 Eggplant Fries My sister, Stephanie, found this recipe in her latest issue of Bon Appétit magazine; she knew we were featuring eggplant this year at the Indiana State Fair so she passed it on to me. I finally located the za’atar spice from Seattle’s marketspice.com (my niece, Amanda, lives in Seattle and turned me onto this awesome place). These flavorful frites are not only a clever riff on a fried standard; they’re also lamb’s best friend. The Middle Eastern accents in the za’atar spice blend pair well with the gamey meat and intensify the eggplant’s flavor. After many experiments, Terzo Piano chef Meg Colleran Sahs discovered that a rice-flour (I found this at a local Asian market) coating resulted in the highest crunch factor. Dipping sauce: 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt Whisk yogurt, chopped pickle, lemon zest, and oregano in a small bowl to blend. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Place eggplant in a large bowl. Add 2 cups ice and enough water to cover. Place a plate on top of eggplant to weigh it down. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. Pour oil into a large deep pot to a depth of 2″. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of pot and heat oil over medium heat to 325°F. Meanwhile, whisk rice flour, lemon zest, za’atar, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon sea salt in a medium bowl to blend. Drain eggplant. Working in batches, toss damp eggplant in flour mixture to coat. Working in batches, fry eggplant, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 3-4 minutes per batch. (Reheat oil to 325°F between batches.) Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season with lemon juice and sea salt. Serve immediately with dipping sauce. |
Ingredient Info: Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that includes sumac, herbs, and sesame seeds. It’s available at specialty foods stores, Middle Eastern markets, and Marketspice.com
Bon Appétit | August 2011 by Meg Colleran Sahs, Terzo Piano
Fresh home grown tomatoes...
Good evening,
Just a quick note to remind you that we will be at the New Albany Farmer’s Market on Wednesday from 4-7, and let you know what we will have available. The tomatoes just keep getting bigger and better, will have lots to choose from. We will also have corn, green beans, new potatoes, “candy” onions, cabbage, zucchini, yellow summer squash, peppers, cucumbers, and eggplants. Blackberries and peaches will also be available.
If anyone needs me to make them a basket to have ready for pick up, just e-mail me and let me know early Wednesday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Wednesday. We also have a “Basket of the week” which includes a little bit of everything available the current week. The “Weekly Basket” run $25 and always includes fruit when available.
Thanks for your time and patronage,
Val & Kenny
Kenny's Blackberry ~ Peach Cobbler
I have to admit Kenny is the cobbler maker in the family. Every since he purchased his Indiana Conservation Officers Cooking T.I.P.S in 1992, he is the only one who makes cobbler. It is so good that the entire family request his desserts. It doesn’t matter what kind he makes, there is never any left-overs. This is one of our favorites so I wanted to share it with you; it’s so easy you could make it every evening for your family. Most any fruit can be substituted for your recipe.
1 cup pancake mix (that’s his secret)
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh peaches
1 cup fresh blackberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except fruit. Pour into an 8 x 11 inch oven-proof shallow dish. Top with fruit and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown (cobbler will still be slightly runny). Let set 15 minutes and serve warm.
The original recipe was contributed by Dwane Ford, Conservation Officer, Jay County. We appreciate him sharing this recipe, and I’ve always heard after you make a recipe three times, you can claim it as your own. I’m not sure that is true but Kenny claims it now since he has made it some 100 times by now. I hope you enjoy this as much as our family does.
Tags: Blackberries, cobbler, desserts, Peaches
It’s beginning to become pepper season, when they start coming … they keep coming. Here is a simple canning recipe to preserve now for a tasty treat this winter. Enjoy!
- 8 whole garlic cloves (optional)
- 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. of banana peppers (this is an estimate)
- 4 tsp. salt (1/2 tsp. per jar)
- 4 tsp. alum (1/2 tsp. per jar)
- 7 cups white vinegar (estimate)
- 7 cups water (estimate)
In a large pot, combine 7 cups of water and 7 cups of white vinegar, heat on high until boiling.
Add 1 clove of garlic to empty jar, and then pack banana pepper rings tightly into the jar. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. alum to the peppers. Pour hot vinegar-water mixture over the peppers. Immediately put on lid and ring to seal. Repeat with remaining peppers and jars, water bath for five (5) minutes.
Yields 8 pints
Finished product, Enjoy!
Tags: banana pepper, pickled peppers
We have been invited to participate in “Savor the Flavor – A VIP Taste from Indiana Farms”, an event sponsored by Indiana Farm Bureau. This event will take place at the Indiana State Fair in the Farm Bureau building . “Savor the Flavor” is a unique event made to showcase local Indiana farms and their products along with the culinary talents of young chefs.
- This VIP event will take place on Thursday, August 18th, 2011
- Participation in this event allows Russell Veggies to be 1 of 16 Indiana farms highlighted
- During the event, we will have the chance to interact with State Legislators
For the event, they will be pairing our product (and also another farm’s protein product) with a student chef team from culinary schools including Ivy Tech, The Culinary Institute, the Chef’s Academy, and the Purdue HTM program. Each student chef team will prepare a dish that highlights the products that they are given. Example: Ivy Tech may be given pork and sweet corn; and the team will create a dish that showcases these two ingredients. Teams will be competing for an overall grand champion title; this will be determined by attendees of the event voting for their favorite dish at the end of the night. Russell Veggies will be providing various types of eggplant as our chosen produce. These young chefs are people that will someday be running restaurants across Indiana, and making connections with these young people today can lead to larger opportunities in the future. This also gives the young chefs a chance to interact with us, the local farmers.
Our presence at the “Savor the Flavor” event is huge! They are not just looking for products; they are looking for producers and their families who can come to the event and be the face of Indiana farms. This is an invite-only VIP event. They are expecting 350 to 400 people with the main audience being State Legislators. As many of you know, these are the people that make the rules and regulations that we as farmers must live by, so giving them the chance to understand who we are and what we do is a key factor down the road.
We are looking forward to this event and will be telling you all about the results in an upcoming post. I also hope to get some wonderful recipes using eggplant to pass on to all our eggplant lovers.
It was another incredible week at the New Albany Farmer’s Market; thanks to all of you that came to patronize the market. Speaking of “incredible” that is the name of our sweet corn this weekend. We should have plenty available but remember to come early to get prime pickings ( you can pre-order and be guaranteed to have the produce you desire). The farm is producing a bounty of veggies… we will have corn, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, summer squash, cabbage, “candy” onions, green peppers, new potatoes, eggplants, jalapenos, cucumbers and kale. We will also have blackberries, “New Haven” freestone peaches and cantaloupes.
If anyone needs me to make them a basket to have ready for pick up, just e-mail me and let me know early Friday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Saturday. I also do a “Basket of the week” which includes a little bit of everything we have available the current week. The “Weekly Basket” run $25 and always includes fruit when available.
Thanks for your time and patronage,
Val & Kenny
Amanda's Dinner tonight, yum!
My niece, Amanda, was in town this past week visiting from Seattle, WA. While she was here she helped picked peaches and blackberries for the New Albany Farmer’s Market. I sure will miss that help this week, especially since this will be the hottest week thus far this summer. Before she left for her next destination (Cincinnati, OH) I gathered a basket of veggies for her, well tonight she sent pictures of dinner made with our local produce. I thought I would share the photo with you, this may give you an idea for your next dinner. We will have all these veggies available on Wednesday….
Tomatoes
SWEET CORN
Green Beans
New Red Potatoes
Egg Plants
“Candy” Onions
Zucchini – Green & Gold
Yellow Squash
Cabbage
Green Peppers
Jalapenos
Cucumbers
Peaches
Blackberries
If anyone needs me to make them a basket to have ready for pick up, just e-mail me and let me know early Wednesday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Wednesday. We also have a “Basket of the week” which includes a little bit of everything available the current week. (that is what I made for my niece) The “Weekly Basket” run $25 and always includes fruit when available.
Thanks for your time and patronage,
Val & Kenny
Sample of our "Veggie Basket" we offer each week.
Basket of the Week
Good evening,
Just wanted to let everyone know what we will be having this Saturday at the New Albany Farmer’s Market. This week’s list looks pretty much like last weeks, with the exception of blackberries. We have been picking this week and they are tasty and beautiful, we should have them available thru July. We also have “Early Red Haven” peaches; these are the semi cling variety, the free stone ones should be available in the next week or so. We open at 8 am and we will remain until 1 pm.
This week we will have…
Tomatoes
SWEET CORN
Green Beans
New Red Potatoes
Egg Plants
“Candy” Onions
Zucchini – Green & Gold
Yellow Squash
Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Kale
Mustard & Kale Blend
Green Peppers
Jalapenos
Fresh cut BASIL
Cantaloupe
Blackberries will be available this weekend, they are looking really good this year.
Cucumbers – lots available again this week, pickles will be available for canning too.
It’s time for making Benedictine or summer salad with all the cucumbers available. I will post my Benedictine & Bacon Sandwich on my website.
If anyone needs me to make them a basket to have ready for pick up, just e-mail me and let me know early Friday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Saturday. I also do a “Basket of the week” which includes a little bit of everything we have available the current week. The “Weekly Basket” run $25 and always includes fruit when available.
Thanks for your time and patronage,
Val & Kenny
Benedictine & Bacon Sandwich
The garden in over-run with cucumbers so now what to do with all of them? How about trying one of my mom’s favorite sandwich, homemade Benedictine and Bacon. It’s quick and easy to make, and quite delicious too.
Ingredients:
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, grated and drained of moisture
1 bunch green onions, chopped fine
8 ounces softened cream cheese
2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1-2 drops green food coloring
8 slices whole wheat bread
12 strips cooked bacon (not too crisp)
Mixing directions:
- Mix the cucumber, onion, cream cheese and mayonnaise.
- Add green food coloring drop by drop, mixing each time to gauge the color.
- Spread 1/4 of the mixture on each of 4 pieces of the bread.
- Top the Benedictine with three slices of bacon.
- Makes 4 sandwiches ( I like to add a few of our fresh baby lettuce leaves to each sandwich, this of course is optional).
Tags: bacon, Cucumber, green onions
Italian Potato & Kale Soup
It’s kale and new potato time at the New Albany Farmer’s Market, stop by and pick some up and you too can make this delicious soup.
The following recipe is one I found from a website called CopyKat.com., it’s the olive garden potato/sausage/kale soup. I made this at home and was really impressed!! This is definitely something I will make again and again. Below is the recipe as I found it, and I have also included my variation of the same soup.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. spicy sausage links — 12
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4″ slices
3/4 C. onions, diced
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 C. kale leaves, but in half, then sliced
2 T. chicken base
1 qt. water
1/3 C. heavy whipping cream
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.
Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve. Optional: add half teaspoon of fennel seed.
My variations:
1 pound mild Italian sausage (took off casing) & browned in soup pot
5 potatoes med. diced
1 onion diced
3 cartons prepared chicken stock
1 bunch washed kale (leaves only)
homogenized milk instead of heavy cream (for calorie savings)
precooked bacon (just a small handful)
