Tea from your garden!

The New York Times had a great article on Making Tea From Plants Grown in the Backyard.

If you start thinking ahead now to the colder winter months, you can lay in a stock of dried material and have your tea bags all ready to go for the first cold of the season . . .

Sally mentions that IMBY has these ingredients in the yard, look for them the next time you are picking up your share! She thinks they'd all work as well as drying and grinding cayenne pepper. Adding our locally grown honey makes it especially potent as an herbal fortifying, healing, enhancing drink.

basil (Genovese & Lemon)
burdock (weed)
calendula
chamomile
cilantro
dandelion (weed)
dill
echinacea
garlic
lemon thyme
lovage
plantain (weed)
rosemary
savory
sage
tarragon
thyme
verbena
and more!

Solution to 2 lbs of tomatoes in your IMBY share

Tomato soup!

Between our IMBY CSA share and my husband's grandmother's backyard tomoatoes, we had 7 1/2 pounds of tomatoes in our kitchen. We used them up in one delicious recipe.

Whole Roasted Tomatoes, from Everyday Food, April 2010

Spiced Tomato Soup, from Everyday Food, April 2010

The croutons are from the tail end of a loaf of bread we made on Friday, cubed and browned with a bit of butter and salt in a frying pan.

White Sandwich Bread, King Arthur flour

Mint Syrup

I saw this recipe for a mint syrup on a blog I read, make grow gather, and thought IMBY members might put it to good use! It looks very easy, just pound the mint with sugar and lemon juice and pour boling water over the mixture.

The blogger says the recipe is adapted from The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin.

Mint Syrup

Grilled Salmon Sandwiches

We had these delicious grilled salmon sandwiches at a party last summer, and we've made them twice so far this season!

We love this recipe because the salmon cooks easily on the grill and you can throw on other veggies at the same time. The sauce is amazing and it's a great way to use all the herbs that Sally and IMBY provide throughout the summer.

We highly recommend using basil leaves as the garnish.

Grilled Salmon Sandwiches
Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh salmon fillets
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

For the sauce:

1 cup good mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
12 fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped scallions, (white and green parts)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoons capers, drained

To assemble:
6 fresh white or brioche rolls (4-inch round) [we use potato rolls, or thin bread]
1/4 pound mesclun mix or *fresh basil leaves*

Directions

For the salmon, heat coals in an outdoor grill and brush the top of the grill with oil. Rub the outside of the salmon with olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste. Grill for 5 minutes on each side, or until the salmon is almost cooked through. Remove to a plate and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

For the sauce, place the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, basil, dill, scallions, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until combined. Add the capers and pulse 2 or 3 times.

To assemble the sandwiches, slice the rolls in 1/2 crosswise. Spread a tablespoon of sauce on each cut side. On the bottom 1/2, place some mesclun salad and then a piece of salmon. Place the top of the roll on the salmon and serve immediately.

Apple Cake

Whew. The second IMBY MistyHollow Gaze and Graze is over, we had a great time. I'll post some photos shortly.

Below is a recipe for Apple Cake which I made for the baked goods table. Rose K. asked for the recipe.

I got this recipe from my neighbor. It's very, very, very good.

APPLE CAKE

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 sticks of butter (melted)
4 eggs
3 heaping tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice
About 3 large apples peeled and thinly sliced
Cinnamon and sugar mixture (I use an abundance of the cinnamon and sugar mixture and sprinkle generously where called for)
9" tube pan (I butter pan and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon and sugar mixture, but you don't have to do this)

Combine flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, orange juice, and melted butter in bowl and beat well until fully mixed. [Anna: I followed a more traditional mixing method of sugar +butter, then eggs, vanilla, and flour mixture alternating with orange juice.]

Place half of batter in pan and generously scatter sliced apples and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place remaining batter on top and repeat procedure. When placing apples on top, form a circular overlap design.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Cool for about 15 minutes and remove from pan to cool completely. Enjoy!

* Tip: I am very generous with the cinnamon and sugar. This causes the cake to brown nicely and the apples on top caramelize.

Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte with Parmesan

Most of us are probably thinking about squash right now as yummy and fresh. Soon, of course, this will turn into "IMBY just gave me 5 lbs of squash and how do I use it up?!"

No worries, this recipe will use up squash AND those utterly delicious potatoes. It was easy to make, just quick slicing, no fine mincing or sauteing.

I found I needed more squash and more potatoes than they call for, but that might be a function of the size of my pans or the way I layered the vegetable slices. You can slice what they call for and then just keep the cutting board out and slice a few more as needed. For my taste it was also a bit salty, the cup of Parmesan provided a lot of salt.

Via Smitten Kitchen - you can see her photos and comments and link to a print version, via Bon Appetit, June 2001


Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte

Makes 8 servings
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
12 ounces yellow crookneck squash or regular yellow summer squash, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
6 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter two 8-inch-diameter cake pans.

Set aside 1/4 cup sliced green onions. Toss remaining green onions, cheese, flour, thyme, salt and pepper in medium bowl to blend.

Layer 1/6 of potatoes in concentric circles in bottom of 1 prepared pan, overlapping slightly. Layer 1/4 of squash in concentric circles atop potatoes. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1/6 of cheese mixture. Repeat with 1/6 of potatoes, then 1/4 of squash and 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1/6 of cheese mixture. Top with 1/6 of potatoes. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1/6 of cheese mixture and press gently to flatten. Repeat procedure with second cake pan and remaining potatoes, squash, oil, and cheese mixture.

Cover pans with foil. Bake until potatoes are almost tender, about 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered until tortes begin to brown and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes longer. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cool. Cover with foil and chill. Rewarm, covered with foil, in 350°F oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.)

Cut each torte into wedges. Sprinkle wedges with 1/4 cup green onions; serve.

Beets, squash, blueberries and other news

From Sally:
Just FYI - you will be getting beets and squash (as well as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes) a lot this summer. The male squash flower is very good stuffed with cream cheese.

There are a number of delicious recipes for both as well as the creations a number of shareholders have related to me which they and their families find delicious. DO POST, for all to enjoy, any good finds!!!

Alternatively, learn how to preserve these delicious comestibles. Someone was recently telling me of a favorite "mother-made" recipe of pickled sugar beets (the beets you're getting) and hard boiled eggs - where the eggs turn that lovely pink. Sugar beets can also be cut very thinly (Cuisinart thin) and fried for really good "chips." Someone else boils them to just-soft and puts them in summer salads or as additives to summer soups - you can freeze these quick-cooked beets and pull them out for many things all year long. Cold borscht is another wonderful summer soup - with a daub of yogurt. There are MANY ways.

For squash - the variety you've been getting each have a different flavor, texture and use. Rose, our daughter visiting from CA, just made us a one-dish meal of the Lebanese White Squash from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orzo-with-Summer-Squash-and-Toasted-Hazlenuts-108403
Summers squash = bake it, stuff it, chop it into salad, summer-soup it, use it for dips and thousands of things and finally, again, you can freeze it for the winter.

Wasn't the salad greens mix wonderful = delicate, well-rounded, good as-is or with additives. - I add marinated baby potatoes and the young onions.

Our blueberries have been attacked by marauding sparrows and other small birds who have discovered how to get into the Alley that was newly created this year. I HOPE we have repaired most of the holes. Thanks to Julia Shearer who spent the day sewing, with hemp, the two pieces of deer netting that join the "roof" to the front side. We still need the back seam to be similarly joined as well as tighter seams on the "roof." So that's something you may be doing if you're here putting in hours. It's VERY rewarding - in many ways. '

Till we've solved the problem, however, we will be collecting the berries that are ripe and providing them for you in a bowl at the pick-up site where the other produce is located - we can't wait for the pick-up time as the birds have access all day.

Enjoying the dry weather and sun??? So are we - it also means that we'll need to get the drip tape down a.s.a.p. We avoided watering too much after the months of wetness as it was choking the produce (less oxygen = smaller growth) as well as rotting and causing splits. But hearing the crop-losses of others, I think we're doing pretty well. Anyone available this weekend or before, you'll be doing the drip-tape dance.

Check out the baby eggplants with your younger children - it's fun to watch them grow. Hopefully turnips are on the horizon - they were effected by the wetness but may be salvaged.

That's all the growing news at the moment.

Rhubarb Raspberry Cobbler

I made this Raspberry Rhubarb cobbler for the IMBY Mistyhollow solstice party. Rhubarb is in season (and sold at Pete's) and is absolutely delicious.

Rhubarb Raspberry Cobbler With Cornmeal Biscuits

From the New York Times, June 5, 2009

(for more pictures of the baking process see my post here)

(Delicious!) whole grain salad recipes

Since Summer is the season for salads, and whole grains are delicious and healthy, I thought I would post recipes for a trio of tried-and-true salads. I'm also posting an "Asian Slaw" from Every Day Food.

The interesting thing is that these whole grain salads were in the July 1994 issue of Gourmet - way before quinoa and couscous were sold in a regular store in 2009 - very prescient of the editors.

These all do well if you make them the night before (and the slaw improves if made the night before), just don't add the parsley or basil until the day of. They do involve a fair amount of chopping and cooking of the grains - you need to put the grains on to cook first, and then start chopping.

I realized that a great secondary recipe could come out of making all these salads - you already have onions, lime, jalapeno peppers, cilantro - if you buy some tomatoes you can easily make salsa with only a few more slices of the knife.

To avoid re-posting published material, I am linking to the recipes on Epicuruous. Ignore all the "I made it exactly like the recipe only I changed these six ingredients" reviews on Epicurious, the recipes are delicious as is.

Couscous Salad with Peppers, Olives and Pine Nuts

Wheat Berry and Barley Salad with Smoked Mozzarella
You can use CSA chives, corn, tomatoes, and scallions

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
CSA cilantro!
I followed Mark Bittman's method for cooking the quinoa (which seemed similar to rice/couscous, ie twice as much water, bring to boil, cook for 15 minutes), rather than their rather crazy 5 rinses of water.

Asian Cabbage Slaw
A good use for cabbage. I like it better the next day or even two days after

Time to get out those Irish recipes

From Sally:

Time to get out those Irish recipes.

Blarney Boil comes to my mind = cabbage, potatoes, onions boiled up (add some sage, garlic, savory), then roll them around in a large frying pan with some savory (a wonderful herb - I've just started using it and love it!) and some butter - or bacon fat - or safflower oil. Add sea salt and pepper to taste, throw in a cup or so of chapped parsley, put on a dish, and surenbegorra yu'v go'a meal. The richer Irish will add a ration of corned beef.

Another good one which we had just an hour ago is similar. I love the little potatoes and thank you to all of you who left them for us!! I boil them till tender along with the beets. Everything turns pink. I cut the beets in half and in quarters and rounded off the edges. Then I melted some butter and added some olive oil in a large frying pan. I cut the onions in quarters and cut the last of the scapes (throwing out the hard-to-cut ends and cutting the rest into about 2" sections.) I put these in the butter&oil mix (I may have added a chopped up garlic) for about a minute then I threw in the potatoes and beets, rolled everything around a bit (3 min?) and turned the heat to low. I'd cleaned and chopped the beet greens; I'd boiled some water.

While the potatoes and beets were being rolled around, the greens were boiling. I drained them and added them to the potatoes & beets. Remembering that the Irish use a lot of parsley, I ran out to the herbs and pulled off a large handful which I cleaned, chopped and threw in also. I added sea salt and ground pepper. The colors are BEAUTIFUL all reds, pinks, greens and they taste delicious. We had that with a salad made from the Oak Leaf Lettuce and lots of other things like feta, endive, olives, capers, etc. Yummie Yummie. I hope you're enjoying the "fruits" of our labors as much as we are.

NOTE: Due to the soggy ground, we've been harvesting root veggies earlier than would be called for - otherwise they splits or rot. This means you are getting smaller sized produce, but usually it's quite a bit sweeter. Also for the onions YOU MUST REFRIGERATE as they have not been sun-cured (which makes the outside layers brown & crinkley). Again, they are harvested early & they are wonderfully sweet. Did you know Egyptians used to eat onions the way we eat apples - as a snack, raw and whole?

Things in My Cupboard

Things in My Cupboard

I keep a number of what-nots in our cupboards to alter the consistency and taste of the produce that we get on the farm. You might find them useful to throw into a stir-fry, a soup, a saute, salad or whatever:

• Nuts = walnuts, slivered almonds, pine nuts, peanuts, cashews
  
• Artichoke hearts
• Dried fruits = Raisins, cranberries, apricots, dates, goji berries, etc.
• Peanut butter
• Mandarin oranges
• Sesame curlies things
• Seeds = sesame, pumpkin, etc.
• Chinese noodles
• Beans = black, red, northern, peas, chick peas (garbanzo), etc.
• Boullion (for cooking)
• Dried soups (add a little to cooked greens for taste and thickening)
• Parmesan/Romano cheese
• Mozzarella balls

Go WILD and cook with some wild greens too - like dandelion, plantain, etc.

HAVE FUN!!!

Greens, Reds & Pasta Recipe

Today’s Recipe

BRING A LARGE POT OF WATER TO BOIL

Wash and chop:

Head of endive

Today’s share of Swiss chard

Today’s share of garlic scapes or garlic chives, chives, onion tops or the like

(any other green you care to throw in; i.e. beet tops)

1 to 2 cups of fresh parsley

8 to 10 leaves of fresh basil

¼ to ½ cup fresh oregano (Italian & Greek mixed)

CHOP:

2 to 3 heads garlic

Endive, Swiss chard, other greens, with Tbs (sea) salt; drain set aside

BOIL TO DESIRED TEXTURE in above water:

Whole wheat penne pasta

BRAISE (while the pasta is cooking) in large pan:

1 to 2 Tbs. safflower oil with chopped garlic + chives, onion tops etc. = ½ min.

ADD: in this order

Drained greens – until completely wilted

Add 1 top 2 Tbs olive oil and as needed

Herbs

3 whole fresh chopped tomatoes (I added cherry tomatoes I’d frozen from last year)

Finally, when it’s done = pasta (+ more olive oil if needed)

SERVE:

Main dish = As is, with Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Accompaniment with chicken, fish, red meat, tofu

Greens recipes

If you would like some recipes for all the wonderful greens from the farm, please see this earlier post for a spring greens tart, pesto and more:

http://imbymistyhollow.blogspot.com/2009/04/early-season-recipes.html



Also, here is a new one I found that is really yummy. If you have other recipes for what's in season that you'd like to share, click on the link immediately below that says "[number] Comments", then enter your recipe in the comments field that comes up.



From Vegetarian Times:

ASIAN GREENS

Serves 4
6-oz. bag Asian greens mix or 6 cups washed mixed greens such as mizuma, tat soi, red mustard or other dark and spicy greens
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbs. tamari
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds



Directions
Place washed greens in large bowl or on individual plates.
Combine all liquid ingredients; whisk to blend. Pour dressing over salad just before serving; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Note: This dressing also tastes great on any other greens, raw or cooked. Mizuma, a feathery, crisp green, hails from Japan.

Homemade Vinegar "Mother"

From Sally:

I checked this item out and it's a good piece of information which can be used. If someone finds a vinegar mother, it's a good thing to have for throwing in those left-over wines - any alcohol will turn to vinegar as will apple cider after it's become alcoholic - another way to create a mother.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/good-questions/good-question-what-is-this-thing-in-my-vinegar-082249

Early Season Recipes

Hi! We are retiring the Google recipe group from last year and instead will post recipes here. Here is the first batch of recipes from last year for early-season crops. Feel free to reply to this post with any new recipes! -Melinda

Garlic Scape Pesto
This came from MARGARET JULIANO
1 pound garlic scapes
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
Pine nuts if available

Chop the garlic scapes into 3 inch lengths. Put it int he food processor and process until pureed. Add the parmesan and pine nuts and process until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil as the food processor runs and continue until all the oil is combined into the garlic. Store in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator.
From http://www.whatgeekseat.com/wordpress/2007/06/16/garlic-scape-pesto/
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Spring Greens Tart
(it's really like a quiche)
2 pounds of greens chopped (keep tough stems separate from leaves) - I used kale, spinach and red chard (I have no idea how many pounds I used...but it was definitely more than 2)
4 T olive oil
3-4 garlic scapes, chopped finely
4 or 5 scallions, chopped (I used the bunching onions from the farm)
1/4 cup chives,
chopped handful of basil, chopped
3 extra large eggs (I had way too many greens for just 3 eggs and used 5)
1/2 cup colby cheese, grated 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Boil the chopped greens in salted water until tender. Start with the chopped stems, then the tougher greens and spinach last Drain greens and squeeze out excess water

In a skillet, heat 3 T of olive oil Add the garlic scapes, chives and scallions Cool until tender Add the cooked greens Add the chopped basil Cook for another 5 - 10 minutes Allow greens to cool a little In a bowl, mix the eggs and add salt, pepper and any other spices you'd like Add some of the parmesan cheese (about 3 T) and mix Add the colby cheese and mix Fold in the cooled greens Grease a 9" pie plate with olive oil and dust it with some of the breadcrumbs Spread in the eggs-cheese-greens mixture Top with the rest of the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until brown (I only needed to bake for about 40 minutes)
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Cavatappi with Arugula Pesto and Cherry Tomatoes
From Cooking Light
Peppery arugula complements the sweetness of ripe tomatoes. Use heirloom tomatoes, if available, for even better flavor. Substitute fusilli for cavatappi, if desired. Serve immediately. Ingredients Pesto:
5 cups trimmed arugula
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted 1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
Remaining ingredients: 1 pound uncooked cavatappi
2 cups red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved (about 3/4 pound)
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Preparation
To prepare pesto, combine first 7 ingredients in a food processor; process until finely minced. With processor on, slowly pour 1/3 cup water and oil through food chute; process until well blended. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Combine pesto, pasta, and tomatoes in a large bowl; toss well. Sprinkle pine nuts over pasta. Serve immediately.
===========================

Sopa de Ajo Mexicana (Mexican Garlic Soup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
30 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 heads)
4 cups organic chicken broth
1/2 loaf french bread or baguette, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I use whole wheat)
2 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 fresh poblano chile pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large saucepan. Fry bread slices in the oil until golden on both sides. Remove and set aside. Add tomatoes and chile to the skillet and cook over high heat for several minutes until they begin to soften. Pour chicken stock, tomatoes, cumin and chiles into the large saucepan with the browned garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, place 2 or 3 toasted baguette slices in each bowl, then ladle the soup over them.
====================

*Summer Squash, Pea, & Red Onion Salad w/ Feta*
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 lb peas in pods [or substitute a cup or a bit more of shelled fresh or frozen peas]
2 summer squash or zucchini, trimmed
1/4 tsp kosher salt & fresh-ground pepper
3 tbsp olive oil 2 oz feta cheese [or chopped, spiced tofu]
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
In small bowl, combine onion w/ lemon juice. Set aside. Bring small pot of water to boil, then blanch shelled peas till tender, ~2-3 min. Drain & rinse under cold water. Using sharp knife or mandoline, slice squash very thinly. Put in a bowl w/ peas. Using fork, scatter onions over all, reserving lemon juice. Whisk salt into lemon juice, then whisk both into oil. Drizzle on salad. Add feta, basil, pepper, & toss gently. 3-4 servings. (NYT, 9 July 2008) ===========================================
*Rolled Kale w/ Feta & Olives
like stuffed grape leaves*
about 8 large kale leaves,
washed 8 oz feta cheese [see vegan options, below]
2 tbsp olive oil & more for drizzling
2 tbsp minced garlic
salt & fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine, veggie stock, or water
1 cup chopped ripe tomato
1/2 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives
1 small red onion, minced, for garnish
Cut each half of kale leaves off stem; reserve stems. Keep leaves intact so you have at least a dozen long, wide kale ribbons. Rough- chop stems. Cut feta into sticks 2″ long & as narrow as possible w/o breaking. Put 2 tbsp oil in large skillet on medium-high. Add garlic & chopped stems & sprinkle w/ salt/pepper. Cook, stirring a bit, till kale begins to soften (~5 min). Remove from heat. Lay out a strip of kale, put a piece of cheese on the end, & roll up loosely. Put in pan atop garlic & stems. Repeat till all kale strips are used, nestling rolls next to each other in single layer. Pour wine over all & top w/ tomatoes & olives. Return pan to medium-high heat. When liquid starts to boil, cover tightly & lower heat to medium-low. Cook, undisturbed, for 10 min; check to see that kale is tender & cheese is hot. Garnish w/ onion & black pepper. To serve, scoop rolls out & top w/ bits of the veggies & juice. Pass more oil at table for drizzling. Vegan Alternative: Cut 1 lb tofu (baked, pressed, or prefried) into sticks & use to fill kale. Use neutral oil (grapeseed or corn). Substitute sake or mirin for wine. Use fermented black beans instead of olives. Proceed w/ recipe & garnish w/ sliced scallion, passing soy sauce & dark sesame oil to garnish. (Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, 2007)

============================
Quick Flavored Vinegar
This was actually a mother's day gift that my daughter made for me in her preschool class (creative teacher!). I've been refilling the cruet (a cork-topped class container she got at the craft store), with my daughter's help, ever since. It's a great fat free dressing by itself; even better with some olive oil.
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 fresh sage leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Red wine vinegar
Place garlic clove and herbs in the bottom of a cruet or small jar. Cover with vinegar to the top of the jar. Let steep in the fridge for 1 week before using. Keep refridgerated.