Straight from the Farm

This is a post I probably should have put up last week - both because I made the dish then and, more importantly, because watermelon season may well have quietly slipped away for another year sometime between this week and last week.  (I didn’t see any at the Headhouse Market on Sunday.)  There’s just been such an influx of great produce and recipe ideas in my kitchen lately that I can’t get everything posted fast enough.  But perhaps you can still find a watermelon in your own garden or at your farmers market.  Or you might even have a few stashed away like I do (watermelons will keep for several weeks if placed on a cool basement floor).  

I’ve had this unusual recipe dog-eared in The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking for quite some time and finally gave it a try last week to take to dinner at Farmer Dave’s house.  The reason I hadn’t given it a go sooner is because, well, I don’t like olives.   So I needed an occasion to get some unbiased taste testers to both tell me if it was good and to then actually eat it.  It was the perfect quick dish to take to a weeknight dinner party, and it seemed to be well-received despite the disappointing lack of saltiness (to contrast with the sweet melon) in both the olives and the feta, which really is the point of the whole salad. 

While the reference cookbook is dedicated to using only four ingredients, you’ll notice my version now has six.  I found the lemon juice and salt gave it a little extra kick when my olives failed to hold up their end of the bargain.  If you get flavorful ones, you could certainly omit either or both the salt and lemon juice.  

A quick review of The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking:  It’s a very interesting book to have on hand for both curiosity sake and for easy-to-prepare recipes (with only four ingredients, none of the recipes can get very complicated).  I find the combinations they come up with in the book to be great starting points that often lead me to fun new dishes.   It also gets me thinking about what four ingredient recipes I can come up with on my own.  The last successful one was a cold salad of rice noodles, cucumber sticks, crushed peanuts and a little bottled thai peanut sauce (that was cheating a little bit, I know).  Got any great four ingredient recipes to share?  I’d love to hear about them! 

Back to this recipe - get yourself one of the last watermelons of the year, good quality olives, and some salty feta cheese to make this savory watermelon salad that moves watermelon from the dessert plate onto the dinner plate instead.  See, doesn’t the watermelon salad look great next to an early fall feast of grilled veggies, butternut squash, and a grilled veggie burger with farm fresh lettuce?  Give it a try before the season is gone for good.

Savory Watermelon Salad
Adapted from The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking

4 c. cubed and seeded watermelon
3/4 c. black olives, pitted and sliced
3/4 c. feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 c. toasted seeds - pumpkin, sunflower, pine nuts, etc.
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. coarse sea salt

Place watermelon and olive slices in a medium serving bowl. Toss to combine.  Add the lemon juice and salt and toss again.  Finally, add the cheese and seeds and toss lightly just to combine.  Allow to sit for 20 minutes in the fridge before serving. 

(serves 6-

I spent most of the summer trying to avoid making anything too ordinary with the farm’s produce.  I thought about posting a baba ghanouj (guh-NOOSH) recipe more than once.  But it just didn’t seem to have enough “ump” to it, ya know?  That was until I had two pounds of eggplant leftover from the Headhouse Market last week and an urge for some good “baba”.  When I got home, I went to the cupboard, all revved up to get the process going, only to find the tahini jar crusty and unyielding.  Suddenly, a baba ghanouj recipe without tahini became quite interesting indeed and worthy of a post. 

Fortunately I have an abundance of middle eastern cookbooks, my favorite of which yielded this excellent recipe that makes baba ghanouj ridiculously easy and only uses standard pantry stuffs.  Where have you been all my life, tahini-less baba?!? 

And the tasting panel (an impromptu dinner party of farm “staff”) greatly approved as well.  The variety of the eggplant, or even its condition as some of what I used wasn’t in peak form, doesn’t matter terribly.  What does matter to the successful outcome of this version of baba is the use of both fresh lemon juice and garlic.  When it’s all blended together, this is one of the creamiest baba’s I’ve ever had.   And it felt so good to give that ol’ tahini jar a toss since I only kept it around for the baba.   After all, I need the extra self space for the preserves I’m making from local produce.

Baba Ghanouj
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

1 1/2 pounds of eggplant
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 t. coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and dry eggplant before pricking several times all over with a sharp knife.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray.  Lay eggplants in a single layer on the sheet and place in oven to roast for about 45 minutes or until eggplants are soft to the touch and look deflated. 

Allow roasted eggplants to cool completely.  You can even roast them the day before and store them in plastic wrap at room temperature until ready to use. Cut off the stems and slice lengthwise.  Using a spoon, scrap out all the flesh and place it in a blender or food processor.  Repeat with all the eggplants.

To the eggplant flesh in the blender, add the oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy.  Serve at room temperature or chilled with wedges of pita bread.  Also good as a spread for sandwiches.   

(makes 1 cup)

So, I’m rather at a loss for words today.  Unusual, yes, but just some minor writer’s block and a huge stack of “real” work.  No worries because I have some great food and farm shots to share with you instead and a simple little recipe at the bottom to keep us all twirling around the kitchen for another day. 

My apologies in advance for anyone using dial-up…this post might take some time to download. 

Mediterranean-Style Marinated Baby Eggplant
Adapted from World Cook’s Collection: Mediterranean Kitchen

4 baby italian eggplant (they should fit in the palm of your hand)
1/2 c. high quality extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 T. balsamic vinegar
3 large garlic cloves, crushed but still whole
1/4 c. slivered almonds or pine nuts
2 T. or so golden raisins
1 t. sugar
1 bay leaf
pinch of dried red pepper flakes
slat and pepper

Preheat your oven’s broiler on its high setting.  Wash eggplants well and cut in half lengthwise.  Brush with a little olive oil before placing cut side up in the broiler pan.  Broil for about 5 minutes or until tops are getting nicely browned.  Turn over and broil skin sides for another 5 minutes until they begin to blister and blacken slightly. 

Make the marinade while eggplant is cooking.   Place all remaining ingredients in a bowl or measuring cup and mix well. 

Place hot eggplant into an earthenware or glass bowl.  Pour the marinade over and turn eggplants to coat well.  Let cool to room temperature, turning eggplants once in a while, before storing in an air-tight container in the refridgerator for up to a week.  Serve cold as a side dish to a meat entre such as pork loin or lamb or as part of a vegetarian sampler supper that might included stuffed grape leaves, cacik and hummus with pita. 

(makes 4 side dish servings)

This is the third post in just a week with a salad recipe.  Am I boring you?  I hope not.  At least this one includes pasta so it’ll stand up as a main dish in a pinch.  Certainly makes a nice lunch.  In any case, my mom used to tell me that there was some sort of design rule that states that once you have a group of three similar things (dishes, tea kettles, thimbles, those weird spoons they sell at tourist sights), you have a collection.  Well, in one short week, I’ve gotten myself a collection of salad recipes.  Fancy, eh?   To celebrate, there is a new “salads” category on the side bar so feel free to click it in the future to see if my fledgling collection is growing much.

In case you haven’t noticed, this blog is vegetarian.  It’s not really meant to be - there are even a few guest posts with chicken in them - but since I don’t really eat meat and I am writing about a vegetable farm, it just sorta happened.  I bring this matter up because I am going to be trying to make more suggestions for incorporating meat into my recipes, even if I don’t cook them that way myself.  

This time around I’m giving bacon a shot.  There are vegetarian versions of bacon on the market and the one I used this time was surprisingly good.  Since I don’t do the meat thing myself, I would love to see some comments moving forward from readers about how you incorporated or think you might incorporate meat into a given recipe.  It’s good information to have as a reference.  I thank you in advance.  Now, on to the third in a collection of salad recipes!

PASTA SALAD WITH SWISS CHARD & BACON
Adapted from All Recipes.com

2 c. uncooked rotini or other pasta
1 bunch Swiss chard (10 or 12 stems)
3 small bell peppers  (purple, red or yellow)
6 pieces of bacon*
1/2 c. vinaigrette**
salt and pepper

*I used a vegetarian version of bacon from Lifelite that was quite good. 

** Use your favorite bottled brand or make Basil Vinaigrette by whisking together 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil, 2 T. of apple cider or sherry wine vinegar, a generous tablespoon of honey, a generous tablespoon of finely chopped fresh basil, and 1 small finely minced garlic clove. The honey makes this vinaigrette ever so mildly sweet so it’s a wonderful contrast to the salty bacon in the salad.

Cook pasta and bacon according to package directions. Drain and cool bacon on a paper towel before cutting into small pieces.

While pasta finishes cooking, prepare swiss chard by removing stems and the thicker portion of the main “vein” since that part is stringy and tough.  Stack chard leaves and roll into a “cigar” to then slice into very thin ribbons.  Prepare bell peppers by removing the stems and seeds and slicing into very thin strips. Place both chard and peppers in a large bowl. 

Drain pasta and give it a real quick rinse in cool water. You want it to still be a little warm but not terribly hot so it takes off just a little of the rawness from the vegetables but doesn’t cook them. Make sure pasta is thoroughly drained before adding to the bowl of swiss chard and pepper.  Add the bacon and pour on dressing sparingly until you reach your desired amount and toss to coat.  Salt and pepper to taste.

(serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side)

Remember spelt from the other day?  Did you try it?  Did you like it?  If you didn’t try it, are you going to?  

Whoa - what’s with all the questions?!  I just want to get you ready for another spelt recipe.  As is my standard practice, I had cooked more than the last recipe called for so as to have some on hand for another dish or two.  Since spelt takes a little “processing” with the soaking and the long cook time, it’s best done in large batches and then stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.  It’ll keep for a week or more that way. 

And while you’re in your fridge, dig around to see what you’ve got rolling around in the crisper drawer.  At the bottom of mine, I found a kohlrabi hanging on from the spring still so thought that would make a nice crisp addition to the chewy softer texture of the spelt.  If you don’t have a kohlrabi hiding out in yours, look around for other add-ins such as cucumbers or peppers.  A firm apple would even be a good substitute for the kohlrabi.  I personally enjoy the little pockets of sweetness raisins provide but you could make this with just veggies if you’re not into combining food groups. 

As with all whole grain salads, this recipe is meant to be modified according to what’s on hand.  You could even take up foraging like some of my counterparts and add in wild onion, chives or even dandelions greens.  To cut to the chase - make extra spelt and then make a hearty salad. 

SPELT SALAD WITH KOHLRABI AND MORE
A Straight from the Farm Original

2 c. cooked spelt
1 small kohlrabi bulb, peeled
2 radishes, trimmed and cleaned
1/2 c. raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 t. minced fresh marjoram (or other herb of your choosing)
1 t. honey (optional)
salt and pepper 

Slice the kohlrabi and radishes into very thin rounds - use a mandolin if you have one.  Then using a sharp knife, cut the rounds into small matchsticks.  Place in a medium bowl along with cooked spelt and dried fruit.  Toss and set aside.

Whisk together oil, lemon juice and zest, marjoram, honey (if using) and a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper. 

Just before serving, dress the salad with the vinaigerette, tossing well.  Serve with slices of fresh tomato or cucumber on the side and a hunk of crusty bread for a complete meal. 

(serves 2)