"Christmas in the Country"

Every year I ask myself if I'm going to have another Christmas open house...I ponder the question awhile then decide, "YES!" I started having my open house in 2005 as a way to provide Christmas baked goodies for friends and family. We gather together and enjoy good food and hot spiced cider. Over the years it has grown and this year I was joined by friends Bee Katz of "Cowtown Candies", Gretel Adams of "Sunny Meadow Flower Farms" (you may have seen her on the cover of Columbus Monthly recently), and my sister-in-law, Becky Joseph. What wonderful handmade items they brought! Delicious fudge, cards with beautiful photography, lovely scented handmade soaps...........something for each of our senses!

While the open house is a lot of work and preparation, we sure have a good time being together. Isn't that what the season is for? Being together?

Here are the "Elves" who helped me prepare for my 4th annual "Christmas in the Country" Open House. Thanks to my Mom (Effie), Cousin Vicki and friend LeAnn, we enjoyed a very successful day. Not pictured is my daughter Caitlin-thanks for all your help Cait!! We couldn't ask for better weather...sunshine, cool but not too cold, and no slippery roads! Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed themselves. I'll share some pictures of the goodies we had for gift buying, parties, Santa's plate, etc. We had a "make your own cookie dozen" table which was a huge hit. We'll have to have a repeat performance next year.

I baked for so many hours I lost track. I do know I baked about 60 dozen various cookies and at least 25 dozen sugar cookies. There were also Cranberry Orange Breads, Pumpkin Spice Breads, Cocoa Banana Breads, and Old Fashioned Pecan Tassies. After the open house I baked some more.....pies, cookies, breads. I sure hope everyone enjoyed what they bought. I had fun not only baking everything but also making them look pretty and packaging them for your parties and gift giving. Above are Gingerbread Men, Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Candy Cane Sprinkles, Cherry & Apricot Rugelage, Cherry Thumbprints drizzled with White Chocolate, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Beautiful Buttercream Froster Sugar Cookies.

I'm hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a safe and Happy New Year!

Being Thankful

I take great pride in this beautiful apple pie because my daughter Sara made it for her friends when they celebrated Thanksgiving in her tiny Brooklyn apartment last Sunday. I think her artistic expression says it all................................

Holiday Baking: Get Ready, Get Set...BAKE!!!!

We had our very first Columbus Winter Farmers' Market of the 2009-10 season this past weekend and it was such a gorgeous day. Thanks to all who came to visit us. I'm glad I have a few markets to get me ramped up for holiday baking. So far I'm in for about 20 pies, some pumpkn rolls and cookies. Shouldn't be too bad. As you can see in the picture above, I've baked a lot of pies over the holidays :) This was just a fraction of what I made one year. I think the grand total was 72 large pies. Whew!!!

Please come see us this coming weekend at the market (you can check out the website @www.columbuswinterfarmersmarket.com There will be lots of wonderful goodies for your Thanksgiving table. I'll definitely have a variety of pies (Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan for starters), Chocolatey Chip Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread, Fannie's Apple Walnut Brownies, and who knows what else?

See you Saturday!!

Shipping Goodies to Loved Ones is EASY

I'll be baking this week so I can ship some fall cookies and pumpkin spice bread to my Sara in NYC-she's needing a taste of home about now. If any of you ever need some sweets shipped most of my cookies and breads travel quite nicely. Sara is my test market and everything has arrived delicious and fresh and uncrumbled. I don't ship pie, of course-that would be a disaster. Holidays are a great time to share the love through homebaked goodies!!

Halloween Fun

We sure had fun at the last Westerville Farmers' Market! Thanks to all who came to see us. Have a super year and don't forget the winter markets.

Come visit me at the Columbus Winter Farmers' Market

For all of you "foodies" who are addicted to farmers' markets with their availability of locally grown and produced foods, the friendships established and the atmosphere of the market, you MUST come to the Columbus Winter Farmers Market. Saturdays, November through April at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Rd., Columbus. It starts November 14 @ 10am until 1pm. Check us out @www.columbuswinterfarmersmarket.com. See you there!

Summer Farmers' Markets are winding down.....

This week is the last Westerville Farmers' Market for 2009 and I will miss it something awful! We have had a tremendously loyal customer base who stuck with us through all the crazy weather of 2009. I hope to see you all there Wednesday. Many of us vendors will be dressed for Halloween and hope to trick or treat you all...so see you there my pretties :)

Birthday Pies

Happy Birthday to you! What better way to celebrate your birthday than with PIE! Who gives a hoot about cake-give me pie! This past week I made 2 very different pies for birthdays: a Boston Cream Pie (not really a pie in my book but it has pie in the name), and a Cherry Pie for my cousin Vicki. Both looked scrumptuous and were enjoyed by all (thanks Pam for the return phone call-always wonderful to get feedback!), along with candles to complete the celebration. So, if you ever want a pie for the big celebration, remember-it's all about the pie.

All Things Pumpkin & Fannie's Apple Walnut Blondies

Fall is my favorite time of year and boy, do I love pumpkin. Pumpkin Pie, Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.............so many good things from this yummy vegetable. My next favorite fall goodie is anything with apples. Everyone seems to LOVE my Gramma Fannie's Apple Walnut Blondies. I plan to make extra this week so we can share the love. Make sure you come early while there are still plenty!

On a decorative note (did I tell you I'm no Candice Olsen?)-you can find all the beautiful fall bounty you need for your home decorating needs: mums, gourds, pumpkins, Indian corn, bittersweet........so many beautiful things. Come see for yourself!!

Friends at the Market

One of the very best things about our farmers' markets are the relationships we build between vendors. We love what we do and we enjoy each others' company each week; supporting one another when the weather is less than perfect and when we are so busy we need that extra hand. It is always nice to get that "good morning" when our butts are dragging and we just need that one extra hour of sleep and definitely that first large cup of hot coffee. Pictured above is BKatz from "Cowtown Candies"-home of the best fudge in Central Ohio, Lee Bird from Birds Haven Farms with his classic truckload of delicious sweetcorn, and Gretel from Sunny Meadow Flower Farms who puts together gorgeous fresh sunflower bouquets. These are but a few good friends of the market-wonderful people who love what they do and show it in their smiles!

This week's fall specials from Sue's Kitchen will include Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread, and Apple Walnut Brownies. I'll also have tons of cookies and pies for everyone. See you there!

Apple Season!

Well, by now you know I have failed at blogging 101. I haven't entered anything since August 21st and I am so sorry! Inbetween baking chocolate chip cookies, my Biker Bars and Blueberry Crumb Bars I am attempting to catch up. I went to the Granville Orchard today and picked some of the biggest, most beautiful, delicious Cortland apples! I'll be making large and mini pies with them and they are sure to smack of late summer. I also picked up some fresh peaches so we will have these in pies tomorrow as well. Here's a picture of the apples that were hanging in the trees in the orchard-so pretty!

A Prelude to Fall

I'm so ready for fall and this weekend sounds like it may be a prelude to cooler, less humid days. Tomorrow morning we have the Granville Farmers' Market and it should be a gorgeous morning. Please come see all the truckloads of fresh picked sweet corn, gorgeous flower bouquets, fresh honey, cheeses, organic meats, and of course-baked goods! If you like fruit pies I will have plenty: Mom's Apple, Big-n-Bold Blackbery, Beautiful Blueberry, Tart Cherry, Gramma's Award Winning Peach (see the story), Summertime Strawberry-Rhubarb, and Sue's Southern Pecan. There will also be Cookie Stacks, Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls, Biker Bars and Blueberry Bars @ Sue's Kitchen. Come enjoy the atmosphere and some great food!

I'm definitely a "servantless cook"

I went to see "Julie and Julia" yesterday and just loved it! You could tell the foodies in the crowd-we laughed, commented, and were totally enthralled with Julia Child and Julie's ambition to make all 524 recipes in Julia's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." If you haven't seen this movie-GO!! It is very inspiring. Today I sifted through my cookbooks and found one by Julia Child--will I have the guts to take on her recipes? Time will tell........

Apple Pie ala mode YUMMY!

I visited the Granville Orchard the other day and picked a large bag of Paula Red apples for just $8!! From those I have made 6 large and 10 mini apple pies for the markets. There's nothing like fresh apple pie........

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Blueberries are GOOD for you!

Summer is in full swing and there are so many good things to find at the Farmers' Markets. Its hard for me to choose what to make each week with so much fresh fruit available for pies, fruit bars and coffee cakes. This week I definitely will return with Blueberry Crumb Bars-what a hit they were last week! I'll also have mini Beautiful Blueberry Pies as well as many other fruit pies, cookies, breads and coffeecakes.

If anyone knows where I can find Black Raspberries, fresh or frozen, please let me know. The season was so short this year. I appreciate all input.

See you this week, Sue

Oatmeal Walnut Cookie Stacks, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread, Blueberry Pie.....our little sweet indulgences.

Mini Blueberry Pie

Oatmeal Walnut Crispie cookie stack

If you have a garden then you are probably looking for things to do with your zucchini. Grilled, baked, fried, sauted, in casseroles, baked and stuffed, whatever you do with it I think its a nutritious wonderfully versatile veggie. Tomorrow I will have Zucchini bread: Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Zucchini Spice with Walnuts. YUM!

I just finished baking for the night and I have 30 mini and 6 large pies to bring to market. There's also my usual cookies stacks and one more new thing: Blueberry Crumb Bars. They have a shortbread base, blueberry middle and shortbread crumb top. Very good if I must say so myself!!

Don't let the rain scare you away-we will all be there rain or shine. Just bring your umbrella and rain jacket. I'll see you tomorrow!!

Please don't rain tomorrow

I know we need rain for our gardens, flowers and crops but it gets really old when Jym Ganahl says we're going to have rain yet again on Wednesday! It puts a real damper on the spirit of the Farm Market. Even though our steadfast market customers still come see us, the rain keeps less weather resistant, (I'm being politically correct, they're really called "market woosies"), customers from coming.

I am still baking tonight in hopes we won't be rained out for tomorrow's market. I'll have lots of small berry, apple, peach, cherry and strawberrry-rhubarb, and pecan pies and 6 or 8 large pies. Of course I'll have cookies, including Sue's Oatmeal Walnut that everyone's been asking for and I've made some deliciously moist Banana Walnut breads.

So-don't leave us out in the rain! Come to the market and wear your rain slicker and bring your umbrella because we are there rain or shine :)

Its Not Funny Snickerdoodles :)

The first time I made Snickerdoodles was with my daughter Sara when she was taking "Fun with Foods" as a 4-H project. I don't recall how many batches we made until we got the perfectly round, perfectly cracked, soft in the middle and crispy outside cinnamony sugar cookies just right for judging, but it was a lot!

If you are making these delightfully addicting cookies, here are Sue's hard and fast rules for perfect Snickerdoodles:

• Always use the CREAM of TARTAR-never omit it!


• Use chilled dough-it helps with the proper crackage and in keeping the inside soft. Is "crackage" a word?


• Make sure you hand roll the dough and roll in the sugar/cinnamon mix.


• Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they are deeply cracked.

Good luck with your Snickerdoodle baking and remember........if you screw them up, you can always come to the Farmers' Market and get them from me!

*This week's pies include: Big-n-Bold Blackberry; Beautiful Blueberry, Razzle Red Raspberry, Fence Row Black Raspberry, Mom's Granny Smith Apple, Gramma Rose's Award Winning Peach, and Summertime Strawberry Rhubarb. I'll also have Pastry Lemonade w/Pecans. See you at the market!!

Lodi Apples

I am so sorry but when i went to Granville Orchard they told me they wouldn't have Lodi apples due to the late spring freeze. BUMMER! But, they did have some transparent apples which I picked a bag of for applesauce. I used a few for pies earlier this week but they are little and somewhat of a pain to peel so the rest are destined for sauce. I will keep you posted on apples and other fruits that are available.

If you want fabulous blueberries you must visit "Z" Blueberry Farm. I plan to bring several blueberry coffeecakes to Granville's market this Saturday. They are so big and sweet!! The farm is in Fredericktown and their phone number is 740-694-1911. You can go pick or buy picked. I hope to also have small blueberry pies Saturday.

See you soon!

It's Black Raspberry Season!!!!

Okay, let's get something straight...black raspberries are not the same as blackberries. They are way different. Both being utterly delicious but having their own distinct sweet flavor. Today I went out in the field along the fencerow and picked black raspberries. Some are wild but some are transplants that came up on their own from my Pap Parker's raspberry patch that he use to tend judiciously. I remember it well: the patch was down by the grain house and had its own fence around it and had aluminum pie pans strung to scare away the birds. Pap would pick quarts of big delicious berries for Gramma to make cobblers and pies...or just eat with fresh cream. Us kids were NEVER allowed in that patch. It was forbidden territory. I smile today as I pick these beautiful berries for market pies, knowing that Pap would finally think this is ok. :)

On another note-you can now find Lodi apples at the Granville Orchard (Granville) and Legend Hills Orchard (Utica). They are wonderful for pies which I will be bringing to market this week.

I'll also have a variety of yummy Cookies, Pastry Lemonade Bread with Pecans, Blueberry Coffeecake, and my Signature Biker Bars and Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls. Of course, I'll have several other fruit pies available as well.

See you at the markets!

Red, White and Blue Pies

What a great time of year for fresh fruit pies! The first apples of the year are ready to be picked and the Montmorency tart cherries are coming on as well. I plan to visit the orchard tomorrow to pick some Lodi for my apple pies. Lodis make wonderful applesauce as well as pies and remind me of the old fashioned Transparent apples. There aren't too many of those apple trees around anymore. This week I'll have Cherry pie (RED) Apple pie (WHITE) and Blackberry or Blueberry pie (BLUE) to help celebrate the 4th of July. All you need is ice cream and a fork!!!!

What is your favorite pie??

What would you say is your favorite fruit pie? National surveys show that Americans love........Apple pie!! No surprises there. Cherry pie is our 2nd most loved. I plan to make both of these pies this week to bring to my markets. I can't say which pie is my favorite because I could easily eat either one, especially warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream-YUM! You must keep checking the markets because peaches and apples will start arriving by the truckloads and the berries will be coming on before you know it. That means blackberry pie, red raspberry pie, cherry pie, and all kinds of apple pies. I love this time of year!

One of my favorite parts of baking pies is making crispy cinnamon sticks from the left over pie dough. Mom always made these and we grabbed them hot to eat right out of the oven. I like to bring them to market for samples, because if you remember from last week-its all about the crust! If you can taste the quality of my flakey crust then you know you are going to be getting a great pie.

Its amazing to me how many people no longer bake, let along make pies. And if they do make pie they use boxed or frozen pie crust (HORROR!). But, when my customers taste my cinnamon sticks from handmade pie crust, their eyes roll back in their heads, they get a big smile on their faces and they always say, "My Mom used to make these!" And everyone had their own family name for them. I've heard them called "rolley polleys", "snickerdoodles". "cinnamon buns", and some other names I can't recall.

For those of you who want to make your own "Cinnamon Stix", here is the quick and easy recipe:
Sue's Pie Crust Cinnamon Stix

Pie dough: use your favorite recipe and roll out a disc very thin on a floured surface.
Brush the pie dough with melted butter and sprinkle with a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Using a pizza cutter cut strips 1 inch wide. At this point you can twist them, roll them up like a cinnamon roll or just keep as strips. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake @350 degrees til brown (about 10-12 minutes). Watch closely-they burn easily. Cool on a rack then enjoy!! These are fun treats for kids to make. They keep well in a baggie and can be frozen as well. If you make them give me a shout and let me know how they turned out.

Hope to see you all this week. It will be a hot week for markets but, hey-it's summer!

From Sue's Kitchen: Welcome to my first blog post

Welcome to my first blog entry!!

I think it is so appropriate to start this adventure with you during the week of Father’s Day because there is nothing my Dad would have loved more than to socialize with friends and family at a Farmers’ Market and graze his away around the various vendors’ tents. He especially loved anything chocolate and any kind of cookies or pie, except maybe strawberry rhubarb, although my strawberry rhubarb pie is AWESOME and I probably would have changed his mind on that. Anyway, here’s to all you Dads for your love of family and friends.

My goal is to make 40 mini pies and 20 large pies this week to bring to my two markets. It’s Father’s Day and Dads like pies and we need to celebrate our Dads, hence the focus on PIE. Plans are for Apple, Cherry, Blueberry, Blackberry, Strawberry-Rhubarb, Peach and Pecan. I might have mini red raspberry as well. I always tell my customers the mini pies are just big enough for a dollop of their favorite ice cream plopped right in the middle…and all they need is a fork.

Here is a picture of a Big-n-Bold Blackberry Pie - those of you who know me know my pies have to be pretty.

I’ll share with you Sue’s 3 rules for terrific pies:
1. I think pies need to be visually appealing. Sometimes I get a little carried away in this creative process but it is fun!
2. It’s all about the crust. All homemade. All hand rolled. All hand decorated.
3. Fruit pies should have lots of fruit. Fresh fruit when it’s available and delicious frozen fruit during the off season. Nothing canned. I currently have about 60 pounds of rhubarb in my freezer and a gallon of red raspberries. YUM!

For those of you who want sweets but not pie I also make lots of old fashioned cookies. These, unlike my pies, are not fancy. They are sturdy, big, one-in-each hand cookies like Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Blossom, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Crispie. Many of these recipes are heirloom, meaning they’ve been handed down over generations from my Gramma Rose, Gramma Fannie, Mom (Effie) and my Aunt Eileen. I’m sure a dietitian wouldn’t agree with my motto but it brings a lot of smiles to my customers’ faces-------

My motto is “A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.”

Kissable Peanut Blossom Cookies

I don’t stop at pies-n-cookies, however. I guess I’m a baking fool…or a glutton for punishment. You will find I make various goodies depending on the market: Coffeecakes and Cinnamon Rolls for the morning market; Dessert Breads for evening markets. I’m just now delving into the fun world of cupcakes. Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting…….German Chocolate with Pecan and Coconut topping………..Vanilla with buttercream frosting….the list can be endless. Here’s a picture of a mini Carrot Cake cupcake with Cream Cheese frosting. I think its really cute (pretty darn delicious too)!



So, here's to all you Dads out there...pray for good weather and I'll see you at the market!

All photo images belong to Sue's Kitchen and may be used with permission only. ©2009 Sue's Kitchen. All rights reserved.

COMING SOON :)

Hey Everybody it's Sue from Sue's Kitchen,

I'm still in the middle of creating my blog. So hang tight, more to come in a couple of weeks.

Thank you!