Local Foods Potluck- Pine Mountain, Kathleen Powers

Friday marked the date of our final 100 Mile local foods potluck for the season. We had a good turnout, with our most committed Grow Appalachia members in attendance. The local foods potlucks are always a very enjoyable way to share a meal and conversation with some great people and we were happy to once again be celebrating a successful season of gardening together.

                Everyone brought delicious food to share including main dishes made from late season crops such as butternut squash, cushaw, green beans, bell peppers and more, as well as wonderful desserts that took advantage of the blueberries and blackberries that several families have growing on their land. Throughout the past several years Grow Appalachia coordinators have worked to record and collect recipes for the dishes that people bring to each potluck and this year we hope to take advantage of our off season office time to compile a cookbook of Grow Appalachia recipes.

GA members admire the many wonderful dishes

Here are several of the recipes that we collected this past week:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 egg

½ cup milk

½ tsp almond extract

Directions: Sift together flour and baking powder. In mixing bowl cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat until smooth. Mix together milk and almond extract and add to butter and sugar alternating with the flour; beat until smooth. Pour batter into buttered 9 inch pan.

Fruit layer: Sprinkle 2 cups blueberries with 2tsp lemon juice and pour evenly over batter in the pan.

Topping: Mix together ¼ cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, ½ tsp cinnamon, and ¼ cup butter. Combine with your hands to form a crumbly dough. Sprinkle mixture over the berries.

Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold with cream.

Ingredients:

2 large butternut squash

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 medium onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 tsp curry powder

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cups apple juice or milk

Directions:

1.)    Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut squash in half and bake on baking sheet for about 45 minutes remove from oven and let cool.

2.)    Scoop out squash and place in food processor.

3.)    Heat oil in heavy saucepan. Saute the carrots, onions, and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, curry, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to cook until spices are evenly  distributed.

4.)    Add carrot mixture to squash in food processor. Add 1 cup apple juice or milk and process until smooth.

·         At this point the soup is perfect to freeze. If you freeze the soup, add the additional 2 cups of apple juice or milk when you want to eat the soup, or add the 2 cups at this point and enjoy right away!

Ingredients:

1 b
utternut squash

½ cup milk (add more or less depending on how thick you want the sauce to be)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp Thyme

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cups Gouda cheese, grated (any kind of cheese that melts well will work)

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 box whole wheat pasta, cooked

Directions:

1.)    Cut squash in half and bake at 350° F for about 1 hour or until soft

2.)    Scoop out squash from skin and blend with milk in food processor until smooth.

3.)    In saucepan warm the squash over low heat. Add the cheese and cook until mixture is completely combined.

4.)    While sauce is heating sauté the onions, garlic, and thyme until soft, about 5-10 minutes.

5.)    Add the garlic and onions to sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.)    Pour sauce over cooked pasta and enjoy while hot!

We would love to create a cookbook that showcases the Grow Appalachia program as a whole and features recipes using food produced by Grow Appalachia members from every site. If you have recipes you would like to submit or are interested in helping with the project please let us know!

Leave a comment here or feel free to contact me at: K_powersvista@pinemountainsettlementschool.com