Week 11 Recipes
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Fennel and Apple Salad
From A Good Day for Salad (Chronicle Books)

Vinaigrette:

½ tart green apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 tbsp. minced shallots
1 tsp. mild mustard
1 tsp. honey
¼ cup cider vinegar
½ cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:

2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced
4 tart-sweet apples, cored and thinly sliced
4 cups spinach leaves
1 cp hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped
1 cup white cheddar cheese

In a blender or food processor, combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and process until emulsified. In a large bowl, combine the fennel, apples, spinach, and hazelnuts. Toss
well with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with cheese.

Bulgar and Spinach Pilaf

1 onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves
6 oz. bulgar
1 ¼ cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 ¼ cups spinach
1 1/8 cups Greek yogurt
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
pinch of salt

For the tomatoes:
12 plum tomatoes
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. soft dark brown sugar

For the onions:
2 onions, very finely sliced
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. soft brown sugar
juice of ½ small lemon

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and set it over a small bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth and refrigerate for at 24 hours, this will make it a cream cheese like
consistency . After 24 hours, place the yogurt in a bowl and add the garlic clove, some salt and mash it all together. Cover and place back in the refrigerator until you need it.   
 Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and put them in a small roasting pan or oven proof dish. Mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper and pour over the
tomatoes. Turn them over, making sure they get coated, ending with them cut side up. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top and put in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees.
Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, less time if you use smaller tomatoes, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet. They can either be hot or at room temperature when you add
them to the pilaf, so you could do this part in advance. For the pilaf, sauté the chopped onion in half the olive oil in a heavy saucepan. When the onion is soft and translucent
add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Tip the bulgar into the pan, on top of the onions, pour in the stock and season to taste. Bring to a boil, then turn down
the heat and let the bulgar simmer in the stock for about 15 minutes. All the stock will have been absorbed by then. Cover the pot and let the bulgar sit to fluff up for another
10 minutes. Take the stalks off the spinach and wash the leaves well. In a covered pot, cook the leaves in just the water that clings to them after washing until wilted. Squeeze
out the excess moisture and chop the leaves roughly. Saute the spinach for a few minutes in the remaining olive oil and season it well with salt and pepper. Stir the spinach into
the bulgar. Quickly cook the sliced onions in very hot olive oil, making sure they are golden brown. For the last minute of cooking time, add the cinnamon and brown sugar.
Stir this around and once the sugar has melted and slightly caramelized, add a good squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and paper. In a broad shallow bowl, layer the
components. Start by placing the bulgar, then the tomatoes. Break the yogurt into lumps and scatter them over the tomatoes. Strew the onions over the top and drizzle with
some olive oil and serve.

Baked Spinach Pasta Casserole

1 lb. pasta shells
1 lb spinach; chopped and steamed until tender
2 ½ cups tomato sauce
½ cup milk
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup bread crumbs

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions; drain. In a large casserole dish, toss hot pasta with the spinach, tomato sauce, milk, garlic, and basil; season to
taste with salt and pepper. Top with bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees, uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Poached Shrimp and Butter Lettuce Salad

½ cup dry white wine
1 pound shelled, deveined shrimp
1 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tbsp. minced shallot
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
¾ olive oil
½ tsp. finely grated orange peel
12 cups bite-size pieces butter lettuce leaves
4 thinly sliced radishes
1 avocado, thinly sliced

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, bring white wine and 1 cup water to a simmer. Add the shrimp; reduce heat to keep liquid barely simmering until shrimp is
cooked through, about 6 minutes. Drain and cut shrimp in half lengthwise. In a small bowl, combine the lemon peel, juice, shallots, salt and pepper; let stand at least 15
minutes. Whisk in olive oil. In a large serving bowl, mix lettuce, radishes, avocado, and shrimp with enough lemon-orange vinaigrette to coat. Save the extra vinaigrette.

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

2 tbsp. oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
2 cups finely chopped strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, and yogurt. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon
and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Add the strawberries and stir. Divide into greased muffin tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until done.

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 pints fresh ripe strawberries
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 to 3 tbsp. vodka (optional)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water. Stir until the mixture comes to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat,
cover, and let stand approximately 10 minutes. Lightly rinse and dry the strawberries; hull and cut in halves. In a food processor or blender, puree the strawberries with ¼
cup sugar syrup. Add the lemon juice, vodka (if using), and pureed strawberries to the remaining syrup; stir until thoroughly blended.
*Note about the vodka; using the vodka
will keep the sorbet soft without changing the flavor.