Roasted Pepper & Chiriboga Bisque

For some kids, eating blue cheese is worse than going to the dentist. When I was expecting a baby, I read a book about the differences between American parents and French parents... I became determined to not raise a picky eater. I'm not going to deny my son a good ol' fashioned PB&J, but he will eat blue cheese. With the addition of creme fraiche and Chiriboga Blue, this roasted pepper bisque is undeniably creamy. I'm pretty sure the French disguise vegetables with cheese. Plus, food should be fun. Dipping some warm, crusty baguette into this soup will take you back to your metal lunch box days and blowing bubbles into your milk.

4 large or 8 small mixed peppers (I used green, purple and mostly red)
4 tablespoons Lucky Layla Golden Butter 
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups Homemade Broth
1 7.5 oz package Bellwether Crème Fraîche
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/2 lb Chiriboga Blue
1 Slow Dough baguette

Heat oven to 400. Arrange peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast until soft and nicely browned all over, turning peppers to roast evenly, for about an hour. Remove peppers from the oven and immediately transfer to a large zip top bag. Allow to steam until cool to the touch. Gently pull out stem and core, remove skin and seeds, then set aside. Melt butter in a large pot, add onions and potatoes, lightly salt and cook over medium heat until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add peppers and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add creme fraiche and 1/4 lb of Chiriboga, stir to combine. Puree with an emersion blender until smooth and velvety. Garnish with remaining Chiriboga and fresh cracked pepper. Serve with a toasted baguette.

Vanilla Yogurt Fig Cake

I believe the heart of a home is the kitchen. Everyone gathers in the kitchen, it's where all the best smells and laughs happen. My mom and I love cooking together. We swear like sailors, drink wine and do bad impressions of Julia Child. It warms my soul. This simple, yet beautiful fig cake takes me back to Summer vacation, cooking with several generations of Southern women. It's made with rich sheep milk yogurt from Bellwether Farms and Summer figs from Utility Research Garden. Easily, one of the prettiest things I've ever made and light as a cloud.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons Lucky Layla Golden Butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 farm fresh egg
1 lemon, zested
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup Bellwether Vanilla Yogurt
1 pint Utility Research Garden figs, cut in half
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Butter your favorite pie dish and set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together, set aside. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and continue to beat until mixed. Mix in zest and vanilla, beat until smooth. Set your mixer on the lowest setting and add flour mixture in batches, alternating with yogurt and beginning and ending with flour. Pour batter into prepared pie dish and spread evenly. Arrange figs on top, face up, and push them into the batter. Sprinkle figs with turbinado sugar. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Summer Onion Soup

French onion soup and Summer time don't really coincide. That is until I was given a bountiful onion harvest. The Dairymaids appreciate a good challenge, so we're gonna bend the rules a little. To make a more summery version of this classic, just make it lighter and brighter. I’ve swapped the veal stock out for my homemade cheese bits broth and picked a fruitier wine in lieu of sherry. Throw a lemon in the mix and it's prefect for warm Summer nights. Don't get me wrong, you will do some amount of sweating getting this on the table, because it's hot in the kitchen. Still, this Summer onion soup is light enough that you'll have room to make a Snowball run later.

1 tablespoon Terra Verde Estate Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Lucky Layla Golden Butter
8 medium Utility Research Garden onions, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 generous pinches dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup Arca Nova Vinho Verde
3 cups Homemade Broth
4 thick slices Slow Dough Baguette
1/4 lb Alpha Tolman, shredded

Directions:
Heat a deep pot over medium high heat, add oil and butter. Add onions, season with salt, pepper and thyme. Cook onions for about 20 - 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender, sweet and caramel colored. Add bay leaf and vinho verde to the pot to deglaze. Add broth and bring to a boil. Arrange 4 small, deep soup bowls or crocks on a rimmed cookie sheet. Preheat broiler to high. Once soup reaches a boil, ladle it into bowls. Float baguette slices on soup and top with a mound of cheese. Place cookie sheet with soup bowls under broiler until cheese melts and bubbles. Serve with a simple salad.

Red White and Blue Lucky Layla Yogurt Pops

I love Fourth of July for all its quaint pleasures. Families come together to celebrate our independence, grill copious amounts of meat and make things go boom. It's also my husband's birthday, and if you have had the pleasure of meeting this fire cracker, it's only fitting that he way born on this day. He grew up thinking the brilliant display of fireworks were for him on his birthday. My beloved husband also assumed that if you were born on Fourth of July, you automatically got into heaven. Makes sense right? These patriotic popsicles are made with Lucky Layla Yogurt and are just as sweet as my hubby. 

1 Lucky Layla Mango or Plain Yogurt

1 Lucky Layla Blueberry or Blackberry Yogurt

1 Lucky Layla Strawberry Yogurt

1 handfull each of blackberries and strawberries, chopped into small pieces 

I used this popsicle mold, but you can use just about anything. Mix a little blueberry/blackberry yogurt with chopped blackberries and pour into each mold 1/3 full for your first layer. Use mango or plain yogurt for your middle layer, filling 2/3 full. For your last layer, mix a little strawberry yogurt with chopped strawberry and pour into each mold. Allow popsicles to set over night and enjoy. 

*Makes about 10 popsicles depending on your mold.