Cleaning Out the Frig Sauce

Between my own garden and my CSA share and my family dwindling in size I have a bunch of misc veggies that need something done to them. A few weeks ago I made a lasagna from the recipe that was submitted to the CSA newsletter and I tucked away the idea that this sauce could really be used for lots of things. So this morning I pulled everything out and began to reconstruct the recipe based on what I had available

Part one - You really want to do the prep ahead of time, there is nothing worse than something burning in the pan while you chop the next ingredient. The only exception to this was I saved my eggplant to chop at the last minute because it browns so quickly.
So: peel tomatoes and chop veggies. I used a leek and a red onion, garlic, peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, chopped tomatoes, fresh herbs and fish pepper.
Cook in a skillet w olive oil in the above order. When the onions and peppers are soft, add the squash, when the squash is soft, add the eggplant, etc. adding oil as needed. Then once you have everything softened add the chopped tomatoes and herbs. Then I added a can of diced tomatoes
and a can of tomato sauce. Cook everything until desired consistency, add salt and pepper to taste and you have a delicious multi-purpose sauce.

Excellent in lasagna, yummy on pasta or my favorite - scooped over focaccia bread. Just for fun lets call it upside down pizza. I took one focaccia bread, topped it with grated cheese and some chunks of Brie (leftovers from another recipe from the blog), then put a scoop of sauce on top. The juices soak into the bread making a cross between a panzanella experience or a soup with croutons. I love it - hope you will too.

As for amounts - you can really use whatever. The first time I made it I had one of each vegetable, and 1 can of each kind of tomato. Made just enough for a 9x13 lasagna. The second time I made it I doubled the ingredients and had enough for pasta with dinner plus put a qt in the freezer. Today when I made it I used about 6 of everything, used three cans of each kind of tomatoes, two pans and canned 6 qts for later use. Not too bad for just "cleaning out the frig."

Sizzling HOT and Extra Spicy

HotPeppers on the extras table

No – I don’t mean the weather. Just looking for ideas on what to do with the hot peppers – and “lucky you,” I’ve found TEN. Actually quite a few more than ten but I will let you take it from there.

First of all a brief explanation - This year we have for our palette pleasure a variety of peppers in a variety of heat levels. Farmer Pablo tells me we have Red and Orange Bells, Corno Di Toro, Jupiter, Early Thickset, Jalapeño, and Fish Peppers. Their heat levels go in that order – give or take with Bells being the sweetest and Fish being the spiciest.

A few other things I’ve learned is that the Corno Di Toro means “Bull’s Horn” and is an heirloom Italian sweet pepper used most often in frying and sauces. The Fish pepper also has an interesting story.

Fish peppers

Another heirloom pepper, it originates in the Baltimore/Chesapeake Bay region of the USA. Black caterers used them to make white paprika to flavor the cream sauces used with the many fish and shellfish dishes they served. This avoided the muddy appearance that typically came with using paprika made from red peppers. The redder they are the hotter they get and dried peppers are hot hot like cayenne pepper. Fish peppers date back as far as the 19^th Century and are now a popular plant with landscapers due to the ornamental variegated strip on both the pepper and the leaves of the plant. They grow well in container gardens but you will want to be sure that you have a true heirloom seed and not the “off” seeds that have come from landscaping companies. (All info from Mother Earth News)

Ten things you can do with Hot Peppers

(and probably the sweet peppers too for the most part)

1. Hot Pepper Oil

2. Hot Pepper Jelly – especially delicious over cream cheese on crackers. Makes a great gift over the holidays with its bright color

3. Salsa

4. Dry them – Just string them up and hang to dry. Heat will increase with drying so watch out!

5. Stuffed – try cream cheese or cheddar cheese or combination in jalepenos

6. Roasted – roasted peppers are delicious with pasta, on toast, etc

7. Pickles – You know the old pickled pepper rhyme. A delicious condiment

8. Marinade – on both meats and vegetables – use that grill year round

9. Flavored vinegar – used in Barbeque sauce, hot wings, salsa, Italian veggies

10. Relish – either as a pepper relish or in other relishes like pickle relish, corn relish, etc.

I found hundreds of recipes using Google and you probably have some of your own so I will let you use the internet to your advantage and find what you like. This is just to get the wheels rolling. Better pick up your share early next week to get your HOT peppers off the “extras” table. I expect a run on hot peppers. Please save a few for me!

(the sweets)

Back to Tomatoes

Week 13
Tomatoes and tomatoes and Patty Pan Squash,
Peppers, Eggplant, and Lovely Bouquets
and "extra" cucumbers and okra

What do you do with all of your cherry tomatoes? That was the question posted on the facebook page this week and the answer is: Apparently quite a bit!

Renee C passed along the blog address of Food 52. This week the food blog Food52 hosted a contest for cherry tomato ideas. You will want to see this weblog for reader submitted ideas. Perhaps there is time to submit your own? I plan to try the Tomato Cobbler first.

http://www.food52.com/contests/252_your_best_cherry_tomatoes#submit

Former CSA member Joan W sent in these links for preserving cherry tomatoes.

http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/08/five-ways-to-preserve-small-tomatoes/
http://thetanglednest.com/2009/10/a-new-way-to-freeze-cherry-tomatoes-tasty-herb-roasted-bites/


Member Renee C sent in these ideas for the larger tomatoes

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/the-temporary-vegetarian-moroccan-stuffed-tomatoes/

and Hannah G sent in this recipe:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/02/gratitude-with-a-cherry-tomato-on-top/

If you haven't tried the lasagna recipe from week 12 newsletter, you must do it! It was absolutely delicious and this week's share had all the ingredients needed. Thanks for sharing it with us, Andrea K!

With all these recipes and ideas let's hope the tomatoes keep coming for a while! But next I promise to write about peppers. Those fish peppers are awesome and have quite an interesting history.

Thanks to everyone for their contributions! You may have to cut and paste the links to your browser to read.

And now for the rest of the story.....

We've gone a little crazy over tomatoes (and with good reason!) but let's not neglect some of the other shining beauties of summer - the peppers, the eggplant and the zucchini.

Share member Lori shares this recipe for zucchini and/or summer squash:

Zucchini and Tomatoes with Mint

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Saute 1 medium chopped onion until golden and soft. Add sliced garlic. Saute 1 minute. Add in chopped fresh tomatoes, 2 T capers, S & P, and bring to a boil. Add in 3 medium zucchini or squash, cut into bite sized pieces and bring to a boil over med. heat. Cook covered until tender. Remov e cover and boil away most of the liquid. Add chopped mint just before serving.
adapted from Taste of Home

My neighbor gave me about a dozen small eggplants so along with my share I have a hardy pile.

I discovered this page earlier today and was glad to see ways to cook eggplant without tons of oil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/dining/counting-the-ways-to-cook-an-eggplant-a-good-appetite.html

I especially love to roast my vegetables - the flavor of the vegetable becomes intensely sweet so I will try the Eggplant Parmesan Deconstructed but I will roast the eggplant with just a drizzle of oil or perhaps dip it in egg whites and broil it. Haven't decided which yet.

And how about those peppers? How many hot peppers can you stand? It just wouldn't be summer without a capsicum burn on my lips, transported of course from my fingers because I am sure I won't touch anything! Be careful people - those suckers can burn! especially sensitive skin areas. The best way Iknow to eat them aside from fresh in salsa is stuffed with cream cheese and a little cheddar. Or try this recipe from Ina Garten for Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread - a perfect side to all the eggplant, zucchini and tomato recipes you're serving for dinner tonite.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
• 8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
• 3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Directions

Combine theflour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

more 'maters

Week 12
tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, peppers,
zucchini and summer squash, eggplant, leeks and flowers

Get used to them- those cherry tomatoes are coming in droves!

If you didn't make the confit recipe from last week here is what you missed. Delish!

And remember the roasted tomato sauce from last year? It is recyclable for this year too. My hint is to add a splash or two (alright three) of Merlot - makes a rich delicious sauce that is awesome in vegetable lasagna.

And don't forget to check out our Facebook page. Recipe suggestions are loaded there on a regular basis as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/121577615922/

Recently shared recipes from Facebook:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/dining/171arex.html

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ratatouille-with-Penne-102256

Meet the Interns, Part 2

2011 Interns: Jeremy, Diana, Katherine, Logan

Our featured intern this week is Katherine Ackerman. She is a Biology major at Colby College in Maine. She is also working on a double minor in Creative Writing and Art. She is an ambitious young lady! She found Stoney Lonesome Farm by googling “farm apprenticeships in Northern Virginia,” and aren’t we glad she did? Here in her own words are a little bit about her.

“I'm a member of Colby's organic farm and garden club and its environmental coalition (EnviroCo for short), so over the course of the past year I've gotten interested in the role of sustainable farms in the green movement. I've romanticized living on a farm for a while, too :) Additionally, I've become increasingly concerned with the weird stuff that grocery stores and dining halls feed me--it's become important to me to know where my food comes from, what's gone into/onto/around it, and to make sure that it tastes good and makes me feel good.”

She has enjoyed “learning practical tips for growing things (like mounding around tomatoes! Who knew!), spending my Sunday and Wednesday mornings harvesting, developing relationships with our harvest helpers and members, watching the vegetables' progress...I've gotten very attached to them. The best part is being able to take home vegetables, herbs, and fruit that I've prepared beds for, planted, watered, weeded, mulched, watered, watered, watered, and harvested, and making something for my family with it.”

“I'd never had pac choi/bok choy before, and it was a revelation! I'm obsessed with the parsley, leeks and cucumbers, although I love the potatoes, sun gold cherry tomatoes, swiss chard, garlic, cilantro, squash, and zucchini. Is that everything? I think it might be :) I pass on the fennel for the most part. I made some green bean, potato and cherry tomato tikka masala and it would have been restaurant quality if I had cooked the green beans all the way through! I also love fresh pesto, but I'm allergic to nuts so (for any members with kids or relatives that are also allergic) I've used a spoonful of oats instead. It works perfectly--the real tip I have, though, is that the more garlic in something, the better!”

Thanks Katherine for the tips and for your hard work this summer and feel free to share your tikka masala recipe or better yet, the real deal, with us on a harvest day.

You say to"may"to and I say to"mah"to

Week 11
Tomatoes and more tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers,
peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini and squash, okra and flowers

I'm not sure if I know many people who say it differently than I do but I know one thing the tomatoes are saying at the moment is "pick me, pick me!" The cherry tomatoes are coming in strong - sungolds and black cherries are prolific at the moment. Even in today's' rain the harvest helpers picked over 70 quarts and there are more on the vine. The recipe in the newsletter looks delicious and I plan to try it out tomorrow. More and more I have seen cherry tomatoes roasted in many recipes so we are in luck. We won't be running out of cherry tomatoes any time soon. And don't miss the fresh basil included in the (Wed.) floral arrangement. They go together naturally.

Sungolds - everyone's favorite


the cherry tomato jungle

plenty more where those came from

New to the shares this week: sweet and hot peppers and eggplant



If you make a batch of "Tomato Confit" from this week's newsletter,
try it in this recipe:

Spicy Chicken Tomato Pitas

1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Combine all ingredients and rub on both sides of
4 boneless skinless chicken breast (approx 4 oz.)
Grill the chicken breasts and slice.
Fill 8 whole wheat pita halves with sliced chicken and tomato relish.