Delicious Snacks for Back to School

Back to school is such an exciting time of the year, but with school comes early mornings which some may not enjoy when they have come a custom to sleeping later. We have gathered up some yummy and creative ways to have fun when it comes to snacks, treats, and meals. 

 1) An Animal Snack Attack from sugarpop.com
There are 17 awesome works of art that are easy to create at home, while we can show you all 17 here are a few of our favorites. The only down side to these wonderful images is there are no recipes to go off of, however everything seems to be able to be recreated from just looking at the images. Have fun making these delicious treats!

2) Blueberry Pancakes from Baker by Nature
We might be a bit bias on this one, but blueberry pancakes are a great way to start the day! 

Ingredients:

• *Makes about 14 pancakes
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 4 tablespoons butter, for the pan
• Maple syrup, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sour cream, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder.
2. In a separate large bowl add flour and blueberries and toss to combine, making sure berries are fully coated in the flour.
3. Add flour mixture to the wet milk mixture, and stir just to combine; do not over mix! The batter will be thick, so don't worry if there's a lot of clumps left.
4. Add egg whites to a large bowl or the body of a stand mixer. Beat using a handheld mixer or the whisk attachment until the whites begin to form soft peaks.
5. With a rubber spatula fold egg whites into flour/cheese mixture, stirring until fully incorporated.
6. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
7. Ladle 1/3 cup scoops of the batter into the skillet, only cooking a few at a time so they don't blend together.
8. Cook pancakes until the edges begin to brown and the top of the batter bubbles, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat for all pancake batter.
9. Top pancakes with syrup and extra blueberries, or anything else your heart desires! Serve at once.

3) Homemade Goldfish Crackers

Sure you can buy them at the store, but if you make them at home, you can make them organic, and healthier. Adapted from food4tots

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (120g) plain flour.As an alternative you can use 1/4 cup plain flour, and 3/4 cup coconut flour (or even certified organic flour or certified organic coconut flour).
• 8oz (220g) sharp/extra sharp certified organic cheddar cheese, shredded.
• 60g cold butter cut into cubes
• 1/4-1/2 teaspooon sea salt
• 2 tbs cold water

Directions:

1. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour until it forms coarse crumbs.
2. Add sea salt to mixture.
3. Add shredded cheese and cut into the mixture.
4. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
5. use hand to form dough and divide into 2 portions. Wrap them in plastic and chill for 20 minutes (or longer).
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking trays with parchment paper. 
7. Take out one portion of the dough from the fridge. Work with one portion at a time. Place dough in between two sheets of wax paper or cling wrap. Roll dough out to 3mm (1/8 in) thickness. Cut out shapes with your choice of cookie cutters and transfer to baking tray. 
8. Use chopstick or toothpick to make the eye balls, and the prong of a for to carve a curvy lip. (this step is optional)
9. Gather all the trimmings and re-roll. Repeat until all the dough is used up. 
10. Bake or approximately 15-17 minutes, until the crackers are crispy and golden around edges. Timing will vary according to size and shape of your crackers. Cool for 10 minutes on baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Sore in an airtight container. 

Notes: 

1. You can substitute it with 50-100% whole wheat flour.
2. Shred the cheese finer than what is shown in the photo so that you can easily cut them into the mixture.
3. Get orange cheese if you can.
4. If you have food processor, pulse everything (except water) together until the dough resembles coarse sand. Then follow with step 4.
5. Thinner dough means crispier crackers; thicker dough means puffier, more bread-like crackers. But, the dough must not be too thin or else the crackers will be difficult to handle.
6. Crackers will turn soft pretty fast even they are kept inside an airtight container. Best to be eaten immediately or within a day or two. To extend them for a week or so, I keep them in the fridge. Lightly warm them up in the toaster oven when I want to eat them.

September Updates: Hello Fall!

We had a great fresh season this year! Our U-Pick has never been so busy! We want to thank everyone who came out and made that possible, we truly appreciate your continued business and support.

Since our stand out front has closed we are now operating on our Fall & Winter hours. We will be open from Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm. We currently have frozen blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. We expect to have blackberries in a couple of weeks.

This month on our blog you can find great healthy back to school snacks for kids to pack in their lunches, the journey to being a certified organic farm,  how we care for our farm after harvest, and the benefits that berries can have on cholesterol.

On our facebook page you can watch autumn take over our farm and enjoy the beautiful colors that happen. Our pinterest page is covered with delicious recipes that are good any time of the year.

This month save 10% of your order when you spend at least $20.00 on our website. Use code AUTUMN at check out. Valid now through September 26,2014.

Our Favorite Finds:

Overnight Blueberries & Cream French Toast Casserole

From Cookies & Cups

Serves 10

Ingredients

• Casserole
• 18 slices of white bread, day old works best
• 2 (8 oz) blocks Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup fresh blueberries or 2 cups frozen blueberries (before thawed)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 10 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• Blueberry Syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh blueberries or 2 cups frozen blueberries (before thawed)
• 1 Tbsp butter

How to Make

1. Spray a 9x13 pan with baking spray.
2. Cut all the bread in the cubes. Spread half the bread in the prepared pan, pressing down slightly.
3. In bowl of stand mixer beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Drop by the spoonful the cream cheese mixture evenly on the bread layer, spreading if desired. (Spreading this is a little difficult, but I prefer it). Top with the blueberries and then the remaining bread.
4. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and maple syrup. Pour over the entire casserole. Cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
5. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off.
6. Remove Cling Wrap and cover with foil to bake.
7. Bake covered at 350° for 30 minutes and then remove cover and bake an additional 25-30 minutes until center is set.
8. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
9. Bluberry Syrup
10. While the casserole is baking prepare the syrup. IN a medium saucepan combine sugar, corn starch and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it's reached a boil simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Add in blueberries and simmer for 10 more minutes.
11. Pour syrup over entire casserole or individual portions.

Notes

Serve immediately, or cover and store for up to 2 days, reheating before serving.

Rapberry Coconut Smoothie

From Creme de la Crumb 

Creamy dreamy raspberry smoothie made with coconut milk! Bonus: it's sugar free, dairy free, and vegan!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ - 1 cup coconut milk (depending on how thick you like it)
• 1 medium banana, peeled sliced and frozen
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract (optional)
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• optional: shredded coconut flakes, sweetener of choice, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add coconut milk, frozen banana slices and coconut extract to your blender. Pulse 1-2 minutes until smooth. Add frozen raspberries and continue to pulse until smooth.
2. Pour into your fancy schmancy serving glass, top with a couple of raspberries and a little shredded coconut, and enjoy!