Mint Ice Cream

Okay, I have the official report back from the fresh mint ice cream.

Yum!!!

It was really really good. And not green at all. Imagine that! :)


It ended up with a really nice subtle real mint taste.


Brenna didn't care for the amount of mint that was in it, but Gavin loved it. Here he is eating both his bowl and her bowl.


Fresh Mint Ice Cream
- makes about 1 quart (1 liter) -

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

Pinch of salt

2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves

5 large egg yolks

chocolate chips; optional(I used 1/2 cup, but next time I would use more. Maybe 3/4 of a cup? and honestly something not quite as bulky as chocolate chips would be better...like chocolate shavings...)


1. Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they're immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.

3. Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

5. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the chocolate chips per manufacturer's instructions.

CSA, 5/26

GREEN! That is what our CSA share looked like this week. We got buttercrunch lettuce, rainbow chard, scallions, broccoli and mint.


I was intrigued with the mint and it really got my creative juices flowing. I am not a tea drinker and wasn't really interested in cooking lamb. So after some searching, I decided upon ice cream! How can you go wrong?? So I making some fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream as we speak. I will report back on the progress! After cooking it down it had a lovely subtle mint flavor so I think it will be good.



I looked up some recipes for the chard but decided to just incorporate with the buttercrunch for my salads this week. The broccoli I will just serve with dinner some night.

The scallions were a bit of a stumper too. If you know anything about me, you know that I detest onions with a white hot passion. So I probably will not use the white parts of the scallion, unless I throw them in a stir fry or something where I can cook them down. I decided to make some cheddar garlic biscuits and incoporate the green part of the scallions. So I will be doing that sometime this week.

CSA!

Our CSA started up again last week! It is great to have wonderful produce in the house again.



This week we got red sail lettuce, rhubarb and a whole chicken.


I made this rhubarb bread pudding from a cookbook that I had gotten for my 30th birthday from my good friends Loretta and Audry.



It was delish!



And topped with a little fresh whipped cream. Seriously, do you know how much better fresh whipped cream is than cool whip? And it is not hard to make at all.


Rhubarb bread pudding

8 slices of toasted bread (I used whole wheat)
2 cups milk
2 tb butter
3/4 cup honey (I didn't have honey, so I used 1 cup sugar. If you use sugar instead of honey, you need a little bit more than how much honey the recipe calls for)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups diced rhubarb
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Topping

2tb brown sugar
2tb instant oatmeal
1/4tsp cinnamon
1/8tsp nutmeg

Cut toast into cubes. Place in a medium sized bowl. Heat up milk (do not boil). Take off heat once it is hot and add butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir. Pour milk mixture over bread and allow to sit for 15 min. Preheat oven to 325. Add eggs, rhubarb, cinnamon, and salt to bread mixture and stir carefully until well blended. Pour into greased 2 qt casserole. Mix topping ingrediants and sprinkle evenly over top. Bake, uncovered for 45-50 min or until firm.

Our farm!!

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/feb/02/organic_and_local/ (cut and paste)

Article in the Emporia Gazette about our CSA. We can not WAIT to get fresh produce again! Really missing it.

Pear Bread

I had several pears from the farm to use up, so I did some searching for recipes. I found a great recipe for pear bread.

It turned out very good and the kids loved it. Very much like a zucchini bread, dense and moist.


The kids seriously went crazy over it. The recipe made two loaves so I froze one. We ended up thawing it and eating it the next week!

Here is my little ballerina enjoying her favorite thing that week!


Pear Bread

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups peeled, cored and finely chopped pears
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts (I didn't add)


DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; stir into the egg mixture just until moistened. Toss pears with lemon juice. Stir pears and walnuts into batter (batter will be thick). Spoon into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Nov 18, CSA

Our last CSA pick up for the year!! I am really going to miss our weekly pick ups. It has been a wonderful blessing to take part in the CSA this year. I could go on and on about the benefits and how much it has helped our family this year! I encourage each of you to look into your local CSAs or farmer's markets. The difference in quality for us this year has been *amazing*. When you see what produce is supposed to look like, it is almost shocking to see produce in the store. It looks so puny!

For our last pick up, we got sweet potatoes, pears and......we will play, "Guess that vegetable" for the one on the left!!


We also ordered a turkey which we will be getting soon. Check out this link to see a national publication that talked about "our" farm! (cut and paste)

http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/leafy-greens/my-sustainable-Thanksgiving-turkey.aspx?blogid=3180


I also orderd Peach jam from one of the farms apprentinces and it is very good as well.

I will be looking forward to next year!!

Pick your own Green Beans

Farmer John sent out an email this last week to his shareholders and told us that they had an over abundance of green beans and were offering to let shareholders and their friends and family come out and either buy some picked green beans or pick your own. It sounded like a fun thing to do with the kids!

I was talking to Brenna on Friday and I said, "Farmer John emailed me and said they have too many green beans and they need help to pick them!" Brenna got really excited and said, "oh mama, Gavin and I could help him pick green beans!" It was really sweet!

We went out Saturday afternoon. It was a lovely day, but very windy!

Farmer John told us that we could nibble while we worked. I don't think Gavin or Brenna had ever eaten fresh green beans. So I was curious as to what they would think.

Gavin LOVED the green beans!

Brenna taking a bite....

I will just say, Brenna was NOT a fan of the fresh green bean! That did not deter her from green bean picking!



Gavin eating green beans.

Our bucket for picking...


Gavin picking green beans. John took the kids down the row and showed them how to look for the green beans, how to know when they are ready and how to pick them. The kids did a great job!


Gavin eating a green bean...


Brenna picking


Gavin eating


There were LOTS of green beans!


Do you see the trend here?






Brenna with our bucket of green beans. Yes, she wore a fancy dress and pink boots!




Farmer John and the kids weighing the green beans. We got about 1.5 lbs of green beans. John suggested that I could freeze the green beanss which I hadn't thought of. He said to blanch them first.


There was a large container full of pawpaws! John let us take a couple more.



Seeing the pawpaws reminded Gavin that he wanted to talk to Farmer John about how he could learn to grow some. When we read about pawpaws, we learned that they usually grow close to creeks. We have a creek and two ponds close to us, so Gavin thought he might be able to grow some. Farmer John and Gavin had a conversation about how they grow and what Gavin might need to do to plant some.


Brenna loved the two cats. And they loved her! She was giving them lots of attention. They were very nice cats and even let her attempt to pick them up later!


Before we left, Farmer John took Gavin over to the purple green bean patch and let him pick some of those.


The green beans that we picked are so nice looking and I can't wait to eat some! They are leaps and bounds nicer than any store green beans. And it was so great for the kids to get to take part in something like this. Actually see where green beans come from!

And of course, Gavin has a new favorite food! I ended up paying John more than what we owed because as I told him, "I think Gavin ate his weight in green beans out there!" Gavin gets to take a snack to school and he has decided that these would be the perfect school snack.

And the answer is....

Pawpaw! We recieved two in our share last week. They name is vaguely familiar to me, but I had never seen one before. They have an interesting taste. Like a mix between a mango and a banana. They are indigenous to the prairie regions of the US, as I understand it.

Name this fruit

10 bonus points if you can name this fruit! And no cheating from any CSA members!!! You can not answer!



Post your guess in the comments section! Or shoot me an email.

CSA, 9/23

In this week's share we got apples, peppers, cucumber and green beans. For some reason, I also put the zucchini in this picture, but I didn't get those from the CSA!

I have apples coming out of my ears. I have a apple dumpling recipe that I want to try and we are eating apples at every meal I think! We love apples though, so having too many is a good thing. Any one have suggestions for how to use up a bunch of apples? maybe I could make some applesauce this weekend?

CSA, 9/16

Last Saturday, I had arranged with Farmer John for an "end of summer" tour of the farm. We hadn't been out for awhile and with the kids starting fall activities, I knew it was going to be darn near impossible to get out there much again. Zack has not yet been out and he was excited about seeing it all.

Well, the rain came and came and came last week, so roads were flooded out and there was just no way to get out there. So hopefully sometime soon we can try again!

In our share this week we got lots of apples (yay!), tomatoes (double yay!), and cucumbers. I used some of the tomatoes in the black bean salad I made tonight. I bought some fresh mozzerella tonight at the store and want to make a nice pizza sometime with those good tomatoes! Also finding recipes for "capresa salads" which look to die for!!

CSA, 8/19

Here is our share from this week. Farmer John reports that we have passed the peak of the season, so our shares will be getting smaller as the weeks progress. I split a half share, so what is pictured is always actually a 1/4 of a share.



Because mom and I were just trying this out this year, we decided to go small. I wanted to make sure I was going to utilize the food and not let it go to waste. I can honestly say that I have used nearly all the produce. It has been a huge benefit to our family!

My mother in law and I are sharing a Winter Share that is coming up in a couple of months, and I made the jump to sharing a full share. I don't have any doubt that I will utilize what we get and Bev enjoys fresh produce a lot too, and I know she won't have any problems. The Winter share program is new for Farmer John as well, so it will be interesting to see how it all works out.

The kids and I haven't been out to the farm lately as I have had tennis lessons on Tuesday evenings that have made farm pick ups difficult. But tonight was our last night so I am looking forward to getting back out there before our summer share ends.

Tomatoes!!!

I don't trust people who don't like tomatoes. Now, I am not talking about soft, tasteless, pale, store tomatoes. Those should not even be blessed with the name tomatoes. I am talking about juicy, colorful, hearty, fresh tomatoes. Like these from our CSA...


And one of my favorite things to do with good tomatoes is BLTs. We got some Texas toast, lettuce and bacon. Also had some nice fresh sweet peaches. This is what you call a summer dinner.


Gavin was a little unsure of trying a BLT and then swiftly devoured not one, but two BLTs. He decided that the name should be changed to EGS. Extremely Good Sandwich!

CSA dinner

Last week, I made this yummy dinner with some of our CSA produce. First off, I grilled some corn.


Here is one of our special "surprise" ears of corn! The kids loved that!


And here is my famous potato salad. Well, I think it is famous anyway! I get lots of requests for it, let's put it that way. I used potatoes from the CSA. Now, let me just say, if you are a potato salad purist, you may not like this recipe. It is not your standard potato salad. And if you are on a health food kick, this is not the recipe for you either. It may not be good for you, but it tastes darn good!


Heather's Frequently Requested Potato Salad

2 lbs red potatoes
8 oz ranch dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar
2.8 oz bacon bits or pieces
pepper
salt
garlic powder

Place potatoes in pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30ish minutes or until tender. Drain them and let sit for about 10 min. (I just do this so they aren't so hot!) Quarter (or cube) and put in a large bowl. Add dressing, cheese, bacon bits, and seasoning. You can eat it warm or cold. Either way is good!

I also grilled some peaches and then put vanilla ice cream over them. Very very good. To grill them, I cut them in half and then first brushed them with vegetable oil and then put them cut side down directly on the heat for 4ish minutes. Then I moved them to the top rack of the grill cut side up for 10 minutes.

Tex Mex Pasta

This is a recipe that I have made for years and that we really enjoy. When I say "we", I mean my husband and myself. My kids, including the boy who would eat practically anything and will name raw ahi tuna as one of his favorite appetizers, do not like it at all. But part of the pleasure of being a parent is teaching kids that when you are served something you don't like, you sit polietly at the table and at least enjoy the conversation!

One of my goals with the produce from the CSA this summer is to find kid-friendly recipes that are also healthy. And I have managed to find some great recipes and my kids have eaten all kinds of delicious fresh produce all summer. But it is also important to remember that we do NOT have to only prepare foods that we think they will like. I think there are great lessons in fixing foods that are out of the comfort levels of kids. The fact of the matter is that there are going to be many times in our life when we are presented with food that we don't care for. Kids need to learn how to deal with that. Also, dinner is more than just eating. It is spending time together, catching up and bonding. None of that goes away just because the kids don't want to eat.

We don't have a one bite rule. Our only rule is to sit polietly and remain at the table until everyone is done. Of course there are no sweets if a good amount of dinner is not eaten.

I decided to make Tex Mex pasta this week to utilize the "bounty" we recieved on Tuesday. I altered the recipe to use more of the produce. I used the green bell pepper, a big jim pepper, zucchini, onion and sweet pepper!!

It was hard to get a good picture, because it kind of looks like a jumbled mess! But it really is good.


Brenna enjoying her apple from the farm and not even considering eating what is on the rest of her plate.


I served the pasta with some fresh heirloom tomatoes as well. Look at these? Are they not beautiful? The larger one is called a Caspian Pink and they really were very pink inside! And a yellow one too, but I can't remember what that one was called. I used some olive oil, balsalmic vinegar and blue cheese on top. A trick I learned from my mother in law! So so good.


Here is Gavin enjoying a tomato. He loves tomatoes.




Tex Mex Pasta

8 oz penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 lb bulk turkey sausage (I used pork)
1 med red bell pepper, chopped (used a green bell pepper that we got in the CSA, plus one Big Jim pepper that we had gotten)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups frozen corn, (I grilled three ears of corn and then cut off the kernels)
1 cup salsa
14.5 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 tsp oregano (didn't use)
1.5 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Cook pasta as directed. Cook sausage almost done in an electric skillet. Drain. Add peppers, zucchini, onion to skillet and cook until veggies soft and pork cooked through. Add corn, salsa, tomatoes and oregano. Heat to boiling. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and let cool just a bit. Add cheese and cilanto. (I like to let it cool just a bit so that it stays a bit cheesy. If it is too hot, the cheese just kind of reduces in to it)

Blueberries

I realized tonight that I had forgotten to post the pictures of recipes of the blueberry muffins we had made after we got our fresh blueberries from the CSA.


Here is my sous chef.....



And the finished product.



Here is the recipe. They are called, "To Die for Blueberry Muffins". I would not say they are to die for, but they are pretty good. :)

Pretty Darn Good Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. (you will have quite a bit leftover)

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. (I had to cook mine more like 30-35 min)

Bounty! CSA, August 5th

This is what you call a bounty! This week from the CSA we got 1 apple, 1 dozen sweet corn, 4lbs kennebec potatoes, 2 bell pepers, 1 big jim pepper, 1.25lbs heirloom tomatoes, 2 slicing cucumbers, 2 minature white cukes, 1 lb okra and 2 large onions! Wow!

I am starting to do some menu planning tonight and hope to get to the store tomorrow evening. I have a lot of options for meals!

Shredded Beef Tacos

Yum! Last week, as part of our CSA share, we recieved two onions. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I detest raw onion and wouldn't eat one if it were the last food on the planet. But, I don't mind cooked onion. So I decided to make a roast and use the onions to flavor it. When I make a roast, I just cut most the fat off, pour a bottle of beer on it, and put it in the crockpot on low all day. We intended to eat the roast on Friday, but we had friends that invited us over, so we threw it in the fridge. I had planned on roast and potatoes tonight, but then decided to make it into BBQ beef sandwhiches. Then yet again changed my mind and decided to make it in to shredded beef tacos.

You really can not ask for an easier dinner and it is so good. I just shredded it up with some of the onion and put a few tb of taco sauce in the meat just to add a little flavoring. Then we put a bit of meat on some hot grilled corn tortillas and then added the fixin's. I also used some fresh avocado to make guacamole. I just mashed it up with a fork and added enough salsa just to moisten it up. It was really really good.


I used a recipe one time for shredded beef tacos that had me add a bunch of different seasonings and so forth to the roast to make it more "southwest" I guess. It was very good, but I went to an eight of the trouble this time and I thought they were just as good!



Shredded Beef Tacos

1 good roast
1 bottle of beer (or just use 2 cupish of beef broth)
1 onion quartered

Trim roast and cook on low all day in a crockpot. Pour out juices and shred meat and onion. Serve with hot corn tortillas and taco fixings.

Blueberries!!!

I got 3lbs of fresh blueberries from the farm this week. They had gone to a blueberry farm and took orders from their shareholders and non-shareholders for orders.

There is a very noticable difference between the taste of these fresh blueberries compared to blueberries from the store. The kids have been nibbling on them all week. Today I made a double batch of blueberry pancakes. The intent is to have some to freeze. But I am not sure we are going to have many left of freeze!

Freezing pancakes is a great way to have fast easy breakfasts. You just take them out, microwave them for 30 sec or so and you have nice hot pancakes in a flash! I also do the same thing with french toast (prepare a whole loaf of bread and after they have cooled, just put them right back in the bread bag for easy storage!) and muffins.

Look at those nice plump blueberries!




I have also put blueberries in my oatmeal. Yum!