Faith While Trees Are Still in Blossom

That is the title of hymn number 508 in the United Methodist Hymnal, and we sang it on Sunday. I kept thinking about my garden while I was singing. I planted Florence fennel for the first time. I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to harvest a crop, but I’m hoping, hoping, hoping. I love fennel, and it is difficult to find in our area supermarkets. I guess these recipes could be called “Faith while the fennel plants haven’t even grown very much”.

Italian Herb Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons Basil Leaves
1 teaspoon Rosemary Leaves
1/2 teaspoon Thyme Leaves
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 baby or Italian eggplant, cut lengthwise in 1/4-inch slices
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut lengthwise in 1/2-inch slices
1 yellow squash, cut in 1/4-inch slices
1 red or yellow bell pepper,cut in 2-inch strips
1 medium Portobello mushroom, cut in 1/2-inch slices
1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch rounds*
4 ounces crumbled Feta cheese
Fresh arugula, rinsed and drained
1 10- to 12-inch prebaked Italian pizza crust, cut in half - Boboli is the brand I like.

Mix together olive oil and next 5 ingredients. Set aside. Place vegetables on a tray or baking sheet. Lightly brush vegetables with herb mixture. Place vegetables on grill over medium-high heat. Grill or broil 5-10 minutes. Turn vegetables occasionally brushing with any reserved herb mixture. Remove vegetables from grill when done and keep warm. Evenly spread cheese and layer arugula over both pizza crust halves. Build sandwich with layers of grilled vegetables. Place remaining pizza bread slice on top. Cut sandwich into 2-inch wedges before serving.


Mixed Greens, Endive and Fennel Salad with Orange Dressing
I always serve this salad for with our Christmas Eve lunch, a big seafood feast at our house each year. But I like to make it this salad any time I can find fennel.

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 large oranges
8 cups mixed baby greens
1 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 small red onion sliced very thin
2 heads Belgian endive, leaves separated

Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Cut off peel and white pith from oranges. Cut oranges crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick rounds. Cut each round crosswise in half. Combine greens, onion and fennel in large serving bowl. (Dressing, orange rounds and salad can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate dressing, oranges and salad separately.) Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Tuck endive into salad with tips pointing up in decorative fashion. Garnish with orange segments and serve.

Some Easy Casseroles

We had a family cookout this evening. I made two casseroles to accompany their hamburgers and my Garden Burger. My daughter told me I had never given her these recipes and asked me to put them on the blog. So here they are.

Hash Brown Potato Casserole - Not a lowfat item

1 (2 lb.) bag frozen hash browns
1 can cream of mushroom soup (if you eat meat you can use Cream of Chicken soup)
1 tbsp. chopped onion
2 tbsp. red bell pepper
2 tbsp. green bell pepper
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream
1 stick butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste
Combine potatoes, soup, onion, bell peppers, sour cream and melted butter. Place in greased casserole. Bake in 325 degree oven for 2 hours. may be prepared the night before and refrigerated.

Texas Bean Bake - Vegetarian Version

2 lb. can vegetarian baked beans in tomato sauce
15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained
box frozen Fordhook lima beans, cooked
3 onions, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
cup brown sugar
cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
tablespoon dry mustard
teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablesppons olive oil
Dash Tabasco

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add other ingredients. Mix and bake in casserole at 325 degrees for 2 hours. You can also cook them for hours and hours in the crockpot. This makes about 16 servings. Sometimes if I need 30 or more servings I'll double the recipe and use six kinds of beans. Black beans, Great Northerns, and blackeyed peas work well. Meat eaters can add a half pound of crumbled cooked bacon, using the bacon fat to saute the onions.