Its that time of the year when all the wonderful root veggies are in season.  An organic beet speaks for itself in flavor.  This simple recipe can be eaten hot or cold.  Feel free to add your own variations to take it to the next level.

Ingredients

1 big beet or several small beets with greens cut off
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper to taste

Get a pot of water to a boil and don’t forget to salt.  Cook for 20-25 min or when you can pierce the beet with a fork.  It will not get super soft like a potato.  So know it will be kinda hard still.  Then slice real thin into a bowl.  If you have a mandolin this is when you break it out.  Combine next 4 ingredients to make dressing and pour over beets.  Eat hot or some love it cold.

Spaghettie squash has gotten more and more popular and is a wonderful alternative to pasta.  Doesn’t take long to cook so if you were wondering what to do with those yellow guys that came in the produce share then here is a simple way to use your favorite marinara and Windy Meadows dynamite Italian Chicken Sausage.

Ingredients

2 whole spaghetti squash
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups marinara sauce (make your own or get some at Whole Foods)
1 lb Italian Chicken Sausage from Windy Meadows (brown in a pan and add to sauce)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Split the squashes in half and scrape out seeds. Line an oven tray with aluminum foil. Season the spaghetti squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place flesh side down and roast for 30 to 40 minutes until fully cooked. You’ll know its done because when you scrape it with a fork the strands start to come off.  While it cools cook your chicken sausage and sauce.  Then after the squash is cool then scrape all the insides into a bowl.  It will look like pasta.  Add sauce on top and sprinkle with raw parm!

Here’s a great way to use your Swiss Chard from the October 31st co-op share!

Swiss Chard with Raisins and Bacon
1/2 large onion, sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick (1 cup)
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 pounds Swiss chard, center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup water
2-3 strips chopped bacon (from the co-op)

Chop bacon and cook in pan until crispy.

In separate pan, cook onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, until softened. Sprinkle with paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chard in batches, stirring frequently, until wilted, then add raisins and water. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 7 minutes. Season with salt.

Add cooked bacon to the chard mixture and toss together to serve.

As the weather starts to get chilly and the smell of fall is in the air, we thought we would share a fall-ish Enfusia recipe.  This cozy beverage is best enjoyed while 2 Tbs of mulling spices is simmering on the oven in a pot of water.

Pumpkin Spiced Enfusia Latté
16 oz hot Enfusia
2 Tbs fresh raw cream (from Full Quiver Farm) or coconut milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of pumpkin pie spice
Sprinkle of cinnamon
4-8 drops of Vanilla Crème Stevia

As the weather starts to cool we will post a bunch of our favorite soup and stew recipes.  Since we just got butternut squash, Gala apples, and chives in our produce share this past weekend, this soup is perfect!

Creamy Butternut Squash & Apple Soup
1 Tbs raw butter (from the co-op)
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion (from the co-op) – about 1 1/2 large onions
1 Tbs mild curry powder
2 1/2 lbs butternut squash (from the co-op) – about 1 large
2 Gala apples (from the co-op)
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup raw cream (from the co-op)
3-4 chives (from the co-op)

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stock pot over low heat for 15-20 minutes, until onions are tender.  Meanwhile, peel the squash, remove seeds, and cut into chunks.  Core apples and cut into chunks (you can peel them or leave the skin on, your preference).  Add squash, apples, salt, pepper, and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes until squash and apples are very soft.  Purée soup with immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender.  Return soup to the pot and stir in the raw cream.  Garnish with chopped chives.

If you haven’t tried the sweet potatoes from Kemp, TX yet, you are in for a treat!  A wonderful family that lives down the road from Full Quiver Farm pulled every last pound they had for us.  We suprised a couple families with football-sized potatoes in their produce share!  Take a look at Josh Smith during Saturday morning’s sort.

Our favorite 3 ways to have sweet potatoes are: baked, fries, and hash.  Enjoy these 3 recipes and if you have any favorites please post them below.

Sweet Potato Hash
1 sweet potato (local co-op) – diced into cubes
1/2 yellow onion (co-op) – diced
2 Tbs coconut oil – Tropical Traditions
1/4 tsp each of sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder, & oregano

On stovetop, heat a pan to medium heat, then add coconut oil.  Add onions and potatoes along with spices.  Slowly cook, tossing every once in awhile to keep from sticking.  The key to great hash is crispy potatoes, so make sure you have enough oil.  If the potatoes look dry, add more oil.  Serve with farm-fresh eggs cooked to order.

Baked Sweet Potato
1 sweet potato – wrapped in foil or placed on baking sheet
Cinnamon
Raw honey (local co-op)
Lots of butter
sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Place potato on a baking sheet or wrap it in foil because as the sweet potato cooks, it can let out a lot of juices.  Bake for about 40-60 min depending on the size of the potato and your oven.  You want it fork tender.  When done, open that bad boy up and make it happy with butter, honey, and cinnamon.

Sweet Potato Fries
The key to great fries is enough oil coating the fries to crisp them up in the oven.  Only use coconut oil or lard (bacon grease) because olive oil will start to smoke at high heat.  Also try and cut the fries evenly.

2 sweet potatoes – cut in the shape of fries
2-4 Tbs coconut oil or bacon grease/lard
1/2 tsp each – sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, & smoked paprika.

Preheat oven to 425.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper to keep the fries from sticking.  In a large bowl combine potatoes, oil, and spices.  *You may not need all of the spices.  As a rule of thumb you want to over season when baking fries.  Just make sure they’re coated very well.  Toss the fries a couple times during the bake.  Cook for 20-25 min.  Pay attention because baking times can vary.  What you want is a crispy fry but not a burnt one.

2 Pears (local co-op) – sliced
1 Tbs raw butter (local co-op)
1 tsp cinnamon, or more to taste
Splash of raw cream (local co-op)

Heat  your pan to medium and then add butter.  When the butter has melted, add sliced pears and sprinkle well with cinnamon.  Cook for several minutes until pears have softened a bit and then splash cream on top.  Enjoy with some Hail Merry Grawnola from the co-op, or just by themselves!

Kristine Orth, Steve Orth, Tommy Dyer

Our wonderful friends at Eden Creek Farm got up at 2am on Saturday, October 3rd with head lamps on to pick these wonderful items for us.  Here is a photo of Tommy at the pick-up location in Ennis, TX with Steve & Kristine Orth from Eden Creek.  I’m sure you know by now that you’ve never tasted so much flavor.  That’s because these goodies are not only grown organically, and it doesn’t get fresher eating it the day it was harvested!

Arugula – Try throwing this in a pan with sautéed onions and mushrooms. Heat a pan on medium low with olive oil and add sliced or chopped onions.  Sprinkle some sea salt and let it cook low and slow for about 20 minutes.  As it starts to soften and become a slightly brown color, add the sliced mushrooms and then arugula.  Use this as a filling for fajitas, topping on a bison burger, or on top of a hot bowl of polenta and raw cheese for a veggie bowl like none other.

Our other favorite way to use arugula is to eat it raw.  Make bite-sized lettuce wraps with them.  Wrap the arugula around eggs and chicken sausage in the morning or try grass-fed beef with raw pepper jack.  Delicious!

Basil - Try torn basil leaves with Full Quiver Farms Mozzarella cheese, juicy sliced tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top. It’s also great torn into salads or chopped into scramble eggs.

Chives – These have a delicate wonderful flavor and they like to dance with dairy.  So chop them up finely and put them on your fried eggs or mix into your sour cream before you bite into a grass-fed beef taco.  The weather is cooling down and a great way to finish of your bowl of tomato basil soup is with a handful of chopped chives.  An easy way to cut chives is to snip little pieces off with kitchen scissors.

Important Note – these items should be eaten within the first week to enjoy them at their best!

Enjoy!  If you have any other ideas of ways to eat these goodies, post a comment and let us know!

This is a tribute to the undiscovered wonders of Butter Lettuce (a.k.a. “Boston” or “Bibb” Lettuce).  Also, for those of you who haven’t yet tried Windy Meadows Chicken Sausage from our Organic Co-op, this is one of the best way to enjoy its savory succulence!

Gluten-Free Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Butter
8 pieces butter lettuce
1 lb country style chicken sausage from Windy Meadows Family Farm
8 farm-fresh eggs from Full Quiver Dairy Farm
A few tbs coconut milk
Shredded raw pepperjack cheese from the co-op
1 ripe avocado cut into 8 slices
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper

In a skillet over medium heat, slowly cook chicken sausage, stirring occasionally, until it crisps up nicely.  In another skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and butter.  In a bowl, scramble eggs with coconut milk and add to pan, stirring occasionally until light and fluffy.   Season eggs to taste with sea salt and cracked black pepper.  Slice avocados in half, remove pit, and then slice each half into four slices.  Shred cheese.

Now for the fun part of making tacos – stations!  Create a “station” for each ingredient – lettuce, sausage, eggs, avocado, and cheese.  Let people assemble their own tacos and then enjoy!

This recipe is best enjoyed outside on your patio with iced Enfusia as the sun goes down!

Corn In A Cup – “Elotes”

Ingredients:

4 organic cobs of corn from the co-op
1 cup crème fraîche (you can also use sour cream, thinned out with a little milk, or if you can find it – Mexican Crema)
1/4 cup raw parmesan cheese
1/4 cup raw monterey jack cheese from the co-op (or if you can find it – authentic Mexican cotija cheese)
2 limes
2 tbs chili powder
4 tsp sea salt

Heat up your grill or grill pan to medium to medium-high heat.  Take the corn, peel back the husk, and remove all the silk.  Pull the husks back around the corn and grill for 10 minutes, turning several times.  (Don’t be afraid if your corn husks blacken a little bit; that’s perfectly normal.)  After grilling, shave the corn into four individual cups or bowls.  In each cup, add 1/4 cup crème fraîche, 1 tbs parmesan, 1 tbs monterey jack, juice of 1/2 lime, 1/2 tbs chili powder, 1 tsp sea salt.  Mix and then devour!

This recipe is addicting!  You never knew green beans could be so good!

Green Beans with Almonds

Ingredients:

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dill
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds green beans
1/2 cup chopped red or yellow onion
1 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Combine the vinegar, garlic, dill, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together.  Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly to blend well.

Trim the tips off the green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Cook in water in a saucepan just until tender-crisp and drain.  Immerse in cold water, drain and pat dry (this keeps them crisp and bright green).  Place in a shallow serving bowl and sprinkle with the onion and toasted almonds.  Add vinegar and oil mixture at serving time and toss gently to coat well.

Serves four to six.  Also great cold as leftovers!

These little “flying saucers” are called Sunburst or “Patty Pan” Squash. Sunburst squash mixes well with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, cheese, and many fresh herbs (marjoram, rosemary, dill, thyme, parsley, to name a few.

Here’s a great recipe we found!

Stuffed Sunburst Squash

Ingredients:

4 medium Sunburst Squash
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 tablespoon Extra-virgin Olive Oil
1 clove minced Garlic
1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
1 bunch Fresh Spinach, washed and finely chopped
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
1 dash Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 large Egg, lightly beaten (from the dairy co-op!)
1/4 cup grated cheese (from the dairy co-op!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Fill a large pot 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil.  Place squash in boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.  Drain the water and allow squash to cool.  Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each squash so that they will stand on their own.  Cut about 1/2 inch from the tops of each squash and remove the insides to hollow the squash. Set squash insides aside.

Melt butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and sauté until soft.  Add the spinach and soy sauce and sauté until the spinach is tender and the liquid has mostly evaporated.  Move the spinach mixture to a bowl and allow to partially cool.  Season with salt, pepper, and optional cayenne pepper to taste.  Stir in the egg and half of the cheese. Mix well.

Add a small amount of the squash insides and discard the rest of the insides.  Spoon the spinach/cheese mixture into the squash shells.  Place the stuffed squash in a single layer in a baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Pour hot water into the pan to fill about 1/2 inch.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or the squash is tender and the filling is no longer runny.

Serves 4.

This is a great recipe from a site called Happy Foody.  We’ve altered it a bit to make it our own.  Enjoy!

courtesy of happyfoody.com

Raw Chocolate Macaroons

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups dried unsweetened coconut flakes
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder (you don’t have to use exactly this much, just however rich you want them to be. You can even use 3/4 cups cocoa and be fine.)
1 cup raw honey or raw agave nectar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1-2 tbs. raw peanut butter (if desired)
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together.  Wet your hands so they don’t stick to your hands, and then form into balls.  Put them in the freezer until hardened, at least 30 minutes. MMMM!  Some of us think these taste like frozen Bon Bons!

Peanut Butter & Cinnamon Macaroons:
Everything the same as above, but add raw organic peanut butter and a few sprinkles of cinnamon.  This makes them extra tasty!   Just remember if you use roasted peanut butter, they will no longer be “raw”.

Raw “Blondie” Macaroons:
Everything the same as above, except substitute 1 1/2 cups almond meal for the cocoa powder.

Want a super moist and chewy cookie that you can feel good about?  This cookie is gluten-free and sugar-free, and has a very short list of ingredients.  You can whip up a batch in minutes!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups almond flour or meal
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter or coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup cacao nibs or 100% cacao chips

• Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
• Mix wet ingredients into dry.
• Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes, depending on your oven.
• Cool and serve.  MMMM!

Makes approx. 24 cookies.

We’ve been getting tons of wonderful zucchini in our produce co-op share lately.  Here’s a great way to use it!

Christine’s Breakfast (or Anytime!) Frittata

2-3 small sweet peppers from the co-op, slicked into thin strips
1-2 organic zucchini squash from the co-op, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
5 or 6 eggs from Full Quiver Farm
Black pepper &  sea salt
Coconut oil
Coconut milk

Whisk eggs with a few tablespoons of coconut milk until they’re nice and creamy. Heat the pan on medium and add enough coconut oil to coat the pan.   Add the onions and zucchini and sautée for several minutes until they are translucent.  Add peppers and toss in the pan.  Next, add the egg/coconut milk mixture to the pan so it covers the vegetables and the entire base of the pan.   Sprinkle the egg mixture with salt, pepper, and fresh basil if desired. Cook on medium for a few minutes until the edges begin to set.  Then turn down to low, and cover the pain for a few minutes to let the mixture completely set.  Check it after about 5 minutes, because every oven is different. It should be set in the middle but still really moist.

Remove from pan and cut in slices and serve!