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Beet Recipes For this Week

Apple Beet Slaw
by Chef Christopher Ludwick
1 lb beets julienned
1/2 lb apples jullienned
1/4 lb fennel shaved
salt and pepper to taste
2 T poppy seed dressing

Place all ingredients in bowl and toss with dressing. Season as needed.
 Allow slaw to marinate for 5 minutes before serving.

Additional Recipes For The Week

Rosemary Roasted Purple Potatoes

Ingredients:

5-6 medium-sized purple or other potatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Scrub the potatoes well. Dry and quarter them.
3. Place potatoes in baking pan to form a single layer.
4. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes, sprinkle with crushed garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss potatoes to coat with oil and spices.
5. Cover pan with foil and slide into oven.
6. Bake potatoes for 15 minutes.
7. Slide pan from oven and remove foil. Using a spatula, turn potatoes over.
8. Return pan to oven without foil and roast potatoes another 15 minutes.
9. Slide potatoes from oven, turn them one more time and continue roasting another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Honeydew Mimosas

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium honeydew melon (about 4 cups), cubed
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling wine, chilled
• Garnishes: lime wedges
• Directions:
• Combine first 3 ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour mixture into a large pitcher; add sparkling wine. Pour into glasses. Garnish, if desired.

Baked Squash With Basil

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
  1 onion, diced
  3 cloves garlic, minced
  10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
  2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  8 medium squash, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and put the rack in the middle position. Grease a baking dish with a little oil and set aside. 

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it's hot and shimmering, stir in the onion and season with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook until the onion's soft but not browned, 4-6 minutes. 

3. Add the garlic, basil, and thyme, stir to combine and sauté until the garlic becomes fragrant, 1 minute or so. Toss in the squash and cook 2 minutes.

4. Pour the vegetables into the baking dish and spread them out into an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes or until the squash soften. Sprinkle with the parmesan, then bake another 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned.

Additional Recipes For The Week

Skillet Squash and Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 small potato, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 dash paprika

(you can also throw in any leftover green beans!)

Directions: 

In a covered skillet over medium-low heat, cook potato and onion in oil for 12 minutes. Add squash; cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Chickpeas with Baby Spinach

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock, or water

Cayenne to taste

6-oz  baby spinach

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, tomato paste and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring for one to two minutes, until fragrant and the tomato paste has turned a darker color. Add the chickpeas, the stock or water, and the cayenne, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring until each addition of spinach wilts. Add salt to taste and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for five minutes. Add lots of freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt and cayenne, and serve.

You can serve it on its own, with couscous or pasta, or over a thick slice of toasted bread rubbed with garlic.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 cup melted butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Cup sweet potatoes into 3/4 inch slices. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add potatoes. Boil until potatoes are just starting to soften. Cool and peal. Combine butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, brush over potatoes. Place Potato slices on preheated grill over a medium low heat and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. When the sweet potatoes as soft through the middle and browned on the surface they are ready.

Farm Dinner Number 4!

On June 3^rd we had our 4^th Farm Dinner at Bacchus Restaurant in Rohnert Park.  The restaurant is part of the Doubletree by Hilton.  The dinner fell during the late season rainstorms we had so we were inside for the evening.  The night started out with wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres that included various cheeses two kinds of meatballs and fresh organic cherries.  Around 7:00 we moved into the beautiful Bacchus dining room.  The first course was a delicious spinach salad with walnuts, beets, and cheese.  Next was the main course of veal from Rossotti Ranch on top of gnocchi.  Gnocchi are small, soft dumplings made from flour and potatoes; they were amazing! Accompanying the main course were sautéed 

Gnocchi

veggies (from our farm of course!) Our veggies are always delicious but that night they were phenomenal.  For dessert there was cinnamon gelato and cherry clafoutis.  Clafoutis is a French dish in which cherries are arranged in a buttered pan and then covered in a flan-like batter.  It was nice to see the fresh cherries from earlier make another appearance and to two desserts complimented each other wonderfully.  Overall it was a fabulous evening and we can’t wait until the next one!

Details for the next Farm Dinner:

Date: July 1, 2011

Time:  6:30-8:30 pm

Lagunitis Brewery will be there so we will have beer AND wine tasting!

Reservations: 707-586-4679

Hope to see you all there!

Nutrition Fact For the Week: Nectarines

        Nectarines are peaches small, hairless cousins.  They are related to plums as well.  All three are delicious fruits that are only around locally in the summertime.  So make sure to get your fill over the next few months!      
      Nectarines are a bit sweeter than peaches but only contain 50 calories per fruit, so they’re a great snack it youre looking for a sweet treat! They are also really good for you.  One nectarine can give you up to 20% of your daily Vitamin A.  Vitamin A benefits the body in many ways.  One of which is improving your bodies immune response which helps prevent infections and fight them as well.  It also helps keep your eyes healthy and your vision clear.  Vitamin A  helps skin retain moisture which keeps it soft and supple.  Along with keeping your skin healthy overall, this vitamin has also been shown to be great at eliminating wrinkles, age spots and fine lines.  It also helps prevent acne!

Nectarine Nutrition Click Here To Enlarge

That is already quite a few heath benefits but nectarines have a few other suprises as well.  Nectarines are one of the few fruits that contain protein.  One small fruit contains around 1.5 grams of protein, which is great to balance out the sugars present.  The beautifully colored skin of the nectarine has benefits as well.  It is packed with bioflavnoids which are antioxidants found in plant pigments that help your bobdy fight cancer as well as other diseases.  One word of warning about nectarines, their pits contain a chemical that is converted to cyanide in the stomach! If oyu swallow small pieces its fine, but its best to avoid eating the pits as it could result in cyanide poisoning.  These pretty little fruits are a wonderful and healthy summer treat so enjoy them while you can!

Nutrition Fact For The Week: Cucumber

     Cucumbers can do wonders for the outside of your body.  From getting rid of under eye bags to tightening up your skin.  But they can also be beneficial to the inside of your body! Even though fresh cucumbers are composed of mostly water they still have a lot of nutrition packed into them.  The inside of cucumbers is a very good source of vitamins A, C, and folic acid. The hard skin is rich in fiber and minerals including magnesium, silica, molybdenum, and potassium.  Most people know you need a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, but usually the vitamins are talked about more.

            Silica is a mineral many people have not heard of let alone know what it does for the body.  It is necessary for many bodily functions and metabolic reactions.  It is important in the development of the skeletal system.  Without it, there are bone deformities.  If you break or fracture a bone silica helps deposit minerals into the bone and speed up healing.  Silica also helps the body process phosphorous. Phosphorous is important in making bones, repairing tissue and filtering waste.    This nifty mineral helps your outsides too.  Silica is one of the primary components of collagen, the connective tissues for your skin. It may help to retain moisture and keep you looking younger.  It is a major element in hair and nails. If you have enough silica in your body, you have the building blocks for strong, healthy nails and hair.

Another good thing about cucumbers is that they can be transformed into another yummy food…pickles! They do lose some of their nutrients in the pickling process, however.  Also they sometimes have sugar and other additives that can add calories.  Fresh, raw cucumbers with their skin are best.  So to keep your body happy, inside and out, grab some cucumbers :)