Sweet Corn Salsa

Evrblossom Sweet Corn Salsa

Evrblossom Sweet Corn Salsa

Who doesn’t love a gift with purchase? This week our members get a little jar of sunshine with their share – a quart of canned Everblossom tomatoes.

There’s nothing like heat in your food to help warm up on the 20 degree days of December. So, let’s try a salsa recipe; it uses those tomatoes, plus the garlic, cayenne peppers, and onion you have been getting. The garden-fresh taste of these tomatoes will wake you up from your winter hibernation, but the magic ingredient in this recipe is the sweet-as-honey corn we froze this summer (or a nice organic choice form the supermarket).

1 medium onion, diced small

1 smaller-size clove of the giant Everblossom garlic, minced

1 cayenne pepper (little dried red), seeds removed and minced

5 or 6 medium heirloom tomatoes, or the equivalent, diced – about the contents of your quart jar, drained and chopped

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn – thawed

1 large handful cilantro leaves, stems removed and chopped

Salt to taste – I like almost a 1/4 teaspoon

Squeeze of lime juice from the quarter of a lime

Add all ingredients to a large serving bowl and mix well. Serve with tortilla chips.

Kitchen Notes:  Try making your own tortilla chips! Brush flour tortillas with olive oil; salt lightly; cut into triangles and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.

Audrey likes sweet corn salsa

Audrey likes sweet corn salsa

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Baked Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip

When I think of New Year’s Eve. I think of dip. French onion dip, blue cheese dip, cream cheese and pepper jelly; it’s all about dip to me. I especially love a baked veggie dip like this one, because it’s dip that I can pretend is a square meal. Add a whole grain, baked pita chip or a multi-grain Scoop and it’s just down right health food.

For a cocktail party I had years go, I made a similar spinach dip, but I winged it and threw all the ingredients in the food processor and gave it a whirl. The problem was pureed greens like spinach just turn the whole dish green. It tasted fine, but no one was brave enough to try the swampy green muckity-muck. Please don’t do that – if you must add the spinach only after you process. But, I really suggest you follow the instructions below for creamy dip success. Tostitos Scoops optional but highly recommended .

Haaaaaappy New Year!

Baked Artichoke Dip with Chard and Kale

Baked Artichoke Dip with Chard and Kale

8 cups fresh Swiss chard, spinach or kale
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon’s zest
2 14-ounce jars artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) Parmesan, freshly grated, divided
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon bottled cayenne pepper sauce (Or, 1 dried Everblossom chili, seeds removed, finely minced)
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter or spray a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Blanch the greens of your choosing in boiling water until wilted and bright green – a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can.

In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients with just 1 cup of the Parmesan. Place into the buttered casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.

The last 5 minutes add the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan to the top. Serve hot or cold!