Tap the  “We’re still here” title to find the facebook link and a few recent pictures…

I recently created some postcards to be available to our bed and breakfast guests.  These are available to in our guest rooms and can be sent to friends and family free of charge.  It’s a simple way to help spread the word of our little establishment.

I used a great on-line design/print service called Moo.  I’ve been very impressed with their high quality and quick turn around.  I also used them to create my business cards.

Here are two of my designs:

In Italy, the making of Nocino is ritualistic and taken very seriously.  The walnuts are traditionally picked on June 24th, the feast of San Giovanni.  Here in eastern Pennsylvania the walnuts do not seem ready until early August.  The recipe I adapted ending up coming from one of my favorite dessert cookbooks; Room for Dessert by David Lebovitz.  The book is out of print, but worth the search or try his excellent blog.

Nocino

25 green walnuts, approximately (23 fit in my gallon jar)

2 sticks of cinnamon

6 cloves

peel of one orange, removed with a vegetable peeler

4 ½ cups sugar

2 750 ml bottles of vodka (no need to use the expensive stuff here)

1. Wash and dry the walnuts.  Using a heavy knife cut them into quarters.

2. Add the walnut pieces, spices, orange peel and sugar to a large jar with a tight-fitting lid.

3. Pour vodka over to cover ingredients and fill jar.

4. Cover and let stand for a couple months, shaking occasionally.

5. Strain through cheesecloth and pour into clean bottles and seal tightly.  Nocino will get better with age.  By New Year’s Eve it should be quite potable.  It will keep for several years in a cool, dry place.

Enjoy chilled as a cordial or try Mr. Lebovitz’s suggestion and serve over vanilla ice cream.

I’ll let you know how mine turns out when I strain it in September.

Gather and wash about 25 green, unripened Black Walnuts.

Cut walnuts in quarters and load into a gallon sized jar. Add spices and cover with vodka.

Raspberries are a ” superfood”, meaning they have a nutritional value that’s top-notch. Raspberries contain significant amounts of vitamin C and folate as well as the minerals potassium, calcium, manganese, and magnesium. Also found in raspberries is the antioxidant anthocyanin, which gives the berries their red color and helps control diabetes and slow the effects of aging. Besides all that, raspberries boast a healthy dose of ellagic acid, a powerful cancer-fighting substance, and fiber – a cupful provides about eight grams.

Health benefits aren’t the only thing that put raspberries in a league of their own. Here are some other noteworthy facts about this unique member of the rose family:

• There are more than 200 species of raspberries that grow on five continents. And they’re not just available in red. Raspberries come in shades of gold, purple, black, and white.
• Because raspberries and blackberries are similar bramble fruits, some people can’t tell a black raspberry from a blackberry. The difference? Raspberries have a hollow center. They’re also smaller and more delicate, plus they usually develop more quickly than blackberries.
• Not a true berry, raspberries are considered an aggregate or composite fruit since they are actually a collection of smaller seed fruits called “drupelets.”
• Raspberries are expensive to buy at the store for several reasons. Their softness and tendency to bruise easily make them highly perishable and hard to ship. They are also difficult to pick.
• Although raspberries will only last a day or two in the refrigerator, carefully washed, dried, and stored in a heavy plastic bag, they can keep for up to a year in the freezer.

Of course, what’s most special about raspberries is how good they taste, both sweet and tart.  well worth the pricks and scratches that come with picking them.

A quick recipe for raspberry jam follows the photos.

one quart picked, another to go...

Wild Raspberry Jam

(Makes 6-7 ½ pints)

2 qts. Raspberries

1 1.75 oz packet powdered pectin

5 ½ cups sugar

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Sterilize  half pint canning jars and lids.  ( I keep them warm in a 250 degree F oven)

Crush berries, one layer at a time, in a large pot.

Stir in pectin.

Heat over high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full rolling boil.

Add all of the sugar and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly to avoid sticking.

Boil for one minute.

Skim, if necessary, and ladle into jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.

Wipe rims and apply lids and bands. Screw on fingertip tight.

Process the jars in boiling water canner for 5 minutes.

Cool, undisturbed, on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Wild Raspberry Jam ready for the farmstand

Strawberry jam is one of the simplest to make provided you have excellent fruit. Find berries in season at a local farm or farmers market.  Grocery store berries grown for long-haul distribution are not worth the effort.

These instructions assume you know the basics of canning and preserving.  If you are new to this, please consult one of the excellent blogs on the subject, such as Food In Jars.

For each cup of fruit, I use ¾ cup of sugar and a little lemon juice to help balance the sweetness (The juice of one lemon per 5 cups of fruit) .  Some people prefer equal measures of fruit and sugar.

1. Rinse and drain the berries.

2. Hull and cut each berry in half if large, leave the small ones whole.

3. Measure the prepared berries and the appropriate amount of sugar.

4. Combine the berries and sugar in a wide, shallow pot.  Let macerate until the juices begin to seep out of the berries, a couple hours is best.

5. Heat the fruit and sugar mixture over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar has completely melted.

6. Increase the heat to high, add the juice of one lemon for each 5 cups of fruit, and bring mixture to a boil that can not be stirred down.

7. Boil for approximately ten minutes or until a jelly thermometer reads 220° F.

8. Fill sterilized jars, wipe rims, apply lids and rings.  Process ½pint jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

9. Allow jars to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours.

Enjoy!

fresh strawberries, sugar and a little lemon juice make delicious jam

We expect to  be set up roadside on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting.

Larken Springs Farm  2046 Springtown Hill Rd.   Hellertown, PA 18055