Author: yellowroomupstairs

Readers of my blog know that I shop the Collingswood Farmers’ Market.  During the season I need only go to a supermarket for dairy products.  This is a meal made exclusively and totally from products purchased at the market.

This is a meal easy enough for a week night and special enough for company.

Purchase beef short ribs from Hillacres Pride or bison short ribs from Buck Wild Bison.  Purchase red tomato sauce from Villa Barone’s stand (he also has pink sauce…but red is needed here).  Thaw the short ribs and cut them in half.  Dump the red sauce into your slow cooker.  Push the short ribs into the sauce.  Put on the lid and set the machine on low for 8 to 10 hours.  That’s it.  Done.

The rest of the meal is made up of pappardelle noodles (fresh…from Villa Barone), small artisan dinner rolls (fresh…from Villa Barone) with butter (from Hillacres Pride), salad (lettuce from Muth Family Organic Farm and Savoie Organic Farm), tomatoes (from Buzby Farm or Springdale Farm), a ball of fresh mozzarella (from Villa Barone), parmesan cheese (from Villa Barone).

The meat and sauce cook slowly all day.  The noodles cook in minutes as they are fresh. The salad and rolls round out the meal.  This time of year strawberries (Buzby Farms, Muth Family Organic, Fruitwood Farm, Springdale Farm) and ice cream make a marvelous dessert or baked goods from Springdale Farms or Wild Flour Bakery.

Extraordinarily delicious and extremely easy…

When I have overripe bananas I have lots of them.  Not one or two.  Many.  Husband and I like our bananas a little underripe so when the bunch goes ripe there are plenty to use.    Sadly, most recipes only use one or two bananas.    This recipe uses FOUR BANANAS!  FOUR!

Husband and grandsons love this loaf!

It is also a recipe that is mixed by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula.  No electric mixer needed.

Ingredients:  

4 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter (cool slightly after melting)
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mini-chocolate chips (can be made plain without chips if you’d rather….)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 -inch loaf pan.

Place bananas in a large bowl and mash them (with a fork or potato masher).

Measure the flour and toss the mini chips in the flour.  Coating the chips with the flour keeps them “floating” in the loaf instead of having them all sink to the bottom.

Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla to the bananas stir just to mix

Add the sugar, baking soda, and flour with chocolate chips to the bowl and stir until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Then turn the loaf out of the pan and let cool completely before eating.

 

 

This is the only chocolate cake recipe you will ever need.  Trust me.

This recipe has a simple list of ingredients and very easy directions.  You will need a bundt pan.

Ingredients:

1 package of dark chocolate cake mix (the preferred one is Duncan Hines brand, but it works with others.  Do not buy “Pudding in the Mix”).

1 package of INSTANT chocolate pudding mix (seriously….do not short cut and buy “Pudding in the Mix”).

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup Canola or vegetable oil

4 eggs

8 ounces sour cream (you can use “light” ..but really, what’s the point?)

1 six ounce package chocolate chips (we use WAY MORE…but use your discretion).

 

Directions:

Spray the inside of the Bundt pan with cooking spray (not baking spray…the flour in that sticks to the cake).  Spray very well so the cake doesn’t stick to the pan.  (I spray it very well, excessively well and then I turn the pan upside down on some paper towels for the excess oil to drain off).

Place the first six ingredients in a large bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer at low speed to moisten.  When moistened, beat at medium speed until creamy.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Pour into the Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 to 55 minutes.

Test doneness by inserting a toothpick until it comes out clean.  (Be sure the toothpick is testing the cake and not a melted chocolate chip).

Let the cake cool in the Bundt pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning it out.

Let the cake cool completely on a cooking rack before eating.  (Always better the second day!)

Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve.

 

Everyone loves this cake!  I guarantee you will too.  Great to take to a pot luck or summer picnic.

Just like that he is five.  My first grandson.  His mother takes his younger brother to gym class and the big five comes to visit his grandparents.  Every Monday morning.  Part of what we do is school work (he is starting on the adventure of homeschooling that his mother and aunt enjoyed…and school on Monday is at Gramma’s and Pop’s house.  This week we continued talking about farming.  We discussed what crops he would grow if he was a farmer.  He drew a picture.  He went upstairs (to the yellow room) and built a field with crops (bananas, carrots, and apples) from Legos.  He also reads chapter books with Pop.

And then we cooked.

These really are two very very easy recipes.  My five year old grandson made them with very little help.  He measured all the ingredients and even manned the electric hand mixer.

The first recipe we made was a strawberry compote to use on ice cream or a waffle or pancakes.  This takes all of ten minutes to make (if Gramma cleans the strawberries the night before).

 

Strawberry Compote

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped fresh strawberries (which is a pint)

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice

 

Directions

Rinse and dry the strawberries.  Remove the green tops.  Cut each berry into quarters.  If the berries are extra large cut into 6 or 8 pieces.  

Put half of the cut up strawberries in a heavy bottomed pan.  Add the sugar and orange juice.  Turn the heat on low, stir the mixture and bring it to a simmer.  Stir occasionally and cook for five minutes.  The berries would be partially cooked down and the mixture should be slightly syrupy.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the saved strawberries.

Pour the mixture from the hot pan to a bowl and cool to room temperature before serving.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

 

We made the strawberry compote first because it needs to cool before eating.

 

This recipe is even more five-year-old chef ready because there is no heat involved.  Just remember to get the butter out the night before so it is room temperature and soft.  You do NOT want to melt or microwave it.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Ingredients

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Directions

The most important thing to do when making this Cinnamon Butter is to make sure the butter is room temperature.  Don’t try to make this recipe with cold butter right out of the refrigerator.  The butter needs to be soft.

The best way to mix the butter is to use a hand mixer.  You can stir this by hand but the butter has to be super soft.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and use a hand mixer to combine.

 

Two simple recipes.  Easy to make.  Very good to eat!

Grandson tasted both on his favorite waffles and gave both a thumbs up!

 

He asked me to take a picture of his strong muscles which he got from eating his waffles with Cinnamon Honey Butter and Strawberry Compote…so here you are.

 

The ingredients for these recipes were purchased from the Collingswood Farmers’ Market where my grandson now shops on Saturday mornings.  His favorite things are the Muth Family popcorn and Springdale Farm’s apple cider donuts.

 

Where to find ingredients at the Collingswood Farmers’ Market

For the Cinnamon Honey Butter….The butter is Hillacres Pride.  (made from milk from their cows grandson will tell you) and the honey is from Fruitwood Farms (and bees….)

For the Strawberry Compote…the strawberries are from Muth Family Organic Farm (but also can be purchased at Buzby Farm, Springdale Farm, Fruitwood Farm… the orange was purchased at Sara’s Produce.

 

 

 

Everyone has an opinion about asparagus.  Some won’t eat it.  Some can’t wait for the arrival of spring and opening day of their favorite farmers’ market to enjoy it once again.  Asparagus is the first spring vegetable that makes it to the market freshly harvested.

For those who love asparagus the next big controversy is fat or skinny.  Me…I like skinny. Husband too.  Although he doesn’t mind fat asparagus if it is cooked until too too soft and smothered with butter and salt.

This week, fresh, newly harvested thin asparagus was the purchase.  Lots of farmers at our local Collingswood Farmers’ Market have asparagus….Springdale Farm, Viereck farm, Fruitwood Farm, Buzby Farm.  All delicious!

This is a quick and easy way to make thin asparagus.  The final product is similar in taste to roasted asparagus.  The flavor is as intense…but the preparation is much simpler.

 

Ingredients:

a bunch of asparagus
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Rinse asparagus in cold water and trim off the tough ends of the stalks (thin asparagus generally has very little to trim).
   

   
2. Put butter in a heavy skillet with a tight-fitting lid and heat until the butter is foaming.
   

   
3. Lay asparagus in the pan and shake from side to side to gently coat the asparagus with the melted butter.  If you’re not confident about shaking the skillet you can use a spoon or spatula to move the stalks around.
   

   
4. Cover the skillet with the tightly-fitted lid and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Then check asparagus and turn as needed to prevent burning.
5. Continue cooking 5 minutes longer, or until asparagus is tender but still crisp and bright green.
6. Season to taste and serve hot.

I recently bought a smallish (about 1 1/2 pounds) sirloin steak from my favorite grass fed meat purveyors, Hillacres Pride (at The Collingswood Farmers’ Market).  It is now just husband and I so meals are not that large.  He asked for a steak.  He wanted to grill it.  But the weather simply wasn’t cooperating.

A simple solution was this very easy and delicious recipe for steak bites.

First dry the steak with a paper towel and cut it into 1 inch cubes.

 

 

Then mix the marinade.

Recipe for the marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Put the steak and marinade in a plastic zippered bag and place in the refrigerator.  Wait a minimum of 3 hours or a maximum of 24 hours.

When ready to cook, heat a skillet to medium high.  Take the meat out of the marinade (discard the marinade), place in the skillet and fry for about three minutes, stirring constantly.

That’s it!

Delicious, easy, and husband loved it!

Sirloin steak from Hillacres Pride (The Collingswood Farmers’ market.

I shopped The Collingswood Farmers’ Market and came home with a PILE of broccoli.  It was so green and lovely everywhere I looked that I couldn’t resist buying it from multiple farmers.

The only answer this week to the question of what to do with all that broccoli was soup.

Broccoli soup looks simple but there can be some pitfalls.  Overcooking the broccoli so it is a smelly mush.  Using too much fat and thus losing the taste and health benefit of this beautiful vegetable.

What follows is a quick to make and very tasty soup.

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 leek, finely diced (or small onion)
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon granulated roasted garlic or 1 clove of garlic minced
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8 cups broccoli florets, stalks, stems cut into small pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
juice from one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.  Add the leek, celery, and garlic.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, but not browned (about 5 minutes).
2.  Add the flour.  Cook, stirring constantly until all the flour is absorbed (about 30 seconds).
3.  Slowly pour in the milk.  Next slowly pour in the stock.
4.  Stir in the baking soda.
5.  Add the broccoli.
6. Bring the pot to a boil and then lower the heat to maintain a simmer.  Cover.  Stir occasionally until the broccoli is tender and an olive green color (about 20 minutes).

7.  Using an immersion blender (you can do it in batches in a regular blender but the immersion blender is so convenient and easier to control) blend the soup.  Add more stock for a thinner soup.

8.  Add the parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper.  Stir.  Keep warm to serve.

Delicious!

And leftovers too!

Broccoli is lovely, plentiful,  easy to cook, and good for you.

” ‘Without pain, how could we know joy?’ This is an old argument in the field of thinking about suffering and its stupidity and lack of sophistication and could be plumbed for centuries but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate”.  (John Green, author)

 

Ingredients purchased from farmers at The Collingswood Farmers’ Market.
-butter from Hillacres Pride
-leek from Fruitwood Farm, Formisano Farm, Flaim Farm
-celery from Flaim Farm, Formisano Farm
-garlic from Savoie Organic Farm
-broccoli from Fruitwood Farm (by the bag!), Muth Organic Farm, Springdale Farm,

My daughter likes to bake.  She has recently set herself the task of learning to bake a nice scone.

While I was experimenting with other foods to make with all that winter squash, she decided to use winter squash as the flavoring for her pocket scones.

Scone ingredients:

3 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoons baking soda
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
a pinch of Kosher salt
9 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup whole milk
1 egg beaten

Filling ingredients:

1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup winter squash puree
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 Tablespoons sugar
a pinch of Kosher salt

Directions:

1.  Whisk all the scone’s dry ingredients together in one of the mixing bowls.  Add the butter and gently cut it in with a pastry cutter or fork.  Continue until the flour and butter is the consistency of large breadcrumbs.

2.  Pour in the milk and stir with a fork to make the mixture into a shaggy dough.  Be careful not to overmix.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

3. Put all the filling ingredients into a mixing bowel and whip with a hand or stand mixer until all the ingredients are well blended and have a fluffy texture.  Chill the finished filling in the refrigerator.

4.  Empty the scone dough onto a floured surface.  Dust the top with flour and roll it into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.  Cut the rectangle into six pieces.

5.  Spoon 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the filling onto each dough portion.  Then carefully fold over into a triangle and pinch gently to seal the edges.  (My daughter’s triangles did not meet her expectations so she made them into square pockets instead).  Place the formed scone onto a parchment lined baking sheet and chill them in the freezer for at least an hour.

6.  While the scones are in the freezer, preheat the oven to 445 degrees Fahrenheit.  Take the paper and scones off the baking sheet.  Put a fresh sheet of parchment on the baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray.

7.  Place the scones on the parchment on the tray.   Space them at least an inch apart. Brush each scone pocket with beaten egg using a pastry brush, dust the top with granulated sugar.  

8.  Bake for 15 minutes.

9.  Allow scones to cool 5 – 10 minutes before serving. 

Perhaps, instead of going shopping the morning after Thanksgiving, use the leftover squash to make a lovely and special breakfast.  Make a pot of tea (instead of only a cup). Put on your robe and slippers and watch the local news to see the crazy crowds of holiday shoppers.

Autumn is coming and after that,  then Winter.  The Collingswood Farmers’ Market is coming to a close for the year.  Only a few more weeks to go.

In the spring we can’t wait for strawberries and asparagus…and then tomatoes, corn, blueberries, peaches, and summer squash.  Now we are looking for vegetables to enjoy in cold weather…potatoes, sweet potatoes (white and orange!), cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, and WINTER SQUASH.

I will admit that it was my husband (born and raised in New England) who introduced me to winter squash, especially butternut and acorn.  His mother cooked them.  My mother did not.  Ever.

I will admit, also, that winter squash were (and sometimes still are) a little bit intimidating.  When I look at a summer squash (zucchini!) I can picture how to cook it and how to eat it.  The first time I made winter squash I had no idea how to get it ready to cook.   Basic cookbook time.

My husband told me that his mother used to cut the squash in half, clean out the seeds, put a tablespoon of butter in the cavity, sprinkle some brown sugar, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until soft.  That works.  

I have since modified the recipe by cutting, cleaning, and peeling the squash before I cook it.  Then I steam them and mash them with butter and a little salt, like mashed potatoes.

Honey Nut Squash and Delicata Squash are new varieties.  You can eat the skin.  It is very thin.  I prefer to peel them, steam them, and mash them with a little butter.  I also roast Delicata squash for a crispy finish.  (Link to recipe here).   Delicata squash fries.

Here are two more simple recipes using winter squash (your favorite variety or a combination) for a 30 minute soup and a snack cake.

Winter Squash Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
4 cups peeled and cubed winter squash
2 medium white potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces of cream to finish (optional)

Cleaning a winter squash (butternut):

Directions:
1.  Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pot.  Toss the diced onion in and cook for  about 5 minutes.  Be careful not to let the onion brown.

2.  Put the potatoes and squash in the pot.  Stir them around to mix with the onions and butter.

3.  Pour in 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock.

4.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

5.  Allow the squash and potatoes to cook in the broth until they can be pierced easily with a fork.  (About 30 minutes) You can then mash the vegetables with a potato masher to make a chunky textured soup or blend the soup with an immersion blender to make it smoother

6. Once the soup is the consistency you like, pour a cup of cream into the pot and stir.  Eat at once.

 

And for dessert….

Winter Squash Snack Cake

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup winter squash (steamed and mashed)
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2.  Sift flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon together.
3.  Mix the squash and applesauce together.
4.  Beat brown sugar, butter, and egg together until light and fluffy.
5.  Mix dry ingredients into the sugar/butter/egg mixture alternately with the squash and applesauce mixture.
6.  Add raisins and stir.
7.  Pour batter into a greased 8 inch square pan.
8.  Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or let cool and ice with butter or cream cheese icing.  And some autumn sprinkles.Delicata squash fries.

 

There are many home cooks who do not share their recipes.  They do not for a variety of reasons that are their own.  My grandmother, whose father was a baker, was a great baker and did not share her recipes.  My mother, her daughter, asked her for her recipes.    They were not written down.  The result was that my mother, her daughter, baked with her and wrote many of the recipes down as they baked together.  Now I make them and share them with my daughters and, frankly, anyone who asks.  Look right here….recipes!

My grandmother’s recipes were not always easy to transcribe.  She didn’t use measuring spoons.  And her measuring cup was a “nickel” cup sold at the variety store down the street.  You know…that big white coffee mug with the big handle.  That was it.

I made this loaf one year in a hurry from my mother’s recipe card.  It was the night before the office Christmas party and I forgot.  I had time to make something simple and this was it.  The ingredients are things that are always at hand.  One of my colleagues came into the smorgasbord of dishes and first tasted my applesauce loaf.  And then he pulled a chair up to the buffet table and sliced about half of the loaf.  Someone tossed out a comment about his less than correct behavior.  He responded by telling us that the applesauce loaf tasted exactly like something his grandmother used to make and he simply couldn’t stop eating it.  He hadn’t had anything like it for years.  He was delighted when I offered him the recipe.  And for years after he brought the applesauce loaf to share with the rest of us at Christmas and sometimes on a whim.

I’m glad I shared my grandmother’s recipe.  Now lots and lots of people can enjoy her baking….forever.

This is a simple recipe that is really more a cake than a quick bread.  It can be made in an 8×8 inch square pan or a loaf pan.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 1/4 cups applesauce (I make my own…but purchased is fine)

Directions:
1. Turn on oven and set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2.  Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and spices onto wax paper (or into a bowl)
3.  Beat brown sugar, butter, and the egg in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4.  Mix dry ingredients into the sugar and butter mixture alternately with applesauce.
5.  Pour into a greased 8 inch square pan or a loaf pan.
6.  Bake the 8 inch square pan about 45 minutes…the loaf pan about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake or loaf comes out clean.
7.  Serve warm or cool.
8.  Powered sugar can be lightly sprinkled over the top before serving.

link to homemade applesauce recipe on this blog

A variety of apples purchased from Fruitwood Farm and Wm. Schober and Sons Orchard were used to make the applesauce.