Apple Spice cake

An easy, fool-proof cake. Goes together in minutes.

Heat oven to 400.

Combine the following dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur, from Vermont, available at Whole Foods)
1/2 cup maple sugar (from Fair Food)
1 tbsp. ground flax seed (from Kauffman's at the Reading Terminal Market)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (Rumford, from Whole Foods)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
pinch of cloves

Skin, core, and dice an apple.

In a pouring vessel, combine wet ingedients:

1 cup of oatmilk, made by whizzing 1/4 cup rolled oats (Kauffman's) and water to make 1 cup in a blender for a few seconds
1/4 cup canola or your favorite flavorless oil
1 tbsp. cider vinegar or juice of 1/2 a lemon

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. Toss in apple. Pour into cake pan or ceramic pie plate (which is what I like to use). If you have some pecans or walnuts lying around, sprinkle a few on top. Bake at 400 for about 35 minutes. Actually, you can leave the oven on for 20 to 25 minutes and then turn it off leaving the oven closed until you want the cake. It will finish baking and you will save energy.

Blueberry Pie

Local Ingredients
4 C. Blueberries (from assorted farmer's markets and stores)
1/2 recipe pie crust

1 tart apple, grated (unseasonable, but helps it keep it's shape)
3/4 C sugar
2 T flour
1 t lemon or lime juice
lemon zest (optional)
1 T cinnamon (optional)

Roll out pie crust and fit into pie pan. Preheat oven to 400*.

Mix blueberries with grated apple, flour, sugar, lemon juice and optional cinnamon or lemon zest. Pour into prepared pie crust. Top with another pie crust and flute edges. Prick with fork to allow steam out and bake 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes: Do not leave out the apple which helps the pie bind together. Otherwise you will need to add tapioca or corn starch which changes the texture and flavor.

I used half whole wheat and half all purpose for the crust which made for a much denser but flavorful crust. Some people get fancy by brushing egg white or sugar on the crust, some like an intense lemon flavor, some like cinnamon. Great use of our spring bounty of blueberries!

Corn and Tomato Salad

(Warning: recipe blatantly stolen from a friend and adapted.)

Local Ingredients
Corn on the cob from Rineer Family Farms at Rittenhouse Farmer's Market
Wissahickon Tomatoes from Rineer
Red Onion from Red Earth Farm
Feta from Sue's Produce
optional: cilantro or favorite fresh herb

Remove husks and silk and boil ears of corn in salted boiling water 5-10 minutes until tender. Let cool slightly. Using a good quality chef's knife, turn ear on it's end and remove kernels (or use a special corn huller).

Dice tomato and onion and mix with corn kernels and cilantro. When ready to serve, top with crumbled feta and mix slightly.

Zucchini/Potato/Goat Cheese Frittata

Mmmm... this was delicious.

We used some items from our farmshare, delivered weekly by Red Earth Farms.
Red Onions
Red New Potatoes
Zucchini

Other Local Ingredients:
Appletree Farms Goat Cheese from Sue's Produce or any local cheese, crumbled or diced
Eggs from Rineer Family Farms at Rittenhouse Farmer's Market
Mushrooms from the Kennett Square mushroom guy at Rittenhouse Farmer's Market

Heat up a cast iron skillet until hot. Add oil (safflower works well, olive oil is fine) until hot. Add finely sliced onions and let onions cook until caramelized. Add finely sliced potatoes and saute until nice and brown and soft (about 10 min).

Remove onions and potatoes. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, cook until tender. Meanwhile, heat up the broiler of your oven.

Re-combine potatoes with the veggies; season to taste with salt and pepper; a spready into an even layer in the cast iron pan. Drop spoonfuls of goat cheese on top of the veggie mixture. Beat 4-6 eggs together in a separate bowl, season with salt and pepper, and pour onto the veggie mixture. Place the entire pan under the broiler until the eggs are cooked, the top is puffy and browned, and the goat cheese is delicious and melty.

We served with some wonderful fresh salsa made by one of the chefs, a loaf of french bread from metropolitan, and a lovely bottle of Prosecco. Yum yum.

Veggie Fajitas

Local Ingredients
Zucchini from Red Earth Farm
Baby Bella Mushrooms from Avondale, PA
Garlic from Highland Orchards
Scapes from Jeff at Fitler Square
Tomatoes from Fahnestock at Rittenhouse Square Farmer's Market
Green Onion from Red Earth Farm
Assorted Peppers (canned last summer)
Parsley from Rittenhouse Square Farmer's Market
1 lb nature's soy tofu

Veggie Filling
3 small zucchini, sliced (or julienned)
2 C mushrooms, sliced
2 scapes, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle
1 T hot sauce
Juice from 1 1/2 limes
1 T agave
salt and pepper
optional: tequila

Mix ingredients above and marinate 5-10 minutes. Heat skillet (preferably cast iron) until hot, add high heat oil until hot, and add zucchini mixture. Saute until mushrooms release their juices.

Salsa
2 tomatoes, chopped
5-6 pickled or fresh peppers, chopped
2 T parsley, chopped
1 green onion sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Add above ingredients to blender and blend until frothy. Let sit for a few hours.

Tofu
Press water from tofu using kitchen towel and a plate.
Slice thinly and dust with flour, cumin powder, chipotle powder and salt

Heat cast iron until very hot. Add oil until hot. Quickly add tofu in one layer and turn heat off. Cook for 1 minute. Turn heat back to high and flip tofu pieces over. Repeat if necessary to cook all of the tofu.

Assembly
Lightly warm tortillas (flour or corn) and top with veggie mixture, salsa, fried tofu and sour cream. Roll or fold and enjoy!*

*very messy!

Pasta with Shrooms

Local Ingredients
Mushrooms from Highland Orchards at Fitler Square
Asparagus from Buono Amici at Fitler Square
Shallots from Highland Orchards at Fitler Square
Parsley from Rittenhouse Farmer's Market

1/2 lb pasta (rotini, fettucine, or fusilli)
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
4 C chopped mushrooms (any variety works)
1 C asparagus broken into bite size pieces
1 shallot, minced
1/2 C white wine
2 T chopped parsley
1/2 C parmesan cheese, finely grated
toasted pine nuts to garnish

Melt butter and oil in a large pan. Add mushrooms, asparagus, and shallots. Cook until asparagus is tender about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling, salted water until ready.

Add wine to the mushroom mixture and reduce heat to simmer. Stir pan to incorporate browned bits (deglaze the pan with the wine). Stir for a few minutes. Add parmesan, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

Add cooked pasta to mushroom mixtures, combine, and serve in bowl sprinkled with roasted pine nuts. Optional garnish: roasted red peppers.

Optional: Add 1/4 C sour cream or creme fraiche after adding the pasta. Warm slightly before serving.

White Bean & Asparagus Salad

Local ingredients:
Asparagus (Rineer Family Farm, Rittenhouse Farmer's Market)
Tomatoes (Fahnestock Farms, Rittenhouse Farmer's Market)
Shallots (locally grown, from Almanac Market)
Thyme (originally from Greensgrow in Kensington, now growing on my deck)

While I am in no way claiming that the majority of the ingredients in this salad are local, it does showcase the delicious local ingredients listed above.

Salad:
Large white beans, i.e. butter or lima beans (I used Rosa brand)
Asparagus, blanched and broken into 1" pieces
Tomatoes, diced
Artichoke hearts (sliced, in olive oil)

Toasted pine nuts for garnish

Dressing:
Olive oil (mainly form the jar of artichoke hearts)
Sun-dried tomatoes (reconstituted in boiling water and then finely chopped)
Vinegar (I used Martin Pouret vin rouge vinegar, can be found at Claudio's in the Italian market)
Thyme
Finely sliced shallots
Lemon juice (and zest, if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix salad ingredients (except pine nuts; add these right before serving).
Have dressing separately and add to asparagus, tomato and beans right before serving.

Can also top with fresh grated parmigiano, if you'd like.