A few weeks ago, we had some family pictures taken at The Farm. I wanted to share them with my readers here.  We thought The Farm would make a great setting for this family photo shoot and we were right! It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time!

Click here to see the pictures!

I will be back on Thursday with another post.  We have 2 weeks to go in the season, and we are getting a lot of squash and other fun, fall veggies. Stay tuned!!

This recipe is perfect for freezing and also helped me use up all of those delicious Roma tomatoes from last weeks U-pick.

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

1 onion
1 full head of garlic
1 green (or red) sweet pepper
8-10 good sized, ripe sauce (Roma) tomatoes
1/2 tsp. sea or kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C. olive oil
1/4 C. fresh parsley, chopped**
1/4 C. fresh oregano, chopped**
1/4 C. fresh basil, chopped

Cut ends of onion and garlic, leave skins on; core tomatoes, leave whole; core
pepper, leave whole or cut in half is large. Place in 9×13 roast pan. Add salt
and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and roast in oven @ 200
degrees 8 hrs or overnight.

Cool. Remove skins of onion and garlic and process in blender or food processor. (I used a food mill to separate the skins and the seeds)

Add herbs. Place in ziplock bags and freeze.

**I didn’t have fresh oregano or fresh parsley. I used 2 tablespoons of good quality dried instead.
I measured 2 cups per quart size bag and was able to get 3 bags.  I froze them flat and stashed them in my deep freezer!

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Headed into the oven! (I used a red pepper instead of a green one. Can you spot it’s halves??)

Post-food mill, pre-herbs.  Looks and smells delicious!!

All ready for freezing!

From left to right:

Winter Radishes! (and a “what?” I really have no idea what we’ll be doing with these guys!)

Beets

Radishes

Kale

Swiss chard

Kohlrabi

Basil

Assorted squash, peppers and tomatoes

Cabbage

And look at that fabulous pile of Roma tomatoes!! Picked by yours truly   I will be making another batch of sauce with these beauties.  I even purchased a food mill to help with the peels and seeds! Stay tuned for that recipe.

I’m also going to try a Chard and Chickpea Soup that sounds absolutely delicious!

I just heard it’s supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow.  Yay, FALL!! Enjoy the new season!

While this recipe seems very “involved” it really didn’t take that much time to prepare.  I was able to get the white sauce and the beef browned in the time it took for the veggies to roast.

Hearty Moussaka with Low-fat White Sauce

from Gourmet –1998

Loaded with vegetables and topped with Parmesan cheese, this will satisfy the
biggest hunger on the coldest winter night.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

Nonstick olive oil spray
2 12-ounce eggplants, peeled, each cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise
into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 pounds medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 pound red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 pound lean ground beef sirloin or ground round
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup plain dry white breadcrumbs
2 large egg whites, beaten to blend
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Low-fat White Sauce

6 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 teaspoon butter

Preparation for white sauce:

Whisk flour in heavy medium saucepan to remove any lumps. Gradually add 1 cup
milk, whisking until smooth. Add remaining 2 cups milk and nutmeg; whisk over
medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, about 10 minutes. Remove from
heat. Whisk in Parmesan, egg and butter. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be
made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low heat until heated
through before using; do not boil.)

Preparation for Moussaka:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with olive oil spray. Arrange
eggplant slices and half of zucchini rounds, overlapping slightly, on 1 baking
sheet. Arrange potato rounds and remaining zucchini, overlapping slightly, on
second baking sheet. Spray vegetables generously with olive oil spray. Sprinkle
with salt and pepper. Bake until tender and beginning to brown, about 40
minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and
garlic; sauté until onion is tender, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water if mixture
seems dry, about 7 minutes. Stir in oregano. Add beef; sauté until brown,
breaking up with back of spoon. Add tomatoes with their juices and tomato paste,
breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly,
about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Mix in
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, egg whites and cinnamon.

Spray 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with olive oil spray. Sprinkle 1/4 cup
breadcrumbs over bottom of dish. Arrange potatoes in prepared dish. Spoon half
of beef mixture over. Arrange eggplant slices over. Spoon remaining beef mixture
over. Top with all of zucchini, overlapping slightly if necessary.

Pour warm Low-Fat White Sauce over moussaka. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over.
Bake until top is golden brown, about 55 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut into
squares and serve.

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This was an absolute hit in our house.  I’ve been trying to win myself over with the eggplant, and I think I did with this dish.   I had the leftovers for lunch today and again, they were DELICIOUS.  This is definitely comfort food, and a dish that I will prepare on a cold Winter night for sure!! Enjoy!

Here we go!

1 bunch of celery

1 bunch of chives

1 kohlrabi

1 bunch Swiss chard

2 red sweet peppers

1 bunch radishes

1 small squash/zucchini

1 eggplant

some carrots

tomatoes

lots of mixed greens

Below is a picture of this weeks U-pick: 2 quarts of beans + as much basil as I could grab! (I already made a big batch of pesto this weekend!)

This is a picture of the 4 different “kinds” of beans that I picked.  The speckled one is called a “Purple Dragon Tongue.” The “dragon tongue” has become a favorite of mine, almost tasting like a cross between a snap pea, and a green bean.

I have a Moussaka recipe that I will be sharing this week.  It’s perfect for the cooler weather!

Much of this weeks pickup is going into the freezer. With the warm days dwindling, I’m taking advantage of all that I can to ensure that my freezer will be worth raiding come mid-January!

Enjoy the final week of summer!

I wish I could say I was adventurous this week, but I’ve gone back to basics and I learned a few things in the process:

1. Kohlrabi is FANTASTIC peeled and diced up into a salad. If you’ve never tried kohlrabi, it resembles broccoli stalks not only in appearance but also in taste.

2.  Beets are great in a chocolate cake! Remember my Secret Chocolate Cake recipe?? I substituted beets for the zucchini and I think I prefer this cake over the one with zucchini.  So moist and delicious!

3.  Peppers can be frozen WHOLE.  Who knew?? (well, you probably did, but I didn’t!) I always de-seeded, chopped and stored them in my freezer, but now I can save all of those steps. I used a frozen whole pepper in my Power Chicken this week, and I really think it helps preserve the crispness of the pepper vs. chopping/freezing does.

4. Celery leaves need not be thrown away! I asked Anja (the farmer) if she had any suggestions for what to do with those lovely celery greens.  I threw most away last week, and I felt awful doing it! She suggested that I dry them on newspaper and then store them in Ziplocs in the freezer. She said they make a great addition to soups during the winter.  Genius!

5. Sorrel is great with fish.  And in pesto. And in quiches.  Yup, I took that small bunch from last weeks pickup and incorporated it into three different dishes.  I’m still getting used to the flavor and I think I prefer it mostly with fish.  It has a sharp taste…something that I can’t really describe, and that’s why I think it pairs so well with fish.

So, while it may not seem like I’m doing much with my harvest each week, I can assure you that I am!! We’ve been so busy enjoying the weather that the kitchen has taken a back seat, but that doesn’t mean I don’t use up all of the veggies. In fact, there have only been 2 weeks where I haven’t used up what I’ve received.  That’s an accomplishment for 2 1/2 people!

Tomorrow is pickup day again. It looks like I’ll be spending some time in the fields doing my U-pick. I haven’t had much time the last few weeks to do it, but I’m looking at 2 quarts of beans, and a few quarts of cherry and roma tomatoes. I’m taking advantage of it this week! Maybe I’ll even take some pictures from the field to share with all of you.

Thanks for sticking with me in the dog days of summer! I promise to have a few healthy recipes to share in the coming week

I found this recipe while checking out allrecipes.com.  I love Allrecipes, because these are recipes from real people and their vast recipe boxes! I was looking for another way to eat this week’s Swiss chard, and I thought I’d give this one a shot.  I don’t have any pictures to share because let’s be honest; chard isn’t that pretty once it’s cooked. It looks like a big pile of spinach….not that appetizing via photo. You’ll have to let your mind do the imagining on this one!

I can tell you that this recipe is delish!! We will definitely be eating this regularly.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt to taste (optional)

I am rested from our vacation and ready to tackle another week with all of these delicious vegetables!

As we head into the cooler months, I am anticipating the onions, leeks and celery along with the winter squash and other fall vegetables.  This is the time of the year that I most enjoy in Michigan and I look forward to the last 10 weeks with the CSA!

1 bunch Swiss chard

1 bunch beets

1 bunch kohlrabi

2 zucchini

2 squash

1/2 watermelon

1 bunch of herbs (I think sorrel?? Not sure on this one! Anyone know from the picture??)

1 bunch of organic Honeycrisp apples (I purchased these in the farm store via Artisan Foods)

1 bunch celery

(in the front)

1/2 pound broccoli

1 pound onions

Peppers and Tomatoes

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I steamed the broccoli and ate it for lunch.  Delicious! My toddler helped me finish the melon as well.  We love to sit next to each other at the table and let that melon juice roll off of our chins

I’ve been hitting up my favorite cookbooks from some fall comfort food. I’m in the mood for it with the cooler temperatures.  Hopefully I’ll be able to share a good recipe (or two) with you this week.

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

I wanted to show you all what I picked up today. Pardon the photo and any formatting issues. This is the first time I’ve used my phone for a post—from the photo to publishing!

In no particular order:

3/4 pound mixed greens

1 bunch Bok Choy

1/2 pound shallots

1 bunch Swiss chard

2 green peppers

1/2 pound carrots

6 tomatoes

1 bunch of basil (I’m obsessed! I had the choice between chives, sorrel, parsley and basil.)

4 squash and 2 zucchini

1 beautiful melon!

I gave some greens, squash and tomatoes to my mother-in-law, along with the Bok Choy. She is so graciously watching the little one this weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the last days of summer!

I like to make a batch while I’m doing my other weekly food prep.  They stay good all week long and get sweeter as the week progresses.  This is also a fabulous recipe to take to a get-together or summer BBQ.  I’m a bit late in sharing this one, unfortunately. I apologize for that since the local cucumber harvest is starting to dwindle.

Sweet and Sour Cucumbers

8 cups cucumbers, peeled and sliced (I made a 1/2 batch pictured below)
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt

(let the above sit in fridge overnight. If you are crunched for time, you can skip this step, but I don’t recommend skipping it)

Drain the next morning.

2-3 cups vinegar
1 cup sugar (you can use more or less depending on how sweet you want them)
1 hefty tsp. dill weed

Mix together and add to cucumber mixture.  Keeps in fridge for up to a week.

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Cucumbers, onion and salt prior to refrigeration

The finished product!