Weekly Recipes

Right time for Romanesco

December - Roasting Romanesco

A cross between cauliflower and broccoli provides a end of year delicious and healthy green vegetable! While you may enjoy using it as a centerpiece, I recommend roasting it and indulging in the full flavor.

Simply break off and chop into bite size pieces. Coat & Mix with good quality olive oil, crushed garlic, salt & pepper. Roast in 375 degree oven until browned and aroma fills the kitchen.

Savor the snack!

It must be after midnight...

November - Cinderella Soup

While I cannot take credit for this recipe, I can encourage you to hop, skip, or run out to purchase the latest Canal House Studios Cookbook. I assure you that their newly published Vol. 2, Fall & Holiday, will be enjoyed by novice cooks and gourmets alike. Melissa Hamilton & Christopher Hirsheimer, of Saveur fame, create a visually stimulating and entertaining read while providing recipes that deliver elegance without too much fuss. Their love for the seasonal cooking process and search for the ultimate flavor and taste jumps off the page.

I enjoyed their roast pumpkin recipe at Thanksgiving and it works beautifully with the pumpkins that I bought from Blooming Glen CSA at our market. My photography certainly does not compare to theirs but if you could see my family's excitement over the presentation, it would certainly make you smile and feel the warmth in the room - both elements that Christopher & Melissa convey on every page.

Purchase their cookbooks at The Kitchen Potager or through their website: www.thecanalhouse.com

September - Kale Salad

 Ingredients:
Kale
pecorino romano
figs
olive oil
pepper
lemon juice
mustard
Pine nuts or walnuts

Finely chop raw kale. Grate pecorino romano cheese. Chop figs. Create a lemon mustard vinaigrette by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt & pepper to taste. Toss kale with vinaigrette, nuts and figs. 

August - Squash Recipe Winner - Zucchini Spice Cookies

 Zucchini Spice Cookies
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 c butter - softened
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 c milk
1 1/2 c grated zucchini
1/2 c walnuts (optional)
1/2 c raisins (optional)

Preheat ovent to 350 degrees.
1) Cream butter and sugar. Add zest.
2) Beat in egg.
3) Combine dry ingredients in bowl and mix into butter. Mix alternately with milk.
4) Stir in zucchini and nuts & raisins

Place like cookies on cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes. The will be soft like zucchini bread in the shape of cookies.

Filling: 4 oz cream cheese - soft
4 Tablespoon softened butter
1 c confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients and stir to blend.

Let cookies cool. Assemble two cookies with cream filling in the middle and serve.

LHFM Mixed Grill

August - Linden Hill Farmers Market Mixed Grill

Swallow Hill Peppers
Berger Farm Peaches 
Milk House Farm Market Tomatoes
Highland Gourmet Kielbasa

Grilled.

Enjoyed on a rainy market day that turned into sunshine and a beautiful sky to finish the evening.

Blueberry Preserves

July - Windsong Farm Blueberry Preserves

 Blueberry bushes are my favorite annual treats this time of year. Picking handfuls to enjoy with enough leftover to freeze, cook, and add to every salad and nut butter toast puts a smile on my face during these summer weeks.

I finally learned how to make easy blueberry preserves from my friend Lisa. While this is not the "official blue book recipe", it only requires blueberries and sugar so the ingredients are readily available.

Blueberry preserves
4 cups blueberries
2 cups sugar
2 small sanitized mason jars

Combine blueberries and sugar in a large pot (non-reactive/aluminum). Crush blueberries and add sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and continually stir for 10-12 minutes. While still hot, pour into jars, fill to the top, add lid and turn upside down. In some cases the mixture will be enough to seal the lid. If not, place in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Let cool. Enjoy.

Beautiful Broccoli

July - Fruits of our Labor Farm Broccoli & Highland Gourmet Kielbasa

 Fruits of Our Labor Broccoli &
Highland Gourmet Kielbasa

1 bunch broccoli trimmed
1 T salt
6 T extra virgin olive oil
1 pound Highland Gourmet kielbasa, cut into pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 c fresh lemon juice

Place broccoli and salt in a large pot of boiling water. Cook 12 minutes, or until stems are tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of liquid.
Heat 3 T olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat, and cook sausage for 10 minutes or until evenly browned.
Remove sausage from saucepan. Stir garlic into saucepan, and cook approximately 30 seconds. Place broccoli and reserved cup of liquid in pan and mix in 1/2 the lemon juice. Return sausage to pan, and allow the mixture to simmer approximately 10 minutes. Mix in remaining olive oil and lemon juice before serving.

PYO Black Raspberries at Penn Vermont, Bucks County, PA

July - PennVT Black Raspberry Pie

Penn Vermont Black Raspberry Pie

Prep Time 25 minutes
Bake 50 minutes
Oven 375 degrees

Pastry for double pie crust

1/2-3/4 c sugar
3T all purpose flour
5 c fresh Penn Vermont raspberries

Prepared pie crust
Line 9 inch pie plate with 1/2 the pastry
In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar & flour. Add raspberries and gently toss until coated.
Transfer berry mix to the pastry lined pie plate. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Cut slits in remaining pie crust, place on filling & seal.
To prevent browning, cover edges with aluminum foil. Bake in 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25-30 minutes more or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
Serve with OWOW Cow Tahitian or Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream

strawberries with tarragon in the garden

June - Easy & Elegant Strawberries with Tarragon

So French So Fabulous So Simple!

pints of strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves
2 tablespoons sugar

create your own variations and specialty!

Thank you to my fantastic anonymous friend who prepared this for me for the first time last Sunday!

rhubarb harvest

May - Easy Rhubarb Crumble

by Antony Worrall Thompson from Ready Steady Cook

Serves 4
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients
5 stalks of rhubarb, chopped
2 tbsp of wine (red or white)
75g/3oz caster sugar
175g/6oz plain flour
50g/2oz brown sugar
100g/3½ oz butter
25g/1oz raisins

Method
1. Preheat a large saucepan.
2. Preheat the oven to a hot heat.
3. Place the rhubarb, wine and caster sugar in the saucepan. Cook for five minutes.
4. While the rhubarb is stewing, prepare the crumble topping in a large bowl. Rub the butter with the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the brown sugar and raisins and stir.
5. Pour the rhubarb into an ovenproof dish. Place the crumble topping on top. Finish in the oven 5-10 minutes (longer if you have the time).