Day: July 31, 2019

On July 14, 2019 we hosted our first ever Blueberry Dessert Competition. This competition took place as part of our annual Blueberry Festival.  We had 8 delicious entries and below are the recipes for the Top 3!

1st Place: Blueberry Cake
Kelda Summerskill, Baker

CAKE
2 3/4 c unbleached flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
I c butter
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon flavour
1 Tbsp lemon zest
6 eggs
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 c milk
1 1/2 c blueberries (1/2 cup used for decoration)

1. In one bowl, mix dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt)
2. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients, in order, except milk (butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon flavor, lemon zest, eggs, olive oil)
3. Alternating dry ingredients and milk, add into wet mixture.  Mix just until combined.  Begin and end with dry ingredients.
4. Stir in blueberries.  Pour into 2 x 8″ cake pans (buttered and floured).
5. Bake in 350 degrees oven for 25-30 min.  Test with toothpick.
6. Let cool completely before icing cakes.

ICING
1 ½ c butter
4 ½ c powdered sugar
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 c blueberry puree (cooled – recipe below)

Blueberry Puree
Cook 1 ½ c blueberries with just enough water to cover berries. Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture reduces by about ½. Cool!

1. Cream butter
2. Alternately, add powdered sugar and cream (add vanilla to cream) to butter, starting and ending with powdered sugar.
3. Stir in cooled blueberry puree.
4. Icing for 2 x 8” cakes!
5. Decorate with remaining blueberries!
6. Enjoy!

2nd Place: Blueberry Cheesecake
Susan Wilander, Baker

INGREDIENTS
Crust
9 whole gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (measured from 2 envelopes)
12 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2-pint baskets blueberries
2/3 cup blueberry jam
1/4 cup Blueberry liquor (reduced over low heat to 2 tbsp

RECIPE PREPARATION
Crust
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until cookies are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

Filling
Pour 1/4 cup water into small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Set aside.
Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar, and lemon juice in processor until smooth. Add berries; puree until smooth (some blueberry bits will remain). With machine running, add warm gelatin mixture through feed tube and blend well. Pour filling into crust. Cover; chill overnight. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer to platter.

Topping
Beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spread cream mixture thickly over top of cheesecake. Place berries in bowl. Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat until just melted add reduced liquor . Pour jam over berries; toss to coat. Mound coated berries in center of cream, leaving 1-inch plain border. Chill cake at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

3rd Place: Blueberry Butter Tarts
Karen Curtis, Baker

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (No. 1 medium grade)
1/3 cup butter melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Blueberries
1 box president’s choice puff pastry

Combine the first 6 ingredients Spray 2 12 cup muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Unroll pastry sheets and cut each sheet into 12 pieces. Fit each muffin tin with a piece of the puff pastry, stretching out a bit to fit. Line bottom of muffin tins with blueberries. Pour filling over blueberries, filling to just under the top of the crust. Bake in a 375 degree oven 20-25 minutes, until filling is set and pastry is golden. Remove from oven, run knife around the edge to loosen any stuck bits. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then remove. When cool, top with a dollop of Golden Ears Quark, or mascarpone cheese.

It can sometimes be a struggle to get your children to eat their vegetables and healthy eating takes time to learn. It is important to be patient and persistent, but in order to avoid creating negative relationships with the food, it is also important to not to force them into eating foods they avoid. Before you get frustrated and throw in the towel, try some of these tips for making food fun for kids.

5 Tips to Make Food Fun For Kids:

1. Create pictures with food – give food faces by cutting up vegetables, or better yet, give your child the cut up veggies and have them create pictures with the food
2. Use fun shapes – grab a cookie cutter or knife and get creative, cut carrots into stars or sandwiches into hearts
3. Make a game out of it – challenge them to eat the whole rainbow of colours on their plate or use silly names for food to make it more child-friendly; broccoli can become a tree and your child the giraffe or dinosaur
4. Serve it up differently – sliced veggies and fruit not going over well? Try making them into kebabs, using dip options like yogurt for the fruit and hummus for the veggies can keep it fun and interesting
5. Get them involved – involving children in food selection and preparation can be just what they need to have a little fun with mealtime

On Sunday August 4 our POP Club kids will be having fun as they get involved in food selection and preparation as they make greek salad. Learn more about the POP Club here and visit us at the market to register.

The POP Club is a farmer’s market-based kids program. Children (ages 5 – 12 years old) will learn about fruits and vegetables, local food systems and healthy food preparation through fun activities all season long.

Each week children will earn a $3 market token to use towards any fruit or vegetable of their choice. There is no cost to participate and the program runs every Sunday rain or shine!