Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse and Community Garden

Book Club - June 10

“Teachers who inspire know that teaching is like cultivating a garden, and those who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers.”  --  Anonymous

Join us for an evening of inspiration.  The first book in our reading series is Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea.  Our guest speaker will be Sarah Elizabeth Ippel from the The Academy for Global Citizenship.  Learn more about the school's own edible schoolyard and their connection to a school in Africa.  This is definitely an evening to chat, share ideas, scheme and dream.

Wednesday, June 10

7:00pm - 8:30pm

Fee - $5

Bring a sack dinner or food to share if you wish.

To get you in that garden / cooking mood, here is a fab recipe from one of our community gardeners:

tabasco tickle  ®

90            Fresh Tabasco Chili Peppers                        fine diced

8         8    Cascabel Chili Peppers                        dried and ground

2             Chilpote’ Chili Peppers                                      “                        “

4          Pulla Chili Peppers                                “                    “

12            cloves fresh garlic                                    diced and crushed

 1.5c            Distilled Vinegar

  .5c            Rice Vinegar

 .25c           Dark Sesame Seed Oil

 .25c           Virgin Olive Oil

 .5tsp           Balsamic Vinegar

2tsp           Kosher Salt

2tsp           Cumin Seed                                              roasted then ground

2tsp           Coriander Seed                                         roasted then ground

2tsp           Fennel Seed                                            ground

25           Dry Sage Leaves                                          ground

 4           Sun Dried Tomatoes                                     fine diced or ground

 2           Star Anise                                                   ground

 

Use fresh chilies if available and fine dice. If only dried, grind to a fine powder.

Add to the oil and vinegar blend.  For the spices fresh grind whole seeds.

Note: Roast Coriander and Cumin whole in small fry pan till just smoking prior to grinding to increase flavor.  Fresh Herbs of course may be substituted

Final quantity is 3.5 cups in volume.  Can be stored at room temperature for 4-6 months or refrigerate after 3day minimum blending phase.

·     © Copyright 1998 the R&D Unger Kitchens

·     ® Tabasco Tickle is a registered trademark of Rj Unger

chilled tarragon tomato soup

“Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.”
John Denver, 'Home Grown Tomatoes'
(from a song written by Guy Clark)

 A recipe for using with your bumper crop of tomatoes...

 Chilled Tarragon Tomato Soup with Vegetable Confetti

 
 Yield: 6 cups
 Prep Time: 15 minutes
 Cook Time: 10 minutes
 Difficulty: Medium

 For tarragon tomato soup:
 3 pounds vine-ripened  tomatoes (about 8 medium)
 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste
 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
 1 1/2 cups ice water

 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
 8 vine-ripened yellow cherry tomatoes
 1/4 cup finely chopped zucchini
 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

 To make soup: Chop tomatoes and in a food processor  puree with vinegar,
 sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour puree through a sieve into a
 bowl,
 pressing hard on solids. Discard solids. Stir in ice water and salt and
 pepper, to taste. Soup may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
 Season soup again before serving.

 Stir tarragon into soup and thinly slice cherry tomatoes. Serve soup
 sprinkled with tomatoes, zucchini, and onion.

Recipe submitted by Rich Unger

heirloom tomato tart

 

"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato."  -- Lewis Grizzard

Heirloom Tomato Tart: 317 Calories

Ingredients:
Cornmeal Tart Shell
2⁄3 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4–5 tablespoons ice water

Filling
2 ounces softened goat cheese
1⁄2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus additional sprigs for garnish
1 1⁄2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1⁄4-inch-thick slices (about 3 medium
tomatoes)
1⁄2 teaspoon good-quality sea salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. For the Cornmeal Tart Shell, lightly spoon cornmeal and flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and pepper in a food processor; pulse4 times or until blended. Add butter and olive oil; pulse 10 seconds or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly pour ice water through the food chute, processing just until blended. (Do not allow dough to form a ball.)

3. Press mixture gently into a 4-inch circle, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 15 minutes. Unwrap chilled dough, and place on piece of wax paper. Cover dough with a second sheet of wax paper. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12-inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of wax paper; place dough, wax paper–side up in a 9- x 12-inch rectangular fluted tart pan. Remove remaining sheet of wax paper. Press dough gently into bottom and sides of tart pan. Cut away and discard excess dough.

4. Bake tart shell at 400° for 20 minutes. While the tart shell is warm, spread the goat cheese over the bottom of the crust in an even layer. Sprinkle evenly with thyme. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in an overlapping pattern on top.

5. Sprinkle sea salt and pepper evenly over tomatoes. Bake at 400°F for an additional 15 minutes. Allow tart to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Nutrition:
Calories 317; Fat 16g (sat 7g, mono 7g, poly 2g); Cholesterol 22mg; Protein 8g; Carbohydrate 36g; Sugars 4g; Fiber 4g; Iron 2mg; Sodium 434mg; Calcium 41mg

 Recipe from Pam Cobo

Serrano Surprise

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper;
A peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper,
Where’s the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?"  

--  Mother Goose

Thanks to all who joined us for the fun and festivities at our annual Harvest Festival.  Despite the monsoon rains, over 60 folks came out to learn about canning tomatoes, harvesting honey, making corn husk dolls and more.  

Don't forget to register for our upcoming series of classes!  To receive a class reminder a week in advance, you may register with our calendar on 30 Boxes (see above right of this blog).

In the meantime, enjoy this fantastic dish from fellow community gardener Rich Unger.  He claims it isn't that hot, but that's for you to decide.  This writer loves it on pita bread with hummus to cool some of the heat.

Serrano Surprise

 

Blend in a Food processor till smooth:

 

½ lb         Red ripe Serrano chili peppers

½ C      Olive Oil

 1 C         Fresh Basil leaves (tightly packed)

 1       Large Vidalia Onion (1/2 lb) 

½ tsp Caraway seed (fine ground)

2 tsp  Cumin seed (toasted then ground)

2 Tbs  Coriander seed ( toasted then ground)

 1       Star Anise (ground)

 5       Black Peppermint leaves (diced)

 1 tsp  Habanero Chili paste

 4          Garlic cloves (diced)

¼ C    Rice Vinegar

 2 tsp  Balsamic Vinegar

 

then stir in

  1      Red Bell Pepper (minced)

 

Equals approximately 3 fluid cups

Can be stored up to 3 months refrigerated.

© 2008 RjU