Red Beet Dip

Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Red Beet DIP! This should have been posted back in the summer time. Sorry y'all. I've been a huge slacker the past 6 months. Blog slacker that is. I've been super busy with many other avenues of my life. Working at the B&B, farming at the farm, adventuring, oh and I graduated from my Yoga Teacher Training meaning I know have my 200Hour RYT Certification! (small celebration dance)

OK, back to this post.

Red Beet Dip:

One bunch of red beets (6-9 medium sized beets)

8oz. block of cream cheese

2 Tbsp. of chopped dill

Zest of one lemon

salt and pepper

Chop beets into 1 inch chunks and boil in a pot of water until they are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain. Place into a food processor with the remainder ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Blend!

Dip some veggies, crackers, spread on toast, or add to a savory dish like scrambled eggs, roasted vegetables, or mashed potatoes.

Lancaster Central Market

This past weekend John and I were in Lancaster visiting his family and after all the times I've been to Lancaster City, I finally got the chance to check out Lancaster Central Market.

Lancaster Central Market is located at 23 North Market Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Smack dab in the center of the city surrounded by dozens of shops, restaurants, and businesses.  It was a windy March morning, the air was chilling but the sun was warm.  

As soon as we stepped inside, the hustle and bustle of market-goers engulfed us.  There were so many delicious smells- fresh bread, a wall of spices, baklava, cheese pies, potted herbs, and fried chicken.  


I'm used to my local market- Renningers Farmers' Market, where you weave your way through old Dutchies, little kiddies, and claustrophobic stands of antiques.


My eyes where overwhelmed by the stands, produce, products, and people.  We got there late morning, so John grabbed me a tea and himself a coffee from Mean Cup, I also couldn't help myself when I passed the Lancaster Juice Company and bought myself a fresh beet, pepper, cucumber, and carrot juice.  John headed to The German Deli to pick up a 1/2 pound of sliced Bloodwurst (basically blood balogna) I tried it and admit it was delicious, not totally my style, but good none the less.

For lunch, John, his brothers, mom, and I scarfed down some delicious mahi tacos and lobster bisque from Mr. Bill's Seafood.  After the soup, I still had a little spot in my belly that needed to be filled (as usual) so I stopped by the nice ladies at Wendy Jo's Homemade and bought two of their "Healthy Cookies".  They were vegan and packed with oats, peanut butter, seeds, nuts, and dried fruit.  I ate them before I thought to get a picture of them.  But if I don't get back to Lancaster soon, I will have to try my hand at creating my own healthy cookie.

There was also this cute little duo performing outside the market.  We sat on a bench near by to eat our lunch and listen to them play.

Holy Crap This Turned Out Great... Vegetable Lasagna

I had a serious need for some warm comfort food on one of the coldest, windiest days in February.  Lasagna is pretty easy to free style when you have just a few of the basic ingredients.  I had a fridge full of veggies, a few jars of tomato sauce, and some noodles in the cupboard, I knew what I had to do.

This lasagna truly is loaded with vegetables, I even blended them into the sauce to go above and beyond. Wait and see...

Super Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant- peeled and thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers

1 head of garlic

1 butternut squash peeled, seeds removed, and cubed

1 zucchini

1 summer squash

1 fennel bulb (optional)

2 small onions

3 cups of thinly sliced mushrooms

1 cup of riccotta cheese

1 cup cottage cheese

3 eggs

1/4 cup of herb paste (recipe follows)

1 14oz. can of tomato sauce

1 14oz. can of diced tomatoes

handful of chopped fresh parsley

handful of chopped fresh basil

1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles

First we must prep all of the delicious vegetables:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees

Spread the peeled and thinly sliced eggplant on a rimmed cookie sheet and sprinkle both sides of the slices with salt and pepper and olive oil. Roast in the oven until soft- about 20 minutes.  

Meanwhile you can also roast the bell peppers and garlic.  Slice the bell peppers in half the long way, remove seeds, and rub a small amount of oil on both sides of the peppers, place skin side down in a baking dish. Roast until the skin is black and charred- about 20 minutes.  Peel the skin off the peppers and roughly shop the pepper flesh, set aside.  

Slice the tip of the garlic bulb so that just a bit of each close if exposed.  Pour a bit of olive oil onto bulb and wrap is foil.  Roast for about 10-15 minutes.

Peel, remove seeds, and cube the butternut squash into small cubes. Spread onto a roasting sheet with a bit of olive oil and roast until soft, about 20 minutes.  

Either using a fork or a cuisinart, mash the baked squash and mix in a bowl with the ricotta, cottage cheese, eggs, and herb paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile. Thinly slice two small onions and saute in a skillet with a little olive oil over medium heat until soft and slightly browned. Remove and set aside. Using that same pan, saute the mushrooms until soft- about 10 minutes.

Thinly slice the zucchini, summer squash, and fennel bulb (top trimmed off and root core removed. Saute over medium heat until slightly soft- set aside.

Time-out, this may seem like a lot of steps, but if you are able to multitask and have a few things going at one time, it's really not that bad. Also, if you have a great boyfriend who wants to hang out with you in the kitchen on a Friday night, hand him the the wooden spoon and have him take care of the saute station.

Ok, let's keep going.  In a small pot, combine the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper.  Keep over low heat.

Wow, that seemed like a lot, but only because there are so many vegetables that are stuffed inside this wonderful dish.  Let's finally assemble the lasagna and get it in the oven.

Find yourself a 9x13 inch cake pan.  Start with a layer of sauce, then a layer of the noodles (about four noodles per layer), then spread 1/4 of the butternut squash/cheese mixture over the noodles. Next, sprinkle a layer of the mixed vegetables-about a 1/3 of each- the roasted red bell peppers, garlic, eggplant, zucchini, squash, fennel, onions, and mushrooms. 

Continue layering- sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, and vegetables until you end with a layer of noodles and top it with the cheese mixture.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour.  Let it rest for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  Enjoy!

Herb Paste:

I prepare lot of this herb paste during the summer when my herb garden is in full bloom and super abundant.  

I use my Cuisinart, but you can easily just chop everything very finely and mix it together by hand.

1 cup of chopped fresh basil leaves

1 cup of chopped fresh chives

1/3 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/3 cup chopped fresh oregano

1/3 cup chopped fresh savory

1/3 cup chopped fresh majoram

1/4 cup chopped fresh sage

I blend all of these herbs with enough olive oil to make a thick paste.  Put the herb paste in a freezer bag, remove air, and lay flat in freezer.  I use this stuff all year long in soups, on bread, mashed potatoes, vegetables, pizza, and lasagna! It's so versatile and you can easily break off any size amount you need.

Beets on the Side

When I first started working on the organic vegetable farm, I had the amazing opportunity to store some vegetables over the winter.  We were usually able to salvage a lot of produce from the fields before they were disked.  There were rutabaga, celeriac, potatoes, carrots, garlic, squash, and beets.  I stored them in 5 gallon plastic buckets with damp sand and holes drilled into the lids for ventilation.  I kept them in my cellar steps where it is dark and cold during the winter.


So, if you are lucky enough to have a local farm provide you with this autumn bounty, or if your personal garden is overly bountiful, you should definitely try storing your vegetables.  You will be so happy to go down into your ground cellar and grab those root veggies in the middle of February for a nice hearty stew.


Thinking of this bounty of storage vegetables, I was inspired to make a quick and simple side dish that can be easily transformed into a delicious lunch or a light dinner.


Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Beets

3-4 medium to large beets
1 large red onion
4 sweet potatoes
1 large bunch of fresh dill
zest of one lemon
EVOO
Good Balsamic Vinegar
S&P
1/2 cup of toasted almonds 


Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.


First, peel and chop the beets into small cubes. (I only peel non-organic beets- no need to peel organic beets- there is a lot of nutrients in and just below the skin)
Chop the onion into large chunks.
Chop the dill.
Combine those three ingredients on a rimmed baking sheet.  Toss with several Tablespoons of Olive Oil and a few shakes of Balsamic Vinegar. Along with S&P.

Roast- covered with foil for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and roast until beets are knife tender- about 15-20 minutes more.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into similar sized cubes as the beets.

Boil the potatoes until knife tender. Drain and place in large bowl. Zest the lemon right over the taters.
As soon as the beets are done, throw them into the bowl as well and toss. Top with toasted almonds.

Serve this as a side dish at dinner, or you can muscle it up by having it for lunch over brown rice, sauteed spinach, and a poached egg on top. (and don't forget that sprinkle of nutritional yeast)
Ahhhh, yum.

February chills

This week started off with a beautifully sunny and warm February Monday, the greenhouse was a balmy 70 degrees and felt oh so good on the skin after months of winter's chill.  Then, the rest of the week went back to a normal dreary, cloudy, cold,  and rainy winter.  But that didn't really matter much and I didn't let it get me the least bit down because I got to spend everyday of this past week in the greenhouse seeding ONIONS!!! And leaks and scallions!  The sweet and earthy smell of the greenhouse comes as a beautiful relief to winter's stale freeze.


The winter months can drag on and on- especially when we don't get any snow.  I love a little snow storm in the winter, to get snowed in, watch movies, go for a walk, and get cozy. The clouds can't seem to part to let in the tiniest amount of sunlight.  It has been a mild winter, but at this point, all I really want is spring.

February seeding: onions, leeks, and scallions.

A delicious way to wake up after a session of yoga.  There is nothing better than fresh juiced juice!  This morning I whipped up... carrot, celery, ginger, apple, pineapple, parsley, beet, and broccoli stalks.  Really, just whatever fruits and vegetables I can find in the ice box.  It's just so so good.

wide mouth

and so it begins!

This is an account of organic vegetable farming in eastern Pennsylvania, cooking and baking the fruits and vegetables of our labor, how I am pursuing my training to become a certified ashtanga yoga teacher, and of course, ways that I choose to stay healthy, happy, and inspired!

back porch harvest

John swaying in the breeze

looking forward to these little guys!