Quite simple, but quite good. This is a versatile combination-cut the squash into different shapes, grill it just enough to cook through and chill it and dress it with cold dressing for a salad tossed with some romaine or Little Gem lettuce. Use mint instead of basil, and go Mid-East.
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Here’s a riff on the more forward flavored Charred Scallion Vinaigrette. The yogurt softens the “charred” flavor, and the basil combines with the charred scallion to yield a flavor reminiscent of a wood-fired pizza with a thin crust nicely charred in spots. Use for drizzling on grilled summer squash, or dipping crudité or hot grilled or cold steamed shrimp.
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You don’t really need anything else with this sandwich, except maybe some chips, and a beer or some iced tea. You have meat, a couple vegetables, starch, it’s all there. If you take the time to fry chicken, it is always good to make extras as it is the perfect leftover to start another meal with.
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This came about to go into a sandwich with a coleslaw done for the CSA box. Nothing too fancy, no brining or soaking, just dip, shake, and fry.
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This was made to go on a fried chicken sandwich, but is great as is. Using a Ben-Riner or other fixed blade slicer (or even a food processor) makes this a quick-fix dish.
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Use this for South West inflected slaw, for a dip for vegetables or chips, or however. This was made for a slaw to go on a fried chicken sandwich.
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Another dish in the “I love to sauce vegetables with vegetables” category. Here, the earthy funky qualities of leeks and collards are counterbalanced with the sweetness of carrots. The carrots are cooked and milled to a consistency that is not quite a pureé, not quite chunky, but a good match for the silky leek and collards. Although the recipe seems long, the time to make is not, and it is a simple dish to prepare. The sauce goes well with other items such as cauliflower, grilled squash, chicken, pork, or fish.
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Sometimes simple is best. If you want to add a little more dimension to this, New Natives grows broccoli microgreens which perfectly straddle the line between arugula and almond, and will add loft to the salad. Gorgonzola Dolce is a sweeter version of Gorgonzola, but if you cannot find it, just use Gorgonzola.
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The u-picks have really been a nice opportunity to connect with a lot of you in person. Thank you for coming out! The next strawberry u-pick will be Saturday, July 23rd. The strawberries continue to come in strong and delicious, but blueberries are pretty much done after this week. If you haven’t yet made it out for a u-pick, this might be the time to plan that summer jam-making party.
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This is a dressing based on a sauce posted before. The trick is to char, not to burn the scallions. This flavor strikes some as odd at first, but there is something about it, maybe the primal fire-pit thing makes b.b.q. irresistible, which makes this dressing very appealing. It goes well with bold and earthy flavors, such as the radish escarole salad, or with a grass-fed beef steak salad. Keep it handy for dipping vegetables into or anointing sandwiches with, or drizzling on firm fleshed fish, shrimp, and eggs.
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This salad is a contrast of textures and flavor elements. Soft butter lettuce and crunchy radish. Bright clean flavors of radish and lettuce against the smoky charred notes of earthy funk laden scallions. This is nice with a big slab of well toasted country rye bread with plenty of really good butter on it flecked with large crystal salt such as Murray River or Sel de Guerande.
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Use this as is for a side dish, or cook some pasta such as orecchiette, cavatelli, or casarecce (or whatever) and use this as a sauce. Don’t forget to add 4-6 ounces of the pasta water to the dish to help form the sauce. It may seem odd to use salami here, but it is not uncommon in Italy, and the right salami can bring a lot of flavor to a dish. The Toscano called for here is typically flavorful and fairly easy to find. For this dish, larger fat grains are good, and a fine deep flavor with some spice is good.
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It seems the majority of people I tell about sautéing cucumbers balk at the idea, yet never think twice about eating sautéed zucchini. Bearing in mind that summer squash are a New World import, all those Chinese dishes with zucchini in them probably used cucumber originally. When cooked well, cucumber has a pleasantly mild flavor that plays well with other flavors, and can retain its pleasing crunch while softening up at the same time. Some partners to consider are King Oyster and regular oyster mushrooms, snap and snow peas, chicken, sweet carrots, fish or scallops, or mild soft greens such as spinach. The version here is kept very simple to showcase the cucumber flavor and lovely marriage with the basil. Consider this as a bed for poached or baked chicken, or fish or sautéed scallops, or gently sautéed pork chops.
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Sweet and hot, with normally crunchy carrots cooked tender and sauced with whole grain mustard which adds pop and crunch texture to the dish, along with a little heat and sweetness, as well as depth from the fig. Serve with kasha, pork chops or chicken, or greens. This is a dish that is quite simple, and is easy to gussy up.
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Another recipe for the Quickles file. Romanesco lends itself beautifully to quickling-it maintains it crisp texture yet no longer tastes raw. This iteration was made for a Sicilian influenced salad, but it is easy enough to change your destination by changing your herbs and spices. Use these in the salad recipe or serve with plates of salami and charcuterie, burgers, or braises. Good with grilled salmon as well. If you just want these as a snack, see notes about adding lemon.
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For me, one of the most gratifying parts of life on the farm is watching the land change over the years in positive ways. When we first arrived here at our home site along Harkins Slough sixteen years ago, the upper portion of the property was almost completely devoid of vegetation around the farm fields.
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This dressing is for a salad of soft lettuces and strawberries, but would go with cold pasta salad with tomato and cucumber, with cold chicken for a hot summer day, poached salmon hot or cold, or something with cabbage or kales, as well as salads made up of Romaine or Little Gems.
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Carrots and mint, carrots and basil, these seem a natural combo. Adding the caramelized Tokyo turnips adds just a touch of bitter to the mix which contrasts nicely with the sweet carrots. If using purple carrots, keep the turnips separate until serving so the color of the carrots doesn’t make the turnips look smudgy. As bunches of everything vary, you want an equal amount, or slightly more carrots than turnips.
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This week we finished planting all the winter squashes and pumpkins. We’re doing more delicatas this year since we ran out too early last year. All told there are 12 varieties of squash and pumpkins planted–delicata, carnival, spaghetti, Blue Ballet hubbard, orange and green kabocha, butternut, Marina di Chioggia, and blue kuri squashes.
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Here in California, we have so many things to be thankful for when it comes to fresh food. Avocados are certainly one of those things, and they are in prime time right now. Given that California produces 95% of the avocados in the USA this is not surprising. Of those, the Haas is the most widely grown, as it is worldwide. Overall, the Haas accounts for 80% of avocados grown. However, at one time in California there was something like 100 varieties grown, with the majority of them in the Santa Barbara/Ventura area and further south.
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Sort of a cross between a kale salad and a quickle. Allowing time to sit in the refrigerator will soften the cabbage a little without taking away the crunch. Caraway gives the salad a Nordic bent. Use cumin, coriander, and a little lime juice to take this in a South Western direction, or sub lemon or orange for lime and go Middle Eastern/North African. This salad keeps well, and is a great lunch box item as it travels well.
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This is the dressing that goes with the above named recipe, but this, or any number of variants, could go with any salad of dense leaves such as the cabbages, kales, or things like mei quin choi or shredded carrot or celeriac. Lighter in oil, this recipe will not emulsify like a regular vinaigrette. Adding mustard will help the salad thicken, but be careful what mustard you use and how much lest you blow out the dressing and just have a thin and pungent mustard garnish for the salad.
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