Farm Fresh Party Ideas!

This weekend we took a stroll to our local Farmer's Market and the beauty just took my breath away! Fresh produce, local wine, cheese, flowers, dips, fish...be still my foodie heart! This is a one stop shop to make a fresh, clean and LOCAL party. Here are a few finds that will make your event complete:

Choose from a wide variety of Sweet Melissa Dips. These herb mixtures are wonderful mixed with yogurt or sour cream or used as rubs for your slow cooked ribs! Just to make things sweeter, all the herbs and spices are grown on her farm or other local Long Island farms.

The produce was just gorgeous and local so you know where it is coming from. It was so great to talk to the purveyors and discuss how to store the vegetables or how fresh the eggs are. (Yes, they had local eggs which is super awesome because I am ALWAYS looking for fresh local eggs...score!).

Here are a few recipes to use such wonderful ingredients.

Zucchini Pancakes courtesy of Barefoot Contessa at Home

Serves:

10 (3-inch) pancakes

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)

2 tablespoons grated red onion

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

6 to 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Unsalted butter and vegetable oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Grate the zucchini into a bowl using the large grating side of a box grater. Immediately stir in the onion and eggs. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper. (If the batter gets too thin from the liquid in the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place the pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Corn Salad Courtesy of My Husband

This is my favorite summer recipe and I can eat this everyday.

5 ears of corn

½ med red onion finely diced

handful of basil chiffonade

4 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp cider vinegar

salt & pepper

Remove husks and silk from corn and blanch in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes

While blanching set up a bowl large enough to hold the corn and fill with water and ice.

When corn is done, submerge the ears in the ice water to shock and stop the cooking.

Cut kernels off the cob making sure to not cut into the cob.

Combine corn kernels, red onion, basil, olive oil and cider vinegar.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Chill before serving.

For Dessert pick up some yummy cupcakes from Kerri's Kupcakes. (Not sure if the link to facebook works but find her by typing in "Kerri's Kupcakes") These delicious morsels sell quick so

be sure to get there early.

To decorate pick up a lovely local bouquet for only $10.00. These blooms are so colorful and gorgeous and I am totally loving the vintage tomato cans they are in. So much so that I found some here to buy.
What a great idea for a backyard wedding!