Blog Archives

Vegetarian Recipe Swap

Vegetarian Recipe Swap

With so many truly delicious ways to enjoy seasonal, fresh food, we’re opening Vinetown up for our reader’s recipes. We’re excited to share your great, creative cooking techniques and ideas. We’ll  find – from each other – interesting new ways to prepare the sustainable, vegetarian meals so many of us enjoy~ Please email your recipes...

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Spiced Plum Preserve

Spiced Plum Preserve

With beautiful fruit fresh off the tree, here’s a great way to savor some of its wonderful flavor in the cool months ahead. This recipe comes from amy father’s friends (who prefers not to be named). The yellow Shiro plums in her yard are truly amazing. She brings a real warmth to her preserve...

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Grilled Garlic Infused Eggplant

Grilled Garlic Infused Eggplant

Gardens  are bursting with eggplant  these days & Chris Brown just came up with an inventive and delicous way to enjoy them. These are very different from anything you’ve tasted before! Garlic Infused Eggplant Six servings 2 large eggplant 3-4 cloves of garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 2 -3 tablespoons sea salt Slice eggplants...

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Fresh Produce for Everyone!

Fresh Produce for Everyone!

Accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables has been a real problem for many people.  Organic and/or local foods have been more expensive, or have been perceived as costing more, causing shoppers to make cheaper food choices.   The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is making it easier for markets to accept electronic debit cards...

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The Beet Goes On….

The Beet Goes On….

Fresh beets are a lot of work. My problem is I can’t resist them. I see them at the farmstand and know how intensely beautiful that deep red will look, how clear and mellow the just picked flavor will be.  These are totally different from anything you find in a can or a jar....

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Summer Salsa

Summer Salsa

  Gather up this season’s ripe, fresh fruit and toss it into a savory salsa for fish, salads, grilled veggies and chips. This is a beautifully refreshing balance of sweet fruit, savory onions and peppers. Summer Fruit Salsa 1 red pepper, 1 small jalapeño, chopped 1 small sweet onion, such as Vidalia, chopped 1 small...

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The Food Dialogues – A Sign of the Times

The Food Dialogues – A Sign of the Times

The increased demand for fresh, sustainable foods continues to turn around the systems that enable farmers to grow and produce them. The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) is hosting town hall-style discussions this month. These Food Dialogues will generate conversation on how food is grown and raised and the long-term impact of this...

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Fresh Tomatoes and the Joy of Keeping it Simple

Fresh Tomatoes and the Joy of Keeping it Simple

We are partners in crime. When my father and I hit a Farmer’s Market nothing is safe. There’s always something new and fresh to find. While long, complex recipes can create some fantastic results, there’s also a real joy in developing flavors together in easy ways. On this day we threw together heirloom tomatoes...

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Strong 2011 Walnut Harvest on the Way

Strong 2011 Walnut Harvest on the Way

Walnuts are one of those powerhouse foods that not only offer up a lot of nutrition but are versatile enough to stretch from appetizers to desserts. The new California crop is almost as large as last years. “We are delighted not only with the crop size but also with the high quality kernels we are...

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Farm Fresh Sauté

Farm Fresh Sauté

It’s one of the great pleasures of summer. With a local farm five minutes from my door,  I love filling a basket with just-picked produce and putting together a meal bursting with flavor. On my last trip I was lucky enough to pull zucchini and green peppers from a wheelbarrow before they even hit...

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