This Week’s Share
- Sweet Corn, Sugar Buns
On Rotation:
Recipes
Beet Recipe
Quick Pickled Beets
From American Wholefoods Cuisine by Nikki and David Goldbeck
Note: Picked beets are especially good with mild, creamy dishes, providing a contrast of taste and texture to foods sauced with yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, or a smooth gravy.
3-5 beets (approx. 1 pound), steamed*
1 small onion (or a portion of a larger onion)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water (from steaming beets, or plain water)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 whole cloves
1/2 bay leaf
When steamed beets are cool enough to handle, peel and slice. Cut each slice in half. Place in a shallow casserole or bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Pour over beets. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. To store, keep in a covered container in the refrigerator. Pickled beets will keep for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
* To steam beets, scrub beets and remove tops and long roots. Steam whole until the bulb can be pierced. This will vary from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size and age of the beets. When beets are cool enough to handle, skin will slip off readily with gentle pressure.
Corn Recipes
Note: Remember to look at last week’s blog for corn ideas from Laurelhurst Markets’ David Kreifels.
Soft Delicate Corn Fritters
From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
Note: Serve these as a side dish with main-course meals; or sprinkle with powdered sugar and eat as a dessert. In this recipe the flour is only necessary if the corn is very milky. For the egg component you may do as directed below or you can also separate 3 eggs, using 2 of the yolks in the mixture, then beat the 3 egg whites and fold into batter before frying.
2 eggs
2 cups scraped* corn
1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons flour (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
vegetable oil or clarified butter, enough for frying in
Lightly beat eggs; mix with remaining ingredients except oil or clarified butter. Heat oil or clarified butter to a medium. Drop fitter batter by spoonfuls into hot oil or butter, browning on both sides, 3-4 minutes per side. Makes 15-20 small fritters or patties.
*To scrap corn run a knife down the center of a row of kernels, slicing right down to the end of the ear. Continue until all the rows have been prepared. Place the sliced ear of corn over a bowl, then using the back of a knife push or “scrape” down on the kernels/ the flesh and “milk” will spurt out. Go back and forth up and down the ear until it’s finished.
Cucumber Recipe
Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce
Recipe from www.suite101.com
Note: Tzatziki sauce is served as a condiment along with Greek meals. Tsatziki is typically served on top of chicken, lamb and other meat dishes such as gyros. In addition to being used as a meat sauce, tzatziki can also be used to make potato salad, and as a dip along with pita bread and fresh vegetables, such as some sliced up cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, or any other veggie that sounds good.
1 16 oz. container Greek style yogurt
1 medium cucumber
3 cloves garlic, grated
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped fine
Zest from one lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
Peel the cucumber if desired. Cut the cucumber in half, and remove the seeds.
Use a hand grater, or food processor, to grate the cucumber. Place the grated cucumber in a double thickness paper towel, and gently squeeze out the moisture. Replace the wet paper towel with dry paper towel, and continue squeezing the cucumber until most of the moisture has been removed. Add the cucumber to a medium bowl. Stir in the garlic, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and salt. Add the Greek yogurt and stir until well blended. Cover the tzatziki sauce and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Makes a total of 2 1/2 cups of tzatziki sauce.
Dill Recipes
Dill Cheese Spread
From the Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden
1 1/2 cups grated firm cheese (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, Jarlsberg, gouda)
2/3 cups cream cheese or cottage cheese (regular or low-fat)
1/4 cup or less chopped fresh dill (can also use this same recipe with other herbs)
2 to 3 tablespoons additional seasonings: chopped vegetables, chilies, nuts, garlic, or edible flowers)
Allow the grated cheese to soften at room temperature for easier mixing. Use a food processor or mixer to whip the cheeses together until smooth and well blended. Add the remaining ingredients. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Dilly Mayonnaise
From the Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or use part olive oil)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or herb vinegar
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Combine egg yolks and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Slowly whisk in the oil, followed by the lemon juice/herb vinegar and water. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add mustard, salt, pepper, and dill. Transfer mayonnaise to a bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate immediately. It will keep refrigerated for up to week. Makes 1 cup.
Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce
(see above in Cucumber Recipes)
Summer Squash Recipe
Lonnie’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Unknown Source
Note: Member Jennerifer Siebold brought this cake to the SIO Potato Harvest and French Fry Feast and it was a big hit. She says of the recipe, “I’d like to say Lonnie was my great grandmother and this was an old family recipe…but it isn’t and I have no idea who Lonnie is, except for a great cook! At the SIO French Fry potluck I substituted gluten free flours, ghee, and milk & vinegar (for the butter milk), reduced the sugar to 1 cup and forgot the chips…so as you can see it is a pretty flexible and forgiving recipe–the best kind! Enjoy!”
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar (can be reduced)
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup buttermik
4 tbsp cocoa
2 cups grated zucchini
1/4 cup nuts
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix oil, butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and milk together. Add cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Add four and mix well. Add zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts and mix. Divide the batter into two well greased loaf pans or one well greased 13×9 inch baking dish. Bake for 350 for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick poked into the center comes out clean.
FIT Spotlight: Carol
Carol grew up in the Portland area and, “doesn’t plan on living anywhere else”. After graduating from the University of Oregon in 2003 with a degree in Environmental Studies Carol participated in an independent study on rural community life found her way to WWOOF-ing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) in France. Since then she has wanted to join a serious farm apprenticeship, and eventually found her way to the SIO FIT Program. The balance between country life, city life, and staying close to friends and family all created the ideal situation for Carol at SIO. She would like to have her own farm one day and already feels that the FIT Program is allowing her to gain the skills and confidence to do so. Out at the farm Carol enjoys pinching basil, planting with the crew, and hanging out with the farm cats, and of course like any SIO employee she loves, “sharing in the harvest.”