Cooking Floyd: Nectarine Salsa and Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon

The nectarines are amazingly good this year!  Sweet, silky, juice running down your chin good!  We've been greedily slurping them down one after another but I paused recently to note how tasty they would be as a salsa.  With salmon.  On a bed of greens.  Mmmmmm....

Teaching Floyd: Classes Are Back On Track

After a brief break to get my sh*t back together, classes are resuming with the Home Food Preservation & Culinary Arts Center.  Thanks, everybody, for your patience.

And Zack, out there somewhere in northern VA who called last week about the wine vinegar class, I got your email wrong and it bounced. Please email me at hfpcac at swva dot net and I'll get your info to you!

With no further ado, the class this weekend is:

August 17: Dehydration 101

Dehydration is one of the easiest of food preservation methods. Learn the basics for drying fruits, vegetables and jerky using a dehydrator or oven. Kids and adults love snacks like dried apples, tomato and kale chips, and fruit leathers. Here they are, guilt-free! Discover how you can make your own paprika, garlic powder, and other spices!  Class is hands-on. Please wear comfortable closed toe shoes. An apron is suggested but optional. Class size is limited so please register early.
Date: Saturday, August 17
Location: Farm Bureau, 335 E. Oxford St., Floyd, VA 24091
Time: 1:00 pm-5:00 pm
Fee: $20 in advance, $25 at the door, space providing.
To register contact: Rebecca Shannon at 540-745-8514 or hfpcac at swva.net. Please make checks payable to Rebecca Shannon. Payment may be mailed to 153 Gracie Lane NW, Floyd, VA, 24091
Please remember, the only reservation is a paid reservation.

Next up is:

August 28: Preserving Herbs

Store herbs in all kinds of ways- they all have their uses! We will be making herb pastes, compound butters, dried herbs, pestos, and frozen herb cubes and discussing the advantages of each.  Class is hands-on. Please wear comfortable closed toe shoes. An apron is suggested but optional. Class size is limited so please register early.
Date: Wednesday, August 28
Location: Farm Bureau, 335 E. Oxford St., Floyd, VA 24091
Time: 6:30 pm-8:30 pm
Fee: $20 in advance, $25 at the door, space providing.
To register contact: Rebecca Shannon at 540-745-8514 or hfpcac at swva.net. Please make checks payable to Rebecca Shannon. Payment may be mailed to 153 Gracie Lane NW, Floyd, VA, 24091
Please remember, the only reservation is a paid reservation.

Teaching Floyd: Class Cancellation

The class scheduled for this Saturday, August 3:

Roll 'Em Easy: Summer Rolls, Dolmades, Lettuce Wraps, and Cabbage Rolls

has been cancelled.

Sorry for the inconvenience and the class will be rescheduled at a future date.

Thanks.

Foraging Floyd: Peaches and Chanterelles

Our sweet little patio peach tree was loaded with little gems this year.

They were just this >< close to being ripe

Eating Floyd: Classes, Harvesting, Preserving, and the 2013 New River Valley Fair

July has been busy, busy, busy.  Not so much in the garden because for the first time ever since I've lived here we've had too much ongoing rain.  When the warm weather crops flowered it rained and the bees were unable to pollinate as well as they should have so a lot of people are noting that the small green fruits and veg are dropping from the plants.  As it kept raining blights, molds, and mildews came on.  But of course even though the veg and fruit are stunted from the rain, the weeds love it.  When don't the weeds love it?  And since it was difficult to not sink over the tops of your boots in the muddy beds the weeds have had a hey-day.  But all-in-all people are still managing to bring crops in, the farmers markets have some good looking stuff, and I've been buying in, supporting growers who do it better than I do.

Here's what I reaped this month:

Braggin' Rights.

The individual winners from the New River Valley Fair 2013 can be seen on the Canning Competition Winners page.

And then there were classes taught...

Teaching Floyd: Two Upcoming Classes

There are two classes coming up in the next week starting with:

July 13: Small Vegetable Fermentations

Make your own sauerkraut, kimchi, crock pickle, hot sauce or other fermented delight. Learn the basics of this age-old method of food preservation. Class is hands-on and participants will make and take home their own two quart fermentation jar.  Please wear comfortable closed toe shoes.  An apron is suggested but optional.  There are two spaces left in this class.

Location: Farm Bureau, 335 E. Oxford St., Floyd, VA  24091

Time: 1pm-5pm

Fee: $20 in advance, $25 at the door, space providing.

To register contact: Rebecca Shannon at 540-745-8514 or hfpcac at swva.net. Please make checks payable to Rebecca Shannon.  Payment may be mailed to 153 Gracie Lane NW, Floyd, VA, 24091

Please remember, the only reservation is a paid reservation.


                                                                           And

July 17: Nut Butters and Bean Dips

What! You’re still buying that overpriced peanut butter and hummus from the grocery store?
Come learn how to make tasty and nutritious homemade nut butters and bean dips at home for a fraction of the price. Create flavors with the additions you chose and none of the additives you don’t want. We will make classic peanut butter and hummus and then take them to the next level! These dips and spreads make great sandwich spreads as well as appetizers and light meals.
Class is hands-on. Please wear comfortable closed toe shoes. An apron is suggested but optional. Class size is limited so please register early.
Date: Wednesday, July 17
Location: Farm Bureau, 335 E. Oxford St., Floyd, VA 24091
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Fee: $20 in advance, $25 at the door, space providing.
To register contact: Rebecca Shannon at 540-745-8514 or hfpcac at swva.net. Please make checks payable to Rebecca Shannon.  Payment may be mailed to 153 Gracie Lane NW, Floyd, VA, 24091.

Please remember, the only reservation is a paid reservation.

Cooking Floyd: It's Ice Cream Season!!!

Into late fall and through the winter I forget how wonderful homemade ice cream is.  I suppose it has something to do with the chilly weather although I love ice cream year round.  I did make pumpkin ice cream and cinnamon ice cream for Thanksgiving but mostly I'm happy with a double chocolate caramel Magnum bar.

But summer's in full swing and the fruits and berries are rolling in so I thought I'd kick off with an ice cream that has no summer fruit in it at all - Thai Ice Cream!