Field to Fork - Fall Fresh Flavors

Andy Warhol is quoted as saying that everyone experiences 15 minutes of fame. I guess I've had about 15 seconds of it, which is the amount of time it took the nice photographer guy to shoot this particular photo here on the left. I'm the person in the middle of the cover of the October issue of the Greenwood Community Newsletter.  To my left and right are Adam Moody and Cathy Richards. Both are part of the local farm to fork movement.  Each of their third generation family farms has been honored for being a leader in their industry by using best agricultural practices. I had the privilege of featuring them in an article I wrote. My story also included recipes made with the products they raised and grew. The dishes I shared had to be simple and easy to keep the word count down, but they are still delicious - Enjoy! 

Chicken Bombs

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 slices of high quality bacon

2 to 4 fresh jalapeno peppers

1/4 cup prepared barbecue sauce 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the ends off of each pepper and then slice them down the middle length-wise. Discard the membranes and seeds, keeping each half intact.

Butterfly each breast by slicing it long-wise through the middle, but not cutting all the way through. Place two halves of each pepper inside each piece of chicken and close it up. Wrap two pieces of bacon around each chicken breast by winding one slice of bacon at a time around it.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush each piece with a tablespoon of the prepared barbecue sauce. Replace back in the oven and bake for five more minutes or until the sauce begins to bubble and brown.

Sauted Kale Bacon Salad

Ingredients:

2 large bunches of Lacinato kale

6 slices high quality bacon

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

pinch of sugar (optional)

Directions:

Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove from skillet, and set aside leaving 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Rinse and pat the kale dry with paper towels. Fold each leaf in half and remove the rib by slicing along the edge of it with a sharp knife. Chop the kale leaves and saute them  over medium low heat in the skillet with the bacon drippings. After about 5 minutes, add the vinegar and pinch of sugar if using. Saute for 5 more minutes. The kale will be "wilted" but still have a lot of texture when chewed. Remove to a serving dish. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top.

Beets and Butternut Squash with Lemon Shallot Dressing

Ingredients:
4 medium beets
1 medium butternut squash
1 shallot
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Rainbow chard for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Wash the beets, slice off the stems, and cut the bottoms off.  Wrap them in another sheet of aluminum foil and place on one side of the baking sheet. Cut the ends off the butternut squash, slice it down the middle lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place on the other side of the baking sheet.  Place in the oven and bake for about an hour or until tender (easily pierced with a fork). Check at 50 minutes; the squash may be ready, but the beets might take another 10 minutes or so. When the vegetables are done and have cooled down enough to handle, cut the skin away and cube into large pieces. Place the rainbow chard leaves on a serving platter or individual plates and arrange the squash and beets next to them. Peel and finely dice the shallot. Place in a small bowl along with the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and whisk to combine.  Drizzle the lemon shallot dressing over the vegetables.  

Farmers Market Feast

I love farmer's markets. They are a fairly new experience for me because for years, I was too exhausted from work and running the girls around all week to go anywhere on a  Saturday morning. I do have memories of going to them as a kid; my mom would buy lots of fruit and vegetables that were in wooden woven pint containers and little bushel baskets. When we got home, she would let us husk the corn outside. Then we would pretend we were Rumpelstiltskin making gold by turning out bikes upside down and running the corn silk through the spinning wheels. Although I never showed my girls that fun little activity, they discovered farmer's markets on their own.  When Jenn was living close by, she took me to one by her house and I remembered how wonderful they are.  This summer I have been inspired by the beautiful vegetable salads I've been seeing in the foodie magazines. And, when I get the chance to go out to lunch, I've been so impressed by how eating one's vegetables seems to be back in style; it's so trendy now to like corn and beets!   The last salad is just fresh tomatoes and basil with a simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette.  It's so easy to eat healthy in the summertime. Grab a fork; enjoy the feast! 

Corn, Bean, and Tomato Salad

Ingredients for Four Servings:

3 ears of corn on the cob
1 pound fresh green beans
2 large tomatoes
3 green onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Either use left over corn on the cob or cook the corn by husking it, brushing off the corn silk, and dropping it in boiling water for seven minutes.  When it is cooled, stand the cob upright and use a sharp knife to cut off the kernels. It's alright to have some kernels that stay together in big "patches".
Snap the ends off the beans, rinse them, and place in a sauce pan.  Cover them with water, bring it up to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for just barely five minutes. They should be tender but not mushy. Drain them and set aside.
Wash, core, and chop the tomatoes.
Wash, cut the little end roots off, and slice the green onions.
Place the corn, beans, tomatoes, and green onions in a bowl.
Whisk the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper together.  Pour over the vegetables in the bowl and gently toss.

Lemon Dill Beet Salad

Ingredients for Four Servings

6 medium sized fresh beets

1 yellow bell pepper

Salt and Pepper to shake

1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped

1/2  tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon* or 1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons olive oil

Some really good olive oil for drizzling

Scant teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 cup Greek yogurt or labneh*

*There is a little Middle Eastern grocery store near my house where I can buy jarred preserved lemon and labneh. The labneh is just really thick yogurt - I've been buying it for years - it's great for dips and sauces for Mediterranean food.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the beets and cut off the tops to get rid of the stems. Place the beets in a foil "packet" and drizzle them with olive oil. Shake a little salt and pepper on them and seal them up. Wash and core the yellow pepper, cutting it into four quarters. Place the yellow pepper in another foil packet and drizzle it with olive oil.  Shake some salt and pepper on it and seal it up.  Place both packets in the preheated oven and let them cook for an hour.  Let them cool. Peel or cut the skin off of the beets and cut them into slices. Cut the pepper into strips.
Arrange the beets and pepper slices on a serving platter.
Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and preserved lemon or zest.
Pour over the beets and peppers.
Sprinkle the cut up dill over the vegetables.
Drizzle with just a bit more olive oil.
Sprinkle the kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on top.
Place two tablespoons of the yogurt on each serving.

Tomato Basil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients for Four Servings

Four good sized fresh, ripe tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, washed

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons  balsamic vinegar

1 small glove garlic, put througha  press

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pinch pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Wash, core, and slice the tomatoes.  Gently toss with the fresh basil and put in a serving bowl or platter.  Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pinch of pepper. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and basil and sprinkle with the kosher salt and pepper.

West Coast & Midwest: Autumn "Salads"

     While I was in California with Jenn, we ate at a few trendy little restaurants that were packed with people.  The outside seating seemed to be as large as the inside and in a couple of them, was bordered on the outside by a surrounding hedge.  It reminded me of a scene from the 1995 version of the movie Freaky Friday where Shelly Long roller blades into a swanky place just as the hostess answers the phone by saying, "The Restaurant - How did you get this number?!"  One very fun place was True Food Kitchen, part of a chain on the West Coast.  Started by a doctor, it uses ingredients that promote an "anti-inflammatory diet".  The Autumn Salad I had didn't have any lettuce in it, but it sure had a kick due to the horseradish vinaigrette that dressed it. 

      On the way home after Roy picked me up at the airport, we stopped at a popular restaurant named Napolese.  Needless to say it didn't have any November outdoor seating, but it had a great Roasted Beet Salad.  This Midwest fall "salad" didn't have any lettuce either, and instead of a West Coast spicy punch, it had a satisfying richness.

     In this post, I attempted to copy these two dishes. Regardless of which area they came from, both fit into the fall season and are great sides or even a vegetarian main dishes.  

True Food Kitchen's Autumn Salad

Ingredients for 6 servings

 

1 medium butternut squash

1 head cauliflower

1 pound brussels sprouts

5 carrots

1/2 pomegranate

 

1 (15 oz.) can white kidney beans

 

olive oil to drizzle, salt & pepper to season

 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/4 cup prepared horseradish

Directions

     Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with foil.  Cut the cap off of the squash, cut it lengthwise down the middle, and scoop out the seeds. Lay both pieces of the squash on one side of a baking sheet.  Peel the carrots, cut off the tops, cut them in half and place them on the other side of the squash on the baking sheet.  Wash the cauliflower, cut into flowerets, and put them on one side on the second baking sheet.  Wash the brussels sprouts, cut off the tough woody part of the base, and if they are large, cut them in half down the middle.  Place them next to the cauliflower on the second baking sheet.  Drizzle the vegetables on both baking sheets with a bit of olive oil.  Toss them around to make sure they are evenly coated and season with salt & pepper.  Cover the cauliflower and brussels sprouts with a sheet of foil, and then put both baking sheets in the oven for at least 50 minutes or until the vegetables pierce easily with a fork and are slightly browned.

     Meanwhile, scoop the pomegranate seeds out and set aside.  Whisk together the oil, vinegar, and horseradish and set aside.  Rinse, drain, and put the beans in a microwave safe bowl.

     When the vegetables are done, take them out of the oven.  Warm up the beans for about a minute in the microware while you are cutting up the carrots into bite sized pieces.  Cut the squash into "squares", removing the peel as you do so. Then, place the beans, carrots, squash, pomegranate seeds, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower in a large bowl.  Pour the dressing over the top and gently toss.  A word to the wise:  it is the horseradish vinaigrette that makes this dish sing, so if the amount of dressing doesn't seem like enough - make a bit more!

 

Napolese's Beet Salad

Ingredient for 6 servings

1 medium butternut squash

5 carrots

3 large fresh beets

1/3 cup golden raisins

olive oil to drizzle, salt & pepper to season

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

 

4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

Directions

      Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Peel the carrots, cut off the tops, slice them in half, and place them on one side of the baking sheet.  Cut the cap off of the squash, cut it down the middle, scoop out the seeds, and put the halves next to the carrots.  Cut the leaves off of the beets, wash them well, and trim the bottoms.  Place the beets on a separate sheet of foil.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the carrots, squash, and beets.  Season with salt and pepper.  Wrap the beets up in the foil sheet.  Place the baking sheet and the beet foil packet into the oven and bake carrots and squash for at least 50 minutes or until the vegetables pierce easily with a fork.  The beets will need to bake about an additional 15 minutes.

      While the vegetables are baking, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and honey to make the dressing.

     When the vegetables are done, remove them from the oven.  Cut the carrots up into bite sized pieces.  Slice the squash into "squares", removing the skin as you do so.  Cut the skin away from the beets and cube.  Place the carrots, squash,  beets, and raisins in a bowl.  Pour the dressing in, and gently toss.

     Place the vegetable mixture onto a serving platter and sprinkle the goat cheese & hazelnuts over the top.  This is delicious either served warm or at room temperature.