A FarmerChef Breakfast Cookie

by Deanne

August and September are the months for me to focus on a project called The FarmerChef Project.  It all started here on our little blog when Francine was living with us prior to her big move. 

Last winter, I discovered that there were some mini-grants available for supporting or promoting local food so I applied for the grant.  The idea was to expand the FarmerChef project beyond our restaurant.  This has worked out well since we closed our restaurant on August 17th.  (More on our BIG MOVE later.)

You can follow along with the farmerchef project by clicking on our icon which will take you to the  pinterest page.

Today I re-read a recipe from a fellow Minnesota blogger, Carole Jones.  I love to see what’s happening in Carole’s busy household at My Kitchen Escapades.   A recipe called, Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookie caught my attention because these “cookies” have no sugar, no eggs, and no flour. Carole credits Kumguat blog with the original recipe.  It is fun to see how she adapted it.  

When I read the recipe I wondered what would happen if I used Omega Maiden Camelina Oil.  Regular readers know that I am a fan of this healthy organic oil grown by our neighbors here in Southwest Minnesota.

So….here is my version of the recipe:

FarmerChef Breakfast Cookies
(makes 14 cookies)
recipe adapted from My Kitchen Escapades

• 1 1/2 C whole rolled oats
• 1 C coconut flakes
  
• 1 Tb ground flax seed  (can be found locally, I buy mine at our local store)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
•  3/4 C  Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 C raisins or desired dried fruit
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 C Omega Maiden Camelina Oil
• 1 Tb honey or agave  ( I used local honey!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a large cookie sheet lightly with nonstick spray.  
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl then add all the wet ingredients.  
Mix well until combined.
Press about 2 rounded tablespoons of the mixture into a  mason jar ring to form the cookie.
Remove the ring and form the next cookie.  
It seems to work to place them close together because they do not spread.
Bake for 25 minutes then cool completely on the pan.

This is a very adaptable recipe….How many healthy ingredients and locally grown ingredients can be added?   If you adapt it please let me know.

Two Sisters and a Friend Salad with Rasberry Vinaigrette

by Deanne

Who knew that when we started this real local cooking journey we would discover that the recipes we would create would have a story. The salad we created for one of our FarmerChef specials has three stories.  

The first story is about Kathleen and her beautiful golden Omega Maiden Camelina Oil. It is one of the ingredients we had on hand to help make raspberry vinaigrette for the salad. This spring, Kathleen and her husband Justin were featured on a program called On the Road with Jason Davis which is airs on KSTP News. This episode shows them bottling the oil and also using it combined with beeswax to provide a non-toxic organic mix to coat wooden toys for their Smiling Tree Toy business.

Kathleen introduced us to her sister Rachael who grows organic wheat. Kathleen and Rachel were raised by parents who have been involved in organic farming for years. Rachel and her husband started farming five years ago in Good Thunder, Minnesota.  They supply wheat to one of our favorite places to go for coffee, River Rock Coffee.  We recently purchased a few products and were anxious to try organic wheat berries.

Our friend D’Lisha, a recent guest blogger,  invited me to  her farm to pick  some wild raspberries.She is enthusiastic about growing real food and always willing to share.

As I picked I pondered, “What will I create with these raspberries?”

With  a little input from Steve, we came up with salad that had toasted wheat berries and a vinaigrette that used  all three ingredients:  Wheat berries,  camelina oil and  raspberries.  It is really cool that the wheat berries acted as a thickener for the dressing. Prepare the wheat berries first and then you can use them in this salad and other recipes

Directions

Toast 1 cup wheat berries in a dry skillet

Boil 6 cups water

Add 2 tsp salt

Stir in toasted wheat berries and simmer for 1 hour

Set aside to cool.

We decided to try a technique I saw online called salad in a jar so we modified the recipe for just one person but you can double or triple the recipe to make more jars which come in handy so you can enjoy a healthy salad on another day.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

makes one serving

1 T raspberry juice made with ¼ cup raspberries in blender

Add :

• 1 Tbls vinegar
• 2 to 3 tarragon leaves picked fresh (optional, but a fun way to use herbs if you have some growing)
• 2 tsp sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp camelina oil
• 1 Tbls wheat berries

Blend together and pour in to the bottom of a quart sized mason jar.

Add approximately ¼ cup each in order

Wheat berries

Fresh cut scallions

Dried cranberries

Fill the rest of the jar with leafy greens of your preference. We used mixed leaf lettuce from our garden.

As long as you keep the jar upright and sealed in the fridge the salad will last several days. When you are ready to eat your single serving salad just turn it upside down and let the dressing drain down then mix the salad together in the jar by shaking and rotating. It is quite fun to mix the salad. Then pour the mixed ingredients in a salad bowl or plate and enjoy.

Camelina Honey Dip for Bread

by Deanne

Check out this simple way to enjoy fresh bread.

I thought the nutty taste of camelina oil and the sweetness of the honey wonderfully complimented fresh sourdough bread.

Camelina Honey Dip for Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp camelina oil (buy it online or look for it at MN co-ops)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Directions:

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and serve with small pieces of bread.  You may need to mix the oil and honey together again as it tends to separate when it sits for awhile.

Do you have a favorite dip for bread?  Check out when Francine unexpectedly discovered a yummy dip for fresh bread.

Rhubarb Camelina Streusel Scones

by Deanne

Recently Francine and I discovered that we’ve both been baking in the middle of the night…and both of us have been baking treats with rhubarb!

First I made Rhubarb Streusel Muffins using Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. I made a few changes in the streusel  portion of the recipe because I wanted to see what it would be like to use Omega Maiden Camelina Oil instead of butter.  I also like walnuts so added nuts.

I liked the way the streusel with camelina oil turned out so I decided to use it in my favorite (and very adaptable) scone recipe. The unique taste of the camelina oil got along well with the sweet seasonings and nicely complimented the tart rhubarb.

Camelina Streusel  for Rhubarb Streusel Muffins and Scones

• ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp camelina oil (buy it here)
  
•  ¼ cups nuts, coarsely chopped
  

Mix together. I set aside one third of the streusel to mix into the muffins and I used the rest to top the muffins before baking.  You can also use this streusel in the same way, but to make scones instead of muffins (see recipe below).  Also, try using any leftover streusel on your morning oatmeal or even as ice cream topping!

Here’s the scone recipe I created by adapting our basic scone recipe so that I could use streusel and fresh rhubarb.

Rhubarb Streusel Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (whole wheat or all purpose work well)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup streusel mixture (see recipe above)
•  1 cup rhubarb,  cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 cup sour cream (recipe usually calls for cream)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Then add rhubarb and sour cream and gently mix together. 

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Then form into a large round shape and cut into triangular pieces.

Brush each scone with an egg wash and sprinkle with streusel before baking in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 18 minutes.

Have you ever made scones?  If not I encourage you to try making this recipe or our original basic recipe, it’s so easy and uses cream/sour cream in place of the usual butter. 

(Francine says these scones aren’t exactly authentically English, but that it doesn’t matter because they are good!) :)

 

How to make a Sunshine Grilled Chicken Salad

by Francine

It’s (finally) safe to say that summer has arrived (Memorial Day is just around the corner)… and even in England the 5 day forecast lists temperatures in the 70s (F) with full sun illustrations, which is amazing considering a week ago it was cloudy and so chilly that I needed to wear gloves!

To celebrate the arrival of summer my dad created a Sunshine Grilled Chicken Salad and served it as a FarmerChef special.  It’s easy to recreate this salad in your home kitchen.

For the salad you’ll need fresh lettuce, grilled chicken (see marinade recipe below), almonds, pineapple, green peppers, a mild cheese (they used goat cheese) and Sweet Camelina Dressing (see recipe below).

Since I won’t be having a Memorial Day barbeque this year, I’ll plan yours…:)

Grill the marinated chicken breasts.  The big time meat-eaters can enjoy the chicken, but your leaf loving guests can have this salad.  But I’m guessing that once the meat-eaters catch a glimpse of the fresh lettuce and sweet dressing they’ll be begging you to make them a salad.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day!!

Carribean-style Jerk Chicken Marinade

(makes enough to marinate 4 large chicken breasts)

Warning…this sauce is a tad spicy!  Ease off the jalapeños and cayenne pepper if you don’t want so much heat.

•  2 tsp onion powder
•  4 Tbsp lime juice
•  2 tsp allspice
•  4 tsp oregano leaves
•  2 tsp cayenne pepper
•  4 Tbsp olive oil
•  3 Tbsp juice from jalapeño peppers
•  4 Tbsp juice from diced pineapple
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together and allow chicken to marinate at least 30 minutes.

Sweet Camelina Dressing

• 1 cup camelina oil (purchase online, look for it at MN co-ops or buy it at Solar)
  
•  1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
•  1Tbsp + 1tsp dijon mustard
  
•  3 Tbsp honey
•  1 tsp ground cloves
•  1 tsp ground nutmeg
•  2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together and top your Sunshine Grilled Chicken salad with this dressing.  Or use on your favorite salad combination.

Getting to Know our Neighbors: Part I

Ever notice how once you set your mind to something, you see opportunity all around?   We decided to look around and see what other like-minded local farmer/foodies live in this part of Southwest Minnesota.  Look what we found…

Just south of us in Mt. Lake, Minnesota  is a kind and conscious family who is growing food for their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) customers.  We went to have a chat on a cold winter Monday and learned about the many good things Jubliee Fruits and Vegetables is up to in our neck of the prairie. This wagon shows what their customers can expect during the summer.

Just west of us and south of the town of Lamberton, we met Kathleen and her one year old daughter Amana.  Their family farm grows camelina, the seeds of which are harvested and turned into a tasty oil, rich in omega-3’s, that can be used for cooking and baking.  They even use camelina oil as a wood finish on their handmade wooden toys. Visit their toyshop.

Kathleen introduced us to her sister who grows wheat south of Mankato in Good Thunder, MN; the whole wheat is used at River Rock Coffee in St. Peter. We  made a tasty granola treat using camelina oil and whole wheat flour from Good Earth Mill and Grains.

We look forward to getting to know our neighbors and meeting new neighbors in Southwest MN!