Challah Bread with Blueberries

I bought a new cookbook recently, Cooking from the Farmers' Market.  One of the recipes in the book is for Blueberry Summer Pudding.  Well it is not summer, but we LOVE Childs Blueberries and after our U-Pick summer we have a freezer with an ample supply of the little darlings so I thought, Why not celebrate Summer at Christmas?  Especially given this crazy weather we are having.  So amongst all the cookies and pies made by the rest of the De La Rosa family, we contributed Blueberry Summer Pudding to the holiday dessert spread.   

We used Challah bread made by our friend Paula (Welcome Farm Bakery) and Honey from Bob Coligan - both available at the East Aurora Cooperative Market's Mini Market (check the Co-Ops website for more information on the mini market hours and their bread days!)

With a topping of fresh Cinnamon tinted whipped cream, the result was amazing!  I can't wait to make this again in the summer with just picked blueberries!  I would imagine most berries could be substituted for blueberries, or a combination would be nice.  Of course Peaches would be outstanding too.  Please give this one a try - you will not be disappointed!

Blueberry Summer Pudding - Cooking from the Farmers' Market

6 Cups Blueberries - pick during the season and freeze on a cookie sheet, transfer to a freezer safe bag and enjoy all winter long!
1/2 Cup granulated sugar (we used honey)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (we used oranges from our Winter CSA Share)
2 tsp finley grate lemon zest (again with the orange from our Winter Share)
Pinch of Salt
1tsp pure vanilla extract
12 slices challah, about 1/2 inch thick
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp Confectioners' Sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan, combine 2 cups of the blueberries, honey, orange juice, zest and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and gently crushing the berries as they soften until the berries are juicy and thickened 6-8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 4 cups of berries and the vanilla.

Line a 6 cup bowl with plastic wrap, leaving a 3 inch overhang.  Line the prepared bowel with the bread, covering it completely and cutting the bread so that it fits in a single layer.  Pour in the berry mixture and top with the remaining bread slices to cover completely  Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap and then with the a plate just slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl.  Weight with a can.  Refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Just before serving whip the cream, confectioners' sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until soft peaks form.  Remove the can, plate and plastic wrap from the pudding.  Unmold onto a plate.  Cut into wedges and serve with the whipped cream. 

 

A U-Pick Summer

Today got me thinking back to this past summer.  Seems odd as it is December 21, the first day of winter, but the 60 degree temperature has me a little out of sorts.

I love the long, supposedly lazy, days of summer, especially here in Western New York. Our days were far from lazy, but were long and quite enjoyable as weekdays were spent in the yard until dusk attempted to turn in to dark and weekends were spent embracing our Western New York farm land as we went from U-pick farm to U-pick farm or worked on our own little acre.

Left to Right:  McKenzie, Dann Maren
and Madison

This year we harvested strawberries close to home, cherries with a full day trip up to Lake Ontario region, blueberries, Apples and Grapes all of which had us driving the southern roads of Western New York, including a dirt road on the blueberry trip as we included a visit to meet a local NOFA-NY chicken farmer about organic feed for the ladies.
During these trips I have been thoroughly entertained by our fellow pickers.  At the strawberry field I am sure we were the highlight having 3 of our nieces with us.  They certainly kept us entertained!  While we were cherry picking there was a group looking to pick over 100lbs of cherries.  100 pounds!!!  

Singer Farms:  Cherry Picking

While blueberry picking I was treated to 3 boys, I assume brothers, where the oldest (maybe 12?) was coaching his siblings on where to find THE BEST blueberries - in the middle of the bush!  Of course there were also the slightly older teen girls talking about who likes who.  I even had my bum spanked by a toddler wanting to get my attention to give me a blueberry leaf.  But nothing quite tops the scene as we pulled up to a farm to pick Apples and Grapes.  About 100 feet before we pulled in to park stood a Bull.  Yup, you got that right a real live Bull just standing by the grape vines.  We determined grapes just might NOT be on the agenda if Mr. Bull didn't find his way home.  Fortunately as we were heading out for the Apples we noticed the farmer across the way had come to fetch his Bull.  I'm still not quite sure how one goes about "fetching a bull" but the farmer did it quite handily from my observation deck quite a ways a way and we were able to go home with some grapes after all.

Childs Blueberry Farm

As we were picking I reflected on how sad it is that for so many their first introductions to fruit are from the grocery store aisle, and not from the fields. And in for many this may be their only experience with fruit. To think a strawberry is hard and tasteless and never quite strawberry in color. A cherry tasting like bland nothingness around a pit or heaven forbid maraschino is your only experience. There is no comparison to a fresh picked berry or cherry. I now find myself cringing when I see people eating “fresh” strawberries in August, knowing they are not local and could not possibly taste the same as those picked at their peak and whisked to your farmers markets in mere hours.

The best part of these trips?  First, and foremost, time with Dann, including introducing him to the age old contest of cherry pit spitting.  Yes, just shy of 40, Dann spit his first cherry pit!  Second, an opportunity to get to know Western New York better and enjoy the incredible scenery around us, third, a freezer full of fresh frozen summer fruit that we are enjoying as the weather turns......cold? 

Dear Santa, the Farmer's touch

I remember back to my days as a child when the store gift catalogs would come out.  I would spend hours making my lists and checking them twice or twenty times, who was counting?  Did I want one toy horse or two, was there room for dolls and clothes and the new dollhouse? was I asking for too much?  did Santa have room for more in his sleigh?  I would deer tag pages, cut out pictures and have lists with some things scratched out and others added in until finally...just the right list emerged and was mailed to the guy in the red suit.

Fast forward 30 years (ok, that is scary to say, but sadly true) and this past month has found me pouring over catalogs, cutting out pictures and making a scrapbook only of a different sort...seeds.  Whatever will be in the garden this coming spring?  What do I want to grow vs what can I get from the local farmers market?  What is fun and exciting vs. every day?

This past summer taught me that I can not have a full time job and a full time garden and expect to have any semblance of a life.  So Garden 2012 is currently designed to be scaled back, way back.  Of course that was before the glossy catalogs started arriving promising of flavors and combinations that were must haves.  But alas after much thought and deliberation I have narrowed the selection down quite well if I may say so myself. 

Now to be perfectly honest, I saved a good amount of seed from my harvesting this year to try my hand at seed saving, but of course many of those are not the varieties I'm considering for 2012.  That would be too easy.  I want to try the tomato that looks like a plum and the one that looks like a peach and has fuzzy skin.  I want Chocolate Peppers - hello, it is in the name!  Who wouldn't want CHOCOLATE peppers???  and the rumors I've heard regarding Long Island Cheese pumpkins, well I just have to try to grow them so my pies can taste that good!!  and a cucumber that looks like a lemon?  Say it isn't so!!  That will really confuse my guests when I make refreshing cucumber water in the summer!

So as Christmas rolls around again this year my Letter to Santa looks something like this.


Dear Santa,

How are you doing? I’ve been very good this year. I hope you and the reindeer have been eating well this last year. And while we are on the topic of food I thought I might ask for a few items to be placed under the tree. If it is easier for you HighMowing Organics and Johnny Seed carry my whole list, so you might just want to go straight to the source.

1 pkt Indigo Rose Tomato Seed

1 pkt Waspsinicon Peach Tomato Seed

1 pkt Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Seed

1 pkt Lemon Cucumber

1 pkt Dinosaur Kale

.....

Not to be picky, but I do prefer Organic Seed, I'd rather not have my pesticides grown in my vegetables and it is not good for you or the reindeer either!

And one last thing if you could...a real horse this year?

Thanks Santa!

Yours Truly,

KDLR

10 Years!

Dann and I were able to get away this weekend to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  We were just under 2 months late in getting away, but the fall weekends were busy putting the garden to bed for the winter and quite honestly I couldn't have dreamed of a better time to head to the Finger Lakes.

We arrived in Geneva, NY by way of the Finger Lakes Beer Trail.  After so many wine trails to support the Mrs. over the last 10 years I wanted to make sure there was celebration of Dann too!  Fortunately for me they had Root beer on Tap too with bottomless sampling so I was quite content!  We stayed at Belhurst Castle in a turret suite on the 2nd floor looking out over Seneca Lake with a huge, original, fireplace.  It was breath taking to say the least and the complimentary wine spigot was 10 steps outside our door!  Red wine flowing freely!

Our first visit after settling in to our room was to the Wine and Gift shop were we enjoyed samples of the Castle's wines and were able to locate a Christmas gift for the Mrs.  I lost my great grandmother's spoon ring about 15+ years ago and have been looking for just the right one ever since.  Low and behold - the Castle gift shop scours for spoon rings at antique shops and the like and had one that is very similar to my great Grandmother's!  It is now proudly displayed on my right hand!

At dinner Friday night the chef came out to visit us at our table and was curious if I was sporting a new diamond ring - had them all thinking we just got engaged, not bad after 10 years of marriage!!  Must have been the beer trail followed by the wine sampling?

Saturday morning we woke to large snowflakes falling out our window and over Seneca Lake.  What a beautiful scene.  The morning was spent at the on site spa where we both had 2 hours of pure indulgence and relaxation.  Afterwards we toured around Geneva, eating lunch at Red Dove Tavern which sources its food from many local farmers and artisans.  We followed with chocolate for dessert from (whisper) chocolate.  Then it was on to more beer and wine sampling and of course some cheese!!

We headed to 3 Brothers Winery and Estate which includes 3 wineries and 1 brewery on site.  Each winery was very unique and the staff was amazing!  After 3 Brothers we headed to Muranda Cheese Company where owner Tom Murray provided an amazing sampling of their cheeses and even provided a tour of the cheese room where the cheeses are aging.  I was in awe.  It was hard to pick cheeses to buy as I really wanted them all!  Tom was out of several cheeses due to the growth of the artisan market tours in the Finger Lakes - in 2010 he averaged 50 guests a day in the summer, this past summer he averaged 250 a day!  Thank you to all who are there to support our local artisans!  Of course we gave a hearty thanks to the ladies that make it all possible as we admired the Holsteins in the milking room which is located right across the drive from the Cheese Shop!

We did relax during our weekend too with plenty of time spent in front of the large fireplace in our suite.  Here's to the best 10 years of my life and many many more to come!  Cheers!