Easter Recipe from the Inwood Farm Market

Happy Easter from Faye, Linda and Kathy at the Inwood Farm Market. Here's a recipe to prepare for your holiday gathering using West Virginia's own Up The Creek Mustard. Don't forget to pick up your favorite WV wine suggested at the end of the recipe to complete your meal.

Glazed Ham with Pineapple Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil for greasing pan

• 1 (8- to 10-pound) partially cooked smoked shank-end ham

• 3 Cups unsweetened pineapple juice (24 fl ounces)

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 3/4 Cup Up The Creek Original Mustard (7 ounces)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

• Garnish: sprigs of fresh thyme

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Oil a large roasting pan.

If ham comes wrapped in plastic, rinse ham and pat dry. Cut away and discard any thick skin with a sharp paring knife, leaving a 1-inch band around shank end, then cut away all but about an 1/8-inch layer of fat where possible. Put ham, cut side down, in roasting pan. Pour 3/4 cup pineapple juice around ham and cover pan tightly with foil, then bake 1 hour.

While ham is baking, combine sugar and remaining 2 1/4 cups pineapple juice in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan and gently boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3/4 cup, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer pineapple syrup to a bowl and cool 5 minutes. Whisk in mustard, salt, and pepper, then pour 1/2 cup into a small bowl and stir in thyme. Reserve remaining mustard mixture for serving.

Discard foil from pan and brush ham with thyme mustard mixture, then bake, basting with pan juices occasionally, until thermometer inserted into center of meat (do not touch bone) registers 145 to 150°F, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If pan juices evaporate during baking, add 1/2 cup water. Transfer ham to a platter, discarding pan juices, and let stand, uncovered, 15 to 30 minutes before slicing. Serve ham with reserved mustard mixture on the side.

Makes 10 servings. Active time: 35 minutes; 3 ¾ hours total preparation time.

Wine pairing available at the Market: Riesling’s from Forks of Cheat, Vu ja de, Potomac Highlands, Lambert’s and Wine Tree wineries.

May Is.......National Asparagus Month

Garden's are beginning to sprout new crops and offer more choices in the grocery store. May brings the spring flowers from April rains and a dinnertime favorite, asparagus. The month of May is home to many food celebrations and we'll explore them throughout the month especially as West Virginia farms start bringing more and more produce to the market.

In the April 30, 2001 Charleston Gazette newspaper, writer Sara Busse and photographer Chris Dorst wandered over to the Ware Farm in West Hamlin. What they found were three acres of asparagus and harvest in full swing. Read the article here and plan to visit the farm to get the perfect dinner vegetable, pick some up at Forth Food Fair or The Purple Onion at Capitol Market, or order them at your favorite restaurants, Huntington Prime and Jewel City Seafood.

Let's explore this early season crop....did you know:

• Asparagus is a member of the Lily family
• Asparagus spears grow from a crown that is planted about a foot deep in sandy soils
• It takes three years before the plant is ready to be harvested for the first time
• Under ideal conditions, an asparagus spear can grow 10" in a 24-hour period; some fields need to be picked every 24 hours
• A well cared for asparagus planting will generally produce for about 15 years without being replanted.
• Asparagus is healthy--high in folic acid, a good source of potassium, fiber, Vitamin B6, Vitamins A & C and thiamin; no fat, no cholesterol and low in sodium

Try this easy way to prepare asparagus and enjoy the garden!

• 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and asparagus spears; cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until asparagus is tender. If you like your asparagus well done, reduce heat and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Celebrate......National Blueberry Pie Day!

Yes, although blueberry pie is a favorite around 4th of July when they are being harvested, the national celebration of the blueberry pie is April 28th.

Pies with fruit filling have been around since Colonial Times in America. Women would often pick ripe fruits like apples, peaches, blueberries and strawberries to bake into pies. Blueberries and the blueberry pie have seen increased popularity due to their antioxidant properties.

Easter Sunday in our house featured some of these wonderful fruits that we froze over the winter. Instead of the two crust traditional pie, she found a recipe for an "Uncovered Blueberry Pie". The verdict: excellent and that is coming from our in resident food critic....Dad! Simple, easy and very quick, try this blueberry pie twist:

UNCOVERED BLUEBERRY PIE
3 cups, thawed, fresh or frozen West Virginia blueberries
1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons corn starch
Cream, whipped, sweetened
1 pie shell, baked, 9"
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water

In a medium sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the water and 1 cup of the blueberries.
Stir in the water and 1 cup of the blueberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in the two remaining cups of blueberries and the butter until the butter is melted.
Cool completely. Pour into pie shell.
If desired, cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with whipped cream.

April 25, 2011----National Zucchini Day

That's right, National Zucchini Day. This popular cultivated squash is part of the summer squash family and is an early garden favorite in West Virginia. But what do you really know about the quirky zucchini?

Did you know?

• Zucchini can grow to nearly a meter (almost 40 inches) but usually picked under 8 inches in length while the seeds are soft and immature. Mature zucchini are oftern fibrous and not desirable for cooking.
• Although a member of the cucumber family, zucchini is usually served cooked and can be prepared steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed, baked, barbecued, fried or used in recipes as an ingredient.
• The zucchini flower can be eater stuffed or deep fried.
• For cooking purposes, zucchini is treated as a vegetable but botanically the zucchini is an immature fruit.
• Typical zucchini were developed in Italy in the late 19th century.
• Zucchini should be stored not longer than three days and are prone to chilling damage.
• In Mexico, the zucchini flower is used for soup (sopa de flor de calabaza) and used in quesadillas.
• In France, zucchini is a key ingredient in ratatouille, a stew of summer fruits and vegetables prepared in olive oil and cooked for an extended time over low heat.
• In Turkey, zucchini is the main ingredient of a popular dish called mucver; zucchini pancakes.
• In Bulgaria, zucchini are fried and then served with a dip made from yogurt, garlic and dill.

In the United States, zucchini is widely grown in home and commercial gardens. In May, you'll find this crop at your local farmer's market (including Inwood, Capitol and Logan). Zucchini is low in calories (approximately 15 calories per 100g) and contains folate, potassium, manganese and Vitamin A. Celebrate the day by making a loaf of zucchini bread...here's a recipe from FoodNetwork's Paula Deen. What's your favorite family zucchini recipe?

Zucchini Bread

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chooped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

We completed Day 2 (Tuesday) and the Annex is coming along very well. Debra has done a great job with displays and themes in the store, Herma and her crew have the water garden and some other surprises in store and Tracy has a green thumb with her outdoor garden and orchard....more photos this evening.

State Fair Set Up

Today was moving in day at the Fair! We are now in Lewisburg and getting ready for the 2009 edition of the State Fair of West Virginia. Henry and crew have begun assemblying the Gus R. Douglass Annex featuring lots of family activities focusing on agriculture in the Mountain State. Debra is working on a new store design that will be stocked with all things, "West Virgina Grown." We'll try to keep you updated on our progress and reasons to come visit us at the fair....we open this Friday, August 14th.

Visit http://www.wvagriculture.org/ for a first....this year you can download a coupon to use at the Country Store.....10% off purchases of $25.00 or more (excluding West Virginia wine).

Check out our construction photos for a sneak peek of what will greet you at this years' fair.