{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!

{Swapper Spotlight} - Abi Douglass

I can't quite remember exactly how Abi and became friends. We used to work together.  We sat two cubicles away from each other, but never really spoke.  I'd bring in baked goods.  She'd bring in baked goods.  Her's were always more adventurous than mine (Irish Car Bomb cupcakes, anyone?).  Then one day we started emailing each other about food; restaurants, recipes, blogs to check out, Pinterest...and we've been friends ever since!

Abi has been supporting me in this new swap hobby from Day 1.  She hasn't missed a swap yet.  But more than just showing up to swap, she REALLY SHOWS UP, as in totally blows us all away with the quality of her items.  I overheard someone say to her at our Saturday December 1st swap, "Oh you always have the best stuff!"

Now keep in mind, Abi is pregnant.

Like due-any-day-now pregnant.

And she shows up with 9 different items!

Hot buttered yum chex mix

Romesco sauce

Turkey Stock

Peppermint Oreo Truffles

Earl Grey Macarons with Biscoff

Pumpkin Pie Spice Lara Bars

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake Pops

Bacon Caramel Whiskey Bark

Apple Cider Caramel Cookies

Maybe she's just nesting. Or maybe she's just.that.awesome.  And that's why she's our featured swapper!

Abi with her sweet daughter Raegan

What's your food swap resume like? 

I attended the first swap at The Sweet Life Bakery—and I haven’t missed one since. It felt like Christmas—we had only a few swappers, so almost everything was swapped one-for-one with everyone else, which made it feel exciting and like we really “made out well”. It was very eye-opening for the following swaps, since you got the idea that we bakers and cooks certainly like to “show off” our skills and bring things that increase in complexity and creativity. It’s led to a Pinterest board specifically for me to keep tabs on ideas I have for future swaps.

How did you hear about us? 

I am friends with Lauren Vitagliano, who started the whole South Jersey Swapping movement. I was interested from the beginning, and have really enjoyed supporting her endeavors to bring food swapping to our area.

Do you have any swapping specialties we can look forward to?

I made salted caramel for the first swap, and it has become a staple in our household. It’s easy and something that I like to think people enjoying getting from me. I also have made macarons a few times, and really enjoy the challenge and guesswork of bringing them, since they can be so finicky. I have not really made the same thing twice for any swap, so it’s usually a new experience each time.

Salted Caramel and Macarons

Why do you love food swapping? 
I think swapping is a fun way to build your culinary skill set, make new friends based on the common ground of a love for food, and a chance to try new things. Often, we come home with an exchange of something that we either haven’t had before or made on our own. I’m personally intimidated by canning, and if someone (like Lauren!) brings canned items to a swap, I do my best to make sure I get some!

Lara Bars, Spice Rubs, Produce Spray, Marshmallows

Do you have any advice for first-time swappers?
So many times, we invite people (anyone!) to come to a swap, and they say: “oh I don’t know how to make something to swap”. That’s not true! There are so many things we make and don’t think are “swapper material”. One of my favorite things I’ve gotten was a frozen roll of sugar cookie dough that came with a cardamom-espresso “crust” to add before baking the cookies. Not too difficult, but oh, so tasty! Don’t sell yourself short and miss out on the swapping fun because you don’t think you make anything “fancy”. I brought a type of Chex® mix to the last one, for heaven’s sake. There are so many things you can make that require very little culinary talent; just a Google or Pinterest search can lead you to homemade vanilla (2 ingredients!!) and other simple-to-make DIY, swap-worthy masterpieces. Come join us!

December (Holiday) Swap

Click on the Eventbrite button to register!

Philly Food Swap

Earlier this month, Abi and I ventured into Philly to participate in the Philly Swappers October Food Swap.  Tickets sold out and it was only 2 days before that I was confirmed off the wait list.  I'm not sure exactly how many swappers were there, but I'm going to guess about 35? The venue was the incredible Greensgrow Farm - an urban farm in Kensington.  I recommend everyone check them out!

 

We were really excited as the Philly Swappers are very well represented and have a lot of unique people who wait patiently for their events.  Abi and I looked over the Eventbrite preview list of what everyone was making.  I asked her what she was going to bring and she replies, "Er, humble pie?"  The Philly Swappers are that good.  There were things there that I had never seen before, and I finally got to try Kombucha, a sweet yet tart fermented drink with tons of health benefits.

We ended up bringing canned tomatoes, fresh pizza dough, concentrated vegetable stock, produce spray, granola, and spice rubs.  The hosts, Marisa from Food in Jars and Amanda from @forkspoonknife, made a few announcements of how the night would go and reminded everyone to be nice.  And another important reminder, you can say no to a swap - something I need to get better at.

 

  

Sample time was insane.  There were so many great items.  Something to remember for next time...I need to write down who, what and where something is that I REALLY want.  Because come swap time, I didn't know anyone and it was kinda hard to navigate the masses in search of name tags.  Also, during the course of sampling I should have periodically looked back at my swap sheets just to get an idea of who I may be looking for come swap time.  I'm so used to only having 12 or so swappers, so coming to an event this big you definitely need a game plan.

Abi and I both did really well.  I went home with: Fig & Blackberry Jam, Caramel Apple Bread, Apple Cider Bread, Fall Sugar Cookies, Skeeter Pee (adult lemonade), Bacon Jam, Granola, Tomato Jam, Caramelized Spiced Pear Butter, Irish Soda Cake, Apple Jie Jam, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Caramel Spread, Cream of Zucchini Soup and more!  Abi went home with a ton of goodies too.

It was nice being a real swapper, as in not being a host and worrying about everyone else.  I learned so much, met some great people and look forward to future swaps with the Philly folks soon!

{Swapper Spotlight} - Stefanie Modri

I'm starting a new regular post called Swapper Spotlight.  After each swap I'll choose someone to feature so we can all learn a little more about each other.  Our first Swapper Spotlight is with Stefanie Hawk Modri.  Stefanie came to her first swap with a variety of goodies and even brought three other swappers with her!



Stefanie and her husband Ryan with Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms

You just attended your first swap. What’d you think?
I loved it! It felt like a Pinterest Party, which I just made up. Seriously, it's everything you can learn to do or make from Pinterest. There are lots of good things about the swap--there is no money exchanged, it feels like everything you come home with is bonus, you are surrounded by others who appreciate handmade and homemade items and there was no limit on what I could show up with to the swap. Well, maybe not my old bike. Overall, it was very stress-free and fun--both the prep and being there.

Stefanie's take-home loot

How did you hear about us? I read about it in one of my favorite magazines, Edible Jersey.

Do you have any swapping specialties we can look forward to?
I can make yogurt from soy milk or cow's milk so I'm thinking about making some next time in beautiful large Ball jars. I may make the soaps with loofah again, too. I can also make homemade German noodles called spaetzle. I can come with several bags of frozen spaetzle but swappers would need to come with a cooler because you don't want them to thaw before you are really ready to cook them.

Why do you love swapping?
Well, I started swapping last summer when I grew 100 lbs of butternut squash by accident. Really. I ended up trading them for eggs, peaches, vegetables and even some house cleaning services. It was one of the most fun things I had ever done and it made my summer really fun, too. I felt like the squash was my "cash crop" and I could trade it like cash. Plus, it seemed like everyone showed up with their best to offer at the swap and I liked that.

Stefanie's garden

Do you have any advice for first-time swappers?
I would recommend making something that can last in the fridge for at least 1-2 weeks or can go in the freezer. While I came home with delicious cookies and breads, I like to spread my enjoyment of my loot over a week or more. The maple pecan butter, roasted red pepper and eggplant dip and the strawberry applesauce felt very special. Bring something that is unique and made with love.

{Recipe Rewind} September: Kacie's Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Dip

Kacie and I met in 2002 at college in Anchorage, Alaska.  Almost immediately, we became friends - there weren't too many other (cool) girls in the aviation program :)  I spent a lot of time with Kacie and her family while I was in Alaska, and I'm so glad we kept in touch over the years.  Now living in Las Vegas, Kacie came to visit NJ and I timed it so she could experience a food swap.  

Thanks, Kacie for sharing this recipe with us - it was a bit hit!  We enjoyed your other treats at the swap too (hmmm, maple pecan butter).  It's so simple to make, just a bit to prepare the veggies.  And I was really surprised the red pepper skins didn't have to be removed.  

Kate and Kelli enjoying the dip

Ingredients

1 medium Italian eggplant, or 2 medium Chinese eggplants, skin peeled off with a vegetable peeler 
2 red bell peppers, washed well, and seeded
1 red onion
2-4 cloves minced garlic 
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp tomato paste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Chopping the eggplant, red pepper, and red onion into roughly 1-inch sized pieces.  Put them in a large bowl, and toss with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Spread them out in one layer on a rimmed baking sheet, then roast them for 45 minutes, tossing the vegetables once during roasting.  

Cool the vegetables slightly, then dump in a food processor.  Pulse the vegetables a few times to break them up, then add the tomato paste and pulse until well-blended and mostly smooth.  Serve at room temperature with chips or bread, or store refrigerated for a few days.   

Recipe from The Cilantropist (adapted from Ina Garten)