Marvelous Fudge! Shhhh...Its fun having a Secret!

Butter...

I wish I remember her name, It was when I worked at the Brainerd Daily Dispatch and this older woman used to bring in the most wonderful fudge. I love to bake and make candies, so I begged her for this recipe and she always told me "It is my secret recipe".

 I begged her for 2 years! Finally I was moving back to Minneapolis to get ready for my wedding and to get ready for married life and she gave me the recipe because she knew I was leaving and wouldn't share it with anyone in town. You know how small towns are...

 It took a bit to master this recipe because it is not easy. I probably made 3 batches before it even turned out. And then I heard that copper distributes the heat more evenly when making chocolates, so now I use a copper pot. Through trial and error I have figured out which brand of Chocolate to use and I even prefer the Mexican Vanilla because of the strong flavor. This has been a fun journey of perfecting this fudge recipe spanning over 23 years. I feel like Willy Wonka while I am making it.




the finished product. Yum!

I feel like Willy Wonka while I am making it, standing over a boiling pot for a long time, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn or boil over. I love selling it at the farmers market. I think people have figured out that I can make fudge! But please don't ask me for the recipe...



Cowboy Caviar

It's tomatoe time! It's pepper time! It's sweet summer onion time! It's cilantro time! It's time for fresh salsa...Cowboy Caviar!

Now I haven't found a recipe that is perfect yet, so what I do is combine recipes and make my own. The problem is that this all depends on how things taste from garden to garden also. So making this requires a lot of tasting. And you can tweek the recipe to your taste, which requires more tasting. So here is a skeleton recipe for my version of Cowboy Caviar...

3 ripe tomatoes (slightly unripe is good so they don't go mush)

1 green bell pepper

1 sweet banana pepper or yellow bell pepper

2 or 3 jalepeno peppers (or habeneros, how hot do you want it?)

1 fresh sweet white onion

1 small can of shoepeg corn or 3/4 cup fresh sweet corn
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro (this is our favorite part, but if you must you can use parsley)
2 or 3 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped fine
you can also throw in 1/2 cup zucchini, a fresh cucumber, this time of year its all good.

I like to hand chop it all. In a food processor it turns to mush. You want the peppers, onions and cilantro to have equal flavor with the tomatoes. Don't let the tomatoes overpower the flavor. You need to let it set in the refridgerator at least 2 hours before serving, but its best the 2nd day. Serve your Cowboy Caviar with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Or you can come buy fresh Cowboy Caviar from me at the Farmers Market on Thursdays when all of the tomatoes and peppers are at their best.

Garlic!

-just picked varieties of Garlic! from the top- Belarus, Krasnador Red, German Extra Hardy, Spanish Roja, Music, Georgian Crystal and Chesnook Red.

  "I never knew there were so many different kinds of Garlic!" is what I usually here. And let me tell you that I have barely scratched the surface on the varieties of garlic that grow in Minnesota.

  Garlic has been a really fun adventure for me. I have gone to the Garlic Festival for the past 4 years now looking for new varieties that I don't have yet that I need to add to my little collection. And it has also been fun trying to figure out how to use garlic!

  Did you know you can use the scape? The scape is the long curly top that comes out of the plant late in the spring that will eventually be the bloom, like a chive. You can use it like you use a green onion, except it has a nice garlic flavor to it. One of my favorite things I found this year is to saute cut up scapes in butter until they are tender and then add sweet corn to them and saute it for 20 minutes more. Yum! I also tried Pickling Garlic Scapes to sell at the Farmers Market this year.

 Today I hope to be making some Garlic Jelly. I made this for the first time last year and that has been a big hit. You use it with crackers and cream cheese, pretzel sticks or on roast beef. Some spread it on toasted french bread with butter.

My varieties of garlic are-

Belarus-A mellow smooth flavor great for roasting.

Krasnodor Red- from Russia, a strong taste, for those who like to taste their Garlic.

Spanish Roja- My favorite! good flavor for many uses.

Georgian Crystal- rich, smooth, slightly smokey flavor.

Chesnook Red- best all around garlic for cooking.

German Extra Hardy- strong, full bodied garlic flavor.

Music- the taste is Medium to Hot.

for info on the Garlic Festival go to www.mngarlicfest.com

   

Peppers!

Hopefully there will be peppers. Its been a tricky Spring and Early Summer. As we all know its been cold. And then when it has been warm, its been too warm.

I tried a couple of new things this year with peppers. One of my "moments of brilliance" ideas was to use paper grain bags as mulch between the rows. My husband had been rolling them up all winter and leaving them behind the Garden Shed to burn in the spring. They are just nice thick brown paper, so why not try to anchor them between the rows to save on weeding and hold in moisture. So far its good. I will let you know how it works out.

The other thing I am trying is hiding my peppers in this very nice hoop house. And instead of covering the ends I left them open, so its a little warmer inside, but won't cook my plants. The hoop house is wonderful, but tends to blow around in the wind and when I leave the ends open I don't have that problem. Kinda cool.

I am anxious for my peppers. Especially since I have figured out how useful they are when making jam. I am having a lot of fun finding new recipes for spicy jams like "Raspberry Jalepeno", "Blueberry Habenero", and using the Jalepenos in my "Dilly Beans". This year I want to try making "Habenero Gold Jelly". I am loving the combination of Sweet and that nice little pepper burn at the end.

A Day in the Life of the Market

 Thursdays are exciting at our house! It is a very busy day getting ready for the Monticello Farmers Market. In the morning I get up and do all of my baking. I try to make at least 2 quick breads, a fun bar to sell individually and my Monster Cookies. I like things to be made that day for the market so they are fresh.

So I get up and start baking, and while things are in the oven I gather all of the supplies I need for the day, bags, sign, tent, chair, plants I'm bringing that day, shelf, Jams and Jellies, ect.

As things are coming out of the oven I am putting them out to cool, and then on to the next baked item!

 In between all of the baking I get outside to pick whatever is ready that day. At the beginning of the market it is easy, all there is right now is Rhubarb. But soon there will be lettuce, spinach, radishes and swiss chard.

In another 3 weeks there will be peas, garlic scapes, kale, and soon, green beans! This year I decided to try Edamame beans. They are supposed to be really good to snack on raw. It should be interesting because the variety I chose is called "Beer Friend".

 Then in about 6 weeks the real bounty will begin! We will have garlic, zucchini, cucumber, summer squash, patty pan, eggplant, onions, oh joy!

When the tomatoes and peppers show up then life really gets going!

 As soon as things are cooled I package them up so that they are still moist when people buy them. I put my little label with the ingredients on each item.

My truck gets nice and full on market day. There is usually not an inch of extra space! I arrive at 2:30 to set up...and then the real fun starts! Market opens at 3:30 sharp. They usually let a kid ring the bell each week to signal that everyone can start selling their items. Its really fun to see everyone and chat about gardens, what was new with their weeks and, of course, the weather! See you at the Market!

Happiness is a full cookie jar!

It's January in Minnesota. It's cold outside. In January in Minnesota it's all about keeping yourself from getting cabin fever. It's about comfort food, trying to get some exercise and trying to find some fun things to do to keep you busy so you don't go stir crazy!

So I try to keep the cookie jar full. But I try to fill it with things that are semi-good for us. So I tweaked the Old-fashioned Oatmeal Cookie recipe. We love it! The cookies are thicker and slightly crunchy around the edges. I hope you like them too.

Tami's way to make Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup raisins, chopped dates or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla together until creamy. Add eggs, soda and salt until light and fluffy. Mix in flours and cinnamon till blended. Stir in oats and dried fruit. Drop dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in 2 tablespoon balls. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Enjoy!

Christmas Treats!

My husband and I have a great debate when it comes to Christmas Cookies! He loves Peanut Butter Blossoms, and I say they are an everyday cookie. When I was growing up Christmas Cookies were special! They have icing and sprinkles and they have flavors that you don't eat other times of the year. They include molasses, nutmeg, cloves and chocolate. So I found a good recipe we can agree on. And you use those wonderful Mint Truffle Kisses that are only available at Christmas!

Chocolate Mint Kiss Cookies

2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking powder1/2 t. salt
2 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 cup powdered sugar
bag of mint truffle flavored Hershey kisses

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil and eggs until well mixed. Whisk in extracts. Stir dry ingredients with wet ingredients just until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough int 1/2 tablespoon balls. Dough is very sticky! Roll balls in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, until cookies crackle. While cookies are baking unwrap the kisses. When the cookies come out allow them to cool for 2 minutes. Then push the kisses into them. Cool all of the way before putting into containers.

I also found another recipe that is a keeper. I'm going to give these away as gifts.

Spiced Nuts

3 tablespoons peanut oil
3 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup sugar; plus
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tsp, kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp.)

In a large, heavy bottomed saute pan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the almonds, and stir with a wooden spoon, coating each thoroughly with oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar, and continue to stir until the almonds become golden brown and the sugar caramelizes, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour almonds into a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle the remaining sugar, salt, cumin and red pepper, and toss well. Pour the spiced nuts onto a well greased cookies sheet and spread them out into a single layer. Allow to cool and then break apart. Store in a air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

Have a Blessed Christmas! Tami

"Once you go fresh, you will never go back" hubpages.com

I agree! I love fresh pumpkin. I learned how to cook and use them about 10 years ago and I haven't bought a can of pumpkin since. I also love growing little pie pumpkins. They are called Sugar Babies and they are happy. When you cook them you get about 3 cups of cooked pumpkin. As the garden is winding down it is the last thing that is still going strong.

Here is some instructions on how to cook them up. Then you can use them in your favorite recipes. They make great pies and the quick bread is nice too. You can also throw the cooked pumpkin in a freezer bag and freeze it for later use. Here goes:

Option #1: The Oven
Cut pumpkin open and scoop out the seeds. Place pumpkin halves facedown in a baking dish. Add 1/2" of water to pan: this helps keep the pumpkin flesh moist.
Bake at 450º until you can pierce the skin with a fork (about 45 minutes to an hour).
Scoop flesh out of shell with a spoon.
Option #2: The Stovetop
Cut pumpkin in half, scooping out the seeds. Then, cut pumpkin into large chunks, but leave the skin on.
Place chunks in a large steamer basket (or a colander placed inside a dutch oven, with water on the bottom). Steam for 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender. Scoop the flesh out of the shell with a spoon.

Once the pumpkin is cooked, simply use a food processor or blender to whip it into a pumpkin puree.

Don't forget to save the seeds for roasting!


Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Ingredients:

One medium sized pumpkin,

1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Salt,

1 Tablespoon Olive oil.
Method:

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.

2 In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

3 Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.

What to do on a hot day...

I guess I am in canning and pickling mode. It is 90 degrees today with 100 degree heat index and I find myself restless. So I decided to make the Current Jelly that I extracted the juice for yesterday. Then I made a Garlic Braid. Not bad for my first attempt, because it is not easy! Then I had cukes that I picked this morning and decided I was hungry for Refridgerator Pickles. Now it is 3:30 and I think I will go read a gardening book and then start supper, a light pasta salad sounds good on a hot day.

Aunt Syble's Refridgerator Pickles from COOKS.COM

7 cups thinly sliced cucumbers

2 cups sugar

1 cup sliced red onion

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon pickling salt

Combine all ingredients together in a gallon jar. Place in the refridgerator. Will keep until gone. Can add more slices to mixture. They're good.

Beautiful! Isn't it?

Garlic! I harvested it today. I harvested six of my seven varieties. The Blossom just looked like it needed a little more time. But isn't it lovely?

I have grown to love the garlic. You plant it in October, so it sits under the snow, waiting. It is the first thing to pop up in the spring. It pops up with the first Dandelions of the year. Then it makes those awesome llittle scapes in June. They are curly and cool looking. They make you smile just to look at them. And they taste good in a salad too. But then in July, when the stalks start to dry, you get to dig up those first few beautiful garlic. They smell so good as you are digging and pull out so straight and long, and then comes the garlic head... nice and round and ready to go.

Now to make my Garlic Jelly and dry and clean it up for Market on Thursday!

Like William Shatner once said, "Stop and smell the Garlic! That is all you have to do."

 

Kale

I admit it. It scares me too. It looks a little too "green" and "nutritious". But I was watching a cooking show this winter, I believe it was Rachel Ray, and she was saying it was the new "super food". So I decided to try it. I ordered the Siberian Dwarf variety. I planted it. It came up and it is beautiful!

So I looked it up online to see what to do with it. I found a website call vegbox-recipes.co.uk. It says "Kale is a leafy cabbage like vegetable. It's strong flavor requires careful cooking, so it's worth reading how to use it and checking out recipes, to make sure you enjoy it." Ok. So make sure to pick it young.

"Choose kale leaves when they're still small and young. Avoid leaves that are mottled yellow, as this means that they're going to be old and bitter. Use it as soon as you can." Here's the best part! "Trim the stringy stalk. Wash the leaves well. Then use them as spinach or cabbage. You can slice the leaves and wilt them in a little butter and garlic for a quick, tasty side dish. Young tender leaves can be used as a salad." Guess what's for dinner! Yum!

"Kale is a great source of Vitamins C, A and B6. It's also packed with antioxidants, which are vital for a healthy immune system." Cool.

I will have Kale to sell for the next few weeks at the Monticello Farmer's Market on Thursdays. Come be brave and try some Kale with me

Spinach recipe...

I love spinach and I love to find things to do with it! I am so happy that it is finally here, but you can only eat so many salads and I don't like it wilted too much. I still love the fresh flavor and thickness of the leaves. So I have found a recipe that my family loves. Here it is...

Spinach with Orzo and Feta

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook 1/2 pound orzo according to package instructions. Stir in 1 pound chopped trimmed spinach until wilted. Drain. In a large bowl, toss hot spinach and pasta with 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint, 1/2 cup feta cheese, 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and ground pepper.

Thank you Martha Stewart for the great recipe. Enjoy!

Gracie!

My name is Gracie! And I am the favorite chicken in the flock right now. I am also the smallest so I get picked on a lot by my sisters. See my featherless tail? But I have figured out that when my Mama comes out to feed and water us I can jump down and go between her legs and my sisters cannot get me! I also like to ride on her shoulder as she cleans out nesting boxes and collects our eggs. My Mama protects me.

I came from a home where I was raised with a Rooster named Mohawk. He protects me too. I had to come live here because my Mama was looking for a good Rooster to watch over her flock and my owner was giving us away. My Mama loves having a Rooster to hear them crow and to make the eggs yummier! She sells my pretty brown eggs at the Farmers Market. But you have to come early because she only has a few dozen a week and they are so yummy that they sell really fast. Happy Chickens make really nice eggs!

Its time for Rhubarb

OK. I admit it. Rhubarb is not my favorite. And my husband loves it. So I have had to really look for recipes that have a rhubarb flavor, but yet not too much, so that I enjoy eating it. Here is my favorite recipe so far. It s a coffee cake with rhubarb sauce running through the middle of it, Yummy!

Rhubarb Streusel Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
Filling:
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups diced rhubarb

Cake: 
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (I use pecans)
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Filling: In a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in rhubarb. Cook and stir over medium heat, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and cool.

Cake: Combine milk and lemon juice. Set aside. Combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly (a food processor is great for this). Remove 1/2 cup of this mixture and set it aside to use for topping. To the remaining flour mixture add baking powder, baking soda, and walnuts. Combine egg with milk mixture. Add to the dry ingredients and stir in or process until just moistened. Spread 2/3 of the batter over the bottom and part way up the sides of a greased 9 inch spring form pan. Spoon the rhubarb filling over this. Drop the remaining batter by spoon fulls over the filling. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

I will have rhubarb for sale for the next couple of weeks. Enjoy.

Market Starts next week! May 13

Wow! Wear did the prep time go?

Its a rainy day today so I decided to try to make some dog biscuits to sell. It might satisfy all of the doggie lovers need to buy their canine friend a treat! I taste tested them on Foster, and I think he really like them!

I've been labeling my eggs, putting my herbs outside to get nice and full, and digging up perennials to sell. I've been organizing my cookbook for market, making lists of ingredients to buy, and making business cards. I think I might be in "Market Mode".

Everything in the garden is starting to come up and it looks nice. I have been really trying to stay on top of the weeds this year.

Baking for next Thursday-
-Monter Cookies!
-Banana Bread
-Strawberry Rhubarb bread
-and Yucky Pretzels (that aren't so yucky!)

I will have my herb plants, perennials, jams & jellies, and a bird bath to sell.
See you Thursday!

Seedlings

My seedlings are popping up! Its so fun everyday to see who decided to come up above the soil. Each day there is a new variety that decided to stretch out towards the sun in my patio door. The last one to pop up is my parsley, I am thinking that I got a bad batch of seeds. I bought the parsley seeds at Wal Mart, I should have ordered them from Territorial.

I decided it would be a good idea to buy a shelf to put in the patio door when my puppy gladly tasted the first batch of basil that I grew. I made the mistake of putting them on the floor in the sun and 20 minutes later they were gone! But the shelf works well. I normally have flats of seedlings spread all out on the floor in front of the window and worry someone will step on them. Now they are all up against the glass and it looks nice too.

I planted my herbs, 4 varieties of tomatoes and 3 kinds of peppers. I like to put the herbs in cans. Its a free pot and it looks cool to sell them at market. I planted the tomatoes and peppers in peat pots for easier transplanting. My tomatoes and peppers will go in the garden.

In two more weeks I need to start my pumpkins, zucchini, summer squash, cukes and eggplant. They get so big so fast that you don't want them in the house too long. Its so fun to watch all of this growing! And before you know it they will all need to go into the garden. Then the real work begins!

My Seed Order!

Its March 2nd and I finally decided to order my seeds. The snow is almost off my deck and my seed trays are sitting out in front of the patio door waiting to be started, so it must be time. My Cool Breeze Cucumbers were already sold out so I almost waited too long!

I like to order from Territorial Seed Company. They have really nice seeds and the newsprint pages make me really happy in January. I like to read seed catalogs like a novel so it takes me weeks to choose which varieties I will order. I sit there with my highlighter and my post it flags for hours reading every choice, trying to decide which will be best. The funny thing is I tend to end up ordering my favorites over and over. Renegade Beans just do the best and are so sweet! Teton Spinach grows so much later into the season than other varieties I've chosen, and there is nothing like a Sugar Snap Pea! They are so yummy raw, I think I eat as many as I pick to sell.

But I did decide to venture out on a few new things this year. I've never grown Beets before, and my sister sold quite a few, so I chose Red Ace. They sound good. I hear Kale is the big thing for next year so I decided on Dwarf Siberian. He sounds fun! Then there are Radishes. I never like Radishes till last year at the market when I finally tasted one. They are good! But I did try one from the grocery store in February and that just doesn't work. I couldn't help it, I ordered 2 varieties of Radishes, Cherry Belle and Red Head. Don't they sound interesting?

http://www.territorialseed.com/

Now I have a sign...

I hated to do it. But I did. I painted OVER the "Garden Girls" sign that my Sister and I had made for last year. But Teri isn't doing the Market with me anymore and so I needed my own name and a sign.

My sign needed to show everyone who I am. It needs to show that I am earthy and organic, but like things nice at the same time. It shows that organic gardens have bugs. You love the good bugs and the bad bugs you pick off, share your veggies with or spray with something organic. We have dandelions. That is why our farm is called Dandylion Hills. You just remove them from the areas where you don't want them growing. The goldfinches love to eat their seeds. Some people love to eat the greens and say they are good for you. I have a wine recipe that I should try to make. Maybe not.

So I have spent the last 3 days searching through gardening books, magazines and online for all of my images and ideas. What else is there to do in February in Minnesota. It was fun and got me excited to hang up my sign the first day of Market. I like it!

Dreaming of Garlic-

Its a cold, windy day and I am trying to organize my gardening info that I have collected over the years. And then I got to all my garlic stuff.

I wonder how its doing underneath all that snow?

You plant garlic in October and cover it with 3 inches of straw. It pops up with the weeds and the daffodils in the spring. The garlic scapes are awesome looking and its an upright, happy plant with all of the goodies hiding under the ground. You have no idea whats underneath until you dig it up in July and its beautiful. I love it!

Last year I planted Music and Blossom. They were great, but the obsession grew. Because once you taste garlic from a garden you will never want the pathetic, boring stuff from Cub again! So I found some more bulbs at the Renaissance Festival, Spanish Rojo and Silver White. Then I traded some of my garlic starts for a friends. I acquired Georgian Crystal, German Extra Hardy and Chesnook Red!

I think that if I decide to try more varieties I had better make my garden bigger! Funny how that happens.

My first blog post!

Here we go.

I feel like Julie in "Julie and Julia", one of my favorite movies right now.

I thought this would be a good idea to keep up with friends and family and to let people who do go to the market what is new and exciting at our place.

It is January in Minnesota and cabin fever hasn't quite set in yet. But I am thinking it is time to pull out the garden catalogs and get my order in. Especially since I want to start some plants in the house. I usually start herbs for the market and tomato and pepper plants. I have had pretty good luck with this, especially since I got my little green house last spring. So I will let you know what seeds I decide to order soon.

Tami