Cauliflower and Summer Ale Soup

Ingredients: 2 heads of cauliflower, (cheddar, white or both) 2 fennel bulbs, chopped 1 bunch of cutting celery, stalks chopped and leaves reserved 1 white sweet pepper, seeded and chopped (can use banana peppers if you want to add some heat) 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, chopped 2 Rapunzel vegetable bouillon cubes with sea salt and herbs 1 pint of local ale (Chattanooga Brewing Company Hill City IPA has a nice buttery flavor and would compliment this soup well) 1 Tbs whole-grain french mustard Canola or olive oil 6 cups of water Salt and pepper to taste Aged cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

Method: Cut or break the cauliflower into medium sized pieces.  Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until the tips begin to brown and the stems are fairly soft.

While the cauliflower is baking, place the chopped fennel, celery, sweet pepper, and onion in a large stock pot with some oil and saute on medium heat until the vegetables begin to brown just a little.  Add the garlic, vegetable bouillon cubes and the ale.  Give it a stir and let it cook for a minute or two, then add the water.  Let it come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

When the cauliflower is done, add it and the tablespoon of mustard to the soup.  Remove from heat and carefully puree with an immersion blender, or in batches in a conventional blender.  Warm through as necessary and serve with chopped celery leaves and grated cheddar cheese on top.

Zucchini & Black Beans with Pumpkin Seed Pesto

1 large zucchini or zephyr squash 2 cups cooked black beans 1/2 cup of Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Cook and drain the black beans.  Prepare one recipe for Pumpkin Seed Pesto.  Refrigerate or freeze extras. With a food processor or mandolin slicer with julienne attachment, slice the zucchini and/or squash into sticks.  You can use a sharp knife (and some patience) if you prefer to slice by hand.  Toss all ingredients in a bowl and serve.

Alternately, you can serve this dish warm if you prefer cooked squash.  Saute or steam the squash, then remove from heat and mix in the beans and pesto.

Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts

1 stalk of Brussels sprouts Canola oil Sea salt Toasted garlic drizzling oil

Thinly coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil. Remove Brussels sprouts from the stalk, including any stray leaves.  Cut the larger sprouts in half and place them cut-side down in the pan.  Place the rest of the smaller buds and leaves in the pan, trying to keep everything in an even layer.  Turn the heat on to medium or medium-high.  Do not disturb the sprouts while you are waiting for them to brown.

Sprinkle a little salt over the tops when they begin to turn bright green.  When the sprouts begin to brown on the bottoms you can give them a stir to make sure they are cooking evenly, but do not over-cook them.  They should still have a little crunch when done.  Remove from heat and drizzle toasted garlic oil on top, and salt to taste.

Steelhead Trout With Radish & Fennel Salad

I won't lie.  I saw a beautiful photograph of a bacon and radish crudo on the St. John's Restaurant facebook page, and thought to myself..."I should go there and eat that".  The next best thing, though, is to make something that looks as beautiful with the little treasures in our CSA share. I tried a few flavor combinations with the salad, but this one was the winner.  So glad we had some fresh basil this week!

Salad: 1 fennel bulb, finely diced 2-3 Tbs chopped fennel leaf 6 radishes, finely diced 10 basil leaves, thinly sliced 1/2 lemon, juiced 2 Tbs Lucini Dark Cherry Balsamico 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil Sea Salt Freshly ground black pepper Mix ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fish: 4 portions of Steelhead Trout, skins and bones removed Dry the fish with a paper towel, thin sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides On Medium-high heat, melt a little oil or butter in a skillet.  Gently place the fish in the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side, (less or more depending on the thickness of the fish and how well done you like it.) Remove fish from pan and let rest on a warm plate.

Add 3-4 minced garlic cloves to the pan, plus 1 cup of dry white wine.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the alcohol burns off.  Salt to taste.

Pasta: Cook 4 portions of angel-hair pasta according to packet directions and drain. Drag each portion of cooked pasta through the garlic and wine sauce before plating.

Soft Wheat Sandwich Bread

Cucumbers and basil are here, and before you know it we will have juicy heirloom tomatoes to stack into our picnics and sandwiches.  So before we get too far into the season I thought I would make sure you have a good sandwich bread recipe. And this is the easiest bread recipe I have ever seen.  It seems to be foolproof, since everyone in my family (including my 4-year-old) has managed to bake a decent loaf with this one.  So if you were thinking, "Hey, I'd like to try baking a fresh loaf of bread sometime," then now is the time.  The original recipe came from a friend in Poltava, Ukraine.  She said it's a traditional village loaf, and the first bread she baked as a child.  I'm giving you an edited version that uses oil instead of butter, and I don't use an egg wash over the crust before it bakes.  If you want a shiny crust, you can brush a whisked egg over the top before you bake.

Ingredients:  5 cups or 700gr wheat flour* 2 tsp salt 1/4 cup canola or olive oil, plus extra for oiling pans 2 tsp dried yeast** 1 Tbs local raw honey 450 ml warm water (about 115 degrees)

Method: Pour the yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl or glass jug. Mix together gently and let rest until the yeast becomes frothy and puffs up. Weigh or measure flour and salt into a large bowl and mix with a fork. Add the oil and stir with a fork until it is fairly evenly distributed. Add the yeast & honey mixture, plus the rest of the water to the flour and gently mix together with a wooden spoon until the flour is all wet and begins to form a ball. You can knead this bread pretty much any way that you like, as long as you don't knead it too much.  Over-kneading will make the bread tough.  Not enough, and it might be too crumbly for a sandwich.  My favorite way is to knead it in the bowl, adding flour if it gets too sticky.  I grab the edges and fold and press them into the center.  About 60 times is usually enough to have a smooth, evenly textured dough. In another large bowl, drizzle some oil (enough to generously coat the bowl).  Turn the dough into the bowl, then flip over so both sides of the dough are coated in oil.  Cover with a cotton (not terrycloth) towel, and place in the oven with the light on and the door shut.  Do not turn on heat. Leave until the dough doubles in size (1-2 hours). Meanwhile, generously oil two glass loaf pans. When the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured board.  divide the dough into two parts.  Knead each ball about 20-30 times, then stretch or roll it into a loaf shape.  Place the dough in the oiled pans then return them to the oven with the light on.  Leave to rise for about 30 minutes, or until they have filled the pans and begin to rise above the edges a bit.  Turn the oven on to 400 degrees F. and set the timer for 30 minutes.

It may take 5 minutes more or less, depending on your oven, the weather, or how brown you like your loaf. It will be done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the top of the loaf.

Remove the loaves from the pans immediately and place on a cooling rack to rest for at least 20 minutes.

*Rise times will vary depending on the type of flour that you use.  White flour rises faster, soft bronze whole wheat will take a little longer, and hard red whole wheat will be the heaviest and will not rise as well as the softer grains.  You may want to get a variety of flours and try blending to your taste. **I use Saf-Instant yeast (purchased on Amazon.com). It's great and keeps well in the freezer, wrapped in a ziplock bag.  I am not a professional baker, but I have read that the quality of your yeast can make a big difference.