potatoes

Shishito Peppers

Posted on February 17, 2013 by mo

One of the restaurants we sell to asked Wyatt to grow these peppers and boy am I glad he did. This is probably my favorite new crop this year. These are mild and so flavorful. The seeds of most peppers are bitter and you almost always discard them. But the seeds of the Shishito pepper are almost a caviar texture, creamy and succulent and very juicy. They are a thin-walled pepper, sort of like a Jimmy Nardelo if you are familiar with those. I prefer the Shishito pepper to the Jimmy.

You can grill the Shishito or just pan sear them. I have done both and both are equally delicious.

Just heat a pan with some olive oil in it and put your washed peppers in the hot pan.

Shishitos

Sear the peppers on all sides. The peppers will puff up and some even pop open, that’s ok.

Seared in Cast Iron

Now you can just eat them as a side dish or snack. Eat the whole pepper, but not the stem!

Salted and Ready

Or you can cut them up and add them to a dish like you would any roasted pepper. I made some eggs and added these to the eggs.

Top the Chiles

Posted in 2012, Peppers Sweet, Recipes | 1 Comment

Curried Apple and Potato Kugel

Posted on February 17, 2013 by CSA Admin

Submitted by Jessica Hersh

  • 3 lbs potatoes (either red or yellow)
  • 2 lbs apples (something with nice flavor and crisp texture (like honeycrisp or granny smith)
  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 Tbs curry powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 cup neutral oil (safflower or sunflower)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash the potatoes and apples well and peel the onions. Grate them all, starting with onions and rotating (this will keep the potatoes from oxidizing and turning brown.) Mix the shredded vegetables and fruit together with the flour, eggs, curry powder, and salt. Put the oil in a baking dish (Pyrex works great for this) and put in the hot oven for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and put the kugel mix in the hot oil in the pan. Spread evenly then bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the edges and top are nicely browned. Cut into pieces and serve hot. This is great plain or topped with plain yogurt.

Posted in 2012 | Comments Off on Curried Apple and Potato Kugel

Arugula Pesto

Posted on February 14, 2013 by mo

You can use spicy salad mix or spinach, or beet greens or anything leafy. My favorite pesto is made from arugula. I like it better than basil. Anyway, let’s start here. Bag-o-arugula.
Bag of Arugula

If I have been asked once I have been asked 100 times.
“Do I have to wash it?”
“Yes.”
“It looks wet, didn’t you wash it at the farm?”
“No, we put our greens in a tub of water to wash some dirt off and the odd bug, and to hydrate it so it keeps for you well. We don’t wash it. You need to wash it. Trust me, wash it.”
This is the water left in my salad spinner after I washed my arugula.
Salad Spinner

Not a great picture, but you can see dirt and weird stuff. Not too bad this time, but I still don’t want any dirt or the odd bug in my food. I’m glad every time I see what is washed off my greens that I took the time to wash it.

Ok, on to the pesto. Grab any kind of nuts you like. Pine nuts are most common in pesto, but they are crazy expensive now so feel free to use any kind of nut you like. Cashew pieces were what I had. Any nut is better roasted in my opinion, so I roasted my cashew pieces before making my pesto. You can skip that step if you like. Get your washed and dried greens, about 1/3 of a cup of any kind of nuts you like and some olive oil and a few cloves of garlic.
Pesto Ingredients

Chuck the garlic and nuts in the food processor and give them a spin. Stick your face in and smell that, roasted cashews and garlic. Yum.
Puree nuts

Add exactly three glugs of olive oil and start adding your greens a few handfuls at a time.
Olive oil

Do that until you have all the greens mixed in and add more olive oil if you feel it is too dry. Mine didn’t need more. When the greens are all incorporated, salt and pepper to your liking.
Blended Pesto

I like to have some pesto in the freezer to have on hand in the winter. I have heard some people put the pesto in ice cube trays and put the cubes in a Ziploc bag and just grab a cube when they need it. You can do that.  I like to put the whole batch in a large Ziploc and just break off what I need. This went into the freezer.
Bag for Freezing

Posted in 2012, Arugula, Recipes | Comments Off on Arugula Pesto

Sunchoke Ideas

Posted on February 13, 2013 by mo

We have been offering Jerusalem artichokes in our CSA for years now, so many of you love them and look forward to getting them. This is some information for those of you who may be less familiar with them.

Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes) are tubers belonging to the daisy family. The plant looks like an enormous sunflower plant. We dig up the roots to eat, much like potatoes. I don’t want to get into a health discussion here, but if you are interested you should look up the health factors of this tuber, especially if you eat it raw. It has some very unique health benefits.

You can use Jerusalem artichokes in pretty much the same way you would use a potato. Specifically, use it like you would a new potato because you don’t need to peel these. They are washed and ready to use.


They look a little like ginger root don’t they?

You can roast these, bake them, incorporate them in a root vegetable mash-up, or make a soup or a salad. Anything that you would make with a potato, you can make with these. I think they are fun to cook with because your brain thinks it is going to taste like a potato but you get a unique flavor and texture.

I pan roasted some with onions, mushrooms and a little garlic.

They have a very interesting nutty taste and a pleasant crunch that potatoes lose when cooked. Because they are so flavorful with such a nice texture, they work well to compliment a less flavorful, unique textured counterpart…like spaghetti squash.

Posted in 2012, Recipes, Sunchokes | Comments Off on Sunchoke Ideas