Grandma Nellie's Cheese Grits
1 cup Bost Grist Mill grits
4 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
Slowly cook grits in 4 cups boiling salted water. Add butter and cheese. Stir in milk and beaten eggs. Mix well. Pour into greased casserole. (Cover with crushed cornflakes - optional)
Bake at 350 for 45 min. Serves 12. - Robin Rose
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Baked Zucchini with Bacon
Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Slice a thin strip off the bottom to level and lay on a baking sheet.
Put a slice of bacon on top of each zucchini half and bake at 350 degrees until tender,. 10-15 minutes depending on size.
Just before removing from the oven, top with grated parmesan cheese.
If you want the bacon crispy, change to broil for a few minutes, then top with cheese.
The bacon juices cook into the zucchini so even the non-zucchini lovers will love this dish. Enjoy! - Candy Cross
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Easy Blackberry Cobbler
1/2 cup butter
2 cups self rising flour
2 cups white sugar
2 cups milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups blackberries
Pre heat oven to 350. When oven reach's temperature melt butter in a 9x13 pan. In a medium bowl mix flour,sugar,and milk. Batter should be slightly lumpy.Pour batter on top of melted butter ( do not mix!) Drop blackberries onto batter. Bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. - Bill Albritton
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Bok Choy or Kale with Baucoms Best Beef and Rice
This is a very simple dish that is good and good for you. In the spring and fall you can buy most of the ingredients at the farmers market. It is a great way to introduce new vegetables to your family.
2-3 bunches of bok choy or 1 large bunch of kale (Baby bok choy is fine also), coarsely chopped
1 large onion, sliced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs of ground beef
3-4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups brown rice, cooked
Slice onions and sauté' in a small amount of olive oil. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. Stir in ground beef. Cook until browned. Add chopped bok choy or kale and Worcestershire sauce plus 1 cup of water. Cover and simmer until bok choy or kale is tender. Serve over cooked rice. - Bernadette Franco
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Sliced fresh strawberries, spinach leaves and chopped green onions lightly mixed with with a honey mustard vinaigrette make a great spring salad. -Jenifer Mullis
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In the spring it is cool enough to have soup but warm enough to have chilled wine and eat your meals outside. Buy carrots from market farmers and make a savory carrot soup. Top it with sour cream and garnish with Tega Hills Greenhouses micro-greens. Follow it with a salad of sliced farmers market beets and Bosky Acres goat cheese. Make a simple vinagrette using Dancing Bees local honey and fresh herbs from market farmers. Pair this meal with a wonderful, but inexpensive Austrian white wine called Gruner Veltliner (wine geeks call it Gru- Ve). It also goes perfectly with asaragus, pork, spring onions, arugula, etc. - Deborah Oikemus
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Great Spring Salad With Pea Shoots
Take a handful of Fisher Farms pea shoots, cut in 1-inch pieces, and some Tega Hills Greenhouses buttercrunch lettuce. Mix and place on a salad plate. Take a couple of tablespoons of Bosky Acres Farm soft goat cheese and dab it around the edge of the plate. Sprinkle on a generous handful of Carlea Farms pecans that have been toasted and glazed with sugar. Follow with a
handful of Down Home Baking Co. croutons. In a small bowl, mix a spoonful of By Lucille strawberry jam with a tablespoon of walnut oil, a couple of tablespoons of Signolia's balsamic vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over salad and enjoy! - Maria Fisher
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Use Bosky Acres goat cheese - any flavor - instead of mayonnaise on your sandwich. - Laura Paynter
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"As Hot As Possible" pepper jelly is great as a glaze for pork chops, chicken, ham or even vegetables like sweet potatoes or carrots. Warm it at low power in the microwave or over low heat in a saucepan to melt, then brush it on. For flavor variations, add some orange peel and orange juice, or some Dijon mustard or a splash of balsamic vinegar. Add some tequila and chopped cilantro for a Mexican twist. - Cindy Morris
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Crostini
Buy a French baguette from a farmers' market baker. Cut it into half-inch slices. Brush with olive oil. Put under the broiler until light brown. Flip toast other side. Remove and let cool slightly. Spread with a light layer of pesto sauce, then a generous layer of Bosky Acres plain or garlic-chive goat cheese. Top with a spoonful of steamed and drained locally grown spinach from any market farmer. Drizzle with a few drops of Sambucca. Top with some chopped tomatoes and some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Put back under the boiler on a lower rack just until the cheese melts - no more than 5 minutes. This is a great appetizer or even a light dinner. - Bill Otto
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Bosky Acres goat cheese freezes very well. Place the package in a zip top freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours and use it in your favorite recipe! It's great in this dressing...
Goat Cheese Salad Dressing
(from Food and Wine magazine)
4 oz. soft goat cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of superfine sugar
2 tablespoons buttermilk
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon minced scallion or chives
In a small bowl, stir the goat cheese, vinegar, mustard and sugar until smooth. Stir in the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth; if necessary, stir in more water. Season with salt and white pepper. Stir in the scallion or chives just before serving. The dressing can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days. This is great over a salad of Tega Hills lettuce. - Cindy Morris
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WINTER SQUASH SOUP WITH DRIED FIGS AND TOASTED PINE NUTS
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion coarsely chopped
2 carrots coarsely chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped fennel or celery
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups peeled, coarsely chopped Amish neck squash (interchangeable with butternut, acorn or turban squash)
1 peeled, seeded and quartered Fuji apple
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
½ tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
maple syrup to taste
4 or 5 dried figs sliced into thin rounds
In an 8-quart stock pot, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, fennel or celery. Cover and cook until soft and caramel in color. Add wine, squash and apple. Add enough broth to cover. Simmer uncovered until squash is very soft. Puree soup in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender or put in the food processor in batches then return to the pot. Add thyme, coriander, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add coconut milk and taste for sweetness. Add a little maple syrup to taste. Heat and thin with extra broth if necessary. Serve sprinkled with dried fig slices and toasted pine nuts. - Bill Otto
Fingerling Potato Salad With Bacon-Molasses-Balsamic Vinaigrette
from Chef Joseph Bonaparte,
International Culinary Schools,
Art Institute
4 oz bacon - diced
4 oz onion – diced
3 cloves garlic – chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary – chopped
4 oz balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp dark molasses
4 oz chicken stock
8 oz oil
Salt and black pepper – to taste
1. Sauté bacon until crisp. Add the onions and sweat.
2. Add garlic and sweat. Don’t brown. Add chopped rosemary and cook 1 minute.
3. Deglaze with the balsamic and the stock.
4. Add the molasses.
5. Whisk in the oil to form a temporary emulsion.
When serving, keep the dressing in a warm water bath, or at room temperature. Not on ice.
The amounts of each of the ingredients below are up to you – use more or less of what you like.
For the Salad:
Fingerling Potatoes – Boil in heavily salted water with lots of herbs (rosemary and thyme) until almost tender. Drain and let cool. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Heat a sauté pan with about 1/4 inch of olive or canola oil until very hot. Carefully place the potatoes in the oil cut side down, and cook until very crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir the potatoes and let the other side crisp a little. Season with salt and pepper. Remove them from the oil and let them cool a little.
Alternatively – roast in the oven in the typical fashion.
Arugula – Cleaned
Tomatoes – Cut in various shapes depending on the type of tomato
Cucumber - diced
Roasted Pepper – julienne or diced -optional
Toss all ingredients gently together. Stir the dressing and add some (as much as you like) to the salad. Season the salad with a little sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Very gently toss together. The greens will wilt some because the dressing is slightly warm.
Cheese is optional. Use either goat cheese or bleu cheese on top or tossed in.
THE BEST TOMATO PIE EVER. FOR REAL.
This very versatile recipe sent in by Robin Rose can be varied by using different types of tomatoes and cheeses.
3 or so tomatoes (or enough sliced to cover a paper towel-lined cookie sheet)
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped green onion (depending on taste)
prebaked pie shell
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (room temperature)
1 3/4 shredded Italian blend cheese (room temperature)
1/2 to 1 cup mayo (I use 1/2 cup)
salt and pepper
Prebake pie shell for 8-10 minutes in 350 degree oven.
Mix chopped basil, chopped onion, three pinches of salt and pepper with mayo. Add all the cheese and mix. I use a big Kitchen-Aid mixer for this, otherwise you get a big, hard to mix glob of cheese. It helps to let the cheese come to room temperature before mixing.
Put a small layer of cheese mixture on bottom of pie. Layer some tomatoes on top. Add more cheese, more tomatoes and finally top pie with cheese mixture.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-35 minutes, until topping is browned and bubbly.
Take pie out and let it sit for as long as you can--it takes a good 20 minutes to set up. If you can, wait at least an hour. The longer you wait the better it will be.
TIPS
Drain the tomatoes for as long as you can. Slice them and lay them on a paper towel lined cookie sheet or on paper towel on top of newspaper for at least 30-45 minutes. After they've drained, pop out the seeds with your fingers before layering the slices in your pie.
Since Celiac's Disease is an issue in my house, we don't even bother with a pie crust. It's a little messier, but still just as yummy.
The cheese-mayo mixture will be hard to mix, but power through. Resist the urge to add more mayo. I usually use 1/2 cup. The pie will be moist from all the oils in the cheese. I recommend using Duke's mayo.
Play with the flavors of cheese depending on whether you like sharper or milder cheeses. ENJOY!!
