Bentley Seed Co. Blog

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup If you lived in or near Bennington, Vermont in the mid-2000s, you might remember a tiny little breakfast/lunch place on Main Street called Izabella’s Eatery. Known for their small, seasonally based menu, they were only around for about a decade, but their food was beyond delicious! Everything on the menu was locally grown and sourced from within a 100-mile tri-state radius. The ambiance was decidedly cool, the music always good, and they made it a point to use their wall space as a revolving gallery for local artists. They had a wonderful selection of teas and a state-of-the-art espresso machine that made the very best lattes and cappuccinos. They also had a fantastic baker who concocted some of the most delightful pastries around. It was always a delicious experience to visit and we were all sad when they closed. It was one of our favorite places, and we are lucky enough to know one of the previous owners. We asked if she still had her recipes and could help us with a recipe for our recently harvested butternut squash. Imagine our delight when she said, “yes, of course!” She searched her Izabella’s recipe binders and found this amazing Butternut Squash Soup to share with our blog readers! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Soup with Fontina Basil Croutons 1 large or 2 small butternut squash (3-4 lbs total) 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 cups chopped leeks (white part only) 1 minced shallot 1 tbsp minced/or microplane-grated fresh ginger 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp black or white pepper 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped into small chunks 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth  1 tsp fresh local honey ¼ tsp nutmeg  1 tsp chopped fresh thyme ¼ cup heavy cream Butternut Squash Roast the Squash: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut squash in half lengthwise and place cut side down in a lightly oiled roasting pan or baking dish. Add ¼ cup of water to the pan and roast for about 45 minutes to an hour until the squash is tender when pricked with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to rest until cool enough to handle. Scoop out the seeds and peel the squash. Place the cooked squash in a medium bowl and mash coarsely. Set aside. This can be done the day before preparing the soup. Prepare the Soup: In a 12-quart stock pot, heat oil at medium-high heat until sizzling hot. Add leeks, shallot, ginger, salt and pepper, and sauté until the leeks are soft and begin to turn slightly golden brown. Add the pears and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the mashed squash, broth, thyme, and honey. Bring to a slow, rolling boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Puree in small batches in a blender or Cuisinart, holding the lid firmly in place. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the cream and nutmeg. Serve warm. Pairs delightfully with Fontina & Basil Croutons  Fontina & Basil Croutons: Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice a fresh baguette into 8-10 ½” slices and rub each with a little olive oil and a bit of minced garlic. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the baguette slices on the tray. Bake for about 5 minutes, turning the slices midway through until toasty but not browned (you don’t them too crunchy). Grate ½ cup of fontina cheese or buy shredded fontina from the market. Add to a small bowl with 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil and a dash of crushed red pepper. Top each toasted baguette slice with a bit of the cheese and basil mixture and return to the oven. Bake for about 4 minutes until the cheese is melty and slightly bubbly. Remove from oven and top each bowl of soup while the croutons are still warm. 

This delicious summer dish highlights easy-to-grow ingredients that rely on pollination services. More than 200,000 species of pollinators contribute to stabilizing our food supply, so let’s do our part to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators while creating some appetizing meals in the process. Grow your own pollinator garden with vegetables and herbs from Bentley Seed Co.

Recipe for a beautiful Spring Pea Salad.

One of our favorite parts of the holiday season is baking and sharing cookies, especially if we can incorporate some little part of our gardens into our baking sessions. Because we love the buttery richness of shortbread and because they are super easy to make, this year, we chose to update one of our favorite shortbread recipes with the addition of herbs from our windowsill herb pots. We also created a new savory shortbread cracker recipe that we know will be a big hit at our holiday parties all through the season. Or just a really yummy snack for those of us celebrating remotely again this year.  We used sage, rosemary and thyme herbs which you can grow from our Holiday Essential Grow-Stix Kits. But use any combination or favorites for your recipes. We have a number of herb combination packs or single packets so you can create your own combinations. Make one or both and let us know how you liked them! We love the lemony goodness of this cookie. The perfect sweetness balanced with the fragrant addition of fresh in the decorative tops make it simply the best cookie for the holidays and any other occasion throughout the year. Lemon Herb Shorties Rosemary, Thyme, and Sage Lemon Herb Shorties Ingredients Christmas Cookie Cutters in dough Decorating the cookies with herbs Fresh out of the oven! So many fun ways to decorate with herbs Fun and festive cookies! Herb cookies We love the lemony goodness of this cookie. The perfect sweetness balanced with the fragrant addition of fresh in the decorative tops makes it simply the best for the holidays and any other occasion throughout the year. Ingredients: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1tsp salt 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened to room temperature 1 cup superfine or powdered sugar 1 egg 1tsp vanilla 2 tsp lemon zest (1 lemon) 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 8 or 9 sprigs of your choice assorted herbs (for the holiday version of this recipe we’re choosing rosemary, thyme and sage) 1 egg white ½ tsp water Steps: Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Blend the butter and sugar in a large bowl with either a hand or a standing mixer. Add the egg, vanilla, lemon zest and juice and mix until creamy. Slowly blend in the flour and stir until a smooth dough is formed. Mold into a round or square log and wrap snugly in plastic. Chill for an hour or overnight. Meanwhile, remove the thyme, rosemary leaves from their stalks into separate bowls, add another small bowl of sage leaves to your prep station. Here’s a quick and easy tutorial for removing them from their stems. Preheat the oven to 375°. And line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or favorite silicone baking mats. Turn dough out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface and roll out to about ¼” thickness and cut into shapes using cookie cutters of choice. Transfer to baking sheets and whisk together egg white and water just until blended.  Brush tops with a light sheen of egg white/water mix. Sprinkle or strategically place your herb leaves on the cookie tops and gently press into place. If you want to get fancy, you can sprinkle a little pinch of coarse or sanding sugar on each cookie for a bit of sparkle. Bake for about 15-17 minutes (checking frequently toward the end) until the edges are golden brown. Thyme Rosemary Sage Parsley Savory Herb Shortbread Crackers Our savory take on a favorite shortbread cookie, these crackers are going to become a sure favorite! Use any combination of herbs that suits your fancy. We chose a nice combination of parsley, thyme, rosemary and oregano for a super herby flavor. Ingredients: ·   1 cup packed with grated good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese ·   2 cups all-purpose flour ·   3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves ·   1/2 tsp garlic salt ·   1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed ·   24 sprigs of parsley, thyme, rosemary and oregano ·   2-3 tbsp coarsely crushed pink peppercorns (depending on taste) ·   1 tsp flaked sea salt Steps: Preheat the oven to 350° and position the rack in the center. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper of favorite silicone baking mats. Pulse cheese in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour, thyme and garlic salt. Season with a pinch or two of black pepper. Pulse again a few times to combine. Add cubed butter through the tube while pulsing until all is combined. The dough will be a bit crumbly but that is fine. Transfer the dough to the pan(s) and press over the flat surface of the bottom. Smooth the top with a glass or a small roller. Score the surface into 24 squares or rectangles and arrange or sprinkle herbs onto each square/rectangle. Gently press the herbs into the dough and dust with pink peppercorns and sea salt. You may need to score the surface one more time to ensure the crackers break evenly and easily. Bake until the top is just a tad golden brown for about 25 minutes. Immediately cut your squares/rectangles with a sharp knife while hot. Turn off the heat and return the pan to the oven to cool completely. For a crispier crunch, leave the pan in the oven overnight. Store crackers in an airtight container at room temp.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese: Fall’s Favorite Comfort Food! This is the easiest and most delicious recipe we can think of for fall comfort food… straight from the garden sugar pumpkins, baked, pureed, and blended with a bit of pasta and cheese to make a bowl full of ultimate fall yummy goodness!

Nina’s Garden Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe Garden Fresh Pesto – Nina Ossont Ingredients:• 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves• 4 cloves garlic• ¾ cup grated Romano cheese• ½ cup olive oil• ¼ cup pine nuts• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley (Optional) Use Bentley Seed Herb Seed to grow your own Basil and Parsley! Steps:1. Combine basil, garlic, Romano or Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender.2. Blend to a smooth paste.3. Add parsley if desired. Pesto is one of my favorite things to make from my garden. My Genovese Basil was ready to harvest, so I decided to make some fresh basil. As luck would have it, I also had my Ace 55 tomatoes and parsley ready for harvesting as well. Its a truly lovely thing to walk out to your garden to get the things you need for a meal, especially on these warm summer days where you can smell and almost hear the humidity. What is really fun about herbs is you can trim them throughout the season, and they come back continually. I can be particularly precious about my plants, but I know I will get more parsley and basil if I stick to trim what I need when I need it, as well as keeping it from flowering. I decided to make pesto pasta for lunch for myself and my cousin Becca who was home with a tiny new baby named Ada. We are both ¼ Sicilian in our heritage and are very picky about Italian cuisine. Becca is a superior cook, but I wanted to make something for her as she now has her hands extra full! When I make pesto, I always use Romano cheese. I just think it has a great deep flavor. Sometimes I am more liberal with the oil. I ended up making a large batch- in for a penny in for a pound, right? My little Cuisinart 3-Cup Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor is not ideal for this much work! After this adventure I quickly upgraded to a large food processor. Maybe I should invest in the much larger Cuisinart 14-Cup Custom Food Processor. It’s so satisfying to smell fresh basil in the kitchen. Once all the basil, garlic, Romano cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, and parsley were blended, I tossed some into spaghetti, and topped it with a few chopped Ace 55 tomatoes. We had a lovely visit between the baby’s feeding times eating lunch on the shaded patio. It was a perfect way to spend a summer afternoon! Fresh Basil from Nina’s garden from Bentley Seed Genovese Basil Seed Pesto in Progress Processing the Pesto – we need a bigger Cuisinart! Pesto Pasta with Fresh Tomato’s from Bentley Seed’s Ace 55 Tomato Seed