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Category: Recipes

  • Beet and Watermelon Salad

    This is one of my favorite summer salads and it travels well. Our watermelon isn’t ready at the farm yet, but I still thought I would share this with you since we do have beets. I have used mangos instead of watermelon and it’s good that way too.

    • 1 bunch beets, cooked (either roasted or boiled) and cut into small bites
    • Equal amount of watermelon cut the same size

    For the dressing, I use:

    • 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
    • ¼ cup neutral oil

    Mix the dressing and pour it over the beets and melon and let that sit for an hour or so.
    I like to serve the beets and melon over some bitter, spicy greens and top it with either feta or a blue cheese and some roasted nuts.
    Look how shiny the beets get from steeping in the dressing and how the watermelon picks up the red color of the beets.
    Beet Watermelon Salad

    – Mo

  • “Baked” Cauliflower

    This is a great, easy, make-ahead dish for a potluck. It’s good at room temperature and travels well.

    Core and wash your cauliflower, keeping it whole.
    Trimmed cauliflower
    Put the whole cauliflower in a glass pie plate with 2 teaspoons of water, cover with wax paper, and microwave for 7 minutes. How long it will take to cook depends on how big your cauliflower is. Just check it around 5 or 6 minutes. Don’t overcook it or it will fall apart.

    While that is cooking, mix:

    • ½ cup bread crumbs
    • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
    • Salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you like

    When the cauliflower is done drain off any water out of the pan and spread the crumb mixture on the cauliflower. Broil the cauliflower head until the crumb mixture is brown and crunchy.

    This is a great dish for summer. The microwave doesn’t heat up the house and the broiler is only on for a few minutes so it doesn’t get too hot from that either.
    baked till brown
    Serve the cauliflower on a dish with some dressed greens and let people break off as many florets as they like. This is one of those dishes that people who say they don’t like cauliflower will eat.

    – Mo

  • Clouds and Trees

    *Adapted from “One United Harvest”

    • 1 head of broccoli
    • 1 head of cauliflower
    • 1 bunch scallions
    • 1 cup total of mix of nuts, dried fruit, olives, granola, really almost anything your kids like to snack on.

    Dressing

    • Scant ½ cup mayonnaise
    • Generous ½ cup sour cream
    • 2 Tbs honey
    • 2 Tbs vinegar
    • Salt and pepper

    Trim stems from broccoli and cauliflower, using only the tender florets for the salad. Mix in scallions and any of the add-ins you like. I used dried blueberries, pistachios, and black olives. Mix the dressing and mix the whole thing together. This can be made a day ahead.

    My kids liked to have salads served in fancy dishes like this.
    Veggies in a parfait

    – Mo

  • Any Vegetable Peanut Noodle Salad

    This post was updated 6/11/24.

    This is a favorite quick meal I turn to time and time again for a few reasons; one is the unique ‘cooking’ method. Cooked noodles are drained in a colander as usual but over  vegetables. Doing so wilts the vegetables to a perfect ‘al dente’ and provides all the cooking needed. This dish is endlessly adaptable to any vegetables and proteins you have on hand and prep is as easy-chop your vegetables, boil the noodles-toss with a delicious sauce-eat.

    Today I had bok choy, green garlic and some chives. Carrots, turnips, lettuce past its prime for salads, broccoli, peppers are all good here.

     

    Recipe for Noodle Salad 2 servings

    • 1 -12-oz noodles. I used soba but any rice or wheat option is great too
    • about 4 cups chopped or shredded vegetables and herbs

    For the sauce

    • 1/4 to 1/2 c peanut butter to taste, you can use another nut or seed butter if you prefer
    • 1/4 c rice wine vinegar
    • 1/4 c soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp honey
    • 1 Tbsp minced ginger
    • 1/4 c water

    While the noodles cook chop the vegetables then combine peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, and onion with a 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium to low heat until all ingredients are well combined and sauce is thick and bubbly.

    When noodles are cooked place the prepared vegetables in a colander.

     

     

    Drain the noodles, hot water and all over vegetables to drain when the vegetables just start to cook quickly rinse the  with cold water to stop everything from cooking any more.

     

    You can kind of see how the vegetables just barely cooked.

    Toss the vegetable-noodle mixture with sauce, you won’t need it all.

    Serve the extra on the side and dress with any protein you like and hot sauce and nuts or seeds for added dressing.  Either serve now or chill in the refrigerator to serve later for leftover or lunch.

     

    Until next time.

    -Mo

  • Chocolate Beet Cake

    (Adapted slightly from David Lebovitz’ food blog at http://www.davidlebovitz.com/)

    • 8 ounces beets, unpeeled, rinsed and scrubbed free of dirt
    • 7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
    • 1/4 cup hot espresso (or water)
    • 7 ounces butter, at room temperature, cubed
    • 1 cup flour
 *substitute rice/tapioca flour for gluten free option
    • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (the darkest you can find, natural or Dutch-process)
    • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
    • 
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
    • pinch of salt
    • 1 cup superfine sugar

    Cream Cheese Frosting (optional but scrumptious)

    • 16 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
    • 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
    • 16 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
    • pinch of table salt

    For the Frosting: 

    With stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
    Add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
    Beat in vanilla and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.

    Baking the Cake: 
    Butter an 8- or 8 1/2 inch (20 cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. (Note: I didn’t have a springform pan so I used two 8-inch cake pans instead. Layer cake, anyone?)

    Boil the beets in salted water until they’re very tender, about 45 minutes.

    Boiling Beets

    Drain and rinse the beets under cold water. When cool enough to handle, you can peel the cooked beets easily by rubbing them on all sides with a dry paper towel.

    peeled beet

    Cut the beets into chunks and grind them in a food processor until you have a coarse, yet cohesive, puree. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a cheese grater.)
    Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
    In a large bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring as little as possible. Once it’s nearly all melted, turn off the heat (but leave the bowl over the warm water) and stir in the hot espresso. Then add the butter. Press the butter pieces into the chocolate and allow them to soften without stirring.

    Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a separate bowl.

    Remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until the butter is melted. Let sit for a few minutes to cool, then stir the egg yolks together and briskly stir them into the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the beets.

    egg and chocolate

    In a stand mixer, or by hand, whip the egg whites until stiff. Gradually fold the sugar into the whipped egg whites with a spatula, then fold them into the melted chocolate mixture. Do not overmix.

    Fold in the flour and cocoa powder.

    Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, reduce the heat of the oven to 325ºF, and bake the cake for 30-40 minutes. The cake is finished when the sides are just set but the center is still is just a bit wobbly. Do not overbake.

    Let cake cool completely, then remove it from the pan and frost if you dare!

    beet cake slice

    I promise there are vegetables in there somewhere…. Enjoy!

    -Maddie

  • Zucchini Fritters

    Yield: About six 3- or 4-inch fritters

    • 2 medium zucchini
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
    • 2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
    • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour *or sub any gluten free flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

    Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor.
    Grate Zucchini

    In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water OR squeezing out small handfuls at a time. You want to get all the water out that you can.

    Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste it and see if you think it could benefit from more salt (most rinses down the drain). Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.
    Stir it all together

    In a large heavy skillet  (cast iron is good) heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until they start to turn brown. The trickiest part of making these is to get them done all the way through. I just keep flipping them and touching the middle until I can feel the middle of the fritter is set.  Until you get the hang of it you might just want to try one and make sure it is set all the way to the middle. Once you know what it feels like you won’t have to do that again.
    Frying Fritters

    You can add endless ingredients to these fritters, cheese, hot peppers, herbs, spices. Pretty much anything you like. I topped mine with Greek yogurt.
    Top with Sour Cream
    These fritters keep well chilled in the fridge for a week or so. You can warm them up in the microwave or just eat them cold.

  • Sauteed Turnips

    I used this recipe but omitted the soy sauce because I wanted the white and pink color and not a brown (other than the caramelizing from the braising).

    • 1 Tbsp butter
    • 2-3 scarlet turnips, sliced thinly
    • 1 tsp soy sauce, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

    Melt your butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turnip slices and sauté for a few minutes until they start to brown. Add a splash of water or broth, stir, and cover with a lid to braise the turnips until tender, about 8 minutes. Check and stir them periodically. They should be golden-brown in places, almost caramelizing, when they are done, and tender all the way through. Add your soy sauce directly to the pan. Eat!

    It looked like this:

    Add turnips and sauté.

    Sliced Turnips

    Add a splash of water. That is water boiling. It looks like oil, huh?

    Saute Turnips

    Nicely BrownedAfter the turnips have been covered with a lid and braised.

  • Turnip Slaw

    Scarlet Turnips

    • 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions or just any onion
    • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
    • 2 tablespoon vinegar
    • 1 or 2 tablespoons honey taste it before you add the second tablespoon
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
    • 4 cups shredded peeled turnips
    • 1-2 tablespoons poppy seeds

  • Grilled Fava Beans

    If Fava beans seem a bit too fiddly for you, you might like to grill your favas.
    Grilled Favas

    Toss the fava bean pods with olive oil and salt and some herbs if you have some on hand. Arrange them in a single layer on a grill over medium-high heat. Grill until blistered on one side – 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and grill for a few minutes more on the other side. You want the fava beans to be smooth and creamy when you pop them out of their skins – not undercooked. They will keep steaming in their pods for a few minutes after they come off the grill. Season the grilled favas with a bit more salt.

    To eat: tear open the green pods, take a fava bean, pinch the skin and slide the bright green fava from its skin into your mouth. All the char, oil, herbs and fava juices stick to your fingers…so lick them. The whole experience is really tasty. I hope you try it.
    Grilled Favas
    See the bright green beans that have been removed from the pod and then the skin? That’s what you eat.

  • Sauteed Hakurei Turnips

    (Slightly adapted from bon appetit)

    • 1 bunch Hakurei turnips, greens reserved
    • Olive oil or unsalted butter
    • 2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
    • Kosher salt

    Preparation

    Place turnips in a large skillet; add water to cover turnips halfway. Add butter, sugar and a large pinch of salt; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy and turnips are tender, about 15 minutes. (If turnips are tender before liquid has reduced, use a slotted spoon to transfer turnips to a plate and reduce liquid until syrupy. Return turnips to pan and stir to coat well.) **This can be done up to 4 hours ahead of time. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm before continuing.

    Add turnip greens to skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt.