Or officially: Farro with Green Onion Sauce, Toasted Walnuts, and Asparagus
From Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
Ingredients:
2 cups farro (or wheat berries?)
5 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp EVOO
12 green onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 bunch asparagus spears, trimmed and cut on sharp diagonal, 1 inch pieces
Grated zest of one lemon
1 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
Creme fraishe, for garnish- makes the whole thing comfy…
Fresh Parmesan for garnish- yeah, this too.
Combine farro and stock in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, 45 minutes to an hour or about half if it is semi-pearled.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the chopped green onions and saute for 5 minutes, or until onions start to soften. Stir in a couple pinches of salt. If you have a hand blender, transfer to a small bowl and lightly puree them, but don’t go overboard. Alternatively, puree them in a food processor. After a pulse or two, they will start to get to nice and creamy, but you want to maintain some nice big chunks of green in there as well.
When the farro is nearly cooked, stir in the asparagus. Let the pot simmer for another couple of minutes, until the asparagus is vibrant bright green. Some stock will still be visible in the pot. That is fine; the farro will continue to absorb the liquid once removed from the heat. Stir in the lemon zest, walnuts, and the salt. Add more if necessary.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onion sauce, a dollop of creme fraiche, and parm.
Categories: GRAINS · SALADS · VEGETABLES
Ingredients:
Double pie crust (homemade or Pillsbury!)
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 ½ cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 T torn basil leaves
1 T chopped chives
How to:
Preheat oven to 400. Cover 9” pie pan with dough. Cover dough with tomato slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, chives and basil. Top with half the cheese and coat thinly with mayonnaise. Add remaining cheese. Roll top dough and fit over top of pie; pinch closed. Bake until brown on top, about 20 minutes. Makes six servings. ENJOY!!
Categories: BREAKFAST · VEGETABLES
1 lb. linguini
1/2 cup olive oil
zest from one lemon
juice from 2 lemons
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
salt and fresh ground pepper
LOTS of parmesean cheese
(We usually add grilled chicken breasts or shrimp)
Cook linguini in boiling, salted water till done; drain well.
Combine next 5 ingredients in a large serving bowl.
Add pasta and toss well.
Sprinkle over salt and fresh ground pepper–add parmesean to taste.
Taken from The Summer Book by Susan Branch
Categories: PASTA
Makes 1 cup
Mince:
2 cups fresh parsley leaves, packed
2 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
salt to taste
Add; blend:
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup white whine vinegar
2 Tbsp. water
Mince parsley, garlic, and seasonings in a food processor or blender
Add olive oil, vinegar, and water; process until blended.
Categories: SAUCES
Makes 12 filets; Total time: 45 minutes
Prepare; Thread and Coat:
2 pork tenderloins (1-1 ½ lb. each)
12 strips thin-sliced bacon
Chimichurri Sauce (recipe below)
1. Prepare pork, trimming off silverskin and fat, then cut into 2”-thick filets. Make the chimichurri. Prepare the grill for medium hot coals.
2. Wrap a bacon strip around each filet, overlapping ends by 1”. Trim excess.
3. Thread 3-4 fillets on each skewer; insert a second skewer for stability. Brush with chimichurri.
4. Grill skewers, covered, for 4 minutes per side, including bacon sides, basting each before the turn. Cook for a total of 16 minutes. Serve with extra chimichurri.
Chimichurri Sauce
Makes 1 cup
Mince:
2 cups fresh parsley leaves, packed
2 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
salt to taste
Add; blend:
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup white whine vinegar
2 Tbsp. water
Mince parsley, garlic, and seasonings in a food processor or blender
Add olive oil, vinegar, and water; process until blended
Categories: MEAT · SAUCES
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 16 oz. can plain pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 cups flour
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
12 oz. bag chocolate chips combined with 1/2 cup flour (keeps the chips from sinking)
1. Cream sugar and oil together; add eggs and pumpkin and mix well.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, to pumpkin mix and alternate with water.
4. Add chocolate chips and flour mixture and mix.
5. Pour into 2 well greased and floured 9 x 5 loaf pans.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until done. Cover the breads with foil for the last 30 minutes or the top burns.
Categories: BREADS · SWEET THINGS
This is an UNREAL dessert. Sprinkle chopped strawberries on the top for pure perfection.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups white sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup Milk
1/2 of a 14 oz. can Sweetened condensed milk
1/2 of a 12 oz. can Evaporated milk
1/3 cup liqueur Frangelico, Brandy for example (optional)
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Put your beaters and bowl in the freezer to prepare for whipping.
Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside. Cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
When cake has finished baking, pierce it in 8 or 10 places with a fork or skewer, and let it cool. Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk and liqueur and pour over the top of the cooled cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Whipped Cream Topping: When ready to serve, combine the whipping cream and the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 cup of sugar, whipping until thick. Spread over top of cake.
Because of the milk in the cake, it is very important that you keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve chilled with fresh fruit on top.
Categories: SWEET THINGS
1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 large garlic clove, sliced thin
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/4 dry white wine
some Asiago cheese
Preheat oven to 450
Halve squash lengthwise and discard seeds. Peel one half and cut into 1/4 inch dice. Put remaining half cut side down in an oiled shallow baking pan with diced squash and season with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bake squash until tender and browned, about 15-20 minutes. Scoop out flesh and chop coarse.
In a saucepan bring broth and water to a simmer and keep it at a bare simmer.
Sauté onion and garlic in oil until translucent . Stir in rice and cook over medium heat until white. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Stir in 1/4 cup of broth and cook, stirring constantly, and keeping at a simmer throughout until absorbed. Continue simmering and and adding broth, about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until about half the broth has been added. Stir in diced and chopped squash and continue simmering and adding broth in the same manner until rice is tender and creamy looking and still al dante, about 18 minutes. Just before it is done add Asiago cheese
Ben Breslauer’s variation: melt a pat of butter and some real maple syrup and drizzle over the top with a blob of blue cheese.
Categories: GRAINS · VEGETABLES
Single batch
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ- unsweetened
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds, unsalted)
1 cup any kind of nuts (I like pecans)
Stir in: 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup oil (maybe a bit more) *tip: measure oil in cup first, honey moves more easily!
Spread in one or two rimmed baking pans no more than 1″ deep.
Bake at 325-350 for 15-20 minutes, stirring and turning every 5 minutes or so
As soon as it is out of the oven, stir in one cup or more of raisins, dried cranberries, or the dried fruit of your choice.
Turn out onto paper bags and leave to cool.
Store in tins or zip-lock bags.
Categories: BREAKFAST
2 Tbs. olive oil, plus tsp for drizzling
4 medium cloves garlic, cut crosswise into VERY thin slices
3 bunches washed and spun flat-leaf spinach with stems removed
salt
red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp grated zest, plus 2 tsp juice from 1 lemon
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a 12″ skillet over med. high heat.
Add garlic, cook until golden brown–shaking not stirring
Add spinach by handfuls using tongs to stir and coat with oil
Once all the spinach is added, sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest over top and continue stirring until uniformly wilted and glossy, about 2 minutes
Remove with tongs to colander and squeeze to release juices.
Return to skillet, sprinkle with lemon juice, stir to coat.
Drizzle with 1 tsp olive juice; sprinkle with salt.
Serve immediately.
Categories: VEGETABLES
