Maple Mustard Ginger Dressing by Susan Sink

By Susan Sink of tarheelfoodie.com
 

This dressing is great as a spread for sandwiches or as a dressing on a salad with beets, apple or pears. With a few adjustments it works well as a creamy dressing for cole slaw, potato salad or shrimp salad. This recipe makes a small amount for up to four people.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard (most similar to a whole grain Dijon but not as strong)
3-4 teaspoons maple syrup, grade B or C if possible.
1 teaspoon fresh pink ginger, finely chopped or homemade maple candied ginger
(recipe on the Tarheel Foodie website)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Murray River Flake Salt or Himalayan salt
4 turns of a pepper mill using four peppercorn blend
Optional:  2-3 teaspoons Wallaby European style sour cream

Directions:
Using a small whisk, blend the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup and ginger. If you want to add olive oil, you can add a bit. If you want a creamy dressing to use with cole slaw, potatoes or shrimp, add a couple of teaspoons of Wallaby brand European style sour creme. Season at the end with salt and pepper as the oil or sour cream will dilute all of the flavors.
 

Dilly Beans - Canned Dill Garlic Beans

by Georgette Ventura

Ingredients:
green or yellow snap beans, washed with stem ends cut off (
about 1 lb. per quart jar)
garlic cloves (1-2 per jar)
fresh dill (1 sprig per jar)
cherry or grape leaves (2 per jar)
red pepper flakes (1/8 to ¼ tsp per jar)
Brine ratio: 1/4 cup canning salt to 2 cups vinegar to 2 cups water

I tripled this for 7 densely-packed quart jars and had just enough.

Supplies Needed:
Basic canning equipment: mason jars with new lids (old rings are
fine), hot water bath canner, jar grabbing tongs

Directions:
Sanitize jars and lids. This can be done with the "sanitize" setting of your dishwasher or by heating them to boiling in a hot water bath.

Pack your jars. I like to start with the non-bean ingredients and then pack the jars with the beans. The beans will need to be submerged in the brine, and there needs to be ½ inch to 1 inch of air between the brine and the lid, so I like to cut my beans to the right height before packing them. The packing can take a little while, so you may want to start heating the brine and the hot water bath while you do this.

Mix the brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture over the beans, covering them and leaving ½ inch to 1 inch of air between the brine and the lid.

Wipe jar edges and seal. Process jars in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let sit 12-24 hours until cool, then check for seal. Lids should "pop" down when they get out of the hot water bath; for any lids that haven’t popped after sitting for a few hours, you can either reprocess them in the hot water bath, or just put them in your fridge and eat them right away!
 

Homemade Pumpkin Purée

Be sure to use a pumpkin made for eating, such as a pie pumpkin, sugar baby, or cheese pumpkin. Most winter squashes make good "pumpkin" purée as well. Pumpkins used for jack-o-lanterns are meant only for carving; they are flavorless and watery.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the pumpkin in half from top to bottom. If the pumpkin weighs more than 4 pounds, cut it into large wedges. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the pieces cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until it is easily pierced with a knife, 45 to 90 minutes depending on the size and type of pumpkin. Let cool enough to handle and then scoop the flesh from the shells.

Purée the flesh by running it through a food mill or in a food processor. The purée must have the thick, firm consistency of canned pumpkin. If it is too watery, spoon it into a sieve lined with a couple of layers of white paper towels or a large coffee filter set over a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the purée. Refrigerate overnight. Discard the collected liquid.
 

Heirloom Apple Sauce

Recipes from the Farmer's Daughter, April McGregor, 2011

*Note: if your apples are tart, you may want to add ¼ to ½ cup of honey or sugar*
Makes about 5 half pints

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups apple juice (or you can sub 1 cup of orange juice for 1 cup of the apple juice)
6 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods, cracked
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds
About 10-12 medium apples, preferably sweet and soft fleshed varieties, peeled, cored, and quartered (if you have a food mill, you can skip the peeling and coring)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, apple juice, orange juice, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and fennel. Bring to a boil and reduce liquid by half.
Strain the liquid to remove the spices.

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the apples with the spiced liquid. Simmer
for about 20 minutes until the apples are falling apart tender. Remove the apples from heat, add vanilla, and let cool. Process in a food processor or food mill to desired consistency. Ladle into sterilized jars and top with two-piece lids. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes.

Oven-Roasted Apple Butter: Makes about 4 half pints
To turn your applesauce into apple butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To your applesauce mixture, add ½ cup brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon of ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon each ground cloves and ground ginger. Bake the
apple puree, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until very thick and deeply browned.
Ladle the apple butter into sterilized jars, top with two piece lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.
 

Fresh Sungold and Peach Salsa

By: Carrboro Farmers’ Market Staff
Erin Jobe and Margaret Krome-Lukens

Ingredients:
4 ripe peaches
2 small cucumbers
2 cups sungold tomatoes
1-2 jalapeno peppers
Splash of lemon juice
(Optional cilantro, onion, sweet corn)

Directions:
Peel peaches. Dice peaches and cucumbers into small cubes. Wash Sungolds and cut each in half. Finely chop 1-2 jalapeño peppers, depending on how much spice you prefer. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together. Add a slash of lemon juice. Enjoy with chips (or possibly as a topping for fish)! The sweetness of peaches and Sungolds go very well mixed with fresh crunchy cucumbers and this salsa is a great refreshing snack for a summer day! You could also add onion, fresh sweet corn or cilantro to the mix!

 

Fresh Broccoli Salad

Serves 9

Ingredients:
2 heads fresh broccoli
½ to 1 whole red onion depending on taste
½ pound bacon
¾ cup raisins
¾ cup sliced almonds or other nuts
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions:
Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble.

Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and cut the onion into thin bite-size slices. Combine with the bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix well.

To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together
until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve.

From allrecipes.com

Cornbread, Sausage and Pecan Dressing

by Victoria Granof on bonappetit.com

serves 8-10

Ingredients:
¾ cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter plus more
for baking dish
1 pound day-old cornbread, broken into 1.5-2 inch pieces (9 cups)
1 pound breakfast sausage links, casings removed
2.5 cups chopped yellow onions
1.5 cups 1/4-inch slices celery
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 ¼ cups chopped toasted pecans (optional)
0.5 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt (omit if you don’t use a low-sodium broth)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs

Directions:
Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 250°. Butter a 13x9x2-inch
baking dish; set aside. Scatter cornbread in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake, stirring often and rotating sheets halfway through, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool. Transfer to a very large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up into ½ to 1-inch pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with cornbread but do not stir.

Heat ¾ cup butter in same skillet; add onions and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to cornbread in bowl. Return skillet to heat. Add vinegar; cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, for 1 minute. Pour into bowl with cornbread. Gently fold in 1.5 cups broth, pecans, if using, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Add salt and pepper. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk 1.5 cups broth and eggs in a small bowl. Fold gently into cornbread until thoroughly combined, taking care not to mash cornbread (mixture will look wet). Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°, about 40 minutes.

Uncover; let cool. Dressing can optionally be made a day ahead and refrigerated at this point. Bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 40-45 minutes longer (if chilled, add 10-15 minutes).
 

Carrot Apple Squash Soup

Local health coach, Emily Geizer, is sharing a chef-created recipe from her upcoming cleanse (beginning in January).

Learn more and register for her Mind Body Thrive Cleanse here: http://www.emilygeizer.com/cleanse/
 

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 large apple, cored and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable) or water
½ cup dairy-free milk of your choice

Directions:
Create the soup base. In a large pot, add the extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is hot, add onion
and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add chopped butternut squash, apple, and carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, sea salt and black pepper to the pot.

Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add broth (or water) to the pot and stir. Let it come to a boil. Then
reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Make it creamy: You can use an immersion blender to make the soup smooth or blend the soup
in batches using a standup blender. When the soup is blended, then add it back to the pot and add the dairy-free milk.

Reheat the soup.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Enjoy!
 

Broccoli Squash Casserole

Recipe provided by Erin Jobe, Market Manager

This is not a fancy recipe at all, but certainly great idea for a quick potluck dish or
paired with burgers and brats from the grill! It’s also great with a bit of wilted chard and a touch of garlic!

Ingredients:
One large head of broccoli cut into bite sized florets
3-4 baby yellow squash
2 small onions
a hand full of shitake mushrooms
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil or steam broccoli until tender.

Thinly slice squash and onion and sauté with mushrooms in butter or olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Add veggies to a casserole dish.

Mix milk, egg, and cheese together and pour mixture over top of veggies
add a bit more cheese to the top.

Cover dish with a thin layer bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes, or until top has browned slightly

ENJOY!
 

Betsy's Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Topping

by Betsy Krome
serves 8-10

Ingredients:
3 lbs. sweet potatoes, cooked & peeled
2 eggs
¾ cups light brown sugar, divided
1 stick butter, melted and divided
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ to 1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup pecans

Preparation
Mash potatoes. There should be approximately 6 cups.
Using a food processor, beat in eggs, ½ cup brown sugar, and half the bu
tter. Add salt and
cinnamon. Beat in enough orange juice to make potatoes moist and fluffy.
Place in a 1 ½ to 2 quart casserole dish. At this point you can refrigerate if you wish u
ntil
you bake it.
Just before baking, arrange pecans to completely cover the top. Sprinkle
with remaining
brown sugar and drizzle with remaining butter. Bake at 375 or until thor
oughly heated.
 

Apple Fig Preserves (Sugarless) by Rose Shepard

by Rose Shepherd of Blessed Earth Farm
www.blessedearthfarm.com

Ingredients:
16 cups apples, peeled, cored & sliced
12 cups figs, quartered or chopped
12 cups unsweetened apple juice/cider
1 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons pectin blended into 1½ cups hot apple juice
2 Tablespoons calcium water
Yield: 35-36 8oz. jars

Directions:

Put figs, apples, apple juice, and lemon juice in 5 quart kettle; bring to a boil.

Dissolve pectin in hot juice; add to boiling fig and apple mixture all at once. Stir until
pectin is well incorporated into the mixture. Return to boil; remove from heat; stir
in calcium water.

Use hot fill & hold method.

Have ready: prepared jars & lids. Immediately ladle into clean, hot ja
rs being sure that the temperature of the fig mix is 180 degrees or higher. This temp must
hold for at least 6 seconds.

Leave a ½ inch headspace; wipe rims; screw on lids
and immediately flip jars upside down onto a towel covered surface.

Leave undisturbed overnight then flip right side up and shake the product down
into jar.

Label & store.

Notes:
Smaller amount
10 cups figs Yield: 27 8oz. jars
10 cups apples
8 cups apple juice
2/3 cup lemon juice
4 Teaspoons pectin in 1 cup hot apple juice
2 Tablespoons calcium
 

Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Soup by Erin Jobe

This vegan soup is a quick meal that only requires a little bit of prep! It is great for a cold night, and I love to pair it with toasted bread and a kale salad. This recipe also works well with butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes if you have them handy!

 Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes
1 can light coconut milk
1 can regular coconut milk
1 large sweet onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3-4 tablespoons curry powder
2-3 cups vegetable broth
Salt
Splash of soy sauce (optional)
Handful of diced green onions (optional)
Lime juice (optional)

Directions:

1.       Finely dice onions and garlic. If you have a food processor, you can do this in there to create a wet pulp. Using a large pot, sautee onions and garlic on medium heat in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Add in a tablespoon of curry powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sautee until onions are clear but not browned. Set this aside to add later.

2.       Peel and cube sweet potatoes into large chunks. Add sweet potatoes, vegetable broth, and coconut milk to the pot, and stir together. Stir in a pinch of salt and 2 more tablespoons of curry powder. Let this simmer while stirring occasionally until the sweet potatoes are soft. This only takes around 20 minutes!

3.       Once the sweet potatoes are tender, use an immersion blender to puree all ingredients together.

4.       Once blended you can tweak the consistency and flavor of the soup. Add a bit of water or vegetable broth to thin out the soup, add more curry powder if you want more flavor, or a little bit of cayenne pepper if you need more spice. Sometimes I even add a little bit of brown sugar or cinnamon. As the soup cools it will thicken a bit, and I think it also gains flavor! I like to mix in a few splashes of soy sauce and juice from ½ of a lime before serving. Top with green onions and serve with fresh bread!

Kale, Sausage & Potato Soup by Margaret Krome-Lukens

Ingredients:
1 pound of breakfast sausage
1.5 to 2 liters of broth (vegetable, lentil, or chicken)
1 pound of potatoes
1 large onion
½ to 1 bag or bunch of curly kale
1 tsp. thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
A splash of white wine vinegar

Note:  Adding extra liquid when you cook lentils will leave you with lentil broth that you can save in your freezer, and it adds great flavor to soups! Blending the potatoes into the broth made it rich and thick.  This soup goes great with a hearty slice of buttered toast.

Directions:

1.       Cook the sausage on medium heat until slightly browned, and set aside on a different plate. Pour excess grease out of the pan but don’t clean it; use the greasy pan for cooking onions.

2.       Chop the potatoes into cherry-tomato-sized chunks, and add to the broth.  Boil on medium high heat until the potatoes are tender. Blend the potatoes and the broth together until smooth (you may still have some potato skins floating around), return to pot, and keep warm on medium-low heat.

3.       Chop the onion and sauté in the sausage pan on medium to medium-high heat until they begin to brown.  A splash of white wine vinegar will help to deglaze the pan.

4.       Add the onions to the broth-potato blend.  Add the sausage (chopping first if needed), the thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.  Turn heat to low.

5.       Wash and chop the kale into spoon-sized pieces.  Add to the soup and cook only as long as it take for the kale to turn bright green.  Remove from heat and serve.