Spiked Hot Chocolate Popcicles

 

I was having company over for dinner and wanted to have a fun desert to serve that wasn't baked or huge amounts left over.  I have been seeing lots of fun recipes for Ice Pops over on Pinterest and since it has been soo warm out and I am in a summer mood, I figured, why not!? 

 

Hot Chocolate Spiked Ice Pops!!

 

Made with milk, cornstarch, chocolate, hot chocolate mix and some Whipped Cream flavored Vodka.  5 ingredients?  I can do this lickety split!  And YUM!

 

Very successful and delicious!

 

 

Recipe from Day Dreamers Deserts found here:

http://daydreamerdesserts.com/2012/07/spiked-hot-chocolate-ice-pops.html/

 

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2.5 ounces dark chocolate cocoa mix
• 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 ounce Whipped Cream Vodka

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan whisk whole milk, dark cocoa mix, and corn starch.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat then add chocolate chips. Reduce heat to low, and continue mixing for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate chips have completely melted.
3. Strain mixture into a large enough measuring cup. Stir in whipped cream vodka and mix well.
4. Carefully pour into 6 popsicle molds and freeze overnight.

Little Ridge Farm CSA

I picked up my first CSA last Tuesday.  It was fun!!  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  What you do is you support the farm up front with payment, they then have in turn some starting cash to buy seeds, plants, spiff up the greenhouse etc. and start panting you some great local food.   Many CSA's work where they choose a bunch of veggies for you and have a bag/box/bundle ready for you to pickup each week.  My CSA allows the customers to choose what they would like.  I have a 1/2 share so when I went to the farm I was able to choose 5 pounds of the available produce and also 1/2 pound of fresh picked spinach.  NOW, this time of year in Maine, there is not a lot coming up out of the ground just yet.  So my farmer, Keena, offered us items from cold storage.  We could choose from onions, carrots, parsnip, rutabaga and celeriac root.  If you want to buy 5 pounds of carrots, go for it!  I bought a little of everything and enjoyed it all.

 

 

Bright orange carrots were soo good!

 

Fresh spinach made a great salad.

 

A view of a section of the farm (not much to see right now, but soon)!

 

Loved this old tractor.

 

The farm stand where I pick up my CSA share.

And just across the street.

My "spoils" for the week.  Yum!

 

I made fresh spinach salad with bacon and hard boiled eggs one night.  Another night I roasted all the root veggies and served it alongside grilled steak.  I still have to use the celeriac root.  I have never tried it before and I am searching for a recipe right now.  But that's the thing.  I want to try new things and this is a great opportunity to get me to do that.   There is also available, for sale, farm made jams, fresh baked breads, eggs, maple syrup and of course, SOAP (mine)!

 

 

I am also looking forward to Keena's flower and herb garden that she makes available for her CSA customers.  My next pick up is tomorrow!  What will I get this week?

 

Little Ridge Farm, Lisbon Falls, MAINE

Kiva

Have you heard of Kiva?

From their website:  "We are a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes directly towards funding loans; Kiva does not take a cut. Furthermore, Kiva does not charge interest to our Field Partners, who administer the loans.
Kiva is primarily funded through the support of lenders making optional donations. We also raise funds through grants, corporate sponsors, and foundations.

We are incredibly thankful for the support that has enabled us to do the work that has touched the lives of so many people".

My Aunt (hi Aunt Pat!) gave me a Kiva gift card for a Christmas gift 2 Christmases ago.  I have been giving loans via Kiva for all this time.  Every loan I make has been paid back and I then reinvest the money into another loan and give Kiva.org a little bit to help "behind the scenes".

I simply:

1.  Make a loan on Kiva. All Kiva loans are made possible by our Field Partners, who vet, administer, and disburse each loan.

2.  Throughout the life of the loan, you will see progress updates from Kiva through your email, and if you come back to the site.

3.  As the borrower repays the loan, the money becomes available in your account. This is called your Kiva Credit.

4.  You can now use it to fund another loan, donate it to Kiva, or withdraw it to spend on something else.

I currently have given 27 loans to 16 different countries!  Most of the loans are to women in business.

It is a wonderful program!  I love helping and reading the success stories.  

Visit them!  Or better yet, let me send you an invitation (email) and we both will received a credit to lend out for free! 

http://www.kiva.org/

Lisa Marie's Made In Maine

Saturday was great at Lisa Marie's grand opening of her expansion.  I meet some other fellow crafters and vendors and saw some of my regular farmers market customers and made some new friends.

 

Here is the AMAZING set up that Lisa Marie put together of my soaps!  WOW!  Front and center!!  Right when you walk in the room, you see my soaps! Thank you Lisa Marie for being such a great supporter of my business. 

Speical Event, Meet The Artist

Find me at Lisa Marie's Made In Maine in Bath tomorrow (May 4th) for the Grand Opening of her new addition!  Come and sniff the soaps, ask me questions and meet other artist.  My friend Alex of Smart Alex Jams is taste testing her products, yum!

 

"We have been hard at work in our Bath store with our newest expansion into 176 Front Street. Join us on Saturday, May 4, during Mayfair weekend in Downtown Bath as we celebrate the Grand Opening of our newest addition.

Raffle for Maine made Gift Basket
Meet local artisans as they present their work
Free gift with every purchase over $50
...
The newest expansion of the Bath store will accommodate more products made by local Maine artisans. In the newest room, Lisa-Marie plans to feature an expanded line of more locally made home furnishings.
Lisa-Marie’s Made in Maine, Inc is Maine’s largest, year-round, exclusively Maine made store. Lisa-Marie and her family support over 370 other small Maine businesses".

Asian Slaw With Ginger Peanut Dressing

I made this fun take on coleslaw to go with some grilled Salmon the other night.  Soo good!  A bit of sweet and heat, it was a delicious.   I left out the cilantro and sprinkled it on separately when it was time to serve.   I also left out the Edamame as it was out of stock at my market, but it was still great.  My point being that you could add or subtract ingredients.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

http://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/03/asian-slaw-with-ginger-peanut-dressing.html

 

Asian Slaw With Ginger Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

For the Dressing

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter (I like Skippy Natural No Need to Stir)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (Thai hot sauce - optional)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

For the Slaw

• 4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
• 2 cups prepared shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
• 2 medium scallions, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts (or you can leave them whole)
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until the peanut butter is dissolved. Set aside.
2. Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Let sit at least ten minutes so vegetables have a chance to soak up the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add a bit more salt.) Serve cold.

 

 

New Logo!

 

New Logo!   I JUST LOVE IT!!

 

Find it on a few new items, plus coming soon....special packaging and the Casco Bay Collection!!

 

 

Bradbury Mountain

My hubby and I really like to hike and soo look forward to the snow melt and Spring to finally lace up our boots and head up a mountain or down a trail.   We have a great little mountain near us, Bradbury Mountain, and as soon as hubby gets in from work, we put on our boots and head over there.  This whole month there is a "Hawk Watch" on the mountain.   Bird counting every day!  When we hiked up there one night this week, we found 2 people with high powered binoculars and a scope and a very impressive count of all the birds that they had seen. 

 

Here is the blurb from the State Park website about it:

 

Daily hawk watch on the summit of Bradbury Mountain. Come and join an expert as she tallies the hawks, eagles and other raptors as they return from the southlands after a long winter. Learn why the watch is conducted over Bradbury and how to identify the birds from the ground.

 

Here are the pictures that I took of them on the summit.

 

It's a pretty view at the top.  At the edge of the horizon, that is all ocean!  On a good day you can see out to Eagle Island, (only accessible by boat) also a State Park.   And next stop after Eagle Island, England!   That's it folks, all Atlantic Ocean stretched out to the East. 

Bundled up but smiling!

 

A very impressive bird count! 

 

Make Your Own Taco Seasoning

My husband loves Tacos, but we don't eat them that much.  We are on a watch-what-we-eat-diet right now and don't need the fillers (hubby is Gluten intolerant and I am sodium sensitive).  So in an effort to eat better and remove highly processed and over salted items from our diets, AND eat more of what we love, I have started making my own Taco seasoning.  For Taco salads, we rub it on chicken thighs before grilling, sprinkle it on chicken breast before popping them in the oven and of course, mix it with ground beef/turkey for Tacos.  Here is the recipe that I am using, easy-peasy to make and store in your kitchen cabinet. 

 

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2012/09/homemade-taco-seasoning.html

 

 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

 

Source: Allrecipes

 

Ingredients:

 

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

 

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container. Yields about 2 3/4 tablespoons.

To use:

 

Use about 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning for every 1 pound of meat. Use more or less depending on your preference. Brown meat and drain the fat. Add your taco seasoning along with about 1/2 cup of water. Simmer and stir until water is absorbed. If you want more of a sauce throw in about 2 tablespoons of flour with the water.

Working With The Girl Scouts

I had the wonderful and truly rewarding opportunity to work with a local Girl Scout troupe the other night. 

They are working on a trio of badges that all teach about the roles women can play in society.  They had a short lesson from the Girl Scout leader and had some homework to review and then we moved onto making some little "role model" dolls.  This is where I came in.  I volunteered to help the leader with some crafty projects and this was it. 

I borrowed a Girl Scout book and made a few dolls on my own, to practice and see how the easiest way would be to explain how to make the dolls to 10 & 11 year olds.   2 local businesses, both  run by women, donated yarn.  The Craftin' Scot and Bessie's Farm Goods, both of Freeport. Thank you!!

 

These were my example dolls for the girls to use as a guide. 

Here they are singing during their opening ceremonies.  Please note that I was trying to take pictures very inconspicuously and not disturb them, so they are not all in focus!

Reading from the book

.

Working on the dolls.

 

 

Finished products!

 

 

Note that this doll (below) even has a green Girl Scout sash on!

 

The girls even started telling me what each of their dolls "was".  One girl was very excited to make her doll a lawyer and we even helped her make a briefcase out of felt for the doll to hold.

The girls sang this amazing song!  It brought a tear to my eye.  Thinking about all the possibilities ahead for these young girls.

Can a Woman?

by Iris Hirsch of GS Central Maryland
Tune: She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain

Can a woman fly an airplane?
Yes, she can, yes she can!
Can a woman build a building?
Yes, she can, yes she can!
Can a woman fight a fire?
Can a woman change a tire?
Can a woman lead a choir?
Yes she can, yes she can!

Can a woman be a lawyer?
Yes, she can, yes she can!
Can a woman fix an engine?
Yes, she can, yes she can!
Can a woman be a drummer?
Can a woman be a plumber?
Can she play ball in the summer?
Yes, she can, yes she can!

Can a woman be a doctor?
Yes, she can, yes she can!
Can a woman drive a tractor?
Yes, she can, yes she can!
Can a woman lead a nation?
Can she run TV station?
Can she head a corporation?
Yes, she can, yes she can!

Just you wait until we're older
Then you'll see! Then you'll see!!
We'll be women in tomorrow's
History, History!
As we grow up through the years
We'll sing out loud and clear
Can we start the process here?
Yes, we can, yes we can!

Beer.

I fellow market vendor starting brewing beer and made it into a real, follow-the-rules company and now sells this beer at market alongside their greens.  They are Funky Bow Beer.   I love that they tried something new and went for it.  I picked up my Growler (a Growler is a 1/2 gallon or 64 oz.) of beer this weekend!

 

 

Braised Red Cabbage

My husband loves cabbage.   And bacon.  So, I found this recipe on Pinterest (do you Pin?  Follow me here:  Casco Bay Soap Co. on Pinterest )  by Jamie Olivier.  Delicious.  I made a few changes.  Just eliminated the apple as hubby doesn't care for Apples in much of anything except Apple Pie.  He liked this soo much, I made it for 5 weeks in a row, once a week. Then I had to stop.  Well, I just made it again and he gobbled it right up. 

Here it is, Braised Red Cabbage with Apples, Bacon and Balsamic Vinegar

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/must-try-red-cabbage-braised-with-apple-bacon-and-balsamic-vinegar

 

 

Photo from Jamie Oliver's website.  Visit the site for the full recipe.