Peppers Stuffed with Herbed Chevre

It may be past the middle of October, but we still have bell peppers--time to use those up!  We've also still got chevre in the market.  Treat yourself to this fun and simple ecipe.

Peppers Stuffed with Herbed Chevre

6 mini bell peppers
1 8 oz container of chevre (soft goat cheese)
*2 finely chopped tablespoons of any of these herbs (rosemary, thyme,
oregano, marjoram, sage, or any other herbs you've got laying around)
Salt and pepper

*Pick up some herbed chevre in the market and skip this step!

Mix the herbs and salt and pepper with the chevre. Slice lengthwise one side of the pepper -- enough to remove the seeds and inside of the pepper. Stuff it with herbed cheese mixture, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

You can use as much or little of the cheese mixture you would like. Also,
you can prepare the cheese mixture the day before.

Adapted from Garden of Eden CSA website.



Renae Writes: No-Noodle Zucchini Lasagna

The picture does not do it justice--I am not a photographer! Notice it is a little watery as I would suggest dabbing the zucchini with a paper towel. As we near September, the bounties of the field are at their peak (hence the scheduling of the annual Taste of Sunshine event this Saturday, August 28!).  This time of year calls for numerous "celebrations of the harvest."  This week, I decided to challenge myself to my own celebration of the harvest by cooking up a new recipe using the veggies that you will be getting in today’s CSA share.

Although I don’t get a formal CSA box each week, I do consume my fair share of veggies.  Sometimes, however, I lack in creativity.  I will grab a couple veggies or a mix of greens and call it a simple meal.  I find it difficult to want to turn the oven on in an already heated house!  Last night the crisp August air accompanied with the full moon felt right.  I turned the oven on after collecting some veggies from the field and some products from the Sunshine Farm Market.  After a little work, I turned this week's box (plus a few more ingredients) into a no-noodle lasagna, a salad, and a strawberry-watermelon freeze.  A field report and a dinner plan in one!  

We challenge any of you brave CSA members to take all the contents of any given week, use every item, and creating a scrumptious meal.  If you attempt or complete this we would love to hear about what you come up with.  Maybe we could even get you toshare it with the rest of the CSA members!  A CSA recipe/meal plan swap.  What more perfect people to share with than others that go home with a grocery bag full of the same veggies.  Send your recipes to veggies@thesunshinefarm.com.

No-Noodle Lasagna

• 1 eggplant
• 4-5 large tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 large zucchini
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 lb ground beef (Sunshine Farm Beef available at the Market!)
• ½ t ground black pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1 cob of corn (sliced off the cob, I know it is hard to justify cutting up that fresh corn and baking it)
• 2 Tbsp chopped basil
• 1 Tbsp chopped oregano
• 1 egg
• 1 container of Sunshine Farm chevre (if we're out, try Sunny Pine's chevre)
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
• ½ bunch of Chard
• .5 lbs of Greenbanks mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a deep 9 X 13 inch baking pan or similar size Corning Ware with glass top.  
2. Put diced tomatoes in a saucepan with the minced garlic and simmer for 45 minutes. 
3. Roast eggplant:  Cut in half, make slits in flesh and sprinkle with salt, let sit for 20 minutes and dab moisture with rag.  Brush with oil, sprinkle with dried/fresh oregano and place with flesh down on cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.  Let cool.
4. Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices.  Sprinkle slices lightly with salt, set aside to drain in a colander.
5. Cook and stir ground beef in large skillet over medium – high heat for 5 minutes.  Add green pepper, carrots and onion.  Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink.  Stir in tomato sauce and basil.  If it gets too thick add a little red cooking wine or water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer sauce for ten minutes. 
6. Scoop eggplant out of peels, chop eggplant and place in a medium size bowl.  Add the egg, chevre, corn and parsley.  Mix together. 
7. Chop chard, place in sauce pan to simply wilt.  
8. To assemble lasagna, spread half of the meat sauce into the bottom of prepared pan.  Then layer half the zucchini slices, half chevre mix, all the chard, then half the mozzarella.  Repeat by layering the meat sauce, zucchini slices, chevre mix, and mozzarella. 
9. Cover with foil or glass cover.  Bake for 45 minutes, increase heat to 350 and bake for 10 more minutes.  Let sit for 15 minutes and serve.

I started with a recipe from www.allrecipes.com, then revised itin order to pack in some more veggies and to make use of the products we have here at the market.  I experimented with our own chevre which was a nice touch, not quite the chunkiness that ricotta normally adds but creamy nonetheless.  I used the dill chevre which made this a three herbed lasagna, dill, parsley, and basil.  I must admit it the three complimented each other well but I may suggest using a basil, garlic, or parsley chevre.

This meal would go well accompanied with a mix of salad greens and my seasonal favorite Strawberry-Watermelon freeze.  It sounds fancy, but it's easy to do.  Scoop out the innards of half a watermelon (trying to discard any seeds) and place in a freezer bag for half the day, or longer.  Wash and cut the greens off a pint of strawberries.  Place strawberries and frozen watermelon in a blender and pulse for about a minute and enjoy.  Nice and refreshing after a hot day in the sun.

Molly Cooks: Beet and Arugula Salad with Chevre

Molly writes:  "I learned how to make this salad from Carol Kast.  It's super simple, can be partially prepared ahead of time, and is bound win over even the most picky of eaters.  The smaller the beet, the sweeter it is and roasting concentrates the sugars even more, resulting in an almost candied flavor, but with no added sugars.  This is a balanced contrast to the arugula, which is a tangier, spicy green (but more mild when young).  Arugula and beets alike are rich in potassium and calcium, and chevre has a third less fat than cream cheese. You can indulge in this mouth watering salad and know you're putting great things in your body."

• 1 lb beets, the smaller the getter
• 2 generous handfuls of arugula, approximately 2 ounces
• 3 ounces chevre (garlic, or herbed works just as well as plain)
• Olive oil to taste
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash beets well in cold running water, gently scrubbing with a vegetable brush to work off any residual soil. (If you don't have a vegetable scrub, use a fresh dishcloth and gently massage beets.)  Quarter the beets, then slice each wedge in half lengthwise, resulting in 8 pieces per beet.  Cut each piece in half again for larger beets.  Spread the cut beets onto a baking sheet and toss with a bit of olive oil (no more than a tablespoon).  Roast for 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through.  The beets should have blistered, wilted a bit, and have blackened edges.  Set aside to cool.*

Put beets in a large bowl and add arugula.  Crumble chevre over the top of the greens, then add a drizzle of olive oil (start with about a tablespoon) and balsamic vinegar (about a teaspoon). Gently toss together with both hands, and add more olive oil and vinegar to taste. 

*Can be done the night before and refrigerated.