september food swap

the fourth south jersey food swap was a success. there were about twelve swappers and a few mini-swappers trading play-dough, plants and handmade jewelry. other items up for swap were:

• homegrown produce
• pollinator plants
• raw lara bars
• dried hydrangea
• granola
• flax crackers
• mod podge
• wine bottle tiki-torches
• oil-free salad dressing
• roasted eggplant and red pepper dip
• homemade soap
• strawberry applesauce
• and a variety of baked goods.

this time i swapped crocheted apple cozies, raw fruit wrap-ups and herb bundles consisting of sage, rosemary and thyme. you can see in the first two photos the little fruit rolls i made for sampling. the kids, who we know can be the toughest food critics, all gave them the thumbs-up! (and thank goodness kids were there - they were the only ones who wanted my apple cozies!=)

i fell in love with the roasted eggplant and red pepper dip. i've have already made it once, and i'm making it again tonight! it's delicious and nutritious, and it just so happens they were giving away extra eggplant and red peppers at the csa today!

organic csa haul from muth family farm

tonight while the oven's on roasting the red peppers, eggplant and garlic, i'm going to try baking a banana bread with strawberry applesauce in place of the oil. hopefully it doesn't take on a garlic flavor. i'll let you know how it turns out!

edit: it turned out fine! no garlic flavor detected at all.

food swap friday

tonight i'll be swapping apple cozies and raw fruit wrap-ups at the bellview winery. i've heard other swappers are bringing roasted eggplant and red pepper dip, maple pecan butter, homemade play-dough and lara bars! i'll be back soon with a recap!

august food swap

tuesday night i attended the third south jersey food swap. there weren't as many swappers as last time, but there were still lots of goodies up for grabs.

connie brought a lot of great things to share and set-up a nice display with watermelon slush for everyone to enjoy. her goods are made with produce from her very own farm. 

other items up for swap were garden vegetables, herbs, farm-fresh eggs, delicious chocolate chia pudding, homemade lara bars, baked sweets, thai chili sauce, souper stock, salsa, and more.

this swap crept up on me and i was hardly prepared. i went with a last-minute tomato theme and did the best i could with the few hours of prep i left myself.

felt tomato magnets, tomato basil flax snacks, garden grown and dehydrator-dried plum tomatoes, quinoa with "sun"-dried tomatoes, and a hummus for sampling the crackers.

i'll be sure not to procrastinate for next time!

south jersey food swap

friday night john and i had the pleasure of participating in the second south jersey food swap held at bellview winery in buena. we swapped peach jam and herbs for edible flowers, raw apple sauce, fresh eggs, pickling cucumbers, natural bug spray, blueberry lemon jam, pina colada jam, coffee body scrub, vegan cookies, wet nuts, a frozen cookie log, and a jar of banana bread with with key lime curd. there were a lot of other swapable items like homemade liqueurs and kale chips, too!

meeting like-minded people is the nicest thing about these gatherings. debi (the woman who made the delicious raw apple sauce) has healed many health issues with raw food. i learned so much talking to her! she's a personal chef in the tom's river area who also hosts nutritional workshops and cooking classes. she can be contacted at recipeswithperks at gmail dot com.

the show stopper for me was the edible flowers. how cute and clever are those radish 'shrooms? there's also mache (aka lamb's lettuce), nasturtiums, borage, broccoli and onion flowers in the mix. i foresee a very pretty salad in our future!=)