Ready to bake yer blueberries?

Terhune Orchard is having a Blueberry Bash later this month, which includes a bake-off.

Get your blueberry recipes ready!

Cheese and Onion Enchiladas

The Recipe:

8 Dried Ancho Chiles
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic
1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. (about) salt

12 corn tortillas
oil
1 lb. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 large onions, sliced
1 bunch scalions, sliced

Start with the sauce. Put the dried chiles in a pot and cover with water; bring to a boil, then turn off and let sit for at least 1/2 hour (an hour is better but that means you had to plan farther ahead than I remember to do.) Reserving the water, pull out the stem and remove the seeds from the chiles; puree the chiles with about half of the water from the pot. Set aside the water and the chiles.

Heat the Tbsp olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Slice the garlic thinly and add it to the pot; cook for several minutes but do not let it brown. Once your kitchen smells like garlic heaven, remove the garlic from the oil and whisk in the flour. Cook about 1 minute and remove from heat.

Strain the pureed chile peppers into the pot, running the remaining soaking water over the remains to force through all the lovely goodness. Whisk the mixture back over heat, adding the oregano, vinegar, cumin and salt. If necessary, add enough water to make about 3 cups of sauce. Bring up to a boil, turn off the heat and let sit. Can be made several hours ahead.

To assemble the enchiladas: saute the sliced onions in a little olive oil until nicely brown. Pour about 1/3 cup sauce into a 9x11 glass baking dish, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set up an assembly line where your onions, sliced scalions, grated cheese are handy, and you'll need two plates. Fill the first plate with enchilada sauce.

Heat the oven to 350. Heat a skillet with a little oil. Put in one tortilla and heat on each side for about 20 seconds; remove from skillet and place in the sauce plate. Turn to coat. Move it to plate #2 and place a layer of cheese in a stripe down the middle, then a bit of the onions and scallions. Roll up around the stripe of filling and place seam-side down into the dish. Repeat until all tortillas have been used. (I usually put eight enchiladas along one side of the dish in a straight line, then push the remaining four across the top.) Pour all the remaining sauce, including what's left in your sauce plate, over the top of the enchiladas; scatter any remaining filling ingredients over the top. Bake for 20 minutes, then let sit out for at least 5 before you try to serve. Feeds a family of four easily, probably with leftovers.

The Story:

In high school, I had to make something for a Spanish class meal, and I found a basic enchilada recipe in some old cookbook. I wrote it down on two little shards of paper from my handbag and I've been working from the two little shards of paper ever since. I've made so many changes, however, it's high time to get this written down right. However, I just sat here and wrote this up from memory (after having made it for dinner tonight,) so I guess I could let those little green scraps go now. But I won't; they'll stay in their honored place in my recipe folder for another twenty years, I'm sure.

The sauce stains. Bad. Remember this.

Ancho chiles are dried poblanos. They're not all that hot, but this might be a little much for some folks. Also, depending how big the chiles are, you may want to use less or more; use your best judgement.

Serve with Black Bean Salad and plenty of ice cold cerveza. Yum!

Locally Grown 2008

Many of the farmer's markets in Central NJ are open or are opening soon! Susan Sprague Yeske gave us a rundown in this week's Trenton Times of many local markets. Here are the highlights, with some extra:

West Windsor Community Farmers Market -- Saturdays through October, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Vaughn Drive lot of Princeton Junction Train Station (southbound). (609) 577-5113
Lawrenceville Farmers Market -- Sundays June 8 through Oct. 28, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of Lawrenceville Fuel, 16 Gordon Ave., Lawrenceville. (609) 206-0344
Hopewell Community Market -- Wednesdays through October, 2 to 7 p.m. near the train station, at Railroad Place off Greenwood Avenue in Hopewell Borough. (609) 466-8330.
Trenton Farmers Market -- Open year round; for the harvest season through October, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Located at 960 Spruce St., Lawrence. (609) 695-2998,
Sergeantsville Farmers Market -- Saturdays through September from 8:30 a.m. to noon on the township green on Route 604 Rosemont-Ringoes Road in Delaware Township. (609) 397-8768.
Liberty Village Premium Outlets Farmers Market -- Sundays through Nov. 30, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Liberty Village Shopping Center, off Route 12, Flemington. (908) 782-8550.
Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers Market -- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays at Dvoor Farm on the Route 12 circle in Flemington through October.
Burlington County Farmers Market -- 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the former Winner Farm at Hartford and Centerton roads, Moorestown. (609) 265-5020. June 14 through October.
Columbus Farmers Market -- Daily, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Route 206, one mile south of Columbus.
(609) 267-0400.
Montgomery Friends Farmers Market -- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays from June 21 through Oct. 25 at the Village Shopper on Route 206, just north of Route 518.
Rutgers Gardens Farmers Markets -- Fridays 2 to 6 p.m. through Oct. 31 on the Rutgers Garden grounds on Ryders Lane in New Brunswick.
Franklin Township Farmer's Market -- Through Nov. 29, Sat. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at John's Plaza 720 Hamilton St. (Across from New Millenium Bank; Franklin Twp., Somerset County)
Bound Brook Farmers Market -- Sat. 9a.m.-2p.m. through October. At the NJ Transit Parking Lot on Main Street in Bound Brook.
West End Farmer's Market -- Every Thursday 12-6 p.m. June 5-December 4, Parking lot behind Jesse's Cafe & Catering at 139 Brighton Avenue in the West End Section of Long Branch
Freehold Farmers Market -- Tuesdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The American Hotel, 18 E. Main St., Freehold. (732) 946-9639. July to October.

Some of these, such as the Trenton Farmer's Market, have rules about only selling what you grow- but there's no guarantee for the rest. There are lots of "farmer's markets" and roadside stands where, if you look carefully, you can see the folks unloading fruit and veggies out of the same boxes they get at Shop-Rite! Be careful. Don't be afraid to ask where the produce is grown. If you want Jersey Fresh, speak up! Buy local!

Vegetarian Times?

Since I'm looking to replace my subscription to Bon Appetit...

Does anyone get Vegetarian Times? I looked over their web site briefly, and while there was a heavy use of soy meat replacement ingredients, it did look like there was some interesting recipes.

There's a two issue free trial offer there, so I took them up on it. Worth a try!

Minestrone

The Recipe

1 1/2 cups assorted dried beans (I like kidney, big lima, chickpeas, pinto- use what you've got)
1 bay leaf
2 rinds from pieces of Parmesan cheese (more or less)
7 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp dry savory (or marjoram if you don't have savory)
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
2 zucchini, sliced into rounds or half rounds as you prefer
1 small bunch beet greens, kale, spinach or what you like, sliced into thin short strips
1/2 cup orzo or other small soup pasta- OPTIONAL
2 Tbsp. fresh or frozen pesto -OPTIONAL

Soak beans overnight or at least 6 hours in water to cover by 2 inches. Drain well and add to a medium-large pot; add the broth, cheese ends and bay leaf and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off but keep handy.

Meanwhile, in a larger (6-7 quart) pot, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Saute carrot, onion and celery for 4-5 minutes until beginning to brown. Add garlic, thyme and savory; stir one minute. Add the beans in the Parmesan broth to the pot along with the tomatoes & oregano; bring back to a boil. Reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Add sliced zucchini and greens; cook until greens are almost tender, maybe 5 minutes or so, depending on the green. Add the pasta at the appropriate time to cook per package directions, and serve.

If you have leftover or frozen pesto cubes, adding 2 or 3 right before serving is nice. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf. The cheese rinds should be soft enough now to cut into smaller chunks if you like to eat them (we do!)


The Story

I always keep the rinds from wedges to Parmesan in the back of the cheese drawer, wrapped in plastic with a rubber band, waiting to make this soup. The Parmesan adds a richness and depth of flavor that is otherwise unattainable without meat stock. The cheese is very tasty to eat after it's been cooked so long.



The last time I made this soup I bough kale to use, but a day or so before I made it I came across some great organic beets and used those leaves instead. Use what you like, but remember that kale will need more time than beet tops, which need more time than spinach.

If you use the pasta and there are leftovers, the pasta will continue to soak up broth and the soup will become very thick while the pasta gets soft.

At the end of the season, I harvest all my remaining basil and make pesto. I freeze it in ice cube trays and put the cubes into bags to add to soups and sauces all winter long. I'm just using up the last ones now.

Swedish Meatballs

The Recipe

3/4 cup bread crumbs (unseasoned)
1 cup cream, divided
1 onion, medium-finely chopped
1 egg
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp (generous) ground allspice
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Stir 1/2 cup of cream into bread crumbs in a large bowl. Let sit 5 min. Add the onion, egg, ground beef, salt & allspice. Combine with your hands (this will not be easy, since the breadcrumbs are now like cement, but you'll get it.) and shape into meatballs*.

Melt butter in skillet over med-hi heat. Add the meatballs in two batches and brown; remove to plate. Sprinkle flour over pan drippings and stir to form roux, making sure to scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add remaining cream and milk, whisking continuously. Bring up to boil; add meatballs and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or so. Serve over noodles. Easily feeds a family of four with leftovers for lunch.

The Story

This is not for the weak of heart or the high of cholesterol. Only have this dish twice a year, even if your health is good. Savor it like crazy when you do.

This is a (very slight) variation of a recipe from "Many Hands Cooking: An International Cookbook for Girls and Boys" by Terry Touff Cooper and Marilyn Ratner. I started my cooking career young, since my parents hated to cook and I showed some promise in it. I made all sorts of ghastly things involving hot dogs, frozen vegetables and canned soup that my folks and I found in pamphlets and on the backs of boxes & cans. Rarely was fresh food involved. When I was ten, my grandmother bought this cookbook for me for Christmas; I quickly found recipes that we would eat (Dad was picky) and went to town. These meatballs are among the best.

The sad thing is, I never got to thank my grandmother. She was the kind of person who bought gifts well in advance of holidays. She bought this book for me for Christmas, but she died in the summer and it was given to me when her house was cleaned out.

Thanks, Grandma.

Last year, at a library book sale I found the sequel "Many Friends Cooking" by the same two authors. I snatched it up immediately. I haven't made anything from it yet, but maybe it's time to teach my oldest to cook more things...

One thing that I have changed is I now cook with organic butter/meat/cream/milk. Unfortunately, the organic label doesn't change the fact that this dish has enough saturated fat in it to suggest you should put a cardiologist on speed-dial. Man, though, as a splurge- it is yummy.

*note on meatball size: I always made these too big. Swedish meatballs are usually small, cocktail size meatballs, but I'd make them the size of meatballs you'd find with spaghetti. My mother even went so far as to buy me a scoop to try to make them the small size. I never did it. I still don't. Make 'em as big as you want.

The Whole Earth Center

Fantastic article in the U.S. 1 Newspaper about the expansion of the Whole Earth Center in Princeton.