For the past two weeks we joined Dumont farmer market. It was our first farmers market and well...we were excited! We offered fresh cut flowers, fresh cut herbs, herb plants, perennials, succulents and more! It was great to meet fellow vendors and see new smiling customers each week. We will be returning back to the farm, so come visit us on River Road! Just look for the little yellow house!
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This fabulous recipe you're about to embark on is brought to us fresh from the fabulous blog, JohnandElana.com. John and Elana are an Italian brother/sister combination who write about their food adventures and generally just love food! Check out their blog for recipes, restaurant reviews and beautiful food photography!
Did you know that pumpkin seeds are for eating? It's true, I promise.
Pumpkin seeds are a meaty seed. Large and puffy, almost like a bean and they provide a chewy contrast to the snappier cashew nuts I included in this recipe. And with the added salt from a sprinkling of roasted sunflower seeds, I also promise that this recipe for roasted and spiced pumpkin seeds will make you happier than a smiling Jack-O-Lantern.
Now, you could buy some pumpkin seeds. OR you could get enthusiastic, break out a large, sharp knife and serving spoon and a pumpkin of your choosing and harvest the seeds yourself. Do this while you are carving up your Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. It's fun. It's a mess. You'll love it.
Shameless plug: you should go get this pumpkin of your choosing at Fresh and Fancy Farms, where I hear that the pumpkins are abundant and ripe for the picking. Also I painted the barn sign there, so you should check that out, too.
What You Need:
3 Tbsp sugar 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch of ground cloves 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 large egg white 1 cup unsalted cashews 1 cup pumpkin seeds (not roasted) 1 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds (to be mixed in later)
OPTIONAL HERBS! If you would like to get a touch "crazy" you can sprinkle some fresh herbs over the nuts while they are roasting. Sage would work nicely here as well as tarragon. Go for it!
What To Do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 4-sided sheet pan. Whisk together the sugar, spices and salt in a small bowl. Whisk the egg white in a medium bowl until frothy, then stir in the nuts. Add the spice mixture and toss to coat evenly.
Spread the nut mixture on the sheet pan in one layer. Bake, stirring once or twice until dry and toasted, about 20 - 25 minutes. Loosen nuts from the pan and cool completely.
Add in your salted sunflower seeds and mix well!
You can even make this one ahead and store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.
* Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine.
As a kid I can always remember my siblings and I cringing at the idea of an eggplant dish for dinner. But now, I find myself dreaming up ways to recreate it in a salad, appetizer or main course! If you're looking to grow your own eggplant, we have plenty of purple and white eggplant still available at Fresh & Fancy Farms! Not to mention, buy one get one half off! But either way, if you decide to stop on by to pick up a plant or head to your local grocer, here are a few things you may not have known about the edible eggplant!
1. Eggplant is ripe as it grows. Pick it while it's petite or eligible for the county fair and enjoy!
2. Like kids, eggplants are spongelike. So if frying is on the cooking agenda, soak your eggplant slices in cool water. So when it comes time to drench in flour and drop into an oil filled pan, you will have a delectable dish that's not to greasy, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
3. The name "eggplant" comes from 18th Century European growers whose yellow or white eggplant resembled goose or hen's eggs.
4. Eggplant is high in potassium, copper, folate, magnesium and fiber. It contains flavonoids and phenols such as caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid, which may fight cancer, viruses, and harmful bacteria, and protect against damaged cells. - David Grotto, 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life
What would we do without the support from friends and family...yea, I don't know either. We just wanted to send out a special thank you to everyone that has been working their tails off to make this possible. Below there are a small snippet of photos. We will get some more up soon & make sure we recognize all of you for your hard work, support and of course your smiles. Today was another long day but we got a lot accomplished for opening day which is TOMORROW, May 7th from 8am - 5pm. Please stop by to say hello, and pick up some floral sunshine and other items to liven up your living space. Also, one of my favorite things we have are the veggies & herbs! Be still my heart the basil smells a little something like I would imagine heaven would smell like. And you can plant it outside in the garden or keep it potted inside ready to be plucked for your next homemade pizza or pesto!
Oh & if you're not into cooking and want something to just look pretty on your desk at work, in kitchen, or simply to make Mom happy on Mother's Day, we have "Lucky Penny Petunias"©
Below see tea cups loaded with a petunia that sits in soil proudly on top of a very lucky penny.
So one more time, THANK YOU! Thank you all for your hard work we love you guys. We look forward to seeing all of our family and friends along with new faces this Mother's Day weekend!
Adventure: Union Square Farmers Market - New York, NY The Union Square Farmers market is one of my favorite places to roam around on a sunny afternoon. It can melt most of the work day stress and inspire you to cook up something new and delicious for dinner. I always seem to discover a new way to use something, from dried lavender to purple fingerling potatoes.
One of my favorite stops is Andrew's Local Honey, he may just have the most delicious whipped honey I have ever tasted. I also really dig his bluberry honey on my oatmeal in the morning.
Sunshine Oatmeal:
Boil water, add oatmeal, stir together for about 4-5minutes until the oatmeal looks moist and creamy. Place in your favorite bowl add milk and honey, stir. Top with dried cranberries and walnuts. Enjoy! [Serves 1]
Note: Research shows that beginning the day with a nutritious, fiber-rich diet can help you maintain a healthy weight. -101 Foods that could save your life
