Herb Garden

Grilled Squash and Eggplant

Feeds 4


1/4 C olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

1 large yellow squash
1-2 small eggplant

Preheat grill to get it hot. Whisk together first five ingredients. Slice squash and eggplant lengthwise into 3/8" planks. Immediately place in large shallow dish and pour oil/vinegar mixture over slices. Turn to coat both sides of planks. Grill 5-7 minutes on each side (squash may require slightly longer).
Serve immediately.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Great way to use all of those cherry tomatoes that are coming in now as well as garlic and basil, all which are plentiful now!

3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
10 basil leaves cut chiffonade
4 cloves garlic minced
1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 250F. Line roasting pan with foil. Put all ingredients in roasting pan and toss. Roast for 2 hours.

At this point you can toss the roasted tomatoes with hot pasta and serve immediately.
You could also mix the tomatoes with farfalle or other pasta add balsamic or red wine vinegar, chill and serve as a cold pasta salad.
The tomatoes could also be sealed in freezer bags, frozen, and thawed as needed to toss with pasta, salad or eaten as a snack.

Green Beans

2 pints green beans blanched
1/4 of a large red onion (other onions would work, I just like the color contrast)
1/4 of a red, orange or yellow pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
* optional: toasted sesame seeds

Heat 3 Tbsp. sesame oil in a large skillet.
Once oil is quite hot, turn the heat to medium, add the onion and peppers and stir-fry for approximately 6 minutes. Add garlic and continue to stir fry. Get a good carmelization on the onions and peppers, but not so much that they go too soft or loose their color.
Add blanched green beans. Cook 10 minutes or so, until beans still have some crispness, but have not lost their bright green color. At this point you may keep warm on lowest heat with lid on the pan, be aware beans will begin to lose their crispness the longer you cook them.
Toss in sesame seeds if desired and serve.

Potatoes and Swiss Chard

A few weeks ago we were getting a lot of Swiss chard from our CSA, as well as potatoes, onions and garlic. I used this recipe to deal with the abundance of the chard.

Feeds 4

6-8 small red potatoes (you could easily use yellow or fingerling)
3-4 cups of Swiss chard cut chiffonade
1 Tbsp. chopped rosemary, leaves only (fresh from the herb garden is best)
4-6 cloves garlic (left whole)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet
Wash and cut the potatoes in to approximately 1 inch cubes.
Cook the potatoes and the whole garlic cloves in the hot oil for 10 minutes or so until the potatoes are softened and they are getting a nice brown on the outside.
Sprinkle the salt on the potatoes while they are cooking.
Once the potatoes are nice and brown and soft, remove the garlic cloves. You can dispose of all but two of the cloves. Smash and finely chop the two remaining cloves and add back into the potatoes. Add the rosemary. Cook a few minutes longer.
Add the Swiss chard and stir, cooking only a few minutes just until the chard starts to wilt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You could use basil, thyme or any herb you prefer rather than the rosemary.

* This recipe borrows heavily from one I found at Flatbush Farm Share

Veg Egg Bake

Great way to use cherry tomatoes and peppers that are coming in this time of year
Feeds 8

6 eggs
1/4 C milk (almond, soy, or skim, all types would work fine, you could also use water)

4 veg sausage patties, crumbled (I used Morningstar Farms, you could use any)
Handful of cherry tomatoes chopped
1 C mushrooms, chopped
1 large bunch green onion (chopped including greens)
1/2 pepper, chopped (red, yellow, orange, green, any would work)
3 oz cheese ( I used goat, but any cheese, to include veg cheese would work)
4 slices toasted bread (homemade if you are so inclined, otherwise any toasted bread would work)
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray 9x12" baking dish with cooking spray or lightly oil.

Line bottom of baking dish with toasted bread. You may have to cut the bread to get it all to fit properly.

In a medium bowl crack the eggs, and whip really well with a wire whisk. Add milk and continue whipping until the mixture forms bubbles. Add salt (about 1/4 tsp.) pepper (about 1/4 tsp.) and a sprinkle of pepper flakes.

Add all chopped veg, crumbled cheese and crumbled sausage patties to the eggs and give a stir.

Pour over toast slices.

Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

*You can add different veg and/or omit any veg you dislike.