Back in May when we bought the plants for our veggie garden, we found ground cherry plants. Neither of us really knew what they were, but it was something different, so we bought a few.

The overwhelming response I get when I mention ground cherries to someone is: “Oh, my mother (or grandmother) used to make pies out of them. I haven’t had those since I was a kid!” But no one seems to know exactly what they are.

Well, ground cherries are not cherries at all. In fact, they’re a relative of the tomato, tomatillo and gooseberry. They’re called ground cherries because when ripe, they fall from the plant–onto the ground. Like tomatillos and gooseberries, the ground cherry grows in a husk that protects the little yellowish-orange berry inside.

They continue to sweeten if you let them sit in their husks for several weeks after harvesting. They keep very well and can be stored for up to 3 months if left in the husk.

Most people do make pies from them, but you can also make jam and marmalade from them, poach them to be eaten over ice cream, put them in salads and muffins or even dip them in chocolate. They can be dried and eaten like raisins. And they freeze very well so you can use them year-round.

Their taste is kind of hard to describe: strange, complex, slightly sweet. There’s a bit of a sweet tomato taste there and kind of a tropical flavor–like a papaya. Some say that they taste pineapple and even a hint of vanilla.

I’ll let you know what I make from them and how it turns out. It’s said that they re-seed very easily, so I guess I’ll have ground cherries next year, too!

You can meet up with Rich as he does chef demonstrations with great local food: September 4th at the Plumsteadville Grange Farmers’ Market and September 11th at the Indian Valley Farmers’ Market in Telford. Look for ground cherries at local farm markets or farms, like Penn Vermont Fruit Farm in Bedminster.

Best Decorated

1. Fast Flying Fairy (who came in second last year – way to go!) by Allison Templeton
2. Airplane to Zucchini by Sam Hoffman
3. The Unbeetable by the Valerio Family

Fastest Zucchini

1. The Unbeetable by the Valerio Family
2. Rabbit Racer by Olivia Pfaendtner
3. Zucchini Coach by Helene Pfaendtner

Click here to see more photos

• The Unbeetable

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3226.jpg

  2010 Lower Makefield Farmers' Market Zucchini Race

• Zucchini racers on display

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3228.jpg

  before the heats

• More zucchini racers on

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3231.jpg

  before the heats

• Sam Hoffman waits in

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3234.jpg

  anticipation at the finish line

• Fans at the

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3235.jpg

  finish line

• 1st prize for Best Decorated

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3244.jpg

  "Fast Flying Fairy" by Allison Templeton

• 2nd prize for Best Decorated

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/Sam-Hoffman_2nd-place_BD.jpg

  "Airplane to Zucchini" by Sam Hoffman

• 1st prize for Speed and 3rd prize for Best Decorated

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3241.jpg

  "The Unbeetable" by the Valerio Family

• 2nd prize for Speed

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3239.jpg

  "Rabbit Racer" by Olivia Pfaendtner

• 3rd prize for Speed

  http://www.buckscountytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/100_3238.jpg

  "Zucchini Coach" by Helene Pfaendtner

Look for Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter!

Related posts:

1. What to do with all those zucchinis

Kramer: Well, they’re in…

Jerry: What’s in?

Kramer: The Macanaw peaches, Jerry!  The Macanaw peaches!

Jerry: Ah, right.  The ones from Oregon that are only ripe for two weeks a year…

Kramer: Yeah…I waited all year for this (bites the peach).  Ooooh, this is fantastic…Makes your taste buds come alive…It’s like having a circus in your mouth!  Jerry, this is a miracle of nature that exists for a brief period.  It’s like the Aurora Borealis!

Kramer may be exaggerating a little bit, but not much.  When you bite into a fresh peach for the first time each summer, your taste buds do come alive.  Sort of like you’ve never tasted anything quite so good before.  (By the way, there is no such thing as a Macanaw peach.)

Peaches are one of my favorite fruits.  But there is nothing more disappointing than biting into a dry, mealy, bland peach.  And so, I present to you tips for finding a peach that will make you very happy. 

Peaches, a member of the rose family (along with apricots, cherries, plums and almonds), don’t ripen after they are picked (although they do get softer).  So it’s important to choose fruit that is already ripe.

• First, look for an even background color of golden yellow for yellow-fleshed peaches or a creamy yellow for white-fleshed.  That red blush that you often see doesn’t have anything to do with ripeness.  Any green around the stem means it’s not ripe.
• Look for a well-defined crease.
• The flesh should give slightly.  If it’s a bit hard, they will soften on the counter at room temperature.  You can quicken the process by putting them in a paper bag.
• If the skin is wrinkled or shriveled, put it down.  It’s old and past its prime (I know the feeling).
• The best indicator of ripeness, however, is smell.  Take a nice big sniff…does it smell like you hope it will taste?  If so, then that’s the one you want.

Store peaches at room temperature until they soften to the extent that you wish.  Then put them in the refrigerator crisper drawer.  They’ll last for 5 days to a week in there.  Whatever you’re not going to use within that time, you should freeze.

For my money, the best way to eat a fresh, ripe peach is to eat it out of hand.  You know, when the juice drips down your chin and all over your hand.  Yum!

Another great way to bring out the flavors of a sweet peach is to grill it.  The fruit should be slightly firm.  Halve it, pit it and brush it with some vegetable oil.  If you’re adventurous, sprinkle a little cayenne or other spice on it.  Then grill over a medium fire until tender.  It’s good as a dessert (with some good vanilla ice cream), but even better as a side dish for grilled fish or meat.

Of course, there are a million recipes for peach cobblers, peach brown betties, peach crumbles, etc.  As usual, I turn to Cook’s Illustrated magazine for a great peach dessert.  But hurry!  Good peaches are only around for a short time—sort of like the Aurora Borealis!

BLUEBERRY-PEACH COBBLER WITH LEMON-CORNMEAL BISCUIT TOPPING (serves 6)
 Published July 1, 2004

I’ve also made this with blackberries.  If your peaches are firm, you can peel with a vegetable peeler.  If they’re too soft for that, blanch for a minute or two and shock in ice water.  The peels should come off easily.  In the topping, low-fat or nonfat yogurt can be used, but it will be a bit less rich.  This recipe can be doubled to serve a crowd.  Use a 13″ x 9″ baking dish and increase baking times in steps 2 and 4 by about 5 minutes.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  Left-overs (if there are any) can be reheated in a 350° oven until warmed.

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:

2 pounds ripe, but firm peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch salt

For the topping:

1 cup minus 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp stone-ground cornmeal
½ tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼” cubes
1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt 

HOW TO

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425°.
2. For the filling: Peel peaches; then halve and pit.  Using a small spoon, scoop out and discard the dark flesh from the pit area.  Cut each half into 4 wedges.  Gently toss peaches and sugar together in a large bowl; let stand 30 minutes, tossing several times.  Drain peaches in a colander set over a large bowl.  Whisk ¼ cup drained juice (discard extra), cornstarch, lemon juice and salt together in a small bowl.  Toss peach juice mixture with peach slices and blueberries; transfer to an 8″ square glass baking dish.  Bake until peaches begin to bubble around the edges, about 10 minutes.
3. For the topping:While peaches are baking, in a food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, lemon zest, 3 tbsp sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine. Scatter butter over and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about ten 1-second pulses.  Transfer to a medium bowl; add yogurt and toss with a rubber spatula until cohesive dough is formed.  (Don’t over mix the dough or the biscuits will be tough.)  Break the dough into 6 evenly sized, but roughly shaped mounds and set aside.
4. To assemble and bake: After the peaches have baked 10 minutes, remove them from the oven and place the dough mounds on top, spacing them at least ½” apart (they should not touch).  Sprinkle each mound with a portion of the remaining sugar.  Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 16-18 minutes.  Cool cobbler on a wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

As you would expect, peaches are abundant at many of our local farms and farmers’ markets.  Here are some places you can find peaches, according to the Penn State Co-op Extension. Check their websites or call to check for availability (click on the link below to see farm locations and phone numbers):

Active Acres Farm
881 Highland Rd.
Newtown, PA  18940
215-968-2192

Bechdolts Orchard
2209 Leithsville Rd, Rt. 412
Hellertown, PA  18055
610-838-8522

Bolton’s Farm Market
1005 Rt. 113
Silverdale, PA  18962
215-257-6047

Fairview Farm
831 Pineville Rd.
Pineville, PA  18946
215-598-3257

Lapinski Farm
1003 Middle Rd.
Dublin, PA  18917
215-249-3431

Manoff Market Gardens
3157 Comfort Rd.
Solebury, PA  18963
215-297-8220

Penn Vermont Fruit Farm
Rt. 113 & Rolling Hills Rd.
Bedminster, PA  18910
215-795-2475

Shady Brook Farm
931 Stony Hill Rd.
Yardley, PA  19067
215-968-1670

Snyder Farms
Rt. 313 & 5^th St.
Perkasie, PA  18944

Solebury Orchards
3325 Creamery Rd.
New Hope, PA  18938
215-297-8079

Solly Farm Market
707 Almshouse Rd.
Ivyland, PA  18974
215-357-2850

Styer Orchard
97 Styers Ln.
Langhorne, PA  19047
215-702-9633

Tall Pine Farms
1046 Swamp Rd.
Rushland, PA  18956
(Wrightstown and Doylestown Farmers’ Markets)

Look for Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter!

It’s just about time for watermelons to start appearing in our local farm markets.  In many ways, watermelon seems like the all-American fruit—a staple at our summer picnics.  It actually originated in Africa where it was cultivated by the Egyptians.  It wasn’t until the 1600’s that it was introduced to the rest of the world.  Today, there are about 1200 varieties of the fruit.

First, let me admit that I’m not usually a big fan of watermelon.  The reason, though, is because it’s so rare that you actually taste one that is sweet and juicy and refreshing.  So many times, watermelons are bland and taste like, well, water.  A really ripe and flavorful melon is a different story.

So how do you avoid picking out a melon that is going to disappoint your picnic guests?  I’m sure you’ve heard about smelling or thumping or squeezing—everything short of using a stethoscope—none of which really work.  I recently read an article where this same question was asked of an expert: Darryl Mosher, a farmer and professor at the Culinary Institute of America.

The first thing you should do is look at the melon’s shape.  It should have a symmetrical shape.  If not, it didn’t grow consistently and was probably “water-starved” at some point. 

Color is not an indicator of ripeness, although the rind should be bright, not dull-looking.  What you should search for, however, is the “field spot.”  This is the cream, yellow or orange spot where the melon sat on the ground.  This is an indication that the melon was allowed to ripen in the field.  If there is a white or pale green spot—or if there isn’t one at all—move on to the next melon.

Another way to test juiciness and ripeness is to pick it up.  Like many juicy fruits (citrus, for example), a watermelon should feel heavy for its size.  That means it’s full of flavorful juice.

Also like many fruits and vegetables, the watermelon’s flavor and texture starts to decrease as soon as it’s picked, so buying locally means you’ll be getting a fresher, tastier melon.  We’re just at the beginning of watermelon season, depending on the variety, but melons should be showing up at markets very soon if they aren’t already.  I just did a cooking demo at Blooming Glen Farm and a watermelon was part of their share.

Watermelons keep well in the refrigerator, but cold will eventually degrade the flavor and texture.  It’s best to store it in a spot just below room temperature and refrigerate an hour or two before serving if you want a cold melon.  Mosher says that he likes his watermelon warm.  He lets it sit out in the sun on his driveway.  According to him, the flavor of a warm watermelon is more complex, even tropical and mango-like.

I love fruit salsas with seafood.  The sweetness of the fruit paired with spicy and savory flavors is a real treat.  This fresh-tasting recipe goes great with grilled fish, scallops or shrimp. 

WATERMELON PICO DE GALLO
from Ellise Pearce, McClatchy Newspapers

(makes about 6 servings)

INGREDIENTS

2 medium tomatoes, diced
16 oz watermelon, diced slightly larger than the tomatoes
1 Tbsp red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
Juice of half a lime
½ tsp sea salt

HOW TO

1. Put everything in a medium bowl, gently toss, and refrigerate for an hour.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.
2. Serve as a condiment for grilled seafood or simply use as a salsa with chips.

Look for Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter!

Jake is a carnivore.  My 4-year old will eat pretty much any kind of meat–often pretending that he’s a lion eating a gazelle.  So whenever he sees the grill out, he gets his hopes up for some sort of meat that he can sink his teeth into. Now that it’s summer, Jake’s not the only one getting hungry with the sight of a grill. 

People have been grilling things for as long as there’s been fire.  It’s simple, convenient and tasty.  But good grilling is much more than just throwing a hunk of meat on a hot grate.  Here are some tips (with some thanks to Cook’s Illustrated magazine) to make your July 4^th picnic food the envy of the neighborhood–no matter what you’re cooking–beef, fish, veggies…or gazelle.

• MAKE IT HOT—Preheating your grill is essential to keeping foods from sticking.  Always pre-heat your gas grill to high and then turn it down to the necessary temperature.  For charcoal grills, hold your hand five inches over the grate.  The number of seconds that you can comfortably hold your hand there will tell you the intensity of your fire:  Hot = 2 seconds, Medium-hot = 3-4 seconds, Medium = 5-6 seconds, Medium-low = 7 seconds.  Anything more than that, make sure there is actually a fire burning. 
• GRATE BRUSHING—Once preheated, brush the grates to remove cooked on foods from the last time you grilled.  There are those who say, “All that stuff adds flavor!”  No, it’s like cooking in a dirty pan.  Get it off of there.
• OIL IT UP—Before putting the food on, be sure to oil the grates to further prevent sticking.  The easiest way to do this is just to put a bit of vegetable oil in a small bowl, dip in a wadded up paper towel and brush the grates using some long tongs.  For anything other than seafood, a few wipes will do the trick.  Seafood, though, is another story.  There’s actually some compound in seafood flesh that makes it stick to the hot grates.  The way to prevent this:  While preheating, put foil over the grates.  This will “superheat” the grates (the hotter, the better).  Once preheated, remove the foil and wipe with the oil-soaked towel.  Wait a minute and do it again.  Do this about 10 times.  Be patient!  With each wiping, a plastic bond is made between the oil and the grates and after 10 times, there’s a barrier to protect the fish.  No more sticking.  No more fish looking like roadkill from trying to scrape it up.  It really works.
• DON’T BE SAUCY—If you’re using a sauce, don’t use it too early.  Most barbecue sauces have sugars in them that if applied too early, will burn and taste that way.  Brush on your sauce with a minute or two to go.  That will give you a nice, sticky coating that tastes great.
• BRINE IT—Many cuts of meat dry out on the grill.  The best way to avoid this is to brine (soak the meat in a solution of water with salt and sometimes sugar, herbs, etc.).  Poultry, pork and shrimp benefit greatly from brining.
• FORGET THE PRESS—Why do so many people press the life out of their burgers?  It doesn’t help them cook any faster.  All it does it squeeze the flavorful juices out of them, leaving them dry and tasteless.
• WHEN IS IT DONE?—Use an instant-read or probe thermometer to gauge the internal temperature of your meat using the following guidelines.  Serving undercooked meat at a holiday picnic:  Memorable?  Yes.  But not in a good way.  Meat should come off the grill when it’s 5-10 minutes shy of the final temperature.  The temperature will continue to rise as the meat rests. 
  • Red Meat:  Rare-125°, Medium-Rare-130°, Medium-140°, Well-Done-160°
  • Pork:  Medium-145°     Well-Done-160°
  • Chicken (white meat):  160°
  • Chicken (dark meat):  165°
  • Fish:  Check for doneness by nicking the flesh with a paring knife.  Most fish should be opaque at the center.  Tuna and salmon can be cooked until just translucent, if desired
  • Note that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends cooking ground meat to 160°; roasts, steaks and chops to 145°; and poultry to 180°. 
• THE RAW & THE COOKED—Don’t put cooked meat on the same platter that was used for raw meat.  An easy way to avoid this without having one extra dish to wash is to put foil over a platter and then put the raw meat on it.  After moving the meat to the grill, simply remove the foil and you’ve got a clean platter for the cooked meat.
• SMART MARINATING—Marinating is a great way to add flavor to grilled foods such as steaks.  If you want to use the marinade as a sauce for the finished meat, do one of these two things.  Reserve some marinade before adding it to the raw meat and use that as your sauce.  Or be sure to bring the used marinade to a rolling boil before serving as a sauce.  This will kill any potential bad bugs picked up from the raw meat. 

Speaking of marinades, Betty Cichy wrote a great piece (here’s page 1,and page 2) in the Bucks County Courier Times / Intelligencer a few weeks ago on marinating.  And here are a couple of easy steak marinades from Cook’s Illustrated.  Great Bucks County beef and a delicious marinade are a marriage made in heaven.  Both are enough to marinate 4-6 individual steaks or one 2-pound steak. To find out where to get your meat in Bucks, see our recent post, “Where’s the beef? And pork, and lamb, and chicken…”

HOW TO

1. Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl, reserve ¼ cup and set aside. 
2. Place the remaining marinade and steaks in a zipper-lock bag; press out as much air as possible and seal.  Refrigerate 1 hour, flipping the bag after 30 minutes so the steaks marinate evenly. 
3. After the hour is up, remove the steaks, discard the marinade and bag, and then grill your steaks as desired. 
4. When done, put the steaks in a shallow pan and pour the reserved marinade on top.  Tent loosely with foil and let the meat rest for 10 minutes, turning the steaks after 5 minutes.  You can pass the reserved marinade as a sauce if you desire.

HONEY MUSTARD MARINADE

INGREDIENTS

½ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp tarragon, chopped
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp honey
1 ½ tsp ground black pepper
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp cider vinegar

MOLE MARINADE (mo-lay, not the little digging creature)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup soy sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 Tsp dark brown sugar
4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
4 tsp cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp lime juice

Look for Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter!

Not too long ago, my wife and I were talking about how interesting it is that the trendy thing to do these days is to eat like people did 150 years ago—local, fresh, natural.  It may be the “in” thing to do, but I think we finally have a trend that’s worth latching on to.

Back in March, I attended a screening of the film Fresh: The Movie at the Ambler Theater.  The place was packed. It was great to see so many people interested in this topic.  Being from the northern regions of Bucks County, I thought it might be a good idea to try to get a screening for people in Central and Upper Bucks.  With the help of some other folks, we did just that.

Take Back Your Kitchen—A Screening of Fresh: The Movie will take place on Thursday, June 24 at 7 pm at The County Theater in Doylestown.  The film will be followed by a discussion with a panel of experts on local farming, locavore dining and more.

Fresh’s slogan is: New Thinking About What We’re Eating.  There have been a number of documentaries on this subject recently, some fairly intense.  But Fresh handles the subject in a positive way—focusing on the people who are changing the face of America’s production through smarts, respect and hard work.

There’s Will Allen, who is a leader in the urban farming movement.  He leads with passion and energy.  There’s Joel Salatin, who is known all over the world as a sustainable farmer.  In his website, he writes that he is “in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture.”  And there’s David Ball, who through his family grocery business is supporting local farmers and giving his customers locally produced food at affordable prices.  These, and others in the film, are challenging the status quo—and winning.

In the same way, our panelists are doing similar things right in our own back yard:  celebrating local food and producers, using local ingredients, raising food in a natural and sustainable way. 

Our local food panelists are:

• Christy Devlin of Green Eggs and Cakes in Sellersville
• J. Ryman Maxwell of Down to Earth Café in Perkasie
• Tom Murtha of Blooming Glen Farm CSA in Blooming Glen
• Henry Rosenberger of Tussock Sedge Farm in Blooming Glen
• And our own Lynne Goldman of Bucks County Taste

(I’ll be there, too.)

You’ll leave the theater excited about what we can do to make the things we eat better tasting and better for us.  You’ll be energized to see what we can do to make the communities where we live thrive.  You’ll be ready to Take Back Your Kitchen!

Take Back Your Kitchen—A Screening of Fresh: The Movie (click here to register)

Thursday, June 24, 2010
7:00 PM

The County Theater
20 E State St.
Doylestown, PA  18901

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance by going to The County Theater’s website (click on “Shop”, then “event tickets”).

Related posts:

1. Getting local food on the local table
2. Spring vegetables

I decided to take the day off. Kind of hard to do when you work from home and the internet is always there. It’s difficult to establish boundaries, be they physical or mental (the latter is especially hard). But I had a particularly busy week, including Saturday, and Mark suggested it, and I actually agreed. So I didn’t sit down at the computer, and I pushed the “To Do” list aside, both physically AND mentally. 

So what does a type A do on her day off? One of the things on her personal “To Do” list, of course! Ever since we tasted honey liqueur at the dinner hosted by Slow Food Bucks County at the Honey Restaurant in Doylestown, I’ve had an urge. Peter Sliwka, the beekeeper and owner of Stagecoach Orchard Apiary taught us a lot about honey that evening. I had first tasted his honey over the winter after buying it at the New Hope Farmers’ Market. One of the courses was a simple oblong plate with six strips of Peter’s honey – from different times of the year, to different types of flowers. It was a revelation. So, I thought, why not make my own honey liqueur with different types of local honey, each reflecting the complexity and uniqueness of that honey?

Recipe found! Isn’t the internet amazing? (I am, of course, speaking to those of you old enough to have lived without the internet. Remember card catalogs?). Really simple too:

Honey Liqueur
Makes 37 oz.

INGREDIENTS
16 oz./1 pint (500 g) honey (I prefer local, raw, unprocessed)
1 cup water
.375  liter (12.7 oz) Everclear grain alcohol*, or whisky

*You may have to special-order the grain alcohol; I got mine at Phillips’ Fine Wines in Stockton.

HOW TO
Dissolve honey in hot water. The water should not be hotter than 113 degrees Farenheit. Let the mixture cool down, then add spirit (alcohol). Mix. Bottle.

That’s it. Truly. Oh there are some more complicated recipes out there with spices (Lithuanians apparently make something called Krupnikas) but I wanted the taste of Peter’s raw, unprocessed honey to come through. In April I made a small batch. Tried a sip or two in early May and the smell of the grain alcohol nearly took my nose off. “Great,” I thought. “I’ll just have to tell people to hold their noses while sipping.” But…tasted some a month later, and the alcohol smell was much diminished. There really is something to this “aging” thing when it comes to liquor.

Armed with more honey bought last Thursday from Peter, I went to West Trenton to Princeton Homebrew. Thanks to owner Joe Bair, I walked out with a case of bottles and Zorks (really cool cork-like things). This time I made the honey liqueur with buckwheat honey. I also split the batch and used grain alcohol for half, and whisky for the other half. (Hopefully, I may have found a use for the two huge bottles of Canadian Club Whisky we bought for our wedding five years ago.) After sterilizing the bottles in a bleach bath for 10 minutes (1 Tbsp bleach to 1 gallon water), I rinsed the bottles, filled them with liqueur and Zorked them. I’ll let you know how it turns out in a month or two.

So what about the mozzarella, you’re thinking? Ah. An on-going saga. Let’s just say that didn’t go as smoothly as the honey liqueur. And why I decided to do both in the same day, I just don’t know. That’s what comes from type A’s trying to relax, I guess.

Ever since purchasing the 30-minute mozzarella kit from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, I have been on a mission. I made the 30 minute mozzarella, but wasn’t satisfied with my results (good, but too rubbery). So I decided to tackle the more complex mozzarella recipe in Riki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making cookbook. I’ve been buying the milk from Birchwood Farms (one of the only two places in Bucks you can get raw milk). Two gallons of milk, a fruitless trip to Petsmart for pH strips (don’t ask), and three hours later, I was not happy. The result is edible, but not what I was aiming for (I refuse to show you a picture; it’s not pretty).

Lessons learned? Anyone can make cheese. But making good cheese requires skill and much, much patience. I think I’ll take a break from cheese making right now, and stick to honey liqueur.

Every weekend this month, from
1 – 5 pm, you’ll be able to visit Ben Solowey’s home and studio, and tomorrow, Saturday, June 5th is the opening reception. David Leopold, Director of the Studio of Ben Solowey in Bedminster, contacted me recently to tell me about the “best kept secret in Bucks County:”

At our openings we open the Solowey home where my wife and I live with our 8 year-old son. The 1765 home is filled with period furniture hand-made by Ben and our extended family cover all the flat surfaces with homemade baked goods. It is definitely not the standard wine and cheese fare. The tradition was started by mother who did not live in the area, but her baked goods became so well known that when she died 4 years ago, both the Intelligencer and the Herald ran obits for people who had enjoyed her recipes. We still make many of the same recipes (and a few new ones).

Twice a year we host receptions on Saturday afternoons for new interpretive exhibitions of Ben Solowey’s work, his contemporaries, and contemporary artists whose work resonates with Ben’s. His studio is located on a 34 acre farm, and the views from the studio are virtually the same as when Ben arrived in 1936. The artist felt he saw a landscape to paint every time he looked out his studio window.

“When you visit the studio of Ben Solowey, you do more than see an exhibition, you enter an artist’s world,” wrote Edward Sozanski, Philadelphia Inquirer Art Critic. “The charm of [the Studio] is its sense of intimacy and immediacy. Nothing is under glass or roped; rather, it conveys the uncanny feeling that Solowey has just stepped away from his easel and will be back any minute….you couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else.”

We’re called the “best kept secret in Bucks County” because there are no large signs or even lots of attendant publicity because this is an intimate world and our goal is not the quantity of people, but rather the quality time they spend here. Over 18 years of regular shows, our audience is in the thousands and we’ll have several hundred pass through our doors over the next four weekends. Our openings are laid back all afternoon affairs with folks wandering between the house and studio.

What a perfect way to spend a beautiful summer afternoon. To learn more visit their Web site where there is information about the exhibit and directions to the studio.

The Studio of Ben Solowey
3551 Olde Bedminster Road
Bedminster, Pennsylvania 18910
215.795.0228

The farm is located on 28 acres of rolling farmland.  Kathy Fields (an appropriate name, I think), the president and owner of the center, met me and showed me around the grounds.  There’s a farmhouse, a number of barns and animal residents (cows, goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, horses). 

On the grounds, the farm hosts many community educational opportunities, including courses in horsemanship, spinning, knitting and weaving.  Schools often bring classes to the farm for field trips, teaching kids all about the farming way of life.  During the summer, they offer a kids’ horse camp.  The farm is open to the public, so you can stop in any time.

They even have a “family farm stay” program, where families can stay overnight in the farmhouse and spend a day living on the farm—collecting eggs for breakfast, learning how to milk the cows and goats, helping tend the other animals.  What a great way for kids to get in touch with a lifestyle that is probably pretty foreign to most of them.

Then I was introduced to the farm’s cheese maker, Eric Lipscomb, who was gracious enough to show me some of the ins and outs of small-batch cheese making.  Eric is a graduate of Desales University (with a theology/philosophy degree) and spends his time making cheese at the farm simply because he loves it and finds it fascinating. 

While I was there, he was making some cow’s milk cheese.   

This cheddar was made the day before and was ready to go to the aging fridge.

Cheese made that day, hanging to drain.

In addition to their own farm store, you can find Flint Hill products at farmers’ markets in Springtown, Wrightstown, Stockton, Glenside and Philadelphia.  They’re also featured at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City and at Rodale Press.  If you can’t make it to any of those places, they will ship online orders overnight.

Although the artisan cow and goat cheeses are probably their most popular products, they also sell eggs, yogurt and butter—all freshly produced on the farm.  They are a Certified Raw Milk Dairy through the PA Department of Agriculture.

So on one of these beautiful spring days, take a drive north and visit Flint Hill Farm.  See the animals, taste the cheese and have your spirit fed.

Flint Hill Farm
1922 Flint Hill Rd.
Coopersburg, PA  18036
610-838-2928

They’ve got a fun blog too!

Look for Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter!

Related posts:

1. Pity New York and New Jersey folks