Fresh Tomato Salsa

Here is a great recipe for salsa made with lots of yummy stuff from your garden or share.  It is easily adaptable to your own tastes.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion (red onion is really pretty in this recipe!)
• 5 serrano chiles, finely chopped – or as many as you’d like (I use 1-2 with the seeds removed)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• additional ingredients can include fresh garlic, garlic scapes, and tomatillos

In a medium bowl, stir together fresh vegetables, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator before serving.

For this batch of salsa, I used 3 different colors of tomato (red, orange and purple), plus a sweet onion (store bought ), a tomatillo, 2 cloves of pressed garlic, 1 jalapeno pepper, 1 purple (jalapeno?) pepper, 1 oz. of cilantro and 2 tsp. of lime juice.  I removed the seeds from the hot peppers to reduce the heat.  I am a “mild” salsa person, but I like the flavor of the hot peppers.  All of the ingredients, except the onion and the lime juice, are from our share.

This recipe is SO easy, but it creates an explosion of flavor with every bite.  People will ask you for this recipe.  I make it for summertime pot lucks and it is always a hit.

Here is the recipe:

• 10 ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped (I used a yellow pepper because I didn’t have  green)
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I didn’t use this, but I did add parsley, onion powder and Old Bay – my secret ingredient to everything!)
• 1/4 cup Burgundy wine (I didn’t add this, either!)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (I did not add this as I wanted to use all fresh vegetables)

I tripled the recipe to use all of my tomatoes and I also added 1 zucchini (shredded), and 1 yellow squash (shredded).  I like that this recipe does not call for 40 lbs. of tomatoes like some canning recipes I have seen!

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.

I blanched the tomatoes and pureed them last week, then froze them until I was ready to make the sauce.  After 2 hours of simmering it, I did NOT add the paste, but instead just took the cover off and simmered it for 3 more hours to reduce it.  It is still a little thinner than I like it, but I think I can thicken it up as I use it.  I used it for a baked rotini recipe last night and it was delicious and just the right consistency.

homemade tomato sauce

Mine sauce looks more orange than red because I used a yellow pepper instead of green and some of the tomatoes I used were yellow.  I think the zucchini and yellow squash washed out the color, too.  BUT the important thing is that I used what I had and it tasted good!  Which is good because I have SOOOOO much of it!

BLT & Garden Chowder

Garden Chowder

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 – 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1-2 cups green beans, chopped
• 1-2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• 3 Tbsp fresh herbs, chopped (basil & parsley in original recipe)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 cups water
• 3 bouillon cubes (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (1 – 12oz. can)
• 2 cups corn
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• sugar to taste

In a big pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add and saute until tender: carrots, green beans, zucchini, green onions, fresh herbs.  Stir flour, salt, and pepper into vegetables.  Gradually stir in water to make a smooth stock.  Add bouillon and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn.  Return to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes until corn is tender.

Just before serving, add cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.  Stir until melted.  Add a pinch of sugar to taste and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe based on what I had or didn’t have on hand.  I used  the following share vegetables: 2 carrots, 1 cup of green beans, 1 zucchini, 1 squash,  and 2 cups of tomatoes.  I added 1 share eggplant.   I used 3 store-bought green onions and 2 cups of frozen corn.  I used fresh basil, parsley and chives from our garden.  I only used 2 bouillon and 1 cup of cheddar cheese because that’s all I had.  Oh, and I topped it with crumbled bacon!  Mmmmm – bacon and cheddar – what could be better? 

Chowder ingredients

chopped tomatoes

The chowder was wonderful!  My kids were skeptical when I set it in front of them.  My youngest decided he didn’t like it just from looking at it!  But then they tasted it…  It got thumbs up from both boys!  What more could I ask for?

It took quite a bit of time to prep all of the ingredients.  I didn’t plan on it taking so long, so we had a late dinner tonight.  Now I know for next time!  And there will be a next time – this recipe’s a keeper!

Swiss Chard A La Terry

Here is a swiss chard recipe from my mother-in-law, Terry.  She made it up as she went along.  I made some modifications to it based on what I had (or didn’t have) in the fridge.

Swiss Chard A La Terry (adapted by Amy – serves 4)

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (Terry only used 2 slices, but we really like bacon!)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp butter

2 garlic scapes, chopped (Terry used minced garlic)

2 spring onions, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

5 large swiss chard, stems chopped and leaves torn

1 med. yellow squash, peeled and sliced (Terry used 2 squash, but I only had 1)

I did not have the following ingredients, but Terry used them in her recipe:

chopped red bell pepper

Simply Organic seasoning

chopped hazelnuts

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet.  Add garlic scapes (or minced garlic, as Terry had used), spring onion, carrot, and swiss chard stems.  Saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add red bell pepper and squash.  Saute another couple of minutes, until squash starts to brown and carrots are crisp-tender.  Add seasoning.  Add swiss chard leaves, stir to wilt, remove pan from heat.  Top with crumbled bacon and hazelnuts.

Dave and I really enjoyed this.  The boys were not so enthusiastic. I think the hazelnuts would have been a really nice accent.  I’ll get some for the next time I make this.  Dave and I ate this as our lunch.  It would also make a good side dish.

Here is the recipe as I made it:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar (I use Demerara sugar, also known as Turbinado sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose & 3/4 cup whole wheat)

Martian Cookie dough

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (I use kosher)
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips because that’s what I had)

• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips (I used white chocolate chips because I did not have butterscotch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until soft.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, beat well.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture.  Beat until well mixed.  With a wooden spoon, stir in oats, zucchini, walnuts, chocolate and butterscotch pieces.  Drop by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool sheets and then cookies on a cooling rack.

My batch made 39 cookies.  We still have a few left…Mmmmmm!

Martian Cookie

1 cucumber
1 zephyr yellow squash
1 zucchini
4 oz. salad mix
1 head lettuce
3 oz. spinach
2 oz. parsley
4 sprigs basil
4 garlic scapes
1 bunch green onions
4 easter egg radishes
2 lbs. new potatoes

I used the spinach Tuesday night in Tortellini with Bacon, Greens, and Brown Butter (see 2nd pick-up post for recipe modifications).  Yum!  I had to add greens from our garden, too since we like extra greens in the recipe.  I plan to make parsley-buttered potatoes later this week, using the new potatoes and parsley from the share.  Dave has asked for Basil Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta (see post of same title for discussion) , so that will use the basil and garlic scapes.  Plus we’ll have fresh salads using just about everything else.  I think I’ll make zucchini bread using the zucchini and yellow squash.  I’ll take pictures as I go this week…  I didn’t take pictures Tuesday night – we were too hungry!  And now it’s all gone!

I went to the grocery store on Wednesday for the rest of our pantry needs.  I will follow up with how our share matches up with the grocery store produce section.

Here’s how I made the squash:

Squash marinating in italion dressing

I sliced in into 1/4″ planks, marinated it in my favorite dressing for 5 hours (I marinated chicken breasts in the same dressing).  Then I grilled the planks over direct medium heat for 5 minutes a side.  Here is the end result:

marinated chicken and squash

Looks good, but…  (The chicken was really good, just not the squash)

Help, please!  I’m sure I’ll get more squash this afternoon!

4 quarts of strawberries from Myers PYO Berry Farm

The kids and I went there last week and picked 5 quarts of berries.  I’d blog about those berries…but they’re all gone!    Anyway, today I processed the berries.  I washed, hulled, and sorted them.  The nicest berries were dried, then placed on a waxed-paper covered cookie sheet.

Hulled strawberries ready for the freezer

They are currently in the freezer.  When they are partially frozen, I will vacuum-seal them into a bag with lots of extra “bag” on top so I can open the bag, take out what I need, then reseal the bag.  The rest of the strawberries were quartered and sprinkled with turbinado sugar.

Sliced strawberries with turbinado sugar

They are currently in the refrigerator waiting for me to decide what to do with them!  I will probably freeze some, maybe puree some – and I know we will EAT some!

Strawberry-picking season is just about over.  Mr. Myers said he’d only be open a few more days.  The season is only a few weeks long, from the end of May until mid-June.  Mr. Myers said that they had twice as many customers this year than in previous years.  He believes the increase is due to people wanting to save money any way they can these days.  You can spend a hour picking strawberries and pay $1.50 a quart for a product that is so much better than anything in the stores AND you know exactly where it came from, or you can go to a grocery store and pay $2.99 for a quart of  inferior, unripe strawberry imposters!  Pick-You-Own farms support local agriculture in the same way as CSA’s.  Small farms, local produce, better prices = improved economy!

For a pick-your-own farm near you, check out http://pickyourown.org

It was thin picking on Tuesday.  It took me over an hour to get 4 quarts.  But now we can have “fresh” strawberries for the rest of the year… or at least until we eat them all! 

What do you do with fresh strawberries?

• 1 zepher yellow squash
• 1 head lettuce
• 4.5 oz. Salad mix
• 4.5 oz. Spinach
• 8 oz. snap peas
• 4 radishes
• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 garlic scapes

I love having all of the fresh greens available again! Tonight, we finished off the lettuce from last week as a salad. I still have some arugula from last week that I will saute with garlic tomorrow for lunch. I think I might be the only family member who likes it . Usually I don’t like “hot” or “peppery” greens, but I think the arugula is great! Dave can have all of the green onions, though!

I think I will grill the squash this week. I plan to slice it lengthwise into ¼ inch planks, marinate in italian dressing, then grill it to carmelize the marinade. How do YOU cook squash? I’d love some ideas because I know this ONE squash is just the tip of the squash iceberg coming this summer! We had zucchini coming out our ears last summer. I have a great zucchini bread recipe( see “Z-Word” post) – but there is only so much of it one can eat… I shredded and froze some of last year’s zucchini. I guess I should use that soon, huh? I had planned to make zucchini bread at Christmas time for gifts, but it never happened. I’ll remember this year though – it’s already on my calendar!

Here is my favorite greens recipe. My whole family loves it. My boys even tell me to put MORE spinach in it – how can a mom say no to that ?!  Plus they want more bacon, too – you give a little to get a little, I suppose! Give it a try and tell me what you think…

Tortellini with Bacon, Greens, and Brown Butter

From Real Simple Magazine, May 2007

hands-on time: 15 minutes total time: 30 minutes serves 4

• 1 pound cheese or meat tortellini
• 4 oz. Sliced bacon *My family likes MORE!*
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter *We find 4 tablespoons to be plenty of butter*
• 2 cups arugula (OR spinach OR basil OR watercress) *My family likes spinach – and MORE of it!*
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Now both Amy and J.D. have some excellent ideas on how to use zucchini, but let me add my own $0.02 to the conversation. By far my favorite use of zucchini is to make Connie’s Zucchini ‘Crab’ Cakes. Note, it is the Old Bay that puts this recipe over the top. Better yet, mix in a little jumbo lump crab meat to stretch the recipe and make it authentic. I fry these cakes on my grill’s side burner while also roasting some summer sweet corn on the grill itself (note, you soak the corn in water first and grill it with the husks on). Makes for, as Alton Brown would say, ‘Good Eats’.

Have more tips or suggestions for using zucchini? Let me know by posting a comment.

Photo of Zucchini Cakes from Allrecipes.com