Roasted Vegetable Stew With Beans & Spiced Chicken

This is a great soup to get you in the mood for late-summer and early-fall.  It is rich, hearty, and full of flavor.  The key is finding your favorite spice blend to create a signature flavor.  I tend to habitually reach for the sweet and spicy Jamaican Jerk blend.  But Alchemy Spice, a local spice and herb blender in Chattanooga, has an inspiring selection of blends.  What's best, is the fantastic flavor of freshly milled spices, as opposed to the bland old ones found in a grocery store. You can find Alchemy Spice online, at the Chattanooga Market, and in local specialty food shops. Ingredients: 3 Sweet peppers (any color), seeded and coarsely chopped 3 Medium tomatoes, cut into wedges 1 Yellow onion, coarsely chopped 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced 1 qt chicken or vegetable stock 3 cups beans (black, white or red beans, cooked and drained, or fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces) 1 lb boneless chicken, or leftovers from a roasted hen 1 Tbs your favorite Alchemy Spice blend (like The Jerk, Neo Masala, or Bayou Ya-Ya Cajun blends) Juice from one lime or lemon 1 Bunch cilantro, chopped (optional) Canola or olive oil Sea salt Black pepper

Method: Place the chopped peppers, tomatoes, and onions in a baking dish.  Coat with some oil, then season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake at 375 degrees for at least one hour, or until the vegetables are black on the tips and have begun to caramelize.  While the vegetables are cooking, season the chicken with the spices and brown in a heavy-bottomed stock pot with a little oil.  If you are using meat from a whole hen, rub the hen with the spices before roasting.  Chop the cooked chicken, and set aside.  Place the roasted peppers, onions and tomatoes in the stock pot with the chicken or vegetable stock.  Pulse with an immersion blender until coarsely pureed, or pulse in a conventional blender and return to the stock pot.  Add the beans, chicken, lime or lemon juice, and cilantro.  Simmer for a few minutes (or until the beans are cooked if using fresh green beans).  Serve with freshly baked corn bread.

Fresh Tomato Marinara

Photo courtesy of CSA member Oriel Wiggins

If you have never made your own spaghetti sauce, you are in for a sweet surprise.  This is so easy and amazingly delicious.  Also, if you are looking for a recipe for canning a case of beefsteak tomatoes, this is perfect.  Marinara is a simple tomato sauce used in Italian cooking.  Roma tomatoes are traditionally used because they have a stronger flavor and less water, but any good tomato will do. The most time-consuming part is removing the skins from the tomatoes.  If you leave the skins on, however, the flavor is great and the skins add more nutrients, texture and color.  So if you have less time to process the tomatoes, don't worry about doing that step. Make sure you do have time to let the sauce simmer for a while, however.  The key to a good marinara is to cook it low and slow.  With low-temperature cooking for a long period of time, the water and acids in the tomatoes reduce, while the rich flavor and natural sweetness intensifies.

Ingredients:
10-12 large beefsteak tomatoes (or whatever you have on hand) -about 6-10 lbs of tomatoes.
Sweet or hot roasted red peppers (optional)
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup dry red wine
3 bay leaves
Sea salt
Pepper
2-4 Tbs olive oil
Fresh basil, chopped

Method:
If you want to remove the skins of the tomatoes, cut an X into the bottom of the tomatoes.  Place a few at a time in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds, or until the skins begin to crack.  Remove from the boiling water and immediately immerse in a bowl of ice water until cold.  The skins should slip away easily.  Remove the stems and quarter or chop the tomatoes.  If you are using red peppers and would like to remove the skins, click here for detailed instructions on how to remove them easily.

Place diced onion, minced garlic and the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed stock pot.  Saute on medium heat until they begin to soften, but be careful not to scorch the garlic.  Add the chopped tomatoes, peppers (if desired), wine, bay leaves, 2 tbs chopped fresh basil, and 1 tsp of sea salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to low and simmer with a lid for several hours. Stir occasionally. After one hour, if there is a lot of liquid, you can tip the lid to vent some of the steam and allow the moisture to reduce.  If you have any roasted red peppers and tomatoes in the freezer, you can puree them in a blender and add them to the sauce to thicken the consistency a little.  This also adds richness to the flavor.  The time it takes to cook a homemade marinara really depends on how much time you have, and how fresh or sweet you like your sauce.  Taste periodically.  When it tastes perfectly done to you, add more chopped basil and remove from heat.  Cover and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes.  If you want a smooth, or more evenly textured sauce, you can use an immersion blender and pulse to the desired texture.

When the sauce is done, the possibilities are endless.  Use as a pizza sauce, over pasta, baked spaghetti squash, eggplant, or ground meats...and those are just the basics.  Marinara is a fantastic all-purpose sauce that is great for canning and freezing for quick meals.

Teriyaki Kabobs With Coconut Rice

Kabob Ingredients: 10-12 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes. One recipe for Teriyaki Marinade and Stir-Fry Sauce 1 Tbs corn starch 1 lb extra-firm tofu, beef, shrimp, scallops, or boneless chicken 1 medium squash or zucchini 1 or 2 sweet or hot peppers About two dozen cherry tomatoes 1 onion Fresh basil or cilantro (optional)

Coconut Rice Ingredients: (Adapted from Steamy Kitchen) 1 Tbs canola or peanut oil 1 Tbs local honey 1 tsp sea salt 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed and drained 1 can unsweetened first-pressed coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 1/2 cups water 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Method: Prepare the Teriyaki Marinade, refrigerate.  If using tofu, press well to remove liquid. Cut the tofu, beef or chicken into 1-inch pieces.  Place in a bowl with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the teriyaki marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and up to one day.  With the remaining teriyaki sauce, warm in a saucepan on medium heat.  Place 1 Tbs corn starch in a jug with 3-4 tbs water and mix well.  Just before the marinade begins to boil, stir in the corn starch and water.  Continue stirring until it thickens.  Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare the coconut rice, heat oil, honey and salt in a medium to large sized saucepan on medium heat.  Stir and cook until the mixture begins to bubble. Turn heat to high and add the rinsed and drained rice to the pan.  Stir until coated well with the oil and honey mixture.  Add the coconut milk and water.  Continue to stir until the coconut milk is blended and smooth. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until you can just see the rice under the surface of the liquid. Cover with a tight fitting lid and set a timer for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, remove from heat, but do not open the lid.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  Toast coconut flakes in a dry skillet on medium to medium-high heat.  Stir frequently to avoid burning. It should take a couple of minutes.  Remove from the pan when it is golden brown. Set aside.

Assembling the kabobs can take some time if you don't have help, so you may want to do this step ahead of time.  When they are assembled you can place them in a sealed plastic storage bag or a covered casserole dish and refrigerate until you are ready to grill. To prepare the ingredients, cut the squash, peppers and onion into 1-inch pieces, or 1/4 inch ribbons for creative layering. Assemble the vegetables and meat/tofu onto the soaked skewers.  Brush with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  When your barbecue is hot, place the kabobs on the grill, turning 1/4 turn every 3-5 minutes, or when the vegetables have blistered. If using chicken, shrimp or scallops, check to ensure it is cooked through before removing from the grill.  Place in a flat-bottomed dish and cover with the thickened teriyaki sauce.

When the rice is finished, sprinkle toasted coconut over each serving of rice, place kabobs on top, and garnish with basil or cilantro.

BBLT (Bacon Basil and Local Tomato)

The basil aioli and tomato flavor combination is so good, it would be a shame to let it fade into the archives with the tomato pie recipe. As I took a wander down Main Street today it wasn't difficult to come to a BLT conclusion for how to pair them together again. These organic homegrown tomatoes are mouth-watering. (I should apologize now to the people who are reading this post from another city or country.  You will have to come visit to taste for yourself, but we have a bit of a home-team advantage with this one.) I started with the best tomatoes, then paired with fresh bread from an amazing artisan bakery and bacon from a producer of local, farm-to-table cured meats, who happen to reside side-by-side on our little Main Street.  I keep waiting for the candlestick maker to move next door, but in the meantime I'll be satisfied with the tastiest fresh bread and tempting hand-crafted local bacon.  On Wednesday's the Main Street Farmer's Market is busy with farmer's and local food producers from around the region selling their goods.  So with a walk down Main Street shorter than the length of a department store parking lot, you can buy locally made bread, bacon, and all the fresh, homegrown tomatoes and basil you can eat. Local is the buzz-word among foodies, and for good cause.  But here's the cherry on top: This sandwich is AMAZING.  I scored a rare pumpernickle loaf at Niedlov's Bakery for my sandwich, but you can use whichever is your favorite. As for the bacon, there is nothing quite like this thick sliced hand-crafted goodness from Link 41.

Ingredients:

One loaf of your favorite Niedlov's bread

1 lb Link 41 bacon

One Signal Mountain Farm Tomato

Fresh basil leaves 2 Tbs Basil-Garlic Aioli per sandwich Salt & Pepper

Cook bacon, slice tomato and bread to desired thickness, and layer on bread with torn basil leaves and a generous dollop of Basil-Garlic Aioli on both slices of bread. Invite a friend over for lunch, or you might be tempted to eat it all by yourself.

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.