Three Ingredient Eggplant Bake

This summer we've had two very successful eggplant plants. Having never cooked with eggplant before, I have learned to get creative by adding it to stir fry, pasta, and this tasty dish that is full of "cheesy goodness" as Cole would say. Best of all, only three main ingredients! 

Three Ingredient Eggplant Bake

(makes two 9x13 pans)

Ingredients:

-6-7 medium sized eggplants

-two jars of your favorite red pasta sauce

-one brick of fresh mozzarella cheese 

-olive oil

-salt 

-fresh basil 

Instructions:

1. Slice eggplants into 1/4 inch slices. Lay slices on a cookie sheet (no overlapping), brush the tops with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. 

2. Bake the eggplant slices at 375 for about 30 minutes until lightly browned. 

3. Starting with the sauce, then eggplant, followed by cheese, layer the ingredients in both pans. 

4. Bake pans until bubbling, about 30-40 minutes. 

5. Sprinkle with fresh basil, serve with salad and garlic bread.  

 

 

We Can Pickle That!

My first taste of pickled eggs - homemade by one of Cole's family friends who lives nearby. Sweet, spicy, and a nice texture! And, just because we are on the subject of pickling and everyone needs to have chuckle once in a while, check out this clip from Portlandia: "We Can Pickle That!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYey8ntlK_E

Oh, and a note about the show: I used to think that Portlandia was overly quirky and strange just for effect, but then I moved here. Even though it may be a bit exaggerated, I pretty sure Armisen and Brownstein base their writing off some real-life Oregon experiences... :) It cracks me up!

Oregonian Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and grits is traditionally a southern dish, frequently called "low country cuisine." This recipe however, contains 100% Oregon ingredients, right down to the corn that was grown in the garden last year, then dried and ground to make the grits. The shrimp we used is called Oregon shrimp meat, and it is one of the most sustainable seafood options in the area. Many people add cheese to the grits, but we found that the richness from the butter, shrimp, seasonings, and vegetables was more than adequate flavor!

Oregonian Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients:

1 C dry grits 

4 C milk, water or cream (we used milk)

lard for sauteing vegetables and shrimp

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 small yellow onions, chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1 lb small shrimp, cooked

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2 T butter

Instructions: 

To make grits:

Heat milk (or liquid of choice) until boiling in large pot. Add grits gradually to avoid clumps, constantly stirring with a whisk. Cook and stir grits over medium heat until corn is soft, about 40 - 90 minutes, depending on the grind of the corn. 

Shrimp saute:

Heat lard in a large skillet and saute the garlic, onions, and bell peppers for about 10 minutes. Then add broth, seasonings, shrimp and butter, saute for another 5-10 minutes. Pour over a bowl of grits, squeeze lemon on top. 

Local butter and lard

 

Meet the Producers!

Yes, these chickens like to range free!

Cole started off with six chickens, three Rhode Island Reds, and three Barred Rocks. The day after I got here, a family friend donated two more chickens to the flock. They were from his daughters' class project, and the type and sex of the chickens is yet to be determined... After getting continuously bullied by the alpha females, the new kids on the block are finally getting more comfortable.

The chicken hotel, designed and constructed by Cole

The newbies and the roosting bar

New hay below, chickens laying eggs above

The daily gathering of the eggs, on average they produce about 4-6 a day

The garden in early July

 
Of course the other main producer on the farm is the garden. Its dimensions are 30 feet by 60 feet and the contents are as follows: 

-Squash (butternut, Hubbard, Howden Pumpkin, Winter Luxery, Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck, Galeux d' Eysines, Oregon Sweet Meat, and Lakota)
-Corn (Cascade Ruby Gold, Painted Mountain)
-Tomatoes (Roma, San Marzano, Brandywine, Black Krim, Jersey Devil)
-Eggplant (Black Beauty and Epic) 
-Beans (Arikara, Brightstone, Rossi de Lucca, Tepary Beans)
-Cowpeas (California Black Eye, Whip poor will)
-Peppers (Jalapeno, Poblano, Pasilla, Anaheim, Serrano, California Bell)
-Potatoes (Sangre Red and Yukon Gold, and German Butterball)
-Onions (Yellow Rock and Red Weathersfield, Australian Brown, Copra, Borretana, Jaune Paille des Vertus, Yellow de Parma)
-Shallot (yellow and red)
-Garlic (Chesnok Red, Bogatyr, and Duganski, Silver Skin Italian)
-Kale (Russian and Dinosaur)
-Collard Greens (Morris Heading, Georgia) 

The garden in late July

 

Cole, the gardener

Blackened Halibut with Summer Veggies

Farm Lesson #2: Mice like potatoes almost as much as I do

I do not have a lot of experience with mice, but that changed when I moved here. It began with Ray, our dog, who loves to hunt for mice in the fields and yards by the house. He plays with them and brings us the dead ones in his mouth. I thought this was very gross. We live in an area nicknamed "The Grass Seed Capital of the World." Little did I know that when grass seed farmers cut the grass in late July, all the mice who inhabit the grass fields are immediately evicted from their homes. The day after the cutting, there were mice EVERYWHERE. It was terrifying. They were scurrying around the yard, making holes in the herb garden, and worst of all, they found the garden. 

One of the sad ironies of growing your own food is that sometimes you have to use drastic measures to keep pests (i.e. cucumber beetles and mice) out of the garden so it can thrive. Well, let me tell you, when there is a plethora of delicious vegetables to snack on, mice are not interested in cheese or peanut butter spread thickly on a mouse trap. We had to employ the use of an edible poison to keep them from devouring all the potatoes underground. Consequently, the area around the garden and our yard became a gruesome mouse graveyard. They were literally belly-up all over the lawn.  

Currently, the mice population is somewhat under control, and we were able to harvest the beautiful Yukon gold and red potatoes that are featured in this recipe. We used all vegetables from the garden for the baked foil packs, which I learned to make from my mom and dad. The halibut was caught in Alaska by Cole's uncle Greg, and we used his blackening method to make some seriously savory fish.

Blackened Halibut with Summer Veggies

Ingredients: (the number of fillets and vegetables can be adjusted for the amount of people you are cooking for)

• 2 Halibut steak fillets

• 1/2 C melted butter

• Blackened fish seasoning - we used Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish Magic

• About 10 small potatoes - a mix of red and yellow, sliced thin

• 2-3 zucchinis - sliced thin

• 1 large yellow onion, sliced

• Olive oil for drizzling the veggies

• Salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning veggies (I also used a garlic and onion spice blend) 

Instructions:

1. Slice all vegetables and place in large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add seasonings. Mix well until all vegetables are coated. 

2. Cut 4-5 squares of foil large enough to hold an individual serving of the vegetable mixture. Using your hands, place the vegetables in the foil and wrap up the packs. Place in the oven at 350 and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until tender. 

3. While the veggies are baking, prepare the the halibut for blackening by melting the butter in a large shallow bowl and heating a cast iron skillet on high. Coat the halibut with seasoning on both sides, then dip in butter. Cook the fillets about 3-4 minutes on each side or until the inside is white and flaky. We cooked on an outside stove.
*** If you are able to get the cut of the halibut called the "cheeks" in addition to the fillets, they are delectable cooked in the same way. A smaller cut full of flavor.  

 4. Serve blackened halibut with the foil pack of veggies, a squeeze of lemon on top, a glass of Pinot Griggio, and savor every bite! 

 

 

Onions, Shallots, and Garlic

Mid-July: Time to harvest and cure the allium crops

Onions, shallots and garlic need to sit out in a shady, dry, and well ventilated spot for a period of days in order for them to be stored throughout the year. We used the large flatbed of a trailer in one of the barns. Cole also planted the hearty kale and collard greens at this time. These crops can withstand the fall and winter temperatures. 

Yellow Rock onion

Red and Yellow Shallots

Chesnok Red, Bogatyr and Duganski Garlic

We are going to try storing them in the pantry where the temperature is cooler

No-Crust Garden Quiche

Farm Lesson #1: Chickens will eat their own eggs

...and a recipe for No-Crust Garden Quiche

I'm sure that if you were raised in a rural setting, this lesson about the cannibalistic nature of poultry has been common knowledge to you since you were a kid. I however, grew up in a neighborhood in Fort Collins, Colorado: a city of about 150,000 people. I did not know that chickens eat their own eggs, take dust baths, or sleep while balancing on a wooden bar. This is just the beginning of the list of things I have been learning as a Coloradoan transplant living at a small farm in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Something I have brought with me is a love of food and cooking that I inherited from my parents and grandparents, and a passion for eating sustainably with fresh and local ingredients. 

This first recipe I'd like to share is a simple crust-less quiche made with local ingredients. The veggies were grown by Cole in our garden, the eggs produced by our aforementioned chickens, and the milk is from a local dairy called Lochmead Farms which is a few miles down the road.  I served it with a side of farmers market garlic bread and pesto. Enjoy!

 No Crust Garden Quiche 

makes one 9 inch pie plate quiche

Ingredients:

7 eggs

1 1/2 C milk

Olive oil for sauteing  

2 shallots

1 small yellow onion

1 large tomato

2 green bell peppers

1/3 C shredded cheese (can be cheddar, mozzarella, feta, parmesan)

1 t. salt

liberal dash of pepper 

pinch of nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Dice all vegetables.  

2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in large frying pan and saute the shallots, onion, and bell peppers until onions become translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. 

3. Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add milk, cheese, diced tomato and seasonings. Add sauteed veggies from pan to the egg mixture, stir. 

4. Pour into a greased 9 inch pie plate and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean in the middle of quiche and the inside is no longer runny.