Linder's Garden Center

Spring Lettuce With Walnut Sherry Dressing

Spring Lettuce With
Walnut Sherry Dressing

This salad recipe from P. Allen Smith's cookbook, "Seasonal Recipes from the Garden", was served for lunch during our 'Bring On Spring' event. Great as a starter course for any main meal.

Ingredients:

Fresh Lettuce (rinse thoroughly and pat dry), torn into bite-sized pieces (about 6 cups)
Fresh Chive Blossoms for garnish (optional)

For the Dressing:

2 eggs, at room temperature
½ cup Sherry Vinegar
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 ½ teaspoon Minced Garlic
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Cracked Pepper
1 ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
½ cup Walnut Oil
1 ½ cups Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add eggs and cook for I minute. Drain them immediately, and crack the eggs into the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Add the vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, and “Dijon mustard to the eggs, and process until smooth. With the motor running add both oils in a slow, steady stream, processing until all of the oil is emulsified and the consistency is similar to mayonnaise. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as necessary.
Place the lettuce in a large serving bowl, and toss with ¼ to ½ cup of the dressing. Garnish with Chive blossoms if you like, and serve immediately.

Recipe and image from P. Allen Smith's Cookbook "Seasonal Recipes from the Garden"

Posted on May 14, 2013

Rhubarb Custard Bars

Rhubarb Custard Bars

It's rhubarb time! This is a family favorite of one of our employees, Heather, who works in our Marketing division. A non-loving rhubarb friend, said "I can't believe this is rhubarb!" after eating one of these bars!

Crust:

1 cup margarine or butter, softened
10 tblsp powder sugar
2 cups flour

Topping:

4 eggs
4 cups rhubarb, diced small
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour

Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees.*
Mix all 3 crust ingredients together thoroughly and pat firmly into a jelly roll pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
While crust is baking, beat eggs, add rhubarb, sugar and flour and mix together.
Spread topping on top of baked crust.
Bake an additional 35 minutes*. Bars should be lightly browned all over.

*Adjust oven temperature as needed, as crust burns easily.

Image from www.chefheidifink.com

Posted on May 6, 2013

Ginger Sesame Stir-Fried Asparagus

Ginger Sesame Stir-Fried Asparagus

A great dish for both spring and early summer when the asparagus shoots are at their freshest; this dish makes for a great visual presentation. In the spring when asparagus is fresh from the garden all that is needed is one red bell pepper. The oriental seasoning gives the dish a great spark.

Tip: The asparagus should never be overcooked. It tastes best cooked al dente or slightly crunchy.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Serves 6

Directions:

Bring ¼ inch of water to boil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add asparagus pieces and return to boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender.
Drain the asparagus in a colander and run it briefly under cold running water to stop the cooking. Drain it again. Wipe the skillet dry with a paper towel.
Heat the Olive oil in the same skillet over high heat. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes, or until tender. Add the asparagus, ginger, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 minutes or until heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.
Turn out onto platter, and serve warm.

Recipe & image from P. Allen Smith’s book “Seasonal Recipes From the Garden”

Posted on April 17, 2013

Spring-time Jell-O Cupcakes

Jell-O Cupcakes

These colorful and flavorful cupcakes are great for all your springtime gatherings.

Ingredients

1 pkg.(2-layer size) white cake mix
1/4 cup dry JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin (1/2 of 3-oz. pkg.)
1/4 cup dry JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin (1/2 of 3-oz. pkg.)
1/4 cup dry JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin (1/2 of 3-oz. pkg.)
1 container (16 oz.) ready-to-spread vanilla frosting

Directions

Prepare cake batter as directed on package; divide evenly into 3 bowls.
Stir different flavor dry gelatin mix into batter in each bowl. Alternately spoon batters into 24 paper-lined muffin cups, adding about 2 Tbsp. of each batter to each cup. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool completely.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

jello cupcake

Posted on April 5, 2013

Arugula Pesto served over New Potatoes

Arugula Pesto

This pesto recipe from P. Allen Smith's cookbook will be served over New Potatoes for lunch during our 'Bring On Spring' event.

Ingredients:

For the Pesto:

3 Garlic Cloves
½ cup chopped Walnuts, toasted
3 cups packed, fresh Arugula leaves, rinsed thoroughly and patted dry
½ cup fresh flat-leaf Parsley leaves
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
½ cup olive oil, plus some extra for covering the surface
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Begin by dropping the garlic cloves in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Whirl the garlic around for a few seconds to chop it up (this will save you from having to do it by hand). Add the toasted walnuts, arugula, parsley, and lemon juice, and process until all the ingredients are finely chopped.
With the motor running, drizzle the 1/3 cup olive oil into the processor; process until the mixture is blended and smooth.
Turn the processor off and add the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl at this time. Pulse several times until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Microwave the new potatoes until they are fork tender. Coarsely chop them and mix with pesto!

Recipe and image from P. Allen Smith's Cookbook "Seasonal Recipes from the Garden"

Posted on March 26, 2013