First CSA delivery 2012 – Strawberry Rhubarb Cornmeal Bread

I’ll admit it. I love strawberry rhubarb. Anything strawberry rhubarb. Pies. Jam. Compote. Ice cream. Anything strawberry rhubarb. Or possibly just rhubarb but I do like the bit of flavor the strawberries give.

So I couldn’t resist something strawberry rhubarb with the divine rhubarb stalks and quart of fresh strawberries that showed up in the Golden Earthworm CSA box this week.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cornmeal Bread

Fresh baked loaves of strawberry rhubarb cornmeal bread using strawberries, rhubarb, cornmeal and flour from the Tuv Ha’Aretz CSA in Forest Hills.

1 cup whole wheat bread flour (or half white if you don’t like a stronger wheat taste)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup sugar (I prefer the organic raw sugar)
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup chopped strawberries

1.5 cups chopped rhubarb (about three large stalks)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; whisk. Whisk buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla in smaller bowl. Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together (using a spatula makes this pretty simple). Then fold in strawberries and rhubarb.

3. Butter and flour two bread pans (I do this after mixing everything together so the cornmeal can soak slightly). Scrape batter into pan; spread evenly between the two pans and level off gently.

4. Bake cake until knife or toothpick poked into the center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan, about an hour.

5. Cool and enjoy!  Or eat slightly warm with a little milk or coffee. Divine. Lightly sweet with a crispy crust and just a gorgeous amount of flavor.

This cake isn’t too fruit heavy so feel free to add in more of the fruit/rhubarb. I might just do that next time but you might need to add a touch more flour/cornmeal to balance it out.

By the way …. I need to give my Mom kudos for my rhubarb obsession. We had a little patch that grew each year outside of the house and I LOVED when she’d make a fresh strawberry rhubarb pie.  To this day, it’s my favorite pie and the perfect slice for a birthday celebration.

Going local for organic produce

CSAVeggies-WeekOne, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

For years, I’ve been a big fan of organic, locally grown produce. As a frequent shopper at the NYC green markets, I wanted to find a way to get the best quality local produce at a space closer to home.

So, after a few years of trying to get into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), I joined the Tuv Ha’Aretz-Forest Hills Jewish Center CSA. After plunking down a hefty down payment, I’ll be receiving fresh fruit, veggies, grains, beans and flour for the next 26 weeks.

This Tuesday, I received the first delivery, which included:
–Red Boston Lettuce (never head this type before!)
–Green Boston Lettuce (biggest I’ve ever seen – about a foot in diameter and it barely fit into the bag)
–Spinach (awesome to sautee with a little garlic and olive oil)
–Baby Arugula (yum – salads!)
–Breakfast Radishes (I traded these for extra Rhubarb – love Rhubarb!)
–Baby Japanese Salad Turnips (never had this before – it’s new to me and tastes a bit like a radish)
–Rhubarb (two bunches for me with my breakfast radish trade)
–Strawberries (one large and one small box)

The fruit and veggies come from the Golden Earthworm Organic Farm, which is located in Jamesport, on Long Island’s North Fork. You can read more about the farm on their site.  The organic bean, grain, and flour shares come from Cayuga Pure Organics in Ithaca, NY – I’ll be getting those deliveries each month.  And, while there were strawberries in this delivery (so many, so delicious and sweet!), the fruit deliveries start later in the summer. The fruit comes from a partner of Golden Earthwork Organic Farm, called Briermere Farms, which provides non-organic yet responsibly grown fruit.  Briermere is also located on Long Island’s North Fork near Golden Earthworm.

But back to this week’s delivery, I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the rhubarb and I think I’m going to try to make strawberry rhubarb jam – it’s my favorite jam of all time but I’ve never made jam before.

Suggestions are welcome ….

Going local for organic produce

CSAVeggies-WeekOne, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

For years, I’ve been a big fan of organic, locally grown produce. As a frequent shopper at the NYC green markets, I wanted to find a way to get the best quality local produce at a space closer to home.

So, after a few years of trying to get into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), I joined the Tuv Ha’Aretz-Forest Hills Jewish Center CSA. After plunking down a hefty down payment, I’ll be receiving fresh fruit, veggies, grains, beans and flour for the next 26 weeks.

This Tuesday, I received the first delivery, which included:
–Red Boston Lettuce (never head this type before!)
–Green Boston Lettuce (biggest I’ve ever seen – about a foot in diameter and it barely fit into the bag)
–Spinach (awesome to sautee with a little garlic and olive oil)
–Baby Arugula (yum – salads!)
–Breakfast Radishes (I traded these for extra Rhubarb – love Rhubarb!)
–Baby Japanese Salad Turnips (never had this before – it’s new to me and tastes a bit like a radish)
–Rhubarb (two bunches for me with my breakfast radish trade)
–Strawberries (one large and one small box)

I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the rhubarb and I think I’m going to try to make strawberry rhubarb jam – it’s my favorite jam of all time but I’ve never made jam before.

Suggestions are welcome ….