RECIPE: Butternut Squash Risotto

Contributed by member Laura Grund

Serves 4 to 6.

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 6 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 shallots, minced
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cut squash into eighths; discard seeds. In a large pot filled with 1 inch of simmering water, steam squash on a steaming rack or in a bamboo steamer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop flesh from skin and mash lightly.

2. In a large saucepan, heat stock to a simmer. In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add oil and shallots; cook for 2 minutes. Add rice; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

3. Add wine to rice, and cook, stirring, until wine is nearly absorbed. Stir in a cup of stock and the squash; cook at a steady simmer until liquid is nearly absorbed. Continue stirring in stock, a ladleful at a time, until rice is creamy and firm but not hard in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Add chopped rosemary. Stir in remaining butter and most of the Parmesan. Serve immediately in shallow bowls garnished with the remaining cheese and rosemary sprigs.

RECIPE: Wilted Winter Greens & Black-Eyed Peas

Adapted from Eating Well In Season

Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 ounces dried black-eyed peas (2/3 cup)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pound greens, such as collards, kale and/or escarole, trimmed, washed and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-wide strips

½ tablespoon canola oil

1 ounce country ham or prosciutto, diced (about ¼ cup)

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Soak peas overnight in cold water. Drain the peas, rinse well and place in a large saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes. Add salt. Let sit, covered, for ½ hour, then drain and rinse.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add ham (or prosciutto) and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium; add the greens and cook, stirring constantly, until tender, 20 to 30 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep from sticking. Once greens are tender, add the reserved black-eyed peas and heat through.

3. Season with vinegar, salt and pepper and serve.

NOTE: This is really good with collard greens.

Contributed by Lisa Bretherick

RECIPE: Delicata Squash Stuffed with Curried Wild Rice

From Vegetarian Times Nov 2003

Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 delicata squash, halved and seeded

2 Tbs. butter or margarine

½ cup minced onion

2 tsp. curry powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped cashews

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and minced

1 cup cooked wild rice

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup mango chutney

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350^o F.

2. Place squash halves cut side down on baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, just until squash is not quite cooked through. Remove from oven, and set aside until second baking.

3. Heat butter in large saucepan over medium heat, and add onions. Sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add curry, cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon, and toss well. Add raisins, cashews and apples, and continue cooking until apples are soft. Add rice, yogurt and chutney, and toss well.

4. Divide curried vegetables equally between squash halves. Bake squash 25 minutes, or until squash is tender and stuffing is heated through.

NOTE: To serve 4, make the full amount of curried rice; to serve 2, halve the curried rice ingredients. Any type of rice works – a wild rice blend such as Lundberg’s is especially good. Any extra rice can be served on its own as a side dish. Pecans or walnuts can be used in place of cashews.

Contributed by Lisa Bretherick

FARM NEWS 9.27.09

Hi Folks,
Pictured is our crew and friends and children on the harvest trailer behind the tractor. Pie pumpkins and winter squash are now in and out of the way of frosts! Also pictured is Baxter in his usual harvest bin pose while Bea tends the chicks in the portable chicken house....

This week on the farm we'll be planting cover crops, prepping ground for garlic planting, spreading compost, harvesting. Our apprentices will be heading over to Debra Tyler's farm on Monday to learn about micro dairying, raw milk, pastures, etc., with other apprentices from neighboring farms.

Here's the harvest for the week:

Onions
Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Celery
Leeks
Winter Squash/ Pumpkins
Chard
Mustard Greens
Salad Mix/Arugula
Turnips
Broccoli (If warm weather persists!)
Collards

Enjoy!
Your Farmers,
Dan, Tracy, B+B

Apple and Pear Sauce with Ginger

Don't know what to do with all those apples and pears, make this sauce in your slow cooker and eat it with your breakfast, or with some of your favorite meat. You can easily make it all apple or all pear, as you wish. The ginger adds a nice heat, but feel free to omit it if you're serving it to little ones. (I didn't use the sugar or the butter and mine came out just fine.)

From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients:

6 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered

6 firm pears, peeled, cored, and quartered

1/4 cup sugar or honey (optional)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 chunk fresh ginger, about 3 inches long, peeled and minced

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients but butter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the fruit is extremely tender and falling apart, on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or low for 5 to 6 hours.

2. Beat to make a coarse mash or use a handheld immersion blender for a smoother sauce. Stir in the butter. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve cold. The fruit sauce will keep, tightly covered, for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Braised Leeks

One of my favorite ways to eat leeks is to braise them. Here's a quick and dirty recipe from epicurious.com. If you want to add some depth of flavor, grill the leeks instead of sauteing them, and then braise.

• Serves 2
• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 4 small or medium leeks, tough outer leaves discarded and leeks trimmed to about 7 inches long and cut lengthwise into quarters or eighths
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or olive oil)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable stock)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Procedure:

In a shallow dish soak leeks in cold water to cover 15 minutes, rubbing occasionally to remove any grit. In a heavy skillet melt butter over moderate heat. lift leeks out of the water and with water still clinging to them add to skillet. Cook leeks, stirring occasionally, five minutes and add broth and zest. Braise leeks, covered, 5 minutes, or until very tender, and season with salt and pepper.

Potato, Tomato & Onion Gratin

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

5 medium tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded & chopped*

1 tbsp sugar

3 lbs baking potatoes

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1.5 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, snipped

2 tsp fresh thyme

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over a high heat. When hot, reduce the heat to moderate and add the onions. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. In another large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil over moderately high heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until tender, 1 or 2 minutes, careful not to burn. Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Combine the onions and tomatoes, and continue cooking to thicken, about 10 minutes more. Taste for seasoning.

5. Meanwhile, peel, wash, and cut the potatoes into very thin slices (~3mm if using mandoline). Set aside about one quarter of the potatoes, which will be used as the topping. In a large bowl, combine the remaining potatoes with the tomatoes and onions and toss carefully to blend.

6. Rub the bottom of 9x13 inch baking dish with 1 tbsp of the butter. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon. Add enough chicken stock to cover.

7. In a medium-size bowl, combine the reserved topping potatoes, the remaining 1 tbsp butter, and the parsley. Toss to coat evenly. Beginning at one end of the dish, place the buttered potatoes, one by one, in slightly overlapping rows on top of the tomato-covered potatoes, until the entire dish is covered with an even potato layer. Sprinkle with the thyme.

8. Place the dish in the centre of the oven and bake until the potatoes are soft, most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the top is golden, about 1.5 hours. Serve immediately.

Contributed by Stephanie Leonard