As I reported earlier, the pawpaws are ripe RIGHT NOW. I finally had a ripe one yesterday, and I can honestly say it was one of the best fruits I have ever eaten. Ripe, the pawpaws are green with black spots and they feel like an avocado from the outside. Inside, the flesh is white-yellow. But the taste...
The taste is like a combination of banana and papaya. The texture is firm but custardy, also like an avocado. The skin is really thin. I just cut the fruit in half and scooped the flesh out with my teeth. I have a thing for cherimoyas so it should be no surprise that I like their cousin, the pawpaw. How exciting that a native fruit is this delicious! This tropical!
My friend Jen, the doyenne of pawpaws, thinks they would be good in a pina colada. Yum!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Pawpaw update
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Update from Farmer Rick at Summer Creek Farm
Here is a copy of Farmer Rick's most recent post to his CSA members...
Hi All, This is the last week of the summer 2008 CSA. Your box is very full this week to catch up from the light boxes early in the season. You have sweet potatoes and fingerling potatoes in this box. That along with the hard squash will let some of the stuff keep till next week to reduce your CSA withdrawl. Additionally you have green tomatoes. You can either use them for Fried Green Tomatoes or place them on your counter to ripen for red tomatoes next week. Additionally you received peppers and several other items.
For those of you joining us for the fall I need to clarify some fall details. Our pickups will be as follows:
Urbana, same place, 4:30 pm -6pm pick up time but the day will move to Wed.Frederick Wed pickup, will remain the same as the summer CSA.Creagerstown, TBD depending on sign ups.Frederick Saturday - will remain the same as summer CSA.I need all payments by September 29 so we know how many boxes to pack.
You all will receive an email pertaining to bonus produce you can pick up from us at the Farmers Market in Frederick on Saturday in October, once Broccoli and pumpkins are you we will have some for you. This is for all summer members to say thanks for a great season.
2009, we are working on the 2009 plans right now. We have received a lot of requests already and some things will change from 2008. We will be taking sign ups sooner this year. All members of 2008 will get first notice for 2009. I also am planning a web site overhaul this winter so check that over the winter to see what is going on at the farm.
Finally some thoughts, first let me thank you for helping make our farm successful in 2008. Me and my family (plus 150 chickens, 240 peeps, 120,000 bees and one lazy dog too) thank you. As I am sure you all know we work very hard to bring you fresh produce. Our farm employed 7 people this year, providing them some income but more importantly an education of real life issues. For young people used to video games this is a very different experience.
Farming is something you do because you love it, not because it makes a lot of money. From June to the end of September I call it the gauntlet. Once you enter that season your time is consumed but many items, some more important than others. All items need to be done to keep the crops growing and a steady stream of produce for our CSA and farmers markets. Most of our income is made during this season so while winter is a time to plan, rest, repair all our broken equipment it is also a time of little income. This adds pressure to make the summer even more successful. The CSA is an important way for us to get our season started. We need about $10,000 each year to start the farm. This buys seed, fertilizer, parts and equipment. It also helps to pay for spring labor before we get income from sales. We thank you for that support.
The gauntlet is also tough on friends and relatives. It is hard for people not in farming to understand why no time is available for much else during this time. Many items seem like they could wait but experience teaches me that not performing them would lead to serious financial issues later. With one eye on the weather and one on the calendar we try to fit to many items in a day. These stresses may be why farming as an occupation is listed in the top 10 on both divorce and suicide. Each year I try to plan more ways to grow more in less time for time is the most precious resource I have. Some day I hope to find that magic solution.
Farming does have many benefits that you will not see in a normal job however. The wonder of harvesting boxes of tomatoes from one seed. The feeling of watching grain pour out of the augers as a roaring combine cuts a swath through a field of grain. Nothing is more beautiful than the sparkle of clear water rushing from an irrigation port on a bright sunny day. The sparkle of that water on a hot day quenching a drought is better than diamonds. Of course working on the farm we learn to appreciate the little things in a complicated world. The value of a gentle breeze, the sight of bees pollinating a crop and feel of healthy soil sifting through your hands. All of these won't make the evening news but all help put food on the table at night.
Our world is currently changing. With energy no longer cheap and growing economies around the world demanding more food the farmer is more important ever. We hope that you all stay abreast of the issues in the world for they will effect your food supply and costs. Food is the most basic of needs and it is
often taken for granted. Something so valuable should not be taking so lightly.Thanks again and we hope to see many of you back next season.
Farmer Rick
Sunday, September 21, 2008
It's pawpaw season!
Today I visited a friend who happened to have a bag of pawpaws that she recently picked in a wild area along a local stream. I had never tasted one before, so she sent me home with a few. I wasted no time cutting one open and tasting it for myself.
The fruit was partly ripe and partly rotten. I cut the rotten, brown part off and dug into the yellow-orange flesh, which had a tropical sweetness and a banana-like texture. It was delicious. The huge seeds were easy to eat around. The fruit looked something like a cherimoya (which is in the same family), which I loved when I lived in California. The pawpaw fruit was about 3 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. It was green on one side and black on the other (the black side was rotten). I found the picture above at slow food international. The fruit looked very similar except the flesh was pencil-colored. For more information about the pawpaw, check out wikipedia and Virginia Tech websites.
Now is the time to harvest these local, native fruits. You can pick them and eat them yourself, or you can give them to Growing Native. Growing Native is a local project that collects native tree seeds and sends them to state tree nurseries to grow for environmental restoration.
Here's a recipe for pawpaw and black walnut cookies from the University of Kentucky website. Black walnut is also a native tree; it is dropping its delicious, edible nuts now. They are similar to English walnuts, but have a strong, distinctive flavor that is a little bitter.
Pawpaw Cookies with Black Walnuts
- ¾ c. pureed pawpaw pulp
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ c. butter
- ½ c. brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ c. black walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350o F and grease one large cookie sheet. Peel and seed fresh pawpaws and process in a food processor until fine. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg. Add the flour mixture and then add the pawpaw pulp. Chop half the nuts (reserve 16 pieces) and blend them in. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet and press a piece of black walnut onto the top of each cookie. Bake 12 minutes or until brown across the top. Makes about 16 cookies.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Recipes from Organic Valley
I received an email letter from organic valley and saw this article. It is time to cook fall vegetables!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Coffee buzz anyone?
Ok, so last week wasn't the best coffee weather but it's coming! Cakes for Cause has started carrying hot and cold coffee provided by Café Nola. This is a dark and rich roast that's perfect as you walk around to the vendors at the Farmer's Market. Come to think of it, it's perfect with one of our fresh, traditional croissants or pain au chocolate too! For the afternoon part of the market, when it gets warmer, we also have our hand-shaken lemonade. Our lemonade-istas are standing by!
Cakes for Cause has a couple of events coming up that you may want to be aware of. We'll be attending the Middletown Heritage Festival on September 27th with yummy cookies and lemonade. We'll also have a booth at In the Street in Frederick on October 4th. We won't have food there (have you seen how many people show up for that?!) but we will have special drawings, information about our program, and pre-order sheets for our holiday cookies. And, don't forget, we're available to help with the holiday baking. Whether it's an elegant cake for your dinner party, spiced nuts for your holiday soiree, or a breakfast basket filled with scones and croissants for your office meeting, Cakes for Cause can help you craft something that is special and different. Give us a call or shoot us an email.
Speaking of holiday cookies, if you're of the cookie-decorating bent, we can help with that too. Our holiday fundraiser is sales of pre-rolled and cut gingerbread and sugar cookie boys and girls. All you have to do is slide them in the oven and bake them off...decorating is up to you. These are mouthwatering gingerbread and sugar cookies, created in small batches, just like all our pastries. Take some of the pressure off this holiday season and let us help you! Pre-Order forms are available at both markets and you can email us if you can't make the market.
This week at the Frederick Market (Saturdays on Baughman's Lane 10:00-1:00), we'll have several scones for any taste category: Lemon Ginger butter scones, Whole-Wheat Wild Blueberry butter scones, Vegan Sour Cherry scones, and Cheddar Chive cream scones. We missed croissants and pain au chocolate last week but we'll have them again this week. Our soda bread sells out quickly so if you really want a loaf, contact us in advance and we'll put one aside for you. Also, to the gentleman with the more than 10-year old memory of a Swedish Rye with orange peel, I'm going to try to get to it this week but no promises. Those of you who picked up freshly milled whole wheat flour, we owe you a recipe and they will be available at the market this week. We sell whole-wheat pastry flour (perfect for cookies and quick breads) that is milled in small batches and then sifted to remove the bran. If you're short on ideas, we'll give you a recipe as well, to get you started.
There's lots of ways you can support Cakes for Cause. We are always looking for volunteers and we have several opportunities available. Click here if you're interested in volunteering. You may also make a tax-deductible contribution to our organization. Your support helps us to provide paid employment, supplies, and equipment to the youth in our program. If you'd like to make a donation, click here. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Cakes for Cause
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Coffee AND Gingerbread!
Ok friends, here it is. Our big cookie fundraiser for the holidays. Ever wish you had enough time to make those beautiful decorated cookies that show up in all the holiday magazines? Ever decorate a gingerbread cookie with a frosting bikini? This year is your opportunity. Cakes for Cause will sell boxes of pre-cut gingerbread and sugar cookie boys and girls and all you have to do is slide them out of the freezer and into the oven and then get out your red hots and sugar sprinkles. It's that easy! What's more, it's a delicious, fresh, no additives, small-batch cookie like all our other products, and...we won't tell ANYONE! We will have pre-order sheets for the last two weeks of the Middletown Market and at the Frederick Market until November. You don't even have to pay now. How easy is this?!
Quantities are limited so order early. Each box will contain 2 ½ dozen cookies with instructions for baking, decorating ideas, and a bonus cookie recipe if you do have time to do some of your own holiday baking...but let us take the pressure off you for the decorated cookies this year.
This week at the Frederick Market (10:00-1:00 on Saturdays on Baughman's Lane behind the Holiday Inn) we will sell pear and almond tarts. Made with Sikle pears from the orchard of one of our supporters, this is an elegant tart with a baked almond cream crust and sprinkled with toasted pistachios. We'll also have whole wheat scone and vegan scones again (those of you who purchased the whole wheat cranberry scones last week, stop by and let us know what you thought). Remember, you can get freshly milled whole wheat pastry flour (with or without bran and sold in 1 lb quantities) from us at the market. You'll also get a recipe in case you need some inspiration. This week we'll also be selling hot COFFEE so now no one has an excuse not to come visit us at the market!
A quick Cakes for Cause shout-out for the rainy hurricane volunteers from last week. Almost everyone stayed for the entire time and we thank you for your enthusiasm and your sense of humor. It's one of those stories we can tell our grandkids! We have only two weeks left for the Middletown Market but we're also planning to attend the Middletown Heritage Festival on the 27th of September and Frederick's In the Street on October 4th so if you can't make either market, we hope to see you somewhere. The Frederick market will be open (through November if the weather holds) and we hope you'll also remember us at the holidays when you need baked treats. We're available and would be happy to help you make your dinner or holiday party special. Just let us know.
Cakes For Cause
Frederick County Farmer's Market Survey
I found out today that there was a series of surveys on farmer's markets in Frederick County this summer! How did I miss that? Sandy, who works for office of economic development, says that it is not too late and that we can still visit enjoyfrederick.com and fill out the survey. They would like to assess the impact of farmer's markets on local economy and want to find out what encourages people come to farmer's market, and are equally interested in knowing what causes people not to come back for the market. It is a great opportunity to voice your enthusiasm and share your ideas and concerns about farmer's market.
Ready to participate in the survey?
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