Sharon's Favorite Recipes

Wondering what to do with all that fresh produce?
Try some of Sharon's favorite recipes.
Scroll down the page for a few ideas or click on one of these categories for many more recipes.
Apples | Beets | Cucumbers | Eggplant | Fruit | Greens and Herbs | Mixed Vegetables | Onions | Peppers |
Potatoes | Pumpkin and Winter Squash | Rhubarb | Strawberries | Sweet Corn | Tomatoes | Zucchini and Summer Squash

Cabbage
I was never a big fan of cabbage. This one recipe has changed my mind, and made me into a cabbage lover! If you think you don't like cabbage, do try this recipe.

Southern Fried Cabbage with Sausage

2 tablespoons butter
1 small green cabbage, chopped
1⁄2 cup onion, chopped
1⁄2-3⁄4 lb smoked sausage, sliced (I love Ferris Farm's Farmer Sausage)
1 pound tomatoes, diced
1⁄4 teaspoon garlic salt (or use two of your garlic scapes, chopped, from this week)
1⁄4 teaspoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Chop/slice the sausage, cabbage, tomatoes and onion.

In a large non-stick skillet, pre-cook the sliced sausage about 3 minutes to render some of the fat out. Remove sausage from skillet and drain on paper towels if needed. Set aside.

In the same skillet, melt the butter. Add cabbage and onion and cook and stir on medium-high for about 5 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt.

Add remaining ingredients, and the sausage.
Cover the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes.

Uncover, and finish cooking until cabbage is desired tenderness and most of liquid has been reduced.

Cucumbers

These pickles are easy to make and are delicious!

Russian Dills, Bread and Butter Pickles

6 c. vinegar
4 c. sugar
2 c. water
1 c. scant canning salt
20 garlic cloves
5 large heads of dill
10 tsp pickling spice
5 bay leaves
5 cayenne peppers
one peck of pickle size cucumbers

Slice cucumbers crosswise (into disks) Chill in ice water.

Drain and place in sterilized quart jars with 1 head of dill, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tsp pickling spice, 1 bay leaf and 1 cayenne pepper.

Boil vinegar, sugar, water and salt. Pour over cucumbers and other ingredients in the jars.

Seal jars and set in hot water bath until cold or over night.

Makes five quarts.

Eggplant

Here's the secret for delicious eggplant:
Slice the eggplant and generously sprinkle Kosher salt on each slice. Place the eggplant in a colander. Put a plate with a weight on top and press the slices for at least an hour. Rinse the slices before cooking them.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 eggplant, sliced (salt & press) - you'll need eight similar sized slices
1/2 c flour
salt & pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c bread crumbs
oil for frying
2 c marinara or spaghetti sauce
1/2 c fresh basil, chopped
1 ball mozzarella cheese, sliced in 8 slices
1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat 1/2 inch oil in a large skillet. Rinse eggplant slices and pat dry. Add salt and pepper to flour. Drench eggplant in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Fry until each side is golden brown.

Spread 1/2 c of marinara sauce in bottom of a
9 X 9 baking dish. Layer fried eggplant slices, marinara sauce, chopped basil, mozzarella slices, and Parmesan cheese in four stacks in pan. Bake at 375 degrees for a half hour or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Serves 4 - even your kids! (Just don't tell them it's eggplant until after they've eaten it.)

Hot Peppers
These easy-to-make peppers are a great way to start a Mexican meal.
The heat of Jalapenos vary from one variety to another, and even within a variety.
We grow two Jalapenos - Dante and Jedi - that are large and mild. They are perfect for stuffing.

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese, such as Monterrey Jack and Cheddar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
6 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed
6 slices bacon, cut in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Mix cream cheese, shredded cheese and cumin together in a bowl until evenly blended. Fill each jalapeno half with the cheese mixture. Wrap each stuffed pepper half with a slice of bacon. Secure the bacon with a toothpick, if needed. Arrange bacon-wrapped peppers on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes.

Mixed Vegetables
Mix it up! Try this recipe with a mixture of whatever fresh vegetables are in season. I make this marinade almost daily in the summer to use with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, and zucchini. I mix up the marinade and vegetables before I start preparing lunch or dinner, and by the time the meal is finished, the vegetables are ready to eat.

Marinated Vegetables

1/4 c olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
dash of ground mustard
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp fresh basil
2 sprigs marjoram

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over vegetables of your choice.

Some suggestions include:
Sliced tomatoes, Broccoli florets, Sliced cucumbers, Sliced green peppers, Sliced red onions, Baby Carrots, Cauliflower, Zucchini

Toss vegetables and marinate. Chill for 1 hour or longer.

Leeks
One of my all-time favorite dishes to make. While baking, the kitchen is filled with
the most wonderful smell of the warm leeks and fennel. The taste is sublime.

Potato, Leek and Fennel Gratin

1 large fennel bulb
1 large leek or 2 medium leeks
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon dried herb such as thyme or rosemary, divided
1 lb potatoes, peeled and THINLY sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Gruyere (or Swiss) cheese, shredded
Ground pepper to taste

Rinse and trim off stalks of fennel. Cut the bulb in half, from top to bottom. Remove the hard core and the bottom of the bulb. Slice the halves into 1/4" slices.

Trim off the dark green section of the leek(s.) Slice remaining white and light green portion into 1/4" slices.

Sauté fennel and leek slices in butter over med-high heat about 5 minutes in a small skillet. Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp herb of your choice. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Combine potato slices, flour and 1/2 tsp salt in zip-top bag and shake to coat. Arrange half of these slices in a well buttered 8" x 8" baking dish.

Mix whipping cream and milk. Pour half of this mixture over potatoes in pan. Sprinkle with half of cheese and 1/4 tsp of herb. Spoon sautéed fennel/leeks over cheese and top with remaining potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, final 1/4 tsp of herb, and ground pepper.

Bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until browned. Let stand 10 minutes.

Sweet Peppers
I would have posted a photo of my canned peppers, but we've already eaten them all!
It's February right now, and, sadly, we have to wait until this summer for more pickled peppers.
This is a recipe that we will make every year from now on. In bigger batches.

Cabbage Stuffed Sweet Peppers

40 banana (or similar) peppers
4 cups cabbage, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups white vinegar
3 1/2 cups water
5 cups sugar

Seed and de-vein peppers. Mix together cabbage, salt, celery seed and black pepper. Stuff peppers and pack into jars. Mix together vinegar, water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Pour over peppers. Wipe edges of the jars with a clean cloth, place lids and screw bands on fingertip-tight. Process filled jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Potatoes
This recipe is great for a pot luck. It's easy to make and easy to keep warm.
Best of all, it tastes great and you're sure to take home an empty serving dish from the pot luck.

Hash Brown Casserole with Cheese

1/2 c finely chopped onion
1 tbsp. butter
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup (or cream of mushroom)
1/3 c milk
4 oz cream cheese
2 oz Velveeta cheese
Pepper, to taste
2 lbs red potatoes
1/2 c shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Boil whole potatoes until slightly tender, about 30 minutes. Let them cool, then shred them with the largest-holed grater you have.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.

In a saucepan, sauté onion in butter slowly, until tender. Add the soup, milk, cream cheese, Velveeta, and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until smooth and bubbly.

In a large bowl, gently blend the potatoes and the soup mixture. Spoon the mixture in the prepared baking dish and spread.

Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove foil and top with the shredded cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Rhubarb
Many a rhubarb-skeptic has been turned into a rhubarb-fan because of this recipe.
We serve it often to our farm workers in the spring and into the summer, as long as we have fresh rhubarb.

Rhubarb Torte

Crust:

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp. sugar
8 tbsp. melted butter

Filling:

4 c. rhubarb
1/2 c. water
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. corn starch
2 tbsp. red Jell-O

Topping:

1 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows
1 sm. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
2 c. cold milk

Combine first three ingredients. Reserve 2 tbsp. and pat remaining mixture in 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 350° for 6 minutes.

Boil rhubarb, water, and sugar until rhubarb is tender. Mix corn starch and Jell-O with a little water to avoid lumps. Add to rhubarb and cook until thick. Pour over crust and cool.

Whip whipping cream, add marshmallows. Spread over rhubarb filling.

Mix instant vanilla pudding according to package directions. When it starts to set up, pour over marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Refrigerate.

Tomatoes
I love this soup. So much better than what you get in a can and really very easy to make.

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

6 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

Place tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onion and garlic in a small roasting pan. Cover with olive oil and mix well. Roast at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until peppers begin to char a bit. After allowing to cool until you can handle the roasted vegetables, remove skins and discard. Process roasted vegetables in a food processor until smooth. Add chicken broth, salt & pepper, and fresh basil. Simmer five minutes in a saucepan on the stove.