Monthly Archives: June 2019

Grilled Summer Farmer’s Market Vegetables

Enjoy this easy delicious recipe with the current summer harvest from our local farmers, it’s one of the best!

Last Saturday South Fork had a great time at the Franklin Farmer’s Market grilling and sampling meats and vegetables from local farms. We had 35-day dry-aged sirloin tip steaks from Bear Creek Farm, Italian sausages & grass-fed flat iron steaks from Peaceful Pastures, Waygu beef from The Fly Farm and ground grass-fed lamb and beef from Tavalin Tales Farm. Delvin Farms and Colbert Farms provided delicious summer squash, zucchini, eggplant, candy onions, cucumbers, and green & red cabbages. And we also featured Basil Infused Olive Oil & Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar from market sponsor Herban Market, which really complimented the grilled summer veggies.

As the Summer goes along feel free to add bell peppers, okra, and even tomatoes, also use fresh lemon juice in place of the vinegar if you’d like.

 

 

 

 

Grilled Summer Farmer’s Market Vegetables

2 summer squash
2 zucchini
2 ears of corn, shucked
1 eggplant
1 green or red cabbage
1 tbl Canola oil
Salt
Black pepper
1 tbl Olive oil
2 tsp Red wine vinegar

Fire up the grill to high heat. Cut the squash and zucchini in half, slice the eggplant into finger-width rounds and cut the cabbage into 1/6s or 1/8s depending on how large it is (be sure to keep the core intact to hold the cabbage together). Lay all of the veggies on a sheet pan, drizzle the oil over and season with salt and pepper, and lightly toss them together. When the grill is hot carefully place the vegetables on the grill cut side down and close the lid. Grill for 1 minute then turn over and close the lid and grill for 1-2 minutes more (the eggplant may take a little longer to get cooked through). Remove the squash, zucchini, corn, and eggplant to a platter and turn the cabbage over again and turn the grill down to medium, don’t worry if the parts of the cabbage are starting to char, that’s where the flavor will develop. Continue grilling the cabbage turning often until it begins to wilt somewhat, 4-6 minutes, then it’s ready. Add the cabbage to the veggie platter and re-season with a little more salt and pepper, then drizzle the olive oil and the red wine vinegar over everything.

That’s it, enjoy!
Michael R Martin
South Fork Catering Co.

Summer Cucumber Salad

Summer Cucumber Salad

One of my favorite Summer vegetables are cucumbers and they are so simple to transform into a delicious salad that serves well as a quick lunch or a great side dish for anything off the grill.

Right now in the Franklin Farmer’s Market, there are cucumbers all over the place, from English to Garden varieties, large and small, thick or thin-skinned, there are plenty of choices. Now is the perfect time to enjoy them at their peak, as the Summer grows on sometimes the cucumbers have a tendency to become bitter. When you try this recipe make sure your cucumbers are nice and cold when you start, and if not using right away hold in the fridge until serving, either way, make this at the last possible moment for the best result, that’s the main reason to keep it simple here. Also, a nice dollop of yogurt or ricotta would do well on top, as well as some fresh dill or mint if you have a few sprigs on hand.

Serves 4-6

2 large Garden cucumbers (Organic from Delvin Farms)
1 small red onion with the green tops
1 small clove of garlic, finely grated (a Microplane works well for this)
2 tsp White balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
1 tbl Olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Peel the cucumbers but leave a few green strips of skin, then slice as thin as possible and reserve in a mixing bowl. Cut the tops off the red onion and set aside. Half the onion and slice as thin as possible, as well as a few of the green onion tops and add them to the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the cucumbers on onions and toss thoroughly.  Divide into little chilled bowls and serve. Enjoy!

Michael R Martin
South Fork Catering Co.

Summer Blackberry Preserves with Lemon and Honey

Blackberry Preserves
Harvesting local Blackberries for Blackberry Preserves is a summertime treat. I remember one summer when I was a kid, my cousin Tony and I wandered down the road from my Aunt’s house to pick wild blackberries that grew along a little creek. We picked a lot, and to carry them back we decided to use our white t-shirts as a kind of pouch for our haul. My Grandmother saw us coming back to the house and started to laugh, but my Aunt was not amused, at all. After we were scolded for ruining our nice white t-shirts with blackberry juice, we pulled them off, threw them in the wash tub and ran down to the pond and jumped right in. That is one of many summers in Greenbrier, TN that I will never forget. Making Blackberry preserves this morning with Romana reminded me of that Sunday afternoon 40 years ago.

Blackberries

Making any fruit preserves takes a little extra care but well worth the effort, especially when you open a jar of blackberries or tomatoes in the middle of January. Keep it simple and take your time.

franklin farmers marketlocal blackberriescanning blackberriespomona's universal pectin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Blackberry Preserves with Lemon and Honey
Makes 5 8oz. Jars        Recipe by South Fork Catering

Be sure to wash the blackberries well, and remove any stems of leaves that might be present.

*We used Pomona’s Universal Pectin for this batch, it’ available at Whole Foods Market. Be sure to make the calcium water in a little jar before you begin.

local blackberry Preservesblackberriescanning blackberriesblackberry preserves

 

 

 

 

 

*You will need a large 8 quart pot with simmering water to be ready to process the jars once filled.

 

5 8oz. glass Mason Jars with lids and rings
4 cups mashed blackberries (about 5 cups whole)
1 cup cane sugar
1 cup local honey (we used Johnson’s)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp calcium water
2 tsp pectin powder

  1. Wash and rinse the 8oz. jars in hot water. Bring lids to a boil; turn off the heat; let stand in hot water. Wash screw bands; set aside.
  2. Prepare the blackberries. Measure the fruit and put it into a 5-6 quart pan with the lemon juice.
  3. Add 2 tsp calcium water and stir well.
  4. Measure the sugar and honey into a separate bowl and thoroughly mix in the pectin powder.
  5. Bring the blackberries to a full boil (212F, 100C). Add the sugar-honey-pectin mixture. then stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes as the fruit returns to a full boil. Then remove form the heat.
  6. Fill each prepared jar up to 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe the rims clean. Screw on the lids with the rings. Put filled jars in boiling water to almost covered.
  7. Boil for 10 minutes, not too hard, a gentle boil is just fine. Carefully remove the jars to a clean kitchen towel to cool. Check the seals; lids should be sucked down and tight. Let cool to room temp. Eat within 1 year. Lasts refrigerated 3 weeks once opened.Summer Blackberry PreservesEnjoy all year long!

Chef Michael R Martin
South Fork Catering Co.
SouthFork_White

Roasted Beef Top Round with Market Vegetables & Rosemary

Roasted Beef Top Round with Market Vegetables & Rosemary
Serves 6-8

This week the Franklin Farmer’s Market is full of the freshest Spring vegetables! I saw carrots, English peas, tons of kale of all varieties, new onions both white & red, little potatoes, new garlic, so many delicious vegetables! For this simple yet flavorful recipe, I am using a beautiful beef top round from Bear Creek Farm and little potatoes, garlic and onions from Evans Produce and carrots and herbs from Rose Creek Farms. A little horseradish stirred in the cooking juices would be a great way to add even more flavor and is perfect with the roast beef.

A perfectly marbled roast from Bear Creek Farm!

For the beef-

1 4-5lb top round beef roast
1 tbl kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced
fresh rosemary
2 tbls olive oil

For the vegetables-

1 bunch of spring carrots, washed, unpeeled (you might need to cut some larger ones in half)
3 lbs golden potatoes, cut in half
1 bunch spring onions, cut in half
1 head of new garlic, top cut off
1 tbl olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat the oven to 350F. Cover the bottom of a roasting pan with one sheet of parchment paper. Lay the top round on the paper in the roasting pan fat side up, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Lay the rosemary and thyme sprigs and the sliced garlic on top and drizzle over the olive oil. Take another sheet of parchment paper and cover the beef roast and kind of tuck it around the edges like a little package.

Place the beef in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 135F for medium rare to medium

While the beef is roasting toss the vegetables with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast on a baking sheet pan for about 20-25 minutes or until the veggies take on some color and become tender. When the roast is ready, remove the parchment paper and let the roast for 10 minutes before carving. Remove everything to a large serving platter and carefully pour the roasting juices that have collected in the bottom of the pan over the beef and vegetables, and squeeze the head of garlic over the vegetables and lightly toss. Carve thin slices of the beef and share the vegetables.

Enjoy!

Chef Michael R Martin
South Fork Catering, Co