News, News, News!

I went on a somewhat spontaneous blogging break and mini-vacation over the last week... Things were incredibly hectic, and I was generally unprepared for Thanksgiving (unusual for me, I'm usually ready to go the week before Turkey Day!)...

So yeah, the bloggies got neglected. But our Thanksgiving was wonderful, cozy, and small, and although I very nearly burned out the first three days of the week, Thanksgiving weekend was blissfully full of doing absolutely nothing. How was yours?

Anyway. We're BACK!

And we have news!

For the first order of business, I am now in the process of baking our first-ever batch of VEGAN pumpkin muffins and brownies. After having several requests for vegan goodies, I decided to try it, and fortunately, our recipes adapt well to their vegan ingredients. The ingredients for most of our products are mostly vegan anyway, so it was a pretty easy switch. They smell heavenly, and if they taste as good as I think they will, they'll definitely be a hit with our vegan customers. Yay!

Secondly, in case you haven't been on here in a little while, you may notice a new page up top, entitled "Holiday Specials." Yep, that's right, for the holidays only, we are running a couple of REALLY AWESOME specials. All of the details are on that page, but to give you the short version here's what we're doing:

1. Local baked goods delivery. Order a minimum $15 in baked goods, and for a small fee, we'll deliver fresh, organic,  gluten-free, and TASTY baked goods to the residence or business of your choice.

2. Gift baskets. Love our stuff? Want something more than just baked goods? For the holidays, we're offering three different sizes of gift baskets, starting at $35.

Also, to go along with our specials, we're offering a wider selection of baked goods. Not only do we now have a selection of vegan offerings, but we're also including mini-loaves (two-in-a-pack, like the mini-muffins), and CAKES. Oh yes, cakes. Fabulous!

And don't forget, now is the time to order aprons, if you want one in time for Christmas or Hannukah. They will have their own page very soon!

So, check out the page, send me an e-mail, order, order, order! It really is the MOST wonderful time of the year... Happy Thanksgiving, happy fall, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Merry Making...

Or, "The Episode Where Kristen Discovers That She IS Crazy - In A Good Way, Of Course - AND New Recipes, All At The Same Time."

Yay!

So today was the Making Merry in Berry Hill event. We DID IT.

It was AWESOME. I am utterly exhausted. In less than 48 hours (MUCH closer to 24 than 48), we baked, labeled, and packaged nearly 400 baked goodies.

As evidenced here by Mount Muffin, as it was christened by the girls. Ha! 

Mount Muffin

The photo doesn't hardly do it justice, but it took up very nearly half of our GINORMOUS dining table and was not all that far from the pulls on the overhead light fixture.

So yeah, 400-ish (I think it was more, but I lost count at around 200) baked goods in 24 hours. And then 10 hours spent selling today. Wow.

I mean seriously, WOW.

But we did great. Not quite as well as we would have liked, but there were less people than expected, and now we have extra baked goodies for other stuff. Which is fine. Less for me to do next week, as these freeze well.

And I now interrupt this program to announce, "I love muffins," which my daughter, KayKay, has said I "must" write.

Anyway. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

So we unveiled some new products today, which were received with rave reviews... These will be shortly followed by some new mixes and... (As you listen with bated breath) NEW RECIPES. They are:

Brownies!!! (AH-MAZING Brownie Mix to come soon!)

Cookie Bars! (Super-tasty, although I don't know if I'm going to do a mix for these or not... HOWEVER, they will be available for our business delivery service in the next couple of weeks... The raspberry ones are AWESOME. :O)

So yeah. Hectic, sure. Crazy, totally. Worth it... ABSOLUTELY!

Today was SO great, and we met so many wonderful people, and were really blessed by the people who were running the event as well. So, thanks everyone!!!

Adieu. I am going to go crawl up the stairs and into bed before I permanently meld with my chair. G'night and happy fall!!

Am I Crazy?!?!?!

Happy November!

Today is Veterans' Day, and before I go on, let me say thank you to each and every one of our veterans out there. My husband is a vet, and even now, years later, I ache for him and the experiences he had during his time in the military. So thank you, vets for all of your sacrifices. They are immeasurable.

As to today's post, here's the deal... Great news!

We've been invited to participate in Making Merry in Berry Hill, a Christmas street festival in Berry Hill, YAY!!!!

A street festival expecting several thousand people. A street festival whose people will want muffins... Wait... Muffins. Several thousand of them. Or hundreds, at least. Wait... HUNDREDS OF MUFFINS. Am I CRAZY?!?!?!

So I'm either going to go curl up in the fetal position or start baking...

I think it'll be baking. I am SO excited! This is a big deal for us! And the gentleman who is coordinating this event has been so accommodating toward us... This is a blessing that's fallen straight out of the sky. So yes, it's official. I'm crazy. And loving every minute of it!

So we'll see you there, right?

Seasons, Ending & Beginning...

So the Woodbine Farmer's Market season is officially over. The really, truly last market was Tuesday, and it was great! We were so glad to go, and enjoyed seeing a number of repeat customers along with a dear friend! Thank you customers and friends for supporting us in these, our earliest days... We so appreciate all the support and encouragement we've gotten!

But while we are sad to not see our market friends until the spring, we are moving into a new season of selling muffins!

Last week was our first foray into selling muffins at local businesses, and it was such a success that we went back again this week, just before the farmer's market was to begin. In just a few hours we sold nearly ALL of our muffins - so many, in fact, that we barely had enough to sell at Woodbine! And we were (yet again) asked to come back regularly by several of the businesses... Yay! This is fantastic for us!

We would like to work toward selling muffins two days a week, but balancing homeschooling and muffin-making has not been easy thus far. Especially since this is our first year homeschooling, and there have been some transition issues for everybody. So for now, I think we are just going to work on selling muffins on Tuesdays, and maybe in a few months, after the holiday rush has died down, we'll consider moving up to two days a week.

In the meantime, if you are looking for muffin or pancake and waffle mix, feel free to drop me an e-mail or call. We can drop off, or if you're not local, we can ALWAYS ship!

I would love to hear some suggestions of local businesses who might enjoy having a weekly or bi-weekly muffin delivery set up, so if you know of anyone, please pass the word on... And as always, tell all your friends about us!

The Really, Truly LAST Farmer's Market

Good Tuesday! Happy November! And lots of other great stuff! :O)

Don't forget, this afternoon is the really, truly LAST Woodbine Farmer's Market of the 2010 season! You'll remember that last week was canceled because of some amazingly crummy weather we had here, so we'll be there today, selling mixes and muffins. It runs from 3:30-6:00.

Today we have: pumpkin chocolate chip, banana nut chocolate chip, and cranberry orange pecan muffins... And of course our basic muffin mix as well as the pancake and waffle mix. Come out and visit us!

WHOA.

So.

The weather was so awful today that the Woodbine Farmer's Market was actually CANCELED. What that meant for us was that we had an awful lot of muffins that needed selling and pronto... Besides the bitter disappointment of missing out on the market (it really is TOO FUN!).

So we decided to hit up some local businesses, and guess what???

For the first time EVER, WE SOLD OUT of muffins! It was AWESOME. KayKay, my salesgirl numero uno did an AH-MAZING job of selling (she didn't even want me to come in with her to most places because, "Cute little girls do better alone, Mommy." Ha!) and was such a trooper going with me to, oh goodness, 25 different businesses in a multitude of buildings and strip malls.


We even got requests to come back in subsequent weeks, so we are planning on doing a weekly muffin run, likely starting next week. If you're interested in getting on that bandwagon, drop me an e-mail and we'll bring you some, too!

We had a great time. My baby stayed home this afternoon and slept, so it was just us two today, and it was perfect. Thanks, new customers!

In regards to the market, it is possible that they will be having a "last market" next Tuesday instead. Stay tuned for updates, because that would be GREAT!

Happy fall, happy Tuesday, happy night, happy everything!

LAST Farmer's Market & Some Thoughts...

Good October morning!

It's raining here, AGAIN. I'm just glad it decided to rain last night and this morning, though, so that we were able to enjoy a weekend of beautiful weather before the storms came.

I wanted to put out a reminder to everyone that Tuesday afternoon is the LAST opportunity for you to see us at the Woodbine Farmer's Market. They say it best with this photo:

EXACTLY.

It is likely going to rain again tomorrow afternoon, so be prepared!

After the market ends, we will officially be without a place to sell our goods. So, I'm putting out a call to all my friends and fans out there who may know of places we could go... Any ideas???

Of course, we will happily coordinate product drop-offs or mailings, but we need a venue. So please, suggestions are more than welcome! :O)

Happy fall! We'll see you soon!

Market Recap

So we had a great time at the Woodbine Farmer's Market yesterday afternoon. A lovely time was had by all, despite the threat of rain there for the first hour or so.

The pumpkin spice muffins were a hit, as usual, and we sold out of cranberry pecan! I'm so glad I could finally find pureed pumpkin again to make them!

Speaking of pumpkins, there were free pumpkins for carving and painting at the market yesterday, and the kids had a blast doing both. The back of our car didn't fare so well with still-wet paint, but I got it out. *Whew*

In other news, remember, next week is the LAST week for the Woodbine Market. So be sure and come and visit! It promises to be a great experience for everybody.

We are looking to relocate into some local organic markets and coffee shops after the market ends, so I will keep everyone in the loop about how that goes! If you need your mix fix, though, drop me an e-mail and we'll be sure to get some to you right away!

Happy fall everyone! Until next time...

Farmer's Market Tomorrow...

It's that time of week again. Tomorrow is the Woodbine Farmer's Market. Yay! Looks like this week's weather will be gorgeous, and we're excited to be there! It's from 3:30-6:30, so be sure to find our little table there and you can taste some wonderful samples or just come over to chat and find out more. I'd love to give you the whole spiel. :O)

On a completely unrelated note, I have PHOTOS... Whoooo! Check them out below and in a couple of other previous posts, here and here.

Pictures are amazing, right? I can't believe it's taken me this long to get these going!!

Anyway, happy fall! See everyone tomorrow!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Happy Sunday! It is absolutely magical here, and with it being pumpkin season and Halloween almost upon us, I thought it would be the perfect day for some pumpkin spice mini-muffins! Below is the basic pumpkin spice recipe, followed by a few other ideas. Pumpkin is just so fun... Consider them variations on a theme, Autumn-Style. :O)

Basic Pumpkin Spice Mini-Muffins:

1 bag Flour Girls' Basic Muffin Mix
2-3 tbsp. canned organic pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie, simply plain pumpkin!)
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I prefer to use pecans, but you can use whatever you like!)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-2 tbsp. sugar or other sweetener (optional)
1 egg
2 tablespoons softened butter or oil
1/4 - 1/3 cup of liquid (we generally use milk, but feel free to try other things!)

Preheat your oven to 300. In a medium bowl, add the mix, one egg, pumpkin, milk (or other liquid), cinnamon and nutmeg. Now is also the time to add in the extra tablespoon of sugar, if you choose to do that. Mix well. Add in the butter or oil and stir well again.

You want the batter to be fairly thick. Add in the the nuts and if you want them, the chocolate chips, then use a teaspoon to scoop a little mix into a well-battered mini-muffin tin. Bake for 35-50 minutes. Remember, you want them a bit on the dark side - golden brown means they're not done! Makes 12 mini-muffins or 6 regular sized muffins.


Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins:

To the basic recipe above, add in 1/4 cup dark chocolate/semi-sweet mini-chips. You can use more if you'd like. Also, only add in 1 tablespoon of extra sugar unless you really prefer them sweeter. Bake as directed above.

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Mini-Muffins:

Make the basic recipe above. Then, in a separate small bowl, mix together:

4-6 tbsp. softened cream cheese
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg or both (enough to give it a hint of flavor)
Dash of vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. sugar, honey or agave (I used honey and it turned out lovely!)

Mix well. After placing the muffin batter into the pan, then use a teaspoon to dole out a little (or a lot, depending on your taste!) of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each. Push it down a little, to get the cream cheese down into the muffin - not all the way to the bottom, but close. It's a little messy, but OH, SO WORTH IT. These are seriously yummy!

These you will need to bake for an extra 5-10 minutes, and you may want to cover them toward the end of baking so the cream cheese doesn't get too brown on the top.

________________________________________________________________________

With the pumpkin, extra sugar, and the chocolate chips, each mini-muffin will be approximately 7.5 - 8.5 carbs, and at least 50% fiber (not to be subtracted from the carb-count, though - I have already deducted the fiber from the total carb count, so they will be no less than 7.5 carbs per mini-muffin).

Ideas & Aprons...

Aren't you loving this amazingly gorgeous weather??? Wow.

Unfortunately, it wasn't so gorgeous on Tuesday, and we were forced to miss the Woodbine Farmer's Market on due to *NASTY* thunderstorms. Yuck. Hopefully next week will prove to be better weather! We missed it lots. *Sigh* 

SO... Instead, the girls and I drove around and introduced our product to a few local businesses. Got some good things in the works! And lots of great ideas for moving our product into a larger market. Yay! 

Also, we have started up with our new, custom aprons. They are SO ridiculously cute, I can't even put it into words. The pictures speak for themselves!

These may just be my favorite...

Adorable girls' fabric detail (as if you didn't already know that!)

We can make them for mother-daughter(s), as in, matching for a mother and (this is what I love) more than one daughter! Or mother and son. We have lots of fabulously fun fabrics to work with, and are getting more. The three of us will be wearing different aprons each week at the farmer's market and elsewhere, so if you happen upon us, do check them out. These will make fantastic Christmas gifts! What do YOU think?

Fun blue and orange, perfect for autumn!

Pocket Detail

Oh, and wonderful canvas-type bags are coming soon, too. Photos of those will be here as soon as I get them. So excited!!

Happy fall, everyone!

Woodbine Farmer's Market Tomorrow

Hey all,

It's that time of week again, and the Woodbine Farmer's Market is tomorrow, October 12th, from 3:30-6:30!

We'll be there selling aprons, mixes and muffins. This week's flavors will be:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip (some with pecans, too!)
Banana Nut Chocolate Chip
Cranberry Orange Pecan


And anything else that sounds tasty and I can whip up easily. :O)

Hope to see you there! Happy fall!

Dried Currant Chocolate Chip Muffins

Good morning! It is so gloriously beautiful here this morning, and after enjoying some coffee and a couple of (banana nut!) muffins, I thought I'd share a new recipe, dried currant chocolate chip. They are super-tasty, and several people have said that they like them the best so far!

Here is the recipe for these happy little mini-muffins:

1 bag Flour Girls' Basic Muffin Mix
1/4 - 1/3 cup dried currants
1/4 cup dark chocolate/semi-sweet mini-chips
1 4 oz. container of applesauce (or slightly less than 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 egg
2 tablespoons softened butter or oil

These are a bit sweeter than most because of the applesauce and orange juice, but if you want them sweeter, add in another tablespoon of sugar, if desired.

Preheat your oven to 300. In a medium bowl, add the mix, one egg, applesauce and orange juice. Mix well. Add in the butter or oil and stir well again.You want the batter to be fairly thick. Add the currants and chocolate chips, then use a teaspoon to scoop a little mix into a well-battered mini-muffin tin. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Remember, you want them a bit on the dark side - golden brown means they're not done! Makes 12 mini-muffins or 6 regular sized muffins.

With the orange juice, chocolate chips and applesauce, each mini-muffin will be approximately 7.5 carbs and approximately 50% fiber (not to be subtracted from the carb-count, though - I have already deducted the fiber from the total carb count, so they will be no less than 7.5 carbs per mini-muffin).

Yum!

Slight Change...

For those of you who have my bagged mix, I have a slight change I'd like to make to the written directions on the bag. After some experimentation, I have realized that if I lower the temperature from 325 to between 300 - 315, and baked the muffins for a bit longer, 35 - 50 minutes, they would turn out a bit lighter in color and still be moist.

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

Good morning! Or afternoon. Or whatever part of the day it is when you read this.

It is a gorgeous fall morning here, and I was thinking it's a great day for some cranberry orange pecan muffins!

Here is the recipe for these amazing cranberry pecan mini-muffins:

1 bag Flour Girls' Basic Muffin Mix
1/4 cup dried, chopped cranberries
1/4 - 1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 egg
2 tablespoons of softened butter or oil
1/2 cup of orange juice - 3/4 if you prefer them a bit sweeter

My daughter took this and is SO proud of it. I'm proud of her!

Preheat your oven to 300. Mix dry ingredients first (wait to add the cranberries and nuts until the end, though). Then add one egg, 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of liquid - we generally use milk, but feel free to experiment - and two or three tablespoons of softened butter or olive oil. Mix well. You want the batter to be fairly thick. Add the cranberries and the nuts, then use a teaspoon to scoop a little mix into a well-battered mini-muffin tin. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Remember, you want them a bit on the dark side - golden brown means they're not done! Makes 12 mini-muffins or 6 regular sized muffins.

With 1/4 cup of each and an extra tablespoon of sugar, each mini-muffin will be approximately 8.5 carbs and approximately 50% fiber (not to be subtracted from the carb-count, though - I have already deducted the fiber from the total carb count, so they will be no less than 8.5 carbs per mini-muffin).

Yum!

Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is for the banana nut version of our tasty low-carb mini-muffins. Enjoy!

1 bag Flour Girls' Basic Muffin Mix
1 overripe banana, mashed
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I prefer to use pecans, but you can use whatever you like!)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup dark chocolate/semi-sweet mini-chips, you can use more if you'd like
1 tbsp. sugar or other sweetener (optional)
1 egg
2 tablespoons softened butter or oil
1/4 cup of liquid (we generally use milk, but feel free to try other things!)

These are a bit sweeter than most because of the banana and chocolate chips, but if you want them sweeter, add in another tablespoon of sugar, if desired.

Preheat your oven to 300. In a medium bowl, add the mix, one egg, mashed banana, milk (or other liquid), cinnamon and nutmeg. Now is also the time to add in the extra tablespoon of sugar, if you choose to do that. Mix well. Add in the butter or oil and stir well again.
You want the batter to be fairly thick. Add in the chocolate chips and the nuts, then use a teaspoon to scoop a little mix into a well-battered mini-muffin tin. Bake for 35-50 minutes. Remember, you want them a bit on the dark side - golden brown means they're not done! Makes 12 mini-muffins or 6 regular sized muffins.

With the banana, extra sugar, and the chocolate chips, each mini-muffin will be approximately 7.5 - 8.5 carbs, and at least 50% fiber (not to be subtracted from the carb-count, though - I have already deducted the fiber from the total carb count, so they will be no less than 7.5 carbs per mini-muffin).

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! It is here that I will post recipes for using The Flour Girls' mixes and tips for great low-carb baking. And don't forget, our muffin mix is also gluten free! Be sure to check back often for updates, and if you have a question, don't hesitate to e-mail us at threeflourgirls@gmail.com. Thanks!