Summer All-Stars Recipes
Apricots! Tomatoes! Cucumbers! These late summer staples are arriving in abundance here in August and this week’s box celebrates them in all their sun-ripened glory, as well as other favorites such as summer squash, Tropea and Walla Walla onions, yellow Romano beans, rainbow Swiss Chard, fragrant herbs and fennel. Also joining these summer all-stars: Freshly-baked focaccia, basil-infused olive oil, creamy chevre from Lost Peacock Farm, fresh eggs from our heritage-breed hens and our signature cobbler crust mix to whip up something special for dessert. Long live summer!
Here are some recipe ideas for the week:
Mediterranean Summer Salad
This classic salad makes the best of summer tomatoes and cucumbers.
Heirloom Tomato & Grilled Focaccia Bread Salad
The beauty of this summery salad is in its simplicity: Be sure to use good-quality olive oil and season generously!
Grilled Fennel
A wonderful side for grilled chicken or steak.
Sautéed Summer Squash
So simple, so flavorful: These summer beauties are excellent served over grilled crostini, tossed into pastas, or scattered over pizza.
Yellow Romano Beans with Caramelized Tropea Onions
These beautiful beans are tossed with Italian red onions and fresh parsley.
Apricot Cobbler
It’s hard to beat this summery dessert—just add vanilla ice cream!
Apricot Cobbler
It’s hard to beat this summery dessert—just add vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients:
F&L cobbler crust mix
¾ cups milk plus 2 tablespoons
4 cups sliced apricots
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar
Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
Method:
1. Melt butter in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the F&L cobbler crust mix with the milk, stirring until dry ingredients are just moistened.
2. Bring 1 cup sugar, apricot slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour the fruit mixture into the baking dish and top with cobbler batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.
3. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve the cobbler warm or cool.
Summer Splendor Recipes
Green beans to heirloom tomatoes, zucchini to baby artichokes, the summer hits just keep coming! This box celebrates summer with a plethora of locally-grown produce—yellow Romano beans, cucumbers, and Walla Walla bunched onions, as well as crisp Cegolaine lettuces and fragrant garden herbs—all accented by imported Italian pasta, sunflower seed-kissed multigrain bread, peppery edible flowers, farm-fresh eggs and a market bouquet to grace your table. So, slice up an apricot, thumb through the recipes and enjoy these summer gems to the fullest.
Here are a few recipe ideas for the week:
Braised Baby Artichokes
Simmered with white wine and chicken stock, these tender artichokes are melt-in-your-mouth tender. (Try spooning them over pasta with some freshly-grated Grana cheese!)
Carrots Marinated with Garlic & Oregano
This room-temperature dish packs in the flavor and makes for a lovely side dish on a warm day.
Green Bean Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Tossed with a Dijon mustard and sherry vinaigrette, these beans boast bright, zesty flavor.
Grilled Lemon-Garlic Zucchini
Brushed with a herb-kissed butter mixture, these zucchini slices pair well with grilled chicken, fish or steak.
Fennel & Lemon Relish
This crisp slaw from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food II is excellent tossed with grilled veggies.
Grilled Heirloom Tomato Vinaigrette
In addition to salad greens, this bright and robust dressing is wonderful tossed with pasta, or drizzled over steamed or grilled artichokes.
Roasted Apricots with Rosemary
Topped with a honeyed yogurt cream, these baked apricots make for a lovely summer dessert.
Ingredients:
10 apricots, washed and dried
3 large sprigs rosemary
½ vanilla pod (reserve the other half for the serving cream)
Zest of 1 orange
½ cup orange juice (from roughly 2 oranges)
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
Honeyed yogurt cream:
1 cup Greek yogurt
½ cup heavy cream
Seeds from ½ vanilla pod
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut the apricots in half (leave the pit in – it looks nice and helps to keep the fruit from collapsing completely) and arrange, cut-side up on a baking dish large enough to accommodate them in one layer. Tuck the rosemary sprigs, ½ vanilla pod and the orange peel in and around the apricots, then pour the orange juice all over to moisten the apricots.
2. Drizzle honey all over and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, basting and gently shaking the baking dish from time to time to make sure the fruit doesn’t burn. The apricots are done when they are soft but have not collapsed completely.
3. To make the yogurt honey cream, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until soft waves form. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Transfer the apricots onto serving plates and drizzle over the sticky juices. Dollop a large spoonful of the yogurt honey cream on the side and scatter the toasted almonds on top.
