by jphilo | Sep 12, 2012 | Uncategorized
Our CSA is providing a bountiful supply of tomatoes, onions, and peppers. So many, in fact, that finding ways to use them has been a weekly challenge. Thankfully, shortly before Mom gave up housekeeping, she gave me this recipe for fresh summer salsa which uses oodles of the veggies taking over the kitchen.
It is a winner, as was proved at our recent Labor Day Family Reunion. The crowd chowed down a double batch of salsa and two bags of chips in less than an hour, and people begged for the recipe.
To keep you from begging, it’s posted here, along with a few tips. First, you can change the amounts of vegetables to suit your taste. (For example, I find 1 jalapeno per double batch is plenty.) Second, I chop the tomatoes first and put them in a strainer to drain out excess liquid while chopping everything else. Otherwise the salsa can be pretty runny. With those tips in mind, have at it!
Fresh Summer Salsa
2 cups peeled, chopped tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup onion, chopped fine ¼ cup green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped 1 banana pepper, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Put 2/3 cup of the vegetable mixture in the blender until it reaches the consistency you like. Put the blended vegetables back into the bowl and stir well. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
by jphilo | Aug 1, 2012 | Recipes
Summer vegetables are stacking up in the refrigerator at an alarming rate thanks to our weekly CSA share. So I’m getting desperate creative at coming up with new ways to disguise serve veggies at mealtime.
The other night, I combined a zucchini, a couple red and yellow peppers, and a bag of yellow string beans (aka: the contents of the vegetable crisper) to create a stir fry Hiram and I loved. To top it all off, I was able to use fresh herbs from my new herb garden, the contents of which are growing like weeds despite the heat.
Here’s my recipe, but don’t be afraid to substitute with vegetables and herbs threatening to overtake your refrigerator and garden!
Summer Veggie Stir Fry Medley
1 zucchini or summer squash, peeled and cut into half-inch cubes
1 pound green or yellow string beans, snapped and cut into 1 inch slices
1 red or yellow sweet pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Heat oil in wok or skillet on high, then turn down to medium-high. Stir fry beans for 2 minutes. Add squash. Stir fry until the outside of the squash starts to soften and then add peppers. Stir fry for 2 minutes longer and then add garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Mix well and sprinkle salt over the top. Stir fry 1 more minute and serve hot.
by jphilo | Jul 25, 2012 | Recipes
A cantaloupe smoothie is not something I would have tried in a normal summer. But this summer’s far-from-normal heat and drought is playing havoc with our community supported agriculture (CSA) shares. This week, the heat caused all the melon fields to ripen at once, so our friendly, local farmer sent us home with three large melons…and a couple recipes for cantaloupe smoothies.
Hiram, my husband who eats almost anything, doesn’t like smoothies much. Or cantaloupe for that matter, so this recipe will never get his coveted seal of approval. I was a bit skeptical, too, but with three melons staring me in the face, what was there to lose? My first sip of the concoction was disappointing. But gradually, the flavor grew on me, and the drink was extremely refreshing on a hot, hot day. The recipe below is non-dairy, with the dairy equivalents in parentheses.
Cantaloupe Fruit Smoothie
2 large slices cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cubed
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup almond milk (skim milk)
1/3 cup raspberry or orange sherbet (3 ounces yogurt)
1 tablespoon honey (if using yogurt)
Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately. Makes two small or one large smoothie.
by jphilo | Jul 11, 2012 | Recipes
This summer, the weather’s been hot, hot, hot and dry, dry, dry. But that hasn’t affected the number of cucumbers and onions finding their way into our CSA share each week. So I’ve been using my favorite cucumber salad, passed down from Grandma to Mom to me and my siblings, quite a bit lately.
The recipe’s been around much longer than my recipe criteria have been, but it meets all of them. It is easy, healthy, inexpensive, non-dairy, and it keeps well. In fact, this salad gets better and better for several days after it’s made. I try to make it at least 8 hours before serving so the flavors can meld and the vinegar has time to pickle the vegetables a little.
Cucumber-Onion Salad
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced into thin rings*
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
Place vegetables in a small serving bowl. In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, mix vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well and pour over vegetables so they are completely covered with liquid. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve. This salad can be stored for several days or a week in the fridge.
*I used red onions, which is why the salad looks so pretty in the picture, but any type of onion is fine.
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by jphilo | Jun 20, 2012 | Reviews
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) season is here, so every week we pick up a bag of fresh picked veggies and fruits at Wilber’s Northside Market. Last week’s bag contained 4 ears of sweet corn, sugar snap peas, 2 quarts of strawberries, a bag of lettuce, and a half dozen, medium-sized onions. The CSA weekly newsletter ran a recipe for grilled red onions, which Hiram and I tested on Father’s Day. The results were delicious, so I’m sharing my adaptation of the side dish with you today.
Grilled Red Onions
4 large red onions
4 bacon strips
8 garlic cloves, peeled
6 oregano sprigs
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Cut red onions into wedges and quarter 8 bacon strips. Place in medium bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.
Divide between 2 large pieces of foil; seal into flat packets.
Grill over high heat, 15 minutes. Let rest before opening.
The grilled onions were delicious, though I think we cooked them a little longer than necessary. Next time we make them, I’ll skip the olive oil, as the bacon provides enough fat to keep the veggies from sticking to the foil. Also, I may use some of the other spices in my kitchen garden – rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley – to see how the flavors change.
What variations do you suggest? Leave a comment
