I had to put out a quick post after getting home and unpacking all my goodies this week from Stoneybrook Farm. Why, you ask - whether you did or didn't I'm going to tell you anyway....
My basket had some familiar items: red leaf lettuce, basil, cantaloupe, carrots, swiss chard, tomatoes and new potatoes, but this week we had some wonderful new items as well....green and yellow peppers and eggplant. Very excited to see the eggplant coming in now!!
As you will see in the picture there were a couple items that were definitely NOT from the field. The Farm Store is carrying local organic goods including free-range chicken, local organic beef and eggs. Today was a bonus - fresh yogurt, ricotta and several varieties of cheese and BUTTER (sweet salted and unsalted)!!! They are also carrying blueberries and the largest sweetest blackberries I've had in a long time (sorry Wegman's).
Seriously, I've already snarfed down one bowl of yogurt and blueberries to which I added a bit of vanilla - and am ready for seconds! Look for another post as we work through the weekly items at dinner time.
Cheers!
Cheryl
Stoneybrook Farm - 2011
Stoneybrook Farm
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Time for PIE!
Stoneybrook Farm Market Basket Week 6
As you can see from the pic the lettuce and cukes are still coming in strong. Beets, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and Cantaloupe, fresh dill are also part of the veggie party in a box week 6 from Stoneybrook Farm. So, what's the newcomer to the party?? Potatoes, new baby white and red potatoes and they are so cute I could just eat 'em up...wait, that's exactly what I WILL do with them! As a matter of fact, our Wednesday nighs have turned into a veg-fest lately....take an assortment of the hearty vegetables from the market basket: add a chopped onion, some olive or peanut oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 30-45 minutes and serve with a salad or couscous and some fresh fruit and voila, dinner is on!!
One of the nicest things about enduring all this mid summer heat is the berries it produces for us to enjoy. Blackberries, Raspberries, and my favorite blueberries are busting with juicy goodness for a great snack, jam/jelly making and yes, pies! This week we had an abundance of blueberries so what better for one of our family dinner desserts than a fresh pie? I've tried lots of recipes and some are too sweet, the filling is too runny or it just doesn't call for enough fruit to make it a nice thick slice of pie when its done. I'll share one that proves over and over to turn out a perfect blueberry pie. You can use it for just about any berry you like, so blackberry may be in our future very soon!!
Easy as pie: Blueberry Pie
As with most pies, it really is all about the crust. While the preparation of pie crust can be intimidating, it shouldn't be! Try this recipe for a regular flour dough crust, but you can always purchase the prepared ones in your refrigerator section...and by all means, do not feel guilty! The other option is to use a graham cracker crust...it works great for berry pies and really is a nice change.
Crust INGREDIENTS:
6 Tablespoons Butter (frozen)
2 Tablespoons Crisco (frozen)
1 Cup flour
½ Teaspoon salt (I always use Kosher)
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ cup ice water
HOW TO:
Measure out your butter and Crisco ahead, then keep in the freezer till you are ready to use it.
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl and with a pastry cutter (or as my grandmother did it, use two everyday knives) cut in your butter and Crisco till you get evenly distributed small pieces throughout. Using a fork, sprinkle in a bit of water at a time (I use a Tablespoon or 2 at a time), mixing after each addition, until the dough holds together enough for you to get it into a ball shape and then flatten into a disk. Wrap with cling wrap and put in the fridge for at least ½ hour to chill thoroughly.
You can do this in a food processor too – dry ingredients (5 pulses), add butter and Crisco (3-4 pulses)...then add a bit of the water, pulse a couple times and repeat till the dough holds together and can be prepared as above.
This recipe makes one crust...if you want a top crust or extra to do a lattice top then just double or do two separate batches.
Flour your prep surface and grab your dough and a rolling pin. Roll out the dough in a circular shape rotating the dough as you go. Once at about 1/4 inch thickness and a bit larger than your pie pan you are ready to go. Transfer to the pan and pinch the edges to give it a fluted appearance.
Pie INGREDIENTS:
4 cups blueberries
6 Tablespoons of Cornstarch (not heaping)
2/3 Cup Sugar
2 ½ Tablespoons of water
2 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
¼ Teaspoon of Cinnamon
HOW TO:
Put your crust in your pie pan.
Add berries.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk...add the liquids and mix thoroughly.
Pour this mixture all over the top of the berries – DO NOT STIR INTO THE BERRIES
At this point you top with a second full crust, do a lattice crust, or put a crumble topping (which I think is the best option). Easy to do – mix ¼ Cup of sugar, ½ Cup of flour, a dash of Kosher salt and 1 Teaspoon cinnamon together. Using a fork cut in ¼ Cup of butter (1 stick) until crumbly and spread evenly over the top of the berries.
Bake this pie at 375 degrees for 1 hour – if you do not see the mixture bubbling you may need to go an extra 10 to 15 minutes to make sure the cornstarch gets activated to thicken your pie mixture. Also, take a peek about halfway through the baking because if you think the crust is golden enough then take a couple strips of aluminum foil and just cover the edges of the pie, it will keep it from getting over baked.
When done, let this pie cool completely on top of your stove or on a rack to allow good air flow all around the dish. I like to put mine in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before I serve it. The pie is just wonderful all on its own, but if you must dress it up...use fresh whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream.
ENJOY!!
Stoneybrook Farm Market Basket Week 6
As you can see from the pic the lettuce and cukes are still coming in strong. Beets, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and Cantaloupe, fresh dill are also part of the veggie party in a box week 6 from Stoneybrook Farm. So, what's the newcomer to the party?? Potatoes, new baby white and red potatoes and they are so cute I could just eat 'em up...wait, that's exactly what I WILL do with them! As a matter of fact, our Wednesday nighs have turned into a veg-fest lately....take an assortment of the hearty vegetables from the market basket: add a chopped onion, some olive or peanut oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 30-45 minutes and serve with a salad or couscous and some fresh fruit and voila, dinner is on!!
One of the nicest things about enduring all this mid summer heat is the berries it produces for us to enjoy. Blackberries, Raspberries, and my favorite blueberries are busting with juicy goodness for a great snack, jam/jelly making and yes, pies! This week we had an abundance of blueberries so what better for one of our family dinner desserts than a fresh pie? I've tried lots of recipes and some are too sweet, the filling is too runny or it just doesn't call for enough fruit to make it a nice thick slice of pie when its done. I'll share one that proves over and over to turn out a perfect blueberry pie. You can use it for just about any berry you like, so blackberry may be in our future very soon!!
Easy as pie: Blueberry Pie
As with most pies, it really is all about the crust. While the preparation of pie crust can be intimidating, it shouldn't be! Try this recipe for a regular flour dough crust, but you can always purchase the prepared ones in your refrigerator section...and by all means, do not feel guilty! The other option is to use a graham cracker crust...it works great for berry pies and really is a nice change.
Crust INGREDIENTS:
6 Tablespoons Butter (frozen)
2 Tablespoons Crisco (frozen)
1 Cup flour
½ Teaspoon salt (I always use Kosher)
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ cup ice water
HOW TO:
Measure out your butter and Crisco ahead, then keep in the freezer till you are ready to use it.
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl and with a pastry cutter (or as my grandmother did it, use two everyday knives) cut in your butter and Crisco till you get evenly distributed small pieces throughout. Using a fork, sprinkle in a bit of water at a time (I use a Tablespoon or 2 at a time), mixing after each addition, until the dough holds together enough for you to get it into a ball shape and then flatten into a disk. Wrap with cling wrap and put in the fridge for at least ½ hour to chill thoroughly.
You can do this in a food processor too – dry ingredients (5 pulses), add butter and Crisco (3-4 pulses)...then add a bit of the water, pulse a couple times and repeat till the dough holds together and can be prepared as above.
This recipe makes one crust...if you want a top crust or extra to do a lattice top then just double or do two separate batches.
Flour your prep surface and grab your dough and a rolling pin. Roll out the dough in a circular shape rotating the dough as you go. Once at about 1/4 inch thickness and a bit larger than your pie pan you are ready to go. Transfer to the pan and pinch the edges to give it a fluted appearance.
Pie INGREDIENTS:
4 cups blueberries
6 Tablespoons of Cornstarch (not heaping)
2/3 Cup Sugar
2 ½ Tablespoons of water
2 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
¼ Teaspoon of Cinnamon
HOW TO:
Put your crust in your pie pan.
Add berries.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk...add the liquids and mix thoroughly.
Pour this mixture all over the top of the berries – DO NOT STIR INTO THE BERRIES
At this point you top with a second full crust, do a lattice crust, or put a crumble topping (which I think is the best option). Easy to do – mix ¼ Cup of sugar, ½ Cup of flour, a dash of Kosher salt and 1 Teaspoon cinnamon together. Using a fork cut in ¼ Cup of butter (1 stick) until crumbly and spread evenly over the top of the berries.
Bake this pie at 375 degrees for 1 hour – if you do not see the mixture bubbling you may need to go an extra 10 to 15 minutes to make sure the cornstarch gets activated to thicken your pie mixture. Also, take a peek about halfway through the baking because if you think the crust is golden enough then take a couple strips of aluminum foil and just cover the edges of the pie, it will keep it from getting over baked.
When done, let this pie cool completely on top of your stove or on a rack to allow good air flow all around the dish. I like to put mine in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before I serve it. The pie is just wonderful all on its own, but if you must dress it up...use fresh whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream.
ENJOY!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Cukes – Hot and Cold!
How glorious to have the rain we have seen in the past couple of days! We plant a small garden each year because it is a real thrill to walk into our backyard and harvest veggies and herbs as our own mini “farm to table” experience. The much needed water out here in the 20141 has made our tomato plants jump into hyper-drive as there are globes of all sizes popping out all over our plants. We did have a little scare as one of the storms that rumbled through with its sideways rain just flattened out our squash plants – I am happy to report they recovered :-)
I can't believe it is Week 5 Market Basket time from Stoneybrook Farm already!! This week's bounty included cukes, tomatoes, basil, baby carrots, beets, red leaf lettuce, swiss chard and yellow squash. I hope you check out the pic of each week's blog post to see what a lovely bouquet this produce provides!
When I was growing up my Grandparents had a garden that was huge. I mean it was at least a third of their property, and in Herndon (way back when) that was not unusual! They grew everything, and I had the honor to help with planting to weeding to harvesting. During the summer and a little into the fall, we had fresh produce with almost every meal. We canned and froze some for use during the winter and even put up our own jellies. Since becoming a member of the CSA at Stoneybrook and getting to speak with the folks there – it brings me back to the precious memories of the passion surrounding food in general.
Let's focus on the cukes this week as they are the most plentiful at this time of the season:
We all know they are a great accompaniment to any garden salad but did you know you can also eat them hot? YEP, and they are goooood. It is a pretty simple process as you'll see below and you can switch up how you season based on your own particular taste in herbs.
Sautéed Cucumbers
Ingredients:
4 Large cucumbers peeled split in half lengthwise and seeds removed
2 Tablespoons butter
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg (use pre-ground if you don't have fresh)
2 Teaspoons fresh herbs (your choice, recommendations: mint, tarragon, flat leaf parsley ,oregano or thyme)
How to:
Once you have prepared the cukes per above instructions, cut each half into 3 equal pieces. Drop the cuke pieces into boiling salted water for about 2 min and drain immediately.
While cukes are boiling begin to melt butter in a large saute pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add cukes and toss in pan for about 3-4 minutes to insure they are tender. Remove from heat toss in the seasonings and the herb you choose and serve immediately. This is a very simple side dish, and most people don't think to “cook” cukes! Great choice for fish or chicken dinner!!
I mentioned my Grandparents earlier and one of the items on the dinner table during the summer months were what my Grandmother called “Supper Pickles”...I have heard others call this simple application “Icebox Pickles” (even though most of my reading public won't know exactly what an icebox is!! No, its not a cooler.)
Supper Pickles
Ingredients:
How ever many cukes you want to use (typically I do 5 or 6 at a time)
½ to ¾ cup Cider vinegar
½ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Sugar
How to:
Slice all the cukes (pickle size) and put them in a large container with a sealable lid or a ziplock bag
Pour in Cider Vinegar and add salt, pepper and sugar. Close up the container and shake vigorously to melt the sugar/salt and coat all the cukes
Put in the refrigerator and chill till ready to serve. These will keep for several days!
The only change I make to this recipe is to add a thinly sliced red or vidalia onion to the mix.
Enjoy!
I can't believe it is Week 5 Market Basket time from Stoneybrook Farm already!! This week's bounty included cukes, tomatoes, basil, baby carrots, beets, red leaf lettuce, swiss chard and yellow squash. I hope you check out the pic of each week's blog post to see what a lovely bouquet this produce provides!
When I was growing up my Grandparents had a garden that was huge. I mean it was at least a third of their property, and in Herndon (way back when) that was not unusual! They grew everything, and I had the honor to help with planting to weeding to harvesting. During the summer and a little into the fall, we had fresh produce with almost every meal. We canned and froze some for use during the winter and even put up our own jellies. Since becoming a member of the CSA at Stoneybrook and getting to speak with the folks there – it brings me back to the precious memories of the passion surrounding food in general.
Let's focus on the cukes this week as they are the most plentiful at this time of the season:
We all know they are a great accompaniment to any garden salad but did you know you can also eat them hot? YEP, and they are goooood. It is a pretty simple process as you'll see below and you can switch up how you season based on your own particular taste in herbs.
Sautéed Cucumbers
Ingredients:
4 Large cucumbers peeled split in half lengthwise and seeds removed
2 Tablespoons butter
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg (use pre-ground if you don't have fresh)
2 Teaspoons fresh herbs (your choice, recommendations: mint, tarragon, flat leaf parsley ,oregano or thyme)
How to:
Once you have prepared the cukes per above instructions, cut each half into 3 equal pieces. Drop the cuke pieces into boiling salted water for about 2 min and drain immediately.
While cukes are boiling begin to melt butter in a large saute pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add cukes and toss in pan for about 3-4 minutes to insure they are tender. Remove from heat toss in the seasonings and the herb you choose and serve immediately. This is a very simple side dish, and most people don't think to “cook” cukes! Great choice for fish or chicken dinner!!
I mentioned my Grandparents earlier and one of the items on the dinner table during the summer months were what my Grandmother called “Supper Pickles”...I have heard others call this simple application “Icebox Pickles” (even though most of my reading public won't know exactly what an icebox is!! No, its not a cooler.)
Supper Pickles
Ingredients:
How ever many cukes you want to use (typically I do 5 or 6 at a time)
½ to ¾ cup Cider vinegar
½ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Sugar
How to:
Slice all the cukes (pickle size) and put them in a large container with a sealable lid or a ziplock bag
Pour in Cider Vinegar and add salt, pepper and sugar. Close up the container and shake vigorously to melt the sugar/salt and coat all the cukes
Put in the refrigerator and chill till ready to serve. These will keep for several days!
The only change I make to this recipe is to add a thinly sliced red or vidalia onion to the mix.
Enjoy!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Gazpacho gives cooking the cold shoulder!
The cukes and squash are plentiful and here come the 'maters! It is amazingly hot, unusually so for this time of year in the 20141, which can make mealtime a chore. I mean who really wants to grill, bake or broil....even when you LOVE to cook! Immediately we begin thinking of the cooler side of the culinary arts. Let's talk soups, yes I said soup, Summertime soup – the collaboration of fruits and vegetables offered up cool and ever so yummy and refreshing bowl of goodness!!
There are plenty of choices from strawberry to beet to cantaloupe to one of our favorites – Gazpacho!! In our market baskets from Stoneybrook Farm CSA we had all the right ingredients, and then some. This past weekend marked our 5th anniversary and we threw a little party with live music in our backyard and had a blast. Thankfully Mother Nature bestowed a beautiful day for us on Saturday - low temps, no humidity and an ever so wonderful breeze which made our special event even better. In deciding what to feed the musicians we thought, why not serve soup? Soon a batch of Gazpacho was ready to go, and since it disappeared in between sets it must have been a-ok.
Here is our recipe along with some options for how you can use this cool summer treat.
Bill's Gosh Darn Good Gazpacho
2 Cucumbers
1 Green Pepper
1 Jalapeno
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow Onion
1 Teaspoon each – fresh chopped – Parsley, Thyme, Basil and Cilantro
Put each of the above ingredients through the meat grinder attachment of your KitchenAid Mixer. If you do not have one, pulse each ingredient in a food processor just till minced. Mix them altogether in a bowl.
24 oz. V-8 Juice
Juice of 2 limes
¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chill overnight to let all the flavors meld together.....serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Options:
Add squash to the mix
Serve a good helping over a block of room temperature cream cheese with crackers for a different appetizer/party munchie
Use as spaghetti sauce – especially good in a vegetarian lasagna
Thin down with Bloody Mary mix, add vodka, lime wedge and a stalk of celery and rim the glass with a bit of Old Bay Seasoning - YUMM
Cheers!!
There are plenty of choices from strawberry to beet to cantaloupe to one of our favorites – Gazpacho!! In our market baskets from Stoneybrook Farm CSA we had all the right ingredients, and then some. This past weekend marked our 5th anniversary and we threw a little party with live music in our backyard and had a blast. Thankfully Mother Nature bestowed a beautiful day for us on Saturday - low temps, no humidity and an ever so wonderful breeze which made our special event even better. In deciding what to feed the musicians we thought, why not serve soup? Soon a batch of Gazpacho was ready to go, and since it disappeared in between sets it must have been a-ok.
Here is our recipe along with some options for how you can use this cool summer treat.
Bill's Gosh Darn Good Gazpacho
2 Cucumbers
1 Green Pepper
1 Jalapeno
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow Onion
1 Teaspoon each – fresh chopped – Parsley, Thyme, Basil and Cilantro
Put each of the above ingredients through the meat grinder attachment of your KitchenAid Mixer. If you do not have one, pulse each ingredient in a food processor just till minced. Mix them altogether in a bowl.
24 oz. V-8 Juice
Juice of 2 limes
¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chill overnight to let all the flavors meld together.....serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Options:
Add squash to the mix
Serve a good helping over a block of room temperature cream cheese with crackers for a different appetizer/party munchie
Use as spaghetti sauce – especially good in a vegetarian lasagna
Thin down with Bloody Mary mix, add vodka, lime wedge and a stalk of celery and rim the glass with a bit of Old Bay Seasoning - YUMM
Cheers!!
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