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roasted okra

Originally uploaded by ted_major

This is a tasty and easy way to cook okra that has a similar flavor profile to fried okra (crunchy & browned, not slimy), only easier.

Preheat oven to 425F (use convection if you have it)

Take a bunch of okra (small ones work best) and wash & slice off the stems. Spread them out on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Roast for 20 mins at 425F, and stir them up at 10 mins or so.

heirloom tomato tart

Originally uploaded by ted_major

This tart was beautiful, tasty, but unfortunately impossible to serve. The tart crust is too crumbly to cut into slices, so when we tried to cut it for serving, it crumbled into pieces. I think it might work better if you rolled out the dough and cut it into individual rounds (parmesan pastry cookies?) and topped each with a slice of tomato, slice of cheese, and drizzle of pesto to make individual tartlets.

For pepper parmesan pastry
1 1/4 cups flour
6 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tbs cold shortening
2 Tbs freshly grated parmesan
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 to 4 Tbs ice water

For filling
3/4 ln fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pesto
2 lb tomatoes

Blend together flour, butter, shortening, parmesan, pepper, and salt in a bowl with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Drizzle 2 Tbs water and stir until incorporated. If a small handful won’t hold together without crumbling, add more water, 1 Tbs ata atime until it will hold together.

Turn dough onto work surface and divide into two portions, and knead once to distribute fat. Gather back into one ball and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour until firm.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Roll out dough into a 12-inch round. Wrap it around the rolling pin to lift onto a 9-inch tart pan and trim edges to fit. Lightly prick it all over with a fork.

Line shell with foil and fill with rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and rice and bake 15 minutes more, until golden. Cool in pan on a rack.

Arrange half the tomato slices in the shell, then half the cheese, and drizzle with half the pesto. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes, cheese, and pesto.

gazpacho & focaccia

Originally uploaded by ted_major

Adapted from Jane Butel’s Tex-Mex Cookbook:

1 cup tomato juice
1 Tbs sherry vinegar
3 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1 medium red onion, peeled & quartered
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1 cucumber, peeled & chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded & quartered
1 red bell pepper, seeded & quartered
2 Tbs minced cilantro

Blend tomato juice, vinegar, oil, garlic, salt & onion in a blender for a few seconds.

Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. (Our blender got full before we could add all the ingredients, so I poured about half of it into a bowl, blended the rest of the ingredients, and mixed them together in the bowl.) Chill for at least an hour (but overnight is better) before serving.

Excellent served with rosemary & kalamata olive focaccia.

stir-fry

Originally uploaded by ted_major

A quick stir-fry with ingredients from our CSA share from Snow’s Bend Farm.

3/4 lb yard long beans, washed and cut into bite-size pieces
1 large carrot, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 sweet red peppers, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch shiso, sliced
4 spicy Thai sausages, grilled and sliced
Oil for stir-frying

Heat wok or skillet, then add oil and garlic, onion, and carrots. Saute briefly, then add peppers. Cook for a minute or so more, then add beans and cooked sausage. When beans are done, stir in shiso and remove from heat. Serve over rice.