Blackberries

Blackberry season is almost over here at HERITAGE HARVEST HOMESTEAD.  If you have not taken a chance to purchase Blackberries this season you've, unfortunately, missed out!  Sorry! Next spring we plan to triple our production here so you won't have as much of a chance to miss some really great blackberries for cobbler, in smoothies or your yogurt.



 What berries we have left this year will be Hot Blackberry Jelly,  Blackberry Syrup, Blackberry BBQ Sauce and more.  Want to be one of our taste testers?

Here's one of my favorite recipes for this year:

Blackberry Pound Cake by Martha Stewart

Come back and see how I made it gluten free!

HERITAGE HARVEST HOMESTEAD BEGINS CSA PROGRAM FOR 2014

What is a CSA?

See Our Page - Click Below

Community Supported Agriculture

Cooking in Season

Cooking in the summer when fresh vegetables are abundant in your own garden, from us here at HERITAGE HARVEST HOME, or at the farmers market can be a real budget saver!  Today I looked into my pantry and refrigerator finding: 1 left-over brat, a half pound of small potatoes, a scallion (green onion), a tomato and some fresh mozzarella.  This turned into a perfect anytime meal for the two of us and the baby that was oh so easy on the budget plus quick and easy to prepare.

I sliced the potatoes.  Some of my potatoes had gotten green from sun exposure so I peeled the green part off and sliced them.  They were fried in a tablespoon of coconut oil (but I could have used butter), with the lid on, after I salted and peppered them, until they were just beginning to soften. I then added the sliced scallion and cooked brat and cooked until potatoes were soft.  I sliced the mozzarella and served with sliced tomatoes as a side dish.  You can salt and pepper it and top with a bit of torn basil, if you like.




Want to reduce the carbs and bump the protein?  Reduce the potatoes to just a quarter of a pound and add a small patty pan squash.  To bump the protein add some beaten eggs at the end and cook to scramble.

This meal could have been easily grown by anyone, even apartment dwellers growing in containers.

Fresh Mozzarella is an easy cheese to make fresh from either goat or cows milk, no fancy cheesemaking equipment required.  Yes, you CAN make it with store bought milk but it sure tastes nice when it's made with raw milk from your local dairy (if it's legal to purchase in your area). 

Baby's food can be easily taken from your plate, ground in a baby food grinder and fed that way.  Our 8 month old granddaughter HATES commercial baby food and prefers the 'flavor' found on our own plates.  You can get one like this one on Amazon.com!

Help Wanted!

We are still looking for someone to come help us with the farm for next season. We have an 8 month old now, and next year she'll just be a year old. We'd like to try you out this year to see how we work together. 

THIS YEAR: Help clean up the garden and prepare the beds for next year, some landscaping, do some painting and even help with some building repair. About 10 hours a week. 

NEXT YEAR: General Farm Care-taker, animal care, gardening, lifting of feed and mulch bags and lots of weeding. Besides gardening has to be handy with a hammer and a paint brush and handle a tiller.  

YOU MUST BE: On board with Organic Farming, a self starter, able to work 20 hours per week. Work will be from mid March through October 2014.  Must pass a background check (our granddaughter is a ward of the state), be a legal citizen, and steady worker. Some Experience helpful. Contact Jean

July's Favorite Post - Amish Sweet Dill Pickles

By far the most popular post for July was the Amish Sweet Dill Pickle Recipe.



http://heritageharvesthome.blogspot.com/2013/07/amish-sweet-dill-pickles.html

Have you made any yet?

Roasted New Potatoes and Green Beans

I loved the recipe I posted last week and wanted to try it but there are just two of us plus one that eats tiny bites so I needed a smaller recipe.  I wanted to pare this with green beans fresh from the garden so I just added them to the mix.  This was served with my mini meat loaves that I keep in the freezer for quick meals .........YUMMMMM

8 ounces small new potatoes (cut in 1 1/5 inch pieces if they are bigger than this)
1 cup fresh green beans
1/2 small onion, sliced top to bottom
1 tomato, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, mashed but still in skin (keeps it from burning)
1/8 teaspoon Chili Flakes
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper

Wash your hands and mix this all together until all the vegetables are coated with olive oil.  Place on a baking pan. Roast together at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 25-30 more minutes (stir after 15 minutes).  Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon chopped chives and cook another 5 minutes.  SERVES TWO

What To Do With Tiny New Potatoes

Small new potatoes, roasted with onions, garlic, tomatoes, olives, and herbes de Provence.

The garlic cloves are cooked with their peels still on (but crushed) to help keep the garlic from burning or drying out. The peels also help keep the mushy roasted garlic distinct, so that if an individual doesn't want to eat garlic, it can be avoided. You can either remove the skins before serving, or let the individual remove them once served. SEE MY CONVERTED RECIPE FOR TWO

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb small new potatoes (look for the smallest you can find, the potatoes should be no bigger than 1 1/2 inches, if they are bigger, cut them into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 medium onion, sliced in the direction of root to top
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed with peel on (do not remove peel)
• 2-3 small to medium vine-ripened tomatoes, or plum tomatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 10 pitted olives, green and black (Kalamata and Nicoise)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp herbes de Provence
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives for garnish

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F

2 Put all ingredients (except chives) into a bowl, toss with your (clean) hands to coat completely with oil and seasonings.

3 Spread out in an even layer in a roasting pan.

4 Put the potatoes in the oven, cook for fifteen minutes at 400°F. Then reduce the heat to 375° and cook for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the onions and tomatoes are somewhat caramelized and the potatoes are cooked through. Halfway through cooking, stir the potatoes so that they remain well coated with oil and do not get dried out, and the bottom of the pan stays coated with oil.

5 Remove from oven and let sit until cooled to room temperature.

Sprinkle with freshly chopped chives to serve. Excellent served with steak and a side of greens. (You can toss fresh spinach or chard with the oil remaining in the potato roasting pan and put back into the oven for just a few minutes until just wilted.)

Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

From Simply Recipes (including picture)