July 9th Gathering

On Friday we gathered to celebrate the amazing gifts growing from the ground all around us here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both flowers and food abound in color during this time of year. Below I have listed some of the blooms, veggies and the farms they were sourced from to supply Friday’s gathering. We had such a marvelous time but if you missed it do not worry, the recipes are all here!

Seasonal Blooms
Ageratum, amaranth, baptista, cosmos, dara, dahlia, feverfew, eucalyptus, pineapple mint, rudbeckia, sage, veronica, yarrow

Sourced from: Jig-Bee, Cultivating Joy, Bloom Flower Farm, Laughing Lady, Maple Acres

Seasonal fruits and veggies
Fresh picked blueberries, basil, golden beets, cherries, sweet corn, cucumbers, kale, rhubarb, what is left of June strawberries

Sourced from: Maple Acres, Gotham Greens, Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op, the grocery store (there are often local veggies)!

The Flowers

Ingredients

• Ageratum

• Amaranth

• Baptista

• Cosmos

• Dara

• Dahlia

• Feverfew

• Eucalyptus

• Pineapple mint

• Rudbeckia

• Sage

• Veronica

• Yarrow

Prep

1. Once you have gathered and sourced your flowers and placed them in a bucket, select a container or vase and fill it with clean water. 

2. Begin processing your plants by stripping away the leaves while leaving some as you see fit. You do not want any leaves touching the water in your container as it will shorten the vase life of your arrangement.

3. Give your flowers another snip at the ends before placing them back in your bucket.

My Process… yours might be different and that is okay

1. Take the Baptista foliage and create a shape for the centerpiece keeping in mind the 3:5:8 rule of design. Add the pineapple mint  and eucalyptus sprigs to support the lines of the sculptural and asymmetrical shape in the arrangement. Add the sage to fill and hang over the arrangement.

2. Cut the feverfew low and place at the base of the arrangement. You can also use yarrow for this if you so choose.

3. Take your flowers with the largest stems (dahlias and amaranth) and place them in the arrangement, next. I recommend placing one amaranth near the tallest part of the arrangement and the other, towards the opposite arm reaching out toward the lower curve.

4. Dahlias are the focal flower and you want them to steal the show! Make sure they are not tucked back into the arrangement where they cannot be seen but rather place them as if they are reaching toward the onlooker. Think about where your arrangement will live and how the dahlias might greet their onlookers.

5. Add the Rudbeckia just behind the dahlias, supporting the eye toward the stunning nature of both itself and the dahlia.

6. Add yarrow lower in the arrangement also as a filler towards the outside of the arrangement. The yarrow and feverfew can be used interchangeably.

7. Similar to the rudbeckia, the cosmos is another eye popping beauty. Make sure it is out in front and not tucked away in the arrangement.

8. Add the dara as another way to add height. Place in such a way that the rudbeckia is covering the dara’s stem.

9. The top of my snap dragon is a bit curvy so it was a good flower to add as more of a hanging piece lower in the arrangement and draw color out to the sides

10. Add the veronica as a pop at the top in order to draw the eye upward.

11. My favorite piece of this arrangement is the periwinkle ageratum. Can you believe nature makes a color this beautiful? Allow this color to pop throughout your arrangement, lower down but above the feverfew or yarrow so its color can be noticed. It contrasts nicely and brings out the golden yellow in the arrangement while elevating the fuchsia colors and darker pinks.

*Below is a quick video if you want a visual for the instructions. Slow the video down to 0.5 in the settings section to watch it more slowly.

The Feast

Summer Beet Salad 
(adapted from Former Chef)
(serves 5-6)

Ingredients

• 1 Medium Golden beet

• 1 Medium Red beet

• 1 medium cucumber

• 2 ears of corn

• ¼ cup of olive oil

• 2 Tbsp of Champagne vinegar

• Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 and bring a large pot of water to a boil

2. Remove the corn husks and its hairs then cut each in half and place in boiling water for 5-10 minutes

3. Wash and scrub beets then wrap each beet in tin foil. Place beets in the oven for 50 minutes

4. Once beets are done, peel and chop them

5. Using a knife, strip the kernels

6. Cut cucumber into dices

7. Mix the chopped veggies together with the vinegar, olive oil and salt

8. Let cool in fridge for 3-4 hours

Dinner Rolls
Simple Mills Artisan Bread Baking Mix

Mint Pea Soup
(adapted from Hurry the Food Up)
(serves 4-5)

Ingredients

• 1 medium white onion

• 1 small red onion

• 6 cloves of garlic

• 2 Tablespoons of mint

• 2 Tbsp of olive oil

• Zest from ½  lemon

• Juice from 1 full lemon

• 1 Tsp of salt

• 3 cups of peas

• 3 cups of vegetable broth

• Handful of spinach

Instructions

1. Heat a pot on medium heat and pour olive oil into the pot. Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic and mint and saute for 3 minutes.

2. Add the peas, broth, salt and lemon zest and bring to a boil. 

3. Once boiling, bring back down to a simmer for 15 minutes

4. Then using an immersion blender, blend the soup

5. Add lemon juice and mix into the soup while it is still hot.

Kale and Walnut Salad
(serves 4-5) 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch or bag of organic kale

• 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil

• 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt

• ¾ c of walnuts

Instructions

1. Set Oven to 350 then place dry walnuts onto pan and place in oven for 8 minutes

2. Wash and dry Kale

3. Remove kale from stock and rip into bite size leaves then place in a bowl

4. Pour Olive oil and salt on kale 

5. Massage kale with hands for five minutes

6. Mix in the walnuts

Rhubarb, Cherry, Strawberry Crumble
(Adapted from the Bojon Gourmet)
(serves 8)

Filling Ingredients

• 4 cups of rhubarb 

• 1 cup of strawberries

• ½ cup of pitted cherries

• Lemon zest & lemon juice of 1 lemon

• ½ cup of coconut sugar

• 1 TBSP of honey

• 2 Tablespoons of tapioca flour

• 1 Tsp of vanilla extract

Crumble Topping Ingredients

• ½ c of almond flour

• ½ c of old fashioned rolled oats

• ½ c of sliced almonds

• ¼ c of oat flour

• 1 ½ tablespoons of tapioca flour

• ½ c of coconut sugar

• ½ teaspoon of cardamom or cinnamon

• ½ tsp of fine sea salt

• 5 tablespoons of melted vegan butter or coconut oil

• Diary free vanilla ice cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2. In a large bowl, mix all of the filling ingredients together then place in a souffle type of baking dish. Bake for 25 Minutes

3. While the filling is in the oven, mix the almond flour, rolled oats, sliced almonds, oat flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, cardamom, and sea salt. Then mix in the melted butter

4. Once the filling is done cooking, take out and stir it then add the topping and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

5. Serve with icecream