Strawberry Lemon Quick Bread

I’ve said it before a million times that I am so blessed to live in Florida in the winter time…summer time not so much, and this year doubly so.  With our mild temperatures all of our food crops did amazingly well.  I found that I had an abundance of things that I love.  Two of them being lemons and strawberries.
This year the strawberry and lemon crops have been so plentiful that I had so many lemons and strawberries that I just had no way of getting them used up unless I made something with them.  I searched high and low for a recipe for that used both strawberries and lemons. Weird huh?  Not many out there.  So I adapted a strawberry bread recipe from Union Street Eats and it turned out perfect!

Strawberry and Lemon Quick Bread (adapted from Union Street Eats)
Preheat oven to 375F

Grease and flour a 9X5 inch bread pan

Ingredients:
2 Cups fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
zest of one lemon
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
1/4 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Place chopped strawberries in a large strainer or colander and sprinkle with a couple of Tbsp of sugar.  Let sit for about 15 minutes
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, lemon zest, both sugars, cinnamon, baking soda and salt
• In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla, oil and lemon juice.
• Stir in the strawberries.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Do not over-mix.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan.

**This is a moist and delicious bread.  It was gone in no time and I’m looking for another sale on strawberries to make it again!
I also want to give a quick shout out to the folks at The Food Channel.  They featured my blog in “Thing We Love”  So honored…Head on over and check them out.  They have some great stuff on their site (besides me!! LOL)

The best frozen yogurt, EVER…

The girls have been on Spring Break for the past week and then some. I can honestly say that I have had the best time with them and am looking forward to a whole summer with them and it can’t come soon enough. We’ve been to the beach, the pool, the park and Busch Gardens and with still plenty of down time for us to just relax.

On one of those relaxing days I decided that I would make some ice cream but after going through the fridge I realized that I had no cream to make it with, but I did find a container of plain yogurt and some beautiful, ripe strawberries…

Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of whole fat plain yogurt
1 cup of pureed strawberries (cut up and pureed in your blender or food processor)
1/3 cup of local honey

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
• Pour into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers directions until frozen. (Mine took about 20 minutes)
• Scrape into a sealable container and freeze for about 2 hrs or until firm enough to scoop.
• Serve with berries, granola or even chocolate syrup or chips!

***This could easily be adapted to any fruit you have and can make into a puree...think raspberry, blackberry, cherry or even banana!!!

Lots of berries? Make Shortcake!

Florida is having a tough time of it strawberry wise this year.  Somehow the market has dropped and the farmers are selling berries at ridiculously low prices to just get rid of them.  Last weekend there was even a UPick in Plant City that was GIVING them away!!!

Needless to say we have lots of berries right now.  And that, my friends, is a very, very good thing…    
Strawberry Shortcake (Better Homes & Gardens)

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• 1/4  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3  cup cold butter
• 1  egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2  cup dairy sour cream
• 2  tablespoons milk
• 5  cups sliced strawberries
• 3  tablespoons sugar
• 1  recipe Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl combine egg, sour cream, and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until moistened.

2. Drop dough into 8 mounds onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

3. Meanwhile, combine 4 cups of the strawberries and the 3 tablespoons sugar. Using a potato masher, mash berries slightly; set aside. To serve, split shortcakes in half; fill with strawberry mixture and whipped cream. Top with remaining sliced strawberries.

4. Makes 8 shortcakes

Farmer's Market -1st of the season!

This is a picture taken from their website. Don't you just love how pretty everything is???

Anyone who has followed my blog for the past year knows how excited I get about Farmer's Markets. I love to be able to buy locally and I also love to be able to save money on my grocery bill. You also know that I live in Southwest Florida and that my growing season here is completely opposite of the majority of the country.

Today was the very first day of the all organic, sustainably farmed and local Worden Farm Farmer's Market at Fisherman's Village!!! I have been planning a trip there now for about 7 months (hehe that's when they closed for the summer!). This was a thrill though. Myself and one of my girlfriends' who shares a love of good, fresh food and cooking, hoped in the car and headed north to the Farmer's Market! It was a beautiful day. Sunny and warm with an nice breeze that managed to keep it just slightly cool. We were so not disappointed! This market is gorgeous. Not only is the setting nice. Right on the water of Charlotte Harbor but the fresh vegetables, the beautiful fresh vegetables!

My haul - Tat Soi (Asian Spinach), Arugula (see those bags? $3 for organic arugula!!!), lettuces, radishes, shitake mushrooms, cucumber, squash blossoms and a big beautiful loaf of rustic bread!!!

Dinner last night was hectic as T. is working on a deadline and wasn't able to help out with dinner while I did Karate, so it was a big happy bowl of pea soup, with that incredible loaf of bread and some beer battered squash blossoms!


Deep Fried Squash Blossoms (recipe by Mark Bittman-How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot to at least 350 degrees.

1 Cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 Cup for dredging
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
3/4 Cup beer or sparkling water (I stole T.'s beer for this one)
Coarse salt for finishing

• While the oil is heating mix the batter ingredients until just combined. This batter should be the consistency of pancake batter.
• Dredge each blossom lightly in the plain flour and then dip into the batter and place gently in the oil. Do not crowd the blossoms in the oil, you may have to cook in batches. Cook turning once until a nice golden brown.
• Drain on a rack or paper towels and serve immediately

I LOVE MY FARMER'S MARKET!!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

I went to the market this morning and the only thing that looked good to me was the spinach. Everything else had that sort of non-glow that comes from being around just a little too long. Now remember, I am not like everyone who lives up North and this is their growing season and they have a plethora of fresh fruits and veggies at their whim. I am in the hot, miserable, "whanna buy some swamp land" called Florida.

Our produce sucks this time of year. You may not even know this about me if you are a new reader and if you are one of my old friends you will know this only too well...I want local produce!!! Organic if I can get it. Well I can't get it right now so I am relying on produce that is organic and generally shipped to my loving hands from California!!!! While I am relying on this we are definitely eating more meat then we ever do during the winter here. So tonight I decided to roast a chicken (yes, it was 95 our today but the a/c works whether I have to oven on or not!) and make some spinach to go with it. I am so tired of the same old sauteed spinach so I wanted to shake it up a bit. After doing a quick search I came across a recipe on chow.com that would work and I had all the ingredients.

Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts (CHOW-food, drink and fun)

INGREDIENTS

• 5 to 6 tablespoons golden or dark raisins
• 2 packages (each 10 ounces) fresh spinach or 2 medium-size bunches fresh spinach, tough stems discarded
• 3 to 4 tablespoons fragrant extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 to 8 whole small peeled garlic cloves, lightly smashed
• 5 tablespoons pine nuts
• Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the raisins in a small bowl, add very hot water to cover, and soak until plump, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels, then set aside.
2. Rinse but do not drain the spinach. Place the spinach in a large saucepan over medium heat and cover the pan. Cook the spinach until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Transfer the spinach to a colander, and squeeze out the excess moisture by pressing on the spinach with the back of a spoon. Chop the spinach coarsely. (The spinach can be prepared a few hours ahead up to this point.)
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over low heat. Add the garlic, pine nuts, and soaked raisins, and cook until the nuts and the garlic are light golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the chopped spinach, and cook for about 1 minute, stirring to combine evenly. Season with salt and pepper to taste, transfer to a serving bowl, and serve.

This was a definite hit in our house. I wish I had of had more as this recipe was gone in no time at all!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

A rant about a bit of a dilemma I have

This was what I was getting back in February!

I have been struggling with a bit of a dilemma. May not seem to huge to everyone but I think some people are going to understand this very well. I just wish I could find a way to change this instead of just b******* about it!

I have spent the winter eating locally, seasonally and organically. I have been able to do this very cheaply and without much effort thanks due to the Worden Farm Farmer's Market that I have been going to every week since December. I have gotten some beautiful, fresh produce. They are no longer though. In South Florida our growing season is just about over. Yeah you can get strawberries, tomatoes and several other things but I want it all.

I want zucchini, eggplant, lettuce (nice, soft bursting with flavor lettuce), swiss chard, rhubarb, asparagus etc...(you get my point) but I can't in all good conscience buy this stuff. If you walk into your local grocery store you will find that almost all of the produce that they have there is from someplace else and I don't mean the neighboring state of Georgia or Alabama. I am talking Chile, Argentina, Mexico!!! This really ticks me off. Why does my food have to travel an average of 1600 miles and from a foreign country to get to me. Talk about leaving a "carbon footprint"???!!! I know up north things are starting to pop up. Why can't I get some of that???? I would be happy to buy things from other states in the U.S. Hell, I would buy from Canada just give me the options.

I am now having to pay an outrageous amount of money for all the things that I want that are organic. Most of these things have traveled from California to get to me but at least then I know that I am not getting any pesticides that are illegal to use in this country. Yes...some of the countries that we import our produce from use pesticides that are illegal to use here but they have no such laws governing them. This whole things sucks to me! I am trying to feed my family the best that I can possibly get and I can't even find it!

I guess maybe I was just so spoiled during our growing season and now I am seeing what all of you living up North have to deal with all winter. I have never been as conscious of this before this year so I guess that is also why it is hitting me so hard.

Okay, now here is my apology. I am sorry for not posting a recipe but at least I wasn't standing in front of you bi***** about this (So sorry T.). You could have stopped reading...poor T. doesn't stand a chance!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

The Last Farmer's Market Day!!!!!

Cucumber, zucchini, summer squash, patty pan, lemons, cilantro carrots, lettuce, green bell pepper, grape tomatoes (the explosion of flavor in these is incredible. They pop right in your mouth and explode with the first bite!!!)

Today was the final day of the Worden Farm Farmer's Market in Punta Gorda. They will be gone until next October...I know you are wondering how I am going to survive? Well I am looking into other options. They will probably not be organic but they will at least be local. Geographically they may even be closer so this may be easier on me.

My posting is short right now as my oldest daughter will be home with me for a bit. She had a really bad hive outbreak and until they heal she is not at school. We are working on school work etc. during the day!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Quick dinner on a crazy night...

***(Ignore the funny type and boxes - blogger seems to have a mind of it's own today!!!)

My meals are starting to develop a bit of a pattern I am finding. I can never remember what I had planned to make so I end up winging it at the last minute. Thank goodness. Because some of the things I have been turning out have been pretty good! It guess it doesn't hurt when you have a fridge full of fresh produce that needs to be used up before it goes bad????

Last night was another of those nights. I had bought some poblano peppers so that I could make "Arroz Verde con Poblanos" from Ramblings of a Frantic Cook. I also knew that I wanted to cook up the fresh boat shrimp that I had bought the other day at the market and roast some of the zucchini and summer squash. How could I pull this altogether so I didn't have such a mishmashed meal????
Arroz Verde con Poblanos

3 Poblano peppers (seeded and membrane removed)
2 cups of warm chicken stock
bunch of cilantro
1 cup rice
1 onion (chopped)
2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper


In a blender mix the peppers, chicken stock and cilantro. In a small pan cook the onion in the olive oil. When the onion is cooked add the chicken stock, pepper and cilantro and heat to a boil. Add the rice. Allow to simmer covered for 20-25 minutes. (Francie has some great pictures on her blog so go check them out!)