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 to editor@Vinetown.com and we’ll tart posting them soon!



She brings a real warmth to her preserve by infusing the fruit with allspice, cloves and cinnamon. It create a nice depth that works beautifully with the sweetness of the fruit. Try this with other fruits, too.

Spiced Plum Preserve

• 2- 3 bags of plums – enough to make 6 cups processed fruit
• 1 box pectin
• 7-8 cups of sugar
• 4 teaspoons of lemon juice
• a dash of salt
• 1/2-1/2 teaspoon each: allspice, ground cloves and cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon butter

Preheat the oven to warm

Put the sugar in two bowls and let it sit in the oven to warm.

Wash the plums.

Simmer them in water for 10 minutes.

Follow package directions to prepare the pectin.

Drain the plums.

Remove the skins and pits.

Process them through a food ricer, looking for about 6 cups of fruit.

Take the sugar out of the oven.

Raise the temperature to 250 degrees.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the plums and stir through.

Place clean preserve jars in the oven  and let them heat for 30 minutes.

Fills the jars and seal.

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 keeping the skins on.

Peel the garlic.

Crush cloves with end of knife.

Slice into small-medium sized pieies.

Press the garlic all over  slices…pushing it into the eggplant.

Brush oilive oil on both sides.

Salt the garlic side.

Grill the garlic sides up 5 minutes.

Flip over and grill five more minutes until they’re done.

If grilling isn’t an option, this could certainly be done in a frying pan, too.

These were so aromatic that we all had to taste them right off the grill.They were superb. We let them sit a bit while we prepared the rest of the meal. They tasted even better after the flavors melded together a bit more.

We served this with a fresh tomato sauce and pasta, as well as a green salad.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is making it easier for markets to accept electronic debit cards for payment. By doing this, people who are receiving support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can use their designated debit cards to purchase fresh, healthy food at their local famers markets.

This is an important step in making local food available to more people in or near the communities where it is grown and produced.  This process has worked well in areas across the country and now the government reports that the number of farmers markets licensed to accept SNAP benefits is growing at a steady pace. This is a win for families and individuals who will benefit from these healthy foods as well as local farmers who can continue to grow their customer bases. Farmers Markets in Iowa, Virginia and Michigan who have been doing this for several years, are a seeing a clear rise in sales.



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.

I love to cook and then refrigerate them for this cool, summer salad. Fresh beets and sweet corn are unbelievable together. I always make a few more ears of  corn and save them for a recipe like this, or just cut up the kernels and freeze for fall.

Vinetown Sweet Corn & Beet Salad

4 side servings

• 4-5 small beets
• 1 ear fresh corn, shucked, boiled and cooled
• 1/2 sweet onion sliced
• 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Wash the beets, cut off the tops to eat later and place in a pan.

Cover them with water.

Cook the beets 1 hour or until tender.

Let them cool in the water.

Put the beets in a container and cover with the cooking liquid.

Refrigerate them until they’re cold. (You can keep them in the refrigerator for several days.)

Slice the onion thinly and reserve.

Cut the kernels off the cob.

Place the beets on a work plate (not your serving dish).  You want to separate them because they have so much red juice that it will go over everything before you’re ready to compose the salad.

The skin will be so thin now that you can peel it off with your hands, like peeling an egg.

Slice the tops and bottoms off and slice the beets, placing them back on your work plate. Wash your hands!

On a small round platter layer the onion and beet slices.

Top with the corn kernels.

Stir the sugar into the vinegar until it dissolves. Add the olive oil and blend together.

Spoon over the salad until the beets are saturated and serve.



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 scallion, sliced
• 3 cups chopped fruit such as peaches, nectarines and watermelon
• 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar (use plain white vinegar if you can’t find this)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Fresh ground black pepper

Wash the peppers and fruit.

Cut the flesh from the watermelon into medium-small chunks, removing the seeds.

Cut the nectarines and peaches into medium-small chunks, removing the pits.

Put them to the side.

Peel the onion and chop it into small squares.

Slice the red pepper, removing the seeds, and chop it into medium-small squares.

Slice the jalapeño, removing the seeds, and chop into small squares.

Toss the pepper with the onions.

Mix the sugar with the vinegar and  add several grinds of black pepper.

Whisk this together until the sugar dissolves.

Add it to the peppers and onions and stir it together.

Gently fold in the fruit and toss together.

Let this sit for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors blend together.



“Americans want to know where their food comes from, how it was raised and if it is good for their health long-term,” said Bob Stallman, chairman of USFRA and president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. “We realize farmers and ranchers haven’t always done the best job answering Americans’ questions about how food is grown and raised, and hope The Food Dialogues event will be the start of an ongoing dialogue that addresses these questions and more. We hope everyone who cares about the future of food and how we provide healthy choices for people everywhere will join the discussion, including farmers of all sizes – small and large, conventional and organic, consumers and food decision-makers.”

Occurring simultaneously in four locations and online September 22, The Food Dialogues will include panel discussions featuring food, business and policy leaders and farmers of all types. The idea is to bring together very different perspectives about how food is grown and raised. These discussions will take place in Washington, D.C., New York, California and an area of the Midwest not yest named. ABC’s Claire Shipman will moderate from Washington while Chef John Besh will do the same from New York. The conversations will also be online through Facebook and USFRA’s new website, www.fooddialogues.com.



On this day we threw together heirloom tomatoes and sweet fresh basil drizzled with olive oil and sea salt. Sometimes, it just as simple as a platter like this with farm made goat cheese and a loaf of fresh bread.

Here’s another easy-going way to use fresh tomatoes:

Feta Salad

• 1 pound good quality feta cheese
• 2- 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh herbs such as basil, chives, & oregano
• Freshly brined olives
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

Crumble the feta into a large bowl.
Add the olive oil and vinegar, lightly stirring the liquids into the cheese
Chop and drain tomatoes
Add them to the cheese.
Chop the herbs
Add to the mixture.
Stip in the olives.

I use this on top of lettuce, in sandwiches, over fish or as a side salad on its own. A bowl of this feta salad  is in the refrigerator most of the time. It’s become a real staple.



Walnuts are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber. They add crunchy texture to this salad which uses fresh, late-summer fruits and vegetables.

Blueberry, Watermelon and Walnut Salad

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup California walnuts, chopped
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cut in bite-size pieces
• 6 cups mixed baby greens
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 4 oz. each), grilled or sautéed until cooked through (see note, below)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and spread walnuts in one layer on baking sheet. Bake until just toasted and aromatic, about 8 minutes; remove and let cool.
2. To prepare vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, oil, honey, salt and pepper.
3. For the salad, in a medium bowl, combine watermelon, blueberries, walnuts and bell pepper; add half of the vinaigrette; toss to coat. In a large bowl, toss greens with remaining vinaigrette. Divide greens among 4 plates; top with fruit and walnut mixture. Slice each chicken breast diagonally and serve with the salad.

Recipe courtesy of the California Walnut Commission



On my last trip I was lucky enough to pull zucchini and green peppers from a wheelbarrow before they even hit the stands. I found fresh basil, ripe tomatoes and eggplant, too. I liked the idea of cubing the vegetables and some tofu, cooking it all up and then adding the contrast of fresh basil and tomato to finish this off.

Farm Fresh Sauté

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 large sweet onion
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 2 small or 1 large tomato
• 1 package firm tofu
• 1 16-ounce package rigatoni
• ½ cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Slice the tofu into squares and blot on paper towels until most of the moisture is out. (You can place paper towels on a plate, place the tofu on and then add paper towels on top. Cover this with a heavy dish to help draw the moisture out.)

Crush the garlic. Blend three tablespoons of olive oil with the garlic. Marinate the tofu in a shallow bowl for at least thirty minutes, gently turning every 10 minutes or so.

Start the water for your pasta and add it when the boil is rolling. Cook for 10 minutes or until al dente – gently firm to the bite.

Peel and cube the onion.

In a large saucepan place 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion until it softens, for about five minutes or so.

Meantime peel and cube the eggplant.

Cube the pepper and zucchini, too.

Add the vegetables and sauté them until they’re tender. Add salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

Let them sit in a dish while you pan fry the tofu. Let it cook until there is a golden crust on at least two sides.

Chop the tomato.

Pull off about 16 leaves of basil.

When the pasta is done drain it and toss it with a little butter.

Lay it on the bottom of a large platter.

Add the vegetables back into the pan with the tofu and stir it all together under a medium heat to bring the flavors together.

Place this on top of the pasta.

Add the tomatoes to the top; circle the basil around the dish and sprinkle on the cheese.