Woodbine Farmer's Market 2011 Season

Friends, fans, and miscellaneous others -

So we're back with more fabulousness than ever!

We took a mid-winter break that turned into a couple of months' break because of a long, unbroken series of illnesses. Among other things... Ugh.

But we started back up selling to local businesses last month and have been gearing up for the start of the Woodbine Farmer's Market, which is tomorrow!

I can hardly believe it!

Some of the beautiful produce from last season's vendors. Yum!

We are really looking forward to the start of this market. It was such a great experience for us Flour Girls last year, and we are excited to be there on Saturdays from 9:00 - 12:00 now.

Be sure to check out the Woodbine Market website, which will have weekly news pertaining to market events and vendors.

We have some new products and will be bringing back others, including homemade jams and jellies, more handmade aprons for children and adults, and brownie mix! Check out our Products Page (coming soon!!) for more information.

Tomorrow's market promises to be a lot of fun, and there will be several special events going on throughout, so head on by for some delicious gluten-free baked goodies, fresh veggies and loads of fun!

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!

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!

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.

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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).

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!

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).