farm fresh | Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Tag: farm fresh
- Farm Fresh Grilled Vegetables
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Jun 20th
  My town like many towns has a wonderful weekly farmer’s market each week where local farms sell fresh produce. Beautiful ripe heirloom tomatoes glistening with morning dew, the deepest aubergine eggplant, plump zucchini along with a red, orange, and yellow peppers just beckoning to be grilled.
  
  3 red peppers
  
  3 orange peppers
  
  3 yellow peppers
  
  2 large eggplants
  
  2 large zucchinis
  
  1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  
  1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
  
  1/2 cup olive oil
  
  1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  
  1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
  
  1 tablespoon fresh french thyme, finely chopped
  
  Remove stems and seeds from peppers then slice in quarters. Slice eggplant and zucchini horizontally. Place vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, basil, and thyme. Pour over vegetables then toss. Let sit for 30 minutes to marinate flavors. Preheat grill. Grill vegetables turning every five minutes until tender. Arrange on a platter. Serve at room temperature. You can grill a day ahead and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in Barbecue, vegetables,easy,, Farm Fresh Produce, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, summertime recipes, vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged Easy recipe, farm fresh, Father's day, Grilled vegetables
- Linguine with Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto Sauce
  
  Posted at 1:19 pm by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Jun 29th
  Cooking and good food is in my blood. Both my grandmother and mother were accomplished cooks who could combine a few ingredients into a memorable feast that you would never forget. I learned from both these exceptional women that their love of cooking for family and friends was their secret ingredient that flavored their dishes better than any expensive seasoning or ingredient. Being of Italian heritage, tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, and pasta were the basis for many of the meals they cooked when I was growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania along the Delaware River. The Delaware Valley before all the housing developments was rich land with farms that went for miles. My grandmother and mother’s summer season gardens overflowed with the most beautiful fresh produce perfect for making Linguine with Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto Sauce. I’ve attempted to create the flavors from one of their signature dishes. Both women never used a recipe they just added a pinch of this, a dash of that magically creating breathtaking food!
  
  Linguine with Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto Sauce
  
  1-pint cherry tomatoes
  
  2 tablespoon olive oil
  
  4 cloves garlic, minced
  
  2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  
  1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  
  1/4 cup pesto sauce*
  
  12 oz of fresh linguine
  
  1 tablespoon butter
  
  Preheat oven 425F. Place the first six ingredients in a baking dish ad roast for 20 minutes until tomatoes are hot and bubbly. Cool. Add pesto sauce to tomatoes; stirring until combined. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup water from the pasta. Place pasta in large bowel toss with 1 tablespoon butter and reserved water. Add tomato/pesto sauce and toss again. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
  
  Pesto Sauce
  
  4 cups packed fresh basil
  
  1/2 cup olive oil
  
  1/2 cup pine nuts
  
  2 cloves garlic
  
  1/2 parmesan cheese
  
  1/2 cup olive oil
  
  1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  
  Combine basil, oil, pine nuts, and garlic in a blender. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down basil. Add both kinds of cheese and salt; blend until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl. Freeze unused pesto.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in Easy recipes, family meals, Farm Fresh Produce, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, pasta, vegan, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinner | Tagged Easy recipe, farm fresh, pasta, Pesto Sauce, sunday dinner, tomatoes
- Baked Stuffed Eggplant
  
  Posted at 1:01 pm by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Sep 2nd
  Eggplant a versatile vegetable this is like a chameleon changes assuming the character of the spices and ingredients used by the cook. Eggplant parmesan, beautiful stacked eggplant, tomato, mozzarella towers, baked stuffed eggplant and more I could continue adding to the variety of the eggplant recipes; all equally delicious. I was moved to create this recipe one day when I was at a farmer’s market and saw a beautiful array of eggplant glistening with fresh-picked dew beaconing me to purchase. Once home I started thinking about how to cook the beautiful eggplant and I just decided to leave the eggplant whole hollowing out the center using the meat as stuffing and the shell as a baking dish. As a filler to the ingredients I use La Casa de Grano Fregolo Sarda a traditional Sardinian Pasta that is toasted available at Italian markets such as Eataly or online. I loved the texture and resulting taste all the flavors marrying to create a delicious baked eggplant, a beautiful presentation too.
  
  1 eggplant
  
  juice of 1/2 lemon
  
  pinch of sea salt
  
  2 tablespoon olive oil
  
  2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
  1 tablespoon fresh basil
  
  1 tablespoon fresh thyme
  
  2 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
  
  1/4 cup La Casa de Grano Fregolo Sarda, cooked or orzo
  
  2 teaspoon capers
  
  4 oz brie, rind removed and cubed
  
  oil for drizzling
  
  1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  
  1/8 teaspoon pepper
  
  garnish with fresh basil and thyme
  
  Preheat oven to 400F. Gently remove the top of the eggplant and set aside. Cut out eggplant meat and cube. Place eggplant in a bowl, add lemon juice and sea salt. Put olive oil in saute pan and heat. Add garlic and saute until slightly translucent, don’t brown. Add cubed eggplant, basil, thyme cooking about 5 minutes until eggplant is soft. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes after adding pine nuts, pasta, and capers. Put eggplant mixture into hollowed-out eggplant layering with cubed brie. Place eggplant lid on top. Drizzle with olive oil seasoning with salt and pepper. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the filling starts to escape from the eggplant. Serve at room temperature.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  gooddinnermrsmellen.com
  
  www.buzzchomp.com
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  Posted in Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, vegetable bake, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged Baked Eggplant, brie, farm fresh, La Casa de Grano Fregolo Sarda
- Farro Stuffed Eggplant
  
  Posted at 5:42 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Aug 20th
  I just love the end of the summer produce with all the unbelievable varieties. Eggplant is one of my favorite veggie with all the wonderfully different types in not only farmer’s markets but at local grocery stores. I found these great round eggplants that just shouted stuff me. You can stuff eggplant so many different ways. With these round beauties I went for a simple stuffing using eggplant, scallions, garlic, basil, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and farro. Farro, an Italian grain gives a nutty like favor to the stuffing. I serve these eggplants as an main dish with salad and fresh baked bread.
  
  Farro Stuffed Eggplant
  
  2 round eggplants
  
  1/4 cup olive oil
  
  1 bunch scallions, sliced, white part only
  
  2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
  red pepper flakes
  
  2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
  
  1 large red pepper, shopped in to small pieces
  
  1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
  
  1/2 cup farro, cooked according to directions
  
  Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Slice tops of eggplant and discard. Cut out the pulp of the eggplant. Using a spoon scoop out remaining pulp making a bowl out of the eggplant. Chop eggplant pulp into cubes then place the pulp in a colander; sprinkle with salt. Also sprinkle salt inside eggplant bowl, both set for 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant pulp and bowls with water patting dry with paper towels. Heat olive oil in medium sauteing pan add scallions cooking on medium for a few minutes then add garlic. Cook just until you can smell the garlic, add red pepper flakes and basil. Continue to cook for a minute then add red peppers and tomatoes. Cook for five minutes stirring to keep the veggies cooking evenly. Then add farro stir to combine. Remove from heat cooling for 15 minutes. Stuff eggplant with farro filling. Place in prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
  
  Enjoy!
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  Posted in Farm Fresh Produce, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Healthy, light dinner, Side dish, vegetable bake, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged easy, Eggplant, farm fresh, farro, tomatoes, vegetarian
- Tuscan Tuna Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes
  
  Posted at 3:33 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen
  
  Jun 10th
  Summertime is salad time at our house. I love to use the fresh bounty from local farmers markets to create wonderfully fresh and delicious salads. What could be better on a hot evening than cool crisp greens covered with heirloom tomatoes then topped with Tuscan Tuna Salad. Just add fresh Italian bread, wine and fresh peaches for dessert. Now that says summertime!
  
  Tuscan Tuna Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes
  
  1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  
  2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  
  1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  
  1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  
  2 tablespoon chopped basil leaves
  
  1 tablespoon chopped thyme
  
  2 (6-ounce) cans tuna in olive oil, drained I use Genova
  
  2 ribs celery chopped
  
  1 bunch scallions, chopped, white only
  
  1/4 cup chopped sweet grape tomatoes
  
  1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
  
  1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
  
  1/2 head lettuce, or field greens
  
  2 large heirloom tomatoes, one red, one yellow, sliced
  
  Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, basil and thyme in small bowl. In a medium bowl lightly chunk tuna then add celery, scallions, grape tomatoes, olives and capers. Toss with most of the salad dressing. Reserve 2 tablespoons.
  
  Line a plate with lettuce. Top with heirloom tomatoes, then drizzle with reserved salad dressing. Place Tuna Salad on top.
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  Posted in Farm Fresh Produce, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, light dinner, lunch, Salad, Vegetables | Tagged farm fresh, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, salad, tomatoes, Tuna
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