Farm Booze

My Mom told me I needed to be more personal on my blog. Who does she think she is Susie Fogelson? This is not Next Food Network Star mother....

At the end of the school year my fellow teacher friends and I went out for happy hour after spending hours packing up our rooms and grading a billion tests. Our drinks took FOREVER to get to our table and after tons of whining they arrived. Even though it took approximately 45 minutes there it was...my mojito and everything was oooookkaaayyyy! 

Dreyer farms gave us mint and limes this week, and they were so beautiful I had to use them! I could not think of a better way  to use these ingredients but in a spectacular cocktail. 

Blueberry Mojitos

 (or Bro-jitos as my brother's college roommates called them because they couldn't stop drinking them!)

You will need: 

24 oz. of Seltzer or Club Soda 

Juice of 4 Limes (I used as much fresh as I could get and then use a little bottled) 

12 oz. of White Rum (I used Bicardi...heeeyyyy)

1 cup of Blueberries 

1 healthy bunch of fresh Mint, I would aim for about 20-30 mint leaves, depending on your mint preferences.

1/4 cup of Sugar 

The fresh blueberries were simply perfect this week. I smooshed (that is the technical term), in my mortar & pestle before adding them to the drink. I did leave some whole for fun.  

First add mint leaves and sugar to  your pitcher. I used the end of a wooden spoon to muddle the mint and sugar. Add the lime juice, rum and blueberry smoosh. Since I was making a pitcher of this I added the seltzer to the rum mixture but if you want to make them to order you're supposed to pour ice and club soda into two tall glasses and then pour in rum mixture and give it a gentile stir.

The best part about homemade cocktails is that you can make everything to taste. Is it not sweet enough for you? Add more sugar love. Would you like a stronger buzz? Add more rum. 

Hope everyone had a beautiful 4th of July! 

Aaaannnnd a very happy birthday to this guy. My Dad. <3 

- Laura 

 Dreyer Farm

*Dreyer Farm is not sponsoring this blog. 

Hot Dogs and French Firies...

Just kidding! Hot dogs and veggies is what we ate in my house tonight. 

Today I picked up my weekly Dreyer's Farm Fresh Box (Just the basics package).

This weeks produce includes:

Scallions, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Peaches, Rasberries, Golden Squash, Peppers, Limes, Mints, Pickles,   Spring Onions, and is week I chose the Bake Spice from Savory Spice Shop. Needless to say I am thrilled with this weeks options!

So we had some hotdogs for dinner, but the side dish was the real star. I made a Golden Squash, Potato and Onion Hash.

You will need: 

2 Golden Squash

1/2 Spring Onion 

10-12 Dutch Yellow Peewee Potatoes, or any other small roasting Potatoes

2 tsps. Olive Oil 

3 Garlic Cloves

Salt & Pepper to taste

First I chopped all the veg up, I quartered the potatoes and squash,minced the garlic, and sliced the onion.

Next, I sprayed a baking pan with some Pam Olive Oil Non-Stick Spray. 

Then, I put all the veg together, drizzled about 2 tsps. of Olive Oil, and seasoned with Salt and Pepper. 

Finally, bake it all together for about 30 minutes at 375* F.

Eat it up! It's so delicious, the potatoes browned so beautifully, the squash, onion and garlic were so sweet! It is definitely worth making again.

Easy as Pie!

Let's talk leeks....

Pull out your pie dish! We're making dinner. 

Tonight I made a super delicious quiche with spinach and leeks.

First things first, you need to make a flakey crust. 

Crust:

1 cup of flour 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

1/4 cup of ice water 

1/4 cup of olive oil 

Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork. Mix the wet together, pour in to the dry ingredients and press your pie crust in to your pie dish. 

I froze it for 20 minutes and then I baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes with parchment paper and another pie dish on top. Next, I took the second pie dish and parchment paper off and baked it for 10 minutes until it got to be a nice golden brown. 

While all of the freezing and baking is happening, you can make your filling. 

Leeks + Spinach Filling: 

3 large eggs 

4 oz. Heavy Cream 

1 cup of Skim Milk

2 Leeks Sliced thin

3 oz. Spinach Chopped 

First I sauteed the spinach with olive oil spray, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I let them nicely wilt and then set aside. Repeat with the leeks. 

I  beat the eggs and combined all ingredients above. 

Put it all together...

Finally the flakey crust is a golden brown and your veggie custard is ready. Next I took an italian cheese blend and covered the bottom of the pie crust with cheese, filled the pie with the filling and put some more gooey cheese on top. 

I baked it for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees. 

The hubs topped it with fresh a fresh tomato. 

Seriously tasty, seriously easy, really fresh. 

No more pencils, no more books!

I'm going to do my best to stay sane this summer as I find myself in a summer of transition. I'm a first grade teacher changing school districts, I'm a wife selling our home and I'm a dog Mom adjusting our new pup, but my favorite title of the summer is Chef. 

I love food,  I love to eat and I truly enjoy cooking (during the summer, during the school year I'm no fun). During the summer my husband and I join the local farm's CSA program. We pick up a fresh box of fruits and veggies every Tuesday. Most of the time there are ingredients in the box that I have never used before. I'm going to challenge myself in a "Chopped" fashion to use everything in the box. I will research recipes, try recipes from the farm, make up my own fancy recipes, and some weeks keep it simple on the grill. 

Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ has completely inspired my inner Summer Chef and my hope is to come out of this summer a better home cook with new techniques and a better handle on some of these fresh ingredients! 

Dreyer Farms
Savory Spice Shop

This Tuesday (June 25) we were given: 
Zucchini 
Cucumber 
Tomato
Blueberries 
Leeks 
Mustard Greens 
Basil 
Broccoli 
Lettuce 
Homestead Spice Pack from Savory Spice Shop in Westfield, NJ. 

My plans for today are to make my own pesto, eat fresh blueberries, find a recipe for a yummy cheese sauce for the broccoli and figure out these mustard greens! 

Stay cool.

-Laura