Late Summer Salad

Celebrate these last sunny days of summer with a beautiful, healthy salad!

I love using raw beets and carrots together. The color is amazing: magenta and orange layered with vibrant green lettuce and brightened by slices of apple and a sprinkling of feta. You know you're going to get a whole range of important vitamins and nutrients with all of that brilliant color! And we didn't even start talking about flavor yet... Earthy, sweet, tart, crisp and salty. A delicious assortment of tastes and textures.

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KIRBY'S LATE SUMMER SALAD

This will make one big dinner salad, or five side salads. Crisp, mild and sweet, Gingergold is the perfect apple variety for salads. You can find most of these ingredients at Kirby's!

1 local Carrot, coarsely grated

1 Kirbygrown Beet, coarsely grated

3 cups of local Leaf Lettuce, loosely packed

5 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar

1/5 tsp Salt (a good pinch)

1 Kirbygrown Gingergold Apple, diced, with several slices reserved as garnish

1 ounce Feta Cheese, crumbled

1 Tablespoon of Crunchies (sunflower or pumpkin seeds, chopped raw almonds or walnuts) optional

Method: Whisk together vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place lettuce on a large plate or in a bowl. Arrange heaps of grated beet and carrot on lettuce. Drizzle with vinegar solution.

Add apples, sprinkle with feta and seeds or nuts. Enjoy!

Note: My default salad dressing is Cider Vinegar and Salt, and it works perfectly for this salad, in my opinion. Incredibly simple and refreshing, it brightens up a bowl full of veggies without overwhelming their individual flavors. If this isn't your kinda thing, have your favorite bottle of vinaigrette handy as a backup.

Roasted

Wondering what to do with all of these boring winter vegetables?

It was years ago that I first saw a recipe for Roasted Vegetables, and I will always be thankful that I did. Roasting is such a delicious way to add variety to your menu. The results provide the same rich flavor of many less-healthy cooking methods. Plus, just about any vegetable out there is even better when roasted, so you are free to experiment.

The most popular and common combination for my family would be carrots, beets, garlic, onions, and potatoes. Cauliflower, winter squash, turnips, fennel and sweet potatoes are also excellent additions. Even if you only have one of these options, just toss it in a little olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and roast away! There really aren't too many rules. If you would like to have big chunks or wedges instead of cubes, just keep the size uniform and you'll be all set.

You will be amazed at the pile of veggies you end up with after everything is peeled and chopped. Remember that a lot of moisture will be lost in the cooking process so the end result takes up less space. In my experience, it is not unusual for two people to polish off one cookie sheet (about one recipe) of roasted veggies.  Serving them alongside roast chicken with some homemade applesauce makes for a warming, delicious, and nutritious Autumn/winter dinner! And, of course you can get every vegetable you need to make this recipe at Kirby's Farm Market.

Kirby's Favorite Roasted Veggies

1 beet, peeled and cubed

1 onion, cut into small wedges

1 head of garlic, minced

2 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 medium carrots

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread in one even layer on a cookie sheet. Try to leave a little space between most of the pieces. The more air flow you have the more caramelization you'll get and that's the yummy part! It is a good idea to use more then one cookie sheet if your veggies create a pile instead of a layer.

Place the cookie sheets in the center of your oven. If you need to place one on a lower rack, be sure to switch them  half way through cooking. Stir your veggies after about 30 minutes. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes more. Keep an eye on them and stir again if necessary. Veggies should be tender and golden brown, the onions nice an caramelized. Remove from oven and serve immediately. (Roasted veggies are wonderful the next day, so you will probably want to make extra.)

Thanksgiving is coming up! Maybe it's time to try something new? Let us know how your experiments turn out!

The Great Pickle Debate

Arguments may not be as fierce as cat vs dog, superman vs spiderman, or chocolate vs vanilla, but I know more then a few people that get pretty passionate about their pickles.

Sweet or dill?

In my opinion, it's best if sweet pickles are kept very far away to save plenty of room for dill. Ever since I was a little kid, I've been notorious for my love of dill pickles. And there are always plenty around since the Kirby family puts up dozens of jars every year (in fact I'm eating one right now, from this very jar).

However you like your pickles, this is the year to try making them yourself! As with everything else, the season started early and we already have bushels of pickles ready to be partnered with garlic, vinegar and salt. The Ball "Fresh Preserving" website has a great variety of recipes. Instructions are clear and straight forward enough to take all the intimidation out of the process.

Call ahead to place your order for 3-4" pickles or 5-6" pickles. We pick on Wednesday and Friday, so they're available to pick up those days after 3pm or the following day. (585)637-2600

If you're as anxious as I am to bite into a refreshing pickle, here's a recipe that only takes a day or so.

Garlic Fridge Pickles

• 8-10 Kirby pickles, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup of Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed

• Put everything but the pickles into a clean, shiny, quart  canning jar. Swirl it all around until the salt melts and everything is nicely combined. Add the pickles. Pack 'em in there (but gently) til the jar is full with an inch to half inch of head space. If the liquid does not cover all of the sliced pickles, top it off with enough cider vinegar to do so. Cover tightly and store in the fridge. Now you have to wait at least four hours to enjoy your pickles, but 12 hours would be better.

Tossing in some other ingredients like a handful of chopped fresh dill leaves, red pepper flakes or a 1/2 tsp of mustard seed would be fun too. This is a pretty loose recipe, so you might find that you have an extra pickle, but when is that a problem? Let us know if you try it out!

Not into pickles? Cucumber salads are a great hot summer day dish (the 90 degree weather this weekend definitely does not motivate us to turn on the stove). Here are a few dozen recipes from tastespotting to inspire you!