Artisans Market Foundry Hall

TOMORROW is our farmers/artisans market from 3-6pm at FOUNDRY HALL IN SOUTH HAVEN MI~~ 
We have a great selection of handmade offerings!!  This week we will have: birdfeeders, herbal products, homemade soaps, beeswax candles, food gifts, cookies, baked goods, produce, glass ornaments, beautiful handcrafted jewelry, afghans, cards, woolen mittens, cutting boards, lamps, gift baskets, floral centerpieces and decorations, wreaths & swags, pine bouquets, painted wood signs, beaded earings, wax firestarters and more~  and we have live music from Joe Foster our most excellent karaoke guy!!! 
Hopefully it wont be raining as they are calling for rain tomorrow and thurs and last night it was 50 degrees outside!! 
hope yall have a wonderful day I am off to get baking at the kitchen!!  Lots of cookies to do today!! will share tonight!!
HUGS
Darlene

Here's a couple more pics from last weeks market

Inside this doorway is where I will be opening my handmade shop!!

And my brother Joey along with his job coach on left and my sweet dear wonderful mommy!! in black sweater. 

And a very dear friend of mine Sue with her new baby!!  Neville is such a doll, she rescued this little bundle of joy only a couple weeks ago and he is already very very attached to her!! and of cource she is to him too!! Such a doll!!

Nekked foccacia loaves

Carmelyzed onion topped foccacia

these are my popular black olive and sage baguettes!!  YUMMY!!

C YALL TOMORROW!

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Sweet tater pie sew many ways blog WEEK 40

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY MONDAY!!  Oh what an absolutely fun fabo monday it has been!!    WHY?????? because I have been working in my studio since 6 this am!!  and just finished up a bunch of new ornies and soldered pendants. 
First off I want to share my Grandma Rose's sweet tater pie with pecan struesel topping recipe!!  Over at "Sew Many Ways" it is pie week so here we go!! this one is yummy! 
Grandma Rose's Sweet Tater Pie
4 sweet taters
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 lg eggs
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 12oz can evaporated milk
pie crust of your choice (this makes 2 9in pies)

Cook taters until tender, cool throughly.
Remove peels from taters when cool, place in mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
Add sugar, mixing well, then add eggs one at a time mixing well after each one.  Add cinnamon and vanilla, blend well.  Reduce to low and add milk.  Divide into pie unbaked pie crusts. 
Struesel topping:
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger)
Blend with 2 knives or pastry blender to blend into cource crumbs.
Top pies and bake in preheated oven 425 degrees for 30-40 min.
Take out and cool, top with some homemade whipped cream or ice cream.

I will be making this next week or my csa and also for at home.

So I will be back in a bit to post pics of what I have been working on today.
Have a great afternoon!!
HUGS
Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Whats good wed??

One good thing today is just another day of having my wonderful loving family here with me!!  AND it is just a beautiful day outside!!  It is absolutely positively gorgeous!!!
And it is wonderful because we have market this afternoon in South Haven at Foundry Hall!!  I get to be with some amazing people and one of my best friends Ruth.

On my csa menu this week was vegetarian alfredo lasagna, chicken n stuffing bake, vegetable rice salad, creamy cauliflower soup, creamy tater soup, vegetarian minestrone soup, lemon buttermilk muffins with blueberries, parmesan toppped foccacia, butter crumb topped apple pie, apple dumplings. 

So the above pic is my lasagna.

The innerds of the lasagna, sauteed fresh broccoli, onions, carrots and corn.  Topped with a homemade alfredo sauce.

This little mini apple pie was for my hubby!  He loves apple pie. 

Another apple pie this one is bigger and for market tonight.

Butter crumb topped apple pie.

Lemon buttermilk muffins with our flash frozen blueberries from this season. 

I made up a batch of mini pumpkins out of brown sugar shortbread cookies to hand out to customers tonight.

I have never seen these bushes so full of gorgeous berries.

I can just see these little gems into a wreath for on the farmstand door. 

Holly bushes at kitchen, they are really loaded with berries too.

My Mr. boopie woopie boo was nestled on Busters bed among some of his stuffed animals.  Too cute!  Love this little guy!!

And this I thought would make a great greeting card hmmmmmmmmmm maybe even on my desktop!! 

So have a wonderful wed!  When u have a moment today think of at least 2 things that make today a wonderful wed.  Makes ya smile!!

HUGS!!

Darlene 

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

windy windy day

No market today!  This is my first saturday all season to miss market!!  (except our vacation) due to weather.  It is so incredibly windy there is no way my things are going to survive so I will set up times to deliver the csa orders and then I think I am goin to work on some snowmen things I have been wanting to make!!  YEAH!! WOO HOO!! craftin time!  LOL  and maybe a nap with my boys today too. 
Yesterday was a full day at the kitchen too.  These cinnamon swirl buns were rising and boy did they rise!!

As u can see the rose nice above the top of the muffin pan.  Nice n light n fluffy too.

They are a bit plain so had to do the "farmgirl bling" thing!  A healthy drizzeling of a cinnamon vanilla glaze.

I had more orders of my tomato mushroom quiche so those got finished up.

I also made some cheese ravioli and a nice tomato basil sauce on top.  

Another view of the finished buns.    I talked with a friend of mine who owns Evergreen Lane Creamery, they make artisan goats milk cheeses along with other dairy products, and will be brining and offering that to my customers at markets and in my CSA this winter to see how it goes.  They make amazing goat cheese and I thought it would be fun to make some homemade crackers to go along with it or maybe some nice french bread baguettes.  YUMMY!!  She is taking a cheese cource in Vermont so will start that as soon as she gets back.  How exciting!!

Things are goin great with my csa program so I am just thrilled.  If you are near Fennville, Allegan or South Haven MI leave me a comment if you would like info on joining and recieving my newsletter emails.  My program is weekly, no committment no minimum orders.  I will be delivering this weekly thru the winter and also have some avaialble at my winter markets too.  I want it to be affordable for everyone.  I sure am havin a ball going thru all my old cookbooks digging thru my grandmothers books to find ideas.  And I am also offering at least one vegetarian option too. 

Hope yall have a wonderful weekend!   I am hoping to get a few things accomplished so will let yall know how that goes!! LOL

HUGS

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Happy fall monday

Happy Happy day here!!  I am so doing a happy dance right now!!  Last week at market my necklace broke which had my silver heart charm on it my hubby bought me last year for our anniversary, it was special to me as he and our Bubba dog went to pick it up after being engraved with my boys names on it!!  As some of you know we lost our Bubba in feb this year and it just made me treasure it even more!  So this while goin thru my bags there it was on the bottom under some papers!!! WOO HOO!! YEE HAWW~ so happy happy now!

So here is a pumpkin guy I finally finshed up yesterday.  He is gonna greet customers in the farmstand but not for sale I like him too much to sell him!! LOL

This clump of trees is in our pasture and every fall it gives off such a wonderful show of color I had to take another pic of it! 

These are along the pasture just starting to change.

I made up some soft n chewy pumpkin cookies and topped them with a bit of "farmgirl" bling.  Some clear sugar crystals.

Glazed pumpkin latte cakes.

Smaller version of the pumpkin latte cake

And made some more of my pumpkin poke guys.  They are just too darn cute to stick around here and there.  I sold all of what I had at market so made up13 more. 

one more of my sweet punkin jack. 

It is gonna be another beautiful fall day here in the 70s so I am off to get my grocery shopping done and maybe head to the kitchen to get a few prep things done up.  I just really really want to stay at home and play outside with the boys ya know.  Oh well hope yall have a wonderful monday and will be back soon with more fun things!!

HUGS

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Busy week

Hey yall!!  I dont have much spare time this week but wanted to share what I did yesterday and sunday.   We have our first week back at market thurs and then it being mothers day week I am helping my mom at her flower shop too. 
Here is a card I made to welcome back someone who was on vacation. 
I used MY MINDS EYE super great terrific new papers here!! so lovin this line!

We went to my inlaws for dinner on sunday so I made some little sugar cookies with a sweet pea flower on them. 

And I love love LOVE trifles so made one up with pineapple for hubby!! he loves pineapple!   I used the juice from the canned pineapple in the cake batter and that was so yummo!  A butter cake which was cut up in bite size pieces, layered in my bowl with some vanilla pudding and whipped cream blended together. 

Just layer it all

I topped this with some cut up slices of pineapple, I think toasted coconut and maybe some toasted pecans would be nice with this too, hubby is just not a coconut fan and doesnt like nuts too much either so left them out.   A pina colada trifle would be so gooooooooooood!!!

It looks pretty when layered in a clear bowl. 

And heres a close up of the flowers on the card.

Lost and Found is the line and they are awesome designs.
Hope yall have a wonderful tues I am off to get ready to head to the shop.  I have my camera in my purse so will snap a few pics of the flowers today.

**ALLEGAN MARKET THURSDAY there are a few of us that will be there offering some great goods!!***
HUGS
Darlene 
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

CR84FN challenge card

I am early this week with my card!! WOO HOO!! Love the colors!! Mona you do a super terrific job on pickin these weekly challenge colors!! and they are colors I wouldnt necessarily make something with so that is really the fun part!!

Green, kraft and brown this week are just awesome together!! and I used up some of the My Minds Eye paper I got last week! and one of my TIM HOLTZ favo stamps!!

Here's some of the elements on the card.

Love these little K&CO daisies, I cut the leaves out of a green polkadotty paper then added the distressing around edges and in center.  Folded them to give them some dimension.

I love using pearl hat pins and this one just fit in on this shabby card.

Started stocking up on our dip mixes.  They are for sale here or on etsy for $2.50 each plus travel expenses.  The dill dip one makes a yummo yummy yummyo dip or topping for baked taters!!  Each one makes 2 cups of dip and I have made them with sourcream and mayo or for a low fat one use low fat plain yogurt to replace the mayo and they taste just fine.

I also have but forgot a pic of my cincinatti chili mix!! this you add 2 pounds of cooked drained ground beef and enjoy it ontop of angel hair pasta.  We like it southern style!!  Smothered and covered!! smothered with sauteed onions and covered with cheese!!  yummy!!

Ok so that is it for today! 

I also want to announce that I was accepted and will be at BORGESS hospital market on thrus APRIL 7th and April 21st!! 

Kalamazoo MI, stop on by!~! it is held 11-2

I have a busy week baking so will be sure to take the cam with and let yall see the newest baked goods!!  I am thinking of making some nut filled babka loaves, nut filled kolachky, lemon lemon cream topped cupcakes and maybe some lemon poppy seed mini cakes.  I bought a bag of fresh delish smellin lemons!!  LOL so need to put them to good use! 

Talk soon!

HUGS!!

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~