This week your basket contains: summer squash, cucumber, carrots, onions, beets, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, EGGPLANT (half shares), tomatillos, SWEET CORN, and parsley.
Tomatoes are coming on strong, which means it is time to make sauce. The process below was sent to us by a subscriber some years ago and we have come to use it as the basic method for our tomato sauce (we like to can about 50 quarts of sauce a year). I tend to set the oven to a higher temperature to speed things up a bit, and I use an immersion blender which is a whole lot easier.
VERY EASY TOMATO SAUCE
I just quarter the tomatoes (any that don’t get eaten within four or five days), cherry and sungold tomatoes I leave whole, quarter an onion or two and place these in a baking dish. Then I peel and add four or five garlic cloves, fresh basil, rosemary, etc. and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil all over everything. Then I roast it all in allow oven – 300 to 325 degrees, for three or four hours or until everything is mushy. Once it’s cooled, I dump it all in the food processor and voila! thick rich roasted tomato sauce. The most recent batch included a smallish fennel bulb and a coarsely chopped eggplant. The roasting seems to bring out the natural sweetness of those delicious tomatoes.
Tomatillos are also doing well. The recipe below can be made with any meat (or alternative protein). Personally, I like the combination of pork and tomatillos.
TOMATILLO TURKEY TACOS
8 small white corn tortillas
1 pound fresh tomatillos
1 onion, quartered
1 jalapeno chile (optional)
¼ bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed
½ tsp. salt
frshly ground black pepper
pinch of granulated sugar
2 cups chopped boneless, skinless roasted turkey
4 Tbsp. light sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the tortillas tightly in foil and place in the oven to heat through for about 10 minutes. Or, layer with damp paper towels and heat in the microwave on medium for 20 seconds, check and then repeat. Wrap to keep warm. Meanwhile, remove the papery husk from the tomatillos, then rinse and cut in half. Combine the tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, pepper and sugar in a food processor or blender. Process until combined but still slightly chunky. Chop the turkey into small pieces. Put into either a microwave-safe container or a saucepan with the salsa. Heat through, about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Everyone can build his or her own tacos with the turkey tomatillo salsa and sour cream. Finely chopped onions and cilantro can be used as garnishes. From Fooday.
OK, for those of you that have been storing up all those beets, wondering when the right recipe would come along, this is it! It sounds weird, but it’s been a hit with our kids and just about anyone we’ve served it to.
1 ¼ c. beet puree (see below)
3 eggs
½ c. vegetable oil
½ tsp. salt
¾ c. cocoa powder
1 ½ c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ c. flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
Beet puree can be made ahead of time. Basically, you need to cook beets until they can be easily pierced with a fork. You can roast whole in silver foil (this takes about an hour) or chunk and boil. Either peel before cooking (if boiling) or after (if roasting). Puree cooked beets in blender or food processor. You want the puree to be pretty thick, but you can add a touch of cooking water to make them whirl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan (or 8-9” square pan). In a large bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in sugar, oil, vanilla, salt and beet puree. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa and soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a little at a time until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Pumpkin Ridge Gardens 