Head to Boalsburg Farmers Market today for holiday recipe ingredients

For your holiday dinners, it’s always good to try to serve local food. While it’s cold and gloomy and eating local produce is a lot harder to do than when it’s sunny and summery, but the Boalsburg Farmers Market is open today from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and has some local produce options.

Melanie Rosenberger of the Boalsburg Farmers Market has shared with us two delicious side recipes to complement whatever holiday main dish you decide to make.

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Tags: holiday | squash | kale | recipe | apple | cabbage | BoalsburgFarmersMarket |

Local Food Notes for Sept. 12

For this week’s Local Food Notes….honeycrisp apples are back, your chance to meet a sheep at the Millheim Farmers Market, Tait Farms Foods introduces a fall flavored shrub, and how to store that winter squash purchase you made at farmers market.

- Honeycrisp apples are back: Honeycrisp apples are a much-loved variety, due to their crisp texture, sweet flavor, and juicy mouth-feel. They are back now, and can be found at various Central Pennsylvania orchards, such as Harner Farm and Way Fruit Farm. Get them before the rest of the Honeyheads end up eating them all.

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Tags: LocalFoodNotes | fall | apples | shrub | wintersquash |

Harrison’s Wine Grill to share the love for local food on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and love is certainly in the air at Harrison’s—love for local food, that is! Harrison Schailey, owner of Harrison’s Wine Grill on E. College Ave, came all the way from California as an organic farmer, hoping to bring some Left Coast influence to State College when he opened the restaurant. “After a while, I realized people didn’t go for that.”

What Harrison found was that people didn’t want a taste of California—they wanted a taste of State College. And why wouldn’t they? With the abundance of farms around the area offering a variety of options, it would be a shame not to take advantage. “It just made sense,” he says.

Of course, the winter climate here in Central Pennsylvania is nothing like California, but Mr. Harrison has adapted. When it comes to vegetables especially, winter takes a toll on local produce. “It is difficult during the winter, especially now that it’s been so cold, but we get what’s available.”

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Tags: Harrison'sWineGrill | Valentines | localfood | mushroom | butternutsquash |

Local food sides share a rightful place next to turkey star on Thanksgiving stage

Traditionally, unless of course you are vegetarian or vegan, turkey holds top billing at the Thanksgiving table. We’ve all seen the classic “Freedom from Want” painting by Norman Rockwell, an image that quickly became the template for our truly American holiday, Thanksgiving. Grandma lowers the giant golden-brown bird onto the table, as all the relatives ooo and ahh.

But really, the sides are the co-stars of this culinary production, and rightfully so. While there is certainly nothing wrong with tradition, they don’t have to be sugary sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green bean casserole, or “cranberry sauce a la Bart” direct from a can (Simpsons reference). With local ingredients, they can have flair and pizzazz that almost steals the show from the big turkey (not your one annoying uncle, I mean the main course).

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Tags: Thanksgiving | recipe | squash | cabbage | sandwich |

Squash and corn soup perfect for blustery fall days

For me, fall always means changing colors, cooler temperatures, and soups. When my wife was alive we would love putting together a soup or stew, throwing it in a crockpot and heading out to enjoy the fall season. When we got back the whole house smelled of soup. We would warm up by the fire with our bowls of soup and a big slice of bread smothered in butter. To this day those are some of my fondest memories. So to me fall is soup and soup is love and comfort. Here is one of the recipes we used to make on those blustery days, squash and corn soup:

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Tags: recipe | fall | squash | corn |

Year Round Good Eating and Gratin Recipe

Our local food partners are the stars behind the scenes at Harrison’s Wine Grill – we purchase from more than 20 local businesses during the growing season. During the winter, we focus more on the year-round products, especially locally produced cheese like our Goot Essa cheddar and Three Belle goat cheese, both from Millheim, Pa. We are working to bring more Pennsylvania artisanal cheeses onto our menu this year because our menu items designed around Goot Essa Sharp Cheddar have been so popular, especially the gratin recipe featured below.

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Tags: recipe | winter | potatoes | squash |

Winner of the Butternut Squash Recipe Contest

Thanks to everyone who participated in this month’s butternut squash recipe contest! Congratulations to Ashley of State College and her Butternut Squash Risotto recipe. She is the recipient of a $25 gift certificate to Harrison’s Wine Grill & Catering

Continue reading to see all of the submitted recipes. Enjoy!

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Tags: butternutsquash | recipe | recipecontest |

Butternut Squash and Apple Muffins with Pumpkin Seed Streusel

With two hungry children, I am always trying to find healthful snacks that the kids perceive to be treats. A piece of fruit may be healthy, but every once in a while kids (and grown-ups alike) crave something more substantial.  In our house, anything freshly baked is usually a winner.  This recipe qualifies as both delicious and healthy—with whole wheat flour, butternut squash puree, fresh apples, and not too much sugar.  It’s your choice whether you call it breakfast, a snack, or dessert.

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Tags: recipe | butternutsquash | fall |

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque from Harrison’s

For perfect fall flavors—the mild sweetness of butternut squash is perfectly offset with savory garlic and vegetables.  Using some local cream helps to make it rich and velvety – but minimizing cream and using vegetable stock and roasted garlic helps to keep the fats and calories down. This recipe has a lot of steps in it – and that’s what creates the complex and award-winning flavors. 

Stop in to Harrison’s for a bowl, or enjoy it from your own home.

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Tags: recipe | fall | butternutsquash |

Asian-Style Ratatouille with Eggplant

Eggplant is delicious hot or cold and can be enjoyed marinated, stuffed, roasted, grilled, fried, baked in a casserole or stewed. How do you like to prepare it? Share your favorite recipe this month for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Mount Nittany Winery.

Continue reading for a recipe from Steve Spanelli of Tait Farm.

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Tags: recipe | summer | fall | eggplant | squash | zucchini | tomatoes |

Roasted Butternut Squash Orzo

December dinners tends to be hearty and heavy, and sometimes we need a break from weighty winter food. Enter roasted butternut squash orzo with wilted spinach and dried cranberries.

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Tags: recipe | fall | winter | butternutsquash | cranberries | garlic |

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Warm up this wintry weekend with a bowl of spicy Moroccan vegetable stew. It combines seasonal root vegetables with cinnamon, cumin, and paprika and a splash of sweet coconut milk at the end. The list of ingredients may seem long, but this soup couldn’t be simpler or more satisfying.

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Tags: recipe | fall | onions | butternutsquash | potatoes | carrots | celery |

Winter Squash Quiche

Monday night football was on the television, and the guys were at my place with their eyes glued to the screen. Anxious to have new recipe test subjects, I proposed that I make some food. However, when I mentioned squash, a loud groan echoed throughout my apartment.

“Why can’t we just order wings?” and “Really? Vegetables for a football game?” But I stood my ground, and finally they admitted that free food was better than no food at all.

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Tags: recipe | fall | wintersquash |

Spaghetti Squash with Stewed Tomatoes

Squash is more than a front porch decoration placed alongside pumpkins and gourds. Acorn squash can be roasted with maple syrup and brown sugar; butternut squash can be baked with apples and Gorgonzola; and cooked spaghetti squash can be topped with stewed tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.

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Tags: recipe | fall | squash |

Sauteed Delicata Squash with Apples and Thyme

‘Tis the season for squash! Try this savory dish with delicata squash (also known as sweet potato squash), apples, and thyme.

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Tags: recipe | fall | squash | apples |

Butternut Squash, Apple, Gorgonzola Gratin

Here’s a recipe to add to your autumn arsenal. It’s tart and tangy and pairs well with slow-cooked pork and sweet pumpkin ale.

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Tags: recipe | fall | apples | butternutsquash |

Roasted Acorn Squash

Fall is here! Which means it’s time for squash. Acorn squash, in particular, has great flavor and only requires a small amount of prep time to create a delicious side dish.

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Tags: recipe | fall | squash |