Hi all,
Another week of July gone already. Looks like the strawberries and blueberries are gone, but there's still raspberries and blackberries out there. And since I've yet to post a sweet-tooth recipe, here's a quick and easy one.
Berry Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup+ berries of your choice, roughly chopped if large
Place water and sugar into small-to-medium size pot and bring to a boil. Add berries and simmer for 15 minutes or until berries have broken down completely. Serve over pancakes, short cake, ice cream, or other breakfast or dessert medium. If not serving immediately, strain, cool and store. Keeps several weeks in the fridge and is great to have in a squirt bottle for ease of use.
As to Food World news? The documentary Food, Inc. is now at RagTag. Go see it! Here's the link:
http://www.ragtagfilm.com/
See you next week!
;-)M
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
What do I do with all the squash?
Hi all,
And once again, I'm thinking in terms of storage options. While this doesn't have the instant appeal that the ratatouille does, it's quick and it also freezes beautifully. It's how we handle most of the squash we get each summer.
Roasted Summer Squash
by Marta Ferguson
6 cups+ yellow squash and/or zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup of safflower, olive or other cooking oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450.
Lay out squash in shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with oil. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 30-45 minutes or until squash is tender and beginning to brown or blacken slightly on exposed edges.
Remove, cool and store. Makes 2-3 quarts. Serves up great over rice or pasta with some nuts or beans added.
In boxes this week? We should have sweet corn, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, new potatoes, and mint. Also, we have sweet cherries for the fruit shares this week.
As for food world news? A conference to consider.
The Governor’s Summit on Food Safety on July 21‐22 in Jefferson
City will bring together health officials, consumer advocates, farmers,
ranchers and food industry representatives from throughout the state to
review current food safety standards and look at ways to improve
Missouri’s system, according to the Department of Health and Senior
Services.
The conference will be held at the Truman State Office Building in
Jefferson City. Registration is free.
For more information or to register for the conference, go to
www.dhss.mo.gov/FoodSafety.
See you next week!
;-)M
And once again, I'm thinking in terms of storage options. While this doesn't have the instant appeal that the ratatouille does, it's quick and it also freezes beautifully. It's how we handle most of the squash we get each summer.
Roasted Summer Squash
by Marta Ferguson
6 cups+ yellow squash and/or zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup of safflower, olive or other cooking oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450.
Lay out squash in shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with oil. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 30-45 minutes or until squash is tender and beginning to brown or blacken slightly on exposed edges.
Remove, cool and store. Makes 2-3 quarts. Serves up great over rice or pasta with some nuts or beans added.
In boxes this week? We should have sweet corn, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, new potatoes, and mint. Also, we have sweet cherries for the fruit shares this week.
As for food world news? A conference to consider.
The Governor’s Summit on Food Safety on July 21‐22 in Jefferson
City will bring together health officials, consumer advocates, farmers,
ranchers and food industry representatives from throughout the state to
review current food safety standards and look at ways to improve
Missouri’s system, according to the Department of Health and Senior
Services.
The conference will be held at the Truman State Office Building in
Jefferson City. Registration is free.
For more information or to register for the conference, go to
www.dhss.mo.gov/FoodSafety.
See you next week!
;-)M
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ratatouille!
Hi all,
The Ratatouille Recipe
by Marta Ferguson
The tomatoes get roasted separately here so that the other veggies have a chance to soak up the wine, olive oil, garlic, onion and herbs on their own. Roasting everything together tends to make the tomato flavor overwhelming instead of complementary. I've listed seeding as optional, as I really don't hold with the notion that the seeds make a sauce bitter. My sense is they bring a piquancy and freshness to a dish like this that's missing if the tomatoes are seeded.
12 cups of tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and chopped (seeding is optional)
6 cups of eggplant, chopped
6 cups of yellow squash, chopped
6 cups of zucchini, chopped
4 cups of carrots, chopped
4 cups of onions, chopped
12 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons+ of dried rosemary
2 tablespoons+ of dried thyme
1 tablespoon+ of dried sage
3/4 cup+ of olive oil
1 cup+ of white wine
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450.
In one or two large shallow roasting pans, lay out tomatoes and pour off excess liquid. Drizzle with wine and olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes for 30-45 minutes until liquid level is somewhat reduced and some blacking is evident on exposed edges of tomatoes.
In a separate roasting pan or pans, lay out other vegetables, drizzle generously with olive oil and white wine, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 30-45 minutes until everything is cooked through and some browning or blackening is evident on squash.
When roasting has finished, remove pans from oven and slowly ladle tomatoes into other vegetables, pouring off liquid as necessary so that the final consistency is more like roasted vegetables in a light sauce than vegetable soup.
Makes 6-8 quarts of ratatouille. Serve over rice or with good crusty bread. Add roasted beans and walnuts, loose ground sausage, or shredded Monterey Jack cheese to enhance protein content.
In boxes this week: yellow squash, zukes, cukes, onions, beans.
Food world news? The Time-for-Lunch Slow Food initiative to address the quality of school lunches is gathering steam. To find our more, click the link below:
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch/about/
See you next week!
;-)M
The Ratatouille Recipe
by Marta Ferguson
The tomatoes get roasted separately here so that the other veggies have a chance to soak up the wine, olive oil, garlic, onion and herbs on their own. Roasting everything together tends to make the tomato flavor overwhelming instead of complementary. I've listed seeding as optional, as I really don't hold with the notion that the seeds make a sauce bitter. My sense is they bring a piquancy and freshness to a dish like this that's missing if the tomatoes are seeded.
12 cups of tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and chopped (seeding is optional)
6 cups of eggplant, chopped
6 cups of yellow squash, chopped
6 cups of zucchini, chopped
4 cups of carrots, chopped
4 cups of onions, chopped
12 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons+ of dried rosemary
2 tablespoons+ of dried thyme
1 tablespoon+ of dried sage
3/4 cup+ of olive oil
1 cup+ of white wine
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450.
In one or two large shallow roasting pans, lay out tomatoes and pour off excess liquid. Drizzle with wine and olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes for 30-45 minutes until liquid level is somewhat reduced and some blacking is evident on exposed edges of tomatoes.
In a separate roasting pan or pans, lay out other vegetables, drizzle generously with olive oil and white wine, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 30-45 minutes until everything is cooked through and some browning or blackening is evident on squash.
When roasting has finished, remove pans from oven and slowly ladle tomatoes into other vegetables, pouring off liquid as necessary so that the final consistency is more like roasted vegetables in a light sauce than vegetable soup.
Makes 6-8 quarts of ratatouille. Serve over rice or with good crusty bread. Add roasted beans and walnuts, loose ground sausage, or shredded Monterey Jack cheese to enhance protein content.
In boxes this week: yellow squash, zukes, cukes, onions, beans.
Food world news? The Time-for-Lunch Slow Food initiative to address the quality of school lunches is gathering steam. To find our more, click the link below:
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch/about/
See you next week!
;-)M
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Celebrate Your COLORS Independents!
Hi all,
In the box this week? Squash, zukes, cukes, tomatoes, onions, carrots.
This fourth of July week has been the inaugural COLORS Independents week, celebrating local businesses. So, for food world news (and a couple yummy picnic-friendly recipes), I'll refer you to Trish and Jim Koetting's celebration of local chefs in the Tribune:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/jul/01/a-tip-of-the-hat-to-the-local-cooks/
See you next week!
;-)M
In the box this week? Squash, zukes, cukes, tomatoes, onions, carrots.
This fourth of July week has been the inaugural COLORS Independents week, celebrating local businesses. So, for food world news (and a couple yummy picnic-friendly recipes), I'll refer you to Trish and Jim Koetting's celebration of local chefs in the Tribune:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/jul/01/a-tip-of-the-hat-to-the-local-cooks/
See you next week!
;-)M
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