Holiday 2013 Swap is Announced!

Click the button on the right to register! Or go to: http://sjswappersholiday2013.eventbrite.com

Last year, our holiday swap was the best of the season.  Let's shoot for the same this year!

A chat with Savoring South Jersey

A couple weeks back, John and Lisa from Eating in South Jersey and Robin from South Jersey Locavore asked me to be a guest on their new Savoring South Jersey video episodes.  It was a great opportunity to talk about food swapping and I think I answered some of the more common questions first timers have about participating.  Check out the video here!

{Swap Sketch} - July 2013

Wow was this a good one!  We had 14 swappers on a beautiful summer evening at OneFlewOverFarm in Mays Landing, NJ.

Connie, our gracious hostess

Connie's offerings - Pickles, Pick-Your-Own Veggie Bags and Olive Sourdough Bread

We also incorporated a potluck for the second time and it was really nice sharing a meal with everyone.

The husbands enjoying Greg's BBQ'd ribs.

There was a good number of newbies and I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know everyone!

 

Here's a rundown of what was there.  Forgive me if I forgot something.

 

• Fresh Basil
• Banana Muffins
• Blackberry Jam
• Yellow Raspberry Jam
• Red Raspberry Jam
• Red Raspberry Plants
• Organic Red Basil
• Organic Peppermint
• Organic Sage, Thyme
• Organic Heirloom Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Organic Cucumber and Squash
• Variety of feathers
• Organic Horse Manure
• Frozen Organic String Beans
• Blueberry Peppercorn Vodka
• Fennel Vodka
• Spice Butternut Squash Vodka
• Fennel Pesto
• Ciabatta Bread
• Apple Pie Filling
• Tomato Basil Sauce
• Sweet Corn Salsa
• Tomato Salsa & Homemade Tortilla Chips
• Morning Glory Muffins
• Rae's Royal Shortbread
• French Macarons
• Buckeye Ice Cream
• Fresh Mint Ice Cream
• Strawberry Vanilla Jam
• Fresh Tomato Soup
• Quinoa and Spinach Patties
• Peach Bread
• Pear Bread
• Pizza Dough
• Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars
• Banana Coconut Muffin Squares
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
• Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
• Soft Pretzel Sticks
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
• Dill Pickles
• Pick-you-own Veggie Bags
• All Natural Bug Repellent
• Olive Sourdough Bread

Impressive, right?!  I've already begun planning for the next one, which will be on Saturday August 31, back at OneFlewOverFarm from 10am-12pm.  Registration will be posted soon.   Let's do brunch!

June 2013 Swap

Click on the link to the right to register!

{Swap Sketch} - April 2013

It's hard to believe it's been a year since I started this food swapping thing.  We've come a long way as a group, but some goals for me this next season is to try and get the word out a little more.  I think what we're doing is super cool and if only more people knew about us!

Here's what we had at the last swap:

• Mini Cheesecakes
• Pear Bread
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Mascarpone Fruit Dip
• Handmade Greeting Cards
• Pizza Dough
• Strawberry Rhubarb Hungarian Shortbread
• Canned Jersey Tomatoes
• Chocolate Covered Bacon
• Boyfriend Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Dilly Beans
• Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles
• Rooted Strawberry Plants
• Hot and Spicy Zucchini Pickles
• Knitted Scarves

Connie from One Flew Over Farm

Get ready for our next meet in June.  We'll be at Connie's One Flew Over Farm in Mays Landing, NJ.  It's very easy to get to from the AC Expressway.  We'll be outside in her crop field.  There's plenty of animals to see, so bring the kids!

April Swap

Our next event is now live.  Join us at the Landis Marketplace in downtown Vineland, NJ on Saturday April 13th from 10am-12pm.  Click over to the right to register!

{Swap Sketch} - December 2012

As we all are getting ready for the first swap of 2013, take a minute and pat yourself on the back making the December swap our most spectacular swap yet!

Here's a quick rundown of what goodies showed up:

• Knitted Scarves
• Orange Grapfruit Marmalade
• Coconut Almond Madeleines
• Gingerbread Brownie Cake
• Pumpkin Butter
• Cheesy Quinoa
• Sugared Cranberries
• Herbed Butter
• Marbled Holiday Biscotti
• Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge
• Neapolitan Marshmallows
• Coasters
• Worm Castings
• Jerusalem Artichokes
• Money Plant Seeds
• Hot Buttered Yum Chex Mix
• Romesco Sauce
• Turkey Stock
• Peppermint Oreo Truffles
• Earl Grey Macarons with Biscoff
• Pumpkin Pie Lara Bars
• Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake Pops
• Bacon Whiskey Bark
• Andes Mint Cookies
• Sweet and Spicy Pecans
• Lavender Soap
• Oat-rageous Cookies
• Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Raisin Cookies
• Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
• Pecandies
• Herbed Vinegars
• Pumpkin Curry Soup
• Onion Compote 
• Homemade Jersey Salsa

And a HUGE 'thank-you' to the Landis Marketplace for letting us set up shop in the middle of the market.  I know I'm looking forward to going back on February 2nd to do some shopping! 

Register here!

{Recipe Rewind} December: Amy's Cheesy Quinoa and Abi's Macarons

I hope everyone had a great holiday season full of amazing foods - I know I did!  

Here is the recipe Amy used for her Cheesy Quinoa Bites.  She found it on Pinterest from Around the Table: Loving Food in RI & Beyond.

Cheesy Quinoa

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained

Veggies of your choice (optional)

good pinch of salt

a few grinds of seasoning salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large eggs

1 cup soy milk or non-fat milk

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling

Optional- Crushed Red Pepper, Panko Bread crumbs for topping

Toppings (optional)- salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions

Directions

Lightly sauté any veggies you would like in this dish.  

Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Coat 13x9 inch dish (or 8 individual ramekins) with cooking spray. Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt. Transfer to prepared baking dish and if using Panko Crumbs or Bread crumbs add now and bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned.

Amy used silicone muffin cups, which released really easily for individual portions. She found in using the traditional muffin pans, the quinoa stuck to the bottom.   Amy also increased the cheese to two cups, because it tastes better.  Thanks for sharing, Amy!

Now here's Abi's recipe for her Earl Grey Macarons. The recipe came from Building Buttercream, but instead of making the honey rosewater buttercream, she used Biscoff (a speculass cookie spread) between the layers.  She also added black food coloring to make the macarons look more "grey".

Earl Grey Macarons

Ingredients

Based on Brave Tart's detailed recipe.
115g almond flour* 4g Earl Grey tea (about 2 tea bags)230g powdered sugar144g egg whites (about 5 eggs worth)72g sugar1 tsp vanilla extract½ tsp salt*Blanched almonds will work as well, but you will need to grind them with the powdered sugar.  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300° F.  You might want to invest in an oven thermometer to ensure your temperature is correct.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  If you'd like to ensure macarons of the same size, trace some guide circles on the parchment paper, and then flip it over (so that you don't get pen in your cookies!).

In a food processor, grind the almond flour with the Earl Grey tea leaves for about 30 seconds.  Sift the almond flour/tea and the powdered sugar together and set aside.

Combine the egg whites, sugar, and salt and mix with beaters on medium for 3 minutes.  Increase the speed to medium-high and whip another 3 minutes, then go to high and whip for another 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and beat for one more minute on high.

Dump the dry ingredients into your meringue.  Mix with a spatula.  I stopped mixing my macarons at about 60 strokes with the spatula.  The batter should melt back down in 20 seconds after being spooned out and dropped back in.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a plain tip.  Holding the bag straight up, pipe batter out until you almost fill the circle you drew.

After all the macarons have been piped out, bang the cookie sheet onto your counter top a few times to get the air bubbles out.  Let the macarons sit for an hour (this may or may not be necessary, but probably doesn't hurt, especially if you're not sure about if you've over/under-mixed). 

Bake the macarons for 18 minutes (19 if you're doubling cookie sheets). Remove, and cool completely before peeling the macarons off of the parchment paper.

Thanks for sharing, Abi.  Now, I for one am very intimidated by the whole macaron process, so I'll just hope you'll be our resident macaron swapper :)

See everyone on February 2nd!