Avalon Acres : Recipes

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

Here is a delicious way to use some of your fresh summer tomatoes - roast them in an oven, stuffed with spinach and topped with cheddar cheese.

Ingredients:

3 Large Tomatoes
1 C Frozen Spinach (thawed out)
2 T Parmesan Cheese
1/2 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut off tops of the tomatoes, carefully scoop out flesh, seeds and pulp.
Season the tomato cavity with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, toss spinach with Parmesan cheese then season with salt and pepper.
Carefully stuff the tomatoes with the spinach mixture, top with cheddar cheese.
Drizzle a touch of extra virgin olive oil on top of cheddar cheese then place in the oven to cook.
Check them often as the cheese can burn easily, you want them just golden brown.

Posted By Jenny Bodnar At 11:24 AM •

Friday, August 22, 2008

Field Pea Recipe

I made an amazing recipe using my field peas last week, as well as an onion, garlic, and tomatoes from my CSA box. The recipe calls for black-eyed peas, but the field peas were a great substitute and actually made it better than when I had done it with dried blackeyed peas. I'd suggest cooking them for about 25 minutes before adding the coconut milk to the curry. All the spices can be purchased at the Indian grocery inside the farmer's market.

	1	cup dried black-eyed peas
or	2	15-ounce cans, drained black-eyed peas
	2	Tbsp. canola oil
	1	small yellow onion, minced (about 1 cup)
	1	tsp. coriander seeds, finely ground
	½	tsp. finely grated garlic (about 1 large clove)
	½	tsp. finely grated fresh ginger (a 1-inch piece)
	½	tsp. ground turmeric
	½	tsp. cayenne
	½	tsp. cumin seeds, finely ground
	¼	cup minced tomato (1 small tomato)
	2	cups (or 1 cup if using canned peas) hot water
	½	tsp. salt, or to taste if using canned peas
	½	tsp. sugar
	1	cup canned coconut milk
	2	Tbsp. minced cilantro leaves
	1	Tbsp. lemon juice

Steps

If using dried black-eyed peas, soak them in water to cover for 6 to 8 hours. Drain.
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat and sauté the onion until it turns dark brown, about 8 minutes. Add the coriander, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, and cumin, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir over low heat until it disintegrates.
Add the peas and mix well. Pour in the water, add the salt and sugar, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are cooked through, about 20 minutes. If using canned peas, simmer for only 10 minutes (it is essential to simmer the canned peas too so that the flavors blend better). Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes, again allowing the flavors to come together.
Add the cilantro and lemon juice, simmer for 1 minute more, and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.

Best,

Shelley Cavalieri

Posted By Jenny Bodnar At 10:05 AM •

Sunday, August 10, 2008

This Week's Harvest - Aug 11th

Hi folks... we wanted to post a few identification pictures for you... sorry they're a little late.

Also, we wanted to give you a couple of cool websites that might help you...

http://www.epicurious.com Great recipes... just type in ingrediants

http://www.recipezaar.com/12880 Here's another one that has a recipe for October beans.

October Beans

Cook like black eyed peas.

October Beans (shelled)

You can also dry them and them re-hydrate them later in the winter... pretty in a jar dried too.

Purple Hull Field Peas

Even more similar to a black-eyed pea. Dry 'em or use em no in a soup or stew!

Okra

Great in soups and stews

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Sugar Nut Melon

A lot like Honey Dew

Blueberries

Posted By Jenny Bodnar At 11:15 PM •

Friday, August 01, 2008

Roasted Tomato Sauce

From "Z"... a customer

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Roasted Tomato Sauce

1 container CSA grape tomatoes

a few cloves garlic

whole wheat pasta (penne, or farfalle, is best, but you can really use any kind you want)

some chunks of ricotta salata (a hard, white cheese, similar to feta. can find in the fancy cheese section at harris teeter. or, you can use feta if you like)

fresh herbs, like basil or oregano

toss the tomatoes in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. pour onto a cookie sheet, and roast at 400, 15-20 minutes, or just until the tomatoes have collapsed in on themselves, and have browned edges. take out of oven.

meanwhile, start some salted water on the stove, and when it's boiling add the pasta. cook until one minute away from done. save one cup of pasta water. drain the pasta. then put the tomatoes in the pasta pan, smash with a potato masher. add some minced garlic, salt and pepper, and the hot pasta water. you should end up with a somewhat soupy sauce. add the pasta, stir to incorporate the sauce. put in bowls, add some chunks of ricotta salata on top, plus some chopped fresh herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Posted By Jenny Bodnar At 10:27 PM •