UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies student Bella Freed will be interning with us for the next 6 months. Bella will be working with the youth baking pies when they come to the Ranch. Additionally, she will be including a savory dish & pie recipe in our enewsletter and website each month. At the end of the internship, she hopes to present us with a cook book that will include a variety of recipes prepared on the ranch with the youth along with their reflections on their experience working in the fields and eating food grown here.
February’s Recipes
Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup
6 servings
Heat in a soup pot over medium heat:
2 tablespoons olive or other vegetable oil
Add and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes:
1 white onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
Stir in:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 quarts stock (vegetable or chicken)
Bring to a boil and stir in:
1 can coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons red curry paste
Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is cooked, about 20 minutes.
Blend until smooth.
Roasted Pumpkin Muffins
12 servings
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place cut side down on an oiled baking sheet:
1 medium Pie Ranch pumpkin
Position rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12 muffin pan with paper cups.
Whisk together thoroughly:
1 ½ cups Pie Ranch Sonora flour (sifted)
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ baking soda
Combine in another bowl:
1/3 cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl , beat until creamy, about 30 seconds:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Gradually add and beat on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 3 to 4 minutes:
1 1/3 cups sugar
Beat in 1 at a time:
2 large eggs
Add and beat on low speed lust until blended:
1 cup roasted pumpkin puree
Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed. Scrape the batter into the 12 muffin cups evenly.
Bake 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
January’s Recipes
Pumpkin Pie
Pie Ranch Pumpkin Pie 
Crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups Pie Ranch Sonora wheat flour (sifted)
- 2 sticks butter (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup ice water
Directions
1. Blend until mixed: butter, flour, and salt using a pastry cutter or a Cuisinart.
2. Sprinkle mixture with water a little at a time, incorporating it into the mixture until you can gather dough into a ball (it should not stick to your fingers.)
3. Squeeze into a disk. Cut in half.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one segment of the dough to fit a 9-inch baking pan. Roll from the center out to create an even crust.
5. Roll crust onto the rolling pin then unroll it over the pie pan. Ease the dough into the pan and pinch around the edge of the pan.
(Makes two crusts. Tightly wrap and freeze extra crust).
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 large eggs
- 2 cups roasted pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 cups light cream or mix 3/4 cup heavy cream and 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions
1. Position rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Make pie crust and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Remove the crust, brush with a mix of egg yolk and a pinch of salt and bake for another 2 minutes to set the egg wash.
4. Turn oven down to 375.
5. Blend ingredients together in a blender.
6. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and bake until the center of the filling seems set. Should take roughly 45 minutes- but this varies by oven.
7. Remove the pie and let cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for up to 1 day.
8. Serve cold or at room temperature with whipped cream.
Pie Ranch Winter Wheat Berry Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup Pie Ranch Red Calypso Beans
- 1 cup Pie Ranch winter wheat berries
- Kosher salt
- 1 medium Pie Ranch butternut squash
- 1 cup finely diced red onion (1 onion)
- 7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 scallions, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Boil beans in water until cooked (approximately 2 ½ hours). Drain.
2. Place the wheat berries and 3 cups of boiling salted water in a saucepan and cook, uncovered, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain.
3. Peel and seed a medium butternut squash. Cut into 1/3-inch squares.
4. Lightly toss squash pieces in olive oil and salt.
5. Place squash pieces on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until softened- tossing once to rotate (approximately 20 minutes).
6. Sautee the red onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
7. In a large bowl, combine the warm wheat berries, sautéed onions, scallions, red calypso beans, roasted butternut squash, ½ teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes for the wheat berries to absorb the sauce. Season, to taste, and serve at room temperature.
Read more about Sonora Wheat >>
barn dance in the 
roadside barn. All are welcome; come lend a hand in the fields while you work alongside other volunteers and farmers. Celebrate the spirit of community at this monthly ritual of working together on the ranch, sharing locally grown food, and then spinning, laughing and dosey-doing together into the night.
sprouting so beautifully that students and staff were able to take home collard greens, radishes, and herbs this week. With the help of Eddie Grannis, his students, and an enthusiastic team of volunteers from the San Francisco Gardening and Composting Educator Training Program (‘GCETP’), the OC Garden is turning into a little piece of heaven. Pie Ranch is also starting to teach a Food Justice component of Cheryl Nelson’s, Health Education Class at OC. Students will be taking fieldtrips to Pie Ranch and other famous sustainable San Francisco hotspots like Rainbow Grocery and The Civic Center Farmer’s Market.
