Saturday Supper

With The Imaginary Farmer's fresh elm oyster mushrooms and Drover Hill garlic bologna from my Poolville Winter Farmers Market visit and a few CNY Bounty fridge and pantry finds, I put together a simple Saturday dinner.

Grilled medallions of garlic bologna (Drover Hill)
Warm sauerkraut and carrot slaw (Mac Donald Farm and Stick and Stone Farm)
Cream of elm oyster mushroom soup (The Imaginary Farmer, Queensboro Farm, Gianforte Farm)
Warm glazed apples in maple cornbread crumb crust (Split Rail Apples, Red Jacket Orchard, SVCS FFA, Gianforte Farm)

Super simple Saturday supper - really.

Poolville Bounty

I missed the CNY Bounty order deadline last week so I decided to take a roadtrip over to the Poolville Winter Farmers Market. First, I was surprised to see so many people there. I had to walk a quarter mile from my car to the community center where the market is held. But hey, I need the exercise and the visit was well worth the walk.

My shopping haul:
1/2 pound Elm Oyster Mushrooms from The Imaginary Farmer
1 pound Old Granddad sharp cheddar from Jewitt's Cheese
1 quart Strawberry yogurt from Evan's Creamery

I talked with friends from Maple Avenue Farm, Jewitts, Quarry Brook Farm, and Drover Hill Farm who were all selling their tasty products which are staples of our Bounty diet. Also ran into the folks from Empire Brewing Company who were there shopping for today's slow food brunch. We had a nice chat about the beer that they are making with our hops. (Dave - my vote goes to "EMPIRE GOLD").

In case you are wondering, here is the menu for their slow food brunch posted on Facebook.

Empire Brewing Company ...today's 'Slow Food' sunday brunch specials: FREE RANGE OMELET- w/ Amish eggs, 10 yr aged cheddar, Elm oyster mushroom & spring chive w/ breakfast potato & organic rosemary bread... BELTED GALWAY BURGER - Meadowwood Farms prime beef burger topped w/ sundried tomato & basil cheddar... OYSTER MUSHROOM FAJITA - local... two-tone Elm mushrooms w/ spring thyme, onion, pepper, nys cheddar-jack & a moca heti

I also met the very nice folks from Poolville Country Store and Gianforte Farms flour milling. I hope to produce a new Foothill Farms product with Gianforte grains. More to come.

On a non-food note, I talked at length with Heather from Dream Weaver Creations in Earlville. She is going to process our alpaca fiber this spring for us. I was so excited to find a local fiber mill.

Drover Hill didn't have bologna with them at the market, so since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by their B&B and spent a few minutes with my friend Stephanie. Picked up two large chunks of bologna - one plain and one garlic. Got a couple warm chocolate chip cookies as a bonus. So much for the calories burned in the walk to and from the car.

Check out Saturday supper and Sunday dinner to see what I made with my purchases.

Mega 'shroom

I just had to post this picture of the Elm Oyster Mushroom I got throught CNY Bounty from The Imaginary Farmer. It was used in three meals!

Fridge Find Fiesta Frittata

Say that three times fast!
Fridge find fiesta frittata. Fridge frind fiesta fittata. Fidge frind fitetta friesta.... Fefifofum.

After spending much of yesterday in the kitchen, I was ready for something quick for dinner tonight. Our standard meal when I don't feel like cooking is eggs. Scrounging in the fridge, I pulled out several containers with a little bit of this and a little bit of that and before I knew it, I had dinner.

The main dish was a frittata made with eggs from our Bantam hens, diced ham and potatoes left from Easter dinner, a bit of Mizrahi Manor (M.M.) chopped onion, and some shaved Jewitt's cheddar. I spiced it up with a hearty sprinkling of Juanita's Soul Classic Rub. Juanita is not a Bounty producer, but she is local, from Frankfort, NY, and produces her BBQ sauce and spice rub at Nelson Farms. For a condiment, a little more spice courtesy of Primo and Mary's Medium Style Black Bean and Corn Salsa.

The side dish was a mix of greens from Fingerlakes Fresh, some MacDonald Farms sauerkraut (Who needs vinegar?), a bit of local garlic, and some more chopped M.M. onion sauteed in Queensboro Farms butter.

For beverage, we finished off the half-gallon of Red Jacket Orchards Apple Cider.

It was quick and easy to prepare and even better, the refrigerator is cleaned out, ready for our next Bounty order to arrive.

Happy Easter Bounty Carrot Cake

Isn't this pretty?

What a glorious Easter day. Our three daughters and four grandchildren were here for a ham and potato dinner served with Bounty carrots, Bounty bread, Bounty butter, Bounty cheese, Bounty juice, Bounty milk and a scrumptious Bounty Carrot Cake for dessert. Carrots and more carrots? Well, the Easter bunny left so many, I just had to use them.

I went to my Taste of Home's Holiday Get-Togethers cookbook for a carrot cake recipe. After reading it through - twice (I didn't want to make that mozzarella mistake again!), I twisted the recipe several ways and came up with my Bounty Carrot Cake. I'm going to publish both recipes here so you can see where the ideas came from.

Taste of Home's Carrot Cake (page 246)

3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple (undrained)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flaked coconut

13"x9"x2" baking pan, 350 for 50-55 minutes.

Kate's CNY Bounty Carrot Cake

6 Bantam eggs (from our hens)
3/4 cup melted butter (Queensboro Farms)
3/4 cup double maple yogurt (Evan's Creamery)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons maple syrup (SVCS FFA)
2 1/2 cups buttermilk pancake mix (New Hope Mills)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 large finely chopped Crispin apple (Split Rail Apple Farm)
2 cups grated carrots (Stick n Stone Farm)
2 cups cranberry cashew granola (Upstate Harvest)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
Approximately 1/2 cup milk (Queensboro Farms)

Cream the eggs, butter, yogurt, sugar and maple syrup. Stir in the pancake mix and cinnamon. Add the apples and carrots. Stir in the granola and just enough milk to consistency of quick bread. I baked it at 350 for about 70 minutes or till a knife came out clean in the center. (My pan was smaller and deeper than the recipe suggested.)

Notes

As I read the cookbook, I immediately thought of the yogurt as a substitute for the buttermilk. The maple flavor of the yogurt inspired the use of maple syrup instead of vanilla. I didn't have enough Gianforte Farms flour, so I decided to use pancake mix. That meant I could cut down on the sugar and omit the baking soda and salt. I increased the pancake mix to compensate for decreasing the sugar. It was still quite sweet. I chopped the apple, skin and all, in my food processor till it was the size of crushed pineapple. I didn't add liquid at this point because I thought the apples would add enough moisture. Carrots! All that was left was to find some fruit, some nuts, and something with texture as a substitute for the coconut. The granola fit all three requirements. I found a handful of dried cranberries in my cupboard and threw them in but they weren't necessary. As I prepared to pour it in the pan, the batter seemed a little stiff, so I added milk, just a little at a time until the consistency seemed right.

Everyone loved it. In fact Larry is eating a second piece with a glass of cold milk as I write this and I'm going to do the same as soon as I finish this sent.......ence. Sorry, I couldn't wait!

Making Mozzarella - Take Two

They say "The third time's the charm." I sure hope so because I haven't had much luck with take one or take two. I've wanted to try making mozzarella ever since I made the hop panir a couple of weeks ago. I purchased a 30 Minute Mozzarella and Ricotta kit online from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company for the task and on Monday night I tried making mozzarella for the first time. It seemed simple enough - dilute some citric acid, add it to milk. Warm the milk, add some rennet. Get curds! Make cheese.

Arrghhh. Somehow I screwed it up. I think I mixed up the citric acid and rennet solutions and added them in the wrong order. I'm not sure. All I do know is that I had a big sour mess to clean up and I'd wasted a whole gallon of precious milk.

Today I had the day off and thought I'd try it again with another gallon of Evan's unhomogenized whole milk. This time I'd be sure to distinquish the citric acid and the rennet. Back to the kitchen - dilute some citric acid, add it to milk, warm the milk, add the rennet, and Bravo - I got curd. I excitedly sliced it and then managed to screw up the process again. Why didn't I read the directions?!$$* I totally missed the part about reheating after cutting the curd and then "carefully ladeling" the curd to separate it from the whey. I just skipped ahead to the next step which said to "pour off the remaining whey". Well, I tried pouring off a whole gallon of whey and consequently broke the soft curds up into ricotta sized pieces that wouldn't bind together. I tried a whole host of things - heating the curds, trying to squeeze off more whey, adding salt to dry it out. Finally, after putting the whole mess back on the stove in a gallon of hot water for about 15 minutes, I was able to get something that I could knead. My thirty minute mozzarella turned into a two hour headache and all I got were two golf-ball sized chunks of tough cheese for my trouble. I sliced one for lunch. It didn't taste bad, but it sure was rubbery. The other chunk is in the refrigerator and I'll probably put it in a salad for tomorrow's lunch.

I'm not totally discouraged. I'll give it another try - because I truly believe "The third time's the charm." Besides, I've read those directions so many times now, I think I could do it by heart. Well, maybe not. Stay tuned for take three in the continuing saga of Making Mozzarella.

PS - The troubles here are due to my own ignorance and are not in any way related to the quality of the cheese kit or the milk, both of which are excellent.

Pretty Pasta Primavera and Pork Chops

I didn't have my camera handy Wednesday night, but I should have because this meal was absolutely beautiful.

We had been outside enjoying the spring weather. I hadn't even given dinner a thought. When I asked my husband what he'd like, he gave his usual reply "Whatever's easy". So, I went to the freezer and took a look. My eyes lit on a package of pork chops from Drover Hill Farms and the Rigatoni pasta from the Pasta Shoppe. I went to the other freezer for a quart of Marinara Sauce from the Pasta Shoppe. Then to the refrigerator for the remainder of the Oyster Mushrooms from The Imaginery Farmer (I love that name) and the Baby Pak Choi from Fingerlakes Fresh.

Just cut up the Pak Choi and the mushroom and placed it in the marinara sauce on the back burner while the pork chops fried in a touch of lard and the pasta cooked on the two front burners.

Served up the pasta, topped with the marinara primavera and then the pork chop. Delish! Larry finished off the leftovers for Thursday lunch - darn!