Sample Recipe – “Swiss Chard and Shiitake Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar”

2 bunches (2½ pounds) Swiss chard, washed, stems removed
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thickly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup reduced sodium vegetable broth
½ Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions
Stack chard leaves and roll up lengthwise into cylinders. Cut cylinders crosswise to make 2 inch strips. Set aside.

In large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until they release liquid and become limp. Stir, then add garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes.

Add broth and allow mushrooms to absorb all liquid, stirring occasionally.

Add chard to pan in batches, stirring until wilted before adding next batch.

Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Mix in rosemary, salt, red pepper flakes (if desired) and balsamic vinegar.

Turn up heat to allow Swiss chard and mushrooms to absorb most of the vinegar, and cook for approximately 2 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 half-cup servings

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 50 calories, 2 grams total fat (0 grams saturated fat), 7 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 3 grams dietary fiber, 310 mg sodium

Shiitake mushrooms contain ergosterol, a plant compound that turns into vitamin D, as well as the cancer-fighting mineral selenium.

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Sample Recipe – “Sweet Potato, Peanut and Ginger Soup”

½ cup toasted peanut oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 Tablespoons organic tomato paste
8 Cups organic chicken or vegetable stock (low sodium)
2 sweet potatoes (1 ½ – 2 lbs.), peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2 inch sections
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
½ cup organic dark roasted peanut butter*
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sour cream, dollop, optional
½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
Coat the sweet potatoes, carrot and onion wedges with all but 2 tablespoons of the oil, and sprinkle with the salt. Place on a baking sheet. Bake in a 375° oven for 30 – 40 minutes until soft. Cut off any black. Dark brown is fine.

Meanwhile heat a heavy bottom saucepan or Dutch oven, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil.
Add the garlic, ginger and all of the spices, sauté for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring. Add the tomato paste, peanut butter, the roasted vegetables, salt, cayenne pepper, and stock. Mix well.

Remove from the heat, put mixture into the bowl of a blender or food processor, in batches, blend until smooth. Pour mixture back into the saucepan, heat over medium – low heat until heated through.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with a dollop of sour cream (optional), chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Serves 6 – 8

Sample Recipe – “Striped Bass Fillet with an Albemarle Pippin Coulis”

Striped Bass Fillet

6 six ounce striped bass fillets, with skin (same as rockfish)
1/2 cup grape seed oil
Salt and black pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450° F. Oil a shallow baking pan, set aside.

Pat fish dry with paper towels. Score skin in several places, with a thin sharp knife, to prevent fish from curling (do not cut through flesh). Season on all sides lightly with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom large frying pan, over medium – high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add fish fillets skin side down, in batches and sear until skin is golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per batch (fish will not be fully cooked). Transfer to oiled baking pan, turning fish skin side up.

Roast fish in oven, uncovered, until just cooked through 7 to 8 minutes.

Drizzle apple coulis attractively over fish fillets. Serve hot.

Apple Coulis

6 Albemarle Pippin apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
¼ cup honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground mace
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of one organic lemon
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon brandy
1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
Place the apples in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add butter, agave nectar, cinnamon, lemon juice, zest, brandy and water. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until fork pierces through the apples easily. Cool slightly and then process in a blender or food processor until totally smooth and free of lumps. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

The coulis can be made one day ahead, covered and refrigerated.

Serves 6

Sample Recipe – “Roasted Winter Vegetables and Apples, with a Tarragon/Walnut Pesto”

Roasted Winter Vegetables and Apples

½ Cup extra virgin olive oil
12 Beets, small, leave peel on
12 Turnips, small – 2 inch, trimmed and peeled
12 Shallots, peeled whole
1 lb. Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
3 Albemarle pippin apples, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400° F.

Toss the beets, turnips and shallots in the olive oil. Spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet, large enough so that nothing is touching. Lightly salt and pepper on all sides. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes.

Using a spatula, turn the pieces over. Move the pieces nearest the edges of the pan into the center and those in the center to the outer edges, to allow for even browning. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes more until they can be easily penetrated with a knife.

Toss the squash and apples in the remaining olive oil. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet large enough so that nothing is touching. Lightly salt on all sides. Roast for 20 minutes without turning until they are tender.

When the beets are done, pick them out and put them in a container with a tight fitting lid and allow to steam for 15 to 20 minutes, this will make it easier to remove the peel. Peel the beets and then gently mix all of the vegetables together. Coat with the tarragon – walnut pesto.

Tarragon – Walnut Pesto

1 bunch fresh tarragon, chopped
¾ Cup walnuts, toasted
2 cloves garlic, sliced
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Put the walnuts and garlic into a food processor and process briefly. Add the tarragon and nutmeg and blend until all ingredients are roughly combined. With the motor running slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Add the salt and pepper. Makes 2 cups.
Serves 6

Sample Recipe – “Persimmon Mousse with Pomegranate Molasses and Fresh Pomegranate Seeds”

2 Cups ripe Hachiya persimmon puree, about 4 large soft persimmons
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup cold water
3 Tablespoons unflavored gelatin or agar-agar (vegetarian gelatin)
2 cups apple juice
2 cups frozen yogurt (Häagen Dazs is delicious)
1 fresh pomegranate
Pomegranate molasses (available at Grand Market or Foods of All Nations)
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Instructions
Halve the persimmons, pick out any seeds, and then scrape the soft pulp from the skin. Puree, then measure out two cups.

Dissolve the gelatin in one cup of water in a small bowl.

Bring the apple juice to a boil, stir in the dissolved gelatin and continue to cook, while stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the persimmon puree, stir some more, then remove from the heat. Let cool for one minute then stir in the baking soda until incorporated. Pour into a glass bowl, cover with the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the jelly. Chill for at least two hours to set, overnight is better. After it has set, blend it with the frozen yogurt in a blender or food processor until it is whipped. Scoop it into glasses.

Drizzle pomegranate molasses over the mousse. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and a mint sprig.

Serves 6

Sample Recipe – “Barley and Shiitake Mushroom Risotto”

6 cups vegetable or mushroom broth (low sodium)
½ cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1½ cups pearl barley, rinsed
½ cup white wine
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions
Bring broth and water to a simmer in a large saucepan. Adjust heat to maintain a steady simmer.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they begin to release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add barley and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute more. Reduce heat to medium.

Add ½ cup hot broth to the barley and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding ½ cup hot broth at a time and stirring until the liquid has been absorbed after each addition, adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, until the barley is tender and creamy but still somewhat firm, 35 to 45 minutes. (You might not use all the broth.)

Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and butter. Season with pepper.

Serves 6

Sample Recipe – “Autumn Greens Salad, with an Orange/Cumin Vinaigrette”

Autumn Greens Salad

6 cups greens in season, such as spinach, arugula, radicchio, leaf lettuce. About 1 lb. total
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced
6 oz. Everona Dairy aged sheep’s milk cheese, shaved

Tear the lettuce and greens into bite sized pieces. Wash and dry the greens, then put them in a salad bowl. Slice the fennel paper thin on a mandolin, add to the greens, mix. Shave curls of the cheese over each plate of the salad. Dress right before serving with orange – cumin vinaigrette.

Orange – Cumin Vinaigrette

2/3 Cup fresh orange juice
2 shallots, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon organic orange zest, chopped
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
¾ Cup grapeseed oil
salt and cayenne pepper

Whisk the orange juice, shallots, lemon juice and cumin together, to blend. Add oil and whisk until well blended. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Serves 6