Mulberry Creek Farm CSA

We intend to regularly add recipes for items in the CSA share boxes, especially the more unusual items. If you have a favorite you'd like to share, pass it along (please submit via the forum page - e-mail recipes tend to get lost in the shuffle) and, as long as it fits, I'll post it here. In our ongoing quest for freedom from MSG, we'll be looking for and posting healthier ways to make your own mixes and seasonings, too.

By the way - at the moment, the order of appearance is the order in which recipes were added. I've placed a "Menu" below by main ingredient so that you might find what you're looking for a bit easier.

Don't see what you're looking for below? First, check out our forums to see the ideas shared there. I add forum submissions here as I get the chance, but there may be something new there that hasn't made it here just yet.

After checking the forums and browsing below, are you still looking? Check out these sites:

Cooks                                   AllRecipes

Epicurious                             Food Network

Tomato Recipes

Glenn's Easy Salsa                                          Pico de Gallo (Fresh Salsa)

Tomato Soup

Summer Squash / Zucchini Recipes

Gail's Stuffed Zucchini                                     Sauteed Summer Squash

Zucchini-Cannellini Toss

Winter Squash Recipes 

Basic Winter Squash                                                Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Winter Squash (leaves this site)                      Stuffed Acorn Squash (leaves this site) 

Other Vegetables

Beets recipes: Basic Beets, Beet Greens, Beets a l'Orange

Bob's Stuffed Banana Peppers                          Eggplant Parmigiana

Meat Recipes

Glenn's Roast Duckling                                    Blasted Chicken

Best Hard Boiled Eggs                                     Stuffed (Deviled) Eggs

Desserts

Crazy Crust Cobbler                                        Rhubarb Crunch

I've been meaning to get something up for quite a while on food preservation. Just haven't had time - we're so busy preserving food! Anyway, here are a couple links that I hope will help.

National Center for Home Food Preservation

Ball's Fresh Preserving - this site also contains links to a plethora of other places.

Organic Gardening Harvest Techniques - there are also some recipe ideas here.

Organic Gardening Food Articles - lots on preservation, recipes ...

I also posted a blog a couple months ago with some information. If you have tips, don't forget to post them to one of the forums to share with the rest of the bunch!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• .
• Topping:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

There are lots of ways to cook spaghetti squash, but Maggie really likes this one!

Cut the squash in half, length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash, cut side down, in a baking dish and with a fork prick the skin all over. Bake at 350º F for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. Alternatively, bake covered in the microwave on high for 10 or so minutes, or until tender.

In the meantime, make or heat your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Using a fork, shred and separate the squash pulp into strands. Spoon spaghetti sauce over the squash. If desired, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Glenn found this recipe in an old cookbook. Since the oven happened to have a duckling in it, he did the stovetop version. It was quite good!

1 small eggplant (about 3/4 lb.)

1 beaten egg

1/4 C. all-purpose flour

2 T. cooking oil

1/3 C. grated Parmesan

1 C. spaghetti sauce

1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

Peel the eggplant and cut crosswise into 1/2" thick slices. Dip eggplant into egg, then into flour, turning to coat both sides.

In a large skillet, cook the eggplant slices (in a single layer at a time), in hot oil for 4 to 6 minutes or until golden, turning once. (Add oil if necessary.) Drain on paper towels.

On the stovetop: wipe the skillet with paper towels and return the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Top with spaghetti sauce and cheese. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minuites sor until heated through.

In the oven: place the eggplant slices in a single layer in a 12x7 1/2x2" baking dish. (If necessary, cut slices to fit.) Sprinkle with Parmesan. Top with spaghetti sauce and cheese. Bake at 400º F for 10 to 12 minutes or until hot.

This is a bulk recipe intended for processing and makes about 11 quarts of soup.

Start with: 

1/2 bushel tomatoes

1 bunch celery (with leaves)

10 medium onions

Combine all three in fairly large chunks, bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.

Cool enough to run everything through a sieve or food mill.

Add:

1 1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. course salt

1 lb. butter (butter, not a butter substitute)

Remove a small amount of the tomato mixture (a quart or so) and place in a separate container. Mix in until all lumps are removed:

2 C. flour

Return flour mixture to the soup and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to keep from burning.

Process for canning in quart or pint jars at 10 lbs. pressure for 20 mins.

We believe this will also freeze in appropriate containers although we've never tried that.

Play with this recipe until you get a combination you like. Some of the measurements are rather arbitrary - the amount of tomato or pepper you'll get depends greatly on the variety you choose! 

1/2 C. chopped onion (green works best, others are fine)

2 Serrano peppers, chopped (or choose your variety)

1 1/2 Fresh Tomato, chopped

6 sprigs fresh Cilantro, minced

Juice from 1 Lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, chill an hour before serving.

Start with a packet of Mrs. Wages Salsa Mix (they come in various hotnesses) that you can find in most groceries.

NOTE: We have started making all our salsa from scratch to avoid the evil MSG and find the Zesty Salsa recipe in the Ball Blue Book to be a fair match for the great flavor of Mrs. Wages. (BTW: we double the tomatoes called for.)

The mix calls for 6 lbs. of fresh, ripe tomatoes or 5 pints of chopped & diced tomatoes. We use about twice as many tomatoes, run them through a Squeezo, then cook them down to a good thickness. We use 12 C. cooked-down tomatoes per mix.

The secret to Glenn's salsa is the following:

Add:

1 C. onion, chopped or diced

1 C. bell pepper, chopped or diced

1 C. banana pepper, chopped or diced

Follow the instructions on the packet.

There are lots and lots of ways to cook the many varieties of winter squash! Other than just boiling it (great if you're going to make a pie or soup) we prefer just plain old baked squash.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Cut your winter squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seedy pulp. (Seeds can be washed off, salted and roasted if you like.)

Place the halves, shell down, in a shallow baking pan contaning a bit of water.

Put a pat or two of butter (real butter, please, not that fake stuff that's one molecule away from plastic!) in each half.

We like to also add a helathy spoonful of brown sugar, but it's not necessary.

Fall spices may also be used: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg.

Bake in an oven for about an hour (depending on the size of your squash) until a fork is easily in serted in to the meat.

As a time saver, we often cover the squash (in a microwave safe dish) with plastic wrap and nuke it on high for about 10 minutes.

First, you need a good sized zucchini for this recipe. Those under-developed tender sweet young things they sell in the grocery store won't cut it. Most farms have an over abundance of large zucchini this time of year.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Brown a pound or so of burger, add a chopped onion and/or pepper (both optional) to the burger as it's browning. 

While the burger is browning, cut your zucchini in half lengthwise. It's a good idea to chop the stem off first.

Scoop out the seeds and tough stuff in the middle then bake it for 5-10 minutes in the oven or 5 mins in the microwave to soften it up.

By this time, the burger should be browned. Drain it then add 8 ounces of spaghetti sauce, or tomato sauce and your choice of seasonings. Mix it well and heat it through.

While that's going on, take the softened squash out of the oven and scoop out all the meat of the squash except about a quarter inch all the way around. Place the shells in a deep, prepared baking dish and set aside.

Cut up the remaining squash and add as much as you like (some, all or none) to the meat mixture and heat through.

Scoop the meat mixture into the waiting shells - fill them up as much as you like. It's OK if they over-flow, or you may choose to keep them individual. Either way is fine.

Cover and bake for about 45 mins. (If the baking dish has no cover or the cover won't fit, use a bit of tin foil.)

After 45 mins, remove the cover and liberally sprinkle mozzerella cheese over the top. Continue baking until the cheese is melted to your satisfaction. I like it when it gets good and browned!  

Preheat oven to 450º F degrees.

Rub olive oil, salt and pepper on the chicken

Put chicken in a shallow pan.

Put in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Next, and very important, do not open the oven door and turn off the oven for 15 minutes.

Take out and eat!

(This recipe was passed along to me from Lynne Kennedy, a TransPlant employee, who got it from a farmer's representative of the Hill Family Farm in Xenia.)

Rinse the duckling.

Place inside the cavity an apple cut in two halves and an onion, also cut in two halves. Rub your choice of seasonings into the bird. Do not oil or baste - ducks have plenty of fat to keep them moist!

Place on a roasting pan (it needs to be deep enough to collect the fat) and cover lightly with tin foil.

Roast in the oven at 350º F removing the foil after about a half hour. The bird should be done after a total time of 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check for doneness as you would a roast chicken - when the leg twists easily it's done.

(An aside from Gail: I didn't know if I'd like the duckling because I never had. But this was absolutely fabulous! We had it with Eggplant Parmesan one night and Winter Squash another.)

(submitted by MCF website member IamNiecy) 

(a low-cal slaw, submitted to the Dayton Daily News Life Section by a reader then passed along to us via MCFCSA members Larry & Lois Ramey)

Boil water and cook coarsley chopped, stems removed Kale in the water for 7 minutes.  Then plunge in ice water to stop the cooking.

Cook potatoes in cream (or milk) until soft.

Put them together!  Salt and pepper.

Some people run the potatoes and kale together in a food processor to make them creamy.  I combined them and used a potato masher to get everything just a little smoother. 

(thanks to MCFCSA Member Christa Novicki)

I have been astonished at how many people asked how to cook beets since they have been a staple of garden produce in my family as much as carrots or potatoes. There are lots of ways to cook beets - try searching a couple different online recipe sites.

The simplest thing to do (and my favorite way to prepare them) is as follows:

Basic Beets

Wash the beets and trim the greens off before cooking. (Greens are edible, set them aside in the fridge.) NOTE: Be sure to leave a half inch or so of the greens on the beet - don't cut them all away or the color and flavor will drain out.

Cooking Options:

1: Place the beets in a pan, bring to a boil, (lower heat to medium-high to keep boiling without boiling over) and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender.

2: Place trimmed beets in a roasting pan and add a little water for steam. Roast the beets at 425º F for 30 to 45 minutes (cover the pan with foil) or until the beets are easily pierced with a knife.

3: Microwave on high with a little water for 8 to 15 minutes.

However you cook them, slip off the skins under running water and slice or dice or even leave whole.

Serving Options:

1. I like them just with butter.

2. Match beets with orange (juice and zest), ginger or both.

3. Dress beets with a vinaigrette. Serve warm or at room temperature. Add some sweet onion, parsley, and hard-boiled egg chunks for a hearty salad.

If you're mixing beets with other vegetables (in a salad, for instance), cook and dress the beets separately and add them last. Their vivid color will seep into everything else otherwise.

Beet Greens

Cook and eat these like any other slightly bitter greens.  

Sweet Beets a L'Orange

1) In saucepan over medium heat, in 1-inch boiling, salted water, heat whole beets to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30-60 minutes until fork-tender. Drain and peel. Slice or dice, cook over medium heat to desired tenderness (15 minutes?).
2) In one-quart saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt; slowly stir in vinegar; add butter or margarine and minced onion; over medium heat, cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
3) Reduce heat to low; add beets and cook just until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Apple Option: add 1 cup chopped apples of your choice. I love Jonathan or Macintosh, tasted great with Granny Smith apples.
4) Serve hot or cold.

This is our favorite way to cook summer squash, (and it works pretty well with frozen squash, too!) Use any variety of summer squash or zucchini. We like to mix varieties when we have them.

Wash the squash and cut off the stem and flower ends. Slice the squash into bite sized pieces.

Slice an onion or two (to taste) similarly.

Sauté on medium-medium high in butter and your choice of herbs and/or seasonings. We use garlic, a dash of seasoning salt, chives, rosemary, basil, whatever!

Cook until desired doneness - some like it a little more cooked than others.

Of course, any firm leafy green works fine in this recipe. Collard greens or swiss chard could easily be substituted for the kale.

4 cups firmly-packed kale

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. good-quality sea salt, such as Maldon or Cyprus Flake

Wash and trim the kale: Peel off the tough stems by folding the kale leaves in half like a book and stripping the stems off. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for five minutes. Turn kale over. Roast another 7 to 10 minutes until kale turns brown and becomes paper thin and brittle. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

(Thanks to Judy Shell, MCFCSA member, for sending this link. Read more about: Kale)

Wondering what to do with kale, turnip greens, cabbage, chard, or even broccoli or beet greens?

Pre-heat oven to 350º F

Cook, drain, chop finely 2 quarts fresh spinach or greens of day (avoid blasphemous acronym)
1 onion: saute in 2 Tbsp oil
Combine:
spinach (greens)
sauteed onion
1/4 tsp nutmeg,
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup grated swiss or fave cheese.
Pour into pie shell. Arrange top crust and seal.
Bake 30-40 min. at 350º F.

Options: Diced ham, chicken or turkey.
If you're adventurous, mix in some chopped (sauteed or pre-steamed) zucchini, squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green (or other) peppers and/or mushrooms.
Garlic and/or black pepper? Cumin or curry?

Serve hot, in pie wedges.

(Thanks to Larry and Lois Ramey, MCFCSA members)

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 T butter
1 C finely chopped onion (2 onions)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 t. basil
2 t. thyme
6 C chopped broccoli (1 lg head, including some leaves, leaving a few
florets whole)
4 C water or vegetable stock
1 C heavy cream
4 T unbleached white flour
1 t. salt
Freshly ground salt and black pepper or cayenne pepper to taste

In a lg dutch oven or soup pot, heat butter on med heat. When hot, add
onions, garlic, basil, and thyme. When onions begin to brown, add broccoli. Saute until tender; don't overcook. Remove from heat. Add 3 cups water or stock to pot, then blend about half the soup until smooth. If mixture is too liquidy in the blender, it will try to jump out, in which case drain some of the excess liquid back into the soup. Pour pureed mix back into soup pot and add remaining water or stock.

In a small bowl, mix the cream and flour and stir until smooth and
lumps are gone. Begin to heat soup again on low heat and add the cream-flour mixture. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Don't allow to boil. Simmer
uncovered 30 minutes more and serrve.

Creamy Greens Soup
Substitute 10 C packed raw spinach or other greens for broccoli.
Follow instructions above, adding 1 T lemon juice at the end.

(taken from Horn of the Moon Cookbook by Ginny Callan - an awesome
resource for tasty, healthy recipes using fresh produce.)

This recipe works with any kind of fruit although you may choose to alter the amount of sugar you use based on the sweetness/tartness of the selected fruit.

• 1 stick butter (or margarine)
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. flour
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 3/4 C. milk
• 2 C. unsweetened fruit (mulberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, blueberries ...)
• 1/2 C. sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Melt the butter either in the microwave, or by placing it in a treated 9x9 deep baking dish in the oven.

Beat together 1 C. sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Pour this over the butter but DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle or pour fruit over the batter, again, do not stir. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 C. sugar over the top and bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Very yummy hot with vanilla ice cream!

This recipe doubles nicely.

• 1 C. rolled oats (uncooked)
• 1 C. flour
• 1 C. packed brown sugar
• 1 stick butter (or margarine)
• 1 C. chopped nuts
• 3 C. rhubarb (cut, uncooked)

Cut the rhubarb into bite sized pieces and put in a deep baking dish. Mix together oats, flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle over rhubarb.

Bake at 350º F for 45-60 minutes.

Serves 6-8 (very yummy hot with vanilla ice cream!)

Place eggs in pot, cover with cold water. Add a sploosh of vinegar (the vinegar will help with the peeling). Bring to a rolling boil, lower heat and simmer 5 minutes, covered. Remove from heat, leave covered, and let stand 15 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water. To cool faster, replace water when warm. When cool, crack and peel the eggs.

• 1 dozen eggs
• 3 heaping T. mayonaise / salad dressing
• 2 t. sugar
• 2 dashes each salt & pepper
• 2 t. vinegar
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 t. mustard 

Hard boil the eggs (see recipe above for best hard-boiled eggs), let cool, then peel. Cut eggs in half, length-wise. Remove yolk; mash yolk and combine with other ingredients. Beat until smooth. Refill egg whites with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika, chives, or other herbs or seasonings as desired.