Elder Flower Fritters

“Tis The Season To Make Cordial” by Falling Sky is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Nella Mae’s Farm Seasonal Recipe

Ingredients:
1 c flour
1 t baking power
½ teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
1 c milk
2 tblspoon melted butter
4 c elderberry flowers
oil for frying

Blend flour, baking powder & salt. In separate bowl, blend eggs, milk, butter. Dip elder flower bunches in egg mixture then dip in flour mixture. Heat ¼ inch oil in skillet until it makes bubbles when you put a spoon in it. Fry elder flowers in hot oil until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve with honey or maple syrup. Note: elderberry flowers and berry juice are edible.

Note! Elderberries with seeds inside can be bad for you!

Kale Salad for Skeptics

By: Nella Mae Parks

Ingredients:

  • ½ lb of kale leaves (for 2-4 servings)
  • Coarse sea salt or other salt
  •  ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ c apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • Pepper

Don’t chop kale: rip off the big stems and then rip handfuls of leaves into a bowl. Crunch it with your hands with some sprinkles of salt. Put dressing ingredients in a jar with lid, shake. Dress salad 5 minutes before serving. Acid in dressing facilitates wilting, which makes kale more palatable. Add strawberries, apples, nuts, seeds, cheese, etc. to make it more interesting. Note: dressing keeps well but salad does not. Recipe makes 2-4 servings.

Breakfast potatoes & sausage with sage butter

“Roasted Spicy Potatoes with Mint” by qlinart is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

From: www.foodandwine.com

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound new potatoes
  • ½ stick unsalted butter
  • ¼ c sage leaves
  • ½ lb local, grass-fed breakfast sausage
  • 2 green onions
  • Salt and pepper.

Cook potatoes until tender, about 20 mins. Drain and halve potatoes. Melt the butter in skillet. Add sage and cook med. heat 2 mins. Pour sage butter into a small bowl. Add the sausages to the skillet and cook, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a platter. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Add reserved sage butter to the skillet. Cook green onions 2 mins. Add potatoes, salt, pepper. Top the sausages with the potatoes, garnish with scallions and serve.

Linguine with Thyme, Garlic, Lemon, and Mushrooms

Source: Nigella Lawson via foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz/4 c finely sliced mushrooms
  • 1/3 c olive oil
  • 1 tbl spoon salt
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 t spoon thyme leaves
  • 1 lb linguine
  • ½ c parsley
  • 2-3 tblspoons freshly grated Parmesan
  • Black pepper

Slice the mushrooms finely; put into a large bowl with the oil, salt, minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, thyme leaves. Cook pasta according to packet instructions and drain loosely, retaining some water. Quickly put the pasta into the bowl with the mushroom mixture. Toss everything together well, and then add the parsley, cheese and pepper before tossing again. Eat with joy in your heart.

 

Roasted asparagus with lemon-oregano aioli sauce

“P1100858” by alicson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Source: epicurious.com

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs asparagus, tough ends trimmed
  • 1 lemon, halved, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
  • 4 tblspoons olive oil
  • 1 c mayonnaise
  • 2 tspoon chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 garlic clove minced

Aioli sauce: Whisk mayonnaise, oil, oregano, garlic, lemon juice, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Season aioli sauce to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Asparagus: Preheat oven to 425°F. Place asparagus spears on cookie sheet covered in foil. Toss asparagus with oil, salt, pepper. Roast until tender, about 8 mins Arrange asparagus on platter. Place bowl of aioli in center for dipping and serve.

How to Roast and Freeze Tomatoes and Chiles

By: Nella Mae Parks

70871406_2471169952948011_6319468639992938496_oAll tomatoes and peppers are easily roasted and frozen. In the winter you can thaw them out to make fresh-tasting salsa, tomato sauce, chili, and soup.

Tomatoes: Wash, cut out core at the top for large tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes can be roasted whole. Place whole tomato with core hole down in casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 400 deg 30 mins or until tomatoes begin to break down in shape. Cool. Put, tomatoes w/ juice in freezer bags, wipe bag closure clean, freeze.

Chilies: Wash, cut in half and remove seeds and white veins if you don’t want them too hot. Place in casserole greased with olive oil. Bake 400 for 20+ min or until soft. Cool and put in freezer bags. Wipe bag closure clean, freeze.

Tip: Stack your bags flat in the freezer when you put them in to freezer. You can get more in if they are stackable.

Late August Coleslaw

By: Nella Mae ParksIMG_3718.JPG

Ingredients:

  • Half lb of shredded cabbage
  • 2 ears of corn, cooked
  • 1 bunch (8) green onions
  • 2 medium cucumbers
  • 1/8 c mayonnaise
  • 4 T white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or white vinegar
  • 1 T sugar, salt & pepper to taste.

Cook corn in boiling water 8 min. Cool, cut cooked corn kernels from cob and separate in a bowl. Peel cucumbers if skin is bitter, coarsely chop, add to bowl. Add shredded cabbage, thinly chopped green onions, and rest of ingredients. Mix very well to coat vegetables. Taste. Add more mayo and/or vinegar, salt, pepper to taste.

Swiss Chard Lasagna

Modified from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp olive oil; 1 med. onion; 5-6 leaves Swiss chard; 1 med. zucchini; salt; 4 cloves garlic; ½ t red-pepper flakes; 4-5 fresh tomatoes with juices; 8 lasagna noodles; 4 c mozzarella, shredded.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375. Cook onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil, until soft, (4 min.) Stir in chopped chard, sliced zucchini cook until tender, (2 min.) Transfer to a plate. Cook 1 Tbsp oil, garlic, pepper flakes 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juices and simmer, until thickened, (3 min.) Season with salt. Spread ½ cup tomato sauce in the bottom of 8-inch square baking dish. Cover with 1 layer lasagna noodles, ¾ cup sauce, 1/3 of chard mixture, 1 cup cheese. Repeat layering twice. Top with remaining noodles, sauce, and cheese. Loosely cover with foil. Bake 30 min. Uncover, bake 15 min.

Ribboned Zucchini Salad

IMG_1384Modified 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.