cherry tomatoes Tag

My family loves wedge salads but we have only ever had them when eating out.  I have been dreaming of creating a farm version of this traditional restaurant favorite.  This recipe showcases garlic as the key ingredient in the dressing, but also uses the sweet onions and cherry tomatoes from this week’s farm bounty.

Wedge Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing

Ingredients:
1 head iceberg lettuce
2 sweet onions, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
Optional add ons- hard boiled eggs, bacon, cheese

Dressing Ingredients:
1 head garlic
1 tsp olive oil (for roasting the garlic)
½ cup olive oil or avocado oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp honey

  • Slice lettuce into fourths and place on individual plates or on a larger serving dish.
  • Caramelize onions.
    • Heat 2-3 Tbsp oil in pan on stovetop.
    • Add onions and stir. Cook for 15-18 minutes on low heat.
    • Stir occasionally to evenly caramelize the onions. Onions should be nice and golden when done.

  • Roast garlic.
    • Preheat oven to 400°F.
    • Remove a couple of the outer layers of garlic bulb to clean it up.
    • Slice off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves.
    • Place the garlic in an oven safe dish. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and cover in foil.
      • Roast in oven for 45 minutes.
      • Remove and let cool for a few minutes until safe to handle.
      • Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves and place in a small bowl. Discard the garlic skins.

  • Prepare dressing by combining the roasted garlic cloves, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and honey in a blender. Mix until creamy and smooth.
  • Top lettuce wedges with tomatoes, caramelized onions, and any additional toppings you wish to add.
  • Drizzle with the roasted garlic dressing and serve immediately.
  • Enjoy!

*The dressing can be used on other green salads, pasta salads, as a marinade, on top of roasted veggies, or as a dipping sauce for bread.  Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

 

Recipe and photos by Stephanie Borzio.  Stephanie is a mom of three active boys and is an autoimmune warrior.  After battling her own health for several years, Stephanie found healing through food and lifestyle changes, including joining Blooming Glen Farm CSA of which she is a long time member.  She is a Board Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who is passionate about sharing healthy living tips and real food recipes.  Instagram and Facebook: Tru You Essentials; Website: www.truyouessentials.com

With the heat and humidity we are experiencing this week, I wanted to create an easy recipe that did not require cooking.  Farm fresh cucumbers and tomatoes combined with a few other ingredients create this fresh versatile salsa.  It is a beautiful array of colors and the flavors burst with each bite.  Serve it as a snack or make it part of your main meal.  Regardless of how you choose to showcase this dish, it is sure to please everyone.

 

Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients:
2 Kirby cucumbers, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (*adjust to your heat tolerance, any variety hot peppers can be used)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice and zest from 1 lime
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 medium sweet pepper, seeded and diced
½ sweet onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper

  • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
  • Mix to combine.
  • Best if allowed to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
  • Serve with chips, as a topping for grilled fish, with tacos, etc.

Recipe and photos by Stephanie Borzio.  Stephanie is a mom of three active boys and is an autoimmune warrior.  After battling her own health for several years, Stephanie found healing through food and lifestyle changes, including joining Blooming Glen Farm CSA of which she is a long time member.  She is a Board Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who is passionate about sharing healthy living tips and real food recipes.  Instagram and Facebook: Tru You Essentials; Website: www.truyouessentials.com

It feels wonderful to have the windows open and the fresh air flowing through the house.  The sunshine we have been having certainly helps as well.  With all of this beautiful weather comes amazing spring produce from our friends at Blooming Glen Farm.  This salad showcases the broccoli, kohlrabi, radishes, and scallions from this week’s share.  You can also add the mushrooms from Primordia Farm and can use some honey from Heirloom Acres.   It serves as a great side dish for a barbecue or picnic.

Ingredients:
1 bunch broccoli (about 3 cups florets)
1 bunch kohlrabi (3 small)
½ bunch spring radishes (about 7-8)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
2 large carrots
4 scallions, chopped
½ lb Maitake mushrooms, chopped
5 Tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1-2 tsp honey

  • Clean and chop broccoli. Lightly steam for 4 minutes.  Remove from heat, rinse with cold water, drain in colander, and let cool.
  • Peel kohlrabi and cut into matchsticks.
  • Thinly slice radishes.
  • Slice tomatoes in half.
  • Peel carrots and thinly slice or cut into matchsticks.
  • Place all produce in a large bowl.
  • Combine vinegar, oil, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and honey in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine.
  • Pour dressing over vegetables, mix well, and allow to marinate for 1 hour.**
  • Serve as a side or on top of a bed of greens.

**You can serve this dish immediately, but it tastes best when it has time to set a little bit.

Recipe and photos by Stephanie Borzio.  Stephanie is a mom of three active boys and is an autoimmune warrior.  After battling her own health for several years, Stephanie found healing through food and lifestyle changes, including joining Blooming Glen Farm CSA of which she is a long time member.  She is a Board Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who is passionate about sharing healthy living tips and real food recipes. 

Instagram and Facebook: Tru You Essentials

Website: www.truyouessentials.com

One of the most frequent questions we get at the CSA pick-ups and farmers markets is what to do with pea tops (also called pea shoots or pea tendrils). The question should really be: what can’t you do?

You can eat them raw in salads and by the handful, throw them in a stir-fry, or put them on top of a flatbread. This recipe for rice salad is another that works great with the fresh and tender pea tops.

Rice salad is a staple summer lunch in Italy. When I was a nanny there, my host mother taught me this great trick for quick, wholesome, and fresh lunches. Make a pot of rice the night before so it has time to cool for lunch the next day. Come lunchtime (or in the morning when you are packing up for work, school, etc), you can throw together a delicious, hearty salad with whatever you’ve got on hand. 

I replace typical white Italian rice with whole-grain brown rice for a more nutritious spin. This incarnation uses some oven-dried cherry tomatoes that I preserved last year, but any “sun-dried” tomato will do. 

Ensalata di Riso (Rice Salad) with Pea Tops

Make a simple dressing by whisking together 1/3 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, one clove of garlic, and salt to taste.

Toss a ½-pound bag of pea tops, 2 cups cooked brown rice, ½ cup sundried or oven-dried tomatoes, and ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese with the dressing.

It’s as simple as that!

Text and photography by Kate Darlington – Blooming Glen Farm second year intern, Colorado native, and food lover.