farmhouse's healthy & yummy salad

Here’s a lovey and healthy recipe that works perfectly from summer right into fall. If you’ve never had quinoa, now is the perfect time to try it. Quinoa cooks up just as easily as rice, but has about 40 fewer calories, five times the fiber and double the protein as rice!

Chef Mead of Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens has created this recipe to be equally as delicious as it is nutritious. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

FARMHOUSE at ROGER’S GARDENS QUINOA HARVEST SALAD

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked quinoa

2 cups of roasted butternut squash cut into cubes

1 small bunch of kale, destemmed and chopped

½ cup of dry cranberries

1 cup of granny smith apples, julienned

½ cups leeks, chopped and roasted

¾ cup of roasted onions (Farmhouse uses cipollini)

½ cup of citrus vinaigrette

Salt and pepper

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. If salad is too dry, add more citrus dressing until the desired outcome is achieved

Chefs Note:

Marinating the clean and cut kale in citrus juices overnight will break the natural fibers of the kale apart so that it is not so stringy and coarse. The Chefs at Farmhouse use a combination of orange and lemon juices.

CITRUS VINAIGRETTE

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

¾ cup of mixed citrus juice (Farmhouse uses a combination of orange, lemon and lime juice)

¼ cup white wine vinegar

½ tbs of dijon mustard

½ tbs of honey

1 cup of olive oil

In a blender, combine all ingredients except for olive oil and salt and pepper. Blend and slowly add the olive oil and well emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.

ciao! fabiana

photo & recipe courtesy of Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens

farmhouse at roger's gardens recipes

the Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens

Great news! You’ve been invited to a summer pot luck gathering, but now have to decide what to bring. Do you have a special go-to dish that you make for occasions like this? For me, this is the perfect opportunity to try a new and exciting recipe. 

Well, today I have two such recipes to share with you, and they sound like the perfect side dishes for any summer party. Chef Rich Mead of the Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens has shared two of his popular side dishes so we can have a crack at preparing them at home.

The first recipe is for Summer Succotash. Succotash has its origins in early colonial America, when members of the Algonquin tribe shared their technique for combining corn kernels and beans along with other fresh ingredients to create a yummy and healthy dish. Succotash is fresh, crunchy and is such a great alternative for summer noshing. One of the perks of succotash is it won't wilt like a green salad, so it can sit on the picnic table and retain its flavors beautifully.

And who doesn’t love potatoes? Well, the next recipe combines the perfect ingredients to complement the trusty potato, like bacon, onions and blue cheese. Add a little grilled flavor from the potato and you’re all set to wow your friends! 

CORN SUCCOTASH

 

INGREDIENTS:

12 ears of summer corn (white or yellow), shucked and cleaned

1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 ½ cup red tomato, small dice

1 ½ cup red bell pepper, small dice

1 cup of blanched green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 cup of zucchini, small dice

¾ to 1 cup of honey lime vinaigrette

Salt and pepper

1.   Grill ears of corn on an open flame grill until well charred and cooked.

2.   Cut kernels off the cob to get roughly 6 cups of charred corn kernels.

3.   Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl, toss well.

4.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

HONEY LIME VINAIGRETTE:

¼ cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup olive oil

Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

1.   In a blender, add everything except the oil and mix until combined

2.   With the blender running, add the oil in a thin stream through the hole in the lid

3.   Blend until well-mixed

GRILLED POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. baby red potatoes

½ cup celery, thinly sliced

½ cup red onion, thinly sliced

½ lb. good quality bacon

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup Dijon mustard

2 tbs. sugar

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1.   Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy and separate from rendered fat and set aside.

2.   In boiling, salted water, par cook the potatoes until soft but still a bit firm.

3.   Add the olive oil, salt and pepper to the reserved bacon fat and use this mixture to toss the potatoes in.

4.   Grill the potatoes on a hot grill until they get nice marks and the potatoes are soft.

5.   In a large bowl – whisk together mustard, mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.

6.   Once potatoes are cool, add all ingredients together and toss lightly.

7.   Chill before serving.

I’d love to know if you try one of these recipes!

Let me know what you think…

ciao! fabiana

photo credit:

Roger's Gardens

farmhouse at roger's holiday cookies

Today, I’m sharing a few more cookie recipes with you. What do you think about Melty Chocolate Truffles, Soft Molasses and Danish Salted-Butter cookies this Christmas?

All these cookie recipes are from Chef Mead of FARMHOUSE at Roger’s Gardens, so you know they’re gonna be good!! 

Enjoy!

WARM & MELTY CHOCOLATE-TRUFFLE COOKIES

Makes Around 2 Dozen Cookies

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp. and cut in pieces
1/3 cup (about 3 oz) chopped dark chocolate
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

1.   Preheat oven to 375° and spray 2 baking pans with a non-stick cooking spray or oil.

2.   Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and the salt together. With your hands or a fork, rub butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in chocolate.

3.   Whisk together egg and vanilla. Add egg mixture to chocolate mixture; stir with a fork until mixture is slightly moistened. Form dough into a ball; wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.

4.   Shape dough into tablespoon size balls. Roll each in powdered sugar and coat the balls. Place on prepared pans 2″ apart.

5.   Bake until just set but still slightly undercooked, about 10 minutes.

6.   Let cool on sheets 5 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

7.   The cookies are best served warm.

SPICY & SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Makes About 2 Dozen Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoons ground cardamom
½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 large egg
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark molasses
¼  cup dark brown sugar for rolling

1.   Preheat oven to 375° and spray with a non-stick cooking spray or oil.

2.   Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl.

3.   Whisk egg, butter, granulated sugar, molasses, and brown sugar in a medium bowl.

4.   Mix in dry ingredients and combine.

5.   Scoop out dough by the tablespoonful and roll into balls and if the dough feels sticky go ahead and chill for 20 minutes.

6.   Place the sugar in a shallow bowl.

7.   Roll the balls of dough in sugar and place on greased baking sheets. Spacing 2″ apart.

8.   Bake cookies and try to turn the pans half way through cooking time.

9.   The cookies should are ready when they look puffed, cracked, and just set around edges. If the cookies are over baked they will not be chewy.

10. Bake about 8–10 minutes and transfer to wire racks and let cool.

DANISH SALTED-BUTTER COOKIES

Makes Around 2 Dozen Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled salted butter, cut into pieces
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more
1 cup sugar (sanding or turbinado)
3″-diameter and a 1 ½″-diameter fluted cookie cutter

1.   Combine butter, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on high speed and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

2.   Beat in 1 of the eggs and reduce the mixing speed to low. Gradually mix in 2 cups of the flour. Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill until for about 2 hours and it should be firm.

3.   Preheat to 350°F. Let disk of dough sit at room temperature until softened. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work space, until about 3/8″ thick.

4.   Punch out rounds with large cutter and continue to punch out centers with smaller cutter. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure that the cookies are spaced 1 ½” apart. Pat scraps and chill again until needed.

5.   Beat remaining egg in a small bowl with 1 tsp. water; brush cookies with egg wash; sprinkle with sugar. Chill for 15 minutes.

6.   Bake, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until edges are golden brown, 10–15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool.

7.   Repeat with chilled scraps and remaining egg wash and sugar.

ciao! fabiana

recipe credit: FARMHOUSE at Roger's Gardens

the farmhouse at roger's gardens

My favorite kind inspiration can be found at the Farmhouse Restaurant at Roger’s Gardens. My hubby and I had a really nice lunch there yesterday to celebrate our anniversary, and while I was there, I couldn’t resist capturing a few pretty vignettes. There's always something so interesting around every corner! 

I especially love the table planted full of my favorite herbs, surrounded by the gorgeous stone walls and rustic shutters!

 

 ciao! fabiana