Marinated Zucchini and Yellow Squash Salad
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons honey (Bob’s Honey)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
3 zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds) (Vesterbrook Farm)
2 yellow squash (about 3/4 pound)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves (Morning Dew or Healthy Harvest Gardens)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (Healthy Harvest Gardens)
3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
Combine vinegar, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Trim ends of zucchini and squash; julienne the zucchini and squash. Add to vinegar mixture. Cover and chill 2 hours or overnight.
Bring a small pan of water to a boil; add garlic. Remove with a slotted spoon after 1 minute. Rinse under cold water; set aside. Add basil to boiling water; immediately remove and rinse under cold water. Reserve 1 tablespoon of cooking liquid. Transfer garlic and basil to a food processor, and add lemon juice, olive oil, reserved water, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Process until smooth.
Drain squash, top with mozzarella, and drizzle with basil oil.
Greek Moussaka (Lamb or Beef)
Moussaka is like a Shepard’s Pie – ground meat casserole topped with mashed potatoes
2 lbs Vesterbrook Farm Organic Ground Lamb
or 2 lbs Sugar Creek Piedmontese Ground Beef
Medium Onion chopped
Lg garlic clove minced
2 TBLS Organic Olive Oil
sea salt, fresh ground pepper
3/4 C Red wine (St James)
2 Lg Bay Leaves
1-2 tsps cinammon (start with 1)
1/4 -1/2 tsp ground allspice (start with 1/4)
2 TBLS tomato paste
fresh chopped parsley (Morning Dew or Healthy Harvest)
1 C chopped tomatoes (Farmer’s Market)
Put the olive oil in large skillet and brown ground meat with onions and garlic, add the spices, red wine, tomatoes and paste- stir and let simmer. Adjust seasonings to your taste.
6 med. potatoes (Vesterbrook Farm) peeled and diced
butter
milk
salt and pepper
1 farm fresh egg (Vesterbrook or Sugar Creek)
Make mashed potatoes and beat in the egg
Bechamel Sauce
4 TBLS butter
4 heaping TBLS flour
milk (maybe 2 cups total)
salt and pepper
fresh ground nutmeg
In medium saucepan melt butter, stir in flour and mix well. Flour really needs to incorporate into butter, add milk (1 cup) and stir with whisk, add more milk until consistency of mediuim thick gravy- add a little ground nutmeg (maybe 1/4 tsp) and a dash of salt and pepper.
To assemble: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan with olive oil. Spoon in ground meat mixture, top with bechamel sauce, spread evenly, then top with mashed potatoes and spread evenly. Bake in middle rack for about 45 minutes until top is a little golden brown.
Peach Salsa (general guidelines, make to your taste)
6-8 soft peaches, peeled and diced
2-3 ripe tomatoes finely chopped (peeled or unpeeled)
small onion finely chopped
1-2 lg. cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 finely chopped green pepper
Jalapeno pepper(s) finely chopped (optional for more heat)
2 finely chopped adobo peppers (smoked chili peppers)
handful fresh chopped cilantro
1 tsp. kosher salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp dried cumin (to taste)
2 TBLS acid, like lime juice, lemon juice or vinegar
Mix together and let sit for a while, then taste and adjust seasonings. This is best made several hours before serving.