Local and Loving It

Yesterday Ben and I went Blueberry picking! Hurray!

Unfortunately the season was pretty short this year, so we didn't end up with as many as last year. The pickin's were pretty slim (heh, sorry, bad joke). BUT...the weather was perfect, and we were the only people out in the blueberry field. It was so pleasant, just enjoying the fresh air, spending time together, and wandering through the field.

There were lots of berries that were still unripe, so we might try back next week for some more. We'll freeze our haul of berries, and enjoy them throughout the year in smoothies and desserts.

I just love picking my own food. Something about it is very exciting, and calming at the same time. I love the island life!

Beautiful berries!

We ended up with 10 lbs! Not so bad. Now we get to enjoy them! I think Ben wants to make blueberry sherbet. I am all for it! The only way to make fresh blueberries any better would be to add sugar and cream. Yup. That's the truth!

After our foray into the berry field we went home to more local goodness. About as local as it gets. More produce from our yard! My MIL made a nice dinner of fish, rice, zucchini from the garden, and bruschetta with tomato and basil from the yard as well as garlic from down the road.

Sorry for the dark picture. It tasted really good!

Local produce tastes so amazing. Try to find something grown in your area for a dinner this week! It's worth it!

What is your favorite local product?

Honey Ice Cream

Remember that wonderful honey I bought from Amanda? Well I finally decided to try making some honey ice cream with it!

This is another of Cathy Burgett's recipes from culinary school. I did find it to have a slight eggy flavor, but if you decided to add fruit etc. it would not be noticeable.

Creme Anglaise for ice cream:

2 cups milk (I used 1 %)

vanilla (I didn't use any so the honey flavor would come through better)

6 yolks

1/4 cup sugar ( I ended up using 3/4 cup honey instead)

Bring the milk and sugar to a boil and whisk in half of the hot milk into the yolks. Whisk this mixture back into the hot milk in the pot. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon over low heat, until custard thickens slightly. If you draw a finger across the back of the spoon, it will leave a clear trail. Do not overcook or boil, or the custard will curdle.

Remove the custard from the heat and strain it into a clean bowl. Let cool, cover with plaxtic wrap or a lid, and chill.

Once cooled, pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers instructions.

Transfer churned ice cream to a freezer safe bowl and let harden before serving.

This stuff is so rich and decadent! They honey flavor comes through well. It is beyond perfect served with fresh blueberries!

And pretty too!

There are so many flavor options for this ice cream base! Use maple syrup instead of the sugar, and then add some walnuts. Infuse the milk with mint, coffee, citrus. Add in melted chocolate. Stir in cooked fruit just before churning...Oh the possibilities!

Enjoy!

Pretty Pavlova

Hey there everyone! Hope your weekend it treating you well! Here's a tasty little somethin' somethin' for ya!

The other day I was feeling the need to make something to go with all of the fresh fruit floating around our house. Our Kitchen is looking a bit depleted, so I searched for an easy recipe. Flipping through my recipes from culinary school I came across the page for Pavlova. I had never tried making that before, so I jumped on it!

Here is the ingredient list for Cathy's Pavlova. Pretty easy!

I started out by whipping the egg whites until they formed very soft peaks, then I slowly poured in half the sugar and continued whipping until they formed stiff and glossy peaks.

How do you know it's done? Hold the bowl upside down! Or, stick the whisk in, and the peak it forms when you pull it out should stay firm.

Like this!

Take the bowl off the mixer, and fold in the salt, cornstarch, and remaining sugar. Fold carefully so you don't deflate the whites! Once it's mostly incorporated add the vanilla and vinegar. The vinegar will keep your Pavlova softish in the center, which is a good thing!

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat and pour the meringue onto it. You can make one big one, like I did, or you can make small mounds for individual servings. I like to make it slightly bowl shaped so the filling will stay in later.

Put this into your 300* oven, and bake until slightly browned and crisp, about 1 hour. It will expand in the oven!

And then it will fall when you take it out. It's ok, that's what is supposed to happen!

Let it cool completely, but DO NOT refrigerate! It will melt! You can store it in an air tight container for quite a few days on your counter. I cut up strawberries and mango and blueberries, but you can use whatever fruit you want. Whip some cream with a little vanilla.

When you're ready to serve it, and ONLY THEN, spread a bit of whipped cream on top, make a layer of fruit, top with a little more whipped cream, and garnish nicely with more fruit. Eat immediately! (not that you'll have a problem with that)

This is such a nice light dessert, and a perfect way to feature whatever fresh fruit you have around. Mango, kiwi, berries, banana, cherries..all are good choices! Stay away from watery things like melon. This is such an easy recipe, and looks so impressive! Make a big one and gussy it all up, then serve it for company. They will be so impressed!

I didn't really think ahead, and made a big one instead of individual ones. I was certain four people could eat the whole thing! It's dessert! We just ended up cutting off chunks, which worked well. We still have some of the meringue left for impromptu snacking. Yum!

It looks scary, but it's SO easy! I promise! Just try it, you'll love it! Also, make sure to post a comment on one of my posts sometime today to enter in the giveaway! One lucky winner will get a copy of Eat, Shrink and be Merry for their very own!

Enjoy the beautiful weather out there!

Exercise and More Blueberries

Hello, all! Hope it's as beautiful a day where you are as it is here! Gorgeous!

Last nights dinner was pretty darn tasty! My MIL made a roasted chicken and baked sweet potatoes, and Ben sauteed up some tiny green beans. I put some peanut sauce on my chicken, it was such a comforting meal on a rainy evening.

We watched 3 movies last night, none of which were that spectacular. Operation End Game was a funny-ish actiony movie, but utterly forgettable. Literally. I just had to ask Ben what movie we watched! Second was The Cove, an informative movie about the sickening slaughter of dolphins in Japan. Not a pretty sight. Very disturbing. But very accessible to the public, fact based, and well made. We had t take a break after that one! Finally, we watched Young Sherlock Holmes, which was a pretty funny one, but plenty entertaining in a goofy kinda way.

Dessert accompanied the movies. We had fresh blueberries with a light sprinkling of sugar, and waaay too much heavy cream. This was originally supposed to be served on top of the tapioca pudding Ben's mom made, but we had too many blueberries in our bowls, so the pudding was a side dish. Wow, dessert with a side dish. Could be a hint that there was too much there...naw, just kidding!

Yeah, I ate all of that! Nom nom nom! We pretended to work some of it off by taking a movie break and strolling through the mist, but come on, we would have had to run 10 miles to work off that much cream!

This mornings breakfast centered around blueberries again (what a surprise). I had hemp seed and flax oatmeal with chia seeds and cocoa nibs, blueberries and a big dollop of Nutella. This was SO filling, and beyond delicious! Breakfast is turning into my favorite meal of the day, besides dessert that is.

Once I was able to move after eating all that goodness I decided to go on a short bike ride to the ocean, as the morning was just beautiful.

I rode out to Peter Cove, then around to Starvation Bay. The tide was pretty far out, and the water was looking a bit scummy. Not the best smell, either. But, in general, it was an enjoyable little jaunt on the beach.

The way there is all downhill, so of course the way home is tons of work. We live on top of a hill, so it's always uphill to home, no matter where you're coming from. I do think I'm getting a little better with the bike riding. I made it up all the hills without gasping for breath too much. Not bad!

When I got home my dog Izzie let me know how mean it was of me to go for a ride without her, so I decided to take her on a walk to see if there was anything good at any of the produce stands on our road.

We stopped for a photo shoot of Izzie, because she's SO cute! No other reason needed.

I rest my case!

None of the stands had anything, but we admired the pretty garden.

It was warmer than I thought it'd be, so by the time we got home I was sticky, and Izzie was panting. I made a smoothie to cool me down. It had plain yogurt, almond milk, frozen blueberries and raspberries,and a packet of omega oils.

All was going fine, until I took the lid off the blender just that little bit too soon. Um, yeah. The smoothie attacked me, and won. Not a pretty sight.

After cleaning up the projectile smoothie I poured two large glasses of berry goodness and plopped in my new stainless steal straws! I've been dying to try them! They work so well, and I like the way they feel. Plus, I can just stick them in the dishwasher! Score!

Izzie hung out with me while I made messes in the kitchen. I think she was pretty worn out!

I took the smoothies out to Ben where he was working in the yard. We sat around sipping for a while, then I helped him do some digging for our pond. That made me hungry, of course, so back to the kitchen I went. I mashed a whole avocado, then put about 1/2 cup of my roasted red pepper hummus in and mushed it all together. I have to say, this made a pretty satisfying snack schmeared all over some cracker! Too bad Ben raided my plate, getting away with 2 of my crackers!

At this point in the day we're thinking of dinner ideas. Maybe some big salads with leftover chicken, and some corn on the cob. Yup, sounds like a plan!

Have a good evening, everyone!

Fresh and Local

This morning my breakfast granola & yogurt was enhanced by a heavenly slice of fresh strawberry galette! Now that's the way to start my day off right!

Then, to make the morning even better, a package arrived for me. A while back I ordered some metal and some glass straws. With all my smoothie consumption I figured reusable straws were the way to go. I haven't actually tried them yet, but I am SO excited!

After our wonderful morning B and I went out for some errands. On the way home I noticed that the blueberry farm had it's stand up again, so we stopped.

They rebuilt their stand from last year, and it's looking cute!

I think I almost peed my pants when I saw the bags of fat juicy berries waiting for me.

I LOVE blueberries, and these are so fresh!

When we got home I stuck them in the fridge for later.

Later in the day I decided to go out for a walk with Izzie. I thought I had seen some items at another roadside stand when we were out, so we walked there.

All of the thistles along the road are blooming now, and despite what others say, I think they are really pretty!

So purple!

I think the bees agree with me!

This house usually sells mostly flowers, but they sporadically sell other bits of produce. Izzie and I walked the mile and a half in the heat, and were happy to see the stand around the corner.

I was right, they had some kale out today! I have really been wanting to try kale. I know it's a very healthy leafy green, and I know that the only time I've tried it it was beyond bitter and totally nasty. This being so fresh and local, I decided to give kale another try.

Only $2! Score!

All of these little stands are serve yourself. This little money box was too cute!

The kale might have fared a little better in the heat if I had brought a bag, but instead I carried them all the way home in my sweaty little hand, and a couple leaves got a little bruised. I set them in a glass of water when we got home, and it seemed ok.

Of course I sat right down to find out what I would be making for dinner using my newly acquired kale! It's so pretty and green, it's gotta be good, right?! Here's hoping!