Summer - TheFarmGirlCooks

Category: Summer

A Summer harvest is full of so many wonderful things the Farm Girl doesn’t know where to begin, except to make sure her grill is cleaned. Beautifully grilled vegetables, full bodied salads, and anything roasted make the summer harvest a celebration to be enjoyed!

I’m Seeing RED!

Posted on August 9, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

And yellow and pink and green zebra-striped and black-ish and purple and golden-pink and.... that brings me to tomatoes and pasta Caprese. It's about damn time. General consensus is lots of green tomatoes around in people's gardens, but none are turning red. Well, this week, they started turning. I picked up a block of fresh mozzarella at the market the other day and, like a good FarmGirl, I have basil growing in a planter on my deck. This bounty, along with the colorful and perfectly ripe tomatoes I picked, made the most amazing dinner. Pasta Caprese is the easiest thing...Read More

Inspiration Strikes: Zucchini and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Posted on July 22, 2012May 5, 2018 by Kasha

Zucchini inspiration begins somewhere and for me it began with garlic. I would imagine that seeing, touching, and smelling garlic would inspire culinary greatness in most people. I looked at the garlic sitting in my father's work-worn hand and immediately thought garlic bread! I'm not saying it hasn't been... but in theory, garlic bread probably should not be the sole component of one's evening meal. I also had a beautiful loaf of Janet's ciabatta bread and creamy fresh chevre. How could I NOT create something simple and delectable from those superior ingredients? So I donned my flip flops and baseball cap, grabbed...Read More

Summer Comfort Food

Posted on June 27, 2012July 2, 2018 by Kasha

We had a CSA pick-up yesterday. Shell peas were a major component of the share box this week and each time I greeted a customer I stood there snacking on a few raw ones, encouraging them to do the same. Most were polite and ate one or two... I, on the other hand, had nearly a pound's worth of empty pea pods by the time we were done with our distribution. And yet I still wanted peas for dinner. I had no child's whims to contend with last night, so Pasta with Peas and Ricotta it was. This was...Read More

I Fell Off the Meat Wagon

Posted on June 19, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

The need for Chicken salad with curry mayonnaise, apples and chive blossoms. A few weeks back, as he does most every week, Thomas 'worked' the Ringwood Farmers Market with me. It's a good thing, too, because I needed his smiling face and skinny-armed hugs. By the time I arrived I was NOT in any mood to display exemplary customer service. I got a flat tire on the way to market. It was that sudden, "hey, is that a rock on the roadway...?" that got me. KLUNK! I saw the damn thing at the last minute and, sure enough, it...Read More

Tuscan Kale Chips

Posted on June 7, 2012March 16, 2018 by Kasha

Tuscan Kale Chips, An Excellent Snack! Can I just say that Tuscan kale (Toscano, Dinosaur, Lacinato, Cavolo Nero) is delicious? I must. You must try it. Tuscan variety with Potatoes and Pasta is one of Thomas' favorite dinners, and the chips are turning into his very favorite snack. In fact, the plateful of them that I left on the coffee table one afternoon disappeared while The Boy was deeply engrossed in Legos. I'm pretty sure the cats didn't eat them. Please don't use the curly kale to make chips. I know, it's tempting, and it IS simply kale after all. But...Read More

Salt-n-Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Posted on September 27, 2011February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Fingerling potatoes, or...what to make when you are craving salt and starch and you don't want to run all the way to 7-11 for chips and onion dip. It was rainy last Monday. Oh, wait. It's been rainy pretty much EVERY Monday since God knows when. I wanted to warm up the house a little so I got some Austrian Crescent fingerling potatoes ready for baking. Then the idea of baking them in salt smacked me in the face. Years ago, my girlfriend used to get baby potatoes from us at the market. She raved about baking them in salt. ...Read More

Life Goes On. I Guess.

Posted on September 23, 2011February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Ready or not, life does indeed go on after a natural disaster. Heck, for those not affected, life continues unchanged... THEY remain unchanged. But sometimes an event affects you so deeply that even going about your regular daily chores is an emotional struggle. I found myself in need of basic essentials following the second flood and when the road was finally cleared and my car didn't have to don water wings to make it through, I went to Target. I did a quick browse through Borders as it was their last few days in business (this makes me very sad) and I...Read More

Gazpacho – Summer in a Bowl

Posted on August 19, 2011February 25, 2018 by Kasha

The Allure of Gazpacho I haven't had a chance to make gazpacho yet this year. I wanted to share this 'tried and true' recipe with you. It's been a staple in my home for nearly two decades (which makes me feel my age, yes. Thank you.). All the rain we've had this season, has made the tomato crop very late. This week however, we have an abundance of both hybrid and heirloom tomatoes. I urge you to grab a bagful and whip up a batch of this cold summer soup while you can. It'll last for several days in the fridge. I heartily suggest...Read More

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Posted on August 17, 2011February 25, 2018 by Kasha

All the way to market... IF there's anything left to sell. I know I sound a bit cranky right now, please overlook it. I AM cranky. Pretend I'm 4 and am having a tantrum but this time a cookie isn't going to fix it. It's been raining for days, and that's on top of the 4 inches of rain we had last week over a span of 4 days. By the time all is said and done, we'll have had 8-inches in the last 8 days. The veggies can't take it, and honestly, the people are starting to have a hard...Read More

Grabbing the Bull by the Horns

Posted on August 4, 2011February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Should I apologize first or just get to the recipe? Ok, apology: I am so sorry for not posting anything in the last several weeks. I haven't cooked all that much, actually, and although I have TONS of ideas floating around in my head, farmwork, heatwave and motherhood have basically wiped me out and left me the shell of a woman who nods off on the couch each night while her kid rides his bike with his cousins and the dinner dishes sit in the sink until morning. I'm not going to lie. I've eaten more than my share of Trader Joe's Thai Shrimp...Read More