Friday, August 28, 2009

FRIDAY!!

This is a rustic white bread that my friend Susan and I made the other day!! IT IS SCRUMPTIOUS TOO!! and a great crusty crust. :perfect for grilled cheese and mater sandwhicher:

GLADS ready for market tomorrow
Luscious lemon pecan buttermilk bread loaves


Raspberry jelly filled lemon pecan cake with raspberry flavoredbuttercreme








YEE HAWW ITS FRIDAY!! Hope yall had a great day and will have a super weekend!





Well we sure had a gloomy gloomy day here in sw michigan but hopefully the weekend will be sunnier!! got some things made for market tomorrow and picked some glads and beans and peppers to take with so should be all set and ready!! I just have to label a couple loaves of egg bread that Susan and I made tonight, which by the way turned out WAY to beautiful!! We also made some italian herb crusted foccacia bread that we cut up into sandwhich size pieces and I frosted 2 of these little mini cakes. They are lemon with pecans with a light raspberry flavored buttercreme frosting. This one has fresh raspberries on top and also a layer inbetween with creme and raspberry jelly. YUMMO I SAY!!
So all in all it was quite a productive week and we had lots of fun baking. NEXT week we already have quite a line up including: Susans delic cheesecakes, her cream cheese filled tartlets topped with some of my blueberry jelly and fresh blueberries, we have orders for our cardamom bread, a special request for a berry pie, some dill bread rounds and Susan is gonna make her peach turnovers. WHICH by the way if you can come to market these are a must taste item i have to tell ya!! MY ABSOLUTE FAVO!! love fresh peaches but oh my gosh these are melt in your mouth wanting 10 more to eat!!! REMEMBER we are in ALLEGAN, MI farmers market on thursdays and South Haven MI market on sats!!! and we plan on bringing a full booth of sweetness for yall!!
Have a most blessed evening and thanks for stopping by my little blog~
~~HUGS~~
Darlene (and the "boys")
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wet Wed


lemon muffins with fresh red raspberries and raspberry "farm girl bling" LOL


These loaves are so big we cut them in 1/3s for our use.

Here is a loaf of the rustic crusty white bread we did yesterday. OH my goodness this bread is way too good! In fact we are havin triple cheese and bacon grilled sandwiches tonight with it.








Some lemon buttermilk pecan bread loaves!! this is a great recipe that I make into cakes and with a few minor alterations bread too.





Peach Basil crumble pie with sliced toasted almonds!! A really nice taste experience!! we had to try one asap once it came out of oven!! LOL


jam topped cheesecake sugar cookies with white chocolate drizzeled ontop.





Here is my CHICKEN SCRATCH PULL APART PEPPER ONION BREAD. It smells so yummy!!! I took my plain ol white bread dough, pulled it in pieces then dipped each piece in melted butter, then rolled them in asst colored chopped sweet peppers (which we grew) and some chopped sweet red onion. Placed them in these great round pans, baked and VOILA!!

SuPeR DuPeR YuMmY!!!
WE GOT ALOT OF RAIN last night and this am!! There was water covering the road in so many spots too. IT came down by the bucketful!






Here are a couple of bundt cakes for market tomorrow.. both are lemon buttermilk but have either fresh raspberries or fresh blueberries, and both are topped with my "farmgirl bling" of cource!! LOL





Also got done: chicken scratch cowboy cookies, sprinkle topped butter cookies, cranberry sour cream bars, glazed pistachio bread, cheddar jalapeno cornbread, peach praline pies, (a couple pictured below) raspberry filled lemon muffins, chocolate chip cookies and some
little tartlet shells that we will fill on friday maybe with a chocolate mousse or cream cheese filling topped with fresh raspberries.
I think that about raps up things for market tomorrow. Oh by the way did i mention I found and bought a glass display cabinet for at the flower shop so we are on our way to opening the bake shoppe really soon!! I ordered a couple of bakery banners and a big open flag and a lighted bakery sign so cant wait!!
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR OUR GRAND OPENING IN FENNVILLE MI!!
So have a blessed evening and will talk more soon!!
!!HUGS~~
Darlene





















Peach praline pies, ~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bread day

Cranberry orange muffins complete with a bit of butter crumb topping and of cource I HAD TO DO MY "FARMGIRL" BLING on them!! An orange flavored glaze after they cooled.





The start of the multi grain bread!!



A finished loaf a whooping 2 pounder too!!




So what do you think of these??? I love the look and they taste out of this WORLD GOOD!!
A super recipe my friend makes alot of. So we made the rustic white loaves today but I forgot my cam at home so sorry no pics of them but they were wonderfully rustic "primitive" LOL Well I did get alot of cookie doughs made up including my chunky peanut peanut butter ones, some black currant jelly cheesecake cookies complete with my "bling" of white chocolate drizzled ontop, a batch of some of my cowboy and cowgirl cookies, and some butter cookies to maybe top with milk chocolate and toffee bits?? Not quite sure yet. Then I got the mixes together for a batch of lemon buttermilk bundt cakes, which I will add some blueberries or maybe fresh red raspberries? that sounds way too yummy!! A batch of peach streusel topped bread, 5 peach basil crisps, and a couple of peach praline pies.and................ that was it for today~~ So now I am so ready for bed. My poor hubby is not feeling well at all, he has had a rough couple of days tith the damp cool weather he has been really sore and fellin rather yukky!! so he's asleep on the couch in living room. It sure has started gettin darker earlier outside but tonight is just gorgeous and most delightful outside. I picked some squash, maters and some beans tonight but I am thinkin of just goin out and closin the "girls" in and then clean up and off tobed with my guys!! all 4 of them!! LOL Not every wife can say she goes to bed at night everynight with 4 handsome guys can she??? I CAN!! LOL and love em all!!
Well have a blessed evening and I will chat more with ya soon!!
~HUGS~
Darlene
(and the men in her farm life) LOL
BYE BYE!~
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sneezy snezzy sunday













Well the last few days I have been goin thru my puffs like crazy!! With this cool weather change my sinus allergies are in over drive i swear!! I am a sneezin fool these days!!
So last week my friend and I made some ABSOLUTELY AWESOME cinnamon raisin bread. These loaves are for serious bread eaters!! LOL they are a woooping 2 pounders too!! They look just great and taste like nothing I have eaten before!! I also made up another batch of our EGGCELLENT EGG BREAD braided loaves, and my zucchini pineapple bread and did up some dilled bread rounds which were yummy!! Tomorrow if I am NOT sneezin we are making up some multi grain bread loaves and also a farmhouse white sandwich bread. So lots of homemade breads!! which I am swearin we will NEVER buy another loaf of store bought bread!!
This weather has been so stange all of a sudden friday it switched to almost early fall weather!! which is absolutely nutso! the plants are dyin and the tomatoes are pretty much still green, the beans, eggplant and broccoli are flourishing but the squash and watermelon and cukes are lookin pretty putrid!! poor things!! Yall know how much I LOVE the snow but am so NOT lookin forward to it at all!! our summer has just flewn by so stinkin fast.. My hubby keeps sayin "dont blink and it will be over" with everything we have looked forward to this summer and boy he is so right~ Vacation time will be here in just a couple of weeks and wow arent a bit ready for that!! Anyone else feel like life is in fast forward?? what happened to those long dog days of summer?? sure havent been round here LOL oh well at least we are all still well though~
So this week should be pretty productive i have picked enough ripe peaches to make some peach jalapeno jam, some peach pies, and also some more spicy dill beans and want to try some crispy breadsticks and a spiced flatbread so will be at the kitchen alot i guess!! love it but just really miss being away from my boys so much~~
Have a super evening and will chat more soon
~HUGS~
Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Thursday, August 20, 2009

WET Thursday

Butter crumb topped blueberry muffins
I bought this great mini cake pan the other day and made mini peach blueberry cakes

A peach blueberry pound cake complete with my "farmgirl bling" (lol icing drizzles)


Some of our blazing star peaches! LOVE the colors!!



We got ALOT of rain this am and t storms are comin around mid day. SOOOOOOOO I skipped the Allegan market today! ;( I miss it but once things get wet and damp that is it for baked goods!~~figured it wouldnt be good. So I am heading over to the kitchen to play and then have an order to deliver this afternoon. I did manage to get my Spicy Dill Pickle Slices done yesterday and they smell good!! When I was a kid my mom HAD to buy me one of those big deli dill pickles!! each and every time we went for groceries, LOL remember those?? and i loved to drink all that great dill juice!! Now I get such terrible heartburn I dont even buy pickles anymore.
Well I guess I better get off this puter and get my work done!! No days off here til december maybe?? LOL
Have a blessed thursday yall!!
~~HUGS~~
Darlene








~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Happy week!!

HEY THERE!!
So sorry it has been soooooooo long since I last posted here!! It has been a very hectic crazy busy couple of weeks!! today I went with my brother and mom for his doctor appointment. Poor kid had to have another procedure on his foot, he had an infected ingrown toenail a couple of weeks ago that they surgically removed, it came back and was infecting again so they permanenently removed it today on both sides. I am so proud of him he did so good!! If any of you arent aware he is mentally handicapped and is a joy to be around!!
So JOSEPH I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU!!
So we went out to lunch afterward and did a bit of shopping and well before we knew it the day was gone!! so didnt get to the kitchen today at all!! so tomorrow will be a long day gettin ready for the markets this week!!
On the menu for this week is:::::::::::::
Peach praline cobbler, (my recipe) lots of muffins, loaded carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting, peach pies, cookies, pistachio bread, lemon buttermilk pecan bread, some raspberry crumb bars and lots of coffee cakes in different sizes... and maybe some homemade kitkat bars!! those are yummo!!~

It has been so stinkin hot and humid here it is a welcomed change tonight!! cooler and a breeze out!! YEAH!! I was about ready to try to get a window a/c unit for the barn for all the kids!! LOL they would love that!!
Well better get off here and make hubby some supper! I picked a 1/2 bushel of fresh purple beans and 1/2 bushel of dragons tongue so I am thinking BEANS for tonight for sure!! LOL
maybe a nice big chicken ceasear salad with some of our fresh grape tomatoes, some cukes, onions, and nice fresh romaine lettuce!! NOW i just gotta go pick all that!! not really just can raid my farmstand and bring it in! a nice perk to having a farmstand!!
Have a blessed evenin yall!! I am plannin on taking the camera with me to the kitchen so will try to post pics of all the new yummyos!!
~~HUGS~
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Peaches and sweet basil

Ok so today I altered a Martha Stewart recipe my mom gave me. Just FYI my online buds peaches and sweet basil are SUPER YUMMO TOGETHER!! The recipe was for a peach basil crisp made in individual ramekins but I decided to go one further and turn it into a pie. So bottom was my sweet buttery pie crust, the filling was fresh picked sliced peaches, a tablespoon plus a bit more fresh minced sweet basil and some slivered almonds and the top was brown sugar oat and cinnamon crisp. THIS is amazing what a flavorful explosion!!!
I will bring the recipe home tomorrow and share it with yall!!!
Have a great night!!
HUGS
Darlene ~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

RAINED OUT weekend!!

This doe was in our front yard only about 20 feet away from me. I am so glad I had my dig cam with me in my pocket. she seen the flash and took off quickly!! but not before i snapped this pic!!









Well blueberry festival is over and thank goodness!! My mom and I got soaked and not just once but i had to change 2 times sat!! I got there at 5.15 am on sat am and in like 10 min it started pouring down rain, it let up so I along with a few others set up our booths. We had to use our canopy since we were kicked out from under the pavilion for the pancake breakfast. SOOOOOOOO what a day!! After being all set up it was still rainin a bit but had to park so danged far away and haul everything by the time i got back to the booth my socks, shoes, jeans and jacket were soaked. SO went to change in clean dry clothes, the sun was starting to come out and it looked like it was clearing up outside..........NOT it started getting windy and all of a sudden a complete downpour came down on us!! we were packing things in containers so it wouldnt get too wet, it came down so stinkin hard and fast there literally was a POND in our booth and we were standing there in it!! My poor mom was standing in the back of the booth waiting on a customer when all of a sudden.........splash on her head!! a pocket in the canopy above her head collapsed and down came the water!! poor thing she was drenched!! Yes I am and was laughing and she did too!! at that point there was no sense gettin upset it was just a speed bump ya know. The rain continued so we along with a few others packed up and just sat under the safety of our canopy. OF COURCE now we still had customers and they were buying things but boy it was a long day. By the time we were all packed up it was actually pretyy dang nice outside just a bit hot and humid but at least we got rain!! and lighting and lots of thunder sat!!








So on to new things!! I am making some peach jalapeno preserves, pumpkin spice dip mixes, funnel cake mixes, some peach praline bread, worked on another new recipe for blueberry orange bread, and a spiced cake with cinnamon buttercream frosting, and well that was it for the last 2 days. We are knee deep in beans and corn right now so maybe i will can some more dilly beans for fall. I do want to comment on what alot of customers are saying at the markets and honestly I dont rightly blame them at all!~ They are complaining about prices at the local markets and why is it so much more to buy at the market directly from the farmer than at grocery stores that are also stating they are carrying "locally grown produce"/? I seen corn for $5.50 a dozen?? and beans for $3.00 a pound!!??? WHAT!!>> we set our prices at home and for the things i take to market judging by what we would pay and what is fair. LISTEN NOW i am out to make a living too and keep our farm producing and growing but come on!! What are peopl thinking charging this much for produce!!?? Doesnt it seem nuts to you too??? I have noticed alot of folks dont come to market each week like some used to and then there are some now that dont even come but i see them in local grocery stores buying fresh produce. I am very thankful that the big chain stores around us are making a big deal by buying local! But what is this trend doing to the farmers markets and what are the high prices gonna do but scare customers away!! OK I am done ranting now!! LOL it really blows my mind!!


Here is a pic of my black eyed susan vine. I planted a bunch of these guys in a big ol terra cotta pot, stuck a big tomato cage on top and let them go! they are so cool and it is now growing well over 7 feet tall!!





So I am off to print up some labels for this weeks goodies and work outside a bit in the veggie garden. Hope yall have a super duper night!!




!!HUGS~~




Darlene








~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I'm seeing "BLUE" Its blueberry festival week in michigan

Here are some of our heirloom dragons tongue beans!! arent they purty????
some of our supper the other night!! Ambrosia sweet corn!~YUMMY

some of our purple glads!! they were the very first glads open this season!! but they sure are pretty!






CHICKEN SCRATCH FARMS EGGCELLENT EGG BREAD!! a new member on the list of favo breads to make!! this took 3 1/2 hours from start to finish but well worth the wait and all the work!! It is topped with hulled organic sesame seeds. We sliced it up and made french toast with it! and oh my gosh NO MORE STORE BOUGHT BREAD FOR THIS FAMILY~~ we are so hooked and spoiled now on homemade!!!
So it is national blueberry festival time in South haven michigan!! and it is a great line up. FRIDAY night is the bronk brothers country band and they are great!! we seen them a few times in concert and they are well on their way to stardom!!!
Well this is probably the only post til sunday as I have a number of pies already on order for the weekend and lots of breads to make and blueberry everything!!!
Will let ya in on it all when it is over and I am able to type and think clearly!!!
BUSY BUSY!! and LOVIN IT!! yee Haw!!
Have a great week yall!!
~~HUGS~~
Darlene



~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~