Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers

This time of year we often have an abundance of beautiful tomatoes, sometimes more than we can fit into a week of tomato sandwiches and salads.  When we get close to the end of the week, my favorite way to preserve whatever is left is to roast in the oven and freeze.  Canning a large batch of tomatoes is a great way to preserve extras, but these roasted beauties have concentrated flavor that will turn any quick meal into something special.  Bruising and fungus can make them unusable for canning, but cutting away the bad spots and roasting is a great way to get the most out of your share.  The result is a delicious base for soups, sauces, meat dishes or a quick addition to any meal.

For lunch today we had pasta tossed with pesto, grated zucchini, carrots, spinach and roasted tomatoes.  It was fabulous and quick to make.  I highly recommend freezing extras in small portions so you can have them available for meals all year long.

Ingredients: 8-10 tomatoes or peppers Canola oil Sea salt Black pepper

Method: Wash and trim any blemishes from the peppers and tomatoes.  Make sure to smell as you are cutting away the blemishes to make sure you have cut deep enough. (You will want to remove any undesired flavors on the part you are keeping.)

Place the peppers and tomatoes in ovenproof dishes. You can keep them separate or mix them all together.  Drizzle with canola oil, and sprinkle sea salt generously over the tops.  Finish with freshly ground black pepper and place in the top or middle of the oven, set at 350-375 degrees.  Doneness is a matter of preference, but I like to leave mine until the moisture released by the tomatoes has reduced by about 2/3rd and the tips are brown. The longer they cook, the more concentrated the flavors will be.  Let cool completely before freezing.

Stuffed Banana Peppers With Lentils or Pork Sausage

Ingredients:

10-12 large banana peppers 1/2 head purple or green cabbage, sliced thinly and chopped into short strands 1 medium yellow onion sliced thinly 1 small fennel bulb sliced thinly 3 stalks of celery, minced 3-4 cloves of garlic 1 tsp paprika or cayenne pepper Juice from 1/2 lemon Salt and pepper to taste

For vegetarian recipe add: 1/2 cup (dry) french green lentils, cooked but still firm, and cooled 1/2 cup feta or grated aged cheese like gruyere, dubliner, or parmesan (for lentil version only)

For sausage recipe add: 1/2 lb ground sausage (I used Hoe Hop farms) 4 slices of brown bread, toasted until dry (for sausage version only)

Method: Combine ingredients in a bowl.  Make a slit in the banana peppers lengthwise and push the stuffing into the peppers.  Place the stuffed peppers in a lightly oiled baking dish.  Toss some sungold cherry tomatoes into the bottom of the dish, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until they are as soft as you like them.  For the sausage stuffed peppers, make sure the sausage has reached 145 degrees before removing from the oven.

Serve with oven-roasted tomatoes and Toasted Coconut Jerk Sauce.

Toasted Coconut Jerk Sauce: 1 cup unsweetened first-pressed coconut milk (from can) 1/4 cup unsweetened small-shred coconut 1 Tbs Alchemy Spice Jamaican Jerk spice blend 10-15 basil leaves 1 tsp local honey 1 Tbs lemon juice

Place coconut in a pan and stir constantly over med-high heat until it begins to brown (about 1 minute).  Remove from heat and place in blender with other ingredients.  Puree until smooth.

Chocolate Blueberry Zucchini Bread

No self-respecting farm blog will be without a good zucchini bread recipe.  When zucchini and squash are in season, we are all looking for creative ways to eat it all before it spoils. This particular recipe also puts those summer blueberries to good use and has an added layer of decadence with rich dark chocolate. There are many ways to get flavor in a bread like this, and if you are not concerned about dairy or fats, buttermilk will give the best texture, hands down. With two good friends* in my kitchen, however, we were able to put our heads together and come up with this one. It is low-fat, high-fiber, and tasty enough to make the kids think they are eating cake for breakfast.

Ingredients: 3 cups prairie gold whole wheat flour (or can use half hard red whole wheat and half white flour) 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1 tbs baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup sucanat dash of salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp cloves 1/4 whole nutmeg, grated

1/2 cup local honey 2 tsp vanilla 3-4 eggs (less if you like it crumbly, more if you like it spongy) 3.5 oz good quality dark chocolate (70-90% cocoa), melted 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 2 zucchini or zephyr squash, grated (about 2-3 cups) 1 pint of blueberries

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil two loaf pans. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, melted chocolate and honey.  Combine the wet ingredients, dry ingredients and zucchini.  Fold in the blueberries.  Divide evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.

*Credits to Gina Krabbendam and Oriel Wiggins for their contributions to this recipe.

Braised Cabbage

I found this recipe last year and it has remained a favorite.  In the New York Times version, the writer uses savoy cabbage, black mustard seeds, curry leaves and jalapeno peppers.  I made a few minor changes to my ingredient list to include items in this week's CSA box.  I used brown mustard seeds that I found at Greenlife, instead of the black, and did not make an extra shopping trip to find curry leaves.  The final product was nonetheless amazingly tasty.  I recently served this with seared three-grain tempeh and it was a near-perfect flavor combination, but it is also fantastic with grilled meats, and wild rice.

Ingredients: 1 head of green or purple cabbage Canola oil 4 whole cloves 1 Tbs brown mustard seeds 1 bay leaf 3-4 sliced shallots 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped 2 banana peppers, quartered and sliced A 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and julienned 1/2 Tbsp ground turmeric 1 medium to large tomato, diced 1 Rapunzel vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 2 cups of water Sea salt to taste

Method: Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges, leaving the core intact so the wedges hold their shape while cooking.  Heat some oil in a large skillet and sear the cabbage wedges for about 5 minutes on each side, or until they brown on the cut sides.  Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.  Add a little more oil and the cloves, mustard seeds, bay leaf, shallots, garlic and banana peppers to the pan.  Saute for a couple of minutes until the vegetables begin to sweat.  Add the diced tomato, turmeric, ginger and cook one minute more while stirring.  Add the vegetable broth, stir, and reduce heat to low.  Place the cabbage wedges back in the pan on top of the broth mixture.  Cover and simmer until the cabbage is tender.

Grilled Balsamic Beans

This is almost too simple to post as a recipe, but it's worth it. It would seem that most people love green beans, however it wasn't until I had them grilled with a rich balsamic vinegar that I had the same appreciation as the rest of the world.  If your barbecue has a solid flat griddle section you are set, but you can make these without it. I have also seen grill skillets and pans for sale. I used two layers of kitchen foil with the edges folded up and crimped in the corners to create a "tray." This worked perfectly well for holding the vinegar and oil on the beans.

Ingredients: 1 bunch of green beans, stems removed 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper

Method: Place beans in a bowl and toss with the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until well-coated.  Heat grill to medium-high heat (about 375 degrees if you have a thermometer on your barbecue).  Place beans and all of the oil and vinegar onto the foil "tray" or pan, moving the beans around while they cook. Remove from the grill when they have browned a bit and are tender with a little crunch.