Syrup? Sauce? Who cares- It's Heavenly!

About once a month, I serve breakfast....for dinner... at Westbrook Farm.  I have missed the past couple of months, so the kids cheered (a bit too excitedly) when I suggested it on Wednesday afternoon.
William and I stopped at Anderson's Farm Market, about 8 miles from us in Little York, for cantaloupe and sausage to go with our blueberry pancakes.

Since we have an abundance of blueberries at the moment, I decided to make a heavenly blueberry topping for our pancakes.  But.....I'm not sure whether to call it blueberry "sauce" or "syrup".  Here's the recipe - you decide....











JEN'S BLUEBERRY..... SAUCE?

2 cups blueberries
1-2 Tbs. orange juice
1 cup maple syrup





- Dump blueberries in a medium sauce pan and crush them gently as pan heats up to a low heat.  Add orange juice and maple syrup.  Bring to a slow boil.


- Mix about a tablespoon of cornstarch into about a 1/4 cup water.  Add to bubbling mixture.  Allow to thicken for a few minutes.  Remove sauce from heat and let cool slightly, then serve.

This sauce is absolutely delicious on pancakes, waffles, french toast, hot cereal and more!

So, as I was walking through the woods yesterday, I noticed that leaves are beginning to change.   

Already??  Ugh...

There are so many more things I hoped to accomplish this summer, but I guess I have to let them go....very hard for me!

Still hoping to get in a hike or two before it gets too cold for these bones, so stay tuned for photos!

A New Twist On An Old Favorite

We all have our comfort foods, right?  Well, one of mine happens to be blueberry muffins with hot tea.  I love to enjoy this tasty treat on a brisk autumn morning or a snowy, cloudy winter afternoon...... or even a chilly, rainy, late-summer day, like today in CNY! 

I know....I already shared one muffin recipe......but this one is an interesting twist on a classic.  I happened to have some crushed pineapple leftover from baking my mom's zucchini bread recipe, so I decided to play around with my standard blueberry muffin recipe and came up with this:

Moist and Chewy Blueberry-Pineapple Muffins


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 cup crushed pineapple, well-drained
2 cups blueberries





Preheat oven to 375 and spray muffin pans. (Makes 16 -18 regular muffins.)

1.  Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl.
2.  In medium bowl, mix well the eggs, oil, yogurt, syrup, brown sugar, and lemon juice.  
3.  Combine wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.


 



4.  Gently stir in the crushed pineapple and blueberries. Batter will be very thick.  **If batter seems too dry at this point, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk.

5.  Spoon into muffin pans and bake for 16-20 minutes.



**Almost any topping, or even no topping, works for these moist, tasty muffins.  I decided to take about a tablespoon of melted butter and stir in a bit of maple syrup.  Then, I evenly coated about a 1/2 cup of coarse-chopped walnuts and sprinkled on top of the muffins BEFORE baking to create a toasted maple-walnut topper.  






Brew a cup of coffee or tea and....YUM!  Delicious comfort for any day!  Needless to say, these muffins go quickly in my home.....

Check back later in the week for my homemade hot blueberry syrup recipe.  What's better than blueberry syrup on blueberry pancakes, right?

A Fresh Idea....For Green Beans!

This is my favorite time of the year to prepare food.... and eat it!  Don't get me wrong - venison chili with cornbread or beef stew with hearty homemade rolls - Mmm, mmm, good... in the winter!

But, all the fresh veggies and fruit make our kitchen table colorful and flavorful at breakfast, lunch and dinner this time of the year!  Plus, eating healthy is so very easy right now.

Where we're from, in Lancaster County, PA, you cannot drive two miles without passing a little fresh vegetable stand at the end of a farm lane, usually Amish, with super prices!  And, often times, our neighbor would leave her "extras" on our front porch.




Up here that is much harder to find, so I am grateful to discover this season that the soil on Westbrook Farm is very fertile, and veggies seem to love the micro-climate of this valley we now call "home".  In fact, next year Don and William are planning to take the 1/2-acre of open ground between the pond and the chicken coop, and eventually the 2-acre clearing out back, and grow produce to sell here at the farm, at local farmer's markets, and for a few local restaurants.


That said, we are really enjoying our little garden's bounty of lettuce, squash, cucumber, and more this year.  Here is one creative and tasty preparation for fresh green beans and peppers that a friend of mine served us during our recent PA visit.....of course, it includes pure maple syrup!

 

Lemon-Basil Green Bean Salad

1.Wash and snap about 4 cups of fresh green beans
2. Thinly slice one small red or sweet onion
3. Thinly chop either one red bell pepper or 3-4 sweet banana peppers (or some other fresh sweet pepper you like)
4.  Mix these together in a microwave-safe bowl.

5.  Now, for the yummy Lemon-Basil dressing:                                                                                         
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbs. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. lemon zest, plus a few drops lemon juice to taste
1/8 tsp salt

**Whisk the above ingredients together.

Harvest 5-8 fresh large basil leaves.  Cut basil leaves into thin strips and stir into the mixture.  Set dressing aside.

6. Microwave your beans and pepper mixture for just 2-3 minutes.  (Too long will take the crunch out, too short and they may be kind of tough and won't absorb the dressing.)










7.  Pour dressing over veggies, coating them well, then chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

 You will have a refreshing, tangy, crunchy side dish to go with your grilled meat and corn-on-the-cob!












Time marches on, as we head into August, Folks.  We still have some pure maple syrup to sell, but our supply is getting low! Please let me know if you want some.  Only 6 months to get prepared for the 2015 sap run, and we're hoping to double the number of trees we tap! 
Stay tuned for more fun and recipes from the Westbrook Farm.