Great Recipes using the Garden's Bounty

[me&thegals]

Hi everyone! I'm assuming a lot of us have gardens and cook according to what's growing. I thought it would be helpful to have a place to showcase the best of the best.

While I surely love trying out new recipes, could we save this spot for ones that are Tried and True by you and your family?

I'll start with one of my favorites. I have it in the works right now to use up some kale and Swiss chard.

Swiss Chard PieI LOVE this pie/quiche! Just add a nice fruit salad and youve got an entire meal that includes whole grains, fruit, vegetables, protein and dairy!

1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oil
1 bunch Swiss chard/kale/mustard greens, spinach... (about 12 cups)
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 piecrust (see below for no-roll crust recipe)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown onion and garlic in oil. Trim and chop chard (can include greens and stems), add to pan and cook down until wilted. Beat eggs and milk in bowl. Mix in salt and chard mixture. Pour into piecrust. Sprinkle cheese on top, pushing slightly into chard mixture. Bake until knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-40 min.

1 piece (including 1/8 of crust below): 367 calories,
13 grams protein, 5 grams fiber
Vitamin A 170% Vitamin C 42%
Calcium 24% Iron 23%


Whole-wheat, no-roll piecrust
1 cups flour (whole-wheat pastry flour best, whole-wheat flour okay)
1 tsp sugar
tsp salt
cup oil (I prefer mixture of canola and olive)
3 tbsp milk

Place all ingredients in pie pan. Mix with fork until well blended and pat into the pan. Push pastry up the sides and form a nice edge with thumb and finger. Prick to avoid bubbling during baking.

 

[me&thegals]

Does anybody have a recipe for making fruit jam without buying pectin? Using fruit's natural pectin? I would love one for raspberries, black and red.

 

[BrookValley]

Oh my gosh! You must be reading my mind, 'cause I was just coming on here to tell about the yummy swiss chard omelet I made for breakfast this morning! Not quite a quiche, but similar...and quite yummy! I don't have a nice recipe, though, I was just excited that I made breakfast almost entirely from things that I had grown myself. The only exception was the asiago cheese I added...

 

[me&thegals]

Isn't that fun?? My family gets so tickled when we sit down for a meal and almost everything has been grown, hunted or raised by us

 

[the simple life]

Choose A Berry Preserves
Makes 4 - 8 ounce jars.
Use blackberries, red raspberries,loganberries or a combination of all three.

8 cups berries
4 cups sugar
In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine berries and sugar. Stir well. Set aside until berries release their juice, approx. 10 minutes.

Prepare canner, lids and jars.

Bring berry mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Boil hard, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and test gel , if gel stage has been
reached, remove from heat and skim off foam.

To test for gel stage, put a plate/saucer in the freezer before you start. When you think you have reached the gel stage take a teaspoonful of the mixture and put it onto the plate and chill it in the freezer for 1 minute.
Remove the plate/saucer from the freezer and push the edge of the spread with your finger.
A mixture that has reached the gel stage will be set, and the surface will wrinkle when the edge is pushed.

Ladle hot preserves into prepared jars leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary by adding more of the preserves.
Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

 

[the simple life]

No Pectin Raspberry Jam
Makes 8-8 ounce jars.

5 tart apples, stem and blossom ends removed, chopped coarsley, cores intact.(apples are a natural form of pectin)
1 lemon
water
4 cups raspberries
5 cups granulated sugar

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine apples, lemon and enough water to prevent sticking.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, partially cover and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until mixture is very soft.
Working in batches, transfer to a fine sieve. With the back of a spoon press mixture through sieve to yield 2 cups.
Discard apples.
In large saucepan combine mixture and sugar, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar.
Boil, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and mounds on a spoon, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and skim off foam.
Ladle hot jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary by adding more of the jam.
Center lid on jar and tighten screwband until fingertip tight.
Process in a hotwater bath for 10 minutes.

 

[the simple life]

Berry Jam (no pectin)
Makes 8-8 ounce jars.
9 cups
Crushed blackberries,blueberries,boysenberries,dewberries,
gooseberries, loganberries,raspberries,youngberries
or a combination of any of these berries.
6 cups granulated sugar.
In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine berries and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar.
Boil, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and test gel.
If gel stage has been reached, skim off foam.
Ladle hot jam into prepared jars leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.
Process in a hotwater bath for 10 minutes.

 

[me&thegals]

Natalie--thank you, thank you, thank you!! I just got pectin again tonight for almost $2/box. That starts to add up! I can't wait to try this with more black raspberries. My MIL just made some lovely blueberry sauce with just berries and sugar, so I will maybe try some jam with those, too. I LOVE this site

 

[me&thegals]

Here's another one in case anyone is trying to use up zucchini. This also freezes really well:

Penzeys Chocolate Zucchini Bread (2 loaves)stores well in freezer

3 large eggs
1 cups sugar
1 cup veggie oil (or replace 1/2 with buttermilk/applesauce)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour (Replace all or half with whole wheat. Works especially well with whole-wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 t cinnamon
2/3 cup semisweet choc chips
2 tsp flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients. Mix until well blended. In small saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa and blend until smooth. Set aside to cool. Grate zucchini. Add zucchini and cooled cocoa to the large mixing bowl and blend well. In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to batter. Stir only enough to blend. In another small bowl, coat choc. chips with 2 teaspoons flour. Add to batter. Spoon into 2 generously greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 60-70 min or until done. Cool in pans 5-10 min. Remove from pans and continue to cool on a wire rack.

 

[ticks]

Ooooh I like zucchini bread.