Watermelon Smoothies...(perfect for the HOT Memorial Day Weekend)!

1 personal size watermelon

1 lime- juiced

1 tablespoon honey

Ice

Scoop out watermelon fruit into blender. Add honey and  1 -2 teaspoon lime juice (to your  taste). Add Ice. Blend until ice is crushed and all  ingredients well blended.

Mila

South Mountain Veggies

Ever since that movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" with Jessica Tandy I've wondered about fried green tomatoes....

Fried Green Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium, firm green tomatoes
• Salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil

METHOD

1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt. Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place in 3 separate shallow bowls: the flour and Cajun seasoning, buttermilk and egg, and bread crumbs and cornmeal.

2 Heat the peanut oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain. 

Cleaning gritty produce...

We have had quite a few customers who have had some trouble cleaning the farm fresh produce this past week...let me share some tips for cleaning gritty produce like asparagus and spinach...

For asparagus, I have found that washing it, even numerous times does not get out all of the grit so I now blanch the asparagus and this way the grit is released into the cooking water and then you just throw it away!

For my spinach, I fill my clean kitchen sink up with cold water and add the spinach, swishing it around and allowing the dirt to settle to the bottom, I drain the sink and repeat until there is no more residue and then finish it off in my salad spinner.

National Dandelion Day

I bet you did not know that there was such a day as "National Dandelion Day" did you?  I honestly just found out myself, but figured we all could learn a bit more about this "weed" that we all desperately try to eradicate from our lawns in the early spring.

For one it has been prized for its medicinal properties for centuries.  That is why our European ancestors so graciously brought dandelion seeds with them when they immigrated here all those years ago.  All parts of the dandelion are edible with the roots and greens alike being chocked full of vitamins and minerals.  Winemakers love the pollen laden flowers to make wine.  Or you can even blanch the blossoms with hot water to make tea. Some people claim that dandelions are almost a perfect food, however I think many of us just want them out of  our flowerbeds and yards to ever fully embrace them as a food source!

I remember my Grams sharing stories with me about how back in the days of her childhood, in the early spring while they were waiting for the ground to get warm enough to start growing food in their gardens and how the winter's food that had been stored away was starting to dwindle away, many meals in the early spring were Dandelion greens.  She remembers going out in the field and cutting enough to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I think she will still eat them from time to time, however they are no longer her favorite!

Here is a recipe to share:

Ingredients

Adapted from The Herbfarm Cookbook: A Guide to the Vivid Flavors of Fresh Herbs by Jerry Traunfeld (Scribner, 2000).

Makes 1 quart

• 1 quart just-picked dandelion blossoms, harvested from a pesticide-free area
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup mild honey
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

As soon as possible after picking the blossoms, use a pair of sharp scissors to snip the yellow portions of the petals from the green calyxes, leaving the bitter white bottoms of the petals still attached to the calyxes. Discard the calyxes.

Heat the water, sugar, and honey in a small saucepan. As soon as the syrup comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and stir in the yellow petals. Cover and let steep for at least one hour. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve. Stir in the lemon juice and chill. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

This is such a wonderful combination of sweet and savory...found this recipe last summer while attending a progressive dinner party and we were hooked making it over and over again...

• Strawberry and Spinach Salad
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, 
• 1 pint strawberries, ends trimmed and quartered
• 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted (or you could use Walnuts too)
• 1/4 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette

My Mom's Asparagus

Growing up, mom would make asparagus for just her and I...my Dad and brother did not like it, and I always felt special when she would make this just for us to share...

1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/4 c. milk

1 tea. butter

12 saltine crackers, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Add chopped asparagus to a small saucepan with just enough water to steam the asparagus.  Cook until just tender, add milk and butter serve immediately over crushed saltines. 

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
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1. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on High until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees F until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.)
2. Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt; microwave on High until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.)
3. When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Homemade Orange Cleaner

I discovered this recipe a few months ago and I have have been hooked on how it cleans up grease and makes my granite sparkle!  The smell is great too and I like knowing that none of it is harmful for my family or my pets!




Ingredients:
Orange peels (or any type of citrus peels)
Vinegar
Water

Instructions:
1. Fill a glass jar with orange peels. It needn't be done all at once. Just whenever you eat an orange, put the peels inside the jar.
2. Cover the peels with vinegar. You may want to pack down the peels so less vinegar is needed for this step, but it's not necessary.
3. Let the vinegar and orange peels sit for a few weeks. The vinegar will take on an orange/golden hue and smell powerfully of oranges.
4. Take the vinegar out of the jar and pour it into a spray bottle, diluting half/half with water.
5. Use with a rag to clean.  This works well to clean sinks, mirrors, windows, floors, wooden chairs, counters, etc... 


Best of all- this is made with something that you'd otherwise be throwing out!

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• Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

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• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 8 ounces dried egg noodles

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  Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
  2. At the same time, melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring until softened. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add sliced mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are limp and browned. Remove to a bowl, and set aside.
  3. In the same skillet, stir in vegetable broth, being sure to stir in any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, and cook until the mixture has reduced by 1/3. Reduce heat to low, and return the mushrooms and onion to the skillet.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat, stir together the sour cream and flour; then blend into the mushrooms. Return the skillet to the burner, and continue cooking over low heat, just until the sauce thickens. Stir in the parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked egg noodles.
  
  
  
  

  Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

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  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 5 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup sliced rhubarb

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    Directions

    1. Combine sugar, orange juice, cornstarch, and vanilla in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add strawberries and rhubarb; reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mash the cooked berries with a fork. Stir in food coloring, if using. Serve warm or cold.

  
  

  
  

  Asparagus and Shrimp Risotto

  
  

  

  1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  1 teaspoon chopped shallot
  ¼ pound asparagus, cooked and cut in 1-inch pieces
  ¼ cup risotto rice
  1 cup dry white wine
  ¼ cup cooked shrimp
  4 cups chicken stock
  ½ cup Parmesan cheese
  1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  
  

  Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Add shallots and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add asparagus and cook another minute.
  2. Add risotto and cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add wine to saucepan; continue to cook until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring to prevent sticking.
  3. Gradually add chicken stock, ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly until liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding stock and cooking down until all stock has been added.
  4. Add shrimp and stir gently for 2 minutes. Add cheese and parsley, stir, and serve.