Blueberry Picking at Morris Orchard

Back in May I did a post on our strawberry picking adventure with the promise to do more posts of our other pick-your-own excursions throughout the year.  This time we went to Morris Orchard in Monroe, Virginia.  Their pick-your-own blueberry patch is beginning to ripen and their peaches have begun to ripen as well. 

We went mainly for blueberries, but there weren't as many left by the time we got there.  We still had lots of fun picking and got a couple of pounds. 

After we got done picking and I realized we wouldn't be purchasing the 10 lb of blueberries I was hoping for, I decided to get some peaches as well.  I got a 1/2 bushel of the "second-rate" peaches (the ones that were not absolutely perfect) for around $13. 

After all was said and done, I still ended up with a good haul.  The kids and I got some good exercise and we were also able to support a local farmer (always a plus!). 

Here are the blueberries we picked (guess which ones the 2-year-old picked!):

And here are some of the peaches we got:

I would highly encourage you to connect with the farms in your area and see what they have to offer!  It's a great way to teach your kids about where their food comes from and to support your local economy :)

Smashed Potatoes

Hi from the UK! I've been very busy lately so haven't had much chance to update on here. I hope you enjoy this recipe though! It's a favorite in our house now - babies and adults both love it. It's easy and customizable based on what you have in the house.

Here's what you need:
New potatoes (I use about 1/4 a bag per person)
1/4 carrot, grated
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
milk, for fluffing potatoes
You can add in other veggies as you see fit!

Cut up the potatoes and put them on to boil. Cook the onion, green pepper, aind garlic in a small amount of olive oil over low heat until onions start to turn see through. Be careful not to burn them, or the burn flavor will overpower everything else! Once they are cooked, set them aside off the heat. When the potatoes are cooked through, drain them and then add in the onion, garlic, green pepper, carrot, and milk. Using either a fork or fancy potato masher, SMASH them all together, skins and all. If you want you can add in some grated cheese, though it's not necessary.

The result is a DELICIOUS version of mashed potatoes, with extra veggie goodness. I don't have a pic at the moment (they don't last long enough for one!) But I will get one up the next time I make it.

Spinach Protein Tortillas

I am so excited about these tortillas!  I came up with the recipe last night to use for some veggie enchiladas and was so pleased with how they turned out!  What makes these different is that they are not your typical full-of-carbs-and-fat flour tortillas.  Yes, they still have a fair amount of carbs, but just take a look at what you get along with those carbs:

Calories:  122
Total Fat:  3.1g (!!!!!!)
Potassium:  256.3 mg
Carbs: 19.6g (and 5.6g of that is fiber!)
Protein:  8.3g (that's a full protein serving!)
Vitamin A:  14.1% DRI*
Vitamin C:  3.5% DRI*
Iron:  19.4%* (as a female vegetarian, this is pretty awesome!)

*These values may be more or less, depending on your specific DRI needs.  This was what MyFitnessPal said based on my info.

And the best part about these is that you can change the nutritional profile very easily by simply swapping out the vegetable used.  You might even be able to swap out the protein source, but I haven't tested that yet (soy protein powder perhaps?).

As an added bonus, because you're using a vegetable in these, the tortillas are brightly colored (mine were a pretty green!), which got the kids very interested in trying them.

OK, enough build-up.  On to the recipe!

To make these protein-packed tortillas, you will need:

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (plus some all-purpose flour for dusting the board)
1/2 cup hemp protein powder (can be obtained at most health food stores and online)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups packed spinach
1/2 cup water (may need a little more to make a workable dough)
1 tbsp olive oil (or any other oil you have on hand)

Start by blending the spinach with the water.

You may have to stop and scrape down the sides every so often to get all the spinach blended.  Blend until very well pureed (may take a few minutes).  You should end up with about 3/4-1 cup of spinach/water puree.
 

Next, measure your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

Add your spinach/water puree and the oil.

Mix to form a cohesive dough ball, adding more water a teaspoon at a time if needed.

At this point, you'll want to go ahead and preheat a griddle or skillet (no oil) on medium to medium-high heat.

Place on a floured surface and knead for about a minute to make sure your dough is nice and smooth.  Divide into 8 pieces (please note that mine was divided into 9 in the picture because I made a test tortilla).

Roll one of your pieces of dough out as thin as you can (about 8-9" in diameter).

Place the rolled-out tortilla on your preheated griddle or skillet.  Cook until air pockets have formed on top and the bottom is starting to brown.

Flip and cook on the opposite side till browned.

Transfer to a cooling rack or a plate and repeat with remaining dough (please excuse the floury cutting board in the background!).

These would be great for just about any application that you'd use a flour tortilla for.   A veggie wrap, a tortilla pizza, burritos, enchiladas... The possibilities are endless!

Here are my tortillas used in enchiladas...

And the finished product...

Overall, I was very pleased with this experiment.  The tortillas tasted great, the whole family liked them, and they are packed with nutrients!  I hope you all will give them a try and let me know what you think of them in the comments below :)

Fluffy Lemon Blueberry Mini Muffins

These are fabulous!  Not much else to be said. They are fairly low-calorie and full of blueberries (a super food!). They are the perfect size for little hands (and mama hands too) and a perfect recipe for little ones to help make :)

To make these, you will need:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt (I didn't have any so I used soy milk)
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 36 mini muffin cups.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and divide among the muffin cups.

Bake for 10 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

There is an optional glaze to go over them. I used a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar and enough soy milk to make it spreadable. Spoon over hot muffins and serve.

Just for reference, 3 mini muffins are about the same as one regular muffin.

Upside Down Apple Pie

Here is my promised apple pie post.  Last fall when I went apple-picking with the kids, I canned 6 quarts of apple pie filling.  I haven't used any till just recently and I thought that a nice apple pie would be just lovely today. 

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I prefer a crispy crust.  I always have a problem with my pie crusts coming out dense and chewy instead of crispy.  So for this pie, I decided to try something different.  Rather than put the crust underneath the filling, I decided to put it on top like I do when I make a pot pie. 

The crust I use for my pies is based on this recipe.  It is a very easy crust to make and comes out beautifully. 

To make this pie, you will need two things:
At least 5-6 cups apple pie filling (maybe more if you like more filling or use a bigger pan; revised this from 4 cups because you definitely need the extra filling!)
Pie dough for a 9" pie

I'm not going to put my recipe for the filling yet because I'll have to find it again, but I will show you step-by-step how I made the crust.

For the crust, you will need:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp lemon juice (or vinegar)
1-2 tbsp cold water

Preheat your oven to 425F/220C.

Pour your flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

To cut in your butter, use the large holes on a grater.  This is epically easier than using a pastry blender, especially if your butter is very cold.

Stir together the flour and grated butter, breaking up any big clumps.

Add your egg, lemon juice (or vinegar), and 1 tbsp of water.  Stir to combine.  Add more water if needed to form a ball of dough.

Now, a pie pastry expert would tell you to put the dough in the fridge for at least an hour to chill, but I'm not an expert and I'm also not patient.  I find it perfectly acceptable to go ahead and roll it out, slightly larger than your pie pan (I used a 10"). 

Now it's time to fill the pie.  Like I said, I used a quart jar of apple pie filling, though next time I may use a jar and a half for this size pie pan. 

As you can see, my quart jar didn't fill the pan too terribly far, but that was OK for me.

Next lay your crust on top of your filling and form a nice edge at the edge of your pan.  Put it out farther than you think it ought to go because the crust will shrink back a bit because of the egg.

Cut some vents for steam to come out.  You can make them in a little design to make your pie even prettier.

Put the pie in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350F/180C for an additional 20 minutes.  With a pie like this, you will want to put a pan on the rack underneath your pie while it's baking to catch any drips.  I had a little bit of dripping as the filling bubbled up. 

When your pie is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a bit before cutting.  The filling is likely to be quite runny when it's still warm, so if you like a firmer filling, let it cool completely and put in the fridge before cutting.

I was impatient to get into my pie, so you can see my runny filling.  I'll take a better picture after the pie has chilled a bit.  This pie goes well with some vanilla ice cream or some fresh whipped cream (pictured above).