Cherry Tomato Cobbler

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • Several sprigs fresh basil, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Grease a medium ovenproof skillet (preferably one that is not cast iron) with olive oil or butter.
  2. Cut the butter into cubes.
  3. Beat the egg in a small bowl.
  4. Put the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and a sprinkle of salt in a food processor. Add the cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs.
  5. Add the beaten egg and buttermilk, and pulse until the mixture comes together in a thick, sticky batter.
  6. Halve the cherry tomatoes; put them in a medium bowl.
  7. Peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves, and add them to the tomatoes.
  8. Trim, peel, halve and slice the red onion; add it to the tomato mixture.
  9. Drizzle the tomato mixture with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss.
  10. Put the tomato mixture in the skillet and spoon dollops of the biscuit batter across the top.
  11. Bake until the biscuits are golden and cooked through, and the tomatoes and onion are softened, 20 to 25 minutes.
  12. Strip the basil leaves from several sprigs.
  13. When the cobbler is done, sprinkle the Parmesan on top and tear the basil leaves over all. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Nutrients per serving: 311 calories, 9g protein, 47g carbohydrates, 5g dietary fiber, 11g fat (5g saturated fat), 69mg cholesterol, 572mg sodium

From AARP.org.

We are officially certified!

Just over a month ago, I sent the paperwork (pictured) to the NJDA to apply for Organic Certification. After a 4 1/2 hour inspection, and some backing-and-forthing to prove that specific brands of soil amendments I use are okay, I just received the call saying that the application has been approved and has been sent on for the final signatures!

As of September 30, we are a certified organic farm, New Jersey’s 65th.

Week of 9/28

Watermelons! I’ve been testing them for the last 2 weeks and I think this week they will be ready. I’ve also got some hardy kiwifruit. It needs to sit on the counter for as much as a week to finish ripening. You’ll know they are ready when the skin just begins to turn leathery and they give a little under pressure; when they are really soft, they’ve gotten a little too ripe, but are still edible. They aren’t terribly pretty, but they taste wonderful and are packed with vitamins! No need to peel them, you can eat them as is, skin and all.

We also still have plenty of tomatoes, both cherry and beefsteak heirlooms, and swiss chard. I’m harvesting fewer and fewer zucchinis, but we still have some. Garlic is still available, but we are getting close to the bottom of the barrel.

Signs of autumn

The fuzz is off the deers’ antlers, hardy kiwis are ripening on the vine, and the Canada geese are back on the pond.

Food Rules

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

Michael Pollan’s excellent guide simplifies the vexing question of how to eat healthily. “Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.” A must read for anyone who cares about what they are putting into their bodies!

 

Week of 9/21

This week we’re harvesting quarts of mixed cherry tomatoes, and the first of the large colored heirlooms are (finally) ripening. There is still a little zucchini left, as well as garlic. The watermelons look promising and should be ready in the next week or two.

Welcome to Windsong FarmUSDA-Organic-Seal, New Jersey’s newest certified organic farm–on the site of one of the state’s first officially certified farms!