The past week has been a blur as we rushed to get our fall issue into the hands of readers. We will wrap up distribution tomorrow, covering more than 1,000 miles round trip and placing Edible Blue Ridge in over 200 locations! Whew!
As the weather cools, I find my energy returning and my calendar chock-full of events. Yesterday, we popped into Yard Bull Meats to wish them well on their soft opening. You can read more about this nose to tail butcher shop in our fall issue. If you live in and around Roanoke, be sure to stop by their grand opening, Tuesday, September 13th! We wish them all the best and could not be more excited to see them partner with so many wonderful local producers including Autumn Olive Farms and Buffalo Creek Beef.
Looking for other food related events to attend?
EVENTS
Have an event you’d like us to feature? Email us: info@edibleblueridge.com
09.10 Roanoke Taco Fest
WHAT WE’RE COOKING
PAW PAWS
In the past few weeks, while out on a jog, hike, or perhaps a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you may have noticed trees bearing strange, oblong fruits. Resembling a mango in appearance but a bit more homely, these magical fruits are pawpaws.
Pawpaws are the largest edible native fruit in North America. Known for their distinctive, tropical-like flavor (imagine if a banana and a mango got together over drinks one evening), pawpaw season begins in late August and typically lasts through the end of September. Ripe fruits are soft to the touch, fragrant and will fall from the trees when at peak ripeness.
The fruit can be troublesome to deal with as it is riddled with seeds, but don’t let this deter you! In recent years, pawpaws have enjoyed a reconnaissance. Enjoy them in smoothies, salsas, beers, ice cream and even a cocktail. Or, swap them for bananas in your favorite bread or cake recipe, as we did.
PAWPAW BREAD
YIELDS 1 Loaf
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pawpaw pulp
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside. Whisk pawpaw pulp and brown sugar together. Whisk in eggs one at a time, followed by the butter and lemon juice. Gently mix in dry ingredients - over mixing will result in a stiff loaf. Spread batter in loaf pan and bake 45-60minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes before slicing.
Plastic Waste: Is It the Cost of Eating?
Edible Radio Podcast: Is Plastic Waste the Cost of Eating? In this episode of Eat, Drink, Think, Amy O’Neill Houck, publisher of edible Alaska, talks with Emily Payne of Food Tank about the challenges of dealing with plastic waste in food packaging. How much do we, as consumers, know about the materials—often single-use plastics—that wrap and contain almost all the food we eat? And what happens to all that waste created by food packaging? Listen now.
POEM OF THE WEEK
The Pawpaw
by Jane Hirschfield
A woman speaks to me of a pawpaw tree. I have never seen a pawpaw tree. I have never eaten its fruit. I nod. The conversation continues. So many things we think we understand, until we stop to think. Her life. My own.
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Eat Well,
Lisa