Tour de Farms
Cynthia Finnemore Simonds
Tour de Farms
The companionship of wonderful people was matched only by the brilliance of the vistas on the route for the Tour de Farms bike ride this year. The Morris Farm Trust had their annual fundraising event October 18th in Wiscasset. Folks came from miles around to ride their bikes from farm to farm, enjoying the scenery and the samples of each farm's fare during 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-mile rides through Lincoln County. My husband Sherwood completed his first century in 7 1/2 hours! The 100 mile ride (century in cycling terms) took the participants from Wiscasset to Dresden, Alna, down to Pemaquid, through Damariscotta and back to Wiscasset- covering not only miles but challenging topographical diversity. This ride was not for the faint of heart. I'm so proud of him. I was glad to have been a part of planning the menu and cooking for the event. We focused on local foods; especially those that could be prepared for school lunches. The event benefited FARMS (Focus on Agriculture in Rural Maine Schools) and the Morris Farm. The menu included:
Appetizers
A selection of 'State of Maine' cheddar cheeses
A selection of local chevre
Edemamme hummus
Borealis bread rounds
Crudite: Carrots, red peppers- whatever is fresh and crispy
Entrées
Salads: 5 bean salad
Broccoli apple salad
Blueberry coleslaw
German potato salad
Main:
Assorted baked Fritattas-
Spinach, scallion and chevre
Zucchini and fresh mozzarella
pumpkin and kale
BBQ rubbed chicken legs
Local sweet and spicy sausages with fried peppers and onions
Burgers & Rolls
Desserts:
Knock your socks off brownies
Blueberry bars
Fruit Salad
Beverages
Cider- hot and cold, Tea- hot and cold with honey, Coffee with milk and raw sugar, Water
If you'd like to try the Blueberry Bars for your next gathering I've placed the recipe below. As with all food choices, eat local whenever you can!
Blueberry Bars
Makes 32 squares
Ingredients
Crust and Topping
6 cups cut oats, uncooked
2 cups flour
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted
Filling
8 cups blueberries, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line a half sheet pan or two 9x13 baking pans with foil, letting ends extend above pan on 2 sides. In a large bowl, mix oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
Add melted butter and stir with a fork until evenly moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 2 cups crumb mixture for topping.
Press remaining mixture evenly and firmly over bottom of ungreased, foil-lined pan. Bake 12 minute to set crust.
Filling: In a small saucepan stir berries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice over med. heat until simmering.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, until juices are no longer cloudy, about 2 minutes.
Spoon blueberry mixture evenly over crust. Distribute reserved crumb mixture over top of blueberries.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool completely in pan. Lift foil by ends and slide entire slab onto a cutting board.
Peel off foil; cut into 2" squares.
Cynthia Finnemore Simonds is the author of Down East's Superb Maine Soups and Fresh Maine Salads.
Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 in Permalink
