F-Word Farm Recipes

Recipes

Lentil Squash Stew

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small winter squash or sweet potato, in 1/2″ cubes (~2cups)
1 cup lentils
2 cups chicken or veg stock
2 cups water
8 oz tomato sauce (I used couple tbsp homemade tomato paste)
2 tsp salt
For finishing: 1 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp minced fresh sage, 2 tsps minced fresh thyme, 1/2 cups raisins, 1 TBSP vinegar (I like my Nettle Mint Fire Cider for this one, but try what you got!)

This is my favorite stew from my Bastyr University days, written by Cynthia Lair. I have changed it, but only minorly. It is a perfect local meal.
1. Heat soup pot on med-low, add some oil to coat. Add onion & cook for a couple mins, then add garlic. Cook low until golden (few mins).
2. Add squash, lentils, stock, water, tomato sauce, and salt. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and let lightly bubble 45-50 mins. Make sure lentils & squash are tender.
3. In separate small pot, add butter, sage, thyme and raisins. Stir to combine, cover and let raisins soften couple mins.
4. Add this mixture to the simmering stew just at the end.
5. Then add vinegar. Taste & adjust as needed.

Pickled Cranberries

1/2 cup Pumpkin Spice Fire Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup water
2ish Tbsp honey
Sprinkle of pickling spice
Sliced cranberries

Mix together vinegar, water & honey till dissolved. Add in the pickling spice and sliced cranberries. Put in the fridge. They’re ready to eat after a couple of days and last for weeks. Use the brine as a delicious salad dressing. Put these on salads, roasted meats, on cheeseboards, or in drinks!

Tender Beef Round Roast!

1.5 lb local beef round roast
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp Blueberry Vermouth Vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 cup beef broth (or mushroom broth)
1 small onion, cut in big chunks

Based on a recipe from Amanda Cooks & Styles. I kept pretty true to it.

Preheat to 250. Mix together vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, Worcestershire, and broth in small bowl. Set aside. Meanwhile, get Dutch oven very hot. Add 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Pat roast dry, season all sides with salt. Sear all sides.
Shut off heat, add onions and sauce.
Cover and put in oven for 2.5-3 hours, or until it’s tender enough to pull apart with forks.

Had this with mashed potatoes & some pickled cranberries! Would be amazing with pickled hots too. You could also try Caramelized Onion Vinegar, or any others you have!

Whipped Butternut Squash

1 lb roasted butternut squash
1.5 tbsp butter, browned
1 tbsp sweet miso
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tbsp Pumpkin Spice Fire Cider Vinegar

SO delicious. Roast a medium, cubed butternut squash at 425 with a little oil for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, brown the butter with the miso in a small saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the roasted squash (1 lb), brown miso butter, maple syrup and vinegar to a blender. Blend until smooth.

Serve this as a side to any kind of meat or with chili crisp and some beans. It’s even good enough to be a pie filling! You can adjust the recipe based on the size of your squash.

Shrub Recipe (for mocktails or Cocktails)

1/2 cup fruit – here raspberries
1/2 cup sweetener – here sugar
1/2 cup vinegar – here Blueberry Vermouth Vinegar

Shrubs are a great non-alcoholic option so you can have a special drink even if you don’t add alcohol. Use this as a rough ratio for all kinds of creations! Here I used some frozen raspberries, but use fresh/whatever you have. Cranberries, blueberries, peaches etc… and any other flavorings (e.g. cinnamon, peppercorn, thyme, etc).

Heat together fruit and sweetener just until dissolved. Shut of heat, cool a bit, then add the vinegar. Let infuse overnight, covered. Strain and store in fridge. You can use about 2 oz of the shrub and top with seltzer water for your “mocktail”, or you can add in some alcohol and make it a cocktail!

Other ideas: Apple/Brown Sugar/Pumpkin Spice Fire Cider Vinegar, Cranberry/Honey/Berry Bliss Vinegar, Blueberry/Peppercorn/Sugar/Blueberry Vermouth Vinegar, etc!

"Lemon-y" Salad Dressing

2 parts Nettle Mint Fire Cider Vinegar
1 part olive oil
pinch salt

Salad’s just got easier, healthier and tastier! But so did your chicken, veg and fish. This dressing can be used like a lemon-y dressing for all the things. Just whisk together. It’s like a lemon juice based dressing you didn’t have to squeeze non-local lemons for. Plus the added benefits of the probiotics.

Probiotic Pickled Onions

1/2 cup F-Word Farmvinegar (fruity ones work nicely)
1/2 cup water
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp sugar
2 small red onions , sliced thinly

Stir together first 4 ingredients till salt and sugar is dissolved. Add sliced red onion. Keep in the fridge. They’ll be ready to use to top salads, tacos, chicken, brisket, etc in about a day.

And don’t throw out the pickling liquid. Use that for salads when you’re done!

Deviled Eggs

6 egg yolks
3 tbsp mayo
1 tsp honey mustard
1 tsp truff hot sauce
1 tsp Black Garlic Fire Cider or Caramelized Onion Vinegar
Pinch of salt

Mash all the above in a bowl, then put back in the center of the boiled egg whites!

Vinaigrette

This really easy recipe I made with Berry Bliss Vinegar, but could be subbed for any! You could scale it up and keep it in the fridge.

Probiotic Margarita

This recipe uses vinegar in place of lime juice – which makes it smoother and easier to make (no messy limes to squeeze). Plus local. Plus probiotics 🫠

2 oz tequila
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz F-Word Farm Fire Cider Vinegar (Blueberry Vermouth, Rhubarb Ginger or really any)
1 oz simple syrup of your choosing
Pinch salt

Put in cocktail shaker with ice – shake – strain into glass or serve with the ice (I do).

Smashed cucumber salad

From my brief reading, the smashed cuke idea came from China and there are lots of variations. This one is based on NYT cooking recipe. The dressing is legit SO good and can go on anything, fish, chicken, or other veggies!

Dressing:

1.5 Tbsp Strawberry Hibiscus Vinegar*
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce

Salad:

2 ish lbs of thin skinned cukes (Japanese varieties best)
2 large garlic cloves, very finely minced
2-4 minced chilis (optional but recommended)
Minced cilantro (optional)

1. Combine all dressing ingredients and mix till dissolved. Put this on anything.
2. Put cukes on a cutting board and smash with the back of the knife all down its length. Roll and smash again. It usually breaks into 4 segments and is fun! Cut them into bite sized chunks.
3. Set in strainer (leave behind seeds on cutting board) and add pinch of salt and sugar. Let sit at least 30 minutes to pull some liquid out.
4. Shake off the liquid and set cukes on platter with garlic & chilis. Drizzle with olive oil or neutral oil & mix, then add dressing.
5. Enjoy!

*can be subbed for another fruity vinegar like Berry Bliss Vinegar

Tomato (& other) Shrub

I love to make this because it’s so easy to preserve tomato flavor when I have no time but don’t want to waste tomato goodness.

A general shrub ratio is 1 part fruit, 1 part sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc), and 1 part vinegar. You can play with this. Below is my tomato shrub recipe that uses a different ratio, but the world is your shrub oyster (it would prob be good on them anyways!) Try whatever combo you like…maybe peach, sugar, Apple & Fennel vinegar!

Tomato Shrub:

1 lb chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup sugar
couple dashes coriander
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup Apple & Fennel vinegar*

Michelada

1-2 tbsp tomato shrub
Light beer (e.g. Modelo)
squirt of lime

1. Combine all shrub ingredients in a pan and bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Shut off heat, let cool a bit, then add 1/2 cup Apple & Fennel vinegar (or another fruity one like Berry Bliss). Cover and let it sit overnight. Strain the next day. Bottle and put in the fridge. No waste tip: you can use solids as a bruschetta topping!

2. Use for Micheladas (recipe above), or with vodka, aquavit, tequila or just seltzer water. Can also be used as topping for caprese salad.

*can be subbed for another fruity vinegar like Berry Bliss Vinegar

Peaches and Cream

Less recipe, more inspiration. Vinegar is a flavor enhancer and can make fruit taste better. Try a tiny splash on all kinds of fruit.

1. Chop peaches and sprinkle with some sugar, enough to kind of coat the top layer and mix it in. Sprinkle with a little Apple & Fennel Vinegar. Let them sit overnight in the fridge to pull out some liquid.

2. Next day, serve with a little heavy cream.