The Day at the Farmer's Market

All of the Girl Scouts

Well I believe the weather and everything else was extremely perfect for the first day of the Downtown Farmer's Market last Saturday. The weather was pleasant as was the company.  For those of you who were there I hope you got to see and maybe even talk to my fellow Girl Scouts.  This group of Girl Scouts will be representing Utah at the 2011 Houston National Convention.  I myself am a national delegate for Utah and will be voting on the future of Girls Scouts of the USA.  These fellow Girl Scouts and I will be going to Houston in November,  so hopefully you got to meet and talk to them as well as get recipes from them. Some of you might have seen me in my uniform and with a hat on.  I went around and talked to the farmers who all had wonderful food.  I talked to Clifford Family Farms, Sadees' Pride Natural Produce, Knight Family Honey, Kenyon Organics, Borski Farms, Woodyatt Cherries, and many other farmers.  I got my sun-dried tomato bread from Volker's Bakery and it was just a delicious as always. I got a lot of work done and am excited to keep handing out recipes.  Kenyon Organics may hang up some of my recipes and many farmers may hand some of the recipes out.  I also got some henna done by Liz Martin and the booth to the west.  It was beautiful! I am excited for next week!

My tree henna!

Me at the henna booth

The Beginning of the Downtown Farmer's Market

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Downtown Farmer's Market, which is exciting.  The farmer's market means that I get to buy and consume any fresh produce they have there.  It means I get to have Woodyatt Cherries again and some locally grown pecans.  The farmers's market means fresh food and the delicious sun-dried tomato bread made by the company whose name has slipped my mind.  Due to our very cold and wet weather this spring, many of the produce for is going to being harvested late this season, so...just come down to the market, enjoy the ambience, meet the farmers and be patient...the best produce is yet to come! Look for our area ranchers selling beef, pork chicken and lamb and make sure to check out local cheese and pasta makers. Oh...and HONEY...I can't say enough about all the delicious HONEY that is produced locally.
I am excited to meet the farmers and talk to them about my project. I will be there tomorrow with other Girl Scouts who are going to Houston with me for the 2011 Girl Scout National Convention in November.  They will be handing out recipes and talking about my project and Girl Scouts, so look around for some girls in uniforms moving among the crowd.  Most of us will be  dressed in our Girl Scout outfits if you need to find us.  I will be handing out 6 different recipes and hopefully you will get them tomorrow.

On the note of non-food items, I will be excited to see all the items they are selling and maybe get a henna tatoo. It will be especially fun to buy things.  Maybe I will see you there!! Have fun at the Downtown Farmer's Market no matter what you do!

Chinese Szechuan Noodles

We accidentally got produce from two different CSAs this year, Bell Organic and Jacob's Cove Farm. With both these CSAs coming to us on the same day, my mother told me to look for a recipe that would incorporate a lot of the vegetables we received like broccoli, bokchoy and carrots.  We also decided to use noodles that we got at the farmers market the year before from Tankinz Noodle Company.  The noodles can be frozen or cooked immediately. If you want her noodles, go to the Downtown Farmers market and she is usually on the East side. She also sells some great stir fry sauce that likely would add a little "zing" to this recipe.  You can also buy bokchoy from Blue Spring Farm at the Farmers Market.  This is a great recipe and makes enough for left-overs for lunch!

Chinese Szechuan Noodles

Szechuan Noodles in my homemade bowl

1 pound fresh noodles (whole wheat was good)
1/2 pound chicken breast or 1 pound sliced beef (Christiansen Farms)
4 ounces shrimp, shelled and cleaned 
1 head bok choy, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup broccoli or cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 onions, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons hot bean or chili sauce
1/2 tablespoon salt
7-8 tablespoons cooking oil for stir-frying


Marinade:

• 2 teaspoons wine or cooking sherry
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sauce:

• 1 cup stock (we used homemade vegetable stock)
• 2 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Mix together marinade ingredients. Marinate chicken or beef for at least twenty minutes
2. While marinating chicken, mix together sauce ingredients. Set aside. 
3. Also while marinating chicken, parboil noodles in a pot of boiling water for three minutes. Loosen up noodles with chopsticks as they are boiling. Drain. Some of the thin noodles you buy at the market only need to be boiled for one minute until tender so give a taste test after one minute
4. Heat wok or large frying pan. When heated, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add garlic and chicken and stir-fry. When the chicken is nearly done, push the chicken up to the side of the wok and add the shrimp, if using them, in the middle of the wok. Stir-fry. When the shrimp are done, mix the chicken and shrimp and remove from the wok to a platter.
5. Reheat the wok and add 2 tablespoon of oil.  Add onions, bok choy, carrot, and broccoli and stir-fry until tender and crisp.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the vegetables and mix it in.  Remove the vegetables to a platter. 
6. Clean out wok with a paper towel. Heat wok again and add three tablespoons oil.  Place noodles in the wok, using chopsticks to break them up.  Add 2 tablespoons chili or hot bean sauce and 2 tablespoons light soy sauce.  Stir-fry until the noodles are heated through.  Add cooked chicken or beef and or shrimp and all the vegetables. Re-stir sauce mixture and add. When it comes to a boil, test and adjust the seasoning if desired, then remove and serve. 

Honey and Salt Caramels

I love honey and so does my whole family, so when we tried some honey caramels at a farmer's market we of course decided to go home and make some.  These are French salt caramels with the perfect mix of salty and sweet.  These caramels make great gifts and great snacks.  The caramels have a taste of honey which makes them even more delicious. Hopefully, your candy thermometer doesn't melt like ours did.  I love these caramels and I hope you do too and I guess we will be going out this weekend to buy a better candy thermometer!

Honey and Salt Caramels
3 tablespoons butter (you can buy from Gold Creek at the Market or Winder Dairy)
2 cups heavy cream (again, Winder Dairy or Meadow Gold are local)
1/2 teaspoon salt (we use Redmonds sea salt)
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup honey (mild honey is best but we LOVE the honey from Knight Family Farms)
1 cup sugar

1. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment. 
2. Bring cream, butter and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, the remove from the heat and set aside. 
3. Boil sugar, corn syrup, and honey in a 3 to 4 quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel. 
4. Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248˚ F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool for 2 hours

*You can cut the caramel into 1-inch pieces, then wrap in 4-inch squares of wax paper, twist two ends to close.

Pork and Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

I have always loved meatballs.  My grandma makes them every time I visit her in Connecticut.  These aren't her original meatballs but these meatballs are just as good.  The pork and ricotta mix is rich and delicious and together they make a delicious meatball.  My mom and I used tomatoes that we had roasted and then frozen for further use, but fresh tomatoes work as well.  Not only do I love these meatballs but my mom is basically in love with them.  We usually order our pork from Christiansen Family Farm or you can buy it from Clifford Family Farm at the Downtown Farmers Market. It is pictured with local pasta from Nu Nooz pasta although we usually make our own fresh pasta. I hope you will like them as much as she does!


Pork and Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
1/2 pound sliced bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 

1 1/2 pound ground pork  (Clifford Farms or Christiansen Farms)      

3 large eggs, lightly beaten (Clifford Farms)

2/3 cup ricotta cheese (we use homemade)

3 ounces pancetta, minced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp. fresh or dried oregano

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, chopped
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Redmond sea salt
2-28 oz. cans peeled/crushed Italian tomatoes
freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. In a food processor, pulse the bread to coarse crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl and add the pork, pancetta, eggs, ricotta, parsley, oregano, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper, and 1&1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt.  Mix well.  
2. Shape into 24 meatballs or so, using about 3 rounded tablespoons of the mixture each (a 1/4 measuring cup may give the right amount). Transfer the meatballs to an oiled medium roasting pan.
3. Roast the meatballs in the oven for 30 minutes, or until firm and just beginning to brown.  Turn meatballs after approximately 15 minutes.
4. Using a spatula, loosen the meatballs from the bottom of the pan. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan and season with salt and pepper.  
5. Lower the oven temperature to 325˚ F and cook uncovered for about 2 hours, or until the sauce is very thick and the meatballs are very tender; turn the meatballs once or twice during cooking. 
6. Transfer the meatballs and tomato sauce to a large platter. Garnish with basil and Pecorino. 

Options:

-Use fresh tomatoes from your garden

Honey Vanilla Granola with Dried Cherries and Pecans

Homemade Honey Vanilla Granola with Dried Cherries and Pecans

4 cups rolled oats (bulk at Honeyville)

4 tsp organic ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt (Redmonds)

1/2 cup canola oil (or coconut oil)

1/2 cup local honey (more or less to taste, Knight Family Honey)

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans (or more if desired)

1 cup dried Woodyatt Cherries (or more if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix together dry ingredients in large roasting pan or bowl.
2. Mix together honey, oil and vanilla. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in pecans. Stir well until there is no dry oatmeal evident.
3. Spread mixture evenly on baking sheets in a fairly thin layer. Bake for 15 minutes, remove pans from oven, toss the granola around, rotate the pans and bake for another 15 minutes. Repeat this process until granola is completely dry and light golden brown or about 45-60 minutes.
4. Add dried cherries. Store in air-tight container.
5. This is great with yogurt in the morning or just a snack.

Greek Lamb Burgers

When my Mom first made these burgers about a year ago, I was afraid to try them.  There were a lot of onions and I had never really liked burgers, but these were different.  These burgers are delicious and they are just as good as the lamb burgers you would get at any local Greek restaurant.  My Stepdad loved them so much that he went out and bought about 3 more pounds of ground lamb in the hopes that my Mom would make them more often. We get the lamb from Morgan Valley Lamb which may have been one of the reasons why they are so good.  The creamy yogurt sauce with the lamb patty is to die for! As always, we try to go as local as possible so we make homemade yogurt with milk from Winder Farms and buy locally made bread.  I hope you love this recipe!

Greek Lamb Burgers

1 lb. ground lamb (Morgan Valley Lamb)

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (Rockhill Creamery)

2 tbl. fresh, chopped mint (grow it yourself)

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1 cup greek yogurt (we use our homemade yogurt)

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

2 tbl lime juice

1 tbl lemon juice 

1/2 tsp cumin

4 pita breads cut in half (we use local papapita brand)

1. Mix together ground lamb, feta cheese, mint and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and then form into 4-5 burgers. These can be either grilled outside or broiled in your oven until done.
2. Mix together the yogurt, diced cucumber, lime and lemon juice and cumin.
3. Place burgers into pita pocket and top with a dollop of yogurt sauce. 
4. Can be garnished with lettuce and tomatoes just like any regular burger.