No more room on the kitchen counter

Last night I was complaining that I was tired of seeing all this produce sitting out on my kitchen counter.  I think that my statement was misunderstood.  I certainly was not bemoaning about the bounty of my vegetable garden, but about the clutter it brought to my kitchen work space.

I went out to my community garden last night after a week and a half of not visiting and I was struck by what I saw. Irene had made an uninvited visit to our community garden knocking over corn stalks, sunflowers, cosmos and my beautiful bean stalk tee-pee. I never gave any thought to the garden when I was hunkered down at home praying that the hurricane would not destroy any of my oak trees or home.

After I got over the disappointment of destroyed flowers and bean stalks, I got down to business looking for vegetables.  The photo above reflects just a small portion of the bounty that Irene did not touch.  I also dug up some awesome yellow and orange carrots.  Which, I might add, are quite delicious.

My guess is if you have a garden you also have a counter full of tomatoes.  How many dishes can you make out of tomatoes?  Well I would like to offer you one option- Basic Tomato Sauce.

Coming from an Italian family filled with many wonderful cooks, you know there's got to be at least one good sauce recipe.  My aunt Angie gave me this recipe from her collection of catering recipes. So now I share it with you.  Enjoy!

Basic Tomato Sauce

28 ounces canned or fresh tomatoes

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 sticks of celery, chopped

1 handful fresh parsley

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter or 4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Place all the vegetables and parsley into a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for about 40 minutes.

2. Remove from heat, pass through a sieve or food mill and discard all the seeds and mashed vegetables.  This puree can now be stored in your refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use it.

3. Prepare your pasta as desired.

4. Pour the puree tomato sauce back into the saucepan and add the salt and pepper. Right before serving the pasta, add the  butter or olive oil.  DO NOT cook the oil or butter, just mix it through the sauce before serving. 

cool as a cucumber

Did you know that over 600 acres of Pennsylvania farm land is dedicated to the production of cucumbers?

Did you know that the inside of a cucumber is 20 degrees cooler than the outside air?

Did you know that cucumbers were originally grown in India and brought to the United States by Christopher Columbus?

Did you know that cucumbers should be refrigerated after picking?

Did you know that straight cucumbers are more desirable for eating than crooked ones?

Did you know that dark green skinned cucumbers are best for slicing and light green are best for pickling?

Here is a delicious cucumber and watermelon recipes to keep you cool and full this summer.

Cucumber and Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes

4 cups watermelon, cut into same size cubes as the cucumber

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/4 cup olive oil

handful fresh basil

goat cheese (or feta)

the juice of one fresh lemon

salt

Directions


1. Pat dry 4 cups diced watermelon and 1 seeded and sliced cucumber;
2. Toss with a handful of thinly sliced basil.
3. Add chopped cashews.
4. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon; season with salt and toss.
5. Top with crumbled goat cheese.

Patty Pan Squash

My garden has turned out to being quite surprising this summer!  What I thought was to be yellow squash has turned out to be butternut squash.  And where I planted zucchini, patty pan squash has grown.  I am actually quite tickled by these vegetables and find myself trying things I would not have normally eaten.

Patty pans are in the squash family and resemble little bells with scalloped edges.  The  should be picked young and small, resulting in a very tender and tasty vegetable. Patty pans come in a variety of colors varying from almost white, to bright yellow and every shade of green in between. They can be buttery and nutty in flavor when picked young or very bland if picked when grown too large.

Patty Pan's appeal is their shape and color.  Whenever possible pick them small and cook them whole. They can be sauteed, baked or steamed. Give this recipe a try!

Scallop Squash with Herbed Crumb Cheese Filling

8 small scalloped squash (patty pans) weighing about 3-4 ounces each

3 quarts of water

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, halved

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/8 tsp. chili flakes

5 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 tsp kosher salt

pepper to taste

1/4 cup minced parsley

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

3 ounces Gruyere cheese

Directions:

1. Set oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Trim a thin sliver from the blossom side of the squash. Cut off the stems plus 1/2 inch of each squash. With a small melon ball cutter, scoop out the flesh and reserve, leaving the squash shell about 1/2 inch thick.

3. In a large saucepan, combine water, thyme, halve of the garlic, rosemary, chili and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add squash cases and boil until not quite tender, about 1-2 minutes. Remove and drain upside down on a rake.

4. Mince reserved squash pulp. Warm remaining 1/4 cup oil and minced garlic in skillet over low heat. 

Add minced squash and cook until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Shut off the heat. Add bread crumbs, salt and pepper, parsley and nutmeg and toss. Grate cheese. Add 2/3s of the cheese to stuffing, blending and seasoning.

5. Spoon the filling into the squash. Set in a oiled baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the squash. Cover loosely with foil. Bake on the upper shelf in your oven until tender, about 20 minutes.

6. uncover the squash and bake until browned about 10 more minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 4