HAPPY New Year!
Here's a little gift from Sweet Morning Farm, some of our favorite holiday food gift recipes.

1 - MARZIPAN
8 oz. almond paste
1/2 C butter
3 C sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla, rum, or brandy

Mix until smooth.
Shape and stuff with almonds, apricots, prunes, figs, dates, cranberries, etc.
Keeps in fridge 1 month, 2 days at room temperature
Makes 4-5 gift amounts

That's the recipe as it was given to me.  I think it actually keeps longer at room temp.  I've never tried it but I have seen marzipan shaped into various things like fruits.  Painted with food coloring, but I would use natural colors like beet juice.

Okay, I am really going to try making my own almond paste sometime.
How to make almond paste  Otherwise, it's in the baking section at the store.

I just did a google image search on marzipan.  Some amazing candies out there, especially fruit, flowers, animals.  I even saw olives, a burger and fries, etc.  Play dough out of sugar and almonds!  Watch out for the marzipan babies.  Not sure of the purpose of these but I found them kind of creepy.

One last thing, I have another recipe where you basically make a lump of marzipan and stick split almonds all around the sides then pour melted chocolate on top.  The end up looking like pine cones.  Cute but too much work for me and the finished item is too big to eat without keeling over from sugar shock.


Another variation: add coconut to the mix.  Yum!


2 - SUGARED WALNUTS
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C orange juice
1 t. grated orange rind
1/2 t. vanilla
3 C. walnuts

Combine sugar and OJ in a saucepan.
Cook to soft ball stage (240 degrees)
Remove from heat and add rind, vanilla, and nuts.
Stir until the syrup looks cloudy.
Before it hardens, drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.
Makes about 1 lb.

3 - DEVILED ALMONDS
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. oil
(I use the same amount of oil/butter even if I triple or quadruple the recipe for gifts.)
1 1/2 C. almonds
1 T. celery salt
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. cayenne
1/2 t. chili powder

Melt butter in skillet.
Add oil and nuts.
Cook, stirring, until nuts are golden.
Drain.
Add other ingredients and mix.

4 - GLUHWEIN
1 bottle red wine
3/4 C. water
1/2 C honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
10 cloves

Heat water to a boil.
Add honey.
Poke the cloves into the skin of an orange, slice in half, squeeze some of the juice into the pot and add the peels.
Add cinnamon.
Simmer until it thickens.
Pour in wine and warm.  Do not boil!
Remove peels and spices and serve in mugs.

You can also add the syrup to the wine.  Of course, you'll need to remove some wine first to make room...

Gazpacho

There are so many tomatoes and cucumbers ready to pick in the garden these days.  It reminded me of an old favorite recipe for gazpacho from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.  The book is terrific and suits my cooking style by including tasty, reliable recipes arranged by vegetable.  Each section includes some basic recommendations for harvesting, preparing, seasoning, cooking, and storing the vegetable.

This gazpacho is simple, but good.  Here's the basic recipe.

Peel, seed, and chop 4 large tomatoes and 2 cucumbers.
Wash and chope 1 large green pepper and 10-12 scallions.
In a mortar, mash 1-2 cloves garlic and 1 t. salt.
Beat in 1/4 C. red wine vinegar and 1/3 C. olive oil.
Combine the dressing with the chopped vegetables and stir in 3 C. tomato juice.
Add 1 -1 1/2 C. water or beef broth.
Season with a dash of hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
Chill.
Serve cold with slices of cucumber on top.

Note:  I don't bother with peeling and seeding the tomatoes.
I just use spicy veggie juice and skip the beef broth and hot pepper.

Breakfast Sausage

Our breakfast sausage is popular with our farm customers and sells out quickly!  We plan on having a lot more in the fall but in the meantime, we do have plain ground pork.  It can be seasoned lots of ways so is pretty versatile.  Yesterday I decided to experiment with making my own breakfast sausage.  It was quick, easy, and delicious, my favorite kind of recipe.

Farm Breakfast: Pickled daikons, fried egg, homemade breakfast sausage.
All grown and prepared at Sweet Morning Farm!

I did a bit of research online to find a sausage recipe, merged a couple of recipes, substituted some items because we didn't have all the herbs called for, mixed up the sausage, let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge, and we cooked it this morning.  They turned out great. This makes me think that the seasonings can vary a lot and still be good.  So have fun with that.

After mixing in the desired seasonings, put the sausage mixture in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.  Shape into patties and cook.

This is what we used, as best as I can remember.  I was definitely winging it!

1 pound ground pork
1/2 T. salt
1 1/2 t. ground pepper
1 T. dry sage
1 t. anise seed (substituted for fennel seed)
1/2 t. thyme (unlabeled jar!  Pretty sure this was thyme)
1/8 t. clove
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. paprika

Both recipes called for rosemary and cayenne but we were out of both.  Next time!

Carrots, snap peas, garlic scapes

Always on the lookout for delicious ways to use the farm's veggies.  I found this great-sounding taco recipe for Charred-Carrot Tacos on Mark Bittman's web site.  Besides carrots, they contain snap peas and sauerkraut.  Nice.  Find the recipe HERE.

Another internet find today:  10 ways to cook with garlic scapes.
It has some great ideas that go beyond pesto and scrambled eggs with scapes.  I want to try sautéing scapes and using them as a topping for pizza.  I don't eat gluten so when I make pizza I make a thick layer of polenta spread in a baking sheet and top with whatever appeals.  It's not crusty pizza but it's tasty.  Pizza with scapes, chard, and mozzarella sounds good to me!

WHOLE BEET BORSCHT

This is a favorite recipe I've made for years from a favorite book, Laurel's Kitchen by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey.  Looking through the internet today I couldn't find this version, although the ones I found sounded good.  (See the version from The New Laurel's Kitchen HERE.)

Here is the original, delicious recipe:

WHOLE BEET BORSCHT

"This borscht recipe takes advantage of the whole beet, including the tender green leafy top which is full of vitamins and minerals.  Serve it hot or cold; it's delicious either way.  As you're serving, put a spoonful of homemade yogurt in each soup bowl.

8 beets with tops
1 medium potato, diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 quarts of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons flour
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons brown sugar

OPTIONAL
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dill weed

Wash the beets and the beet tops.
Chop the beet tops fine and set them aside.
Peel and grate the beets and cook with the potato and onion in the vegetable broth until they are well cooked.

Mix the oil and flour and cook on low heat for 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of the soup mixture slowly and cook this sauce until it thickens, stirring constantly.
Return the sauce to the soup pot.

Season the soup and add the lemon juice.
Stir in the beet greens and cook the soup for 5 to 10 minutes more.
Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Makes 3 quarts."

Cherry Tomato and Goat Cheese Appetizer

Cherry tomatoes will be ripe soon. Here's an easy recipe sent in from our extended Farm Friend Family. Thanks, Deborah!

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 dashes salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil (can use smoked olive oil for a hint of smokiness)
1/4 cup red onion or green onions, finely chopped
8 oz crumbled goat cheese
rice crackers (original recipe called for frozen mini pastry shells)
finely chopped herbs to taste (chives, Italian parsley, e.g.)

Preheat oven to 400. Wash and dry cherry tomatoes. Mix them with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Put on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes, until softened and skins start to split. Cool for 5 minutes.
Mix thinly sliced onion, goat cheese, herbs, and roasted cherry tomatoes. Mound on rice crackers. Can top with a fresh cherry tomato quarter.

Sriracha Slaw

Sriracha Slaw

Rob with Chinese cabbage

A yummy recipe from some of our terrific farm members.  This one was made by Tim and Steve from Spirit Fire Retreat Center, who get two farm shares each week from our farm and turn it into true deliciousness.  They shared some of this salad with us and it is great!

From Steve:

Randy Clemens, author of the Sriracha Cookbook series, was a guest at our retreat center. The gorgeous Chinese cabbage from Sweet Morning Farm inspired our appetites and he inspired us with his recipe for Sriracha Slaw. It was delicious and amazingly fresh. The thai basil, the apple mint, and the cabbage were standout ingredients! And it’s very easy to prepare… we thought we’d share the recipe with you. His books are awesome (http://thesrirachacookbook.com), as long as you are a fan of spicy Sriracha Sauce! 

Enjoy!

Steve & Tim

Sriracha Slaw

Dressing:

1/3 cup all-natural peanut butter

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup fresh pineapple or fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup Sriracha

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon ginger paste

2 tablespoons sugar

Slaw:

1 1/2 pounds chinese cabbage

1/2 pound purple cabbage

2 carrots, peeled  and julienned

2 red bell peppers, seeded and julienned

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)

6 green onions, mostly white part, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

coarsely chopped fresh thai basil for garnish

lime slices for garnish

To make the dressing, in a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, lime juice, pineapple or orange juice, Sriracha, garlic, fish sauce, ginger paste, and sugar. Cover and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

To make the slaw, in a large bowl, mix together the chinese and purple cabbages, carrots, bell peppers, jalapeño, green onions, cilantro, and mint. Add the dressing and toss to mix. Season and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the basil and lime slices. Serve immediately to retain crunch.