I have several bits of exciting news!
**First, we will be offering a Canning Class, September 28, 2010 at the beautiful showrooms of Mountain High Appliance, in old town Louisville. The class will cover canning basics and will be a hands-on experience. I will send out details over the weekend.
** Second, I have been working with Miller Farm's lately, and you can visit me at the Fort Collins Farmer's Market (Harmony & Lemay), most sundays.
** Finally, I have been hired by the St. Vrain School District to work with their food service program and help make OUR community school's lunch program reflect our growing desire to provide more nutritious local food to our kids. The truth is, the director and her staff feed 17,000 students a day and they already receive 30% of their produce from local farms. Think about it.. Your local school district is ALREADY thinking local, eating local and putting our tax dollars into our local economy.
While Boulder County receives the press for what they're doing (and I am happy for them), you need to know that our forward thinking Director of Nutrition, Shelly Allen, is doing it on a much larger scale, and with less conflict, and more buy in from her staff. You have no idea how exciting it is to be working with someone so supportive and innovative of our community. Keep your eyes posted for this woman's name, she's impressive and I am very lucky to be part of her program.
So, enough with the news...
No need to use the oven or stove... just cut, chop, and toss and your finished.
This is my "salad de jour" for the summer.....
Summer Corn andHeirloom Tomato Salad
4 ears fresh summer corn, husks removed, cut corn from the cob
2 large heirloom tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
(or use the small grape sized, cut in half)
1/4 of a red onion, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, rinsed in cold water
8-10 basil leaved, chopped
1/4 cup goat or sheep feta (or your favorite local cheese)
2 Strips Bacon, diced and cooked crisp (optional)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Fresh Lettuce leaves to garnish
Chives, to garnish
Basil, to garnish
Vinaigrette:
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3-4 Tablespoons good quality Vinegar (Champagne, red wine, Cabernet, rice wine, etc)
1/3 –1/2 cup good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar and shake until combined, mixture will separate, but that is fine. Taste and adjust seasonings, it should have a nice vinegar taste (the tomatoes will mellow this out)
Combine Tomatoes, corn, and onions in a medium sized bowl, pour vinaigrette over mixture and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Chill if not serving directly.
Before serving, stir in Basil and adjust seasonings, place a few lettuce leaves on the salad plate, top plate with 1/2-cup corn tomato mixture, layer with feta, bacon (if using), additional basil, and chives, and fresh ground pepper. Enjoy.
**Please note: only the freshest summer vegetables work with this salad. Most corn bought at the store will be too starchy to showcase this lovely salad. Corn used within a day or two of being picked is optimal. Also, this recipe is only a suggestion; feel free to increase the amounts, of your favorite ingredients!!
See you at the Market!
Chef Deb
2 comments:
Excellent! So glad you are working with the school and bringing in fresh foods. Our son will love it!
I am excited about it. It might be a little while before anyone sees any big changes, as the first few months are going to be devoted to evaluations and training.
It's interesting to note, all the food for 52 schools must be ordered a year and a half in advance...
Thanks for the comment.
Chef Deb
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