I wanted to let you know that I am now a guest blogger for my client Kimberly Hartke, publicist for the Weston A. Price Foundation. Hartke is Online! welcomes guest bloggers who have an interest in our mission of promoting WAPF dietary guidelines, small traditional farms, and safe raw milk.

I write for her just about every week or so, and she's even hooked me up with my very own guest blogger page.

So far I've been posting the recipes that I cooked for a recent Nourishing Traditions dinner at Harke's house to celebrate Dr. Joseph Mercola and Sally Fallon Morell.

On Kimberly's blog you'll find the recipes for the two gluten-free delights posted below: almond flour shortbread and cheesy rosemary almond flour crackers.

Over Columbus Day weekend I went up to Vermont with two friends for a foodie tour. I brought home a ton of great Vermont food: Dreuxmanna spelt crackers, Wood's Boiled Cider, and of course maple syrup! While I was in Vermont, I wasn't surprised to find that the salads and vegetable side dishes stole the show. Here is a very easy side dish that is inspired by my trip to Vermont:

Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup and Brown Butter

-Halve and seed the butternut squash. Place the cut side down on a sheet pan and roast in a 400 degree oven until soft, about 30 minutes.

-Heat some butter over medium heat until it turns brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and set aside.

-Scoop out the soft flesh into a large bowl and mash with a fork.

-Add brown butter, maple syrup and some salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Soup

I received my last farm share of the season in the middle of September, but I'm still working my way through an assortment of peppers a month later. Can you believe they're still in great condition? Just as Farmer John suggested, I kept the peppers in the plastic produce bag that they came in and stored them in the fridge.

In case anyone is still with me, I thought I'd let you know that I will continue to post recipes and ideas on this blog. I hope to keep feeding you simple and practical ways to use up your produce, especially the ones you're not so familiar with. I'll also share some inspiration from my personal chef clients, like the awesome recipes I cook from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (no grains, big emphasis on almond flour to make "breads") and the nourishing whole-foods based recipes I cook for a good number of my clients.

Please let me know what you would like to learn how to prepare- either by commenting here or contacting me on my Facebook business page:

http://www.facebook.com/chefvictoriacortes

Thanks for following me :)

-Victoria

Here's a soup that you hardly need a recipe for. It's a unique combination that makes great use of eggplant and tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup

-Cut an eggplant in half and score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern. Halve some fresh tomatoes. Brush the eggplant and tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place both on a sheet-pan, flesh side down. Roast at 375 degrees until both are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant.

-Rough cut an onion (no fancy cuts needed here since you will later puree this soup) and cook it in a large sauce pan with some olive oil or butter over medium heat. Add some minced garlic and fresh herbs like thyme and oregano if you'd like. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.

-Once the onion is soft, add the eggplant and tomatoes to the sauce pan. Let them cook for a few minutes and then add enough vegetable or chicken stock to cover. Keep some extra stock on hand to thin out the soup later, if necessary.

-Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer gently until all the vegetables are soft. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper.

-Puree the soup until very smooth and add cream or stock as desired. Add salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with basil.

Last farm share of the season :( Watermelon popsicles and homemade salsa

This week I received the last share of the season. Sigh! (Ugh, I wrote this post in the middle of September. Sorry, just posting it now.)

Most of the produce included in the last few shares has a long shelf-life, something I'm so thankful for since over the past month I've been busy cooking for people other than myself (and my family).

However, collecting a few batches of the same type of produce suits me well, since when I do cook at home, I like to cook in large batches and then freeze most of it. See, I personally support the personal chef method!

Here is what has been included in the farm share lately:

butternut squash

eggplant

beets

scallions

green beans

tomatoes

sweet corn

new potatoes

peppers- a colorful assortment of mild and spicy

Below are a few things I've prepared in the past month with the farmshare:

Salsa made with Graceland farm bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes, along with some of the orange tomatoes from my garden.

Watermelon popsicles: puree a seeded watermelon in a blender, maybe add a little water, and freeze in molds. No need to add any sweetener for my two-year old, but a little honey and vanilla would suit my taste. An added bonus is that these popsicles take a while for my son to eat.

Panzanella Salad

Panzanella salad is such a treat this time of year!

All I do is:

• chop up some tomatoes
• add chopped cucumbers or onions if you'd like
• sprinkle on some salt and pepper
• sprinkle on some chopped basil
• toss with vinaigrette- I used balsamic vinaigrette
• toss mixture with homemade croutons or spoon over crostini
• finish with a little sea salt, more black pepper and a little good olive oil

homemade croutons

• slice a baguette into cubes (excellent way to use up day-old bread)
• spray on a little olive oil (preferably a spray bottle that you fill up)
• sprinkle with salt and pepper
• bake at 400 degrees until golden

This photo does not do this delicious salad any justice. I took the photo in the ultra bright sunlight at mid-day which washed out the vivid orange and red color of the heirloom tomatoes. I made this salad for lunch and then made it again for dinner with my family.

Week 15: Share Contents & Whole Foods Cost Comparison

Below are the contents of my farm share this past week. It's quite clear that it's the height of summer.

While shopping for a client at Whole Foods this week, I jotted down how much each of these items would have cost there. Based on my estimates, this farm share would have cost me $49.47 at Whole Foods, but because I am a member of a CSA, I only paid $29.11 ($25.88 per week for the produce and $3.23 per week for the eggs). That's a savings of $20.36!

Not only did I save $20.36,

• I received a larger watermelon than the ones sold at Whole Foods
• I received better quality basil than what is sold at Whole Foods, and paid less for it
• I didn't have to drive to the grocery store
• I didn't have to spend time thinking about what vegetables to buy and pondering their origins, price, freshness and seasonality.
• I didn't have to load the vegetables into a dirty grocery cart, unload them onto a dirty cashier belt, load them into my car, only to unload them once I got home.
• I also saved fuel resources because my farmer only had to drive 18.5 miles to deliver the produce to my neighborhood, and I only had to drive 3 miles from my house to pick it up.
• I supported a local farmer and my local economy.
• I taught my two-year old that good food comes from a farmer, although I'm afraid he gets confused at pick-up and might think that the house we go to is the actual farm.

This week's farm share and what each item would cost at Whole Foods:

A big watermelon= $5 (Graceland Farm's watermelon was much larger than the ones at WF)

6 large heirloom tomatoes $4.99/lb = $15 (each tomato weighs about a half pound)

2 pints of cherry tomatoes $3.99/ pt= $7.98

7 small peppers $3.99/ lb = $3

large bunch of basil $2.50 per dinky plant = $5

2 cucumbers- $.75 each = $1.50

4 Japanese eggplants- $4.99/lb = $4.99

6 ears of corn- $.50 each = $3.00

& a dozen farm eggs- forgot to check, but somewhere around $4

Total: $49.47

Corn Fritters

When I have corn on hand, I usually steam or boil it, take it off the cob, and toss it with vinaigrette and crunchy vegetables to make a light side dish. Corn salad is great, but now I'm on a corn fritter kick. I've made this recipe twice in one week, and so far I've found that no one turns down the offer of a corn fritter. Once again, it's a Cooks Illustrated recipe.

CORN FRITTERS WITH CHEDDAR AND CHIVES

Makes 12 fritters. Published November 3, 2006.

Tangy cheddar cheese partners well with the corn and flecks of green chives give the fritters a light, oniony flavor.

1 ½ pounds fresh corn (2 large or 3 to 4 medium ears), husks and silk removed

1 large egg , beaten lightly

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornmeal

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 small shallot , minced

1/2 teaspoon table salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ cup corn oil or vegetable oil, or more as needed

INSTRUCTIONS

1.Using chef’s knife, cut kernels from 1 to 2 ears corn and place in bowl (you should have about 1 cup whole kernels). Grate kernels from remaining 1 to 2 ears on large holes of box grater (you should have generous 1/2 cup grated kernels) into bowl with cut kernels. Using back of knife, scrape any pulp remaining on all cobs into bowl. Stir in egg, flour, cornmeal, cream, shallot, salt, cayenne, cheese, chives, and mustard to form a thick batter.


2.Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop 6 heaping tablespoonfuls batter in pan. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer fritters to plate lined with paper towels. If necessary, add more oil to skillet and heat until shimmering; fry remaining batter. Serve fritters immediately.