Recipes
Search for Recipes
Recipe Tags
Creamy Feta Dressing
Creamy Feta Dressing
If this recipe looks familiar, it's because it originally appeared in our May 21, newsletter. It's one of Heather's favorites, so we're including it again for those who weren't in our Spring Share. If you have fresh mint in the garden, use some here. Makes about 1 cup.
1/3 cup feta cheese, finely crumbled
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup oil
2 TB cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
3 TB yogurt
1 TB mayonnaise
fresh black pepper
fresh minced or dry herbs: mint, dill, chives, parsley
Blend together vinegar, garlic, yogurt, mayo, salt, pepper, & herbs. Blend in the oil in a drizzle until emulsified, then stir in feta. Keeps 1 week in refrigerator.
Maple Grilled Tempeh Recipe
Maple Grilled Tempeh Recipe
From the 101cookbooks blog by Heidi Swanson. A grill tray makes this easy to cook without losing all the little pieces into the fire. Serves 2-4.
8 ounces tempeh
3 TB soy sauce (Heather prefers shoyu sauce)
3 TB maple syrup
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped
1/2 tsp powdered chipotle (or a couple pinches of cayenne)
1/2 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice or grain of your choice
a generous handful of green beans
Garnish: fresh herbs of your choice, crumbled feta cheese
Cut the tempeh diagonally into 4 triangles. If possible, thin those triangles out by slicing each in half horizontally - 8 triangles total. Set the tempeh aside while you make the maple marinade by combining the soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, garlic, and chipotle powder in a small bowl. Reserve a few tablespoons of the marinade to use later as a drizzle.
Place the pieces of tempeh and mushrooms in a large baking dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the tempeh. Make sure the tops and bottoms of tempeh are coated and marinate for anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 days, flipping occasionally. Toss in the beans to coat with marinade just before grilling.
Grill the tempeh, mushrooms and beans on a medium hot grill for a few minutes brushing all the while with the marinade remaining in the bottom of the baking dish. When the tempeh is a toasted, deep, maple-y, golden brown remove and serve over a bed of warmed quinoa (or rice). Drizzle with the reserved marinade.
Summer Vegetable Ragu
Summer Vegetable Ragu
This is how Heather prepares summer's bounty of vegetables. It's something like ratatouille, but you can use any vegetables you have on hand. It's great served with pasta, polenta, or rice, with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta. It also makes a yummy, if juicy, sandwich in a baguette! Serves 4-6.
4 cups or more of uniformly cut vegetables, such as beans, zukes, cauliflower, peppers, eggplant, and/or summer squash
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB oil
3 tomatoes, chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs, basil/mint/oregano
Salt & pepper
Heat oil in a deep wide sauté pan and cook garlic and onion until soft, fragrant and beginning to brown. Add vegetables, except tomatoes. Season with salt & pepper and sauté until nearly tender, with some brown flecks. Add tomatoes and herbs. Simmer gently until the tomatoes are saucy and the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Mediterranean Orzo
Mediterranean Orzo
The combination of feta, lamb and tomato is classic. If you are not a lamb-eater, try throwing in some mushrooms, kalamata olives and pine nuts instead. Serves 4.
1 lb. ground lamb, crumbled, or good lamb sausage sliced into half-rounds
2 TB olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 head broccoli or cauliflower separated into small florets
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TB chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
1 large tomato chopped
3/4 lb orzo
6 oz feta cheese crumbled
salt and pepper to taste
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook lamb in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Reserve the cooked lamb and drain the skillet. Heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, saute for one minute, then add garlic. Saute onion for another minute or two, then add the broccoli or cauliflower, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Add the chicken stock and oregano. Bring to simmer, reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the orzo to the pot of boiling water and cook according to packaged directions. Add the cooked lamb and chopped tomato to the skillet and simmer one more minute. Drain the orzo reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the orzo with the lamb and vegetables, adding reserved pasta water if necessary. Toss in the feta. Serve warm.
Grilled Vegetable Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
Grilled Vegetable Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
Grilling the vegetables adds pizzazz to this Mediterranean-inspired salad. Approximately 4-6 servings.
1 lb. snap beans, ends removed
1/2 a sweet onion, sliced thin
1 small zucchini or eggplant sliced crosswise or 1 large green pepper sliced into 1/2 thick wedges
2 TB sunflower or olive oil
1 large tomato, seeds removed, cut in 1 dice
6 oz crumbled feta cheese
2 TB toasted pine nuts
3 TB red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove mashed to a paste with kosher salt
salt and pepper to taste
6 TB sunflower or olive oil
Preheat barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Shock beans by placing in a large bowl of ice water. Drain and pat dry with a dishtowel. Toss beans and eggplant, pepper or zucchini in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Grill or broil oiled vegetables until beginning to brown, turning frequently, 2-5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Add onions and tomatoes. Make dressing by combining the vinegar, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Then whisk in oil. Toss vegetables with dressing, adjust seasonings and sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve at room temperature.
Grilled Vegetable Panini
Grilled Vegetable Panini
If you don’t have a panini maker or George Foreman Grill, use a grill pan to toast your sandwiches weighed down with a clean cast iron pan. Makes 4 sandwiches.
3 TB of sunflower oil
1 garlic clove minced to a paste
salt and pepper to taste
3 medium summer squash, sliced thin lengthwise
1 onion, sliced into thick rings
2 sweet peppers, cut in thick slices
8 slices of sandwich bread
sliced smoked cheddar cheese to cover 4 pieces of bread
1/2 stick of butter, melted
Season oil by mixing in minced garlic and salt and pepper. Lay vegetables on a pan and brush both sides with seasoned oil. Place veggies on the grill over medium heat. Cook until brown grill marks form, then flip and cook the other side. Remove gilled vegetables to plate. To assemble the paninis, layer grilled vegetables over four slices of bread. Cover with cheese and the remaining bread slices. Heat panini grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Brush top slices of bread with melted butter and place, butter-side down on grill. If using panini grill, brush top side of bread with butter and lower top grill plate over sandwich. Grill until both sides are golden brown, grill marks have formed and cheese is melting.
If using a grill pan, weigh the sandwich down with a cast iron pan. When the bottom is golden and grill marks have formed, brush the top slice of bread with butter, flip and repeat the grilling process. Serve with a mesclun salad on the side.
Spanish Gazpacho
Spanish Gazpacho
Nothing beats a bowl of gazpacho for a light, summer meal. Serve each bowl with a dollop of crème fraiche and a slice of crusty bread on the side. Adapted from Culinate.com. Serves 4.
2 lb. ripe tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium sweet bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 - 1 whole small jalapeno (to taste), deseeded and chopped
1 cube (about 2 inches square) crustless bread from a firm-textured, French-style loaf
2 TB apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp honey
1/3 cup good quality olive oil
chopped fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish
Put half of the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, bread, vinegar, salt, cumin and honey. Blend until no large pieces remain. With the motor running, add the remaining tomatoes and when well processed, gradually add the oil. Process until smooth. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley or cilantro. Cooks Note: gazpacho can be chilled overnight. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar, if necessary.
Meg's Blue Cheese Potatoes
Meg's Blue Cheese Potatoes
Meg bought a whole wheel of the Mossend Blue, and this is how she and Pete have been eating it. Recipe serves 4.
2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TB oil
salt & pepper
3 TB butter
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
Preheat oven to 400F. Cut potatoes into chunks or slice into rounds. Toss with onion, garlic, oil, salt & pepper. Roast in oven until tender and browned, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, dot with butter and sprinkle with blue cheese. Return to oven for another 10 minutes.
Alternatively, make mashed potatoes according to your favorite method. Place in an oven-proof casserole, dot with butter and sprinkle on the blue cheese. Bake in oven about 10 minutes until melty and bubbling.
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette
Grilled Red Torpedo Onions and Pesto Vinaigrette
This recipe is from The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests and Oceans, by Stu Stein with co-authors Mary Hinds and Judith H. Dern. According to the authors, This fruit salad (remember tomatoes are a fruit) showcases what we think summer is all about: intense flavor, colorful ingredients and playful flavor combinations.
Salad:
2 red Torpedo onions, peeled, cut into half moons and thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound tomatoes (approximately 4 to 6 tomatoes)
kosher salt or course sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup pesto vinaigrette
basil leaves for garnish
Pesto Vinaigrette:
1 clove garlic, peeled
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
2 cups fresh basil leaves, stems removed
4 TB red wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
cracked black pepper, to taste
Preheat a grill. Toss the onions in a bowl with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Remove the cores from the tomatoes and cut them in various shapes and sizes (wedges, round slices, half-moons, etc.) and reserve. Place onions on the grill over medium heat and grill until the onions are tender and caramelized, about 10 minutes.
To make vinaigrette, in the bowl of a food processor, purée garlic and salt until a paste is formed. Add pine nuts and basil and process until a fine paste formed. With motor running, add vinegar and then slowly add oil in a thin stream until the mixture is emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Arrange the tomatoes on the plates. Season with salt and pepper. Place several slices of grilled onions on top of the tomatoes and drizzle with pesto vinaigrette. Arrange several basil leaves on and around tomatoes and sprinkle with additional cracked black pepper.
Potato Kale Soup
Potato Kale Soup
Heather thinks this soup is even better the next day, or made early and heated again just before serving. Serves 4.
1 bunch kale
4 TB oil
salt & pepper
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 lb. spicy sausage, crumbled or chopped - optional
red pepper flakes to taste
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
water
1 quart milk
Wash kale and strip leaves from stems. Chop the kale leaves nice and small. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add one clove of the minced garlic, and saute for one minute. Add kale with a pinch of salt and saute until bright green. Remove kale to another bowl.
Heat the rest of the oil in the same pot, add onions and remaining garlic with (optional sausage), salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Saute until fragrant and browning, about 5-10 minutes. Add potatoes and saute briefly together. Add water to just cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are falling apart tender. Remove from the heat and mash the potatoes with the back of a spoon to make a thick base. Add kale and enough milk to make a creamy soup; taste for salt and pepper. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook about 15 minutes longer.
