Cascadian Farm Organic Goodness

As the weather cools and I start harvesting the last of my garden's bounty, I'm trying to branch out in my methods of using it up and making it last. When one of my husband's coworkers ended up with 10 jalapeño plants, we started receiving bags of them on a weekly basis. I used them in salsas, and I stuffed them for appetizers. I've frozen them and cooked with them and then we hit a wall.

My husband came up with our next plan of action, one that involved actually requesting all the red jalapeños his coworker could find and wrangling a few off of our plant as well. Finding red ones in our garden didn't prove to be too difficult as I had been letting them sit there for quite some time. After we'd located them, we went about smoking them into chipotles.

And once we had chipotles the door was opened to all the other things we could do with them, and high on the list for me were tamales. After learning that my favorite tamale restaurant had started using shortening for better shelf life, I knew I'd have to start making my own, starting with a big batch of chipotle-style.

Chipotle Chicken Tamales

Chipotle Chicken Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup diced onion

20 chipotle chilies, stems removed

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups water

¼ cup cider vinegar

3 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken

2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add in onion and cook for 7-10 minutes until translucent. Add the chipotles, tomato sauce, water and cider vinegar. Cook until liquid is reduced to a thick sauce, about 40 minutes. Add in shredded chicken and continue to cook for 4 minutes until chicken is heated through. Reserve ¼ cup of the adobo sauce for the tamale dough.

Masa Dough:

3 cups masa flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 ¼ cups water

½ cup chicken broth

¼ cup reserved adobo sauce from filling

½ cup lard, melted

Mix together flour, salt and baking powder in a large boil. Add the water, chicken broth, adobo sauce and melted lard. Mix together to form a soft paste-like dough. Taste the dough and add salt if necessary.

Putting it together:

1 package corn husks soaked in water

Masa Dough (above)

Chipotle Chicken Filling (above)

Take one corn husk at a time and spread with 1/4 cup of masa dough into a 4"x4" square at the wide end of the corn husk and off center so that you leave a good inch of uncovered husk. Add two tablespoons of filling or so in the center of the masa dough and spread into a line. Fold the edge of the corn husk lengthwise so that both ends of the masa meet. Fold the extra tail of the corn husk up and finish rolling the overlapped corn husk. Secure with corn husk ties.

Add water to the bottom of a large stockpot, with a steamer basket at the bottom so the tamales are not sitting in the water. Line with a tea towel and then fill the pot with the tamales standing up, wrapped side down and open side up. When the pot is full of tamales, cover them and place over medium heat and steam for one hour. Remove from heat, allow them to cool slightly and serve.

Chipotle Chicken Tamales can be frozen or refrigerated in airtight containers. Be sure to fill completely to avoid overexposure to air, and allow them to cool before freezing.

Photos by Shaina Olmanson

Growing up we always had a giant jar of honey in the cupboard. My grandma's sister and her husband had a beehive on their property, and when they would harvest, they'd send honey to all of the kids, which included our house. I grew up with a giant glass jar and a chunk of honeycomb, never knowing that honey supposedly came in a bear-shaped plastic bottle.

When I was in the position to start stocking my own cupboard with honey, the plastic bear just wouldn't do. I'd been spoiled with fresher, more complex honey my entire life. I soon sought out the honey vendor at the farmers market. There I found multiple varieties of honey, processed and unprocessed, ranging in color from dark to light. Nowadays I tend to buy two or three varieties for different purposes, but my go-to favorite is buckwheat. I love the dark, molasses-like flavor on biscuits and cornbread.

I recently had quite a bit of unprocessed honey gifted to me, and it is fantastic to work with. The texture is between a liquid honey and creamed honey, with a bit softer texture. I started off with the pannekoeken, and then I moved on to baking. For these muffins I chose a blueberry blossom honey, which is just slightly reminiscent of blueberries.

These muffins are dairy free, using coconut oil and coconut milk in place of the butter and milk you'd generally find in muffins. They're soft and moist, and are a great way to serve the last of the raspberries as we head into fall. No fresh raspberries there? Substitute peaches, blueberries, cherries or any frozen fruit you have on hand.

Raspberry and Coconut Cream Muffins

1 egg

½ cup coconut oil

¼ cup honey (I used unprocessed)

2/3 cup spelt flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup coconut milk

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350º F. In a large mixing bowl, mix together egg, coconut oil and honey. In a separate bowl mix flours, baking powder and salt together. Add to the egg mixture and mix together. Stir in the coconut milk just until all is incorporated. Fold in raspberries.

Line 12 muffin cups and fill with batter. A large-sized scoop works perfectly for this. Bake at 350º F for 20-25 minutes until tops are lightly brown and bounce back when tapped in the middle. Allow to cool partially. Top with coconut cream icing (below) and garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired.

Coconut Cream Icing adapted from Elana's Pantry

¼ cup coconut milk

3 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch

½ teaspoon water

1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil

Heat coconut milk and honey in a small saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes. Mix together arrowroot powder and water to form a paste. Whisk into saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut oil. Freeze for 20-30 minutes. Whip again and add to piping bag. Pipe onto muffins.

Photos by Shaina Olmanson

Hello Friends! School is back in session and it’s time again to start thinking about what to pack your kids for lunch. Between fighting to get them out of bed and getting them dressed, packing a healthy lunch is probably the last thing on your mind. Not to mention the other battle of getting your kids to actually eat the lunch you packed- not see it end up in the playground trashcan.

The key to getting your kids to eat their lunch is making it fun to do so. We found a wonderful blog by a mother from Michigan called momcooks.net, that has many creative ideas on how to liven up your kid’s lunch. Here are a few of them. Click here to get all of the recipes.

Crazy Eights

Lunch is a lot more fun when you have eight of everything. Here’s a great idea, pick your child’s favorite combination of healthy snacks and package them up in eights. You’d be surprise how much more fun it is that way!

Tic Tac Toe Lunch

Obviously playing with your food is always more fun! Turn lunch time into play time with this creative food idea.

Safari Lunch

Why not give each lunch a theme? This is an easy way to get your child excited about lunch each day. Here is a recipe for a Safari themed lunch.

Do you have any fun lunch ideas that work with your children? Leave them in the comments below or post them to our Facebook page.

Photo By: Carly & Art

Summer is winding down (as much as we don’t want to admit it) and aside from school starting soon; many kids are also getting back on the field for fall sports. Between getting your kids in their uniforms and driving the car pool to practice, the last thing on you mind is packing a healthy snack to keep them going during and after practice. But don’t worry, we’re here to help with a list of quick and healthy snacks that will keep your kids moving all season long. One of which is our spiced cereal trail mix your kids are sure to love.

Do you have any healthy snack ideas? If so, feel free to share them in the comment box.

Half-Time Snacks: Give your kids fruit during half time, this way they’ll get charged up without filling up.

•Orange slice

•Easy-peel Clementines

•Grapes

•Cantaloupe or watermelon chunks

•Strawberries

Post-Game Snacks: After the game, they will have more time to eat and they will surely be hungry.

Early morning games:

•Whole-wheat mini-bagels with cream cheese and jelly

•Mini-yogurt cups

•Granola bars

•Whole-grain muffins

Just before lunch games:

•String cheese

•Half sandwiches on whole-wheat bread (PB&J, turkey & cheese, etc.)

•Peanut butter on celery sticks

For afternoon games:

•Popcorn and baby carrots

•Whole-grain crackers and cheese

Spiced Cereal Trail Mix

Also known as a Dutch baby, pannekoeken are Dutch pancakes baked in the oven that become puffed along the edges. They are then filled with every variety of fruit, jams, baked apples and savory varieties with bacon and sautéed vegetables and a bit of shredded cheese and served for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

These were a favorite of mine when I was younger, made by the neighbor across the street. She shared her recipe with my mom one day and my love affair with the simple pancake was set in stone. Pannekoeken are easy to throw together, and they bake just long enough that you can whip them up, toss them in the oven and sneak in a morning shower while they bake.

We are finally seeing peaches here, and I have been patiently waiting for them as others talk of crumbles and cobblers. I ate half of mine fresh with my kids, not bothering with batters and baking, and then the other half were lightly cooked in a pannekoek after being tossed with some raw apple blossom honey for dinner later the same night.

Honey Peach Pannekoeken

¼ cup butter

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 ½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ½ sliced ripe peaches

2-3 tablespoons of raw honey

Heat oven to 400º F.  Place the butter in a heat-proof 10" or 11" frying pan with rounded edges or cast iron skillet or a 9"x13" glass baking pan and set in the oven.  Beat together eggs and milk.  Add in the flour and salt and whisk until batter is smooth.

When the oven is preheated and butter in your pan is completely melted, carefully pour the batter into the pan.  Close the oven door and bake for 20 minutes until pancake is puffed around edges.  Mix together peaches and honey.  Place peaches in the center of the pancake and continue cooking 5–10 minutes more until edges are a light golden brown.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Photos by Shaina Olmanson

This past weekend I was on a mission. Inspired by an amazing stack of Vanilla Blueberry Almond Pancakes (at my favorite breakfast spot, the Coffee Cup) I was determined to bake a loaf of bread that combined those delicious flavors. And since I love baking Banana Bread, because it’s so quick and easy, I wanted to come up with a bread recipe for the summer time – using blueberries. This bread makes a perfect breakfast or snack with your afternoon tea. Add a glaze, it’s a tasty dessert. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did – I baked 3 loaves!

1 cup organic blueberries, washed and dried

1/4 cup sliced almonds (plus a few more to sprinkle on top)

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (plus ¼ cup to coat berries & nuts)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Grease a 8.5” x 4.5” loaf pan.

Toss the berries and almonds with 1/4 cup of flour to keep them from sinking in the batter.

In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of flour, oats, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold in the almonds and blueberries.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 55 - 65 minutes, rotating the pan partway through. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Photos by Kari Burks

Growing up radishes to me were crudités on platter filled with more crudités like carrots, celery and cauliflower. I would eat them every once in a while, curious as to what the red orbs tasted like, and I was always surprised when they had a bite. I still am to this day.

For my husband, his radish experience started in the garden and ended atop a peanut butter sandwich. Yes, he consumed many a peanut butter and radish sandwich in his day, a combination I have not yet tried. Though I do have to say I’m intrigued at the texture addition to the peanut butter sandwich.

Then there is the classic bread, butter and radish combo that so many people speak of, and that is what I was considering when I veered my mind in a similar but different direction and landed on this sandwich, one that started in my garden.

As we readied to leave for a few days, I considered what would spoil while we were gone, and I knew I couldn’t let the cucumbers and radishes go to waste, not to mention the large crop of romaine or the tomatoes that seem to be turning red daily now. A few Greek seasonings later, a sandwich was born.

A Radish Sandwich

2 slices of whole wheat bread of choice

3 radishes, thinly sliced

1 whole romaine leaf

3 thinly sliced tomatoes

2 tablespoons feta cheese

2 tablespoons homemade tzatziki

Layer sandwich: bread > tzatziki > radishes > feta > tomatoes > romaine > bread. Cut in half and enjoy. If you’re looking for a bit more, try grilling the sandwich after it’s assembled until the outside is nice and golden brown.

Makes 1 sandwich.

Photos by Shaina Olmanson

Can it be? Is this really the first week of August? Wow, the summer has really flown by. As we look back over the summer, we have had so many amazing recipes come through our organic feed. So, we thought it would be fun to pick our favorites and share them with you. We would love to hear how you enjoy them, let us know what you think in the comment box below.

Easy Summer Dessert: Strawberry-Apricot Galette:

Ginger-Soy Beef Tenderloin Kebabs:

Vanilla Bean Gelato:

Smoked Barbecue Ribs:

Grilled Artichokes and Easy Garlic Aioli:

Photos By Shaina Olmanson

Happy Friday Friends! Since our last Five Links post we have had so many great recipes come through our organic feed. So, this week we wanted to highlight some of them for you. It’s always nice to try something new and spice up your grocery list from time to time. Hopefully you’ll try one or even all of these recipes. After that we would love to hear how they turned out. Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!

Grilled Pinapple Mango Salmon- A fresh, seasonal take on grilled salmon from our friend Shaina. This is a must try dish!-foodformyfamily.com

Maple Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies- There's nothing quite like a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Especially when they're made with our Cascadian Farm Organic Maple Brown Sugar Granola!-cookiemadness.net

Grown-Up Popsicles- How come kids always get to have all the sweet treats? Try these "grown-up" popcicles to get a little summer relief. -makeitfromscratch.blogspot.com

Spaghetti Remix- Spaghetti isn't just served from a bowl anymore. Here's a very interesting take on the Spaghetti dinner. -makeitfromscratch.blogspot.com

Top Shelf Fajitas- Shaina has another delicious recipe for us to try. These aren't your ordinary fajitas. -foodformyfamily.com