Berries, Marketplaces

Krause Berry Farms

July 25, 2011

The other weekend Adam and I ventured out to the country!

Or, as country as you can get around Vancouver. Krause Berry Farms, one of the many local farms in the lower maindland, held a Farmer’s Festival. Krause Berry Farms is part of the Langely Circle Farm Tour. Seeing as how it should be about that time, you know, when the weather is warm and the sun is shining, it would probably have been a great weekend to hold a festival. Unfortunately, we still have yet to experience a real summer in Vancouver this year. Sure, we have been teased with the glimpses of sun shining from above, but most often it disappears again for several days until it returns.

We didn’t mind though. I also didn’t mind having to wear my jacket in the middle of July, if it meant that I got to eat some delicious baked goods. You see, Krause Berry Farms does not just offer local produce and fruit, but It  also has a fully functioning bakery and cafe where it showcases all its delicious products.

When we first arrived they were giving out samples of homemade strawberry jam. It was so fresh and delicious. They also had the JRFM crew on site, and children could take part in building a large LEGO strawberry, visit the petting zoo and even go on a horse ride.

They are also famous for their sky high custard pies! They have a large viewing window into their bakeries so you can see how it is made. Adam and I chose to bring home a double crusted blackberry pie for dessert that night~ It was so so good. They also sell frozen pie dough so you can bake you own creation at home, or, better yet, frozen whole pies to pop into the oven for a deliciously easy dessert! Among other goodies, they sell ice cream and frozen berries! We bought some frozen raspberries for our morning oatmeal. We also sampled some yummy fudge!

We could not leave witohut eating one of the cute little doughnuts! At least, I couldn’t. They are mini blueberry and strawberry doughnuts, with a thin icing glaze on top. Only 99 cents for an unglazed one, and $1.99 for glazed. Definitely worth the extra .99 cents.

Of course we had to eat dessert first. I don’t know how that happened.. After, we ventured onto the ‘Porch’ where they serve food and beverages. We tried the Corn Pizza, which sort of resembled a sheperd’s pie style pizza, a thin crust loaded with corn and topped with both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. We washed it down with a fresh strawberry smoothie.

It was lots of fun to go to the Farmer’s Fest. We will definitely be going back once some more berries are in season, and hopefulyl when it is sunnier! And perhaps definitely for another of those doughnuts too….

The farm offers a U-Pick area for all the fresh berries in season! Remember to bring your own empty ice cream bucket to fill up! If you don’t bring one, you are able to purchase a bucket from the farm to use for all your picking needs! You can also shop for their vegetables.

Kraus Berry Farms are open to visit, and if you did not get a chance to attend Farm Festival 2011, be sure to check it out next year!

Next purchase: Mini Doughnut Pan.

Bars & Squares, Canada Day

Canada Day, July 1

June 30, 2011

Don’t mind the slightly bright, and non-pretty looking dessert photos. This dish is just not photogenic lol. Every year I want to make a special dessert to celebrate Canada Day. Last year, I made a simple maple cake/loaf. It was pretty delicious. But this year, I wanted to do something to incorporate our national colours. Although, I kinda wished we had a little more colour in our flag! It’s limited with what you can make, besides cupcakes and cake with strawberries to make a maple leaf. Adam and I are also headed up to Osoyoos today so we can celebrate tomorrow! Thankfully the HWY has been cleared up, because yesterday there was a giant mudslide that stopped traffic in all directions! But I heard on the radio that we are good to go! It would be a major bummer to not be able to go out of town on the long weekend!

I just hope the dessert makes it on the 4-5 hour road trip! We had to borrow a cooler, cause A. we don’t own one, and B. we have no room to store one even if we bought it! Seeing as how it is a cool dessert, I froze a giant ice pack to put into the cooler with it, and we can always stop for ice if we need to refresh it! I’ve actually made this dessert several times before, and it is so delicious. It’s from Kraft Canada, and is sort of like a cheesecake with jello on top. Yup. It’s delicious. The original calls for a pretzel crust, but I’ve never been a fan of that so I just make it with graham cracker crumbs like a regular cheesecake.

You could totally sub other fruits for it, like a melon one, or raspberries, blueberries, blackberries etc. Or even a lemon one, and leave out the fruit completely. That would be delicious!

I let the Jell-O set a little too long this time, so it didn’t have a ‘smooth’ finish to the topping, but I’m fairly confident it will taste just as good, whether or not it’s pretty.

I also make it at least the night before, or morning of, so as to let it set up firm for more than a couple hours so it is easy to cut!

Strawberry Jell-O Cheesecake Squares
slightly adapted from Kraft Canada – Strawberry Pretzel Squares

Ingredients:
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
just about 2/3 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 pkg. (250 g each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
3 tbs. Sugar
2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (85 g each) Jell-O Strawberry Jelly Powder
1-1/2 cups cold water
4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix Graham cracker crumbs, and butter in bowl, press (using the back of a spoon) onto bottom of 13×9-inch pan. Bake 10 min.; cool.

Beat cream cheese, in medium bowl with mixer until well blended. StirSugar and  Cool Whip, add more/less sugar depending on how sweet you would like it; spread over crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In another bowl, add boiling water to jelly powders; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened. Now, you don’t want it fully set, but enough when you drag a spoon through it, it will leave a mark. Stir in strawberries until incorporated; spoon over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate minimum 3 hours or until firm.

Keep in fridge until ready to serve, otherwise it will become too mushy to cut!

Hope everyone has a nice long weekend!!! Happy Canada Day!

Cupcakes

Faux Chantilly Cream Cupcakes

June 24, 2011

This weekend I am headed up to the interior of British Columbia, to Sicamous for a baseball tournament!! I am so excited to escape the rain here in Vancouver. We’ve only had a few days of lovely summer weather.

This week I also finished my last day of volunteering at the elementary school I was at. For a treat, I baked some cupcakes for my class ( grade 3/4 split ) and brought them along with me. Needless to say, they were very very happy kids.

These are deliciously creamy cupcakes! The vanilla cake, and then vanilla chantilly-like faux frosting is almost too sweet! But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing;) They would be great for a special birthday, or even a wedding shower, or wedding! They can be tinted any colour, and I just dotted them with some pearl dragées.

Hope everyone is having a great start to Summer!~!~!!!

For the cupcake you can use any regular vanilla cupcake recipe you like, or cheat with a box mix. If you use a pre-made mix, I usually like to add another 1/2 cup AP flour, a touch more baking powder, and a tablespoon or two of real vanilla to kick it up a notch~

Faux Chantilly Cream Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, slightly softened but still firm
  • 1/4 cup cream (full fat, or half fat)
  • 4-5 cups confectioners sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons all natural vanilla

To begin, using a stand mixer whip butter until creamy. It should feel slightly hard still, not completely softened. Slowly add the cream, and continue to mix. Add, one cup at a time, the confectioners sugar. Next, add vanilla and continue to beat. Add the rest of the confectioners sugar until you reach the desired consistency. You may need to add more or less depending on how thin or thick you like it.

Using a piping bag, carefully pipe frosting onto the cupcake. You may also use a spoon or knife to top the cupcakes.

Store in a cool room, or fridge until ready to use. Avoid direct sunlight and hot temperatures.

*You may also want to whip the cream beforehand, and then by hand, fold it into the buttercream once finished mixing the butter and confectioners sugar.

Enjoy! I’m off to get a tan!!

For the class, I topped it with a little fondant apple =)