Three Kinds of Beans

I picked my second harvest of beans today.  I planted green beans, yellow wax beans and purple beans.  Here is the picture I took along with the four cucumbers I picked.

Organic Raspberry Blueberry Jam

This recipe was created after I joined a CSA that had a fruit share which gave me more fruit that I can eat. The ingredients are from the farm and the fresh taste of summer shines through.

Yield: 6 half pints

4 cups fresh organic raspberries

4 cups fresh organic blueberries

2 cups organic sugar

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice from organic lemons

Here's how:

Prepare a water bath canner and sterilize jars, lids and bands.

Canner getting ready

Jars and tools ready

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized pot.

Great looking fruit

Organic sugar

Everything into the pot

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Combined and coming up to a boil

At the boiling point

Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until the jam is thick and falls off a spoon in sheets, 20-25 minutes. You should be stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

Simmering down

Done and ready to put in the jars

Skim off the foam.

Ladle the jam into the jars.  Clean off the rims.

Top with lids and bands.

Ready to go into the canner

Place in the water bath canner and boil for 10 minutes.

Remove the jars from the canner and set aside.

Out of the canner and the seals are setting

Make sure the lids pop and seal.  Store for up to one year. If the lid done not seal, store in the fridge.

Cucumber Salad

The flavors of Greek Tsatsiki are in this salad.  Cucumbers, dill, garlic and the tang from yogurt and sour cream.  If you have some cucumbers and don't know what to do with them, try this refreshing dish.  I used organic ingredients and cucumbers from my garden but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Ingredients:

3 medium sized cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup plain yogurt

1 TBS fresh dill, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

Here's how:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and let sit at least 4 hours but overnight is best to get the best flavor.

Serve as a side with your favorite BBQ foods or as a Greek side dish.

Organic Apricot Jam

Fresh apricots are one of my favorite summer fruits.  I like to preserve them in a jam so I can enjoy that fresh summer flavor in the winter.  I made this recipe using a small amount of fruit but this recipe can easily be doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on how much fruit you have on hand.  I use all organic ingredients but conventional can be used.

Yield: 2.5 half pints

1.5 lbs fresh organic apricots

1 cup organic sugar

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice from organic lemons

Here's how:

Cut each apricot in half and remove the pit.

Cut each half into quarters.

Apricots cut and pitted

Place the fruit and sugar into a small bowl, stir and let sit for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days in the fridge.

Sugar mixed in

Prepare a water bath canner.

Canner ready to go

Sterilize jars, lids and bans.

All the tools to can

Pour the contents of the small bowl into a medium sized pot and add lemon juice.

Everything into the pot

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.

Just to a boil

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated and the jam falls off a spoon in sheets.  The jam should be thick.

Halfway there

Done

Ladle the jam into the jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.  Clean the rims and then put on the lids and bands.

Jar is filled

Place the jars into the water bath, bring back to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.

nto the pot to boil

Remove the jars from the canner and set aside.

Out of the canner and cooling

Ensure the lids have sealed and store for up to one year.  If it does not seal, place it in the fridge and keep it for up to one month.

Tomato Salad

My garden and CSA have been giving me lots of fresh produce.  This recipe is quick and easy and can be  used to finish up a large harvest and give you a great side dish.  This is a great summer salad as it does not have mayo.

12 small Tomatoes or 5 large tomatoes, diced in large pieces

8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced or torn into pieces

1/4 of a red onion, finely diced

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 TBS red wine or balsamic vinegar

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.  

Tomatoes cut up

Basil torn into pieces

Red onion, diced

All the veggies into a bowl

Stir to combine. 

Oil and vinegar in and ready to go

Let sit over night to let the favors meld but it can be eaten right away.

Sausage and Asparagus Fritatta

Here is another recipe made from some ingredients from my CSA share.  Frittatas are great ways to use up ingredients.  This is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 TBS olive oil

4 small breakfast sausage patties, diced

1 small bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 small onion, small diced

Salt

Pepper

Here's how:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium high heat.

Add the oil until hot

Add the sausage, asparagus and onion and sauté for 4 minutes.

Remove from the pan and set aside.  Clean the pan. 

Combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  

Scramble to combine well.

Add the veggie mixture.

Spray the pan with nonstick spray and heat.

Add the egg mixture to the pan and stir for 2 minutes.

Place the pan in the oven for 25 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Remove from the oven.

Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from the pan.

Serve.