Recipes

Ribboned Zucchini Salad

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Modified from epicurious.com

Ingredients:

2 pounds zucchini; 1 t salt; 2 T olive oil; 2 t lemon zest; 2 t fresh lemon juice; 2 t Dijon mustard; 1 t anchovy paste; ¼ t black pepper; 4 c lettuce mix; ½ c fresh basil leaves; ½ c mint leaves; 12 black olives, pitted & thinly sliced; ½ c candy sweet onion, thinly sliced.

 

Preparation:

Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and toss to coat. Let stand 5 minutes, then rinse under cold running water. Transfer zucchini to a clean kitchen towel and let stand 5 minutes more. Whisk together oil, zest, juice, mustard, anchovy paste, and pepper in a large bowl. Add zucchini, lettuce, herbs, olives, and onion and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Does not keep once dressed.

Basil Mojito

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From epicurious.com

Ingredients:

3-4 fresh mint leaves, chopped; 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped, 1 T sugar, 3 T fresh lime juice, 1.5 ounces (3 T) light rum, Chilled club soda or seltzer water, Ice

 

In a tall glass with back of a spoon or muddler crush mint and basil with sugar and lime juice until sugar is dissolved and stir in rum. Add ice cubes and top off drink with club soda or seltzer water.

Stir drink well and garnish with mint, basil, and lime.

Roasted Beet Salad

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From epicurious.com

Ingredients

4 beets, leaf and root ends removed, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1 T balsamic vinegar, Freshly ground black pepper, 1 T olive oil, 2 ounces feta, goat or other soft cheese

 

Heat oven to 400°F. Wash beets and remove root end and leaves. Keep leaves! You can stem them and eat them later! Wrap each beet in foil as you would baking potatoes. Roast until soft, about 1 hour. Cool slightly; remove foil. Rub off skins with fingers. Cut beets into wedges. Put beets and nuts in mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add oil and vinegar; toss. Divide among plates; crumble cheese on top.

Kale Chips with Sea Salt

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Ingredients:

¼ lb kale leaves, 1 tsp olive oil, ¼ tsp Nella Mae’s spruce tip salt or sea salt

 

Heat oven to 450F. If using a bunch of kale, cut the leaf off either side of the stem and cut into large bite-sized pieces, then wash and dry very well. Bags of Nella Mae’s kale are already pre-washed and pre-dried. Put washed, dried kale in a mixing bowl with oil and salt and mix with your hands. Place a sheet of parchment/wax paper on a cookie sheet and lay kale out on it. Turn oven off. Put cookie sheet of kale in oven for 15 minutes to bake. Chips should be crispy and similar to potato chips. If they are not crispy, put them back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Small-Batch Pesto

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Ingredients:

2 cups leaf or 4 stalks Genovese Italian basil, 2 cloves garlic or 2 garlic scapes, 2/3 c olive oil, 1 t sea salt or kosher salt, ½ c Parmesan (optional), ¼ c Pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

 

Blend basil (leaf & stem), garlic, and nuts with enough olive oil to make it blend well. Add remaining oil, cheese, and salt and pepper once basil is well blended. Blend into smooth paste. Keeps in the fridge for up to a week in airtight jar. You can also freeze pesto in bags or an ice tray and store cubes in a freezer bag. Cubes are quick and versatile. Use pesto to dress pasta, quinoa, pizza or any hot entre or cold salad. Use as a spread for bread or toast bread with pesto, tomato and parmesan for bruschetta.

What to do with Basil

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Breakfast ideas: 1) Bagel, cream cheese, garlic powder & basil; 2) Fried/scrambled eggs with salt, pepper, sun-dried tomato & basil on top; 3) Fried eggs, chorizo sausage, basil scramble with avocado

 

Lunch ideas: 1) Grilled cheese with tomato & basil; 2) Turkey, provolone & basil; 3) Add to a BLT; 4) Ham/prosciutto, mozzarella & basil sandwich; 4) Blend basil with mayo to for any sandwich!

 

Dinner ideas: 1) Add to ANY pizza (frozen, homemade, takeout!); 2) Grill chicken with basil, tomato, olive oil; 3) Broil French bread with slice of parmesan, basil, tomato, olive oil for bruschetta; 4) Caprese salad with tomatoes, basil, grated mozzarella, olive oil; 5) Lemon, basil & shrimp pasta; 6) Broil salmon with basil, lemon, oil; 7) Add to pasta, chicken, or fruit salad; 8) Add to cocktails!

Fruit-Kale Smoothie

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Ingredients:

2-3 stalks green kale including stem or 1-2 handfuls baby red kale

3-4 T honey or ½ banana, 1 cup strawberries

1 ½ cups liquid such as yogurt, almond milk, milk, fruit juice

Optional: Ice, cinnamon, nutmeg, pineapple, or other fruit

 

Put liquid ingredients in blender, add kale, blend. Add other ingredients, blend 1 min. If it isn’t blending, add more liquid and pulse blender. Many blenders will handle a whole stalk of kale, but If yours doesn’t, chop it coarsely first. Yogurt gives the smoothie protein. Kale is high in antioxidants, vitamins A, C, and K. To hide the kale taste, add more fruit and liquid. If this recipe is too sweet for you, skip the banana/honey. Makes 2 small smoothies.

Garlic Scape Pesto

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From food52.com contributor Kenzi Wilbur

Ingredients:

1 c garlic scapes, thinly sliced crosswise,

¼ cup pine nuts, walnuts, almonds or sunflower seeds,

½ c olive oil, ¼ c Parmesan, Salt and pepper, to taste

Add the scapes and pine nuts to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until everything is broken up a bit. Then turn the processor back on, and with it running, add the oil a little at a time until it’s fully incorporated. Add cheese, pulse, then season with salt and pepper to taste. This won’t brown like basil pesto will, so if you’re not using immediately, just store in a container in the fridge. It will last a week.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Add the scapes and pine nuts to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until everything is broken up a bit. Then turn the processor back on, and with it running, add the oil a little at a time until it’s fully incorporated. Add cheese, pulse, then season with salt and pepper to taste. This won’t brown like basil pesto will, so if you’re not using immediately, just store in a container in the fridge. It will last a week.

Simple Cabbage Rolls

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Nella Mae’s Farm Seasonal Recipe

From Nella Mae Parks

Simple Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

6-8 cabbage leaves, ½ lb ground beef or sausage,

1 c cooked rice, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar.

Cut the thickest part of the stem out of the cabbage leaves. Stem leaves 3-4 minutes or until tender in large pot. Set aside to cool. Cook meat in skillet with chopped onion. Add minced garlic, and any spices to taste such as chili powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, rosemary, thyme. Combine meat mixture and rice. With cabbage leaf flat, add a small amount of filling. Fold two ends of the leaf over an inch toward each other, then roll leaf like burrito. Put finished rolls back in skillet. Add 4 T of vinegar and 2 T of sugar to stewed tomatoes or tomato sauce, pour over rolls. Simmer 15 min.

Cut the thickest part of the stem out of the cabbage leaves. Stem leaves 3-4 minutes or until tender in large pot. Set aside to cool. Cook meat in skillet with chopped onion. Add minced garlic, and any spices to taste such as chili powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, rosemary, thyme. Combine meat mixture and rice. With cabbage leaf flat, add a small amount of fillin. Fold two ends of the leaf over an inch toward each other, then roll leaf like burrito. Put finished rolls back in skillet. Add 4 T of vinegar and 2 T of sugar to stewed tomatoes or tomato sauce, pour over rolls. Simmer 15 min.