Skip to main content

Recipes from a Farm Kitchen

"As late fall arrives and we pull in the remaining harvests from the field, I cherish the last of the crops that can tolerate cold and frosts. The sweet, fall carrots and beets make a great salad to celebrate the rich soil where they were grown, and the spinach frittata reminds me to prepare more recipes for winter spinach harvests to come. Enjoy!” says Jen Miller, of Prairie Wind Family Farm, in Grayslake.

 

Beet and Carrot Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Yields: four to six servings

Dressing:

⅓ cup minced cipollini onions

5 Tbsp cider vinegar

3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Salad:

2 cups cooked, diced beets

1½ cups cooked, diced carrots

1 cup diced green peppers

1½ cups diced apple

4 oz blue cheese, crumbled

½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted

To make the dressing: Combine onion, vinegar, basil and mustard. Whisk in olive oil in a thin stream. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble salad: Toss each type of vegetable and the apples one at a time with enough dressing to barely coat them. Arrange in separate piles in a wide, shallow bowl.

Just before serving, sprinkle salad with blue cheese and walnuts, add more salt and pepper to taste and toss gently.

Serve at room temperature.

 

Spinach and Cheddar Strata

Yields: four servings

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

10 oz fresh spinach leaves

3 cups day-old bread cubes (1 in)

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

1¼ cups grated white cheddar (3 oz)

Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high.

Add spinach and cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a colander and drain, pressing with a rubber spatula to release as much liquid as possible.

Lightly butter four small, shallow, 8-ounce baking dishes (or one 9-inch pie dish). Divide bread and spinach among dishes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and ¾ cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Divide mixture evenly among baking dishes and top with ½ cup cheese.

Set dishes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until set in middle and golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Recipes courtesy of Jen Miller, of Prairie Wind Family Farm, which grows a wide variety of certified organic vegetables, pasture-raised hens for eggs and provides fresh fruit to CSA members, delivered year-round to north and western suburban locations. Winter produce and egg shares start in Jan. and go through Apr. For more information and to sign up for the CSA season, visit PrairieWindFamilyFarm.com.