First Farm Recipe

Quail Hill opened its fields to members on Saturday, and I picked up my share of organic vegetables. There was a big basket of garlic scapes, which are the flavorful shoots of young garlic plants, at the farm's stand. To tame their flavor (which is milder than mature garlic), I chopped them and sauteed them in a little olive oil. Then I stirred them into a puree of chickpeas, tahini, and lemon juice, to make Garlic Scape Hummus. Here is the recipe:

Garlic Scape Hummus
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern blend of sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds. I couldn't resist sprinkling some on top of my hummus after I spread it onto slices of grilled bread.

6 or 8 garlic scapes, tough ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
Salt

1. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic scapes and cook until just fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
2. Combine chickpeas, water, lemon juice, and tahini in the workbowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Scrape into a bowl, stir in the garlic scape mixture, and season with salt. Refrigerate for up to 1 day before serving.

Strawberries and Honey

Was yesterday the most beautiful day of the year so far? Ask me tonight, since today is shaping up as its only serious competition. I spent the morning happily roaming around, taking pleasure in the breeze and joyfully shopping. I was only briefly disappointed that there were no strawberries at Falkowski's on Scuttlehole Road, since I so enjoyed the drive to Zaluski's in Southampton. With two quarts of exquisite berries sitting beside me in the front seat, I headed back to town but decided on an impulse to take a detour to Marder's to check out their new Honeybee Cafe. In addition to excellent espresso, they are offering all kinds of local, artisanal, organic (yes, all three!) honey products. I learned from the knowledgeable and friendly cafe manager that Sag Harbor Bee Keeper Mary Woltz's Bees Needs honey is made by Italian honey bees, unparallelled comb builders with only a moderate tendency to swarm. That was good news, since Woltz keeps bees right at Marder's, as well as at Quail Hill Community Farm, where I go twice a week to pick my vegetables. Once home, I thought about making strawberry and honey ice cream, before I remembered that my ice cream machine had some kind of freon breakdown last year and is no longer working. So I took a cue from the Circus Man sign outside the Variety Store and made some frozen strawberry-honey-yogurt pops, no ice cream machine required. Here is the recipe:

Strawberry Honey Yogurt Pops
Makes 4 pops

One pint basket local strawberries, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/3 honey
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor and then press through a fine strainer and into a bowl, discarding seeds. Sprinkle the gelatin over berry puree and let stand to soften, about 5 minutes. Place the bowl over a small pot of barely simmering water and heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Do not overheat!
2. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the honey, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth. Pour into four 1/2-cup popsicle molds and freeze until firm, overnight and up to 1 week. Run the mold under hot water for 30 seconds before unmolding.

Last Night's Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Butter and Herbs

It is fun to test your children by serving them spaghetti squash at this time of year. Some of them will taste it and exclaim with delight, "Wow, this healthy vegetable looks just like spaghetti!" Others will take one bite, indignantly shout, "This is nothing like spaghetti!" and have a hard time trusting you for several months afterwards. My husband brought home a beautiful specimen from Quail Hill on Saturday, and last night I prepared it, looking forward to the kids' reaction. To my surprise, they both responded positively (last year this was not the case at all, so I had to forget about trying to convince them that roasted Brussels sprouts tasted like candy). Maybe it was because I added a good-size knob of butter and some fragrant chopped fresh sage to the dish for luxurious flavor. Here is the recipe:

Spaghetti Squash with Butter and Herbs
Serves 4 as a side dish

You could mix a 1/2 cup or more of grated Parmesan cheese into the squash and serve this, for 2 or 3, as a vegetarian main course.

One 2 1/2-pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Brush the cut sides of the squash with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay the squash on the baking sheet, cut sides down, and roast until a skewer can be inserted easily into the flesh, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Use two forks to scrape the squash strands away from the skin of the squash and then add the squash to the pan along with the herbs and butter. Cook, stirring, until the butter is absorbed and any excess liquid from the squash has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Last Night's Dinner: Grilled Chicken and Pepper Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

Some days, especially on Tuesdays when I pick my vegetables at Quail Hill, dinner around here just adds up to a few things from the farm plus a few items from the IGA. Making last night's dinner was a simple equation: Grilled chicken + grilled peppers + roasted tomatillos + sour cream + corn tortillas.

More Reasons to Join Quail Hill

The cucumber crop at Quail Hill has been the gift that keeps on giving. Just this morning, members were invited to take home 12 cucumbers each! After enjoying a hayride tour of the farm! I've ordered my pickling spices, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the following salad, which is as refreshing to eat as it is simple to prepare.

Cucumber Salad with Champagne Vinegar
Serves 6

4 small cucumbers, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine the cucumbers and salt in a large colander set over a bowl. Fill a large zipper-lock bag with ice, place the bag on top of the cucumbers to weight them down, and let stand, removing the bag of ice to toss the cucumbers once or twice, for 30 minutes.
2. Toss the salted cucumbers (no need to rinse them), oil, vinegar, and parsley in a bowl. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and chill for up to 3 hours before serving.

IGA Item of the Week

The IGA has a nice shelf towards the end of the baking aisle where they stock a variety of Rice Select grains: Arborio Rice, Orzo, Jasmine Rice, Sushi Rice, It is so convenient to keep these large-ish containers in the pantry, to use in combination with the vegetables I'm bringing home from Quail Hill. Would you believe that we already have zucchini, at the end of June? Last night I sauteed some of the yellow and green zucchini in butter and combined it with couscous, finishing off the dish with chopped basil. Sometimes the simplest preparations are the best. The way the zucchini browned and caramelized while it absorbed the butter in the pan was absolutely delicious. The couscous was perfect alongside some grilled IGA-made chicken sausage. Here is the recipe:

Couscous with Zucchini
Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and then cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
Salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup couscous
1 3/4 cups water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Ground black pepper

1. Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the shallot and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, sprinkle with some salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, , 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape the vegetables into a bowl.
2. Add the olive oil and couscous to the pan and cook, stirring, to coat, about 1 minute. Pour in the water, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat off, and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Uncover the pan and stir in the vegetables and basil. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Last Night's Dinner: Farm-Fresh Pizzas

I still had some very fresh spinach and some of that delectable baby broccoli rabe from Quail Hill, so last night I decided to use the vegetables on top of pizzas. Taking Jim Leahy's Popeye Pizza as my inspiration, I topped the first round of dough (I used Dan Leader's recipe from Local Breads, but you can use your own) with four ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese and four ounces of shredded Gruyere from Cavaniola's. About 2 minutes before the pizza was done, I piled four ounces of my fresh spinach leaves on top of the cheese, left it in the oven until the spinach was just wilted (about 2 minutes), drizzled it with olive oil, and served. For the second pizza, I drained a can of diced tomatoes, gave them a whirl in the food processor, and spread them on the dough. I scattered my baby broccoli rabe over the tomatoes, scattered four ounces of shredded mozzarella over the broccoli rabe, drizzled the whole thing with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt. You can see I baked both pizzas on parchment paper, which made it easy to get them into the oven without ruining them! I placed the parchment on rimless baking sheets, assembled the pizzas on the parchment, and slid them, still on the parchment, from the baking sheet onto a preheated baking stone.

Afterschool Snack

When I got to Quail Hill this morning I saw a big bushel of kale leaves and thought to myself, "Today is the day I'll make those kale chips everyone is talking about. They'll be a healthy afterschool snack for the children." So I took my share, 12 large leaves, washed them, tore them into pieces, tossed them with a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt, spread them on a baking sheet, and baked them until they were crisp. After they cooled, I ate one, and then another, and before I knew it, most of the kale chips were gone. The kids would have hated them anyway. Good thing I had picked plenty of shelling peas as a back-up snack...

IGA Item of the Week

I saw a brand-new item yesterday at the IGA, these Tom Cat cheddar brioche pull-apart rolls. They will be yummy with my wilted Quail Hill spinach and bacon salad tonight.

Salad Days at Quail Hill

It was the first picking day for the members of Quail Hill Community Farm, and the best first day in recent memory. The spinach was lush and abundant, there were rows of arugula and tatsoi, and the lettuces were beautiful beyond belief. I'm off to a dance recital and then to dinner at Town Line Barbecue afterwards, but I will be having a big spinach salad tomorrow night, and then maybe some pasta with arugula (greens on the side) on Monday. Recipes to come.

Dealing with a Cabbage Surplus

If you have a share at Quail Hill, or are a member of another CSA around here, there comes a moment in September when you open the vegetable drawer and realize that you have 3 cabbages. This week I'm attempting to make a dent in this surplus. First recipe:

Risotto with Savoy Cabbage and Bacon

Serves 6

1 quart low sodium canned chicken broth

2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ medium Savoy cabbage, core removed and finely chopped

1 small onion

8 sage leaves, finely chopped

½ medium Savoy cabbage

½ cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

Ground black pepper

1. Warm the broth and water in a medium saucepan.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium pot. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot.
4. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and sage and cook until the cabbage is softened and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook, still stirring, for another minute.
5. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice absorbs the liquid. Continue to cook, adding the broth mixture in 1-cup increments, always stirring, until the rice is al dente. If you run out of liquid, heat up some water and continue to add it to the pot until the rice is done.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter and the cheese. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Last Night's Dinner

The cooler weather and the turkeys I saw at Quail Hill Community Farm on Tuesday inspired this recipe, an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's Veal Meatballs in Lemon Sauce.

Turkey and Sage Meatballs

Serves 4

Ground turkey and a lemony sauce make these meatballs a light but satisfying meal, just right as Summer seems to be giving way to Fall. I served them with blanched green beans from the farm drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. But sauteed zucchini (which I also picked on Tuesday), would have been good too.

1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
½ cup plain breadcrumbs

1 large egg

1/2 jalapeno or other small hot chili, cored, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Salt

Olive oil for frying
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup white wine

1 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth

¼ cup lemon juice

1.Combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, jalapeno, garlic, sage, parsley, parmesan, lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix with your hands until well-combined. Form into 1 ½-inch balls.

2. Pour ½ inch of olive oil into a large Dutch oven and heat over medium. Add the meatballs, in batches if necessary, and fry until cooked through and deeply browned all over, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined platter to drain. Pour off the oil from the pan, leaving behind any browned bits. Remove from the heat.

3. Whisk together the corn starch and ¼ cup of broth in a small bowl. Add the wine to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and remaining broth, bring back to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

4. Stir in the meatballs and cook until heated through, another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and cook one minute more. Serve immediately with plenty of crusty bread for the sauce.

Turkey Surprise

Just returned from Quail Hill, where I had an early morning surprise: The sight of a bunch of wild turkeys feeding right near the herb garden. A harbinger of Fall? They were the size of ostriches and kind of scary. So I ran to the farm stand to collect my vegetables, pausing to grab bunches of sage, parsley,mint, and oregano. Is it wrong that I'm thinking about turkey meatballs with sage? Recipe to come...

Nicoise Salad at Sunset Beach

I forgot all about this until I looked at my grilled cheese pictures yesterday: A lovely nicoise salad I ate at Sunset Beach (35 Shore Road, Shelter Island; 631-749-2001) on Shelter Island on Sunday evening. I’m actually a little conflicted about the experience. The salad was great, but oh, the horror of elbowing my way through the drunken, half-dressed crowd to get to the dining deck where it was served! Once I made it upstairs, I was able to relax. Tender green beans, new potatoes, and ventresca tuna were perfect, as was the view. I just might try to make something similar at home, since green beans and potatoes are ready at Quail Hill and Cavaniola’s (89-B Division Street; 725-0095) carries the very special imported tuna (they have it in small jars, too, but isn't this 1600g size awesome?) that makes all the difference.

Leftovers Again

We have been living off of the leftovers from Tuesday’s dinner party. On Wednesday we finished the watermelon salad and the grilled sausages. Last night I wanted to use that couscous I bought but never cooked, along with my leftover chicken. I had some tiny, tender zucchini from Tuesday’s trip to Quail Hill that I cooked with some scallions (also from the farm) and butter. Then I tossed it with the couscous (now cooked!), chicken, olive oil, lemon juice (I had used the zest for Tuesday’s potatoes and green beans), a handful of mint, and some toasted pine nuts. Let’s see how many more nights I can go without shopping. I still have half a Robiola cheese and some salami in the refrigerator, salad greens, and an extra baguette in the freezer, so I know I won’t starve.

Couscous with Chicken and Zucchini
Serves 4

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
Salt
1 ½ cups water
½ cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken
¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Ground black pepper

1. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, scallions, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is soft and beginning to turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape the vegetables into a bowl.
2. Add the water and broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand until the couscous is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the couscous to the bowl and fluff with a fork. Stir in the chicken, nuts, mint, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 6 hours and serve chilled.

Tonight's Dinner

I invited some friends over tonight and had the whole menu planned, including a couscous salad with sugarsnap peas. But when I got to Quail Hill, the peas were gone and the string beans and potatoes were ready to harvest. So I served this instead, alongside a couple of barbecued butterflied chickens, a green salad, and watermelon, feta, and black olive salad. Oh, and Congo Bars (From Mom's Big Book of Cookies) for dessert.

Roasted Potatoes and String Beans with Lemon and Parsley
Serves 8

1 pound string beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
Salt
3 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
Ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.
2. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to boil and cook the beans until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
3. Toss the potatoes, remaining olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste on the baking sheet. Spread the potatoes in a single layer and bake until soft and golden, 45 to 55 minutes.
4. Add the potatoes to the beans, stir in the garlic, lemon zest and parsley, and serve.

Last Night's Dinner

Last month I saw this Jacques Pepin recipe for Pizza Margherita in Food & Wine. I had to try his trick of using flour tortillas instead of pizza dough to make quick thin-crust individual pizzas. Since I had picked lots of arugula, mint, and oregano at Quail Hill yesterday morning, I made a Greek-flavored version with some wilted greens on top. I just brushed the tortillas with some olive oil and baked them until they were puffy (this took only a couple of minutes), then spooned a lightly dressed Greek salad on top, sprinkled on some feta cheese, and returned the pizzas to the oven for a minute or two to barely wilt the greens. The arugula was warm but still fresh-tasting and the crust was perfectly, shatteringly thin. I will definitely be experimenting with toppings as different vegetables become available. Zucchini is just about ready at Quail Hill--it would be great, sliced thin, with some leeks and thyme and fresh ricotta cheese.

Summery Greek Pizza
Makes 2 personal-sized pizzas

If you don’t have a baking stone, place the tortillas on a preheated baking sheet. They won’t get quite as crisp, but will still be good.

Two 10-inch flour tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
3 cups arugula
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
3 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1. Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
2. Brush both sides of each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the tortillas on the baking stone, sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until they’re puffed and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toss the arugula, tomatoes, olives, mint, oregano, garlic, and lemon juice in a large bowl to coat. Scatter the salad over the tortillas and then sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven until the arugula is just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Last Night's Dinner

I had a few handfuls of pea shoots that I picked at Quail Hill yesterday, and I wanted to use them for dinner. Trolling the internet for pea shoot recipes, I found this delightful British website devoted to the subject. Since I am going to London in August, I studied it carefully (check out the “contact us” Queen Elizabeth stamp). The following recipe is adapted from this one (I fried my egg instead of soft-boiling it, and frizzled the prosciutto before tossing it with the pea shoots). As they say on www.peashoots.com, “Serve with fresh crusty bread, or if you’re feeling really naughty a generous portion of chips...”

Pea Shoot Salad with Prosciutto and a Fried Egg
Serves 2

4 cups pea shoots, washed and dried.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices prosciutto, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
2 large eggs

1. Place the pea shoots in a mixing bowl. Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until it just starts to crisp up, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the prosciutto and oil into the bowl, add the lemon juice and mustard, and stir together. Add the pea shoots and toss to coat. Divide among two plates.
2. Heat the remaining ½ teaspoon of oil in the skillet over medium-low heat. Crack the egg into the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Check the egg and, if necessary, continue to cook, covered, until it is just how you like it. Slide the one egg on top of each portion of the pea shoots and eat immediately.

Early Bird Picks Lettuce, Hunts for Houses

The Domino tag sale wasn't open for business at 8:30 when I stopped by, but these birdhouses in front of 133 Cedar Street in East Hampton were available. I didn't want to break up the block so I just went home and washed my vegetables from Quail Hill.

After I Get My Vegetables at Quail Hill...

I hear that staffers from the late Domino Magazine are having a Tag Sale on Saturday, from 9 to 2, at 75 Main Street in Amagansett (across from La Fondita). That's awfully close to Quail Hill, where I'm going to be in the morning anyway...Just hope the line won't be as long as it was at last month's sale in the city.