Here are some of our favorite original/adapted recipes using farm fresh ingredients
Winter Casserole
I serve this with homemade bread for a simple comfort meal on a cool fall or winter night. This recipe also freezes and reheats well.
Serves 4-6
1lb. ground pork sausage
one large onion diced
two large apples chopped (I leave the skin on for extra fiber, but you can peel if you choose)
2lbs butternut and/or hubbard squash, you can also substitute 1lb pumpkin for half the squash
1/4 cup real maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Peel, cook and slightly mash squash. In a large skillet, brown sausage with onion. Drain excess fat, then add chopped apple, cook 10 minutes. Add squash and maple syrup to the skillet and continue cooking until apple is tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
I serve this with homemade bread for a simple comfort meal on a cool fall or winter night. This recipe also freezes and reheats well.
Serves 4-6
1lb. ground pork sausage
one large onion diced
two large apples chopped (I leave the skin on for extra fiber, but you can peel if you choose)
2lbs butternut and/or hubbard squash, you can also substitute 1lb pumpkin for half the squash
1/4 cup real maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Peel, cook and slightly mash squash. In a large skillet, brown sausage with onion. Drain excess fat, then add chopped apple, cook 10 minutes. Add squash and maple syrup to the skillet and continue cooking until apple is tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
Old Fashion Molasses Cookies with Bacon Lard
We save our excess bacon drippings in a mason jar in the fridge and this is one great way to use it.
1 3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup bacon drippings- softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
powdered sugar to coat
Directions: Mix sugar, oil and drippings well. Add eggs, beat well then add in molasses. Add dry ingredients gradually. Dough will be quite stiff or the cookies will spread too much, add flour if needed. Drop by heaping teaspoonful into powdered sugar. Bake at 350 about 10 minutes. Do not overcook, they should be soft.
We save our excess bacon drippings in a mason jar in the fridge and this is one great way to use it.
1 3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup bacon drippings- softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
powdered sugar to coat
Directions: Mix sugar, oil and drippings well. Add eggs, beat well then add in molasses. Add dry ingredients gradually. Dough will be quite stiff or the cookies will spread too much, add flour if needed. Drop by heaping teaspoonful into powdered sugar. Bake at 350 about 10 minutes. Do not overcook, they should be soft.
Wild Blackberry and Merlot Jam
I love to pick the wild blackberries that grow around the farm and down our little country road. They don't last long, so to save the taste all year round, I created this fantastic jam. I also plant the seeds around the hedgerows when I'm done, to start new patches of berries.
Makes 8 half pints
3 cups crushed blackberries (I strain out the seeds)
1 bottle merlot (any cheap bottle will do)
7 cups white sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
1/4 tsp butter
Directions: In a saucepan, reduce the bottle of merlot to 1 cup of liquid. Wash and remove the stems from 5-6 cups of blackberries. Place blackberries in a pot and crush them over low heat. Strain out the seeds using a fine mesh strainer. The strained berries should equal 3 full cups of liquid. Return the berries to the pot, add the reduced merlot and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil for one minute, remove from heat and add the butter and pectin, stirring well. Skim any leftover bubbles from the surface (the butter helps to reduce these). Fill hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of jars with a damp paper towel, add lids and tighten bands just to the point of resistance.
Process in a boiling water canner for:
5 minutes at 0-1,000 ft altitude,
10 minutes for 1,000-6,000 ft altitude or
15 for above 6,000 ft altitude.
Raspberry and Chardonnay Jam variation: Use the same above recipe but substitute raspberries for the blackberries and chardonnay for the Merlot.
I love to pick the wild blackberries that grow around the farm and down our little country road. They don't last long, so to save the taste all year round, I created this fantastic jam. I also plant the seeds around the hedgerows when I'm done, to start new patches of berries.
Makes 8 half pints
3 cups crushed blackberries (I strain out the seeds)
1 bottle merlot (any cheap bottle will do)
7 cups white sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
1/4 tsp butter
Directions: In a saucepan, reduce the bottle of merlot to 1 cup of liquid. Wash and remove the stems from 5-6 cups of blackberries. Place blackberries in a pot and crush them over low heat. Strain out the seeds using a fine mesh strainer. The strained berries should equal 3 full cups of liquid. Return the berries to the pot, add the reduced merlot and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil for one minute, remove from heat and add the butter and pectin, stirring well. Skim any leftover bubbles from the surface (the butter helps to reduce these). Fill hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of jars with a damp paper towel, add lids and tighten bands just to the point of resistance.
Process in a boiling water canner for:
5 minutes at 0-1,000 ft altitude,
10 minutes for 1,000-6,000 ft altitude or
15 for above 6,000 ft altitude.
Raspberry and Chardonnay Jam variation: Use the same above recipe but substitute raspberries for the blackberries and chardonnay for the Merlot.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
This is one of my mother's recipes that I varied slightly to remove some of the fat and I added a little more chocolate, because let's face it, you can never have too much chocolate! I always seem to find a gigantic zucchini in the garden that got missed during regular picking and grew too large and this is a great recipe for those.
4oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts or mini chocolate chips (optional)
powdered sugar
Directions: Beat eggs, add sugar, apple sauce and oil. Melt chocolate and add in mix. Mix in dry ingredients. Peel and grate zucchini and add to the batter. Pour into a greased bunt pan or two bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about an hour for loaf pans or hour and 10 minutes for a bunt pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool, if desired.
Spiced Pear Butter
16 cups diced pears, skins and cores removed
6-7 cups sugar (I find 7 a little too
sweet)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup pear juice
2 T cinnamon
1 T real vanilla
1/4 tsp. cloves (can sub for 1 tsp. ginger if you want)
*Apple pie spice or Pumpkin Pie spice can also be used to taste
Directions: Cook pears in a large, nonreactive pot with the pear juice, until soft. Use an immersion blender or run through a sauce mill until smooth. Add sugar and spices and cook for 2-3 hours, until thick. As the mixture thickens, stir more often to keep from burning. Ladle into half pint jar with 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rims, add lids. Process in hot water canner for 10 minutes at >1000ft add one minute processing time per 1000ft. Makes about 12 half-pints
This is one of my mother's recipes that I varied slightly to remove some of the fat and I added a little more chocolate, because let's face it, you can never have too much chocolate! I always seem to find a gigantic zucchini in the garden that got missed during regular picking and grew too large and this is a great recipe for those.
4oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts or mini chocolate chips (optional)
powdered sugar
Directions: Beat eggs, add sugar, apple sauce and oil. Melt chocolate and add in mix. Mix in dry ingredients. Peel and grate zucchini and add to the batter. Pour into a greased bunt pan or two bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about an hour for loaf pans or hour and 10 minutes for a bunt pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool, if desired.
Spiced Pear Butter
16 cups diced pears, skins and cores removed
6-7 cups sugar (I find 7 a little too
sweet)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup pear juice
2 T cinnamon
1 T real vanilla
1/4 tsp. cloves (can sub for 1 tsp. ginger if you want)
*Apple pie spice or Pumpkin Pie spice can also be used to taste
Directions: Cook pears in a large, nonreactive pot with the pear juice, until soft. Use an immersion blender or run through a sauce mill until smooth. Add sugar and spices and cook for 2-3 hours, until thick. As the mixture thickens, stir more often to keep from burning. Ladle into half pint jar with 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rims, add lids. Process in hot water canner for 10 minutes at >1000ft add one minute processing time per 1000ft. Makes about 12 half-pints
