Plum pops and Stone Fruit Sherbert

June 23, 2016June 24, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

Plums abound this week at our local fruit stands. Our own plum tree is raining plums! This Sherbert is a cross between a frozen yogurt and ice cream. Sorry I don’t know what to call it, but my husband decided sherbert was its closest identity! This is a great way to use too ripe fruit that you need to use up. I’m not one to fuss too much in kitchen and love when I can make a couple (or even 4) things out of one recipe for future use. No peeling of fruit involved, and this recipe has double the fruit you need for the sherbert so you can use the puree for popsicles, as a topping, in smoothies, or even baby food!. Our plums and yogurt add a twist on a standard recipe. The fruit is cooked to render its natural sugars, and maple syrup is added to even further sweeten the deal.

Ingredients:

Fruit Puree:

10 ripe plums or a mix of other stone fruit in season, (peaches, apricots, or nectarines)
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c water

Sherbert Base:

2 c whole milk
1 c heavy cream
1 c yogurt
1 tbs salt
6 egg yolks
2/3 c maple syrup

Directions:

Slice plums in half and remove pit. Place in sauce pan, add water and maple syrup. Simmer and place cover once boiling. Fruit is ready when tender and cooked through, approx 10-15 min. Place mixture in blender when cooled and puree. Use remainder to make plum pops.

Pops: 1 c puree to 1/2 c water and freeze in Popsicle molds for 4-5 hours, or use as topping to vanilla ice cream, and even baby food!

Place milk, heavy cream, maple syrup and salt into sauce pan. Cook until hot to touch. in bowl whisk egg yolks. Add small amount of heated milk to bowl. Whisk, then add the yokes back to sauce pan and cook an additional 5 min on low until mixture coats the back of spoon. Pour through strainer into bowl, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. remove and add to ice cream maker. Add fruit puree to ice cream mixture. Follow ice cream mixers directions as far as time. refrigerate for 3-4 hours and serve!

Hearts of Harvest and Art to Feed

June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

So Grateful and blessed to be able to give with ART to FEED. Last Thursday’s Farmers market was a truly special time. Working in partners with Hearts of Harvest Foundation, a foundation that gives support to families facing health crisis. Many children and families the foundation has helped are affected by heart problems at young age, and need extensive surgeries and therapies at hospitals that require extensive travel. This foundation pays for families to stay near to their children, a situation know all to well by my dear friend and vice president of Hearts of Heavest, Jeana Hoff. The foundation is doing wonderful things for our community, visit Hearts of Harvest online to learn more. This was a very special time for me to have my family by my side, to hear all the stories form individuals who have been affected by the health crisis of a child, and to see all the new local farms and their wonderful produce! The community was so supportive; children, community workers, families, elderly, and special needs children all painting their “hearts” on the same canvas to show their support. I cant wait to donate this special painting towards Hearts of Harvest Foundation! Stay tuned to see the finished product!
Continue reading →

Citrus Yogurt Chicken with Thyme

June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

Yogurt is the ultimate marinade for meat. The cultures and acidic nature of yogurt help break down the protein structure in meats, making them tender and flavorful. It serves as a perfect medium to deliver other flavors of your liking to the meat of choice. Our garden is booming, and my favorite herb right now is Thyme. Thyme has a citrus- woodsy taste that I love to use while grilling. My Raw Yogurt Recipe is used in this marinade; a little lime, paprika, mustard, salt, fresh ground black pepper and I round it out with a little maple syrup to bring a touch of that sweet sickness that we all love in our BBQ!

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts (With Ribs or Without)
1 1/2 C Raw or Store Bought Yogurt
1/2 C Maple Syrup
1/4 C Mustard (Dijon, Whole Grain Or Plain old French’s)
2 tbsp Salt
2 tbsp Fresh Ground
Pepper
2 tbsp Paprika
3 tbsp Fresh Thyme
2 limes (or Lemon if in season)

Directions:

Heat BBQ Grill on Medium High. Place Chicken Breasts in Ziploc bag. Place all ingredients in bag and shake, pound, mix away! Kids will like this job, just be careful with using chicken with ribs in as the pointy bones can poke holes through bag! BBQ on Medium for 25- 35 minutes depending on size, until juices run clear, and internal temperature reads 160 F. Serve with fresh salad or your side of choice!

Simple Maple Blue Berry Pie

June 18, 2016June 18, 2016 / Art to Feed / 2 Comments

I love this pie filling! One because its simple and two because we get to visit Vanderhelm farms down the road to pick our own blue berries! They have amazing blue berries, I try to get lots of sour (green) ones to balance out the sweetness in this pie filling. This is the simplest of all fruit pie recipes because there is no prepping, peeling or pitting of fruit! I use maple syrup instead of sugar to give depth of flavor and also because maple syrup is absorbed much slower in the body than other simple sugars (i.e. refined sugar or honey). Use this with my Yogurt Maple Pie Crust recipe and you will have a true taste of farm home goodness!

Ingredients:

6 cups fresh blue berries (I have not tried frozen but I suppose you could try!)
1/2 flour
2/3 c maple syrup
2 tbs lemon juice more if berries are really sweet.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 f. Prepare pie crust as directed. Mix blue berries, flour, lemon juice, and maple syrup in large bowl. Place in pie crust. Place second pie crust to cover. Using sharp knife remove edges, and place slits in top to allow hot air to escape. Crimp edges to close. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 35-45 minutes. Use foil or cover over crust edges to prevent burning.

Flaky Maple Yogurt Pie Crust

June 18, 2016June 18, 2016 / Art to Feed / 4 Comments

This is a classic pie crust recipe that uses 1/3 less butter because we add our raw yogurt. The yogurt gives a tangy flavor and lightness to the crust. We also use Maple syrup instead of sugar to give more depth in flavor as well as for health conscious reasons. Our bodies absorb the sugar from maple syrup much slower than from other simple sugars, (i.e. honey or refined sugar). I just love this crust; besides tasting amazing and standing out, it is simple to make! I’m not one to fuss in the kitchen. I use one bowl for this recipe and only have to handle it during the rolling out part. Anyone can make this! Use this recipe for all your favorite in season fruit, pumpkin, nut or savory pies. I especially love it with my Maple Blueberry Pie filling!

Ingredients:

3 c Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/4 c Raw Yogurt (or store-bought Greek Yogurt)
1/4 c Maple Syrup
1 c Cold Butter
6-8 tbs Ice Water

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 425 F. Cut butter into small cubes and place in freezer for 15- 20 min. It is important for butter to remain as cold as possible during process which will allow for flaky crust.

Using food processor (if you do not have one place ingredients in large bowl and use pastry cutter to combine), sift flour into bowl of processor. Add salt , maple syrup, yogurt and chilled butter cubes. Pulse while adding ice water a Tbs at a time until mixture is roughly starting to pull together. Do not over process.

Empty bowl onto plastic wrap, cover into ball and place in fridge for 30 min. Then place on floured surface, cut in half and roll out into rough circle. Using roller, roll end of flattened disk around rolling-pin and unroll into pie dish. Press to pie dish form.

Place desired filling in pie shell, and if desired roll out remaining half disk and pace on top cutting slits in center and cutting off excess pie dough from edges with sharp knife. Crimp edges as desired to close. Bake at 425 for approx 40 min using foil of cover over pie edges to keep from burning.

Fluffy Power Waffles

June 14, 2016June 14, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

These are the best we have made! Our poor little waffle maker has been getting a workout. I added cottage cheese and my raw yogurt to a standard pancake recipe, as well as almond flour for a high protein waffle that tastes great and is lighter than any waffle I have had. If you have never put cottage cheese into pancake or waffle mix try it! As the batter cooks the cottage cheese curds create little pockets of gooey goodness. You can add yogurt or cottage cheese to any standard store-bought box pancake mix for extra nutrition. All my kid’s love this recipe. Freeze extra waffles and pop in toaster for quick breakfast later.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c Almond flour
1 c milk
1/2 c yogurt (raw or store-bought)
1/2 c cottage cheese

Directions:

Heat up waffle iron or skillet. Sift dry ingredients into large bowl. Make a well in sifted dry ingredients. Place eggs in well and beat with fork. Add yogurt and cottage cheese to egg mixture and combine. Slowly add milk as you combine the wet and dry ingerdients. Mix will be lumpy. Add more milk, (1/4 c at a time), if batter appears too thick. Using REAL butter prep hot skillet or waffle iron. Pour batter onto prepared hot surface. Flip pancakes when bubbles appear at surface, or open waffle iron when steaming has finished. Serve with favorite toppings and enjoy!

Our “Hearts”

June 10, 2016July 6, 2016 / Art to Feed / 2 Comments

016
What a wonderful night at the 10th Street Farmers Market. We were able to connect with so many in the community about what we are hoping to do at Art to Feed. Husband and kids in tow we decided to be at the market with one day notice. I took all the remaining art I had, my easel and trusted things would work out. We placed a canvas and paints for the community to paint their “hearts” on. We will then donate the painting to Jessica’s House; with the hope we can help promote their cause and give joy to they children they serve. We hope the kids that are served at Jessica’s House will know that there is a community out here who cares. Jessica’s House is an organization that helps children and youth deal with loss.I became aware of Jessica s house as a nurse practitioner when I needed to refer one of my clients for grief counseling and found very few resources. I am so excited about how it was received by the community. I feel like one of my biggest job as an artist and a christian is to encourage hope in others, and inspire based on what I have received. I pray for many more opportunities!