Savory French Toast

Savory French Toast
or What to Do with a Few Yucky Tomatoes...

Submitted by Linda Muth

We have all been there - harvesting in the garden and plucking a couple of big, red, seemingly beautiful tomatoes off the vine, only to discover that the bottom half is rotten or the top is cracked and oozy.  In the spirit of "no food goes to waste" you take these ugly tomatoes home.

My general feeling is that tomatoes with blossom end rot, tomatoes which are cracked and red on one side and green on the other, tomatoes which have endured bird pecking or insect nibbling, are a secret bounty.  Wash them.  Cut off all of the offensive parts, including hard cores, slimy cracks, bite holes and brown rotten spots, and toss the good parts into a sauce pan.  Now you are ready to make all kinds of wonderful things like sauce, salsa, preserves...

Yet, if you only end up with a small amount of good tomato stuff in your pot, you might not have the quantity or motivation to create a big tomato recipe or get out the canning jars.  This is where I found myself a few days ago...in the kitchen with a small pot of tomatoes and no idea...until...I thought of French Toast!  Why not?

Step 1
Prepare ugly tomatoes by washing them and cutting off all of the offensive parts.  Cut the remaining chunks into 1/2" to 1" pieces over a sauce pan so you can catch all of the juices. For about 2 cups of tomato chunks, add:
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/2 medium yellow or white onion (or whatever leftover onion chunks are in your fridge), chopped
Herbs (dried or fresh) such as basil, lemon basil, lemon mint, parsley
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
Add all ingredients to taste - measuring is not important.
Stew the tomato sauce over medium heat, until it thickens up a bit.

Step 2
While the tomatoes are cooling, beat 2-3 eggs in a shallow dish.  Prepare the rest of your breakfast foods and get your griddle ready. Add about half of the tomato mixture to your eggs.  Start by spooning some of the tomato juice in and then add some of the chunkier parts.  Do this slowly so that your eggs do not cook from the warm tomatoes.

Step 3
Soak pieces of bread in the egg and tomato mixture.  Mop up some of the chunky parts and place soaked bread onto the griddle (I set mine at 350 degrees).  Be sure to cook it all the way through.

Sprinkle freshly grates Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top, or use any grated cheese you might have on hand.

Serve it up with a little extra tomato sauce (in place of syrup) and garnish with garlic chives or any herbs you might have.  If you are a meat-eater, bacon goes super well with this!

What do you do with a few yucky tomatoes?  Send us your favorite recipes which use the gleanings of your gardens!

Freeze the Beans

 Green beans galore!  Whether you pick them in El Salvador or Wisconsin, ejotes or green beans often come in great number in a short time.  If you find yourself with an abundance of green beans, why not consider preserving them?

Freezing beans is very easy, and frozen beans taste great in the winter or dry season.  Follow these step by step instructions to safely preserve your green beans:

1)  Thoroughly wash the beans, being certain to rub off any soil that clings to the beans.

2)  Trim the ends off of the beans, and cut away any insect or critter damage or rusty spots.

3)  Use a stock pot and bring water to a boil.  Use enough water so that the beans can swim freely.  Dump the beans into the boiling water, keeping the heat on high.

4)  Wait until the water starts bubbling and set a timer for 4 minutes.  Let the beans boil for exactly 4 minutes.  Carefully remove the beans from the heat and dump them into a colander which is sitting in a big bowl of cold water or immediately run cold water over the beans.  (The

cold water stops the cooking process.)

5)  Make sure your hands are very clean or use a clean tongs and place beans immediately into freezer bags or clean containers.  (Beans will still be warm.)  Be sure to label the bags with the date and place them into the freezer.

50 Bags of Green

Rainbow Swiss Chard

Today the children and youth took home 50 bags of greens.  We are growing collards, dinosaur kale, rainbow Swiss chard, and a bunch of different kinds of mustard greens.  Today we harvested collards, kale and chard.

Dinosaur kale and wrapping lettuce at our free farm stand

The kids in our Kids Working to Succeed program planted the seeds back in April and May.  Throughout the summer, the kids and adult volunteers have carefully watered, and weeded, and fertilized with catfish-gut-tea and Milorganite.  For the last month, we have been able to cut many pounds of greens to give away at our free farm stand.  Today was the day for the kids to learn how to harvest and to bag up the greens for their own families.

Harvesting is done by gently cutting the largest leaves and their stems away from the center stalk.  The plants continue to produce new leaves for harvesting off of the main stalk.  The children use small scissors and are learning to be gentle with the plants, to cut one leaf at a time, and to stack the leaves gently so they don't become bruised.

Family recipes for cooking greens are plentiful - and we invite families to share those recipes on this blog by emailing them to the church office!!  Some of the children specifically wanted kale to put into smoothies.  Some of the children asked if they could just eat greens raw (and they nibbled bits of leaves to see if they liked raw greens.  Some of the children had no idea what to do with the greens, so we offered to post one simple recipe which can be used for any kind of greens.

Simple Skillet Greens
submitted by Miss Linda

Ingredients:
Greens - washed and chopped into large chunks/strips (about 4 cups but any amount is really OK)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic (or use garlic salt if you don't have fresh)
1 large or 2 smaller potatoes
Or, if you are using turnip greens, 1 or 2 turnips
Fresh or dried herbs (such as parsley, chives, basil)
Black pepper
Salt (to taste)
Olive oil (or whatever kind of oil you have)

Optional Additions:  Bacon or ham or sausage, mushrooms, pasta (cooked ahead of time)

Process:
1)  Wash the greens by filling a big bowl or your sink with cold water and put all the greens in for a bath.  Wiggle them around until they are clean and put them into a colander or on a towel to dry.  Repeat this step if the greens are really dirty.

2)  Cut the greens into slices or chunks - not too small because they will cook down.

3)  Wash and chop the onion into a medium dice.

4)  Smash and peel the garlic and chop it up small.

5)  If adding mushrooms, wash and slice them. If adding potato or turnip, peel and wash and chop into small cubes.

6) If using bacon, cut raw bacon up into 1/2" chunks (remember to use a different knife and board for meat/bacon or wash everything really well with soapy water after it touches the meat)

7)  Put about 2 - 3 Tablespoons of olive oil into a big frying pan or skillet.  Turn on medium heat.  Add onions and bacon first.  Cook and stir for 4 minutes for bacon or ham, cook a little longer for raw sausage.  Keep stirring!

8) Add mushrooms, potato or turnip, and garlic or a few shakes of garlic salt.  Add fresh ground pepper to taste.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until the veggies are getting soft.

Turnip greens with chopped turnips, bacon,
potato, onion, celery, garlic and herbs

9)  Add the greens all at once.  Just pile them into the skillet.  If you need to let some cook down so you can add them all, that is OK.  Stir quickly to cover the greens with the oils in the pan.  Drizzle a little more olive oil over the greens when you add them if you need to. Cook until the greens wilt. Add herbs.  Stir well.  Cook until the greens are soft.  Each green will cook differently.

10)  Add pasta and cook just until pasta is heated.  Add salt last and taste.  Eat while hot!

What to do with Rhubarb

As promised, we are posting recipes which use rhubarb.  We do not have photos, but as soon as we do some baking we will add the pics.  You can also send us photos of your creations!

Fresh Rhubarb Crisp

Topping Ingredients:
1 cup sifted flour  (you can use unbleached, whole wheat and/or organic)
1/2 cup raw rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter






Filling Ingredients:
4 cups fresh rhubarb (previously washed and cut int 1/2 inch pieces)**
3/4 cup regular sugar (you can use any healthy substitute for white sugar)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water**

**You can use 4 cups of cut frozen rhubarb, which will be very juicy.  Do NOT use the 1/2 cup water if you use frozen rhubarb.

1.  Preheat oven to 375º F
2.  Melt butter in a small pan on the stove or in the microwave.
3.  Combine flour, oats and sugar in a medium bowl.
4.  With a fork, stir butter into flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
5.  Use the butter wrapper to grease an 8 x 8 x 2 inch backing pan/dish.    You might need to add a little extra butter or vegetable shortening.
6.  Dump all of the filling ingredients into the pan and mix it together with a rubber spatula until it is well-mixed.
7.  Sprinkle the crumbly topping all over the rhubarb mix and use your fingers to gently spread it out evenly.
8.  Bake until the topping is golden brown and the rhubarb is thick and bubbly.  It takes 35 - 50 minutes, depending on your oven and the rhubarb.
9.  Cool.  Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Tips:  Set the pan on top of a piece of foil if your pan is full.  If it bubbles over it will not mess up your oven.  If the topping seems like it is getting too dark before the rhubarb is cooked and bubbly, you can loosely cover the pan with foil.

Submitted by Miss Linda

Easy Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:

Any amount of rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
A little bit of water
Sugar to taste

Put the rhubarb in a deep sauce pan.  Add water so that there is about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan.  Cook over medium heat, until the rhubarb starts to break apart into strings.  Stir the rhubarb every now and then with a metal spoon.  If the sauce seems to think, add just a little bit of extra water.  Once the rhubarb is soft, turn the heat to very low.  Add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time and stir until your sauce tastes just as sweet as you want it.  After the sugar dissolves, turn off the heat.  The sauce will be VERY hot, so let it cool.  You can eat it warm, or cold.  You can eat it all by itself, or as a topping over ice cream, over fruit or over granola.

Options:
Substitute brown sugar for white sugar.  Add a little cinnamon.

Submitted by Miss Linda

Red Clover Tea

When the red clover plants came up next to the chive plants, we decided to encourage the clover to grow and produce flowers.  Red clover is a wonderful attractor for pollinators, and the flowers also can be used to to brew tea.

Fresh flowers can be used immediately, or the flowers can be dried to use later on.  Gently wash the flowers or brush off any dirt or insects.  Remove leaves (some people use the leaves, but they have quite a bitter taste).  Red clover can be used on its own, but we like to combine it with other garden herbs or mix it with green tea to create a tasty and healthy beverage.

Place 10-12 clover flowers into a coffee press or tea pot (you can use a strainer later to remove the flowers and herbs).  Add a big handful of fresh or dried mint.  Spearmint, peppermint or lemon mint work well.  Pour 4 cups of boiling water over the herbs.  Allow to steep 4 to 5 minutes.  Add lemon and honey to taste.

As with any herb, it is important to consult with your medical professionals to make sure that the effects of the herb do not interfere with medications which you may be taking or do not worsen a condition you may have.  As with all things, moderation is advised.  Many women in our community have found that red clover tea can help with symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes.  Some people also believe that red clover tea can help to prevent cancer and lower cholesterol.

Red clover tea - a healthy and tasty warm beverage option!

(To make ice tea, use a couple of extra flowers and brew for a longer time.  This tea drinker prefers red clover tea warm.)

Herbs available at our free farm stand

Rhubarb Basics

Harvest from one of our plants

Did you know that rhubarb is a vegetable and that it originally grew in China?  It was brought to

 Europe by Marco Polo, where it was grown as a medicinal plant.  Eventually it came to North America with European immigrants.  It needs freezing cold winters to help the root to produce new spring growth, and it does not like hot summer temperatures.  Therefore, it grows really well in Wisconsin!

The rhubarb that grows in All Peoples Global Garden comes from a mother root that is more than 100 years old.  Pieces of the root were handed down through five generations of a church family.  Every time the family has moved, pieces of the root have been dug up and planted in new locations.  Pieces of the root were planted at All Peoples in 2014.  All Peoples rhubarb has bright red stems with a little hint of green in them, but there are other types of rhubarb that vary from green to pink and different colors of red.

Rhubarb flower stalk headed for the compost pile

In the spring, new stems shoot up from the root.  During the first year, it is best not to pick any stems.  During the second year, it is best to pick about half of the stems.  From then on, it is OK to harvest most of the stems.  To harvest rhubarb, you grasp one stem firmly near the base and pull.  Pull one stem at a time, taking the fattest and longest ones first.  Rhubarb can be harvested over several weeks in the spring, and sometimes throughout the summer or after a second sprouting at the end of summer.   If you harvest rhubarb in the cooler part of the day, it stays crisper.   Leave some of the stems that get scarred from the soil or heavy rain so that their leaves can give energy to the roots for future growth.  If a flower stalk forms, pick it so that the plant continues to give most of its energy to producing good stems and not seeds (unless you want to harvest seeds for future planting).

There is a plant called common burdock that likes to grow near the rhubarb.  It looks a lot like rhubarb, but has hairy, hollow stems and produces tall stalks that eventually produce burrs.  The root (and other parts of the burdock plant) are used by some people to make medicine.  It is never good to eat any plant that you do not know is good as a food, because medicinal plants can harm your body and many plants contain poisons.

Rhubarb stems are food.  Rhubarb leaves are poisonous.  Do not eat them.  Cut the leaf from each stem right after harvesting.  Cut the little end off the stem base too.  The leaves and the ends can be tossed into your compost pile.

Remove the stem from the leaf

Remove the end of the stem

Do not eat the leaves and do not let your pets eat them

Stems ready for use

Wash each stem thoroughly.  Place the stems on a towel to dry.  

Rhubarb can be used in recipes right away (or within a day or two if you keep the whole stems wrapped in a damp towel and plastic wrap in the fridge).  It is easy and convenient to freeze the rhubarb.  By freezing rhubarb in measured quantities, you can save up enough for a favorite recipe.  Freeze rhubarb as soon as possible after picking to produce the best results.  

  Cut the washed rhubarb stems into 1/2 inch pieces.  If the stems are a little wet, that is OK.  Use it right away or put the cut rhubarb into freezer bags or containers.  Recycled yogurt or cottage cheese tubs work well because they hold about 4 cups of cut rhubarb (and many recipes call for 4 cups of cut rhubarb!)  Be sure to label the container or bag with "rhubarb" and the date.  Frozen rhubarb keeps for 1 year in the freezer. 

 Frozen rhubarb is a little more watery than fresh, so you may need to eliminate or reduce the amount of water in recipes for baked items if you use frozen rhubarb.


Rhubarb is a healthy vegetable which contains fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium and calcium.  It is fairly acidic or "sour" so many recipes call for the addition of sugar or honey.  You can add other fruits such as peaches, strawberries or blueberries when making a sauce, pie or cake with rhubarb, and then you will not need as much sugar.


Did you know that you can eat rhubarb raw?  It is a great addition to a salad!  Try mixing salad greens, chopped celery, chopped rhubarb, goat cheese or feta cheese and sunflower nuts or walnuts with a simple honey-mustard vinaigrette for an adventurous salad.

Do you have some favorite rhubarb recipes to share?  Simply email them to office@allpeoplesgathering.org or put them right into the comment section.  We will post a Rhubarb Recipe Blog featuring the best recipes!

Rhubarb Basics submitted by Linda Muth