Local Dishes from Local Growers

While researching our September/October cover feature about local growers and producers, we would always ask these farmers market vendors about their most interesting produce: “What do you do with this?” They always had answers. In fact, more than once, they even offered to give us recipes. 

So we made it official, and asked a few of those profiled in our cover story to share recipes that make the most of the products they grow themselves.

Mexican Street Corn

Michele Gee, Gee Family Farms: “My most popular recipe is our cornbread made from our cornmeal and our pumpkin pie recipe at geefamilyfarm.com. We have eight varieties of culinary pumpkins that we grow and strive to educate people on how to process pumpkins. Our cornmeal is ground from our popcorn.”

4 ears corn, husked
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Cacique Crema Mexicana 
½ cup cotija cheese, freshly grated
Chili powder or Tajín to taste
1 lime, quartered

Brush corn with melted butter and grill on medium heat until slightly charred. Mix mayonnaise and crema together; spread a thin layer all over the corn ears. Sprinkle generously with cotija cheese and chili powder or tajin. Serve with a lime wedge on the side for squeezing on top.

Makes 4 servings

Quail Eggs-in-a-Basket with Fermented Hot Honey

Sarah Amstutz, Honey Basket Homestead: “This is a perfect Saturday morning brunch option, which combines simplicity with rustic sophistication. In this recipe, we substitute quail eggs for chicken eggs, resulting in a creamier egg with some added nutritional benefits such as vitamin B12, Iron and riboflavin. They are also rich in antioxidants. This recipe packs health benefits with flavor.” 

Eggs-in-a-Basket is a traditional breakfast meal, sometimes called Toad-In-A-Hole or Eggs-In-A-Nest. The fermented hot honey should be made a couple of weeks in advance for maximum flavor and development of the probiotics created by the fermentation process. 

Fermented Hot Honey 
This fermented hot honey combines spicy and sweet, can be used on anything and keeps for 6 months. The recipe is based on personal taste preference, so increase or decrease amounts as you wish.

Handful Thai chile peppers, sliced 
½ red onion, minced
Handful garlic cloves, minced
Handful fresh thyme, desprigged

Pour mixture into a glass jar and cover with raw honey; cap tightly. Keep mixture on the counter for two weeks. Shake daily. Test for flavor after two weeks.

Eggs-in-a-Basket
4 slices good-quality bread (We love using rustic sourdough.)
Good-quality butter, softened to room temperature
3 quail eggs
Fermented hot honey

Slather butter on each side of bread slices. Gently cut a circle out of the middle of each slice. (Or square— whatever is easiest!) Place buttered bread in a hot skillet on medium heat. (We prefer cast iron pans for the crispness it produces in the toast.) Crack a quail egg into each bread hole and cook until bread is toasted; flip. Cook until both sides are toasted and the egg yolks are cooked throughout. Place eggs-in-a-basket on a plate and generously drizzle with fermented hot honey.

Makes 2 servings

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Lindsey Danner, Dannerland Farms:  “We usually just make a simple caprese with our colorful heirlooms or slice them and eat them with a slice of sourdough toast and aioli, but once in a while I’ll take time to make a version of bruschetta that is delicious. It tastes like summer.”

1 baguette
1 package cream cheese, softened
6 ounces feta cheese
Fresh pesto
Fresh heirloom tomatoes, sliced
Fresh basil leaves
Coarse sea salt

Toast baguette slices. Mix together equal parts softened cream cheese and feta with a good helping of fresh pesto. Spread the mixture onto crispy baguette slices. Top bread with garden fresh tomatoes, basil and a pinch of coarse salt. 

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

Jamie Blasingame, Mamie’s Backyard Farm: “We love stuffed patty pan squash because it is easily changed into whatever flavor you want for the night, and it’s a quick delicious meal.”

3 to 4 medium patty pan squash, cored with pulp chopped
1 pound hamburger meat
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
½ to 1 cup shredded cheese (of your choice)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut top off patty pan squash and core. Mix chopped vegetables together and set aside.Brown hamburger meat and drain. Add cooked hamburger meat to vegetable mixture and stir in any seasoning you prefer, like taco or spaghetti seasoning or a little tomato sauce. Add cheese and mix well. Stuff each patty pan squash and place on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until squash is tender. 

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Mushroom Fried Rice

Myles Artho, Fuku Farm

4 cups long grain rice, cooked and cooled (can make the morning of or the night before)
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables
½ pound local mushrooms
1 large onion
6 fresh garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute
¼ cup soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Eggs
Chopped green onions, microgreens, sprouts or crunchy garlic for garnish

Scramble eggs until almost cooked; set aside. Add oil to wok and heat; add diced onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant. Combine cooled rice, cooked eggs, butter and mixed vegetables. In a skillet, add oils and heat; saute mushrooms until tender. Add to rice mixture. Season to taste and add soy sauce. Cook until rice is golden. Add garnish and serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 10 servings