Quick Dinner Ideas: Sugar Snap Peas Four Ways

Posted on June 15th, 2009 in Chinese Cuisine, Cooking Tips, Dinner Ideas, Dutchess County Farm Markets, Meal Planning, Personal Chef, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables by Ira Weiss

     Sugar Snap Pea season is in full swing. If you have the opportunity to buy them fresh from a farm stand like Migliorelli’s in Red Hook or Rhinebeck, the Rhinebeck Farmer’s Market, Hyde Park Farmer’s Market or get the chance to pick your own, do so quick before you miss out. Otherwise, check you local grocery store. Find your local farm market in New York.

     If you don’t know what a sugar snap pea is, they look like snow peas, but they have full-size peas still inside and totally edible shell and all. You can usually find them alongside snow peas in your market. They also make a great snack to go along with baby carrots – just wash, trim the stem end and eat!

     They also make an awesome quick side dish, salad topper or main dish. Here are 4 ways to help make dinnertime fast and tasty! One idea leads to another and another and…

Sugar Snap Pea Side Dish (Step 1)

1 lb of sugar snap peas
1-2 medium size onions – sliced
3-6 garlic cloves – sliced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
(Optional) – Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for some heat

     Saute onions in olive oil for 1-2 minutes on medium heat in a wok or sautee pan. Add garlic and sugar snap peas. Continue sauteeing until the garlic is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. You’re done. This side dish is extremely flavorful and easy to make.

But wait! Here’s another idea…

Sugar Snap Pea Salad Topper with Dressing

Ingredients from Step 1 and…
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

     Spoon the side dish above into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard and 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil (Or use your Magic Bullet, blender or food processor instead of a whisk). Toss with the snap pea side dish and refrigerate for 10 minutes, just long enough to cool. Serve over your favorite salad greens.

But there’s more…

It’s Almost Time for Maple Weekend!

Posted on February 22nd, 2009 in Breakfast Foods, Cooking Tips, Day Trips, Dutchess County Farm Markets, Dutchess County Grocery Stores, Food History, Side Dishes by Chef Jill

When you think of Sunday morning breakfast, the first things that come to mind are the mouthwatering aromas of coffee brewing, bacon or sausage frying, and yummy maple syrup that will blanket a pile of fluffy pancakes. It’s a nice relaxing breakfast, or late brunch if you like to indulge in a little extra sleep. 

Most of us have had real bacon, sausage and coffee.  However, maple syrup is a different story.  More people use grocery store brands like Aunt Jemima and Mrs Butterworths, which consist of high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and assorted chemicals, than the real thing. They don’t know what they’re missing.  Once you try real maple syrup, you won’t want to go back.  First of all, there’s the taste.  It’s all natural.  Sure, man has has to coax that flavor out, but it’s worth the wait, and the price!  Real maple syrup is also a healthy food.  (Healthy like dark chocolate though, so you don’t want to live on the stuff)  Maple syrup is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of zinc.  Both help boost our immune system, so skip pancake syrup and use the real deal. 

If you like candied sweet potatoes, glazed carrots or a glazed baked ham, maple syrup is the sweetener to use.  Yea, brown sugar tastes good too, but it doesn’t have the character of pure maple.  You can use it in most recipes that call for a sweetener.  It makes a delicious topping for ice cream, yogurt and oatmeal too.  (It’s also really good on pancakes and waffles)

Canadians will say theirs is better, but I say go with the local stuff.

Remsburger Maple Farm is having their annual Maple Festival March 21-22 and 28-29 from 9:00 am to 4:00pm at the Dutchess County Fairgounds.

Watch them make maple syrup.  The aroma coming from the sugar shack is intoxicating.  I wish I had a sugar shack in my back yard!   Save room for some pancakes, I know we will!

(The maple cotton candy is awesome!  And don’t forget to check out the honey too)

http://remsburgermaple.com/

Who would want to eat a scoop of high fructose corn syrup pecan ice cream anyway?

 

Farm Fresh Fruit Survey

Posted on September 14th, 2008 in Day Trips, Dutchess County Farm Markets, Dutchess County Grocery Stores, Monthly Poll, Uncategorized by Chef Jill

I’ve been a bit lazy with posts this summer, so I decided to kick off September with a new survey.  Who doesn’t like a nice piece of fruit?  We’ve picked just about everything on trees this summer and we want to know if you’ve been to the orchard.  Do you have a strawberry patch in your back yard, or blueberry bushes.  You get the idea.  The link will bring you to my newest survey at Survey Monkey.  Thank’s for participating!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nm_2bGL4cL95O0POo_2fSlW5ag_3d_3d">Click Here to take survey

 

Bounty of the Hudson Valley

Posted on August 31st, 2008 in Day Trips, Dutchess County Farm Markets, Lunch Foods by Chef Jill
We decided to try out a new farm for our fruit picking pleasure today.   We have a few favorites, but they’re a bit too far from home with the price of gas these days. 
 
We decided on Mead Orchard in Tivoli and I think if gas prices don’t drop back to the $2.00 a gallon range, we’ve found a new favorite place.  We picked apples, peaches and plums.  We also found some great pears and tomatoes at the stand where you pay.  The kicker was the variety.  We found Blue Plums, Italian Plums, little round yellow plums that were as sweet as sugar.  They have every apple you could want, ripening as the season progresses.  On August 31 they STILL have sweet blueberries!  And if you don’t think tomatoes are a fruit, try the orange cherry tomatoes.  You’ll be a believer!
 
If you live in the Hudson Valley, here are a few places to pick beautiful fresh fruit.  None of these farms charge you a fee to park or to pick.  You just pay for what you pick.  A few of them also have a farm stand that includes food for lunch, fresh local jams, honey, maple syrup, apple cider donuts among other goodies.  Check em out! 
 
Mead Orchard in Tivoli New York  www.meadorchards.com
Fix Brothers Farm in Hudson New York  www.fixbrosfruitfarm.com
Dubois Orchard in Highland New York  www.duboisfarms.com
Weed Orchards in Marlboro New York  www.weedorchards.com
If you don’t want to pick for yourself and you live in Northern dutchess, check out Migliorellis.  They have two farm stands and a booth at the Rhinebeck Farmers Market.  Check out their farm stand at River Rd. & Rt. 199 just before the Kingston Rhinecliff Bridge and also the stand on Route 9 Red Hook.
Rhinebeck Farmers Market in Rhinebeck New York www.rhinebeckfarmersmarket.com