EverGreen Farm Recipes

Restaurant Style Cabbage Slaw Salsa

This recipe is a work in progress.  I got it from a friend, who got it from a friend, who went into the back of a local restaurant to watch them make my favorite cabbage salsa.  We are still working on getting better instructions, but this is what we have for now.  (I will update this recipe with more details as soon as someone makes it again and remembers to keep track of how much of each ingredient they used.)

Make the night before.

1 head cabbage, sliced and shredded

Jalapenos, about 2

1/2 red onion, chopped into small pieces

1 bell pepper, remove seeds and chop small

Celery, about 2 stalks, chopped small

Pickled Jalapenos (*key ingredient), 1 or 2 "handfulls", plus "some" of the "juice"

Olive oil, enough to swirl over the top and mix with all ingredients

Juice of 2 limes

Pepper to taste

Cilantro, chopped

Carrots, grated, just a little (completely optional, not in original recipe but I liked it with the carrots)

 

Dice, chop, and/or cut up all ingredients.  Mix together in large bowl.  Add olive oil, lime juice and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy the following day with tortilla chips.

Zucchini Bites

A recipe from Martha, long time CSA member.

Zucchini Tomato Bites

5 small-medium size zucchini cut into 1/2 inch slices 

4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese crumbled and chilled.       

1 pint cherry tomatoes thinly sliced                           

Fresh basil                                                              

Fresh ground pepper to taste                                       

6 oz Parmesan finely grated.                                        

                                                                                                                   

Line baking sheet with parchment.  Scoop out the center of each zucchini slice carefully with melon baller, creating a shell that resembles a bowl.  Fill each with 1/2 tsp gorgonzola.  Top each with 1 tomato slice and basil (small leaf).  Sprinkle with parmensan.  Bake at 400 deg. for 5-7 minutes but do not let it brown, just melt cheese.  You may prepare several hours in advance and store, covered in refrig. Bake just before serving.

Makes 50-60 appetizers. Enjoy!

Creamy Zucchini Soup

A recipe from long time CSA member Martha which she got from one of her favorite recipe books.

Creamy Autum Zucchini Soup 

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

6 green onions, chopped                   

2 cloves garlic, minced                      

1/4 cup butter or margarine                   

 4 x 8 oz. zucchini, sliced                       

                               

4 medium carrots, sliced     

                 

(Optional) 2-3 sliced radishes

14 oz. chicken broth

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup half N half

salt and pepper

3/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves.

Cook onions and garlic in butter in 4 quart saucepan over medium heat for 8 minutes or until tender.  Stir in zucchini, carrots and radishes.  Add broth and water and mix well.  Bring to boil then reduce heat.  Simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until veggies are tender.  Process soup in batches in food  processor or blender until chunky.  Return soup to saucepan and stir in half N half and salt and pepper. Cook until just heated through, stirring frequently.  Stir in the basil just before serving. Enjoy!

Garlic Scape Salad Dressing

From Linda, one of our long time CSA members.

Garlic Scape Salad Dressing  (from about.com)

Yield: 1 Cup

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic scapes, coarsely chopped
• 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or similar brown mustard
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• dash salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

In a blender, combine the garlic scapes, onions, honey, mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. With blender on low, slowly add the olive oil until well blended.

Makes 1 cup.

Pasta with Arugula and Shrimp

From CSA Member Daphne:  We made some pasta tonight that was really yummy.

 

1 bag arugula chopped

3 large mushrooms

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic

2 tomatoes

1 pound shrimp, cooked

12 ounce noodles, cooked (we used whole wheat)

1 cube butter

1/2 c. parmesan cheese

1/2 t. lemon juice

1-2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp. salt

 

I cooked the onion in the butter until transparent, added garlic, mushrooms and arugula until wilted, added the tomatoes, then added the cooked noodles and shrimp along with seasonings. 

Really quick and yummy.

Arugula and Pear Salad

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2008

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup walnut halves
• 5 to 6 cups arugula, cleaned and dried
• 1 Bosc or Anjou Pear thinly sliced
• 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces Gorgonzola (get a piece that will crumble easily for you) or blue cheese crumbles   (Tara's note:  we've also used feta or goat cheese)

 

Directions

Toast nuts in small pan over medium heat until fragrant. Cool.  (Tara's note:  Shain prefers to make carmelized nuts.  He does this by melting butter in a pan over medium to low heat, add enough brown sugar to coat the nuts and stir frequently until coated and "carmelized".  Cool.)

Combine arugula and pear in a salad bowl, add nuts then dress the salad with lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper. Top salad with lots of blue cheese crumbles.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

This recipe originally comes from simplyrecipes.com

Shain found an incredible Bruschetta recipe this year and it is our favorite by far.  He doesn't follow the recipe exactly, but these instructions are a good place to start.

Ingredients

• 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.  (we typically add more)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method

1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area.

(We simplify this step by blanching the tomatoes in boiling hot water then submerging immediately in cold water.  The skins slide off easily.  We also skip the "remove seeds and juice" step.)

2 Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.

3 While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4 Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.

5 Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Ribolitta

From CSA member and Workshare Julie "I thought you might like this recipe!  It is so delicious!"

Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook

Ribolitta literally means "twice boiled" in Italian and it's the old fashioned way to use up all the leftover vegetalbes and bread from the week.  Every ribolitta has its own character;  I've added some pancetta and good chicken stock to give mine lots of flavor.  With a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, it's the perfect hearty Sunday night dinner.

 

1/2 pound, dried white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini

kosher salt

1/4 cup, good olive oil, plus extra for serving

1/4 large-diced pancetta or smoked bacon

2 cups, chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

1 cup, chopped carrots (3 carrots)

1 cup, chopped celery (3 stalks)

3 Tbsp, minced garlic (6 cloves)

1 tsp, freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp, crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28 oz) can, Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped

4 cups, coarsely chopped or shredded Savoy cabbage (optional)

4 cups, coarsely chopped kale

1/2 cup, chopped fresh basil leaves

6 cups, chicken stock, preferably homemade 

4 cups, sourdough bread cubes, crusts removed

1/2 cups, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

 

In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by 1 inch and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the beans, place them in a large pot with 8 cups water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are tender.  Set the beans aside to cool in their liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stockpot.  Add the pancetta and onions and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.  Add the carrots, celery, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Add the tomatoes with their puree, the cabbage, if using, the kale, and basil and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.

Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid.  In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree half of the beans with a little of their liquid.  Add to the stockpot, along with the remaining whole beans.  Pour the bean cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and add enough chicken stock to make 8 cups.  Add to the soup and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 10 more minutes.  Taste for seasoning and serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and drizzled with olive oil.

Enjoy!

Ham Hock & Turnip Greens

From CSA members Dave and Linda -

This has become our granddaughter’s favorite dinner! 

 

1 ¾ lbs. ham hocks, rinsed

2 quarts water

Fresh turnip greens and the turnips that go with them.  (The amount you get in your CSA bag is perfect.)

1 TBS. Sugar or Splenda

 

Bring ham hocks and 2 quarts water to boil in an 8-quart Dutch oven.  Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 2 hours.  Take the ham hocks out and separate the meat from the bone.  Put the meat back in the Dutch oven.

 

Remove and discard big stems and discolored leaves from greens.  Chop greens.  Cut any large turnips in half.

 

Add greens, roots, and sugar or Splenda to Dutch oven; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 60 minutes.

 

Serve with cornbread or biscuits to mop up the juice.  

Carrot Soup Recipe

Submitted by Jennifer, EverGreen Farm CSA member and Workshare.  It's one of her favorite recipes from 101 Cookbooks (www.101cookbooks.com).  Entire recipe (including introduction) was coped directly from their website.

I typically seek out "early" carrots with the bushy green tops still on.  The leaves should be fresh and not wilted, and the carrots should have vibrant color.  If they feel rubbery, pass on them.  I pass on bagged carrots or the big, woody ones - the early carrots often have a much sweeter flavor.

- 1 1/4 pounds carrots

- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)

- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

- 1 large yellow onion, chopped

- 3 cups+ vegetable stock or water

- juice of 1/2 lemon

- fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

- olive oil, toasted sesame oil, or red chile oil for a finishing drizzle - if you use toasted sesame oil (sometimes labeled pure sesame oil) it is very strong.  I typically dilute it with olive oil.  I use one part sesame oil to four parts olive oil.

Take the tops off the carrots (if they have tops) and give them a good scrub.  Cut them into 1 inch segments and set aside.  Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent.  Add the stock and carrots and bring to a gentle boil  Lower the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender - longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger.  But try not to overcook.  Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Puree with a hand blender (sometimes I leave the soup a bit chunky, other times I go completely smooth) - then stir in the lemon juice.  Now salt to taste.  If you used a salyt veggie stock , you might just need a little salt.  If you used water, you'll need quite a bit more.  Keep adding a few pinches at a time until the carrot flavor really pops.  If it tastes flat or dull, keep adding.

Finish with a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil, one of the other drizzles I mention above, or whatever twist you come up with.

Serves about 4.