Chilled Cucumber Soup
Cherry Tomato, Cucumber and Goat cheese Salad
Grandmama Jo's Pickles
Summer Melon & Hot Pepper Salad
Grilled Summer Potatos with Rosemary
Acorn Squash Soup
Purple Potato Gratin “Pommes Dauphinois”
Spicy Red Gold Potato Salad
Kabocha Squash Soup
Grilled Baby Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Pie
Kale and Potato Soup
Watermelon and Hot pepper Salad
Potato and Purple Kohlrabi Salad
Summer Squash Casserole

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Serves 4

• 5 large organic cucumbers
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ small onion
• 2 tbs. sugar
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• ½ cup mint leaves (or fresh dill if you prefer)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 2 cups plain yogurt (or sour cream)

Method:

Peel cucumbers and roughly chop. Peel and chop onion and garlic clove. Toss with sugar and let stand for 20 minutes. Set up blender or food processor (blender works the best). Add cucumbers, garlic, mint, vinegar, mint salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly until very smooth. Add yogurt and pulse until just blended. Refrigerate for two hours and serve. May be made a day ahead. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper or sugar if necessary. Occasionally soup becomes thick due to the yogurt; if need be thin with water or milk as desired.

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Cherry Tomato, Cucumber and Goat cheese Salad
Serves 6
This is a great light accompaniment to almost any summer meal.

2 pints organic cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
2 medium organic cucumbers, sliced
1 small red onion, shaved thin
3 tbs. fresh organic basil, chopped
4 tbs. balsamic vinegar
½ cup olive oil
6 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

** Optional: use a hot pepper to spice it up a bit

Method:

Mix cucumbers, basil, onions, salt and pepper; let stand for ten minutes. Arrange a layer of cucumbers on individual plates; add tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese and hot pepper on top of cucumbers and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and more fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper and serve!!

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Grandma Jo's Pickles:

• 7 cups cucumbers, sliced thin
• 2 large onions, sliced thin
• 2 large bell peppers (red, green, yellow… pick your favorite)
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon Celery seed
• 2 Cups sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar

Procedure

Boil and cool salt, celery seed, sugar and vinegar. Once cool pour vinegar mixture over pickles, onions and peppers, and let stand for one hour, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate for 12-hours before using. These will keep in the refrigerator or may be frozen in small containers or freezer bags. They stay crisp even after freezing.

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Summer Melon and Hot Pepper Salad
Serves 6
This recipe is fantastic with most seafood. We recommend Scallops, Carolina Shrimp or Grilled Snapper.

½ Ward Bros. Farm organic watermelon, seeded and diced
3 Ward Bros. Farm organic Sprite Melons, seeded and diced
1 small red onion, diced
5 organic hot wax peppers, seeded and diced*
3 scallions, chopped
2 red or green organic bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 lime, juiced
3 tbs. Extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped

* May substitute cayenne or jalapeno or any other pepper depending on your taste for heat.

Method:

Prepare all ingredients as noted and combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and refrigerate for at least one hour. Toss and serve. May be made 3-4 hours ahead.

For an unusual but amazing presentation cut sprite melons in half, scoop out seeds and serve relish/ salad right in the hollow of the melon

Serving suggestion. Use as relish or accompaniment for grilled white fish, seared or grilled scallops and/or shrimp. Scale up proportionately for more servings.

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Grilled Summer Potatoes with Rosemary
Serves 6
Try this unique approach to the old potato routine, only jazzed up a bit!! You may use almost any type of potato for this recipe. It is fun and easy to use small Roasters (golf ball sized). Mix different kinds together for an interesting color combination

2- 3 pounds NC organic Yukon Gold, Kennebec , or Red Gold potatoes
3 Tbs. fresh rosemary, chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves organic garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method :

Wash potatoes thoroughly and pat dry. Preheat your grill. Mix together salt, pepper, oil, rosemary and garlic; toss with potatoes. Place potatoes on the side of the grill where it is the least hot. Reserve any oil/herb mixture in bowl for later. Allow potatoes to roast until “fork tender:” the skins should be nicely browned but not black. Turn potatoes every few minutes to cook evenly (avoid those hot spots on your grill.) Add potatoes back into bowl and toss with remaining oil mixture and serve with your favorite grilled items.
Note. If you are using larger potatoes, cut them into uniform sizes for uniform cooking.

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Acorn Squash Soup
Serves 8

3 NC Organic Acorn Squash
3 cups cream
1 onion, chopped
3 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1 carrot, chopped
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 stalks celery, chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
4 tbs. butter
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Salt & pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 cup pumpkin seeds, optional for garnish*

Method:

Peel squash, scoop out seed & pulp and discard. Reserve seeds for roasting if you wish (they make a great toasted garnish for the soup). Add chopped onions, carrots and celery to a 6-qt. stock pot with butter and sweat over low heat for 10 minutes. Add squash meat, cloves and cinnamon and raise temperature to medium high heat until mixture starts to bubble vigorously. Add brown sugar and half of the vinegar, cooking 5 minutes more. Add soup stock, place over low heat and cover. Simmer for 2 hours until squash is very soft. Cool for 30 minutes and in batches, place soup into blender and blend until very smooth. Place soup back in pot, add cream, remaining vinegar and bring back to a simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds, if desired.

May be made a day or two ahead—soup is actually better the second day. Reheat over low heat and serve.

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Purple Potato Gratin “Pommes Dauphinois”
Serves 6

4½ lbs. NC Organic Purple Potatoes
4 cups milk
2 tbs. butter
4 cups water
2 cups cream or half & half
1 bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste
Pinch nutmeg
** Bacon or cheese if desired  

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash the potatoes, cut them in half and place them in a large saucepan with the milk, water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 5-10 minutes. (You only want to partially cook the potatoes.) Drain the potatoes and when cool enough to handle, cut into thin slices.
Coat a baking dish with the butter. Arrange half of the potato slices in the dish and sprinkle with the salt. Create a shingled layer. Add the remaining potatoes in a second overlapping layer and add another sprinkle of salt. Pour the cream over them and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for about 30 minutes. The cream should be almost completely absorbed.

You may want to experiment with this recipe by adding cooked chopped bacon, ham and any variety of cheese, from cheddar to bleu. Just top your potato layer with desired additions and bake as directed. May be made a day or two ahead and reheated.

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Spicy Red Gold Potato Salad
Serves 6

2 pounds NC organic Red Gold potatoes, washed
2 stalks celery
1 onion
5 strips bacon, cooked and chopped **
½ cup sour cream
½ cup yogurt
1 small organic hot chili pepper finely diced (or more if you dare!)
3 tbs. fresh chives, chopped
4 tbs. vinegar, red wine or cider
3 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Wash and cut potatoes to desired size, if they are small enough you may want to leave them whole for presentation. Boil in lightly salted water until a fork inserted will slide out easily. Rinse and cool quickly to avoid over cooking. Meanwhile, chop all other ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk yogurt, sour cream, vinegar and oil together to form base dressing. Add bacon, onion, celery, hot pepper and chives into the dressing. Stir thoroughly. Fold in potatoes and mix well. Avoid over-mixing as it may break potatoes down. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; chill for two hours before serving.

** Bacon may be omitted as to your preference.

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Kabocha Squash Soup

Serves 8

1 Kabocha
squash
1 onion
1carrot
2stalks celery
4 tbs. butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
¼- cup brown sugar
¼- cup apple cider vinegar
3 qts. Chicken stock or vegetable broth
2 cups cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut Squash in Half. Reserve seeds for roasting if you wish. (They make a great toasted garnish for the soup) Roast Squash for 30 minutes or until soft. Scoop out pulp.

Chop onions, carrots and celery, add to 6 qt stock pot with butter and sweat over low heat for 10 minutes. Add squash, cloves, and cinnamon and raise temperature to medium high heat until mixture starts to bubble vigorously. Add Brown Sugar and half of the vinegar, cooking 5 minutes more. Add chicken stock, place over low heat and cover, and simmer for30 minutes until squash is very soft. Cool for 30 minutes, remove cinnamon stick and in batches place soup into blender and blend until very smooth. Place soup back in pot, add cream, remaining vinegar and bring back to a simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish with toasted squash seeds. May be made a day or two ahead.

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Grilled Baby Sweet Potatoes

Don’t let the cooler temperature make you put away your grill for the year just yet. This recipe affords wonderful, complex flavors with a very simple recipe.

Serves 4  

2 lbs baby sweet potatoes washed, skin on
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbs coarse kosher salt
1 tsp Fresh ground black pepper

Method:

Thoroughly wash Baby Sweet Potatoes and pat dry. Mix olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper together to create a marinade. Toss with potatoes to coat thoroughly. Preheat your grill to a medium heat. Arrange potatoes over a evenly heated area on the grill. Cover and allow potatoes to cook, turning occasionally. You want the skins to turn slightly dark brown with small, lightly charred spots. Cook just until soft. Return potatoes to the bowl you mixed them in the seasoning with and toss to re-coat with remaining mix. Serve with your favorite dish.

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Sweet Potato Pie

Serves 4

2 lbs. NC Organic Sweet Potatoes
1tsp. orange zest
2 tbs. orange juice
2 tsp molasses
4 eggs, separated
1 pie shell
* Optional: Pecans
* Optional: Country ham
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Bake sweet potatoes @ 350º until soft. Remove and cool. Using a fork poke holes in pie shell to prevent bubbles. Pre-bake pie shell for 5 minutes. Peel skin off and thoroughly mash sweet potatoes, making them as smooth as possible. Add zest, juice and molasses and mix thoroughly. Separate eggs. Whip egg whites until stiff peaks are achieved. Fold egg yolks first into potato mixture, then gently add egg whites and fold until just incorporated (do not over mix). Place mixture into pie shell and bake for 30- 40 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Variations: You may mix toasted pecan pieces over the top or into pie mixture as desired. Or you may mix in crisp, finely chopped country ham to add another tasty dimension to this recipe.

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Kale and Potato Soup

Serves 4- 6

1 large yellow onion, peeled and minced fine

1 stalk of celery
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 large potatoes
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
6 ounces chorizo or similar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb kale, stemmed and chopped

Sauté the sausage and onion and garlic in 3 T oil. Add potatoes and celery and sauté, until they begin to color. Add water, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Add kale and Simmer 5 minutes. Mix in remaining olive oil. May be blended is you prefer a smooth soup. Serve with dark bread. Can be made without sausage for a vegetarian dish.

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Watermelon and Hot pepper Salad

This recipe is fantastic with most seafood. We recommend scallops, shrimp or grilled snapper, etc.
Serves 4
½ watermelon seeded and diced
1 small red onion diced
5 hot wax peppers* seeded and diced
3 scallions chopped
2 red or green bell peppers seeded and diced
1 lime juiced
3 tbs. Extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs. cilantro chopped