Pinwheel flank steak

1 1/2 lb - 2 lb flank steak, butterflied

For Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice

For steak filling:
1 cup fresh or frozen spinach (if frozen, thaw and pat dry)
1 cup mushrooms
3-4 bacon strips (thick cut is better)
4 slices Swiss cheese

Overnight: Make marinade in a large plastic baggie and marinade the butterflied steak overnight in the fridge, if possible.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Open steak up with the grain of the meat going from left to right. Lay the cheese on the steak. Then, keeping with the grain of the meat, lay the bacon, mushrooms and spinach one after another so they look like a layered rainbow of fillings on top of the meat. Roll towards your body and tie with kitchen twine to keep together.

Bake steak for one hour, or until internal temperature reaches 145 F. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into pinwheels.

Pasta Primavera with Fish

2 fish fillets
seasonal vegetables:
I used:
1 small zucchini (julienne)
1 small summer squash (julienne)
3-4 carrots (sliced into circles)
Herbs: savory and thyme (or any combination you like)
Pasta (I used a combination, but any pasta will do)

For tomato sauce:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 red pepper

Cook and flake the fish. Set aside.

Boil the water and cook the noodles. Keep warm in the water if finishing up other steps.

To make the sauce, put all ingredients together in a food processor and puree. Cook (do not boil) over medium heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Saute the cut up vegetables with the herbs, in 1 tbsp olive oil.

Toss the warm pasta with the tomato sauce in a large bowl. Place the pasta in a serving dish and top with flaked fish and vegetables. Enjoy with a bread on the side.

Summer Veggie Breakfast

These recipes are a great way to use up some of your summer vegetable and fruit harvest. I used up some summer squash, zucchini, cucumber, potatoes and peaches. I also cooked up some maple sausage links to add protein to the meal.

Crispy potato-vegetable cakes

1 1/2-2 cups potatoes peeled and shredded
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup cucumber, shredded
3/4 tsp table salt (more or less to taste)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp dried onions
2 Tbsp uncooked cornmeal
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp black pepper (more or less to taste)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Toss the potatoes, zucchini, cucumber and salt in a medium bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Squeeze out the liquids and discard. Stir in the egg, salt, onions , cornmeal, rosemary, and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture (rolled into a loose ball) and flatten with a spatula. Cook until lightly browned, about 12 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture.

Summer Squash Pancakes with Peach Topping

2 cups summer squash, grated (zucchini could be used as well)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 cup biscuit mix
2 Tbsp ground flax (can be omitted)
milk, as needed

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add enough milk as necessary to make a thin pancake-like batter. Drop onto skillet or griddle. Turn over when bottom is golden and cook until browned on both sides.

2 large peaches (thinly sliced)
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter

Combine all ingredients into a skillet and heat on medium high until peaches are cooked through and sugar/butter mixture forms a glaze on the peaches. Top pancakes with peaches and sauce. (you could also substitute other fruits if you had them).

Sauteed Vegetables with honey glaze

Vegetables of your choice
I used: zucchini, yellow squash and broccoli
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp olive oil
herbs of your choice
I used: cinnamon basil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Saute the vegetables and herbs until tender.
Melt the butter and mix with the honey.
Pour over vegetables and serve.

Chicken and Biscuits

Whole chicken (cut up)
Can of refrigerated biscuits
Onion (chopped)
1/4 bulb and fronds of fennel (Chopped)
celeriac (celery root) or celery diced
1 bag frozen vegetables (any you have on hand)
2 cans of cream of whatever soup (I used chicken and mushroom)
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
6 Tbsp butter

Put chicken and vegetables into crockpot.

In a separate bowl, whisk the soup, milk and broth together. Pour over chicken and vegetables. Put butter in crockpot (I just put it in as a stick). Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

One hour before serving, remove chicken pieces from crockpot. Remove bones and shred the chicken. Open can of biscuits (you can also use homemade biscuit dough) and place biscuits on top of chicken mixture. Cook on high for one hour, biscuits will be golden on top when done.

*You can put in pretty much any vegetables you have on hand for this. If you don't have fennel, use any herbs you have on hand.

Chocolate zucchini muffins

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (I used one large zucchini)
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 cups white flour and 1 1/2 cups wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into grease or paper lined muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy! Top with mini chocolate chips or chopped walnuts, if desired.

Easy Stir Fry

Make with any vegetables you have available. This is what I used:

2 heads baby bok choy
2 carrots cut into matchsticks
1/4 C. cabbage chopped
1 medium zucchini
1 summer squash (I used a sunburst squash)
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 lb steak (I used filet but you can use any cut you want) or chicken (or tofu)
soy sauce
peanut oil (or canola oil)
sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
rice

Heat the peanut oil (about 2 Tbsp) in a wok (or large saute pan). Add green vegetables first (bok choy, cabbage, green onion), stir fry for 1-2 minutes, add carrots or other root vegetables, stir fry for another 1-2 minutes, add remaining vegetables. Stir fry all veggies for aobut 5-7 more minutes. Add chopped meat or tofu and stir fry with 2 Tbsp soy sauce until meat is cooked through or about 5-7 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp sesame oil and 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, stir and serve over rice.

Crockpot Roast Beef

I found a recipe on Crockpot365 and since I didn't have all of their ingredients I modified it to fit my ingredients.

2 Tbsp A1 Sauce
2 Tbsp Honey Mustard
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup beef broth
Chuck Roast
1 sweet onion
5 carrots (I used Purple Haze carrots from my CSA)
You can throw potatoes in too if you like.

Mix the A1 Sauce, Honey Mustard and Apple Juice. Pour on all sides of the roast (in crock pot). Throw in the chopped onion and the chopped carrots. I cut the carrots into half lengthwise and then thirds. Pour beef broth around roast (not on top). Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Baked Ziti

2 bell peppers (any color...I used yellow and red)
1 onion
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups sundried tomatoes in oil
1 can kidney beans
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, diced (or 3-4 garlic scapes, chopped)
penne pasta
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 1/2 cup shredded asiago
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Boil water and cook penne pasta until tender-crunchy. Drain.

Chop bell peppers and onion. Saute in olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until they start getting soft. Then add the garlic and mushrooms. Saute for 3-5 more minutes.

Put the cooked veggies in a food processor, along with the can of kidney beans (including liquid) and the sundried tomatoes. Process until the mixture is as chunky as you prefer. Mix with the cooked ground beef.

Butter a 13 x9 pan. Put in 1/2 of the pasta, layer with 1/2 of the sauce mixture, asiago cheese, remaining pasta, sour cream, mozzarella cheese, remainder of the sauce mixture, and parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cinnamon Plum Jam

3 lbs of plums (4 1/2 cups pitted and finely chopped)
1 tbsp cinnamon
7 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch of liquid pectin

Combine plums (finely chopped), cinnamon and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add pectin and continue to boil for one minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and skim foam.

Fill jars following proper aseptic technique.

Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath, adjusting for altitude as necessary.

*Recipe adapted from the recipe in the Ball Liquid Fruit Pectin*

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

9 inch pie crust, plus enough pie crust for the top
2 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups strawberries, hulled
6 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp orange zest or juice
1 tbsp butter

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.

Puree rhubarb and strawberry together. Ensure the puree is slightly chunky.

Mix flour, sugar and orange juice or zest. Sprinkle over the fruit puree. Stir together lightly.

Pour into 9 inch pie crust. Dot with butter. Top with crust or lattice. If topping with a solid crust, be sure to put a few 1 inch slits in the top.

Bake for 35-45 min. Cover pie with foil for the first half of the baking time so the top of the pie doesn't burn.

Top with whipped cream or ice cream and serve.

Garlic Spaghetti with Kale and Italian Sausage

1 bunch of Kale
a handful of garlic flowers (also called garlic scapes)
two shallots
3 tbsp olive oil (split)
2-3 Italian sausages
4-5 garlic cloves
spaghetti (enough for 4 people)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Parmesan cheese

Wash the kale, leave water on the leaves. Slice kale off stems and ribs. Slice into 1/2 inch strips cross-wise. Chop the garlic flowers into 1/4 inch or smaller pieces. Dice the shallots.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot or pan on medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic flowers and saute for about 3-4 minutes, until shallots become transparent and tender.

Press or dice the garlic cloves and add to the shallots and garlic flowers. Saute for 2-3 more minutes. Add the remaining tbsp of olive oil and the kale. Toss with shallots and garlic and cook until the kale is wilted (about 3-4 minutes). Cover and let cook for about 20 more minutes until the kale is nice and tender. Stir occasionally and add water by the tbsp if the pan dries out. Be sure to have enough steam in the pot to cook the kale.

Begin cooking the Italian sausage. Slice when cooked.

While the kale is cooking down, start boiling the water for the spaghetti. Cook until it has a slight bite and is not quite tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the spaghetti to the pot with the kale mixture and toss. Add the lemon juice, sausage and cooking liquid. Toss and cook for another 5 minutes until noodles are coated and everything is well mixed.

Serve with shredded parmesan cheese.