Freeport Market, This Summer!

Find me at the Freeport Farmers Market this summer starting June 14th.  The market is every Friday from 1:00-5:00 right in between the L.L.Bean main store (you will see the huge Bean boot) and The Home Store.  Not far from Ben & Jerry's (this summer I AM GETTING ICE CREAM - I have been "good" the last 2 years and have not got any) and the stage where they hold their summer concert series, you can't miss all our tents.  See you there in just a couple weeks!

 

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.