At many an Ohio festival, one type of food is the star of the show.
A good number of those festivals are in or around central Ohio, focusing on central ingredients from strawberries to zucchini.
So if you should happen to pick up a titular ingredient at a local festival, or even just a local farmers’ market, and find yourself looking for the best way to use it, take a cue from the festival organizers and consider some of these recipes.
Chilled Strawberry Soup
London Strawberry Festival: June 20-22
Ingredients:
1 qt. fresh strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup ginger ale
¼ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. sour cream
Instructions:
Place berries in a blender, cover and process until smooth. Add ginger ale, milk, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Yields four servings.
Tomato Fudge
Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival: Aug. 16-17
Ingredients:
1 6-oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1 6-oz. pkg. butterscotch chips
1 can condensed milk
1 cup walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can tomato paste
Instructions:
Combine chips and milk in a double boiler. When melted, add vanilla, tomato paste and walnuts.
Cool in cold water and beat until thick. Pour in buttered pan and slice.
Blueberry Zucchini Bread
Obetz Zucchinifest: Aug. 22-25
Ingredients:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups white sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 pt. fresh blueberries
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease four mini-loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Yields four mini-loaves.
Queen Bee Bars
Lithopolis Honeyfest: Sept. 6-7
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup quick oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. In a measuring cup, melt butter in microwave on high for 1 minute. Whisk in honey and vanilla. Add oats mixture.
Coat 13” x 9” x 2” baking pan with spray oil. Press mixture into pan. Sprinkle on nuts. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20-21 minutes.
Place chocolate chips in cup, then put in microwave for 80 seconds. After chocolate cools, put in resealable plastic bag and cut off tip. Drizzle chocolate over bars after they have chilled.
Apple Butter Pork Chops
Groveport Apple Butter Day: Oct. 12
Ingredients:
4 pork chops, thick cut 2 cups apple butter
1 cup apple juice
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions:
Combine apple butter, apple juice, nutmeg and cinnamon in an oven-safe pot. Apple cider may be substituted for apple juice for a tangier taste.
Place pork chops in sauce. Cover and baste often. Cook in an oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove and serve.
Yields four servings. About a cup of sauce will remain for use as gravy over egg noodles or potatoes.
Dick and Carol’s Pumpkin Log
Circleville Pumpkin Show: Oct. 16-19
Roll Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Filling Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll:
Beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar; beat again. Add remaining ingredients except walnuts. Mix well. Put mixture evenly on a large sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle walnuts on top
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Turn cake over on a T-shirt cut to dish towel size that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Peel off parchment paper carefully. Roll cake up in a T-shirt. Let cool. When cooled, unroll carefully and spread with filling.
Filling:
Mix butter and cream cheese well. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until well blended. After filling is spread over cake, sprinkle walnuts over filling, then roll cake up, seal in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.
