First post

Hi fellow Beausol locavores and farm-sharers,

I've set up this blog so we can easily trade recipes and tips for using our produce from Beausol Farm. I hope this will help us enjoy all of Harry's wonderful farm products even more!

Betsy

Flowers for week of July 22

Insalata Caprese (Italian Flag Salad)

Layer slices of:

• ripe red tomatoes
• basil leaves
• real mozzarella (the kind sold in a ball in water), at room temperature

Drizzle each slice of tomato with

• extra virgin olive oil

Splash onto the tops of each mozzarella slice a few drops of

• balsamic vinegar

Season with salt and cracked pepper, and serve.

Also good on toasted French or Italian bread rounds. Spoon the extra vinegar and olive oil over all, so it penetrates the hot crusty bread. This makes a nice lunch.

Couscous salad

• 3 cups of cooked couscous
• about 30 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 of a cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• one 16-oz can of chickpeas, drained
• (optional) very finely chopped squash, zucchini or broccoli, briefly steamed or microwaved
• (optional) very finely chopped halloumi cheese (a sheep's milk cheese available from Neomonde or Whole Foods in the dairy case)
• couple of good big glogs of olive oil (maybe 4 Tbsp)
• salt, to taste
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice and/or white wine vinegar. If you have some tarragon
  vinegar, it is a nice touch also.
  

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss.

I like to use the tri-color couscous.

Blackberry Sour Cream Pie

Yes, I know Harry doesn't include blackberries, but this recipe is in the spirit of this blog, and right now, delicious blackberries are free for the picking along just about every greenway in Wake County! Don't forget to bring your gardening gloves - those thorns can be vicious.

I found this recipe on Cooks.com. It is so easy! I was a little short on blackberries, so I mixed in some sliced, peeled peaches as well. I might try peaches and blueberries next time.


1 unbaked 9" pie crust
4 c. fresh blackberries
1 1/4 c. sugar, + 2 tbsp.
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream

Place blackberries in crust. In separate bowl, stir sugar, flour and salt into sour cream. Mix well - it will be the consistency of thick frosting. Spread over top of blackberries, to edges of crust. Sprinkle 2 tbsp. sugar over top.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30 minutes more. Cool for at least 1 hour before serving.


Tips:
Be sure to place a baking try underneath the pie pan in the oven, to catch drips.
The fruit filling was a tad runny - I might try adding a little cornstarch next time.

Zucchini-Cheddar Biscuits

This is from The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook. Yet another venue for zucchini!

2 c. shredded zucchini or yellow summer squash
1 tsp. salt
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut up
4 oz. high-quality bacon, preferably applewood smoked
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
3/4 c. buttermilk


Combine zucchini and salt in colander and set aside to drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze out any excess moisture, leaving about 1/2 c. zucchini.

Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. Set aside on paper towels. When cool, chop and set aside.

Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Or, you can achieve the same result by pulsing dry ingredients and butter in a food processor. Add the cheese, bacon and zucchini and toss with a fork to mix well. Stir in the buttermilk to form a stiff dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Pat out or roll out until about 1 inch thick. Stamp out biscuits with a 3" round cutter and place on a baking sheet about 1" apart.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Best served warm!

Another reason to eat local

Here's another reason to eat local:

Government inspectors finally have a big clue in the nationwide salmonella outbreak: They found the same bacteria strain on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled in Texas _ and issued a stronger warning for consumers to avoid fresh jalapenos.

But Monday's discovery, the equivalent of a fingerprint, doesn't solve the mystery: Authorities still don't know where the pepper became tainted -- on the farm, or in the McAllen, Texas, plant, or at some stop in between, such as a packing house. ...

(emphasis added)

Ratatouille

My favorite summer food-- healthy, delicious and so easy to make!

You need:
2 medium eggplants
2-3 zucchini
2 large tomatoes
1-2 squash
couple cloves garlic
salt/pepper/cinnamon to taste

Slice veggies into quarter-inch slices and place in a large stock pot. I like to put the tomatoes on top so that their juices drip down through everything else. Roughly chop garlic and sprinkle around, add a handful of fresh basil, if you like. Add seasoning to taste. I highly recommend a bit of cinnamon. Cover and cook over low heat for about an hour. No water or oil required, the veggies do just fine in their own delicious juices!

Serve with rice or alone. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and a little olive oil on top, if desired.

Enjoy,
Sally

Chicken in tomatillo sauce

Time, start to finish: 30 min.

In a food processor, Mix:
8-10 tomatillos, husked, washed and chopped
1/2-1 hot pepper of your choice, chopped; serrano adds a nice flavor
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
5-6 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
3/4 c. water
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut 2 large chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks.
Simmer chicken in tomatillo mixture.

Meanwhile, sauté a chopped onion in 2Tbs butter in a medium pot until browned. Add 1 c. dry rice, and stir to coat in butter. Pour in 1 3/4 c water, stir, and cover. Simmer until rice is cooked.

Remove chicken from heat when cooked through (about 20 min.).
Sauce will still be fairly runny.
Stir in 2 Tbs. sour cream or yogurt.
Serve over rice or with a hearty bread for mopping up the sauce.

Recipe adapted (by memory) from Cathy Cole.

Zucchini Bread

Here's a zucchini bread recipe that's close to a coffee cake.

Beat:
2 eggs

Add and mix thoroughly with eggs:
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
3 tsp. vanilla

Stir in:
2 c. grated zucchini

In a separate bowl, mix together:
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Add mixed dry ingredients to zucchini mixture and mix well.

Stir in:
1 c. nuts

Pour into 2 greased and lightly floured loaf pans. Bake 50-60 minutes in a preheated 350 oven.

How to post

If you are a Beausol Gardens farmshare subscriber, you can obtain a permission to add new posts by sending your email address to me at artistmanquee (at) earthlink (dot) net. I will add you to the authorized list as soon as I am able (but it might take me a day or two).

In the meantime, please feel free to add your recipes or comments by clicking on the "Comments" link below an existing post.

Use-it-all-up recipes: Roasted Vegetables

Do you have a "use-it-all-up" recipe for your farm produce? These can come in very handy on Monday nights!

This is Elizabeth's recipe for roasted vegetables. Sounds like a Monday recipe to me!

Roasted Vegetables. These are a favorite at our house. The quantities don't really matter, as they can be mixed and matched to suit what you have on hand. Here's a list of our favorite veggies to include:
Potatoes
Onions
Baby Carrots
Squash
Sage
Thyme
Olive oil
Chop the potatoes into small cubes. Cut the onion into medium-sized wedges. Keep the baby carrots whole, or halve them if they are a little large. Dice the squash. Tear the sage and thyme.The squash and carrots take less time to cook, so they should be added half way through your cooking time.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Spread out the potatoes and onions and add some olive oil. Add half the herbs. Cook about 30 minutes.
Add the squash, carrots, and remaining herbs. Moisten with some olive oil. Cook another 30 minutes, or until the veggies are crispy and sugared. Stir the vegetables from time to time to keep them from sticking to the pan.
This makes a great accompaniment to dill salmon, another household favorite!

This week's flowers

Some of this week's tomatoes

Carrots, braised and glazed

Here is a recipe for braised and glazed carrots. I believe Beausol Gardens carrots are the sweetest and most complex I've ever tasted. The yellow ones tasted intriguingly different -- more like a parsnip? Anyway, the mix of yellow and orange slices looked so beautiful together.


Braised, glazed carrots

In a small saucepan or sauté pan, barely cover sliced carrot pennies with half water, half chicken broth. Add a tablesppon of butter and a teaspoon of sugar per pound of carrots, as well as a tiny pinch of salt. Add a little thyme if you like. Simmer, loosely covered, 20 minutes or until liquid is evaporated and carrots are beginning to sauté in the butter. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, if you like, and serve.

(adapted from two recipes by Julia Child)

Flowers (June)

I'm so glad I chose a flower share! It seems like each week's bouquet is more beautiful than the last! And I love to see the sequence of what is coming into bloom as the summer progresses.

Open thread

Here's an open thread. Post your farmshare recipes or other tips here!

Gratin of squash

Here's a panful of bubbling deliciousness, using any kind of yellow squash provided this week. A cross between two Joy of Cooking recipes, with a dash of Julia Child.

I had this with cold slices of ham, fresh slicer tomatoes, and braised Beausol Farm carrots, for a summer supper much like my Tennessee grandmother would have served -- but with a French accent.

Rating: easy (just chopping & layering)
Style: country French
Serves: three or four good-sized portions

Squash Gratin

1 lb or so, yellow patty pan squash, or summer squash
1 small onion, sliced very thin
2 slices good white bread, buttered (such as the pain ancien from the Swiss baker at the State Farmer’s Market)
1 to 2 Tbsp half & half
1/3 cup diced Swiss, Jarlsberg, or Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp crème fraîche, or sour cream in a pinch, or crema mexicana from a Latin grocery, or buttermilk if you are wanting to reduce calories
2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan
mostly marjoram, and a little thyme
salt & a very little pepper
olive oil

Let butter pats soften so you can butter the bread, or use Healthy Balance spread which is already soft. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice squash into thin slices or small dice. Steam 4 minutes. Oil or butter a small baking dish or small iron skillet.

Layer half the steamed squash, and half the onion, in the dish. Add salt and just a little pepper to taste. Sprinkle with half the grated Parmesan and the mostly marjoram herb mixture – just a tiny pinch, if dried; a good big healthy pinch, if fresh. Repeat with the remaining squash, onion, parmesan, and herbs.

Add diced swiss or Jarlsberg (just lay it in among the veggies), and add dollops of crème fraîche and half & half.* Dot the tops of the vegetables with olive oil.

Top with buttered bread crumbs – (to make these, butter the slices of bread, and chop into small dice with a chef’s knife). Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the dish is bubbling and bread crumbs are browned.

* Can also add 1 Tbsp white vermouth or dry white wine, but in that case use an
enameled skillet or a baking dish so the acidity doesn’t react with the iron.

I am sure this recipe can be doubled or tripled, but you may need to increase the baking time a bit if it's more than 1.5" deep in the dish.

It's quite good (or even better) reheated in a microwave the next day.