Just Peachy!

If you love local food and buying farm-fresh produce, meat and cheese, you know where to go every Saturday - the local Farmers' Market. This past Saturday was no exception and there was so much to choose from.

Fresh melons, garlic, potatoes, bacon, cookies all beckoned me but this week, the peaches looked so tasty and I knew they would be finished soon so I picked up a few thinking I would make a pie or maybe some jam.  I was also out of honey for my tea so picked some up at Armstrong Apiaries.

Then I headed straight to Bella Stella Cheese. The last couple of times Igor has been sold out of yogurt and ricotta by the time I got there – and I wasn’t going home empty handed this week! Thankfully, he still had both – what a treat to be able to buy yogurt made right here with no additives and milk from local dairy cows.

So what to make with peaches, ricotta and yogurt? I like fresh peaches cut into my yogurt but though maybe I should try something new.

So what did I make that turned out to be pretty tasty? A quick and easy recipe to fill my craving for something sweet (but healthy!) and 2 treats to help beat the heat during that heatwave we had.  And good thing I picked up the honey – turned out two recipes called for honey!

Grilled Peaches and Ricotta

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

4 peaches, halved and pits removed

1/4 c. honey

1 c. ricotta

Cracked black pepper

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high. Spread the butter over each of the peach halves.  Grill the peaches, flat sides down, until warmed through, about 4 minutes. Serve the peach halves with generous spoonfuls of the ricotta in the centers drizzled with the honey and sprinkled with cracked black pepper. How easy was that!

Peach Frozen Yogurt

4 c. peeled, sliced fresh peaches, frozen solid
3 tbsp. honey (or more to taste)
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Add the frozen peaches, honey, yogurt and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor. Process until creamy (about 5 minutes). Serve the frozen yogurt immediately or transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Frozen Yogurt Peach Popsicles

3 c. ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 c. milk (cow, coconut, almond – whatever you have in the fridge)

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp vanilla, optional

Reserve 1/4 c. of the peaches. Place remaining peaches, lemon juice, milk, yogurt and honey (vanilla if you are using it) into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Return the reserved peach bits to the puree and mix in evenly with a spoon. Pour mixture into popsicle molds leaving 1/2 inch at the top of the mold. Cover and add popsicle sticks. Place in freezer and freeze for at least 4 hours to overnight. To remove from molds just run warm water from the tap over the outside until they come loose.

Enjoy!

Garlic – more than just a  bulb!

A few years ago, Ingrid from the Armstrong Farmers’ Market shared a little secret with me – a really good part of garlic is actually the scape. And that was the day I became a little obsessed with garlic scapes.

What is a scape? Scapes are the shoots that grow out of the ground from hard-neck varieties of garlic. When they're young and tender, they look like curly green stalks with tightly closed buds on top. Farmers and gardeners harvest them at this time of year so that they won't drain nutrients from the garlic bulbs that will be dug up in a couple of months.

That Saturday I left the market with bags (yes – bags!) of garlic scapes and started looking for ways to use and preserve these spring treasures.

I started with something fairly easy that I knew I would use - Garlic Scape Pesto. Who doesn’t love pesto – it puts a bit of sunshine in pasta and soup for a whole dreary winter – and also made a quick appetizer on crostini.

I was also thinking that if you could pickle asparagus or beans – was it possible to pickle scapes? So to the computer I went – and found out that not only was it possible, but Garlic Scape Pickles were pretty tasty.

So, before you run away from the giant pile of them at the farmers' market or snip them from your garlic and plop then in your compost, grab a handful and give one of these recipes a try.

And Ingrid – thanks for the tip J I can hardly wait to replenish my supply of Garlic Scape Pesto!

Garlic Scape Pesto

1/4 cup pine nuts

3/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic scapes

Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

A few generous grinds of black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

In a small, dry pan over very low heat, lightly toast the pine nuts, stirring or tossing until just beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Combine the scapes, pine nuts, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until fairly well combined. Pour in the olive oil slowly through the feed tube while the motor is running. 

When the oil is incorporated, transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese. If you plan to freeze the pesto, wait to add the cheese until after you've defrosted it.

To freeze: put in small freezer containers or freeze in ice cube trays until solid – then transfer to a freezer bag. One of my ice cubes = 1 tbsp. of pesto.

Pickled Garlic Scapes

1 pound garlic spaces (approximately 2-3 bunches)

2 tsp. dill seed

1 tsp. whole black peppercorns

1 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 c. water

2 tbsp. pickling salt

Trim the ends of the scapes, both the blossom end and the hard bit that formed at the original cut, and cut them into lengths that will fit in your jar. Prepare a small boiling water bath and 2 pint jar. Divide the dill and black peppercorns between the jars then pack the trimmed scapes into the jars.

Combine the vinegar, water and pickling salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Slowly pour the hot brine over the garlic scapes, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Once the jar is full, tap the jar lightly to dislodge any air bubbles. Check the headspace again and add more brine if necessary.

Wipe the rim, apply the lid and ring, and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Let these pickles cure for at least a month before eating. Enjoy!

May and June are a busy time of year for many people - including our household!

May long weekend is when we put the finishing touches on the garden, set out our planters and enjoy the first fresh garden produce. June is known for many things – the longest day of the year, the last day of school and of course, strawberries! 

For our family, May and June are very busy – Mother’s Day, birthdays and this year not one but two weddings! Katie and Nick were married last Saturday will be married; Megan and Will are counting down the days to June!

My birthday also happens in May and over the years, either Barry has made my cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting covered with strawberry marshmallow candies lol) or my mom does.

If mom makes the cake, I always know it will be one of two favorites – Pineapple Dream Squares or Strawberry Angel Food. Either one is great for company - perfect for sitting out on the deck and visiting. 

Right now strawberries are at the Farmers’ Market and available at local farms. Pick some up and enjoy them while they are fresh and enjoy them as a garnish for the Pineapple Dream Squares or as the feature ingredient in the cake. Don’t forget to freeze some berries to make the angel food cake anytime!

Pineapple Dream Squares

(recipe from the Women’s Institute of BC cookbook celebrating BC’s Centennial Year)

½ c. butter melted

2 ½  c. graham wafer crumbs

½ c. butter, softened

1 ½ c. icing sugar

2 egg yolks

2 c. cream, whipped

1 ½ c. crushed pineapple, drained

Mix melted butter and crushed graham wafer crumbs together in 8x8-inch baking pan; reserve 2 tablespoons for top of dessert. Spread remaining crumb mixture evenly in pan. Bake at 350F 10-15 minutes; cool.

Mix softened butter, icing sugar and egg yolks together in bowl; mix until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over cooled crumb base.

Mix together pineapple and whipped cream. Spread over above layer. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top of dessert.

Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before serving.

Mom’s Strawberry Angel Food Cake

1 pkg frozen stawberries, thawed 

1pkg unflavoured gelatin (1 tbsp)

3 c. fresh strawberries (for decoration)

¼ c. sugar

2 c. heavy cream, whipped

1 prepared angel food cake (10 inch), cut horizontally in half

Cut angel food cake into 2 layers.

Drain juice from frozen strawberries into small glass dish. Sprinkle gelatin over juice, allow to stand until softened. Set dish into boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Combine warm gelatin mixture with berries. Do not allow to congeal.

Whip cream until stiff; sweeten to taste. Fold strawberry mixture into cream carefully. Spread strawberry cream over bottom layer of cake. Put top layer on cake and frost entire cake with remaining strawberry cream.

Refrigerate for several hours. Decorate with fresh strawberries either plain or chocolate dipped.