Recipe: Roasted Patty Pan Squash

Roasted Patty Pan Squash

I dream of this dish all through the long Canadian winter. Sunny yellow squash is sliced and roasted in the oven or under the broiler until the surface caramelizes and the inside is tender and just a little bit sweet. It's a fantastic side dish on it's own but can also be chopped up into smaller chunks after roasting and thrown into a summer pasta alongside tomatoes, sweet peppers and basil.

Ingredients:
- 1-2 patty pan squash, depending on size
- olive oil
- salt

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450F if using bake method. No preheat needed if using broiler method.

2. Slice patty pans into roughly 1/2 inch thick slices.

3. Lay on cookie sheet on top of parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil and salt to taste. Ideally you shouldn't have to overlap any slices, but don't worry if you do, they will shrink a bit with cooking and then you can pack them more tightly together.

4. Either bake or set under broiler. Turn slices over when the surface is thoroughly browned and caramelized. This will take about 20 minutes per side on bake and 10 minutes per side on broil, depending on the thickness of the slices. Don't under-brown! The squash only gets sweeter and more tender the longer you cook so when in doubt cook more rather than less.

5. Enjoy the summery goodness on your plate!

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Recipe: Kale Chips

Kale Chips

Kale is a veggie that's coming into it's own these days, a hot item in trendy restos and widely featured in foodie blogs. In fact, I think the foodie police will revoke your cultured taste buds if you don't have a go-to kale recipe. Kale rightly earns its praise by being highly nutritious, easy to cook, and supremely delicious. It stores well in the fridge and complements a wide variety of meals - I can find a way to add it to pretty much anything I'm making for dinner. This recipe is a super simple and very kid-friendly snack or side dish. I'll often add it on to a meal if it happens to have veggies the kids aren't into so I know at least they'll stuff their little faces with crispy kale chips.

Ingredients:

- handful of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

- olive oil

- salt

Steps:

1. Use a paring knife to remove stems and slice into "chip-sized" pieces. This year we've grown black kale (left) and red Russian kale (right) and the latter's stems can be steamed until tender and eaten.

2. Spread kale pieces out on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt to taste.

3. Bake at 300F for about 10 minutes or until kale is crispy. Check it often as the time between "crispy" and "burnt" is vanishingly small.

4. Remove to a plate and let cool. Enjoy!

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Recipe: Wilted Mustard Greens

Wilted Mustard Greens

Peppery mustard greens are spicy and delicious raw but can be wilted like spinach and served warm. Here I decided to use some leftover cooked chicken for a fast and tasty lunch for me and the kids.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups mustard greens, ripped into large pieces
- 10 garlic scapes, chopped
- 2 small chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp chicken broth
- salt to taste

Steps:

1. Heat olive and sesame oils on medium. Enjoy the yummy sesame fragrance.

2. Add garlic scapes and cook about 5 minutes or until softened

3. Add mustard greens and chicken broth and stir gently

4. Add chicken and stir all together until greens are thoroughly wilted, about 2-3 minutes

5. Serve and enjoy, ideally with a couple of goofs at the table!

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Recipe: Garlic Scape Pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto

The quintessential garlic scape recipe for those new to scapes and not sure what to do with them. I've substituted walnuts for the pine nuts traditionally used in basil pesto because they are less expensive and often easier to find. This recipe can also be done later in the summer when basil is available, but for a true early summer garlic scape pesto we used arugula.

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups garlic scapes, trimmed below the flower bulb

- 1 cup arugula

- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar

- salt to taste

Steps:

1. Add all ingredients except for olive oil to food processor

2. Pulse until finely chopped and thoroughly mixed

3. Run the food processor while pouring the olive oil in a steady stream

4. Continue to mix after olive oil is added for 1-2 minutes until blended into a soft paste consistency

5. Serve with your favorite pasta

Yum!

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Recipe: Wilted Spinach Salad

Wilted Spinach Salad

We're near the end of spinach and this week we're starting to pack tasty garlic scapes into the food boxes. So what to do? Throw the two together with some feta and dried cranberries for a delicious salad!

Ingredients:

1 large bowl of spinach
3 garlic scapes
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
50 g feta, crumbled
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Steps:

1. Wash spinach and set aside in a large bowl.

2. The top part of the garlic scape (the part that looks like a bulb or flower bud and beyond) is the toughest, so I typically cut it off and use the more tender bottom portion.

3. Dice the garlic scapes.

4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil on low-medium and cook garlic scapes for 5 minutes.

5. Add garlic scapes to spinach and mix.

6. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and add feta, melting and stirring for 1 minute.

7. Add 2 tbsp vinegar and mix quickly, taking the pan off the heat.

8. Add to spinach and garlic scapes and mix thoroughly, wilting the spinach and coating it in the dressing.

9. Sprinkle cranberries (or dried fruit of your choice) on top. Nuts would also be a great addition.

Sylvia is still skeptical about the deliciousness of spinach, but we're working on it!

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Recipe: Glazed Turnips

Baby turnips in the spring are the tiny, tender cousins of their fall counterparts. They cook up fast and have a more delicate flavour than the turnips of the fall. As a wonderful bonus their greens can also be cooked and the two served together make a delicious combination.

Glazed Turnips:

Ingredients:

1 cup turnips chopped
1/3 cup water or enough to cover turnips halfway
2 tsp butter
1/4 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Steps:

1. chop turnips and set aside greens (stems trimmed and discarded)

2. place turnips, water, 1 tsp of butter, salt and sugar in pan and bring to a boil on high heat

3. reduce to medium-high heat and cook for about 10 minutes or until turnips are tender and liquid nearly gone (there should be a very light syrup remaining to coat the turnips)

4. wilt greens with 1 tsp of butter on medium heat for 2-3 minutes

5. mix greens and turnips together and serve

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Eva Mae Farm