Strawberry Salsa

2 tbsps oil
2 tbsps lime juice
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
2-3 tbsps chopped cilantro or flat leafed parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced - opt.
1/4 tsp salt
1 pt strawberries, hulled and chopped
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine oil, lime juice, vinegar, cilantro/parsley, jalapeno, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Toss in strawberries, pineapple and onion. This is good over chicken or pork. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

For more recipes and other information, visit our website at www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html. Or ask any of us at the market if you have any questions. We are glad to help.

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I have been up to my eyeballs in strawberries for a couple of weeks now and this week I wanted to give you a recipe for something other than berries. While I was working up the berries, (one in the bowl, two in the mouth), I was thinking that when I got some time, I wanted to make some dumplings called Pierogies. They are a traditional Polish dish and are really good. If you have leftover mashed potatoes this is a good way to use them. There are several fillings though and you can play with your own but the traditional ones are potatoes, cabbage or sauerkraut. I like the one with potatoes most.

Polish Pierogies

Potato filling, may be made the day ahead:
2 cups mashed potatoes
1 onion, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, till barely browned, in butter. Add to potatoes with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Dough:
2½ - 3 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbs. sour cream
½ cup lukewarm water

Mix all together and knead a little. Dough should be smooth and sticky. Cover and rest for about 1/2 hour before using. Using all or part of the dough, roll to 1/16 inch thick, using as much flour as needed to keep it from sticking, flipping it if necessary. This is where I usually end up wearing as much flour as I use in the dough. Put on a pot of salted water to boil. Using a round 3-4" cookie cutter, cut circles out of the dough. Put a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in some warm water and wet half the circle's edge. Stretch the dry edge onto the wet edge into a half moon shape. Pick it up and seal the edge with your fingers, making VERY sure it is sealed all the way around. You don't want the filling to leak out when it is boiled. Place the pierogies in the boiling water and cook till they float to the surface. This will take a few minutes.Remove them with a slotted spoon and put in a dish with a tiny bit of oil to keep them from sticking. You can then brown them in butter and serve with sour cream, grated or shredded cheese or the sauce of your choice or use your imagination. You can also freeze them. Spray a cookie sheet with baking spray and place the formed dumplings on so they don't touch. Freeze completely then place in a freezer container or zippered bag. When you want them, drop a few at a time in boiling water till they float.

For other fillings, recipes or other information, stop by the market. We will be glad to help you. Or visit our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html. There's over 150 pages of information there.

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It's getting close to Father's day and if you want to fix something good for Dad, keep it simple. Most guys like plain "meat'ntaters." This is an old standby that never fails to satisfy. And if you really must, toss a salad to go with it. We have the salad fixin's at the market.

Country Fried Steak

1 lb round steak
1/2 cups flour
1/2 tps salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Oil
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Trim fat from m

eat and cut into 4 equal serving pieces. Pound with a mallet to tenderize it. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow, wide bowl and dredge each piece of meat in it, coating well on both sides. Heat oil until hot but not smoking in a heavy skillet with a lid. Brown the meat on both sides, turn heat down a bit, cover and let steak fry like chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, until done. Remove cover and let steak crisp back up for about 5 minutes. Take steak from the pan and drain on a rack. Leave about 2 tablespoons of drippings and all the browned bits in the pan. Turn down the heat, sprinkle the 2 tbsp flour into the drippings and stir to keep from lumping while it browns. Slowly add milk, stirring until thick, about 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and add seasoning, if needed. Serve gravy on the side with some mashed potatoes.

For more recipes or other information visit our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html.

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One of the best things about spring and early summer at the market is finding fresh greens. Just about everyone knows about turnip and mustard greens as well as poke and collards. But there are very few people who realize that you can eat beet greens, too, and they are very good. You can make this with any green you choose but it was originally a recipe for beet greens. It is a good way to try them for the first time.

Beet Green Gratin

1 tablespoon butter
12 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound beet greens, cleaned
Salt and pepper
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup crumbled Ritz type crackers

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms and garlic, let them cook gently. This is called "sweating," cooking them till they are tender but not browned. Add the beet greens and mix well. Remove pan from heat. Season with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and salt. Combine everything and put into a lightly oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Top with the crumbled crackers and bake for 30 minutes covered. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes till crispy.

For more recipes or other information visit our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html or come to the market and ask anyone for help.

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When the early settlers came over from England, they brought their favorite recipes with them. They didn't always have the same ingredients here or even the same cooking facilities but they were very resourceful and used what they had. Since blueberries are in now, I thought it would be nice to give you a recipe for a cake that has been around for a long time. You can use any berry but when the settlers came here and found the wild blueberry they made it the traditional fruit to use in the "Buckles" they made. They loved them so much they often served this as the main dish or for breakfast. Buckle or Crumbles are types of cakes made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance. This is easy but good.

Blueberry Buckle

1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries - fresh is better than frozen
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Grease a 9-inch square pan and preheat oven to 375 degrees . Mix together shortening, sugar, egg, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk and blueberries. Place in prepared pan. Blend topping ingredients until it forms crumbles and sprinkle on top of blueberry cake mixture and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with cream if you want.

For more recipes or other information visit our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html or come to the market and ask anyone for help. A farmers' market is more than people selling produce, it is people who can help you with what you buy.

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The first apples of the year are coming in now. These would be the June apples like the Lodis and the Early Transparents. These are tart apples and are wonderful for making applesauce, pies, cobblers and many other things. This recipe is about as easy as they get and one that kids will love to eat AND to make, with a little help. It has several names, Puffy Pancakes, German Pancakes or the name I like to call it, Dutch Baby. This doesn' t mean it comes from Holland, German people call themselves Deutsch, (pronounced Doytch), and the name got twisted around over the years to Dutch. The Pennsyvania Dutch were also from Germany, not Holland. Regardless of where it came from, this is a great way to enjoy early apples.

Dutch Baby or German Pancake

2 Lodi apples
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar - light or dark
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 450F and place rack in center of oven. Peel, core and slice apples. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, flour and vanilla until smooth. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Spread apples in pan and cook for 4 minutes. Turn apples and continue cooking 2-3 more minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over apples and cook another minute or until sugar is melted. Remove pan from heat, stir apples lightly to coat with sugar, and then top with batter. Bake 15 minutes or until mixture puffs up and turns golden brown around edges. Remove from oven and cut into four wedges. Serve with a sprinkling of confectioners sugar. Serves 4.

For more recipes or other information visit our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html or come to the market and ask anyone for help.

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Everybody knows how to make blueberry muffins but now that blackberries are starting to come in I thought this might be interesting. Instead of plain muffins, why not make cornmeal muffins? And you COULD use blueberries in this, too or any other fruit you think might go well. The main thing to remember about muffins is, do not overmix them. Too much stirring will cause them to form gluten and that isn't good, it will make them tough. So, no matter how much you think you should stir those lumps out, fight that urge.

Blackberry Cornbread Muffins

3/4 cup white flour
1 cup corn meal
1/4 cup butter or margarine; melted
1/3 cup blackberries
1 egg
1 tsp sugar (or more to taste)
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Either grease a six compartment muffin pan or use cupcake cups to line the pan. Makes six. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat egg, mix with butter and milk, and fold into dry ingredients. Stir only until blended, muffin batter shouldn't be smooth, the more you beat it the tougher the muffins will be so allow mixture to remain slightly lumpy. Fold in berries and stir only enough to mix. Fill compartments to two-thirds full, bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until tops begin to lightly brown. Cool on rack.

We have Great News! The Cave City Market is now going to the Glasgow Health Dept. every Tuesday from 10-3pm. We have been approved by the state to take the Senior and WIC vouchers there, too. We will still be in Cave City on Fridays, and possibly some Saturdays if we have enough produce. No matter where we are, drop in anytime for more recipes or information on the things you buy, anyone at the market is more than glad to help with questions. Or visit the website - www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html

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Green beans are coming in now and I have a really quick and easy way to fix them. You can stir fry beans in no time and they are really good, too. If you have some leftover cooked rice, you can add it at the end and heat through to make a healthy and filling sidedish.

Stir Fried Green Beans

1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons water
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet. Add green beans, ginger and garlic. Stir fry for 2 minutes at high heat. Add soy sauce and water and cook, covered for 3 - 5 more minutes, until beans are done. If you like, you can add other things such as peppers or onions while frying.

For more ideas or other information, visit us at the market or on our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html

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I have had plenty of blackberries lately and wanted to make some blackberry bread to take to the market but no matter how many searches I did online, I couldn't find a recipe for it. I tried blackberry CAKE instead but the only ones I found were crumb cakes. So, I found a strawberry muffin recipe and modified it for other berries. It came out great and I wanted to share it with you. This will work with almost any berry I believe. This is modified for cakes but you can also make muffins with it.

Berry Cakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups fresh berries
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 cup margarine, melted
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

Cream margarine and sugar then add eggs and beat well. Add cinnamon, salt, vanilla and soda and mix. Add flour and buttermilk alternately. Mix well. Carefully fold in berries. Divide batter evenly among 8 small greased and floured loaf pans or two large ones. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes for small loaves or 40 minutes for large loaves or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately; let cool on a wire rack.

For more ideas or other information, visit us at the market on Fridays in Cave City or in Glasgow on Tuesdays. Or you can visit our website: www.rebelhome.net/ccrfm.html