How was everyone’s long Labor Day weekend? Labor Day festivities truly are the last ‘hoorah’ of summer before it’s back to reality, and the fall semester kicks into full gear fast. If you’re a parent (turned teacher) or a full-time teacher and are looking for fun ways to engage the kiddos, we have a topic in mind that we think the littles will love!
We’re all getting extra creative with classroom ideas and daytime activities lately, and what’s more fun than playing – and learning – about food?! I love the idea educating our future generations about what they put in their bellies, and even how to grow it!
With apple harvest finally here, we thought it was only fitting to have an apple variety taste test experiment as part of our Back to School sweepstakes. If you’re looking to do this at home with your own kids, first start off by picking up your favorite Starr Ranch Growers apples at a store near you (at least 3 different varieties – meaning you can pick from varieties like honeycrisp, granny smith, gala, fuji, golden delicious, red delicious and more – totally your preference!) Grab a handful and place them in large bowls or baskets, and label each with the coinciding variety.
Next, make sure you grab a handy notebook and label a few different sections for the kids to follow along with – I personally enjoy analyzing things like flavor, size, color and texture, but feel free to add more to your liking! Also, be sure to have pre-cut slices ready to go so the taste testing can commence!
It’s so fun to assess the flavor profile of each apple – in this case we used gala, honeycrisp and granny smith – each so different in their own way. We found that Honeycrisp was the largest and sweetest with a vibrant red hue and a tinge of yellow, Gala was more of a muted red with subtle streaks of orange and yellow, fragrant and juicy, and Grannies were bold, green and extra tart! You can also compare the different sizes of each, count the little seeds, and even compare the different textures of the apples between the colorful skin and the sweetness inside. Have your little ones count their slices, make notes in their journal about their findings and decorate it with fun stickers so they too can become inspired for their very own garden one day!
There you have it – who knew a mini science experiment could be so fun (and delicious!) In fact, this week’s prize package is a William Sonoma DIY Garden Kit so the whole family can continue to become inspired about the food they eat, how to grow it – and who knows, maybe even plant their own apple tree one day. To enter to win, head over to our Instagram @starr_ranch_growers – good luck and have a great week!
Tomorrow is National Rosé Day and we couldn’t help but hop on board and celebrate this occasion with our own rosé cocktail to add to the mix! Though the world is slowly beginning to open back up, we still love the idea of backyard summer gatherings, entertaining in the comfort of our own home and hosting a small group of friends social-distance style (because who doesn’t like to sip on a cocktail in their loungewear?)
This Sparkling Cherry Lavender Rosé is all things pretty and exactly what one would envision enjoying on the patio with their girlfriends on a warm summer day. I think what makes this cocktail so special is the use of beautiful in-season herbs and fresh fruit. My personal favorite ways to enjoy cherries are of course, fresh, but I also love to incorporate them into cool, summertime beverages. Their sweet flavor with a tinge of tartness melds together the perfect palate for a cocktail. I happened to also have some fresh lavender on hand from my latest Trader Joe’s haul and felt some inspiration coming on for this one! At first, I was worried the aroma would be too strong, but the lavender garnish complimented this sparkling cherry rosé just perfectly – not to mention, it’s totally Instagram-worthy as well.
How are you celebrating National Rosé Day tomorrow? With a simple glass to end the day? Maybe something a bit more special to treat yourself or entertain the gals? Let us know in the comments below and check out our full Sparkling Cherry Lavender Rosé recipe!
Admittedly, I can probably eat breakfast for every meal and sometimes I do just that! Now that I am transitioning to working fully remote, I find myself more focused, productive and making use of my time management skills (and for those of you that are parents AND work from home – I am sure you try to find just about any means possible to maximize your time!)
That said, one of my favorite meal-prepped breakfast recipes is chia overnight oats. I love the fact that they are SO versatile and you can essentially create any type of topping to pair with your chia mixture. The chia oat base is super absorbent, so it can easily soak up any flavor of toppings that you decide to include. I like variety, so I will do a few different chia oat variations per week, and love adding sweet Starr Ranch Apples into the mix. An apple a day really does set my day off on the right start – I know I am getting not only my fix of nutrients from the chia seeds and oats, but the addition of a sweet apple packs a full punch of fiber, vitamin c and antioxidants that I need to feel my best each day.
So, here are our 3 outrageously yummy apple overnight oats recipes straight from our Starr Ranch Growers Kitchen. Which one(s) would you like to try?!
Prep your chia-oat base the night before by combining 2 tbsp chia seeds, ½ cup rolled oats and 1 cup almond milk to a sealed container and stir well. Pro-tip: after you have stirred up your mixture, let it sit in the refrigerator and come back about 20-30 minutes later and give it another good stir – this helps to create the perfect consistency the next morning when you are ready to add your toppings!
To learn how we made each of these overnight chia oat recipes, check out the full recipes here:
Ah, lemonade just brings me back to my childhood days.
Anyone else used to set up a lemonade stand in their neighborhoods? Or do your kiddos do that now? Something about driving by a little one’s lemonade stand just warms my heart with nostalgia. With summer on the horizon I felt like a classic lemonade recipe was due, but of course, with a twist!
This Cherry Rose Lemonade is every bit of refreshing, and quite frankly – pretty! I love the gorgeous pink hue it creates from the fresh Starr Ranch Growers cherries, and the fact that it has a subtle sweetness that isn’t overpowering or too sugary. The addition of the edible rose petals also added a feminine, fun touch that makes this recipe ‘pop’ just that much more. If you don’t have any edible rose petals on hand, dried hibiscus would be another great alternative for a gorgeous garnish.
That said, this one was SO easy (which I am all about!) First begin pitting your cherries – feel free to use a cherry pitter or slice them carefully by hand through the middle and around the pit. Once you’ve finished pitting, add the cherries to your blender along with the juice of 3 lemons – feel free to add an additional lemon if you love extra tangy lemonade. Next, pour in 1/3 cup sugar (you can substitute sugar for 3 tablespoons of honey – this is totally preference, but if you’re avoiding refined sugar opting for a natural sweetener is an option!) Next, just blend until smooth and strain into your pitcher, add ice cubes and 2.5 cups water and garnish to your liking!
Try this scrumptious summer recipe at home with your own family and let us know what you thought in the comments below! We are also giving away one lucky winner their own Lemonade Stand Prize Package valued at $100 as part of our Chilled & Cherry Social Sweepstakes the week of June 15 – June 19th on our Instagram, so be sure to stay tuned, head over to our account @starr_ranch_growers and enter that week for a chance to win! The winner will be announced June 19th 12PST.
Cool Down this Summer with These Cherry Berry Cheesecake Popsicles
The Northwest cherry season is here at last! Where are my fellow cherry-lovers at? I don’t know about you, but summer is my favorite season for a variety of reasons – warm weather, longer days to be active and head outside after work and for fresh, vibrant and in-season fruits like cherries that are SUCH a treat. The Northwest cherry season is short – only roughly 2-months, which makes this tiny, tasty powerhouse fruit such a special delicacy during the warm summer season.
Summer in Wenatchee, Washington gets HOT so we are always trying to find creative ways to cool down. Of course, there are things like rivers and lakes in our beautiful backyard, but sometimes you just need a chilled treat to indulge in at home (and especially these days!) So, to make summertime at home just a little sweeter, we pulled together these Cherry Berry Cheesecake Popsicles. What I love about these is for one – they are super easy, and two – they are creamy and decadent without the sometimes ‘heavy’ feeling after heading for a tub of Ben & Jerry’s (although sometimes that’s necessary, too!)
To start off this fun summertime recipe you’ll first have to make sure you have popsicle molds, I found mine at Crate & Barrel but there are lots of great affordable options online.
And, if you’re participating in our Chilled & Cherry Summer Sweepstakes you may be able to win some of your very own! Give us a follow on our social channels to learn more!
First, either manually slice your cherries to remove the pit OR if you’re handy and prepared, grab your cherry pitter! You’ll want to pit 1 cup of cherries and dice up about 1 cup of strawberries. Next, add the cherries, berries and 2 tablespoons of honey into a saucepan as the fruits begin to release their yummy juices in a quick simmer. Once bubbling, reduce heat completely and let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes before adding it to a Tupperware safe container that you can easily place into your freezer. Leave in the freezer for about 20 minutes to allow the cherry berry mixture to completely cool.
Next, add your cream cheese, Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt – either works!), honey, lemon juice and vanilla extract to your mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer.
While I let the base mixture sit as I also waited for my cherry berry mixture to cool down, I skipped to crushing up my graham crackers in my blender(or a food processor works of course) into teeny tiny pieces, and added some butter to help make it stick. You can also use a little coconut oil for this as well for a dairy free alternative – your preference!
Lastly, just fill your molds with a spoonful of both the cherry mixture and creamy base one after another – mixing it around in the mold with a spoon so you can achieve a desired ‘swirl’ or ‘marble’ effect with the mixture. Top the rim with the graham cracker crumbs – I used enough to fill about a half inch of space in the mold. Be sure not to over-fill your popsicle molds with the popsicle mixture or you won’t have enough room to close it before it freezes.
You’re done! Just place your popsicle molds in the freezer – I recommend letting them chill for a full day, as the creamy base (rather than a standard ice-based popsicle) needs a bit more time to completely chill so it can easily be removed from the molds.
When you finally take the popsicles out to enjoy, be sure to run the molds under warm water for about 5 seconds on each side so the popsicles easily come out of the mold.
That’s it! This recipe is super easy and fun to do with the kids this summer and it’s SO good. If your family is anything like mine – they’ll be gone in one sitting! If you’d like to make these at home with your own kiddos, enter to win in our Chilled & Cherry Summer Sweepstakes where we will be giving a lucky winner a new prize EACH week! All you have to do is head to our social channels, follow us and tag a friend that loves cherries just as much as you do – and you (or your friend) could win a weekly prize – this week it happens to be popsicle molds! Good luck & enjoy!
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