Asian Style Pickled Vegetables

When it’s high season at the farmers’ market I often buy way too many vegetables because everything is so beautiful and fresh. I like to preserve the excess veggies by fermenting them into healthy probiotic treats. Fermenting is simple and requires no special equipment although a few tools like Mason jar weights, Pickle Pebbles for example, and venting lids like Pickle Pipes or Stainless Steel Fermentation Lids will make it easier. Continue reading Asian Style Pickled Vegetables

Red Jalapeño Hot Sauce

Red Jalapeño Sauce
Red Jalapeño Sauce

The beautiful ripe red jalapeños at our farmers market inspired me to make yet another flavor of hot sauce. The heat level of the sauce will vary depending on the peppers. Mine was not as hot at the green jalapeño sauce I previously made. One pound of peppers makes approximately one pint of sauce. Continue reading Red Jalapeño Hot Sauce

Persimmon Chutney

Most years we harvest bushels of persimmons from our two trees. I dehydrate many, give many away, eat at lot of them fresh, and still end up with a freezer full of whole fruit. This unusual and yummy recipe combines our love of probiotic fermented foods with our love of spices. Ripe persimmons are so sweet that no additional sweetener is needed. Makes about a quart. Don’t have persimmons? Try substituting a different sweet tasting fruit. Continue reading Persimmon Chutney

Cranberry Chutney Recipe

Incorporating the old standard orange and cranberry sauce flavors, this raw fermented chutney is both probiotic and delicious. We ate half of the first batch  at one dinner and then put it on our breakfast the next day. It will keep over a month in the refrigerator, perhaps even longer, but we always eat it too quickly to find out. Makes about 1 quart. Continue reading Cranberry Chutney Recipe

Persimmon (or pumpkin) Pie Recipe

We have two large persimmon trees that usually produce bushels of fruit. The Fuyu type flat persimmons can be eaten when still firm, although they get sweeter when they are soft. The Hachiya type pointy persimmons, however, are astringent and can only be eaten when they are gushy soft. They are good dried, eaten fresh, in smoothies, and pureed. Excess fruit gets frozen whole–just put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen solid then store them in a gallon freezer bag. Frozen persimmons enable us to enjoy the fruit year round since they still make great tasting puree and smoothies and now this pie! The crust is gluten free and there is no added sweetener in the filling. Not into permissions? Substitute pureed pumpkin, winter squash or sweet potatoes and add honey to taste for a more traditional dish. Continue reading Persimmon (or pumpkin) Pie Recipe

We Won the MAOF Film Festival!

We had a wonderful time at the Mid-Atlantic Overland Festival reconnecting with friends and making new ones on the beautiful Henwood family farm in central Pennsylvania. Most exciting of all was winning the Saturday night film festival. Thanks to the generosity of Main-Line Overland, La Tortuga, the Four Wheel Campers flatbed Hawk on a RAM 2500 Cummins diesel, the back of our camper now sports a new set of maxtrax .

Too Much Fun: 

Or watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt8IwOjEA2I

 

Yogurt Coconut Panna Cotta Three Ways

Sometimes a really rich dessert is needed to complement a special meal and other times lighter fare is more appealing. This panna cotta can be made with a range of coconut products to produce creamier or lighter results. The Greek yogurt adds a bit of tanginess to the finished dish. Continue reading Yogurt Coconut Panna Cotta Three Ways

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Magic Potatoes

For a special spring dinner, there is nothing better than tender juicy leg of lamb and wonderful Greek style roast potatoes. We buy leg of lamb at our local farmers market but any good quality lamb will do. Remember to defrost the leg in advance in the refrigerator. The cooking direcctions may seem long but they are straight forward and the results are well worth it. Continue reading Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Magic Potatoes