Superbowl Recipes from the Farmer's Market

Entertaining for the Superbowl is a time honored tradition of good food, good friends and fun. You may not have considered getting the good food part of the Superbowl equation at the Farmer's Market. True it is winter and some vegetables are not available locally. There are still many many options for the creative host.

Here are some Superbowl recipes where at least some if not the majority of the ingredients can be found at this weeks farmers market.

Sweet Pickles - Bread & Butter

I have often wondered why those nice crunchy sweet pickle slices are called bread and butter pickles. Maybe it is obvious to everyone else, bread and butter has the connotation of sandwiches, so I guess it is a sandwich pickle vs. a hamburger pickle.

So I did a little research on this.

Turns out the sandwich part is a good guess. These pickles were developed during the Great Depression when food was scarce and cucumbers were plentiful. The pickles could be preserved for a time of winter scarcity. Cucumber sandwiches were a frequent healthy meal during the off season when garden vegetables were not available but bread and butter were plentiful.

Here is a great recipe that I have made several times and have been fine tuning the approach and seasonings. The first time I made it we ate two jars in the first day.

You can make these two different ways one is without canning call refrigerator pickles and the second by using a water bath to heat and seal the jars. You can also salt the cucumbers for a more crispy pickle or use them unsalted if you want a low salt alternative.

Baby Potato Salad with Arugula

We are starting into our second crop of the year for baby potatoes. We find that Yukon Gold and Red Norland do well and are very early in our cool Minnesota spring conditions, yet do well in the warmer summer months as well.

I like to experiment with recipes and I have been trying variation of the lowly potato salad. These baby potatoes work will for making potato salad as they have a waxy texture and hold together well.

The subtle flavor of potatoes jacked up with arugula is an amazing combination. I've combined the flavor of roasted and seasoned browned and crisped potatoes with a zesty mustard vinaigrette. This simple recipe is easy to construct, see recipe below.

A Little Love for Chocolate Mint - Guest Post by Jenna Petersen

Hello, VegetableFreak community! I hope to be able to give you some tips for incorporating fresh herbs into your cooking, since my Dad affectionately calls me the “herb expert” of the family. I wasn’t always such a foliage specialist, but I do remember the day that I wandered over to Dad and found him picking something green and incredibly fragrant in the field. I quickly learned that this was an herb called basil, and that if I wanted to join him in picking it, I needed to carefully pinch off the leaves to avoid bruising them. This was the beginning of a long relationship of herb cultivation that has only flourished in recent years. While basil remains a staple in our garden and at our Farmer’s Market booth, we have added a variety of other culinary plants. These include parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and many others, one being mint. We sell seven (!) varieties of it as plants: Spearmint, Peppermint, Mint Julep, Mojito Mint, Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint, and Pineapple Mint. Of these, my favorite by far is Chocolate Mint. It has a unique taste, beautiful purple stem, and smooth leaves. Compared to the typical spearmint, I think it has a cooler, stronger taste. It also grows vigorously, a stereotypical trait of most mints. Chocolate mint is amazing, and I have a few suggestions for using this tasty plant.

Eggplant Dirty Rice

Here is an interesting twist on an old favorite.

Dill and Lemon Flavored Butter

Dill tops the list of flavored butters. This one goes good with fish and baby potatoes. Also try with sweet corn.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (whipped butter works good for spreading)
1 tablespoon of minced sweet onions with green tops
1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill weed (can also use dried)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, ground

Directions:

Process in food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until served.

Sun Dried Tomato Butter

Sun dried tomato butter is a great flavored butter recipe to use on your sweet corn or other buttery things.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
garlic clover, minced
2-3 minced sun dried tomatoes (Petersens), pour boiling water over and let stand for 15 minutes to soften
A small Roma tomato, chopped finely, cored and seeded.
2 tsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup cilantro (Petersens) or parsley (optional)

Directions:

Combine butter, garlic, lime juice, sun dried tomatoes and regular tomatoes and cilantro together
Shape mixture into a log (about 1 inch around) on waxed paper. Wrap and chill. Slice and use with sweet corn, green beans or other vegetables.

Kick It -Up:

• Add more garlic
• Add a jalapeno, minced.
• Sprinkle the outside of the log with fresh ground pepper
• Sprinkle the outside of the log with black & red sprinkle (Pensey's)

Squash Blossom Pesto With Roasted Pine Nuts (Wow)

We are big fans of pesto and squash blossoms. Combining the two into a Squash Blossom Pesto is a home run. We have an excellent supply of blossoms at our Farmers Market Stand right now. This bright yellow Pesto is great with a small or thin pasta like linguine, angel hair or gnocchi. Try it on bread as a bruschetta or on your favorite pizza instead of a tomato based sauce.

Squash Blossom Pesto:

3 tablespoons pine nuts
A pinch of tumeric
2 cups loosely packed squash blossoms (10-12 blooms, a small bag at our stand)
1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virin olive oil
pinch of salt.

Directions:

1. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until lightly brown. Don't burn.
2.  Remove any stems, stamens or hard leaves under the blossom. Drop into food processor and pulse 2-3 times to break up the blossoms. Add the nuts, the cheese, and tumeric. Pulse until everything is chopped. Turn the machine on, drizzle olive oil in slowly. Scrape down the sides as needed. In your cheese is salty go easy on the cheese.
3. Transfer the pesto to an airtight container and drizzle a very thin layer of olive oil over the top. You can store in the refrigerator for 3-days. Makes 1/2 cup.
4. If you want to freeze some leave out the cheese.

Corn with Cilantro Butter

In the honor of our first week of sweet corn we have been trying different flavored butters. One of the yummy favorites has been Cilantro butter. We have some excellent baby cilantro that works with salsa as well.

Ingredients:

12 ears of corn, husked (Petersens)
One stick of unsalted butter
4 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped (no stems please) (Petersens)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or a good mineral salt (optional)

Directions:

Blend butter, cilantro, and spices in a bowl or food processor. Spread the seasoned butter on hot corn, dust with chili powder and salt if desired, serve immediately.

Kick it Up:

Use extra butter on tuna steaks, chicken breast, or toasted french bread

10 Ways to Use Fresh Squash Blossoms

How do you use Squash Blossoms? let me count the ways. There are many creative ways to use this unique and healthy food. We have a great supply at the market.

"[above] is what a summer squash plant looks like that we harvest squash blossoms from."

 Photo: Reed Petersen

1. Stuffed with flavored cheese
2. Batter fried
3. Baked with your favorite sprinkle seasoning
4. Salsa
5. Pesto
6. Soup
7. Quesadillas
8. Pizza
9. Raw on Salads
10. Stuffed with shrimp

Bonus Ideas:

1. Fritters.
2. Hush Puppies
3. On sandwiches
4. Stuffed with Jalapenos
5. Stuffed with your favorite homade sausage