Zephyr Squash Soup

Ingredients:

2 lbs zephyr squash (or other summer squash such as pattypan, zucchini, etc.)

1 large yellow onion

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cube of Rapunzel vegetable bouillon with sea salt & herbs, plus 3-4 cups of boiling water

Olive or canola oil

Dry white wine

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

The soup has the best flavor if you caramelize some of the natural sugars in the squash and onion. There are several ways to do this: grilling, baking, or sauteing the squash, and caramelizing onions in a heavy skillet or pan. If you don't have time to caramelize, then you can simply simmer the ingredients in the vegetable stock until tender, but the overall flavors of the soup will be more mild.

Our favorite, however, is to grill the squash first.  Remove the stem and blossom ends of the squash. Cut in half lengthwise, brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Heat grill to a high heat (about 450-525 degrees) and place the cut sides of the squash onto the grill. Cook until black streaks appear and turn to color the other side (about 10 minutes on each side).

Slice the onion and caramelize in a heavy soup pot for about 30 minutes with a little oil and salt. (Click here for more information on caramelizing onions.) Once the onions are tender and browned a little, add the cooked squash, garlic, vegetable bouillon cube and about 3-4 cups of boiling water. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and let cool about 10 or 15 minutes. Puree in a blender, then return to the stock pot. Stir in some white wine (about 1/2 cup), then season to taste with salt and pepper. Warm through and serve.

Butternut Squash Pound Cake with Rosemary & Orange

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups organic sugar

8 oz European style cultured butter or unsalted butter

5 fresh eggs

2 cups cooked butternut squash, mashed (About one 2lb whole squash). See Winter Squash: How to prepare for recipes

1 1/2 cups Sonrisa Farm stone ground whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla, or vanilla bean infused brandy

1 cup sour cream

Minced fresh rosemary leaves

Zest from one large orange

Glaze:

The best icing for this cake is drizzled Maple Cream. If you don't have a jar of pure maple creamy goodness on hand, you can make a maple glaze by combining 2 Tbs butter with 1/4 cup pure maple syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of powdered sugar. Drizzle immediately onto the cooled cake.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 10-cup bundt pan with baking spray, or the old fashioned way with butter or shortening and a dusting of flour or sugar.

Combine stone ground whole wheat and all purpose flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.

With the paddle attachment set on a stand mixer whip the butter and sugar together on medium speed until it is fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about a minute with the addition of each egg. Add the mashed butternut squash and mix on low speed until smooth. Then add the flours mix until combined.  Fold in the sour cream, orange zest, rosemary, and vanilla.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, leaving about 3/4 of an inch head space. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Turn the cake out of the pan and let cool.  Drizzle with maple cream or maple glaze.

Chattanooga Style Pizza

Western Civilization's Favorite Food: (Chattanooga Style)

Making local, farm-to-table pizza with a year's-worth of CSA bounty.

Italy of course, but also New York has it, Chicago has it, San Francisco has it, and many other locations around the world have claims to pizza flavors that are worth travelling for the experience. So what is the "Chattanooga Style Pizza?" We aren't big-time yet, but let's suppose we have some potential for developing a "worth-the-travel" flavor as well. There are some fabulous pizza's on Chattanooga's restaurant menus, many of whom source locally produced ingredients. And with regional agriculture growing and developing, even Chattanoogans who don't own restaurants have enough access to the best quality local produce, meats, cheeses, and grains to fill our pantries, refrigerators and freezers with prime ingredients.

Pizza is (essentially) whatever you like to eat served open on bread, and even the bread part is open for interpretation. Nevertheless, the basic components of the popular comfort food we call pizza are: crust, sauce, and toppings. Arguably, the type of oven and temperature in which a pizza bakes could also be at the top of the list for basic components of good pizza. So if you can, bake on a hot pizza stone in a very hot oven (around 500 degrees), or in a wood-fired oven. If you don't have access to this sort of heat power, any oven will do; you just may need to play with ingredients and temperatures to suit your oven, or pre-bake your crust to avoid sogginess.

And here are a few ideas for building your own perfect Chattanooga Style Pizza:

Fresh pizza crust is essential.  Store-bought pizza crusts are tough and flavorless, so if you are serious about making good pizza it's a great idea to start with a good recipe for yeast or sour-dough pizza crust. For a soft, thicker crust try this one: Quick Pizza Dough

If you like a thin, crispy crust and have a sour-dough starter, try this sourdough pizza crust recipe, with more on how to make the pizza here.

A great party idea, or to get kids involved, is to use cake tins for personal pizzas. This is also a great way to make several different pizzas. Most ovens will hold around six 9-inch tins.

The sauce is often regarded as a compulsory ingredient on pizza, with jars of "everything-tastes-the-same" blindly opened and spread without any further thought. But freshly made marinara from whole tomatoes can add transforming flavor. Here's an easy recipe:

1) Quarter several whole tomatoes, discarding cores, and place in a blender or food processor. Pulse until they are like a textured sauce, but not pureed.

2) Place the tomatoes in a heavy stew pot or in a slow cooker. Add a generous amount of crushed or minced fresh garlic (about 1-2 cloves per tomato), some dried herbs (like herbs de Provence), a bay leaf, a generous splash of red wine, olive oil, and season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Add fresh or dried cayenne pepper if you want a little heat in the sauce.

3) Let the sauce simmer for several hours with the lid of the pan tilted to allow the steam to release. Stir occasionally. The water in the sauce will reduce and the flavors will become more concentrated the longer it cooks.

Pizza toppings can include all-local ingredients from your CSA share and other vendors from your farmer's market.  All your hard work putting away extras will bear fruit as you use them to make the perfect pizza. Caramelized onions, pickled corn, roasted peppers, frozen beet greens, pickled banana peppers, pesto, fresh tomato marinara, and local cheeses from Sequatchie Cove Farm are ready to top a truly Chattanoga Style Pizza. Other ingredients like teriyaki marinated chicken, grilled meats, sausage, or local pepperoni from Main Street Meats are delicious proteins to add on top.

Try these combinations, or create your own unique flavors:

1) Marinara, chopped beet greens, roasted sweet peppers, pickled corn, pickled banana peppers, smoked sausage, Sequatchie Cove Farm Coppinger Cheese.

2) Marinara, greens, pickled corn, pesto, Main Street Meats pepperoni, Cheddar Cheese.

3) Pesto, caramelized onions, roasted sweet peppers, grilled teriyaki chicken, beet greens, Sequatchie Cove Farm Yetti Cheese.

4) Pesto, caramelized onions, pickled banana peppers, pickled corn, Sequatchie Cove Farm Yetti Cheese.

Roasted Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

4-6 ears of fresh corn

1 onion, chopped

5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

2 yellow, red or chocolate sweet peppers (not green), seeds removed and diced

5 medium red or white new potatoes (about 1 lb), cubed

2 quarts of chicken broth or stock (can substitute vegetable broth)

1-2 tsp fennel seed (optional)

1/2 cup white wine

2 Tomatoes, diced

Cilantro, chopped

Juice from 1 lime

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive or canola oil

1 lb of grilled chicken, or your favorite seafood like seared scallops, steamed lobster, or shrimp.

Method:

Prepare the corn in one of two ways: 1) For great flavor in the soup, grill the corn then cut the kernels off the cob. 2) Alternately you can shuck the corn, remove the silks, cut the kernels off the corn, then place the uncooked kernels into a baking dish. Toss with some oil then season with kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30- 45 minutes, or until the kernels begin to brown around the edges of the baking dish.

While the corn is cooking, saute the onion and 1/2 of the chopped peppers in a little oil. Add the potatoes, fennel seed, garlic, and broth then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes are cooking: combine the diced tomato, remaining peppers, 1/3 of the cooked corn, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Once the potatoes are cooked, add the remaining 2/3rds of the corn and the white wine to the soup. Remove from the heat and pulse with an immersion blender until the ingredients have a creamy look, but some texture remains.  Let simmer for a few minutes more. Season to taste.

Stir in diced grilled chicken, or ladle the soup over your favorite seafood. Garnish with the tomato mixture and your favorite hot sauce if you like a little extra heat.

Thai Basil Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Cups fresh Thai basil leaves (can substitute other types of basil if you do not have Thai basil)

1/2 Cup canola or peanut oil

Juice from 1 lime

1 Tbs premium fish sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Alchemy Spice Raging Monk Spicy Thai Blend (or more if you like more spice)

3-5 Fresh garlic cloves

A 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled

Method:

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Freeze extras in an ice-cube tray, storing in an airtight freezer-proof container or bag after frozen.

Serving Suggestions:

This sauce is great as a dipping sauce or dressing over meats, tofu, or fish. You can also mix it with a can of coconut milk to make a Thai curry sauce or soup.