For a limited time in the Fall, you can find delicious locally grown Bartlett pears from Boorinakis Harper Ranch at BriarPatch Food Co-op at our two stores in Grass Valley and Auburn.
“It’s a nice juicy fruit. They just have that flavor. Customers swoon,” said Julia Boorinakis Harper Barbeau, who grew up on a 12-acre organic farmstead in the middle of Auburn known as Boorinakis Harper Ranch with her mom, Phyllis Boorinakis and dad, Tom Harper.
The biggest, smallest, oldest and only farm in the City of Auburn, the Boorinakis family has been growing “the best pears in the land” since 1918.
We’re thrilled to share this recipe for Pear Crumble Pie with you from the farm!
Ingredients for filling
• 7 to 8 Bartlett pears, firm-ripe (just turning yellow)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 to 3 Tb flour
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Small pinch of salt
• Optional — a bit of finely chopped candied ginger
Ingredients for crumble topping
• 6 Tb butter (salted, or add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• One deep-dish pie crust (your favorite recipe, or a good storebought crust works in a pinch)
Directions
Peel, core, and slice the pears. In another bowl, toss together the 1/2 c sugar, 2 Tb flour, the ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl, toss dry mixture gently with the sliced pears. If the pears seem really juicy, you can add an extra spoonful of flour.
Make the crumble topping: combine brown sugar, flour, nuts, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, flork, or your fingers, to make a chunky, crumbly mixture.
Pile the pears into the crust — it should be full! Gently press the crumble topping over the pears.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the crust and topping are browned and the pears are tender. If the crust and topping are getting brown before the pears are cooked through, cover loosely with foil, and remove the foil for the last 10 minutes or so of baking.
Baking times can vary for this pie due to the variable firmness/juiciness of ripe pears, so check it after 25 minutes — you may need to lower the oven temp a bit and bake it longer until they are set. Any which way, it’s delicious! Serve with vanilla ice cream if you really want a slice of heaven!
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
You’ll enjoy these PSL adjacent goodies anytime of the year. Thank you to our friends at NCG for this amazing recipe!
Gingerbread is already a celebration of spices and deep, sweet molasses, and when you make it into a cupcake and add delicious cinnamon frosting, gingerbread becomes even more celebratory. The creamy frosting is a perfect foil for the dense, rich cupcakes.
In the month of October, we celebrate co-ops. Why? Because they are awesome! We feature recipes from co-ops around the country in our special Co-op Recipe Guide.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
1 stick butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1½ cup molasses
½ cup honey
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1½ cups unbleached flour
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp ground clove
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup hot coffee or black tea
For the Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
½ stick butter, softened
½ tsp cinnamon
2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a 12 cupcake pan with paper liners, and butter the top of the pan as well. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, then the molasses and honey. Beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl, combine the pastry and unbleached flours, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, clove and black pepper. Stir to mix, then beat into the butter mixture. Pour in the hot coffee or tea and stir to mix well.
Portion into the 12 cupcake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out dry.
For frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese, scraping down and beating until smooth. Add the cinnamon and powdered sugar and beat until smooth, drizzle in the vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread or pipe a 2 tablespoon portion of frosting on each cupcake.
Thank you to our friends at Frontier Co-op for this amazing recipe!
This creamy, fizzy and frothy confection strikes an unusual balance between richly decadent and lightly refreshing. The sunny flavors of chamomile, lemon and honey make this a fine summer cocktail, but it’s just as delicious any time of the year.
In the month of October, we celebrate co-ops. Why? Because they are awesome! We feature recipes from co-ops around the country in our special Co-op Recipe Guide.
Ingredients
Chamomile Honey Syrup
1 cup honey
1 cup water
1 cup Frontier Co-op Chamomile Flowers
Cocktail
2 parts gin
1 part Chamomile Honey Syrup
1/2 part lemon juice
1/2 part skim milk
1 egg white (per drink)
Directions
In a saucepan, combine honey, water and chamomile; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let steep until cool. Strain into a jar or container. Store unused portion in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
In a shaker filled with ice, combine gin, chamomile honey syrup, lemon juice, milk and egg white. Shake vigorously for 2 minutes. Strain into a champagne flute or cocktail glass.
Thank you to our friends at Pachamama Coffee for this amazing recipe!
We love this salted maple coffee to keep us warm and cozy by the fire as the crisp fall days set in.
In the month of October, we celebrate co-ops. Why? Because they are awesome! We feature recipes from co-ops around the country in our special Co-op Recipe Guide.
Ingredients
1 cup of your favorite Pachamama Coffee
1 oz Maple Valley Cooperative’s Organic Maple Syrup
4 oz oat milk (sub for any milk product you prefer)
Dash of Salt
Directions
Make your cup of coffee how you prefer. Add 1oz maple syrup to the cup.
Add oat milk to a jar with a dash of salt and an extra dash of syrup if you like it extra sweet. Froth mixture until desired thickness. Add to coffee.
Thank you to our friends at Equal Exchange for this amazing recipe!
In the month of October, we celebrate co-ops. Why? Because they are awesome! We feature recipes from co-ops around the country in our special Co-op Recipe Guide.
Stir sugar and cocoa powder together in large saucepan until evenly blended.
Pour in milk, keeping an eye on how much. You want enough that the mixture is “runny”, yet if you put in too much, it will take forever to boil down. A good way to judge the right amount is if, when you drag a spoon across the diameter of the bottom of the pan, the mixture closes in behind it fairly quickly. Heat at medium-high until boiling, then lower heat and let low boil continue. Stir occasionally.
Grease pie plate or similar dish and fill sink with about 2″ of cold water.
Start checking temperature with a candy thermometer when bubbles get small and glossy. Total cooking time will be about 20 minutes or less depending on the amount of milk. Remove from heat when mixture reaches 235°F or “soft ball” stage.
Set pan in cold water to cool.
Add vanilla extract. Let cool slightly and add peanut butter.
Remove from cold water and stir quickly to mix in peanut butter. Pour it into a buttered pie plate just as it begins to hold its shape or harden. Perfect is when it hardens just as it spreads out in the plate and holds the decorative swirl you put on top. Let cool and cut into pieces.
Thank you to our friends at Frontier Co-op in Iowa for this amazing recipe!
Apple cider mimosas are the perfect fall twist on the classic celebratory drink. Spice up your next special occasion (or even a fall-time brunch) with this simple two-ingredient combination that is a match made in autumn heaven.
In the month of October, we celebrate co-ops. Why? Because they are awesome! We feature recipes from co-ops around the country in our special Co-op Recipe Guide.
On a small, rimmed plate, gently whisk together cane sugar and apple pie spice. Spread out mixture so the edge is bigger in diameter than the rim of your glass. Set aside.
Dip the rim of each glass in a shallow bowl of water or apple cider, or rub an apple slice along the rim. Dip glass rim in sugar-spice mixture until rim is fully coated. Repeat with all four glasses.
Just before serving, cut four thin apple slices and place one at the bottom of each glass along with a cinnamon stick. Tuck cinnamon stick under apple slice so it doesn’t float to the top.
Into each glass, pour champagne until bubbles have settled and glass is half full. Add apple cider until glass is full.
