Path Valley Apricots, Delicious!

IMG_5572 Eating lots right now– Brief season...  The board they are sitting on was made by the talented Margaret Boozer, it's from Darryl Carter's store on 9th Street, NW in DC.

I will serve them for dessert tonight with frozen coconut and candied almonds.

Frozen Coconut

1 cup young coconut water, 1 cup young coconut meat, 3 cups coconut milk, 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut butter, 1/2 cup agave nectar, 1 teaspoon himalyan salt

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a high speed blender.  Adjust sweetness to your liking.
  2. Chill and freeze in an ice cream maker.
Candied Almond
 

1 cup almonds, 2 tablespoons honey, large pinch of sea salt, large pinch of sugar

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all  ingredients on a baking sheet and place in oven.  Cook stirring often until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Drop Off Birthday Dinner, SCD Diet

We cooked a birthday dinner last night for someone who is following the SCD, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which is designed to help heal digestive disease as well as other ailments.  In short the diet is grain free, sugar free, starch free and incorporates only unprocessed foods.  There is a list of "legal" and "illegal" foods that still left us ample ingredients mostly sourced from Path Valley Cooperative and seasoned with herbs from our garden at 1508. Birthday Menu:

Roasted Tomato and Peach with Basil, Peas with Carrots and Leeks, Eggplant and Chives, Cabbage with Beets and Fennel, Summer Squash with Olive and Preserved Lemon, Wood Grilled Chicken, Sorrel Egg Salad, Blueberry Coconut Crumble with Coconut Vanilla Sauce

IMG_5425IMG_5442 IMG_5417 IMG_5423 IMG_5416

Sweet Potato and Apple Crumble at Big Bear Cafe

John is spending his days and nights cooking lunch and dinner over at Big Bear Cafe, delicious!  A couple days ago he asked for help coming up with a new dessert recipe using Path Valley Orange Heirloom Sweet Potatoes.

This is what we came up with–

Sweet Potato, Apple Crumble FILLING– 6 cups sweet potatoes sliced thin (about 1/8 inch) 6 cups apples sliced (about 1/4 inch) – we used a variety of just harvested heirloom apples from Reid's Orchard 1 cup brown sugarmix thoroughly and place in a baking dish (approximately 9" x 13") or individual ramekinsTOPPING- 1 1/2 c oatmeal 3/4 cup ground walnut 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 3/4 cup coconut flakes 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy or almond milk 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil 1 tablespoon very finely chopped fresh ginger 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt

mix thoroughly and top the apples and sweet potatoes

bake in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until golden brown and sides are caramelized

Serve with creme fraiche and some slices of fresh apples

Note from Path Valley Coooperative

Anyone who has eaten at a Home Restaurant or knows me at all has heard me rave about Path Valley.  Just after they were formed, nearly two decades ago,  we connected with the cooperative of Amish farmers and they have been our primary source for produce ever since. Yesterday with the weeks order list we got a note:

Yay!  It is March and the weather is being predictable for once.  The winds are perfect for kite flying and the kids have been really busy running around "catching the breeze" and "adding more tail" and generally enjoying the weather.  Spring has never seemed so welcome.
All of the growers have been busy placing seed orders and tilling and preparing for a busy growing season.   Month after month we do more business than ever and with the increase in business comes an increase in WORK and we are all ready to work.
All of us are super appreciative of being able to grow produce at home.  This keeps families at home, specifically, it keeps the guys at home.
This is far preferable than working out as a day laborer or at the local pallet shop.  There is a strong current of gratitude that I don't often mention and yet it is a fact that we all appreciate growing produce for you and engaging in such grounding and rewarding labor.
Thank you for supporting our family farms.