Apple Crisp with Dorothy and Sam

Dishing with Dorothy: Apple Crisp

It’s the time of year again where the leaves are crunching under our feet, the traffic has slowed here at the Market Barn, and we are prepping desserts for our Thanksgiving feast.

Intentionally, those very special desserts that have been passed down from one generation to the next; recipes we hold near and dear to our heart as we recall memories of time spent in the kitchen with loved ones; those that shape our traditions during this holiday of thanks.

This past month I got the chance to visit my new friend Dorothy Pelanda (Director of Ohio Department of Agriculture) and her husband Sam Gerhardstein at their beautiful family farm, “Wyndanwood”. In celebration of National Apple Month, we prepared an Apple Crisp recipe that had been passed down for generations in Sam’s family.

Dorothy and I “dished” about apples, apple growing, cutting and peeling techniques, how to safely include the children, and the importance of using local ingredients (especially sourcing local apples from local orchards – find an orchard near you at www.ohioapples.com).

I also really enjoyed learning about Sam’s fond memories of time spent in the kitchen with his Grandmother Irene (where this recipe hails from), as well as his family orchard (Golden Hill) which solidified our friendship as fellow fruit growers (there is a small fraternity of us left…..).

Not only did I get to enjoy a delicious desert, but I got to spend time amongst wonderful people in one of my favorite environments (the kitchen!). We’re already plotting what to make next year. 

Thank you Sam and Dorothy for sharing your home and family tradition with all of us! During filming, we used Granny Smith, but the Mutzu apple is the preferred variety for this recipe.

The Mutzu apple comes late in season (approximate harvest date at Quarry Hill for Mutzu is Oct. 15th) just in time for all your holiday baking needs. Mutsu apples are a cross between Golden Delicious and Indo (a Japanese cultivar). Mutsu are a smooth yellow/green apple that is firm and crisp. The white flesh has a flavor of honey that is juicy and sweet-tart with a tanginess. This apple is a terrific dessert apple and can be used for baking, cooking, and saucing. Add Mutsu to your pies, cobblers, muffins or breads. Mutsu are excellent keepers and sweeten with age.

APPLE CRISP

Ingredients:

  •  6-8 Mutzu apples (Granny Smith is a good alternative if Mutzu is not available)
  •  ½ tsp. salt
  •  ½ cup orange juice
  •  ½ tsp. cinnamon 
  •  ¼ cup sugar (white)

Method:

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples (6-8 medium apples) and layer evenly into a seven inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with ½ tsp. salt, ½ cup orange juice, ½ tsp. cinnamon, and ¼ cup sugar (white). Try a variation of equal parts white and brown sugar if desired! 

Then in a separate bowl mix 1 cup sugar (white), ½ cup butter, and ¾ cup flour. This will be your crumble toping. Butter must be softened by room temperature, not heated or melted. Use a fork and mix until you get your desired size of crumble.

“Crumble” above ingredients evenly on top of the sliced apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are tender!

Remove promptly on a trivet, and serve with a scoop of real vanilla ice cream on top. ENJOY!  

Ohio Department of Agriculture Socials

What Time is it?

Bill’s Annual Summer Newsletter

July 2022

“The Day is ending as cloud cover thickens. Rain may be coming. It is always calming to dwell on more provoking thoughts than the red cheeks coming to the cherries.”

What phase are we in our lives? Each change, ideally, is to lead to a new opportunity. Our family is an endearing reminder that we are still young or long to be young again.

  • Tucker pinched his fingers in the car door and needs some loving.
  • Payton and Gigi are on a search for dance shoes for her upcoming ballet recital.
  • Beatrice leaps for joy for a push on the swing hanging from the locost.
  • Henry is helping his dad pick up rocks before practice (is it baseball, soccer, or his 2nd baseball team?)

Too much? Too little? All reminders that we must appreciate that life is unfolding now. These moments may never happen again. Do we have to convince ourselves that we are living the right life and not merely leaping from one fire to another? This time of year sixty years ago my father was gravely ill. As a junior high youngster I never thought he would not “make it”. He was resilient, worked harder than most and active in his communities. In “death there is life” is often preached. Was this period to be one of new opportunity?

For many subsequent years my mother would ask my sister and I once a year “do you think of your father?”  Of course I always replied weakly.  Since her love for him was strong and unwavering, I know my response was the wrong one. I wanted to reinforce her.  Yet, I really wanted to say that my Dad and I seldom had time to openly share.  Surely there were moments of give and take, but not enough. I want to avoid this with our clan to “keep our souls alive” (as friends Barb and Bill reminded me).

I have been accused of “probing” too much, but this can’t be confused with heartfelt curiosity which is only surpassed by caution and kindness.  Such is the resort of seven decades of wrestling.  Peace and leisure are as fleeting as the tranquility of early summer mornings.

For some clarity and cleansing we sojourned to Ann Arbor last weekend.  Adrianne, Tom and Arra had a “barn dance” to celebrate their new flower farm down a gravel road west of the city.  “Marilla Field and Flora” has some unforgiving soil that through diligence and broken finger nails has encouraged 300 varieties of flowers.  Arra, too, glooms (?) for she “can read anything”.

Joy, indeed, abounds in our next generations. – Bill

Grammy Fran’s German Apple Cake

BROOKE’S BULLETIN

September 2021

A delicious and favorite family recipe from Brooke’s Grammy Frances Evelyn (her paternal grandmother).

Join me (Brooke Gammie) and Jen Picciano from Channel 19 news “Cleveland Cooks” as we share one of my favorite family recipes using our homegrown apples. You can view the full segment and recipe here, or follow along below.

Grammy’s legacy lives with me in aiming to add beauty in everyday life; drink from your special wine glasses on an average day; always have fresh flowers in your kitchen; wear a beautiful dress and lip-gloss when you’re hanging around the house; and use a beautiful baking dish and quality fresh ingredients for everyday meals, even when you’re not entertaining (which Grammy did to the nines!!!). Enjoy the beauty in all you do. Thank you Grammy!! I love you!!

Quarry Hill Orchards German Apple Cake

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup oil (preferably coconut)
  • 4 farm fresh eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. real vanilla
  • 4 cups peeled and chopped apples, (suggested varieties: Quarry Hill Orchards Golden Supreme and Crimson Crisp)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
  • 1 cup golden raisins (optional)

Method:

Mix the oil, beaten eggs and sugar. Add the dry ingredients. Fold in the apples, walnuts and raisins. Bake at 350*, in a greased loaf pan, for 50-60 minutes. Let cool, slice, and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

Optional frosting recipe to top baked cake:

  • 8 oz. cream cheese
  • ½ stick of butter
  • 2 cups powders sugar
  • ½ tsp. vanilla

The Sun Also Rises

BILL’S ANNUAL SUMMER NEWSLETTER

June 4, 2020

We’re fortunate.  We can yield to our outdoors for calm and comfort.  Morning always seems to start out groggy unlike Hudson and Walter who jump to attention with the urge to eat and be stroked.  Walker and I amble up the rise to the West toward the stone house.  The sun glistens off the West roof after another shower.  

I scrutinize the first flowers (they suffered only minor stings from the 4th frost at dawn) of a three year old apple planting of Northern Spy, Pippin, Pixie Crunch, Pink Pearl, and other oddities that only a gambler would attempt.  Walter munches grass along the way before we cross the road to the barn. 

It is a wonder how green the world has become after prolonged gloom and cold.  

Read more here…

Join our mailing list to receive a hard copy of our Summer Newsletter next year!

Summer’s Sweetness in a Jar

BROOKE’S BULLETIN

July 2019

This cherry season’s biggest fan:  Jennifer Thornton, Owner & Educator, Buttercream & Olive Oil shares her anecdotal recipe and techniques for canning cherries.  

Living in France for five years, one of my cherished memories is afternoons spent in Lolo’s cherry tree. Lolo is currently 95 years old and afternoons at his ancient Roman quarry farm were always spectacular. During cherry season, after a lengthy lunch, I would climb up into the stately cherry tree and eat as many cherries as I could until I couldn’t eat anymore. Whether they were the most delicious cherries in the world or not is debatable, but the memory of the Provençal sun and cigales singing, the company of best friends and so much delicious food, I cannot remember them being anything but the best.

That is until this summer as we ventured out to Quarry Hill for a Sunday afternoon of cherry picking. The trees were dripping with giant bunches of cherries. I will admit, I am a thoroughly devout sour cherry fan. I only stopped at 15 pounds because it was closing time. The sweet cherries were overwhelming plentiful and awe-inspiring and 20 lbs were picked easily picked in about an hour and half. These cherries are nothing short of exquisite. If you are new to picking cherries, remember the stems will keep the longer, so if you do not plan to eat or use them soon, pick with the stem. Picking your own fruit is one of life’s most gratifying delights. For me the only problem is I never know when to stop. When the fruit is plentiful and beautiful, I always think what I pick is just never enough. Of course, this really is not a bad thing and being staunchly locavore, the only cherries I eat all year will be local. This is why I freeze or can 90% of what I pick. Cherries are particularly fun to preserve through canning because no sugar is needed, in following with the USDA guidelines. This is for both sweet and sour cherries. 

Canning Whole Cherries in Lemon Juice

What you will need:

  • 15 pounds of sweet or sour cherries, whole and pitted (prefererably from Quarry Hill Orchards!)
  • Filtered water
  • 4 Organic Lemons
  • About 6 one-quart mason jars, sterilized

Prepare all the tools necessary for canning. Clean whole cherries well by triple washing in a vinegar bath. Clean your whole lemons the same way.

Pit the cherries, leaving them whole. You can get a handy little tool, but the rounded end of a bobby pin works great on the smaller fragile sour cherries and a small copper pipe works great on the plump sweet cherries.

 

 

 

While preparing the cherries, place mason jars and lids in the dishwasher and run without soap. Fill a large canning pot with water and set on the stove. In a large saucepan, add approximately 4 quarts of water to the halved lemons. Bring this to a boil.

 

 

 

 

For raw-packing, meaning the cherries are not heated before placing in the jars, add 1/2 cup hot lemon water to each jar. Fill hot jars with pitted whole cherries, shaking down gently as you fill. Add more hot liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process in the boiling water bath, assuring that the water sufficiently covers the lids. Boil for 25 minutes.

*Sweet cherries or sour cherries can be canned separately or mixed together as well.

 

If this seems overwhelming, come can with me! This summer, I am offering two basic canning courses, because honestly the first time can be overwhelming. Canning is so rewarding and quite easy, but the process can be lengthy. I can about 100 or more quarts throughout the summer and as much as I love it, I always think about how it used to be done with families, friends and neighbors coming together to peel and chop and fill and boil…all in the good company of others. My canning class will hopefully bring a little of that community and have you feeling confident to go home and preserve summers bounty on your own. My July and August Canning Classes will be held in historic Medina Square. For more info, visit buttercreamandoliveoil.com

A Fickle Fruit

tractorBEN’S CHERRY ESSAY for  EDIBLE CLEVELAND

June 2019

Once prolific, the number of cherry orchards has diminished through the years

I often stumble across old maps and aerial photos showing an evolution of land use on our farm, as well as those surrounding us. While recently preparing our fertilizer regimen for the season, I found a few archival photos dating back to the 1930s. The landscape was adorned with orchards throughout our little township. It appeared that most farming operations had dedicated orchard ground of some type. My father recalled the days of his youth and confirmed my observation. Orchards, including cherries, were prolific. He remembers my grandfather speaking of Pickett’s Cherry Farm located just west of us in Bellevue. That entire operation was dedicated solely to cherry production.

So, where have all the cherries gone? Was there some dramatic event that led to a decrease in cherry production? No. As it goes with most things in our lives, it was a slow evolution, a shift toward dedicating land for predictable crops of quality fruit.

Cherries, like other stone fruits, such as peaches and plums, are happier without extreme cold temperatures. The spring is a particularly vulnerable time for cherries, in that they bloom early and thus expose new green tissue to potentially damaging late freezes. And then, there are the challenges faced during the growing season: a host of rots can set in, as well as skin cracking, all brought on by excessive rain during the ripening window prior to harvesting in mid-June. Our counterparts in western Michigan have a more temperate climate that mitigates some of these factors. But the real domestic production is in Washington State, where a high, arid climate provides the necessary winter chilling hours, but avoids the humidity and pest pressure found in the Midwest. Out west, cherry orchards can receive a regular and controlled amount of water via irrigation and enjoy predictable sunny days on the slopes of the Sierras.

Read the published article with Edible Cleveland online here.  

Readjust

Bill’s annual summer newsletter

June 10, 2019

The Gammie Family June 2019 before Tucker’s Baptism

As best I can recall it was the summer of 1960.  My father and I trekked across the road to help finish loading a truck for an early season market He had proclaimed several times in the prior days that the season held great promise (carrots, radish, peas, celery strawberries were cooperating).  With an arm around me he shared that I should not be interested in farming because it appeared easy.

A couple days later a hail storm broke that promise.  Still the routine goes forward, the crew to muster, a few peaches to pick, cauliflower to transplant, irrigation lines to move.  On this night my dad urged that any longing for the farm should not waver because it is too hard (I dare not reveal that I had already taken measure that is was not for me). 

He died before the next season could begin. 

Read more here….

Join our mailing list to receive a hard copy of our Summer Newsletter next year!

A High Season Thursday at 12:42am

tractorBEN’S BULLETIN

September 21, 2018 – 12:42 am

An email from Ben to his best pals, regarding his RSVP to his 40th birthday party in February 2019……. 

Gents-

So the sun has long since set here at the farm.  Its just me and the dogs here in the barn office.  Harvest is in full swing… the Gala crop has been picked.  Honeycrisp will be wrapped up by next week.  I usually end the day lining up our wholesale delivery trucks for tomorrow’s routes (that… along with a beer or two and a 3-minute break for a small cat nap on the desk…..). We’ll have 3 drivers rollin’ tomorrow AM.  With good weather leading into the weekend, we should see strong retail sales and plenty of folks coming out to pick their own apples.  All in all, the crop is looking good.  We will finally see good returns off of the trees Dad and I planted the first year I moved home.  Production should be the highest since my coming back.  Quality yet to be determined…

It is far too frequent during this time of year that I get swept up in the hustle of harvest.  This life Brooke and I have chosen has challenged us far beyond what I could have imagined.  Many-a-day I question whether my shoulders are broad enough to keep this thing going.  There is a constant juggle between managing a payroll of 35+ people, forecasting farm profitability (or lack thereof), making harvest & sales decisions… all while driving the forklift around our packhouse like a mad man.  I miss my wife.  I miss my kids.  I long for the tranquility of farm life that was the picture I painted for Brooke so many years ago.  But I don’t think tranquility is my nature.   

It is in these moments that leaving Austin, Texas seemed like a damned foolish idea.  Maybe because its human nature to look fondly on the past.  Maybe because I found confidence in engineering that just isn’t part of farming with Mother Nature.  Maybe because the co-workers I met in that town have turned out to be the most meaningful life-long friends.  For that last reason, this trip is gonna be epic.  I absolutely can’t wait to strap some boards on my feet and earn my turns in some of that fine “Champagne Powder” of Route County, Colorado!  After I help my wife settle into life with new baby #4 and life as a family of six – I’ll be on the plane headed Westbound to play hard.  See you Gents then.                                                                                                         -Ben-

 

Overwhelming Success at First Peach Fest!

Halle Snavely is a local food consultant and a writer. She documents the best of Northeast Ohio’s local farms through her Instagram account @oneingredientco. This is her first guest blog post for Quarry Hill Orchards.

“We already ran out of peach ice cream!” Brooke Gammie says as she greets me at the Quarry Hill Orchards Peaches and Cream Festival. It’s noon. The festival started at ten. Running out of ice cream that early tells me that it must be really good. Mason’s Creamery clearly knows what they’re doing. Brooke is busy mingling with guests and crafting the dwindling peach sorbet into a beautiful presentation that is garnished with sliced peaches, lavender buds and fresh mint leaves (garnishes courtesy of Executive Chef and friend Jamie Simpson of Culinary Vegetable Institute). I immediately become jealous that I have to photograph this work of art instead of eat it.

Vegan Peach Sorbet from Mason’s Creamery

This is the first Peaches and Cream festival at Quarry Hill, but Brooke says it’s an idea that the Gammie family has been marinating on for some time. “Bill has wanted to do an ice cream social for a while, but we haven’t had a good peach crop and I had my hands full last year with Beatrice, so I didn’t get around to it. Then I thought, ok, I gotta do it this year! And it just happened really organically. I swear 80% of the people I’ve talked to today have never been here before.”

Flower Crown Makers

It’s a heartwarming sight: kids covered from head to toe in ice cream, happy children making flower crowns, people shopping at Fancy Me Boutique, crying children and parents consoling them are peppered throughout the crowd (par for the course), adults of all ages are taking in the scene while eating black bean burgers and empanadas from The Goucho and The Gringa (who also ran out of these crowd favorites), and local musicians are serenading the crowd. The farm store is bustling with people lined up in all directions, stocking up on peaches, eating peach crepes from The Mad Batter Baking Company, and getting their hands on the latest Quarry Hill Orchards gear. (Side note: Quarry Hill’s gear is seriously legit. Any hipster or style maven would be proud to rock these t-shirts, a new collaboration with Unsalted Boutique.)

4th Gen Gammie Girls Payton and Beatrice

There is a Gammie in just about every direction I look. Even in the midst of the chaos, it’s clear from the genuine smiles on their faces that they’re really enjoying themselves. Life on the farm is always chaotic, but to see how seamlessly the Gammie’s blend work and play is a pretty good indication that they really love what they do. It truly is a family affair, and their greatest joy is being able to share their farm with others. In fact, this is what fuels their passion. Judging from the number of people who showed up, it seems their customers are feelin’ the love too.    

Caitlin Davis, who lives just down the road, recounts some of her Quarry Hill memories. “I grew up coming here, so I was not missing this! We come in the fall to the apple event, and we’ll actually be back at the winery tomorrow. There’s something special about it being family run. It just feels like home. Everyone is having a good time, kids are running around. You can’t beat that. I love it.”

Towards the end of the event, I had the chance to grab some food and interact with a few of the attendees. I met Roger and Nancy Wallace, fellow farmers and friends of the Gammie’s. They summed up the vibe pretty well. “It’s a nice family farm. There’s nothing better than to let people experience this.”


Brooke (center) with best pals Katie and Jess manning the ice cream tent (with their collective 9 kids helping out)

 

Did you attend the Peaches and Cream event?

We’d love to share some of our favorite peach recipes with you!

Please take a moment to fill out this 2-minute survey to help us improve our future events. To show our appreciation for your time, we’ll send you an email with some of our favorite peach recipes once you’ve completed to survey!

Lake Erie Like a Local

apple_7237 (2) (800x692)Lake Erie Like a Local

August 2017

Guest Blog Post for the Lake Erie Shores and Islands

Relationship-driven.  Quality-focused.  Family-centric.  If you’re a regular at Quarry Hill Orchards, you’re probably a regular because of the authentic atmosphere, fresh (and delicious!) fruit, engaging conversation, memorable experiences, good people, oh, and the friendly golden retrievers and cute babies. A typical day on the farm includes some combination of the Gammie Family onsite managing the day-to-day operations of the business: slicing a ripe peach for a customer;  driving a wagon full of first graders around the orchard; directing the crew which apple orchard needs thinning; inspecting a load of peaches on their way to a Cleveland grocer; or swapping produce with a local vegetable producer. 

This summer, my presence at the barn has included my three darlings (Payton 6 ½, Henry 5, and Beatrice 8 months).  We work as a team, as a family:  Payton has become an expert at “decorating” the baskets of fruit with fresh leaf cuttings; Henry eagerly helps carry bags of blueberries, apricots, and peaches out to customers cars (he’s been getting a few tips recently which he uses to buy peach fritters); Beatrice is either riding in her Daddy’s backpack carrier, or is playing in the arms of one of our regulars.  My husband may work from sun-up to sun-down every day this time of year, but we get to spend that time together, working together as a family….a lifestyle that was 100% created on purpose. 

During our income generating time of year, it’s critical we prioritize this day-to-day management of our business.  Hence, our family schedule is dictated primarily by the needs of the business and our off-farm activities like dinner hour, nap time, birthday parties, house chores are always scheduled around these needs.  As a Mom, my role in helping run the business has been crafted entirely by my children’s needs, yet influenced by my strengths and passions.  It’s a daily balancing act between Motherhood and managing the back office.  Returning phone calls while we’re driving to Catawba for swim lessons;  logging hours behind Quickbooks while the kids are napping; updating cash flow spreadsheets while a neighborhood babysitter takes them to the Old Fish House for ice cream; packing up the tribe for a trip to Sandusky to pick up payroll; writing grant reports while they attend a day camp;scheduling nap time to facilitate a late dinner when Dad comes home; making Put-In-Bay plans to the Butterfly House on a Tuesday because we’re at the barn on Saturdays. 

“Work hard, play hard” is one of our family mottos. When it’s time to play, we play hard, and don’t have to travel far to do that.  Going to Dinosaurs Alive and exploring Hotel Breakers and swimming at Cedar Point Beach made a perfect birthday party for our five year old. Watching fireworks from a friend’s back porch during the Huron River Fest, seeing Payton learn how to canoe for the first time in the Huron River thanksto the amazing nature camps hosted by Erie MetroParks, double date night with my parents at the Culinary Vegetable Institute, and beach glass hunting on Kelley’s Island are just a few highlights of our playtime. 

The summer memories we’re making here are one that I will treasure, and cherish forever – I know this time as their playmate is fleeting, and the dirty dishes, the piles of laundry, and the messy chaos are things that will be easily forgotten……Thank you LESI for this lakeside playground that gives our family so much opportunity to make this summer one we’ll always remember.