Thayer in the Kitchen

This is an easy recipe to use some of your acorn or festival squash. It was posted in a Harmony Valley Farm newsletter. Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash 2 acorn or festival squash 6-8 ounces bulk turkey sausage (I used spicy Italian) 1 small onion, chopped ½ medium red bell pepper, chopped 1 small clove garlic, minced 2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1# can chopped tomatoes 1# can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 tsp salt Several dashes hot red pepper sauce, to taste ¾ cup shredded cheddar or Swiss cheese --Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with oil. --Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out and discard seeds. Place the squash cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. --Meanwhile, lightly coat a large skillet with oil; heat over medium heat. Add turkey sausage, red pepper and onion and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, and the peppers and onions are tender. Stir in garlic, chi...

Russian Cabbage Borscht (adapted from Mollie Katzen's The New Moosewood Cookbook) 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced potatoes 1 cup thinly sliced beets 4 cups vegetable stock or water 2 tablespoons butter 1 1/2 cups chopped onions 1 teaspoon caraway seed 1-2 teaspoons salt 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 large carrot, sliced 3-4 cups coarsely shredded cabbage black pepper to taste 1 teaspoon fresh dill weed (or dry if fresh isn't available) 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 1-2 tablespoon brown sugar or honey 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce sour cream, for topping Place sliced potatoes and beets in a medium saucepan over high heat; cover with stock, and boil until vegetables are tender. Remove potatoes and beets with a slotted spoon, and reserve stock. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, caraway seeds, and salt; cook until onions become soft and translucent. Then stir in celery, carrots, and cabbage. Mix in reserved stock; cook, covered, until all vegetables are tender, about...

The first recipe is from a Harmony Valley Farms newsletter. Parsnip, Potato & Squash Puree with Nutmeg 8-10 oz potatoes, peeled (about 2 large or 4 medium) 1 small-medium festival squash 4-6 medium parsnips (about 6-8 oz) 1 tsp kosher salt 1-2 Tbsp butter Nutmeg First, roast the squash whole. Lately this is how I've been handling winter squash that I'm going to puree. I roast them in a 400 degree oven until tender. Then cut in half and scrape out the seeds. For more details on this method, check out this blog: http://upacreekwithoutapatl.blogspot.com/2006/10/roasting-and-pureeing-butternut-squash.html Cut potatoes and parsnips into 1-inch pieces. Combine vegetables in a saucepan with garlic, salt, and enough water to almost cover. Simmer, partly covered, until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Set aside 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Pour contents of pan into a colander to drain. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the cooked squash. Using a potato masher, make a fairly sm...

We liked this soup using celeriac and potatoes. Creamy Celeriac Soup (adapted from Farmer John's cookbook) 3 tablespoons butter 3 leeks, sliced 1 large celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped (about 3 1/2 cups) 1 or 2 large potatoes, scrubbed and roughly chopped 4 cups either chicken or vegetable broth 1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds 1/4 teaspoon mace or nutmeg 1/2 cup cream or half and half 1 teaspoon salt freshly ground pepper Note: I didn't have enough celeriac so I added some chopped celery which worked out fine. Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the leeks; cook until soft, 5-7 minutes. Add the celeriac, potatoes, broth and almonds; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are completely tender. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or a food processor. Stir in the cream, salt and pepper. Reheat if necessary.

This is a tasty and very easy recipe for using some of your sweet potatoes. It actually has some meat (chicken) in it too. Coconut Curried Chicken and Sweet Potatoes (adapted from a Spice Islands recipe) 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 pound chicken breast tenders 2 large shallots, finely sliced 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion 2-1/2 teaspoons Curry Powder 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper (more if you like it spicier) 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt 1-2 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (1/2-inch piece size) 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk (lite works fine) 2 green onions, chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or more--we really like cilantro) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until center is no longer pink. Remove chicken and cover. Add remaining oil to pot. Saute shallots and red onion for 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle in curry powder, crushed red pepper and sea salt. Add sweet potatoes ...

My friend from work shared this recipe from her former CSA (Blue Moon Community Farm) with me. Its a very simple recipe. Arthur gave it a strong thumbs up. Turnip Risotto 3 slices bacon 1 small-medium onion 1-2 turnips (about 1/2 #--the gold turnip that I got from HVF was just the right size) 3 1/2-4 cups chicken broth 3/4 cups Arborio rice 1-2 cups spinach, if available and desired. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese Cook bacon in a heavy saucepan until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Reserve 1 tablespoon fat in pan. Chop onion. Peel turnips and cut into 1/4 inch dice. Bring broth to a simmer and keep warm. Chop spinach coarsely if using. Saute onion in reserved bacon fat until the onion begins to soften. Stir in turnips and rice and saute, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup simmering broth and cook, stirring constantly until the broth is absorbed. Continue simmering the rice and adding the broth, about 1/2 cup at a time. Let each addition be absorbed before addi...

Tonight I made a stir fry that helped to use a number of our vegetables including some daikon. We are not normally daikon fans but the ones that we got in our share from HVF farm were much smaller and milder than those that we've received in the past. In other words a big improvement. Gingered Vegetable Stir-Fry (adapted from Epicurious) 3 tablespoons chicken broth 2 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 pound fresh shitake mushrooms, stems discarded 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 pound carrots (about 3 medium), cut into julienne strips 1/2 pound daikon (an Asian radish), cut into julienne strips (about 2 cups) 1/2 pound Napa or Savoy cabbage, sliced thin (about 4 cups) 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger root 1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil In a bowl stir together broth, Sherry, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until combined well. Cut mushroom caps into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Hea...

More vegetables for breakfast: Butternut Squash Bread Pudding (adapted from Cooking Light) 3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash Cooking spray 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1 garlic clove, minced 2 cups low-fat milk 1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided (I used 2 ounces of cheddar in the pudding and 2 ounces of Parmesan on top) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 large eggs 2 large egg whites 8 ounces (1-inch) cubed day-old bread (about 9 cups) Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange squash in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 350°. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, milk, 1/2 cup cheese of your ...

I made these yummy pancakes for breakfast. Got to get your veggies in even at breakfast time if you need to use your produce from a CSA share. Sweet Potato Pancakes (adapted from About.com:Southern Food) 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/4 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter, melted handful of coarsely chopped pecans (optional) Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Add pecans if using. If the batter seems too thick add more milk as needed although it is quite a thick batter. Drop by 1/4 cup measure onto hot greased griddle or skillet and fry, turning once, until browned on both sides. Serve with pure maple syrup for a great breakfast.

I've lost track of which days I made what but this is a good recipe for kale that I want to post. Arthur said its even better the next day. I didn't get to find out--he ate all the leftovers which is a good sign. Sweet and Savory Kale (adapted from Allrecipes.com) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon cider vinegar (balsamic vinegar would probably be good too) 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 4 cups stemmed, torn and rinsed kale (exact amount doesn't matter) 1/4 cup dried cranberries salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup sliced almonds Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard, vinegar, and chicken stock, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the kale, cover, and cook 5 minutes until wilted. Stir in the dried cranberries, and continue boiling, uncovered, until the liquid has re...

Arthur and I went to my brother and sister-in-law's get-away weekend farm in Missouri for Thanksgiving. We had a pleasant drive there on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I hoped to help with a lot of the cooking on Wednesday. They were having the roof on their house and studio redone by one of their Amish neighbors who ran out of shingles. This meant my brother and I needed to make a trip to Menard's in St. Joseph for more shingles. Unfortunately its a 90 minute trip each way. Cut down a lot on our cooking time. I did however make two of the dishes that were served and both of them were big hits so I thought I'd share the recipes. Both of them used produce from our CSA farm. The first one is a great sweet potato recipe which is delicious and also very easy: Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash (adapted from Epicurious) 4 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes or yams or whatever kind you have 1/2 cup whipping cream 6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick) 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 2 ...