Julia's Farmer's Market Challenge!

Each week I receive a basket of products from the local Farmer's Market with the challenge to make a yummy dish!

Bend Farmers Market is blossoming into one of Oregon’s leading farm–direct marketplaces, bringing together growers and producers with people who hunger for fresh, local, healthful foods and agricultural goods. The Market occurs twice a week at two locations. We’ve also continued to reach out to the community as the first farmers market in Oregon to launch a Farm to School program.

More info on times/locations of Bend's Farmer's Market: click here

Here's the current recipe:

Week of October 5

Stuffed Eggplant

Farmer’s Market ingredients

Eggplant  (1 whole- cut in 1/2)

Onion  (I used about 1/4)

Orange Bell Pepper  (I used 1/3)

Braising Greens  (about 1 cup)

Plums  (I diced 1)

Wild Rice  (About 1 cup)

Shoulder bacon  (4 oz.)

tomatoes  (2 small)

I added:

Olive oil

1 cup chicken stock

Salt, pepper

Thyme

Garlic

Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat over to 350.

Cut the eggplant in ½; scooping out part of the flesh- but keeping enough in the “shell”  to hold it together. Rough chop the eggplant flesh.

Take the ¼ of the onion, 1/3 of the bell pepper, garlic, a plum and 2 small tomatoes and rough chop them.

I sautéed up the bacon, remove from pan, set aside, and reserving 2T. of the bacon fat in the pan. Put the wild rice in the fat to sauté for about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, simmer for about 20 minutes

If the pan is dry- add a little more stock. Add in the chopped eggplant, onion, bell pepper, plum and tomatoes- sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add in 1 cup of the braising greens and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add the bacon back in & stir for about a minute.

Spoon the mixture into the hollowed out eggplant shells, top with a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano & drizzle olive oil.  Bake for 50 minutes.

Week of September 28

Celery Root & Leek Soup

1 large leek

celery root –

fresh ginger – a 2” chunk diced

ground cherries

5 jalapenos (2 seeded & diced, 3 cut into rounds)

blackberries

3 carrots diced

1 generous sprig purple basil

I added:

1 potato diced

1 qt. chicken stock

2 T. olive oil

½ red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/8 red pepper flakes

salt, pepper

½ t. herbs de Province

1/8 t. fennel

I cut the celery root into thirds, cut off the “skin” – roasted with a little olive oil salt & pepper for about 20 min. in 375 oven.

Meantime, I sautéed the carrots, leeks, onion, diced potatoes and jalapenos and garlic in olive oil in Dutch oven (or soup pot).  Added the baked celery root & chicken stock.  Added in all the seasonings, salt & pepper.  Simmered for 10 minutes. Check the seasonings.

Add jalapenos & ground cherries- simmer another 10 min.  Serve with 2-3 blackberries.  It will be spicy- but not mouth burning!

Week of September 22

Beef Gumbo!

It’s a new take on a Cajun favorite.

Farmer’s Market Ingredients

Flat Iron Steak- cut into 1“ chunks

6-8 Okra – sliced into rounds

Pumpkin – peeled & diced

Red chard – cut chiffonade

Sweet Italian pepper - diced                        

I added

1 t. olive oil

2 c. cooked rice

1 ½ c. chicken stock

salt, pepper

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 small can whole or chopped stewed tomatoes

½ c. chopped celery

¾ c. diced onion

1 t. chili flakes

½ t. thyme

½ t. herbs de Provence

1 t. fennel seeds

1 t. butter

1t flour

In a large saucepan, heat up the olive oil, add the steak & brown for 3-4 minutes. Add onion, garlic, celery, pumpkin, peppers & okra. Sauté for several minutes.

Add the rice, stock, canned tomatoes & seasonings, stir well. Put on simmer.

Meantime: make the roux of butter and flour. Cook  on med-low heat for several minutes, stirring constantly until the roux becomes a rich brown color. This could take up to about 10 minutes.

Add the roux to the saucepan & stir well, mixture will thicken after a few minutes.

*For a little brightness, you can squeeze a half of a lemon in- but this is optional!

Week of September 14

Grilled Patty Pan Pockets

Farmer’s Market Ingredients:                                   

Green Patty Pan Squash

Yellow Patty Pan squash

Heirloom tomatoes

Cadadia double cream cheese (cows milk)

pears

Garlic

Onions

I added:

Pita bread

¼ cup Chickpeas (canned is fine- drain them)

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt, pepper

1-2 mint leaves – chiffonade cut

½ tea. lemon juice & zest

romaine lettuce – chiffonade cut

Marinade & pocket dressing

¼ cup Balsamic vinegar

¾  cup olive oil

chopped garlic                       

salt, pepper to taste

lemon juice & zest

I cut the squash into quarters, sliced onions into whole rounds and halved the tomatoes (they will be chopped for the pita pocket later)

I lightly marinated the squash, tomatoes and onion for at least 20 minutes & up to 2 hours.

Grilled the veggies & tomato until tender – watch the tomato; it will grill quickly.

Meantime- I took the marinade & heated it in a saucepan- simmering with chopped pears until reduced by about half – the pears should be tender. Set aside to cool.

In ½ of the pita “pocket” - put a bed of lettuce; add the grilled chopped veggies, mint, chickpeas, pinched some of the soft cows milk cheese “knobs” on top & poured the cooled dressing (marinade) over it.

Nothing beats grilled veggies & the pita hits just the right note for texture!

Week of September 7

Pork Pocket                           

Ingredients:

Boneless pork chops

Lavender jelly

Carrots

Fingerling potatoes

Gravenstein apples

Arugula & mesclun mix

I added:

1T butter

1T flour

1/2 c. milk (more or less)

salt, pepper

1 cloce garlic, minced

1 can "crossiant" rolls- rolled out to a square (or puff pastry sheet)

juice of 1/2 lemon & about 1/2 t. zest

olive oil

1 minced sage leaf

Diced the chop, and peeled, cored apple nickeled the potatoes & carrots.  Lightly sautéed them in butter, with 1 garlic clove, diced, until they are almost cooked through.

Meanwhile, I made a roux of butter, flour & thinned with a bit of milk.  I seasoned with salt, pepper.  I added the pork sauté mixture & warmed through.

Taking a puff pastry sheet – or do what I did: in a pinch I use croissants from a can - rolling them into a square.  I spooned the pork mixture into the center of the square & folded it over, making a triangle.

I warmed up the lavender jelly & brushed on top of my pork pocket.  Baking at 375 for about 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

I served it with the mesclun that I lightly dressed with a lemon sage vinaigrette.  Love the pork!

Week of August 24

Bison Sausage Rolls                                                              

Bison sausage

Vidalia onions

Black radishes

Fennel

Watermelon (Yellow baby)

Cabbage

I added:

Jasmine rice - 91 cup cooked

Salt, pepper, 1 clove chopped garlic

1 med. diced Jalapeno pepper (seeded)

Tomato (chopped & skinned)

¼ cup chopped cucumber

1T. cilantro

juice of ½ lemon or lime

I semi cooked the sausage with chopped onions & fennel, s & p, & garlic.  Meanwhile, I pulled off 4 large cabbage leaves & blanched them in salted water until just barely soft & pliable.

I mixed the sautéed sausage, onions, etc. with rice.  Placed about ½ cup in a cabbage leaf & rolled into a cigar shape. Place in lightly oiled baking dish. Add about ¼ cup water or beef broth; cover,  bake in 350 oven for about 3-40 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, slice the radish thin, about ¼”.  Sauté with a little butter and salt & pepper until tender & browned. Drain on a paper towel.

Dice the watermelon into bite sized bits.  Add the skinned chopped, tomato, cucumber, Jalapeno pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste.  Mix well.

Serve cabbage roll with the watermelon salsa and sautéed radish on the side.

Enjoy and congratulations for daring to try something new!

Week of August 17:

Classic Roast Chicken with a Twist                          

Ingredients:

½ whole chicken

kale leaves

Juniper Farms Goat Cheese

Nectarines

I added:

Olive oil

Salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary (scant pinch)

Lemon juice

Onion

Carrots

Celery

I took some of the goat cheese & kale leaves (took the hard “spine” of the leaf off) and stuffed them under the chicken skin.

I coated the chicken with good olive oil, sprinkled salt, pepper, thyme & rosemary & squeezed about ½ of a lemon on the chicken.

I roasted the chicken in a 375 degree oven, on a bed of rough chopped onion, carrots & celery. For about 40 minutes. Suring the last 20 minutes, I diced up a couple of nectarines & placed them on top of the chicken. They roasted nicely & the juiced melted into the chicken.

It was super yummy!  I served it with rice & crusty bread. The marriage of the cheese, kale & nectarine was a wonderful surprise.

Week of August 10:

Eggplant - Broccoli - Corn Curry 

Farmer's Market ingredients:

3 Japanese eggplant- cut into long strips (1/8 “ thick)

shallots ( I used 1 large for the recipe)

Japanese broccoli  (1 1/2 c. chopped)

corn on the cob (kernels removed from 1 ear)

6 oz. jowl bacon

Tumalo Farms Fenacho Cheese  (nutty, slightly butterscotch flavor)

strawberries

I added:

Rice

4 Tbs. Yellow curry seasoning                           

salt, pepper

1/2 tea. fresh ginger

1/3 c. coconut milk

When cooking the rice, I used about 1 tea. of the yellow curry seasoning to the water.

Diced jowl bacon - sautéed with diced shallot

Add eggplant, stir until eggplant is mostly cooked (about 4-5 minutes)

Add broccoli, continue stirring for another 3 minutes

Add corn, stir until corn is warmed through- another 1-2 minutes

season with salt, pepper &  curry seasoning & coconut milk - stir for another minute- 

Check for seasoning

Serve over rice with shaved cheese on top (about 3-4 runs with grater)

Strawberries? Well, they made for a good little dessert after the meal!

Week of August 3:

Peach-Cucumber- Pepper Salsa!

lime juice from 1/2 lime

Week of July 27:

Tomato Cheese Strata with Broccoli

4 1/2 cups (about three-quarters of a French loaf) 1-inch bread cubes

Butter, for greasing dish

1 ½ cup shredded Tumalo Farms Antigo Cheese       

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 cup Romesco broccoli florets

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

8 large eggs

3 cups milk

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 teaspoons herbs de Provence

Place bread in a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Top bread with 1 cup cheese, tomatoes, broccoli, and 1-tablespoon parsley.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over bread and gently press to soak every cube. Add dollops of ricotta over top. Sprinkle strata with herbs de Provence and remaining Cheddar. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or up to overnight.

Remove strata from refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake until strata is puffed and lightly golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Week of July 20:

salt

Week of July 11:

The ingredients:

Week of July 4th- no recipe- Farmer's Market Closed for the 4th!

Week of June 29th:

This week’s Farmer’s Market Challenge was a mixed bag & I have a confession at the end of the recipe! 

The ingredients were:                                         

Bacon

Baby Bok Choy

Carrots

Fresh Ginger

Sungold Tomatoes

Tumalo Farms Classico Cheese

Here’s what I made:

BOK CHOY BACON

3-4 strips bacon- your preference (I used maple)

1 bunch baby bok choy, leaves separated

4 carrots

½ med. onion, slivered

½ tea. fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 Tbs. hoisin

Sungold tomatoes

1/8 cup Tumalo Farms Classico cheese – grated

cooked rice

S & P to taste

Steam or cook the rice.

Fry the bacon until almost crisp.  Remove & drain; reserve about 1 tsp. of the bacon fat.

In the fat, sauté onions  & carrots until tender; add garlic & ginger & sauté about 30 seconds more. Add the bok choy, salt & pepper, continue to sauté until tender, about 2 – 3 minutes.  Add the hoisin sauce & tomatoes. Take off heat & toss in tomatoes.  The heat should warm them enough.

Serve over rice & sprinkle the cheese on top. *Note: I mostly used the cheese for my own snacking- I love Tumalo Farms cheeses!!!

Week of June 20th ingredients:

tomato

Chevre cheese

basil

cherries

Creation:

Tomato Stuffed with Chevre     

1 whole tomato

3 basil leaves, julienned

1 oz. chevre cheese

12 cherries, pitted, cut in half

bread crumbs or panko

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

salt, pepper, thyme

olive oil

Saute cherries in balsamic vinegar- when it starts to bubble, reduce heat & stirring constantly, let reduce until vinegar is thick (about 15 minutes).

Meanwhile, hollow out the tomato.  Crumble chevre into small bowl, add basil, salt, pepper & pinch of thyme.  Add about  2 Tbs. bread crumbs (panko)- stuff mixture into the tomato.

Drizzle olive oil over the tomato & bake in a 400 oven for about 20 minutes.

Pour a bit of the vinegar mixture on the serving plate- place tomato  & drizzle a bit more vinegar on top.