Week 13 - Midpoint

With school starting, it almost feels as though the growing season is also drawing to a close.  But this week actually just marks the midpoint of your 2012 Community Supported Agriculture experience.  With more agricultural and culinary adventures to come, I invite you to freeze or otherwise preserve items you are having a difficult time using up so that the long winter nights of January and February can be livened up with a taste of summer.  A springtime tradition that I have had the pleasure of participating in is the making of dandelion wine.  The long task of peeling the petals from the flowers is an excuse to invite friends over, but the real treat comes months later.  You let the wine ferment until December, watching it age as the seasons turn.  Then, on the winter solstice, you pop open your dandelion wine and taste spring!  This is an even better reason to enjoy the company of friends.   I hope that a simple bag of chopped, frozen peppers from Piney Mountain Orchard can lend you a similar experience around a table of friends and family this winter.  

Featured Recipes:

Delicious Vegetable Frittata

1 Tbs. olive oil
½ cup minced onion
¾ tsp salt
dried oregano, a pinch
dried thyme, a pinch
8 to 10 mushrooms, sliced
about 1 cup diced zucchini and/or summer squash
½ cup minced bell pepper
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 handfuls chopped arugula
freshly ground black pepper
a few leaves of fresh basil
4 or 5 eggs (ok to delete a yolk or two)
¼ lb fontina cheese, grated or sliced (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375F
2.  Heat the oil on the stovetop in a 9- or 10- inch cast-iron skillet.  Add the onion and half the salt, and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3.  Add dried herbs, mushrooms, zucchini or squash, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat for another 5 minutes - or until the vegetables are just tender.
4. Turn the heat up, and add the arugula with remaining salt and black pepper to taste.  Stir and cook for just a minute or two - until some of the liquid evaporates.  Stir in the basil.  
5.  Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then pour them into the vegetables.  Sprinkle in some cheese, if desired.  Place the pan in the preheated oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the frittata is solid when you shake the pan.  (If you so desire, you can add some extra cheese to the top midway through the baking.)
6.  Serve cut into wedges - hot, warm, or at room temperature.  This will even taste good cold in a sandwich on lightly toasted bread, with a little mayonnaise, and sliced, very ripe tomatoes.

Source: Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Frijoles, Etc. Casserole

a little oil for the pan
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 cups minced onion
1 tsp. salt (possibly more)
10 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbs. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbs. chile powder
4 medium (7-inch) summer squash, cut into ½-inch chunks
2 medium bell peppers, in small strips
6 cups cooked pinto beans (3 15-oz cans)
freshly ground black pepper
cayenne to taste
1 packed cup grated mild white cheese (optional)
1 bach corn bread batter (recipe follows)
salsa (optional condiment)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking pan.  
2.  Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or a Dutch oven.  Add the onion and half the salt, and saute for about 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat - until the onion begins to soften.  
3.  Add half the garlic plus the cumin, basil, oregano, chile powder, summer squash, bell pepper, and remaining salt.  Stir, cover, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes more.  
4.  Remove from heat; stir in the remaining garlic and the beans.  Season to taste with black pepper and cayenne, and stir in the cheese, if desired.  Transfer to the prepared pan, and spread it out.  Add the corn bread batter, distributing it as evenly as possible over the top.  
5.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is very firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted all the way through the corn bread topping comes out clean.  Serve hot, with salsa or plain.  

Corn Bread Batter

1 cup unbleached white flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 egg
2 Tbs. olive oil or melted butter

1.  Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Stir in the cornmeal, and make a well in the center.  
2.  In a separate container, beat together the buttermilk or yogurt, egg, and oil or melted butter.  Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir just enough to thoroughly blend.