News from the Farm

Great recipes from the Burlington Free Press – see the full article at http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130823/LIVING06/308230007/1009/RSS01

Calabacitas

Mara Welton of Half Pint Farm in Burlington says, “Let this be the dish that leaves you wanting more zucchini, and wishing your tired old squash plants have one more squash left in them.”

Serves two as main course, four as a side dish

• 2 medium zucchini and/or summer squashes, chopped into half-moons, ½ inch thick
• 2 small cans of chopped green chiles, or 6 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced into a paste
• 2 strips of bacon (optional), chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• corn kernels from 2 fresh ears of corn, or ½ cup frozen kernels
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, if needed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Roast, peel, chop Anaheim chiles (or empty the cans of green chiles into a bowl) and mix well with the garlic and some salt. Set aside.

Cook bacon in a frying pan until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Add onion to bacon fat and sauté until fragrant and translucent, avoiding browning. Add squashes to pan and raise heat to medium-high. You may need to add some olive oil to coat squashes. Stir at intervals that allow the squashes to brown slightly between stirrings.

When squashes are cooked through, and have released some of their water, add corn kernels and cook until heated through. Add chile mixture to the pan and stir until heated through.

Add bacon (if using) back to pan and stir until heated through.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Welton writes on her blog (www.halfpintfarm.com/recipe/) “Serve as an incredible side dish to anything, on its own, over eggs for breakfast, in a quesadilla with cheese. Trust me. You cannot go wrong.”

Tomato jam

Harrison Littell, the new chef at Claire’s in Hardwick recommends this spicy late summer jam as an accompaniment to sandwiches or to accompany a cheese plate.

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onions
• 1/3 cup peeled, freshly grated ginger
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon, ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 1/3 cup sherry vinegar
• ¾ cup light brown sugar (use dark brown sugar for a sweeter, darker jam)
• 8-10 tomatoes to make about 8 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (about 3 to 3½ pounds)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt or salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

In saucepan over medium heat, sauté onions with a pinch of salt till translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic and lightly sauté for a minute to get the flavors to meld.

Add the spices, stir for 30 seconds, then the vinegar, tomatoes and brown sugar. Reduce heat, simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, covered. Stir every five to 10 minutes, adding a little water if necessary, until the mixture is the consistency of jam. Add the pepper and honey, increase the heat and cook 2 to 3 minutes until the jam is shiny. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and stir.

Cool the jam and store in clean glass jars in the refrigerator, where it will keep for a couple months.

Annette’s Wicked Good Tomato Maple Salsa

This recipe is from Amy Chamberlain, chef-owner of The Perfect Wife in Manchester, who writes, “My friend, Annette Sharon, created this recipe for a tomato recipe contest. It won the People’s Choice Award.”

• 6 big, juicy, red ripe tomatoes
• 1 large vidalia onion, small dice
• 2 red bell peppers, small dice
• ½ habenero pepper, minced
• 1 jalepeno pepper, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped chives
• 2 teaspoons chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/3 cup Vermont maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon cumin

Cut tomatoes in half across the width and scoop out the seeds and discard. Chop tomatoes into ½ inch cubes. Combine liquid ingredients and toss with everything else. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate overnight for full flavor saturation. Stir occasionally. Serve with big, solid tortilla chips or over grilled meat or fish. This will last one week in the refrigerator.

The Chicago Tribune has a delicious looking recipe for chard tart. We especially enjoyed this portion of the article, where they wax poetic about chard:

Chard has a certain glamour, for a green. It’s tall and leggy, teetering on spiky roots. It preens from the kitchen garden, flaunting bold stems and broad leaves.

Click here for the full article and recipe.

The New York Times has a great recipe to use up the zucchini from your CSA share or garden. They write,

As it is, it’s just too easy to poke fun at the little gourd, which can grow from the size of a finger to a femur seemingly overnight. And the incredible abundance of zucchini, whether it’s the bumper crop from your garden or the take in your community-supported agriculture (C.S.A.) share, turns it from a welcome sign of summer to an unwelcome guest by the end of July.

But check out their recipe for Zucchini Tian with Curried Bread Crumbs, and the zucchini will be unwelcome no more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Q: There’s an enormous sack of weird-looking bulbs in my fridge. What should I do?! A: Breathe. Get a peeler and start peeling them. Soon you’ll have pickles (or something else delicious) and everything will be OK.”