Last-gasp-of-Summer Recipes from a WWOOFer

I bought these heirloom tomatoes—the very last of the 2013 season—just an hour ago at the mid-week Fulton Farmers’ Market, from Plane View Farm.

That time of year is officially upon us here in mid-Missouri—the end of the summer veggies. If the hard freeze didn’t hit your neighborhood last night, it will surely come tonight or tomorrow, as temps dip into the high twenties, so it’s finally time to bid field-grown tomatoes, squash, peppers, and eggplants farewell. And you may be more than ready to move on to winter squash and pumpkins as you dig out your winter coats and scarves. But if you want to squeeze the last sweet drops out of the summer season, head to your local market this weekend and fill up on tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant while you still can.

Chelsea Reetz Bunetic with son Jude

If you’re feeling low on inspiration, here are a few recipes from Chelsea Reetz Bunetic that are perfect to make on a crisp fall weekend. Chelsea, who knows a thing or two about vegetables and loves to cook, also loves to dig in the dirt, preferably with her 2-year-old son Jude by her side. A few years ago Chelsea began working on a farm to pay for her CSA share, and farming simply got under her skin. As part of the WWOOF network (World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), Chelsea has traveled to six states, working on eight different farms over the past two years, with no plans to stop soon. She spent the 2013 growing season working in mid-Missouri, WWOOFing at Greyson Organics (Montgomery County) as the tomato manager, then moving on to Bluebird Composting in Callaway County for some late-season farming. She hopes to keep working, learning, and traveling for a while to come, relishing the freedom and lifestyle WWOOFing makes possible. 

Chelsea has lots of recipes to share, having learned to be a frugal and creative cook as she traveled, often making meals for the other farm workers. She’s just started a blog where she plans to share recipes and give updates on her wanderings, The Pumpkin Seed Almanac.

When Chelsea’s not farming, cooking, or chasing a lively two-year-old, you might find her at Mexico Music (in Mexico, Missouri), where she currently teaches fiddle, guitar, mandolin, ukelele, piano, and voice. As a child she played and sang with her family bluegrass band, the Reetz Family, and still enjoys playing her fiddle at a farmers’ market now and then. (Here’s a link to Chelsea performing with her father and sister at a reunion gig in 2012.)

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Tomato chickpea soup

Here are four of Chelsea’s favorite ways to use heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, kale, and potatoes. They strike me as weekend recipes, the kind of dishes I’d make on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and have friends over to eat that evening, especially the spiral vegetable ricotta pie, or the savory cheesecake with heirloom tomatoes. As someone who makes a pot of soup practically every weekend and freezes the leftovers for lunches the rest of the week, I have to try Chelsea’s spiced chickpea and heirloom tomato soup with the last of the tomatoes I hope to find at the market this weekend. And I look forward to making a pot or two of her kale white bean potato stew with the hearty kale that will be available in my own garden and in the winter markets throughout the coldest months of the year.

I don’t have any pictures of my own, or of Chelsea’s, to post, but as I make each dish I’ll add photos. Go out and grab a big basket of the last of the field-grown summer veggies this weekend and try one of two of these, then send me some of your own pictures to post!

Spring recipes, A(sparagus) to S(trawberries)

Now that the long, wet, cold spring has finally given way to a week or two of warmth and sunlight we’re seeing a lot more produce flood into the farmers’ markets in the mid-Missouri area. Many farmers are still struggling to catch up, but quite a few booths at last Saturday’s markets were piled high with a variety of beautiful greens (lettuces of all kinds, spinach, kale, chard, arugula, etc.), leeks, radishes, beets, broccoli, herbs, cauliflower, and overwintered carrots. And the real stars of the market were the absolutely gorgeous expanses of plump, perfectly formed asparagus and luscious, dead-ripe strawberries. 

So in honor of those noble fruits and veggies, I’ve rounded up a bunch of recipes featuring those peak-season fruits and veggies.

Asparagus is so good simply steamed and served with a drizzle of butter and squeeze of lemon that it’s easy to pass the whole asparagus season enjoying it with that little fanfare, but grilled asparagus with olive oil and lemon is only slightly more trouble to make and it’s super flavorful, like healthy french fries. And one of my very favorite ways to enjoy asparagus at the peak of flavor is this cream of asparagus soup. This is not like your canned cream of anything soup—it’s rich and satisfying and holds the very essence of asparagus in every steaming spoonful. And once you’ve gotten the hang of this recipe you can use it for practically any veggie you lay your hands on: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms (this would be terrific with those morels you’ve been hoarding). And when my fridge is overflowing with too many heads of the celery I’ve been growing in recent years, I’m apt to make some cream of celery soup and enjoy it as an appetizer course. It’s not just for casseroles! I’d love to hear from you—do you have any favorite asparagus recipes you’d like to share? 

I’ve posted some salad and dressing recipes over the past few weeks, but I couldn’t resist adding that perennial favorite of the rural Midwest, the wilted lettuce salad. My buddy Brian Mahieu sent me his own adaptation of his mother’s recipe for wilted lettuce, this one featuring caramelized onions, and I can’t wait to try it soon. He also forwarded a zesty green scallion salad dressing from friend Chris Franey that you can add to your arsenal of spring salad dressings. 

If you’ve read this blog over the past week or two you know that I love my greens, so of course I can’t let this post pass by without sharing two more ways for you to enjoy the wonders of cooked leafy greens! Though I’ve again focused on Swiss chard for the two pasta dishes I’m sharing, you can also use spinach, beet greens, and broccoli raab (or broccoli rabe, depending on which style book you’re consulting!). Farfalle with Sausage, Swiss Chard, and Pine Nuts is a relatively quick dish and absolutely tasty dish for a weeknight summer, while lasagna with Swiss chard or spinach is a dish I like to make up over the weekend, enjoying one pan fresh and freezing one pan for some future weeknight supper. 

No spring feast would be complete without a lovely berry dessert, so I’ll leave you with this fresh strawberry ricotta tart. 

This coming Saturday there should still be lots of lots of these same goodies at the market, so get there bright and early. Hope to see you there!

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Spring recipes, A(sparagus) to S(trawberries) 

Recipes:

Grilled Asparagus with Olive Oil and Lemon

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Wilted Lettuce Salad

Green Scallion Salad Dressing

Farfalle with Sausage, Swiss Chard, and Pine Nuts

Lasagna with Swiss chard or Spinach

Fresh Strawberry Ricotta Tart

Which recipe will you try first? Let us know in the comments!