We are very excited to host a Dinner in the Field featuring the great food of the very talented Chef Danielle Westbrook.  Chef Danielle trained under James Beard Chef Dylan Fultineer and is soon to leave us for Chicago to hone in on her talents with the chef who trained Chef Dylan.  We are very excited that she wants to use our farm as her canvas of culinary creativity.  We will begin with a farm tour at 5:30 and then we will all sit and enjoy Black Creek Farm’s and other local farm’s best of their best prepared by a very talented young chef.

Dinner will include wine pairing and and great desserts.  Ticket cost is $80 a ticket.  You can purchase tickets through Eventbrite by clicking here. We hope you will join us in our celebration of a great growing season!  We hope to see you there!

If you are a farm share member, here is what you will find in your bag:

• Salad
• Onions
• Sweet Peppers
• Shishitos
• Poblanos
• Hanover Tomatoes
• Cherries
• Tokyo Bekana

Let’s talk tomatoes!  What makes a Hanover Tomato a Hanover tomato?  It has nothing to do with the type of tomato and has everything to do with the soil!  Our farm is in Black Creek, an area of Hanover that is known for its sandy soil with a high acid base.  Tomatoes (and lots of other things) love growing in this soil.  The high levels of acidity transfers in to the wonderful taste of the tomato.  So a Hanover tomato is all about the soil!

Sadly, we only have a couple more weeks of tomato season so I have been doing everything with them.  My new favorite thing is tomato tarts!  They are beyond delicious and such a treat!  Right across from us at market is Goats R Us Cheese.  We trade each Saturday and I get to try a different cheese she makes.  There hasn’t been one cheese I haven’t LOVED.  Long story short, I use whatever cheese she gives me on these tarts and I love it!

I will say, each time I have made them, they have gotten better and better because I learned more.   Preheat oven to 400. Put the phyllo on parchment paper and brush with olive oil and chopped garlic in between each layer (yes there are a lot of layers).  That is what I learned to do.  The tart on the right does not have that and trust me, taking the extra time to do it makes it that much better!  Spread goat cheese or ricotta and top with colorful tomatoes. I learned Cherry tomatoes work out great and makes the tart even more beautiful!  The first time (the one on the right) I didn’t fill in open spaces with little tomatoes, when you top the whole thing with tomatoes it looks so much prettier. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes. YUMM!  Seriously, it is easy and if you are having folks over to your house or need to bring a covered dish, THIS is impressive!

I have also been eating tomato sandwiches every day!  Grab a loaf of Norwood Cottage Bakery and some goat cheese from Goats-R-Us with our tomatoes and you will have the best tomato sandwich ever! 

Summer should always be easy, and these two recipes are so easy!  Serve either of these dishes along side our arugula or field green mix and you are complete!  You can find the recipe for the salads here.

Enough about tomoatoes!  We are also moving in to pepper season! First comes tomatoes and as they close out, you then get peppers!  I love them and have lots of recipes.  My favorite is stuffed poblanos.

This recipe is delicious and is a great meal prep recipe.  I make a bunch and then either have leftovers the next night or lunch for a couple of days!  Get the recipe here!

I also love this Pepper Steak Recipe!

It is a great easy weeknight dinner!  I use Matt’s sweet banana peppers, thick walled carmen peppers as well as shishitoes when I make this.  I always throw in one of his fresh cured onions.  They are just so sweet, this dinner is amazing!  I have also made this for my lunches for work!  Here is my secret, I bought a rice cooker!  They aren’t that expensive and the rice turns out outstanding!  Rather than using water, I use beef or chicken broth while using brown rice.  It truly enhances the flavor of the rice!  You can get the recipe here.  In fact, I am making this for dinner tonight!

We now have our lettuces back!  I absolutely love this Tokyo Bekana lettuce!  It is like a loose leaf romaine but the stems are like a bok choy so they are delicious to eat!  You can sauté this with stir fries (including the pepper steak recipe), make wonderful salads, or create great lettuce wraps!

Another dish that is a family pleaser! You can get the recipe here.  I promise you will love it.  If you decide to meal prep with it, just make the meat ahead of time and then serve it with the lettuce when you are ready to serve.

I am busy and I need simple.  It is my priority to eat as much of Matt’s delicious, clean food as we can.  I work hard finding meals that fit our lifestyle.  Sunday meal prep has been our savior!  I am a principal and Matt is working the fields from dawn to dusk. I have figured out some great recipes that allows me to eat well and continue with the core values of our farm.

We hope to see you at the South of the James Farmer’s Market this Saturday from 8-12.