Stuffed peppers

I know it’s summer and it seems stupid to turn on the oven, but I couldn’t help myself tonight.  The peppers at the store looked too good and called out to me to stuff them. I did not say no.

What you’ll need:

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I used Martin’s long grain rice from Missouri and cooked it in Better Than Bouillon for a little extra flavor)

4 bell or poblano peppers with tops and seeds removed  (local from Columbia, MO)

2 portobellos finely chopped (Organic)

3-5 stems of swiss chard (optional)  (from my garden)

1 small red onion finely chopped (local from Columbia, MO)

2 cloves garlic minced

fresh herbs–I used a few TBLS of chopped dill and parsley (from my garden)

1/4 cup cream cheese (used Organic Valley Cream Cheese)

salt to taste

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onion and garlic until soft in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add portobello and swiss chard and saute.  Cook until tender.  Add chopped herbs and cooked rice and cook a minute or two longer.  Add cream cheese and stir until fully melted. Should be very creamy.  You may want to add more cream cheese if your mixture seems too dry. Add salt to taste.

Fill peppers with mixture.  Lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil.  I had to place the peppers on their sides but if your peppers will sit upright then by all means place them on their bottoms.  Cover dish with foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove foil and let them bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a side of sliced tomatoes and fresh bread.

 

What is BeerBucha?

This is the true story of a happy accident, the result of which is now available EXCLUSIVELY at Local Harvest Cafe and Catering.

At 12:30am on 1/1/9 I watched my boyfriend’s brother-in-law pour our leftover contribution of Poema Cava (we use this at the Cafe in our mimosas) down the sink. RATS! But, as it was a family affair I thought it would be inappropriate to shout across the room for him to stop wasting our brut that we were planning to have with our black eyed peas and brunch. I spent the rest of the party trying to figure out just what we had in the fridge with which to celebrate in the privacy of our home in the morning. Luckily, family New Year’s Eve parties end early…

The next day while the peas were cooking I took a grim inventory of the fridge. We had exactly two Miller High Lifes and one mango GT’s Kombucha, many flavors of which are available at both the Cafe and Grocery.

I recalled attending a brunch with friends several weeks prior during which we tried and enjoyed “beermosas”–the poor man’s mimosa, a combination of orange juice and lager. Those were surprisingly tasty.

As I peered in the fridge the mango kombucha orangely provided an instant color association with the beermosas, so i thought, “why not give it a try? Here we have the ‘champagne of beers’ and the naturally effervescent fermented goodness of kombucha…” “HEY, Honey,” I said. “How ’bout a miller-mango-mosa to ring in the New Year?” Needless to say, he was game.

The mango variety of GT’s Kombucha is particularly active. I believe this is because it is quite full of tropical fruit enzymes which mingle with the kombucha enzymes in an excitable way. All that enzyme goodness is just itching to get out of the bottle and into your digestive tract. It explodes. We’ve all seen it happen. And cleaned it off ourselves. And it can put a first-timer off, so Local Harvest only stocks it sporadically. It is a good idea to open it over a glass.

So I exploded some into a couple of glasses, added as much beer to each glass, and voila! beerbucha was invented. It was very fizzy and foamy. And it was quite tasty, too.

Since that first beerbucha it has become my drink of choice, and has endlessly piqued my friends’ curiosity. I have been experimenting with flavors and types of beers and ratios. I could go into great detail about all this, but it would be more fun for you to experiment on your own. If you have an adventurous spirit, if your friends only drink Stag beer and you just don’t like it, if you are a light-weight, if you crave some refreshment with your beer, if you’re a Belgian beer fan (which I’m not); whatever the reason, I encourage you to give it a try.

It did take a couple of months for folks to catch on, but the staff tried them at their last meeting and they are now being served at our Cafe, so you can try it in a safe environment…
Enjoy!
–Anne

 

Mushroom, Tempeh Burrito

It’s true that I am a big fan of wrapping my food–I love burritos, spring rolls, sandwiches, crepes, tacos……So, it is no surprise that when I don’t know what else to  make I fall back on one of these.  Last night it was time for burritos. Here is a super easy, tasty, and pretty healthy dinner that you can make in about 20 minutes.

2 Portobello Mushrooms

1/2 package tempeh (I used LightLife Three grain tempeh)

1 small yellow onion

2 TBLS olive oil

3 cloves fresh garlic minced

1/2 tsp thyme

tamari

1/2-1 cup cooked brown rice (optional)

Kale (steamed)

Whole Wheat tortillas ( I used San Luis 10 inch)

Toppings:

cheddar cheese ( I used Morningland Medium Cheddar)

sour cream ( I used Organic Valley 2%)

(And of couse all products are available at Local Harvest Grocery.)

 

I almost always have cooked brown rice in my fridge so that’s why this meal was only 20 minutes. If you need to cook brown rice you’ll need to allow a good 35 minutes for the rice.  I also am a big fan of the pressure cooker and was able to make the Kale in the pressure cooker in less than five minutes.  You can also just steam the kale and this can be cooking/steaming while you make the other items.

Saute chopped onion and garlic until onions have started to wilt and soften.  Add sliced mushrooms (my pieces were about an inch long and 1/2 inch thick) and cook for a few more minutes.  Add  crumbled tempeh and then add tamari. I use tamari to taste. Not sure how much I actually used–maybe 2 TBLS?  Cook all together for a few minutes and then add thyme, salt and pepper if you’d like and finally rice if you want a little fiber and filler.

I warmed tortillas, spooned in tempeh mixture and then topped with cooked Kale. If you are  a vegan or prefer dairy free for a nigh,t stop here and enjoy. If you need a hit of dairy as I did, add grated cheese and a small dollop of sour cream.  Wrap and enjoy.

-Maddie

 

Winter Brunch.

working seasonally can sometimes begin to drag – over the summer i couldn’t stand the sight of yet another tomato, by fall the apples were piled on the prep table, now its the season of root vegetables.   (i know, i know – life’s so tough – i have the ‘misery’ of cooking with extremely fresh local vegetables – woe is me)

i find myself searching for new ways to cook them – a few weeks ago, i threw some in with the biscuits and gravy.

- and success!

i liked it so much, i thought i would share the recipe with you all:

3 T butter

6 T flour

5 c cold milk

3 veggies for roasting (carrots, potatoes, parsnips, beets, etc) – equivalent to three cups raw

salt and pepper

-first, peel and chop all the veggies

-toss veggies in olive oil, place in pan, and in 350dergree oven for 45 minutes (or until veggies are cooked enough to put a fork through)

-once veggies are done, melt butter in a saucepan

-add flour to melted butter, stir with whisk until well incorporated (this might get lumpy, don’t fear, just keep whisking)

-this needs to cook, on medium heat, for about five minutes to cook out the raw flour taste – stir occaisonally or constantly (whichever makes you more comfortable) – try not to let it brown

-at this point you want to add the cold milk, slowly, whisking the entire time

-this may get lumpy, too, but again don’t fear, just keep whisking

-whisk on medium heat until it begins to thicken, then add roasted vegetables

-the longer you cook it, the thicker it gets – so cook it until it is the desired consistancy and add salt and pepper to taste

-pour over your favorite hot biscuits and enjoy

our version of these bicuits-n-gravy can be found at our saturday (8am-3pm) and sunday (8am-3pm) brunch. stop by and check it out.

-clara

 

Tofu recipe-Longlife Tofu

Hey there- One of our faithful customers took me up on the idea of submitting a recipe. Yeah! Thanks so much Michael. He uses the Longlife Deep-fried tofu.  It sounds really tasty to me–especially the part about caramelizing and “sticky goodness.”

Yum.

Maddie

————————————–
I like the deep-fried tofu for its texture and ease of use, and it costs
much less than the baked and seasoned varieties. No more draining and
patting dry, no more pan frying, and no more heartbreak when your drained
and dried little cubes crumble in the pan. Open the package, dice, and
cook. That’s worth the added fat, which is not all that much in the end.

This time of year, the rest is all about root vegetables, gourds, and warmth.

The Ingredients:

1) One package of deep-fried tofu

2) Some onions, as much or as little as you like

3) Lots of carrots, cleaned & diced

4) Optionally, some squash or pumpkin, peeled and diced. You can go with
pre-cooked if texture is not important.

5) Up to about a cup of walnuts pieces, broken up fine

6) A big thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced. I always put in
half at the start of cooking and the other half just as I’m finishing

7) Some frozen peas or preserved roasted peppers for color

The sauce: About half a cup of soy sauce, a healthy teaspoon-sized dose
of brown sugar, and a squirt of lemon or lime juice

The Cooking:

Fry the ginger for about 30 seconds in a really hot, oiled pan. Add all
the vegetables and stir to coat. Let them fry until you get just short of
the consistency you like, then add the remaining ginger and walnut pieces
and make sure they get nice and hot.

Your pan needs to be as hot as it can get for the last step, which is
adding the vigorously stirred sauce. If you do it right, the sauce will
caramelize and give you lots of sticky goodness.

Serve over whatever starch brings you the most joy. Personally, I go for
short-grain brown riceor, if I really need a shot in the arm, udon
noodles. Garnish with a little sesame oil and/or sriracha garlic-chili
paste.

If I can get my act together enough to make some vegetable side dishes,
such as shredded carrots with rice vinegar and sesame oil, Brian and I can
usually avoid wolfing down the entire yield for dinner. There are few
greater joys in the workweek than popping leftovers of this stuff in the
microwave and having your own little mid-day comfort food festival.

 

Frizzled and drizzled brussel sprouts

serve immediately

I am not taking entire credit for this dish. I know I got the idea from a recipe book, but for the life of me can’t remember which one.

What you need:

brussel sprouts (as much as you like–at least 15-20 individual b sprouts)

olive oil 1 TBLS

High quality balsamic vinegar (I used Gourmet Artisan)1 TBLS

2 cloves of garlic minced

What to do:

Wash brussel sprouts and remove any brown leaves and cut off the ends. Cut brussel sprouts across the bottom much like you would a cabbage when your making slaw. Heat a cast iron skilled until quite hot then reduce to medium. Add oil and then garlic. Brown garlic. Add brussel sprouts. Keep the pan quite hot. The brussel sprouts will release a lot of water helping them to soften. It will take about 10 minutes to cook. You want them still chewy, but definately not soft. About two minutes before the sprouts are done drizzle balsamic throughout and salt to taste.

This dish is so delicous I really only wanted to eat this. It’s a great side dish, but could also be served over rice or quinoa for a light, main dish.

Yours in eating.

-Maddie

(ps. you can add chopped walnuts at the end for a delicious addition -clara)