Spring Peas

Every year since I was tiny the first signs of spring was the harvesting and freezing of peas and my favorite thing was to eat those sweet little peas raw from the shell.

For us here in the deep South our first peas can be picked as early as the first week of May and here at the farm our peas are ready. As with all foods when they are in abundant supply it's time to think of fun new ways to eat them. One of my favorite peas recipes came from Gourmet several years ago Crostini with Roasted Garlic Pea Puree kind of like a fresh peas hummus this makes a great spring appetizer.

Ingredients
1 head garlic, unpeeled
¼ C olive oil
1 baguette, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 ½ C fresh peas OR a 10-ounce package frozen peas, cooked and drained
a large piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3Tb water

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut 1/2-inch off top of garlic head and put head on sheet of foil. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over garlic and wrap tightly in foil. Roast garlic in middle of oven until very soft, 30 to 40 minutes, and cool.
While garlic is cooling, arrange baguette slices in one layer on a large baking sheet and brush lightly on each side with additional oil. Bake slices in middle of oven until crisp and pale golden, 5 to 10 minutes, and transfer to rack.
Squeeze roasted garlic from head into a food processor add peas, cheese lemon juice and 1Tb olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Blend pea mixture until smooth adjusting consistency with water 1 TB at a time.
Spread toasts with about 1 heaping tablespoon pea purée on each toast and top with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Drizzle with remaining oil.
yield: Makes about 24 crostini

When buying peas choose fresh peas with crisp, smooth, glossy, bright green pods. Avoid any that are wilted, dried, puffy or blemished. For the sweetest flavor, try to purchase them from a farmers market. Plan on using fresh peas as soon as possible after purchase as their natural sugars will convert to starch soon after picking. Peas will stay fresh in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper for 3-4 days but don't expect them to keep their characteristic sweetness for more than a day.

Shell the peas just before cooking to prevent them from drying out. Working over a large bowl, squeeze the pod and press your thumb against the seam to split it open. Continuing the same movement, sweep your thumb down along the inside of the pod to pop out the peas.
To preserve the sweetness of your fresh peas blanch them in boiling water until they turn bright green about 1minute, remove from the hot water and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. At this point they are ready to use in your favorite recipe or put into zip lock bags to freeze for a bit of spring next winter.

Weekend Breakfast on the Farm

Spring has sprung here on the farm, the azaleas are blooming the trees are budding out and the air is a buzz with bees doing their business.

And what could make a beautiful spring more complete than a lazy breakfast on the porch. This morning we enjoyed fresh bagels with strawberry butter.

Home made bagels fresh from the oven, chewy on the outside with a tender interior, these may the best bagels you will ever eat!

Strawberry butter:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 C sweetened fresh strawberry puree

In bowl of a stand mixer whip the butter until light and increased in volume, slowly add the strawberry puree continuing to whip until fully incorporated. Add sugar and salt to taste. Whip until doubled in volume.

Enjoy on bagels, toast, pancakes or fresh bread.

Sweet Basil Pesto

With Summer in full swing here in Alabama the beautiful produce is starting to fill our markets. There is never a better time to eat Fresh and Healthy than in the summer so much goodness to choose from. My favorite thing to grow and eat is basil, it's just not quite summer until you have nice fresh basil. This weekend I harvested my basil and OH MY I had a ton! So when life give you basil you make pesto of course.



Pesto is a sauce that originates in the city of Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy (pesto alla genovese). The name comes from pestâ "to pound, to crush", from the Latin root pestle (traditionally made with mortar and pestle), in reference to the crushed herbs and garlic in the sauce. Pesto is traditionally used on pasta but I love to use it on everything from pizza to sandwiches.

Sweet Basil Pesto
servings: Makes about 1 1/3 cups.

Ingredients

3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts - i used almonds because I had them on hand
2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated (2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

• With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop.


• Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil, then process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.
  

Pesto keeps, its surface covered with plastic wrap, chilled, 1 week and is easily frozen to enjoy all winter

Chicken Pesto Pizza with sun dried tomatoes, olives and mushrooms
Angel Hair with Fresh Pesto and Sauteed Garlic Shrimp click for recipe

Rhubarb in the South!?!

Yes, you can grow rhubarb in lower Alabama! Typically, rhubarb is a cool weather plant and hates the hot humid summers we get here in the South. However, it has been thriving in our hydroponics system. Look at these lovely stalks!

Rhubarb and strawberries are a marriage made in food heaven and we just happen to have both right now! So naturally we've been cooking up some wonderful desserts.
I made a rhubarb strawberry clafoutis. Clafouti, pronounced kla,foo,Tee, is a french counrty dessert with a custard like batter baked over fresh fruit. Traditionally the French make clafoutis using fresh cherries. We don't have any cherries, (which also hate our hot humid summers) but we've got plenty beautiful rhubarb and strawberries.

Ingredients:

1 cup cleaned rhubarb, cut in small sticks
6 oz strawberries
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar for the rhubarb
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 teaspoon light rum (or vanilla)
1/4 cup blanched almonds (optional)
Confectioner’s sugar, to sprinkle

Method:

Place the rhubarb in a colander and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Let rest for 1 hour so that it releases some juice.
Preheat your oven at 400 F. Butter an oven safe baking dish or pie pan.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the cornstarch and flour and mix together.
Mix the sour cream in with the milk and slowly add the milk to batter.
Arrange the fruit, in a buttered oven safe dish, and pour the batter over and sprinkle nuts over top.
Cook for about 30 to 35 min, or until golden in color. Remove from the oven and let cool a little before eating. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Best when eaten while still warm. Enjoy!

Perfectly Pink

Looking for perfect pink lemonade this Memorial Day? Look no further, made with fresh lemons and strawberries this is the perfectly pink summer cooler.



11/2 C granulated Sugar

1 C coarsely chopped fresh Waterberry Farm strawberries

Zest of 2 lemons, peel off with vegetable peeler avoiding the white pith

2 C Fresh lemon juice

Combine the sugar and strawberries with 2 cups water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the berries begin to release their color and soften slightly, about 3 min. Stir in the lemon zest. Let cool completely

Strain the cooled syrup through a fine sieve set over a pitcher or bowl, pressing lightly on the berries to extract most of the syrup. Discard the solids

Add the fresh lemon juice and 2 1/2 cups cold water to the syrup stir until well blended.

The lemonade can be served immediately over ice or refrigerated for up to two days.

Ahhh Enjoy Summer!

taken from Fine Cooking

Quick Strawberry Preserves

This is a quick old fashioned recipe for strawberry preserves that uses no pectin. Making preserves is a great way to use up extra, less than perfect, or even frozen berries. These preserves really capture the strawberry flavor without being overly sweet. They bear little resemblance to the high fructose corn syrup variety found in the supermarket. Once you try these preserves, you'll never want the grocery store preserves again!

This recipe only makes about three cups of preserves, so I skip the canning and just use it fresh. However, it does freeze well if you wanted to make more at one time.

Ingredients

3 1-pint baskets (about 6 cups) fresh strawberries, hulled. Frozen strawberries will also work.
2 cups sugar
Lemon juice from one lemon

Method

Place hulled strawberries in heavy large saucepan and mash coarsely. Cook strawberries over medium heat until beginning to thicken, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add 2 cups sugar and stir until dissolved. Increase heat to medium and boil gently until mixture thickens and mounds on spoon, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.

Skim any foam that rises to the top. You can skip this step, but your preserves will be much nicer looking without the foam.

Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in the lemon juice. Cool. (Preserves can be prepared 1 week ahead. Refrigerate in airtight container.)Makes about 3 cups.

Serve the preserves over ice cream, on pancakes or muffins, spread between the layers of a cake, mixed into yogurt...

Baking with Strawberries

The classic flavors of sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb have always worked well together and here they are quite delicious as a topping for this light, buttery coffee cake. As the name suggests it is meant to be eaten in the morning with a cup of coffee which is delightful, but served with a cream sauce or ice cream it makes a lovely simple dessert.

I first made this last Spring and have now waited longingly for a whole year to make it again, finally that day has arrived

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
Filling:
3 cups fresh sliced rhubarb or 13-ounce package frozen
16oz strawberries, sliced- you can use frozen
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch

Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, softened

Batter:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.

For filling:
Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and half the sugar in saucepan; simmer, covered, about 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch to fruit mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Set aside to cool.

For topping:
combine all ingredients until crumbly; set aside.

For batter:
Combine dry ingredients.
Cut inbutteruntil mixture makes fine crumbs.
Beat together the milk, eggs and vanilla.
Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
To complete: spoon the batter into prepared pan. Spoon cooled filling over batter. Sprinkle topping over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees fo 40 - 45 minutes or until cake tests done.
Cool slightly before cutting.

16 servings or this can be easily halved

Farm Dinners coming soon...

Welcome to The Farmer's Table a meal celebrating food grown in our own backyard, a connection between the farm and the food on your plate.

The Farmer's Table is an adventurous evening that celebrates and supports local eating. Behind this simple idea is a powerful message, we are committed to increasing your awareness of the benefits of eating local clean foods-social, environmental, health, economic, and gastronomic.

Our first dinner will be April 19th 2008.

Seats are limited so reserve your place today

Menu:

Watercress and New Potato Soup

Salad of Butter Lettuces with Radish and Spring Herbs

Fresh Fettuccine with Asparagus, Morels and Tarragon

Red Snapper with Sweet Pea and Fava Bean Pilaf

Strawberries 3 Ways

*Menu subject to change due to availability

Another great idea for Pecans

Need a quick and easy Holiday treat? Look no further than these Cinnamon Pecan Twists, nothing is easier and with a cup of coffee, possibly perfect.
Package these twists in Christmas cello bags for a sweet little gift

Cinnamon Pecan Twists
From Food Network Kitchens



1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup pecan pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (9 1/4 by 10-inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed (about 9 ounces) 1 large egg, beaten

Combine sugar, pecans, and cinnamon in a mini-chopper and process until sandy. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unfold pastry and brush with egg. Spread sugar mixture over pastry. Cut in half, then cut into 8 (1/2-inch-wide) strips. Twist strips. Lay on pans, pushing ends down with your thumb. Freeze 10 to 15 minutes, until firm.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake until golden, rotating pans halfway, 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool on a rack.

My Variation:
Playing around with this same idea I came up with Blue Cheese Pecan Twists
-substitute 1/2 C crumbled blue cheese for the brown sugar and cinnamon add a dash of cayenne to the pecan mixture. Makes a great appetizer

Sweet Potato Pecan Waffles

So what's on the menu at the Farm?

Well since fall has finally arrived I couldn't wait to make a favorite of mine...Sweet Potato -Pecan Waffles can you think of a better way to start your weekend? These cook up moist and flavoriful, and they are packed with healthy goodness! Pair these with Sorghum Syrup for a real taste of the South.

Sweet Potato-Pecan Waffles

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 C light brown sugar

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 salt

1/2 C mashed sweet potatoes-roast sweet potatoes until soft, peel and mash

1 1/2 Cups Milk

4 TB Butter melted (1/2 stick)

3 large eggs, seperated, at room temperature

1/3 c finely chopped pecans

directions:

Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Lightly oil the grids.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl to combine, and make a well in the center. Whisk the milk, sweet potatoes, melted butter and egg yolks in a medium bowl until well combined and pour into the well. Whisk until just smooth; do not over mix.

Beat the whites in a medium bowl just until stiff peaks form. Stir one-fourth of the whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest. Fold in the pecans.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of each quadrant of the waffle iron and close the iron. Cook until the waffle is golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Serve the waffles hot, with the syrup passed on the side.