Scotch Hill Stuffed Peppers

From Your Farmer Dela:

Top and seed 4 Bell Peppers. Saute chopped onions, eggplant and/or squash in butter or oil. Mix with 1 cup of rice or bread crumbs and 1 or 2 chopped tomatoes. Fill pepper with mixture and top with grated cheese. Bake at 375 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Use herbs of choice to flavor. 

Spotlight Southwest Salad

Chop 2 cups of tomatoes, 2 cups of corn, 1 medium green pepper, 1 medium sweet pepper, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, parsley or basil, 2 cups black beans, and combine with 1½ tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 Tb oregano (dry or Fresh) and 3 Tb olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 3 Tb lime juice or balsamic vinegar. Serve with warm tortillas or corn chips. Also good with fresh sliced Avocados. 

Baby Lima Beans and Swiss Chard Soup

From a Group Health Cooperative subscriber

Drain 2 cups dried baby lima beans (soaked in water to cover overnight) and pick over to remove and discolored beans or debris. Place a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 lb. thick-sliced, center cut bacon, sliced into ½-inch strips. Cook until crisp and golden, then transfer to paper towels with a slotted spoon. Discard all but about 2 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat in the pan and add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Add 2 yellow onions coarsely chopped and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened about 5 minutes. Add 3 peeled and coarsely chopped carrots and cook stirring until softened about 3 minutes more. Add half of a bunch of Swiss chard, thick stems removed, leaves cut crosswise 1-inch wide, divided; and 5 garlic cloves, minced. Cook until the chard has wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the drained beans, 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth, homemade or store-bought. Stir in 6 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped, or one 15-ounce can diced Italian plum tomatoes, drained. Stir in ½ cup finely chopped fresh basil. Simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.  You may want to lightly blend all or part of the soup at this point, but leave plenty of texture. Stir half of the reserved bacon and the remaining Swiss chard into the soup and cook until the chard is just wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in half of 6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with the remaining parsley and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Pass the remaining bacon at the table for topping. 

Tony's Weeknight Stir-fry

At this time in a growing season, a garden has been producing from plants that may be 4 or 5 months old. Some varieties can start to be a little tough even when the plants still look healthy and keep yielding. When you’re unsure whether garden vegetables might be a little chewy, you can’t over-do it in using butter to cook them. My stir-fry last night – with most all the same garden vegetables you’re getting in this week’s share – proved the truth of this personal adage. Everything came out sweet and tender. I coated the pan with olive oil to start, dicing in green beans and carrots first, then eggplant and summer squash. Peppers, sweet corn, Asian greens, tomatoes, dried herbs, salt and pepper came last. All along the way, I added a little butter. With Dela’s fresh salad, what a meal! Send us your version as you experiment with quick stir-fries.

Tomato Pie from an Oak Park subscriber

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In alternating layers, fill 9 inch deep dish pie crust with 4 large tomatoes (sliced), ½ cup chopped fresh basil, 3 green onions or scallions (thinly sliced), ½ lb. bacon (cooked, drained, chopped), ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or minced fresh clove), 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper. In a small bowl, mix 2 cups shredded Cheddar (or favorite) cheese with ¼ cup organic mayonnaise. Spread mixture over top of pie. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil from top of pie and bake an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.