Della Yee's Famous Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash
1 large head of garlic
5 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme
2 tablespoons of good olive oil
2 medium sized onions, quartered
1/2 tsp. sea salt and pepper
1 cup of broth (vegetable or chicken)

Cut open squash and place, cut side up, on cookie sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Drizzle oil over squash, spread thyme over squash, place garlic and onions around squash, and sprinkle salt and pepper over squash. Bake one hour at 350° or until squash is tender. Remove from oven, scoop out squash, and squeeze garlic into food processor bowl along with cooked onions. Process all until pureed. Place puree into large pot with broth and cook for ten minutes. Check seasonings and serve. Garnishes or crumbled, cooked bacon and a dab of sour cream can be added to bowl before serving.

Makes about 6 servings

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 large carrot, cleaned and shredded
5 large seasonal tomatoes, coarsely cut up (see cook's notes)
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Extra basil for garnish

Serve portions in warmed bowls. Garnish each serving with a sprig of basil.

Dandelion Salad

1/2 lb bacon (Country Gristmill)
1 lb dandelion greens (Hall Family Farm)
1 lb leaf lettuce (Cormack Farm)
1 cup thinly sliced spring radishes (Deer Run Farm)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (Wolff Orchards)
1/2 cup maple syrup (Snake Hill Farm)
3 grated, peeled apples (Wolff Orchards)
sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 lbs sliced and boiled potatoes, drained and fried in oil

Place greens and lettuce in large bowl. Fry bacon crisp, remove from pan, reserve drippings in pan. Add vinegar and maple syrup and bring to a light boil. Add grated apples and mix. Turn off heat and add oil. Pour this hot dressing over greens in bowl, add potatoes and radishes, season and mix. This recipe makes a big salad for a party and can be cut in half for a wonderful dinner for four.

Dandelion Salad
by Chef Parker Bosley

greens, 4 medium servings - Salash Farm
4 hard cooked eggs, sliced or quartered - Countryside Gristmill
8 slices bacon, cut in 1 in. pieces - Countryside Gristmill
3-4 TBS olive oil
2 TBS vinegar
2 apples, peeled and sliced - Wolff Orchards
Salt and pepper

Brown bacon in pan large enough to accomodate the greens. Remove. Add olive oil to pan. Add apple slices and dandelion greens to pan. Toss greens and apples until the greens are wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Add bacon, eggs and vinegar to pan.

Have potatoes boiled, diced. New potatoes do NOT need to be skinned! 2 to 3 lbs. potatoes serves 6 to 8 people.

1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil of your choice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 bunch asparagus (approximately 1 lb.)
1 bunch ramps (spring onion) reserve green
3 oz. goat cheese
6 oz. spring greens
2 cups & 2 oz. white balsamic vinegar
olive oil to taste

Savory Crepes with Goat Cheese Filling

Crepes
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika (Spice Lady)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup milk, room temp (Hartzler Dairy)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (Spice Lady)
1/4 cup corn meal (Countryside Grist Mill)
1 cup club soda
4 large eggs (Covered Bridge Farms)
Oil for cooking crepes

Filling
8 oz. goat cheese, room temp (chevre is great) (R-Haven Farm)
1 bunch of garlic chives (steam 30 sec. until soft) (Killbuck Valley Mushrooms)
1 jar of jalapeno jelly (Carmel Hill Farm)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (Hartzler Dairy)

Crepes: Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Add milk, club soda, eggs & oil. Beat until just smooth; do not over mix. Let batter sit one hour. Heat a 6-in. nonstick pan over medium heat and coat lightly with oil. Add just enough batter into the pan to coat evenly and thinly. Cook until the bottom is lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Flip the crepe and cook a few more seconds. Continue the process until all the batter is used, stacking crepes in between sheets of waxed paper. Crepes can be made ahead and stored in fridge.

Preheat oven to 350°. Place 1/2 tablespoon of goat cheese in center of each crepe with 1 teaspoon of jalapeno jelly. Fold the sides of the crepe over the cheese to make a square package. Tie each crepe with garlic chive. Arrange packages in a casserole dish and drizzle evenly with melted butter. Bake log enough to melt the goat cheese, 10-15 minutes. Serve at once.

This special occasion dish rich with cream and filled with mushroom is perfect for entertaining since most of the work can be done in advance. Serve with a salad for a summer luncheon or as a first course for a dinner party. The tart can be baked in advance and served at room temperature as a picnic dish. In midsummer the creamed leeks can be replaced by a combination of eggplant and zucchini with plenty of onion and garlic. And should the pastry shell be a challenge you don't want to take on in summer, use individual ramekins and serve as little casseroles with toast. Serves 6-8

1 pre-baked tart shell or 6 individual tart

3 large leeks
2 TBS butter
2 cups cream
salt and pepper
fresh grated nutmeg

3 cups sliced Killbuck Valley Mushrooms
2-3 TBS butter
1 cup Madeira wine
1 cup chicken or beef stock, homemade only
salt and pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Remove the root end from the leeks. Use only white and pale green parts of the leeks. Split the leeks lengthwise. Wash them thoroughly and carefully two or three times. Pat dry. Julienne or chop the leeks in narrow strips or half circles.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom pan set over low heat. Add the leeks and cover the pan. Keep the heat very low and check often to make sure the leeks do not get too much heat and begin to color. When the leeks are very soft add one cup of cream. Raise the heat to medium. Do not cover the pan. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture often. When the cream has thickened add the second cup of cream. Reduce until there is little liquid remaining. Remove the pan from the heat and season well with salt, pepper and fresh grated nutmeg. Set the leeks aside. This part of the recipe can be done in advance. Do the day before and refrigerate if you choose.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons butter in a saute pan set over high heat. Saute the mushrooms in the hot butter tossing and turning continually. The mushrooms should take on a nice brown color. When the mushrooms are nicely browned add the Madeira. Allow the Madeira to evaporate completely and caramelize the mushrooms.

Add the homemade stock. If homemade is not available just use a little water. Evaporate the stock completely. Season the mushrooms well with salt and pepper. Set the mushrooms aside. This part of the recipe can be done in advance, even the day before.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill the tart(s) with the creamed leeks. Reheat if refrigerated. Cover the leeks with a layer of mushrooms. Bake the tart(s) for about 20 minutes or until the leeks are thoroughly reheated and the cream is beginning to bubble. Serve with a garnish of fresh thyme.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cubed eggplant, unpeeled
2 cups cubed zucchini or yellow summer squash
1 tablespoon butter or additional olive oil
10 to 12 locally grown fresh roma tomatoes 
1 pound good commercial pasta or homemade fettuccine
10 to 12 basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, any sprouts removed and discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated cheese (optional)
Flakes of crushed red pepper to taste (optional)

Salt eggplant and set it aside to drain for about 30 minutes to give off any bitterness and some excess water.  Prepare zucchini.

Heat oil in heavy-bottom pan. Wash salt from eggplant and dry cubes in a towel. Add eggplant to hot oil and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When eggplant begins to soften, add zucchini. In separate pan set over low heat, soften tomatoes in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil.

While vegetables are cooking, bring a pan of water to boiling over high heat. Salt if desired, but don't add pasta yet. When tomatoes are very soft and begin to create a sauce, pass fruit through a food mill or sieve into eggplant-zucchini mixture to create sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for a few minutes to bring flavors together. Meanwhile, cook pasta and mince basil and garlic together. Drain pasta and put it into a large bowl. Add sauce and half the garlic-basil mixture.

Arrange pasta on a warmed serving dish and sprinkle remaining garlic-basil mixture over top with cheese.

"Although not Mediterranean in style, the addition of butter and corn in this ubiquitous summer dish gives it a Midwestern accent. This reflection of the local farm markets speaks to our culinary pleasure with respect for our agricultural heritage." P.B.

1/2 cup olive oil
1 large eggplant, in 1 inch cubes
2 cups chopped onion
4 small zucchini, in cubes
6-8 tomatoes, peeled & seeded
2 TBS fresh rosemary, minced
2 TBS fresh basil, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced fine
2 cups fresh corn
2 TBS butter
salt & pepper

Prepare all ingredients before beginning to cook. Toss cubed eggplant with tablespoon of salt. Set to drain in colander. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add onions & cover. Keep heat low so onions soften and color slowly. Stir often. After about 1/2 hour, wash the salt from the eggplant and dry the pieces in a clean towel. Add eggplant to onions. After 15 minutes, add zucchini. Melt butter in saute pan & add corn. Season corn with salt & pepper. Toss into butter. Set aside when corn has absorbed butter & is hot. Add tomatoes to ratatouille & increase heat to medium high. Cook 10 minutes. Add corn. Salt & pepper to taste. (Eggplant may retain salt.) Stir in herbs & garlic. Serve immediately or cover pan & remove from heat. The ratatouille can rest for 5 or 10 minutes.

Note: All cooking times will vary according to the amount of heat, type of pan & ripeness of vegetables. The idea is to cook each ingredient in such a way that it softens and adds its flavor to the dish, while trying to avoid making a "stew" & causing the vegetables to lose their individual qualities.

Makes 6 servings

4 cups seasonal fruit, such as raspberries or sliced peaches
3/4 to 1 cup sugar (Quantity of sugar will vary, depending on taste and sweetness of fruit. Sour cherries or concord grapes, for example, require more sugar.)
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup boiling water

Butter, shortening or spray to coat 9-by-13-inch baking pan
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup vegetable oil (not canola)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced apples (about 6-7 apples; for best results, use a softer, sweet apple for this recipe, e.g., Macintosh, Jonathan or Ida Red)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Grease 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter, shortening or nonstick vegetable oil spray. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs until light. Add butter, oil, sugars, vanilla and salt, then beat until light and fluffy. Combine dry ingredients thoroughly and stir into mixture. Lightly mix in apples, walnuts and raisins. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Serve warm, preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Makes 12 servings