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Every area is home to a unique blend of people and cultures and the Olympia Area is no exception. People from all over the world call Olympia their home, and their food preferences come with them. This creates a mix of food preferences which is unique to Olympia. The recipes found here are from local people, to create the foods of Olympia.

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Entree Recipes

Stuffed Squash

Curry Broccoli Casserole

Avacado and Turkey Tortillas

Shrimp and Tropical Fruit Salad

Cream of Spinach Soup 

Asian Soba Salad  

 Basmati Chicken Curry

Asian Pear Salad 

Sides/Other

Hummus

Desserts

Layer Bar Cookies

 

ENTREES

squash pic

Stuffed Squash

This is one of my very favorite recipes. I first found stuffed squash in The Moosewood Cookbook, and have found some wonderful adaptions of my own. These are easy recipes.

Broccoli and Cheese stuffed squash

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half (preferably acorn), scoop out seeds and place face down on a greased sheet pan. Cook for 30 minutes. While squash is cooking dice up about 1 1 1/2 cheddar cheese (or whatever kind you like), and chop about 1 1/2 cups broccoli. toss broccoli and cheese together in a bowl with a little salt and pepper. After 30 minutes, remove squash from oven and fill cavities with broccoli and cheese mixture. Bake for another 30 minutes or until squash is soft to the touch.

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broccoli pic

Curry Broccoli Casserole

I got this recipe from my co-worker, Marty. She also suggests making this recipe with some roasted chicken mixed in.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop one large bunch of broccoli into bite size pieces. In a large bowl, mix broccoli with 1- 8 oz. contianer of sour cream, 1 small can of cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup, 1 Tablespoon of Curry, 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Stir contents bowl thouroughly. Place contents into 9x13 glass pan, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake until slightly brown and bubblely, about 20 minutes. This dish is served well over rice.

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Avacado and Turkey Tortillas

This recipe comes from the Food Bible by Judith Wills. It's fantastic and only
takes about 10 minutes to fix.

4 wheat tortillas
1 avacado
2 tsp. lime juice
salt and pepper
7 oz. smoked turkey or tofu

for the salsa:

2 tomatoes (chopped and seeded)
2 chopped scallions
1/4 of a small cucumber
1/3 cup canned black eyed peas
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cilantr

1 tsp chili sauce

Make the salsa first. Combine ingredients and set aside. Begin heating the
tortillas. (I usually use a frying pan on medium heat.) While you're doing that
peel and pit the avacado. Stir it in with salt and pepper. Fill each warm
tortilla with smoked turkey, salsa and avacado. Mmmm.

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Shrimp and Tropical Fruit Salad

Here's another one from The Food Bible that I love. It's another quick recipe.Try it when the fruit is in season, it's wonderful.

10 large shrimp in the shell
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp corn oil
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
pinch of sugar
1 pink grapefruit

1 small ripe mango
1 small banana
2 passion fruit

Pre heat the broiler and peel the shrimp. Mix lime juice, vinegar, oil, pepper
sauce and sugar. Brush the shrimp with a little of the mixture and threat them
on skewers. Broil for 5 min. (turning once). Peel and slice the grapefruit aned
mango, adding any juice that runs out to the dressing and mixing well. Arrange
the sliced fruit on serving plates. Peel the banana, cut in half, ten into long
slices, and add to the plates. Spoon flesh out of the passion fruit and add to
the salad. Top with shrimp and remaining dressing.

recipe courtesy of Dale Thompson

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Cream of Spinach Soup

- ½ lb. Fresh spinach, stems removed
- 6 T. butter
- 1 cup minced onion
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced (approximately 3 cups)
- 5 cups chicken consommé
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream


Wash the spinach thoroughly in at least three changes of water. Shred it; this is best done with a pair of kitchen shears. Heat 4 T. of the butter in a large saucepan. Cook the onion in it until it is soft; do not brown. Add the spinach, the potatoes and the chicken consommé. Cook over low heat until the potatoes are tender. Strain the soup through a fine sieve or blend it in a blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cream. Bring to the boiling point and remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining butter. Serve very hot. (about 6 servings)

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Asian Soba Salad

Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes


• 8 oz. Soba (Japenese buckwheat noodles)
• 1 tbsp. peanut oil
• 2 carrots, cut into match sticks
• ¼ lb. Snow peas, trimmed
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 package enoki mushrooms, trimmed
• ½ lb. Cooked shrimp or other shellfish
• 1/3 cup minced scallion, including green
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro


In a pot of boiling salted water cook the Soba for 5 minutes, or until al dente, drain and transfer to large bowl. Toss with oil. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water add carrots and cook 2 minutes, add snow peas and bean sprouts and bring water back to boil. Drain vegetables and refresh. Pat dry.

Add vegetables to bowl of pasta along with seafood and minced scallion.

Make the dressing: In blender or processor combine all ingredients and blend until combined well. Toss salad with dressing.

Recipe courtesy of Michele Urvater

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Basmati Chicken Curry

- 2 T. butter (divided)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 ½ cups water or stock (or mixture of half water/half apple juice; could add orange zest for orange flavoring)
- 6 sun-dried apricots
- Handful of cashews (about ½ cup)
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half
- ¼ of a medium white onion, diced
- 1 t. curry powder, preferably Madras
- 1 T. flour
- 2 T. white wine or apple juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- Toasted coconut, chutney, chile flakes, julienned cucumber, poached fig, and/or whipping cream for condiments.


Preheat heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Drop 1 T. of the butter into pan. When butter is melted, add rice and coat kernels to keep them from sticking. Add water and bring to simmer. Cover and let simmer for 6 minutes, and then turn off heat. Let rice rest on burner, still covered, until it absorbs liquid, about 10 minutes. Add apricots and cashews, mixing with fork.
Dice chicken into bite-size pieces. In separate pan, heat remaining T. of butter. Drop chicken pieces into pan and coat, stirring to sauté until pink is gone from the meat, about 1 minute. Add diced onion, curry powder and flour. Stir to blend ingredients, and then add pepper to taste, and more curry, if desired. Add whipping cream and return to boil until mixture reaches desired consistency, about 1 minute. Serve with rice.

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Asian Pear Salad with Tamari Pecans and Maytag Blue Cheese

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 4 servings


Ever since American chefs discovered the amazing food marriage of tree fruits and blue cheese, they have served the 2 in many forms. Pears are classic, but nearly all tree fruits work well. Go through the seasons: cherries, plums, apples, and then pears. As much as I like them all, pears remain my favorite. For this salad, I like crisp, moist Asian Pears, which can be sliced ahead of time because they don’t brown easily. They are also fairly easy to find. The blue cheese clearly is the dominant ingredient. You don’t usually think of cheese with Asian flavors, but in this preparation, it’s dynamite. Everything works here: The tamari takes the pecans to a new taste level, and the bitter greens and the reduced pear juice dressing provide just the right spark for this rich, sweet and salty salad.

• 2 tbsp. pear or cider vinegar
• 4 tsp. Pear Syrup, recipe
• 1 tsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 6 cups mixed bitter salad greens, such as baby mustard, lovage, arugula, dandelion, and mizuna
• ¼ cup chopped tamari pecans, recipe follows
• ¼ cup dried currants or chopped raisins
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese (recommended: Maytag)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ripe Asian pear, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and syrup. Whisk in the oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the greens, pecans and currants. Sprinkle with the cheese and season lightly with salt and pepper. Whisk the dressing again and drizzle it over the salad.

Toss the salad gently and briefly; you do not want the cheese to crumble any further and clump together.

Divide the salad among 4 chilled salad plates. Fan the pear slices over each serving.

Pear Syrup:
3 cups pear juice

Put the pear juice in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and skim the thick foam that rises to the surface.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently, skimming occasionally, for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the juice reduces to the consistency of maple syrup.

Let cool to room temperature. Use now or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Yield: 1/3 cup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a shallow bowl, stir the tamari and molasses together to blend. Season with cayenne and salt, to taste.

Add the pecans and toss until they are coated. Transfer the pecans to a clean kitchen towel and let drain briefly.

Spread the pecans on a wire rack set on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes, or until fairly dry and toasted.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the rack. Chop the pecans into ¼ in. pieces.

Yield: 1 cup


Recipe courtesy Michel Nischan, Taste Pure and Simple: Irresistible Recipes for Good Food and Good Health, Chronicle Book 2003

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Sides/Other 

Hummus

2 cans Garbanzo beans (drain and rinse)
1/2 C. Tahini
1/3 C. Olive Oil
1/3 C. Warm Water
2 t. Cumin
5-6 cloves of garlic- crushed
juice of 1 lemmon
salt and pepper to taste

Blend garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil, water, and lemmon juice in food
processor or blender until smooth. Add cumin, garlic, salt and pepper blend
until well mixed.
serve cold with pita bread, veggies, or on a sandwich, keep refrigerated
*for smaller batch cut recipe in half

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DESSERT

Layer Bar Cookies

This recipe is easy and tasty.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
Grahm Cracker Crumbs
Chocolate Chips
Peanut Butter Chips
Walnuts
Cocunut
Sweetened Condensed Milk
(amounts vary depending on your own preference, I usually use a 9 x 13 pan and
sprinkle a 1/2 inch layer of each ingredient into the pan.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in pan. Sprinkle ingredents into the
pan in the order they're listed. Bake for 20 minutes. The cocunut should be
starting to brown. Wait at least 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe Courtesy of Dale Thompson

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