Banana Squash Salad

Among the impressive array of winter squash on display at Sweetwater Farm's pumpkin day a couple of weeks ago were the hefty, peach colored banana squash pictured on the lower right above. Erica explained that while these massive specimens don't make good supplies for the Good Food Easy CSA, they are cherished by Creswell's chef Heidi Tunnell of Heidi Tunnell Catering Company. Apparently she shaves them raw on salads and uses them to make ice cream.

So at this time of year, when standard school children are replaces with Jedi knights and Hogwarts witches, try transforming your standard salad with shaved winter squash. It looks deceptively like mango and tastes like the sweetest of carrots. Happy Halloween!

Banana Squash Salad

4 handful mixed salad greens

a small fraction of a banana squash (use the rest for soup, curry, or pie)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sherry vinegar

1/2 tsp honey

fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste

Wash and dry your greens and put them in a salad bowl. Cut off a small part of your squash. Cut away the skin and use a vegetable peeler or mandoline to cut thin strips. Whist together the remaining ingredients into a dressing. Pour the dressing over the greens and squash and toss to dress. Enjoy.

Kale Florentine

Yesterday was a brilliantly sunny fall day, perfect for tromping around Sweetwater Farm on their pumpkin day. We got to see the last of their summer harvest that supplied the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers market all season long, and the preparation for their winter crops that will continue to supply their Good Food Easy CSA. 

We're so thankful for all the Sunday mornings that the Fairmount Market farmers got up early over the summer to set up the market. This morning, we indulged in a leisurely breakfast of eggs florentine, made with local creamed kale on top of Eugene City Bakery English muffins and accompanied by Fair Valley Farm bacon. I hope all the farmers enjoyed a leisurely Sunday morning as well.

Kale Florentine

serves 4

2 bunches kale
2 shallots
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream
salt
8 eggs
4 English muffins

1. Set a pot of salted water to boil. Rinse the kale leaves and cut out the hard stems. Chop the leaves coarsely. When the water comes to a boil, blanch the kale leaves for one minute. Then drain and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out the moisture from the leaves and chop finely.

2. Peel and finely chop the shallots. Heat a large, wide skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add the butter and once it has melted and started to foam, add the shallots. Cook the shallots until glassy. Add the chopped kale and a generous pinch of salt and saute for a minute or two. Now add the cream, stir well, bring to a low simmer, and lower the heat. Crack the eggs directly over the creamed kale. Cover and cook for about five minutes, until the achieve your desired degree of hardness. When the eggs are done, remove from the heat.

3. Toast the English muffins. Butter them and top with creamed kale and eggs. Enjoy.

Ginger Squash Scones

This Sunday will be the last regularly scheduled Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market of the season, but stay tuned for some additional markets around the beginning of November and just before Thanksgiving, to coincide with Fair Valley Farm CSA pick ups. On October 6th, you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm, Fair Valley Farm, and Tiger Lily Art Company:

tomatillos (make some smokey tomatillo salsa to last you through the winter)

heirloom tomatoes, romas, and tomato deals: 10 lbs/$18, $20 lbs/$30 (makes some sauce)

watermelon, honeydew melons, cantaloupes, and other heirloom melons

Bartlett pears (delicious on pizza or in pancakes)

Akane apples and Asian pears from SLO Farm (make apple sauce)

A wide selection of winter squash (make these ginger squash scones)

corn, green beans and yellow wax beans (make a savory corn pudding)

pepperoncini, poblanos, red hot cherries, anaheim chiles, and assorted pepper bargain bags

eggplants, fresh spring garlic, and onions (make baba ganoush)

cucumbers and zucchini (make some tsukemono pickles)

carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, and celery (preserve some kimichi)

French sorrel and cutting celery (great as a pesto for soup)

new potatoes and beets (make some mashed potatoes)

fresh herbs including dill, parsley, basil, and cilantro 

bietola, kale, chard, and a variety of lettuces (make lettuce wraps)

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill (make teff grain muffins)

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens from Fair Valley Farm (cook up a pot of Pueblan chicken tinga)

floral arrangements from Tiger Lily Art Company

If, in a couple of weeks, you are missing the market, you can see more of your favorite farmers at Sweetwater's Pumpkin Day on Saturday Oct. 19, 10 am-2 pm at the farm (83036 Weiss Rd. Creswell, OR 97426). There will be farm tours and pumpkins for sale, but don't be fooled by these orange gourds that Erica gave our kids. Despite their pumpkin-like appearance, these imposters are actually crazy giant overgrown summer squash! 

On this last market of the season, be sure to pick up a selection of real winter squash (pie pumpkins, butternut, acorn, delicata) to store in you cellar for future winter soups, curries, and pies. With my latest batch of roasted squash, I made these delectable scones, studded with candied ginger. Sized as mini-scones, and they were the perfect midday snacks for the whole family to keep us going through the greying days.

Ginger Squash Scones

adapted from food52 mrslarkin's Butternut Sage Scones

makes 8 regular or 16 mini-scones

1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour such as Red Fife from Lonesome Whistle Farm
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup roasted squash puree
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon candied ginger, chopped into small pieces

1. To prepare the roasted squash, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds (save them for roasting, if you feel industrious).  Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet and roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Scoop out the squash from the skin and mash with a potato masher. Use 1/2 cup for this recipe and save the rest for soup or more scones (it freezes well).

2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade, place the dry ingredients and the chopped sage, and pulse to combine.

3. Add the butter, and pulse about 10 or so times. You want to retain some small pieces of butter. Transfer the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl.

4. In a large measuring cup, place the squash, egg and buttermilk. Mix well. Pour into flour mixture. With a dinner fork, fold the wet into the dry as you gradually turn the bowl. When dough begins to gather, use a plastic bowl scraper to gently knead the dough into a ball shape.

5. Transfer the dough ball to a floured board. Gently pat into a 6” circle, or for mini-scones, make two smaller circles of dough. Sprinkle with the chopped candied ginger. If the dough feels sticky, chill it for about 15 minutes in the freezer or longer in the refrigerator. With a pastry scraper or large chef’s knife, cut each disc into 8 triangles.

6. Optional (but recommended by mrslarkin): place the scones on a wax paper-lined sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once they are frozen, you can store them in a plastic freezer bag for several weeks.

7. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place frozen scones on a parchment-lined sheet pan, about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 18 minutes for mini-scones or 20 - 25 minutes for regular sized scones, turning the pan halfway through. They are done when a wooden skewer comes out clean. Enjoy.

Ten Pounds of Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce

Pretty much everything I know about Italian cooking, I learned from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, so to honor her passing, I wanted to record how one can scale up her famous tomato sauce recipe (which my sister tipped me off to years ago, well before all the food bloggers). Armed with Hazan's recipe, a few weeks ago I cooked down 10 pounds of Sweetwater Farm's delicious Scipio San Marzano roma tomatoes, producing 10 pints of sauce to freeze away for the winter. I could never bring myself to use quite as much butter as she calls for (scaled up, this would be 6 sticks!), so this is a leaner version, but it still produces the purest, sweetest sauce, a perfect base for all manner of embellishments and delicious thinned into a heart-warming soup. Pick up a flat at the last Fairmount Farmers Market of the season next Sunday. 

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce for a 10 pound flat of tomatoes

10 lb roma tomatoes
4 or 5 small onions, peeled and halved
1 stick of butter (or more if you wish)
salt to taste

1. Set a large pot of water to boil. Core the romas and score them with a cross on the opposite end. Set up a large bowl of cold water with ice cubes. In batches, use a large slotted spoon or strainer to submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water. After about 1 minute, transfer the tomatoes to the cold water bath. The skin will blister and can be peeled off easily in the time it takes to blanch your next batch of tomatoes. If you get into a rhythm, you can easily get through 10 pounds of romas in about half an hour (with two people, it's even more efficient). Coarsely chop the tomatoes for the sauce.

2. In a 7 quart or larger pot, combine all of the ingredients and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer  until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. For this volume of tomatoes, I let the sauce simmer for about 2 hours. Taste and correct for salt. Remove the onions and reserve for another use (such as pizza toppings). If you like, use an immersion blender to create a smoother sauce. Allow to cool completely and transfer to freezer-safe pint jars. This recipe will make about 8 to 10 pints. Label and freeze for winter.

Grilled Eggplant Salads and Dips

This Sunday will be the penultimate Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market of the season. You can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm, Fair Valley Farm, and Tiger Lily Art Company:

tomatillos (try this slow cooker tomatillo beans and pork)

heirloom tomatoes, romas, and tomato deals: 10 lbs/$18, $20 lbs/$30 (preserve for winter)

watermelon, honeydew melons, cantaloupes, and other heirloom melons

Bartlett pears (delicious on pizza or in pancakes)

Akane apples and Asian pears from SLO Farm (make apple sauce)

A wide selection of winter squash, including delicata (delicious roasted for salads)

corn, green beans and yellow wax beans (make a savory corn pudding)

pepperoncini, poblanos, red hot cherries, anaheim chiles, and assorted pepper bargain bags

eggplants, fresh spring garlic, and onions (make one of these eggplant dishes)

cucumbers and zucchini (make pasta primavera for the fall)

carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, and celery (make Pad Thai)

French sorrel and cutting celery (great as a pesto for soup)

new potatoes and beets (make a hash)

fresh herbs including dill, parsley, basil, and cilantro 

bietola, kale, chard, and a variety of lettuces (make lettuce wraps)

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill (make teff grain muffins)

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens from Fair Valley Farm (cook up a pot of Pueblan chicken tinga)

floral arrangements from Tiger Lily Art Company

The chilly, damp fall weather is here in earnest, but we can still enjoy a couple more weeks of summer produce, like tomatoes, corn, and eggplant, and a few more opportunities to fire up the grill. If you do, be sure to throw on some eggplants, because once they collapse into charred masses, their soften insides are the perfect palette for any number of dips and salads. If it's too rainy to grill, you can char your eggplant under the broiler or directly over a gas flame, like a bell pepper, until it is blackened and soft (but avoid doing this in a hotel with very sensitive smoke detectors, as I did this summer). 

Smokey Middle Eastern baba ganoush is a delicious and familiar eggplant dip that is best shoveled with warm pita. I came across an interesting variant of this in Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking. It has the same smokey eggplant and pungent garlic, the same salty tanginess (from soy and vinegar, as opposed to salt and lemon juice) and even contains sesame (seeds, not paste), but is an entirely different dish that works as a refreshing salad appetizer. Pick up plenty of eggplants this Sunday to try both ways.

Baba Ganoush

2 large eggplants
2 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lemon
1/3 cup tahini
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp olive oil, and more for drizzling
generous pinch of salt
Walnuts and mint leaves for garnish (optional)

1. Char the eggplants on a grill or under the broiler for about 30 minutes, or over gas flames for about 10 minutes, turning with tongs, until they are completely soft and collapsed. At the same time, roast a couple of cloves of garlic in a small cast iron pan on the grill, under the broiler, or on the stove, until soft (if you don't mind raw garlic, you can skip this step). Cool the eggplant until you can handle them and then peel off the charred skin with a pairing knife or your fingers. Place the softened pulp in a strainer for about 15 minutes to drain out some of the liquid. 

2. Peel the roasted garlic cloves and in a mixing bowl, mash them into a paste with a fork or pestle. Transfer the drained eggplant to the bowl and add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, and a pinch of salt. Mash with a potato masher or a pestle until well mixed and the desired consistency. Taste and add a bit more of any of the ingredients to adjust the flavors to your liking. Spread out on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with herbs or nuts if you like and serve with warm pita bread.

Chinese Smokey Eggplant with Garlic

adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice

2 large eggplants

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar

2 Tbsp chili oil with its sediment (or use a diced fresh hot pepper and 2 Tbsp sesame oil)

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp finely sliced scallions (green part only) 
Cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

1. Prepare the eggplant and garlic cloves as in the recipe above.

2. Mince the garlic and dice the eggplant pulp. Combine in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves if you like and serve as a salad appetizer.

Teff Grain Banana Muffins

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm, Fair Valley Farm, and Tiger Lily Art Company:

Watermellon, honeydew melons, cantaloupes, and other heirloom melons

Bartlett pears (delicious on pizza or in pancakes)
Akane apples and Asian pears from SLO Farm (add to a barley salad)
heirloom tomatoes, romas, and tomato deals: 10 lbs/$18, $20 lbs/$30 (make baked polenta)
corn, green beans and yellow wax beans (make a savory corn pudding)
delicata squash (no need to peel this delicate winter squash, just roast as "squash candy")
pepperoncini, poblanos, red hot cherries, anaheim chiles, and assorted pepper bargain bags

eggplants, fresh spring garlic, and onions (make ratatouille)

cucumbers and zucchini (try shredded zucchini)

carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, and celery (make Pad Thai)

French sorrel and cutting celery (great as a pesto for soup)

new potatoes and beets (make a hash)

fresh herbs including dill, parsley, basil, and cilantro 

bietola, kale, chard, and a variety of lettuces (make lettuce wraps)

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill (make these teff grain muffins)

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens from Fair Valley Farm (cook up a pot of Pueblan chicken tinga)

floral arrangements from Tiger Lily Art Company

The Fairmount Farmers Market is a great place to learn about our local food production and to discover interesting local grains and beans. It was through the market that I discovered teff, a protein-packed, fine-kerneled grain that is delicious in porridges and pancakes. With two school age kids to rouse in the darkening mornings and send trudging off to crowded classrooms shouldering heavy backpacks, I wanted to make them some homemade snacks to sustain them through the school day. I experimented with adapting a smitten kitchen banana bread recipe, using Camas Country Mill's teff grain in place of millet, which produced tasty, tender, crackly muffins. Visiting Camas Country Mill was one of my daughter's all time favorite school trips, so I was interested to learn about Camas Country Mill's efforts to restore an old, one-room country school house and turn it into an educational center for their mill. Supporting this project, like baking tasty school snacks from local grains, is another way to teach our children about sustainable food production.

Teff Grain Banana Muffins

adapted from smitten kitchen's crackly banana bread, makes one dozen muffins

3 large ripe-to-over-ripe bananas

1 large egg

1/3 cup (80 ml) virgin coconut oil, warmed until it liquefies, or olive oil

1/3 cup (65 grams) light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cups (180 grams) whole-wheat flour (I used Red Fife from Lonesome Whistle Farm)

1/4 cup (50 grams) uncooked teff (from Camas County Mill, or substitute millet, as in the original recipe)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Dollop a 1/4 tsp coconut oil into each of 12 muffin tins. Warm briefly in the heating oven to melt, and spread around the muffin tins with a brush to coat.

2. In the bottom of a large bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon until virtually smooth but a few tiny lumps remain. Whisk in egg, then oil, brown sugar, syrup and vanilla extract. 

3. Mix together baking soda, salt, ground ginger, flour, and teff. Stir into the banana mixture until combined. 

4. Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin tin (makes 12 small or 10 medium muffins).  Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.