Ground Cherry Salsa

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Ground Cherries outer husk removed
• 1/2 cup Red onion
• 1/3 cup roasted tomatoes 
• 1 medium lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeño seeds removed
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

Preparation:

1. Combine all ingredients in your food processor and pulse to combine.
2. Chill prior to serving for flavors to combine. Will keep for about a week in the fridge.

3. Notes: *To roast tomatoes, remove core, cut in half and de-seed. Place cut side down on a baking sheet with sides and broil for roughly 5-10 minutes or until the skins blacken slightly.  Allow to cool, then remove skins. Use the tomato meat for the 1/3 cup roasted tomatoes in this recipe. Store extra roasted tomatoes in the freezer to use later.

https://healthstartsinthekitchen.com/ground-cherry-salsa/

Ground Cherry Chutney

Ingredients

• • 1 cup sugar
• • 2 tablespoons water
• • 1/2 cup minced onion
• • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• • ¼ cup Champagne vinegar
• • 3 cups ground cherries
• • 1 sprig of rosemary, chopped

Instructions:

• Mix sugar and water together in a sauce pan and cook, stirring consistently so it does not burn. Add onion and stir until softened. Add the Dijon mustard, vinegar and ground cherries. Cook until it starts to thicken and the ground cherry skins start to crack. Remove pan from stove, add rosemary and transfer to a proper container to be stored in the refrigerator. Be sure to properly label with date prepared.

epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/ground-cherry-chutney-52903631

Cherry Tomato and Ground Cherry Salsa

Ingredients:

2 c. quartered cherry tomatoes
1 c. halved ground cherries
1/3 c. finely chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. minced red chili
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, fold together cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, onion, garlic, chili, and cilantro. Drizzle the lime juice and olive oil over the top, folding a couple times to incorporate. Then sprinkle with cumin, salt, and pepper. Fold again to bring it all together. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips, or over grilled fish or chicken.

Recipe Source

Ground Cherry Cupcake Pies

Ingredients:

Pate Brisee (pie dough):

• 1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Cubed, Chilled Earth Balance Margarine (or, a non-vegan option).
• 2 Tbs – 1/4 Cup Ice Water

Pies:

• 1 1/3 Cup Ground Cherries, de-husked and washed
• 1/4 Cup Sugar + 1/2 tsp Flour

Instructions:

For the Dough:

1. Add the flour, salt, sugar, and fats together in the work bowl of a food processor.
2. Pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand, with pea-sized lumps here and there.
3. Slowly drizzle in water while running the machine until the dough forms a ball. If in doubt, add less water as opposed to more.
4. Turn out the dough onto the counter and press to form a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

For the Pies:

1. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake papers. Spray lightly with oil. Place a scant tablespoon of dough into the bottom of each cup. Using a small glass dipped in water (one that has the same diameter of the bottom of the cupcake cup), press the dough to form a bottom crust.
2. Take small pieces of dough and build up the sides of the cup with dough, making sure the walls aren’t too thick.
3. At this point, you can use the glass again, dipped in water so it won’t stick, to neaten everything up if you want.
4. Place the shells in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.
5. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Remove the shells from the fridge and fill to the top, slightly overflowing, with ground cherries (or whatever fruit you’re using).
6. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of the sugar/flour mixture to each cup, depending on how sweet you want your pies. 1/2 tsp was sweet enough for me, allowing the flavor of the fruit to show through.  If you’re using something tangier or less sweet, you’ll want more sugar.
7. Cover the back of a cookie sheet with a sheet of plastic wrap. Add the rest of the pie dough, and cover with a second sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4-1/8″ thick. Using a glass that has a slightly larger diameter than the openings of the cupcake cups, stamp out six pie crust tops. Place this in the freezer for a few minutes, or into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
8. Once chilled, you should be able to easily peel out the tops and place them over your pies. Pinch the edges down, slash a X in the top with a sharp knife, and sprinkle with sugar. You can do other types of tops, such as lattice work, if desired.
9. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for several minutes before gently removing them from the cupcake tin to cook completely.

http://veganyumyum.com/2008/09/ground-cherry-cupcake-pies/

Ground Cherry and Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 pound field greens, washed
• 1/2 pound husk cherries 
• 4 ounces herbed goat cheese 
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp basalmic vinegar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt 
• Pinch of black pepper

Instructions:

1. Wash lettuce, remove cherries from their husks, and wash. Dry.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Mix together lettuce, husk cherries, and dressing. Divide onto four plates.
4. Thinly slice goat cheese, and distribute slices onto plates (3-4 slices per plate). Serve.

http://www.sugarlaws.com/husk-cherry-and-goat-cheese-salad

Ground Cherry Salsa

Ingredients:

1/2 pint of Ground Cherries, each one halved
1/4 Red Onion, diced
1/4 jalapeno, diced
Cilantro, chopped
Red Bell Pepper, diced
Very *small* squeeze Lime Juice
Roughly a teaspoon or two Extra Virgin Olive oil
Very *small* pinch Salt

Preparation:

Mix everything together and let sit for 30 minutes so the flavors can come together. Do not overdue it with the salt or lime; the small amount of salt is only needed to draw out liquid from the cherries so they can macerate with the olive oil and lime juice.

http://catertots.net/by-type/vegetable/ground-cherry-salsa

How to Pick Cherry Tomatoes, Ground Cherries and Basil

Cherry tomatoes- our cherry tomatoes are located to two areas: in the large hoop house (plastic greenhouse) in the field, and in the you-pick section, near the flowers and herbs. We will be alternating pickings between these two areas to give each area time to recover from heavy picking. In the hoop house, all the cherry tomatoes are the same variety: Sun Gold. Pick these when they are dark orange. The row in the you-pick section in the field is half Sun Gold (the first half if you are coming from the main pathway), and half Sakura. Pick the Sakura’s when they are bright red. Gently pull the tomatoes from the vine. Avoid the cracked ones, they might be over ripe.

Ground Cherries- These are a peculiar vegetable, closely related to the tomato, but much sweeter. Ground cherries get their name from the fact that you can harvest them from the ground. They are ready when the outer husk (they are also known as husk cherries) is dry and light brown. Sometimes at this point they are still attached to the plant, but often they fall off the stem when they are ripe. You can pick the ones on the ground or the brown ones on the plant. The variety we are growing is called Goldie. Peel the outer husk back and enjoy!

Basil- we have four different kinds of basil, I encourage you to try them all. They are (in order from the main pathway): lemon basil, Thai basil, Purple basil and green basil (the traditional king). We recently planted a second planting of all green basil. In years past our basil has been cut short by a disease called Downy Mildew, so this year we are hoping a second planting will come in strong just as the first is dying down.  When harvesting basil, take a pair of pruners or clippers and cut the stem just above the intersection of the main stem and a side shoot. By leaving the side shoots you are leaving a viable growing point for the plant to regenerate. Try to make your cut as close to this intersection as possible as to avoid leaving a “stump,” which will only turn brown and die back.

Fun Recipes for Ground Cherries

Courtesy of Shareholder Carolyn Grady:

We have a suggestion for ground cherries - use as an alternative to blueberries.

Our latest "win" has been a ground cherry buckle.  We replaced the blueberries with ground cherries.  Replacing ~ 1/2 the berries with ground cherries in a fruit cobbler has been a winner as well.

Here's the buckle recipe-

3/4 c sugar

1/4 c butter or shortening

1 egg

1/2 c milk

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 c berries

topping:  1/3 c flour; 1/2 c sugar; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; 1/4 c soft butter

Heat oven to 375; Grease and flour 9x9x2 pan

Mix sugar; butter and egg thoroughly

Stir in milk

Blend in dry ingredients

Stir in berries

Spread in pan

Topping:  Combine flour; sugar and cinnamon;

Cut in butter until crummy

Sprinkle with topping mixture

Bake 45-50 min  

Nina's Kale Smoothie

Nina’s first smoothie attempt: Ground Cherry, Kale, Berry Smoothie

I often jealously watch my housemates make delicious smoothies in the morning as I look at the clock and think about how I’m always running late. Finally this morning I had an extra 15 minutes before getting to the farm, and I gave it a try:

·       ½ a cup of frozen blueberries

·       ½ cup of fresh blackberries

·       1/3 cup fresh ground cherries, husks removed

·       ½ cup vanilla yogurt

·       ½ a bunch of kale, with the center stem removed

·       Blend and enjoy!

Ground Cherry and Cucumber Salsa

½ cup husked and diced ground cherries

1 cup peeled, seeded diced cucumbers

1 sweet pepper, sliced for garnish, the rest diced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

2 garlic cloves diced

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. You may need to add a little water or vinegar/olive oil to moisten the mixture. Allow to chill for about 25-30 minutes and serve.

Source: http://blog.kitchentherapy.us/2009/08/ground-cherry-salsa/

Ground Cherry Pie

2 ½-3 cups ground cherries

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp water

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp flour

2 ½ tbsp butter

Instructions:

Place ground cherries into an unbaked pie shell. Stir together the brown sugar and the 1 tablespoon of flour-put this evenly over the ground cherries and then sprinkle water-again evenly-over all.

Stir together the 3 tablespoons sugar and the 3 tablespoons flour. Cut in the butter until it is crumbly-Place on top of pie.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then turn down to 375 degrees and bake another 25 to 28 minutes.

Source: http://michele-engholm.hubpages.com/hub/Discover-the-Ground-Cherry

U Pick Instructions and Recipes

Two new items are being offered as an option in this week’s U-pick. I’m excited to introduce to you ground cherries and tomatillos! Both are in the tomato family and are rare and tasty treats.

Ground Cherries

Ground cherries are mildly sweet and to me, taste like a cross between a grape and a cherry tomato. They look like a small cherry tomato wrapped in a loose, papery husk. They are called ground cherries because they are harvested from the ground, after they have fallen off the branch of the plant. Look for them on the ground and pick the ones with dried, brown, outer husks. If you peel back the husk slightly, the “cherry” on the inside should be a shiny and somewhat translucent, varying from light green to yellow to tan. Remove the husk and enjoy! I just snack on them as they are, but see the recipe section for suggestions on how to cook with them.

Tomatillos

Tomatillos are slightly tart and to me, taste a bit like a green tomato with a hint of lemon. They look like small tomatoes wrapped in a tight husk. Look for them on the plant, and pick the ones that have grown large enough to fill out or split open their husk. The actual tomatillo will be various shades of green inside the husk. Remove the husk and use in salsa verde or other Central American dishes. See the recipe section for more cooking suggestions. 

Ground Cherry Pie

1 tsp. tapioca
4 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. butter
2 1/2 c. ground cherries (or combination of fruit)
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. apple pie spice
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg

Shuck and wash ground cherries. Put tapioca, flour, and butter in the bottom of an 8 inch pie crust. Mix ground cherries, sugar, and spices together and pour over the mixture in pie crust. Put top pie crust on and seal edges of the 2 crusts. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Source: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1637,153187-245193,00.html

Guidelines For Successful U-Pick

Harvesting Tomatillos
•Harvest the ones that completely fill their husks
•To tell, touch the husk- if you can feel the tomatillo pressing against the husk, it is ready!
•Ripe tomatillos can have brown or green husks
•Do not eat the husk- peel before eating

Harvesting Ground Cherries
•You can harvest them right off the ground (it’s why they are called ‘ground’ cherries!)
•They are ripe when the husks are brown or yellow, and the fruit inside is yellow
•To eat, peel back the husk and eat the fruit

Harvesting Cherry Tomatoes
•We grow yellowish-orange and red cherry tomatoes
•To tell if they are ripe, see how squishy they are—not how red!
•Look near the bottom of the plant- there are more ripe ones near the ground.

Harvesting Paste Tomatoes
•Look for red tomatoes- might be close to the ground or a little deeper inside row
•If you want to use them later in the week, harvest them half red and half green- tomatoes ripen very well off the vine.

Harvesting Basil
•Harvest whole stems, rather than leaves, at growing nodes—at the junction in between two branches or leaves. This will allow the plant to put energy into productive stems rather than dead-end stems with no leaves on the top.