Shallot, Carrot, and Parmesan Fritters

Shallot, carrot and parmesan fritters are a delightful start to any meal. They are smaller more bite sized, but remind me a lot of apple fritters, with a deliciously different flavor. The extra egg and tablespoon of baking powder make a very light fritter. Shallots and carrots are in good supply at our farmers market booth year around.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 - 1/2 lb shallots, diced
• 1 cup grated carrots, use our candy carrots for a sweeter fritter
• 1 1/2 cup flour, this does not have to be a wheat flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
• coconut oil for frying

Instructions:

• Saute shallots with butter over medium heat until golden and sweet, that should take about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, then cool to room temperature. Combine dry ingredients and wisk in the egg and milk and mix until smooth. Stir in the shallot mixture, cheese and pepper. Adjust flour to a thick consistency.
• Heat oil to 350F. Scoop the batter in tablespoon quantities into the hot oil and cook until golden, about 1-2 minutes. Drain to paper towels and keep warm while you cook the remiaing batter. Season and serve.

Optional Dipping Sauces:

• Combine 1/4 cup of raspberry jam with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil. Mix together.
• Combine 1/4 cup of jalapeno jam with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Mix together.
• Combine 1/4 cup poblano relish, 1/4 cup raspberry jam and Greek yogurt.  Mix together. This was my favorite and what I used when I made fritters.
• The fritters would also be great with a sugar glaze or powdered sugar.

Brian's Corn Bread and Poblano Recipe

I was hungry for some corn bread Sunday night so I made up this recipe from things I had on hand. I had been making some poblano relish and jelly earlier in the day so I finely chopped about a cup of poblano peppers to put into it. I had dried some sweet corn kernels this summer and made the corn meal by processing it in a coffee grinder I use for flax. I only needed a cup so could do several hand fulls this way. I also had some sweet corn fresh frozen from this summer and I added some grated carrots for good measure. I also used some farm fresh eggs we got from a neighbor. The whole mixture went into a cast iron skillet that I bought used and reconditioned last year. So here is my improvised recipe.

Ingredients:

Coconut Oil or Butter to Grease the Pan
1 cup corn meal (I used sweet corn kernels, but you can use any corn)
1 cup organic flour (can be wheat, rice, etc.)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup poblano or jalapeno peppers diced finely
1 cup shredded carrots (adds moisture and color and flavor)
1 cups fresh frozen corn kernels
8 ounces Greek yogurt or sour cream (I had yogurt so I used that)
1/2 cup milk, a little more if the batter seems dry
3 large beaten eggs
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Heat oven to 400F. Preheat skillet for 10 minutes.

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Mix everything together thoroughly.

Add coconut oil to the pan and make sure you get the side oily.

Add batter to the pan and distribute evenly.

Bake approximately 30 minutes. Check every 5 minutes after 25 minutes as ovens and pans vary somewhat.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

I really liked the way this turned out, just the right amount of sweet and hot (not very hot, but a little for flavor).

Serving suggestions:

Honey or Maple Syrup
You can add cheddar cheese instead of carrots.
Bacon would also be a good addition. I had some but didn't take time to make it.
The finished corn "bread" reminds me of a fococia. I'm going to try to use the cooled "loaf" as a sandwich bread.
This would go well with a savory chili or corn chowder.
I think pork and beans would also go well.

Dryhydrate Everything

We have a row about 300 feet long of very large Jalapenos, that are the source of a bushel of Jalapeno peppers in the dehydrator this evening. We had two bushels at the market this week. We sold one and I am drying the other. It takes about 30 trays in my dehydrator for that many peppers. It will take about 24 hours to dry the peppers to a pliable consistency and 36 hours completely dry. If you are going to smoke them, the pliable consistency is best. If you are going to store them long term completely dry them and put them in the freezer. If  you want to try your hand at drying, stop by our stand.

We have a lot of Jalapenos but the real gems are the Poblanos or Ancho's as they are sometimes called. We have two rows 300 feet long of beautiful dark green peppers. Poblanos are quite a bit larger than Jalapenos and don't fit as well into the dehydrator. But the medium and small ones can fit in the trays. They dry beautifully and smoke even better.

I had a few extra trays so I loaded up a few hundred serranos with the Jalapenos. They are hotter so a little goes along way. They have a unique flavor, which is different than the other two.

Tomorrow night I'm thinking that I will load up some Roma tomatoes. They have much more moisture in them so they take a little longer to dry. You can also smoke the Romas and the will dance in your tomato dishes.

You can dehydrate just about everything:

- Green beans, for winter soup
- Watermelon, like cotton candy
- Herbs, pretty much anything
- Sweet Corn, makes ooh soo sweet corn meal
- Egg Plant, really reconstitutes well for late winter lasagna

You can grow HOT peppers in Minnesota

Hot peppers like hot weather and a long season. Some gardeners assume that you can't grow hot peppers in Minnesota. This is definitely not true.

We like to grow Jalapeno, Poblano, and Anneheim peppers. They are recognizable in our markets and sell pretty well. I also like to dry and smoke these peppers for consumption over the winter.

We use them in our salsa and other cooking.

Peppers are a great way to spice up many bland Minnesota dishes and are very healthy.

We grow our peppers with liberal amounts of compost, organic fertilizer and no sprays or chemical fertilizers, ever!

10 Ways to Use Poblano Peppers

Poblano peppers are a large dark green pepper that starts out blocky near the stem and then tapers to a blunt point near the bottom of the pepper. They are less spicy than a Jalapeno. They grow well in Minnesota and we have a great crop this year. The inch of rain we got Saturday night really perked up the plants and I expect them to fill out the upper course of peppers. They are relatively tall plants and easy to pick.

1. Chiles Rellenos, is a Mexican dish that originate in Puebla. You stuff and roast a fresh polano pepper. Sometimes other peppers are used such as Jalapenos. Our poblano peppers are very large making the stuffing easlier.
2. They are great with cooked and fresh salsa. It is easier to remove the seeds than Jalapeno's so you can make the salsa mild or use more.
3. Poblano jam with your favorite fruit like Raspberries or Strawberries.
4. Dried poblanos. Make poblano chipotles. Very popular.
5. Poblano corn chowder.
6. Poblano frittata.
7. Acorn Squash with Poblano Butter Topping
8. Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos
9. Guacamole-stuffed Poblano 
10. Poblano Peach Ice Cream

Squash Blossom Soup (Yum!)

Squash blossom are one of the delightful treats of summer. They can be baked, fried, stuffed and sauteed. This recipe is for soup.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tablespoons butter
2. 1 large white sweet onions, chopped into small pieces (Petersen's)
3. 3 cups chicken stock
4. 1 small Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped (Petersen's)
5. 24 large squash blossoms (Petersens, large bag)
6. 2 poblano chilies, roast, peeled, deseeded and chopped finely (Petersen's)
7. 1 cup milk
8. 1 medium zucchini, chopped finely (Petersen's)
9. Kernels from a large ear of corn (Petersen's)
10. 1/2 cup heavy cream
11. kosher salt
12. Flat leaf parsley, chopped finely 

Instructions:

1. Warm butter on low heat until melted, increase heat to medium until butter is bubbling. Add chopped onion, stirring to coat. Cook until the onions are golden, stirring occasionally. Reserve half the onions and set aside.
2. Add chicken stock and chopped potato to the pot and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. When boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes
3. While simmering, prep squash blossoms. Break off stems, peel off sepals (the small leaves that grown from the base and pluck out the stamen. Discard stems, sepals and stamen. No need to be careful the blossoms will eventually be chopped up.
4. Divide the blossoms into two even piles then slice into 1/4 inch strips (include the blossom base). Add one pile of slices to the simmering stock and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully blend the mixture until smooth. I used my immersion blender. If you don't have one, use a blender, working small batches. Return the mixture back to the pot over medium heat.
5. Add the chopped, roasted poblano, milk and reserved onion to the soup, stirring to incorporate. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add zucchini and corn. Simmer for another 3 minutes, then add the other pile of sliced squash blossoms. Continue simmering for 2 minutes, then take the mixture off of the heat. Stir in cream and season to taste with kosher salt (several pinches).
6. Serve in soup bowls and finish with a sprinkle of chopped flat leaf parsley

Serves 6.

Adapted from recipe by Brandon Matzek.