Week 16. : 09/20/2011
Welcome to Week 16 of your CSA basket!
This week we will be providing our lovely CSA members with:
Tomatoes- Heirloom varieties, and cherries too!
Cucumber- Lemon
Peppers- Ancho Poblano and Hungarian Yellow Wax
Winter Squash- Red Kuri and Baby Bear Pumkins
Green French Fillet Beans
RECIPES-
Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Basil
Ingredients
6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions-
1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2 Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3 While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4 Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
5 Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.
Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)
FALL is just around the corner- Here is a recipe that is great for a Fall day when you have beautiful pumpkins to prepare and the weather changes!!
Pumpkin Muffins
1 cup (240 ml) canned pumpkin puree
2 largeeggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
1/2 cup (120 ml) canola,corn, vegetable, or safflower oil
3/4 cup (95 grams) whole wheat flour(can use all-purpose flour)
3/4 cup (50 grams) natural wheat bran
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated whitesugar
1 teaspoon bakingpowder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with a non stick vegetable spray.
In a medium sized bowl mix together the pumpkin puree, eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in the raisins. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.
Fill the muffin cups with the batter using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake for about 18 -20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.