Baked Turtle Beans

1 lb turtle beans
¼ c sunflower oil
3 c chopped onions
1 c chopped celery
1 c finely chopped carrots
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
4 c chopped tomatoes
¼ c fresh chopped parsley
2 T honey
1 ¼ tsps Maine Sea Salt
1 minced dried hot red pepper

Sort and wash beans; place in pot and cover with water. Let stand for 8 hours or overnight. Drain. Cover with water at least 2 inches above; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Drain beans. Preheat oven to 325’. While beans cook, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery and carrots, cook 5 minutes then add garlic and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in oregano and tomatoes; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, dill, honey salt and dried pepper. Combine the cooked beans and tomato mixture in a 3 quart casserole dish coated with oil. Bake at 325’ for 1 hour. Serve topped with cheese if desired.

Blueberry Yogurt Delight

Localvore Notes: Other local fruits may be added too, including apples, pears, peaches, raspberries strawberries.

Fresh blueberries
Butterworks maple yogurt

Mix & serve!

Crunchy Gazpacho

2 c green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, seeded, chopped
1 c cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
handful of green & yellow beans, chopped
3/4 cup carrot, shredded or chopped
1 tsp salt
5 c tomatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic
3 T lemon or lime juice
3 T sunflower oil

Place all soup ingredients except tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in large bowl. Set aside. Place tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in food processor bowl fitted with metal blade or 5-cup blender container. Process until smooth (30 to 60 seconds). Pour tomato mixture over vegetable mixture; stir, chill & serve with tortillas. Garnish with fresh mint or sour cream.

Gardener’s Ratatouille

Localvore Notes: Chopping all the vegetables so that they’re the same size will ensure even cooking.

2 tsp sunflower seed oil
1 c chopped onion
3 c chopped plum tomatoes (1 pound)
2 c chopped peeled or unpeeled eggplant
1 ½ c chopped zucchini
1 c chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 T chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp crush red pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over med.-high heat. Add onion, sauté 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add tomato, eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and garlic. Cover reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in oregano and remaining ingredients; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

Roasted Vegetables

Localvore Notes: Delicious! A meal could be made of roasted zucchini, carrots, onions and potatoes. Cooked wheat berries may be used as a rice substitute.

zucchini
carrots
potatoes
corn on the cob
Butterworks sunflower oil
Maine Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a baking dish with sunflower oil. Cut veggies in half. Potatoes go in first since they take longest to cook and are flipped over midway. Bake until easily pierced, 15 minutes each side. Sprinkle lightly with salt while still hot.

Stuffed Summer Squash

Localvore Notes: Substituting cider for white wine tastes good too.

2 medium summer squash or zucchini about 8 inches long
2-4 T sunflower oil
1 small green or red pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 c chopped tomatoes, chopped to make juicy
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c of basil leaves chopped
1 T oregano
1/4 c chopped parsley
½ tsp Maine sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper or finely chopped red pepper
½ c dry white wine
1 c cooked wheat berries, brown rice or barley
1 c shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray or rub with oil. Slice squash in half length-wise and scoop out the pulp of squash. Chop up the pulp of squash. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large skillet. Add peppers and onions to skillet cook 5 minutes, add garlic and chopped squash pulp, cook an additional 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine and herbs to the skillet and cook 5 minutes. Add the wheat berries and cook until most of the liquid is reduced. Adjust seasoning to taste. Remove skillet from heat, add cheese to mixture and stuff squash with the mixture. Put squash in baking dish and bake for 40 minutes or until tender. Enjoy!

Sweet Italian Sausage with Summer Squash and Zucchini
Lou Anne McLeod

½ pound of local, sweet Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Italian pepper, diced
½ hot pepper, minced
1 medium summer squash, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
2 clove of garlic, minced
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsleyz
½ cup chopped basil
¼ cup chopped oregano
salt and pepper
olive oil

Remove sausage from casings and fry in frying pan over med. heat. Add onion and peppers to pan when sausage is mostly done, cook until soft, add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add olive oil as necessary to keep mixture moist and not sticking to pan. Add squash and zucchini to pan cook until slightly tender, add herbs, salt and pepper and tomatoes, cook until some of the liquid has evaporated. Adjust seasonings to taste.

You can also make this without the sausage for a vegetarian dish. Cook the onions and peppers in olive oil and increase the herbs to make up for the loss of seasonings from the sausage.

Vegetables à la Scarsdale

Localvore Notes: Toast a slice of good whole grain bread and cut it up into little pieces for the croutons.

2 c diced, cooked mixed vegetables (green beans, corn, carrots, peas, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, celery, leeks, summer squash, etc)
4 Chinese water chestnuts, sliced (substitute sunchokes)
½ c cottage cheese
1 oz. grated cheese
protein croutons

Arrange cooked drained veggies (including sunchokes) in small oiled casserole. Spread cottage cheese on top Sprinkle with grated cheese mixed with croutons. Heat uncovered in 400 degree over 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Vegetable Quiche

3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c warm milk, low fat is fine
½ tsp salt
pinch each pepper and nutmeg
3/4 c grated swiss, gruyere or cheddar cheese
1 c nicely cooked, well drained vegetables such as chopped spinach, chard, kale, zucchini, broccoli
1 tsp butter
9" unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread cheese evenly in the bottom of the pie shell, then vegetables and pour the milk mix over it. Dot with butter (prevents "skin" from forming on surface). Place pie on cookie sheet and bake for half an hour, or until set. Remove when the outside is set and the middle couple of inches still jiggles if you tap the pan. Quiche must set 10-15 minutes before it is cut, and in that time the center will set. Try not to overbake, as the texture will be less smooth.

Vegetable Quiche Cups to Go

Localvore Notes: Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated in a microwave. Any combination of vegetables may be used.

1 ½ c chopped spinach, broccoli, kale
2 eggs
3/4 c shredded cheese
1/4 c diced green bell peppers
1/4 c diced onion

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with foil baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray. Combine ingredients. Mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Vegetarian Chili

Localvore Notes: This recipe is flexible. Experiment with what you have! Remember to soak beans and wheat berries in advance and cook until done. Makes 6-8 servings.

4-5 c cooked black beans or kidney beans
2-3 c cooked wheat berries
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 ½ c chopped onion
1 c each, chopped celery, carrots, green peppers (In winter you may have only carrots - do 2 cups)
2 c chopped tomatoes or some homemade salsa or spaghetti sauce
2 T cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp basil
1 tsp chili powder or more, to taste
salt and pepper
dash of cayenne or more, to taste
sunflower oil or butter for saute

Saute onions and garlic in oil or butter. Add carrots, celery and spices. When veggies are almost done, add peppers. If you have some dried hot peppers you could crush and add. Cook until tender. If you have a local dry red wine you could add 3 Ts. Combine all ingredients and heat together gently.

Can serve topped with cheese and parsley. Great with corn bread or warm tortillas.

Wheat Berry Tabouli

Localvore Notes: Very tasty, a little like chili with a good texture. Serve with a salad made with greens, local blue cheese, apples from Champlain orchard, and a dressing made with ½ cider vinegar and ½ maple syrup. Nice flavor combination with the sweet dressing and pungent blue cheese.

1 c cooked wheat berries
1 T sunflower oil
1 T cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 scallions or 1/4 c onions, finely minced
½ c minced parsley
10 mint leaves, minced
1 medium sized ripe tomato
Optional: diced bell pepper or minced cucumber

Mix first 4 ingredients. Cover tightly and refrigerate 20-30 minutes. About 30 minutes before serving add remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve cold.

Whole Grain Tabbouleh

Localvore Notes: Lemon juice and pepper are the only non-local ingredients.

1 c finely chopped fresh parsley
½ c finely chopped red onion
1/3 c finely chopped fresh mint or 1 to 2 tsp. dried
3 T roasted garlic oil, or 3 Tbs. plain olive oil plus 2 to 3 small cloves garlic, minced
3 to 5 T fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 c peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
3 c cooked whole grains, such as kamut, wheat berries or brown rice
2 c seeded and diced plum tomatoes

In large bowl, combine grains, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, onion and mint. Drizzle oil and 3 Ts lemon juice over the mixture while you stir. Add salt, pepper and additional lemon juice if necessary to give salad a nice puckery edge.

Yummy Salsa

Localvore Notes: Non-local peppers and chiles make this dish very flavorful!

4 tomatoes, chopped
½ c minced onion
1/4 c green pepper
1 tsp fresh cilantro
Maine Sea Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c sunflower oil
3 T mild chiles
2 jalapenos
2 T cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients and serve with organic tortilla chips.

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Pat McGovern, Lebanon, NH
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