Sue's Kitchen: August 2009

Friday, August 21, 2009

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!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

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........

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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........

Friday, August 7, 2009

Follow me on Twitter!

Hey, I'm on Twitter now so if you want to know all the crazy things going on in my kitchen-check it out!

http://www.twitter.com/suebakespies

Follow me!
Sue

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

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

About Me

I grew up in the country in Ohio on the family farm baking alongside my Mom and Gramma…back when we grew huge vegetable gardens, foraged the fields and woods for summer’s blackberries, and picked tart cherries until the juice ran down our arms. We spent many a hot afternoon “putting up” gallons of transparent applesauce for our enjoyment later in the winter. Those hot summer afternoons were also just right for raising bread dough on Gramma’s dining room table, later to be hand-rolled into buns and slathered with butter when they emerged from the oven for us to eat. Now that I think about it, it seems only natural to me that one day, many years later I would decide to share my love of baking with others.

After leaving Ohio, moving around, going off to college and working as a nurse, my husband Jim and I came back to our family farm and built our home. We raised our two daughters, Sara and Caitlin, and have been fortunate to have our parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents and extended family close by. How blessed we are to have such wonderful family! Then about seven years ago I decided I wanted to do something to make extra money. Sara was going off to college and I thought this would help with expenses. Farmers’ Markets were just starting to become a popular Saturday morning venue for socializing, buying fresh produce and sampling all kinds of delectable goodies artisans, like myself, baked and brought to sell at the market. I visited our town’s market one day with my Mom and I thought to myself. “I can do this!” And so, our local farmers’ market is where I took a leap of faith and “Sue’s Kitchen” was born.

Each week as I set up my table and put out my pies and cookies I was amazed by how many people do not bake anymore. Is it our fast paced lives that prevent us from throwing flour and butter together to produce yummy cookies? Are fewer people being taught this art as they grow up? Or is it just too easy to hit the local supermarket and pick up a pre-packaged sweet to take home? Whatever the reason, I quickly found how much that lost art of baking is truly missed.

Baking with heirloom recipes has brought smiles to the faces of my customers over the years, especially my homemade pies with flakey crusts and fresh juicy fruit fillings. When I use the leftover pie dough for cinnamon sticks I find my customers have their own family story and nickname for these treats: “roley poley” “cinnamon rolls”,etc..Whatever the name, they say when they were kids they waited in anticipation for them to be done baking then devoured them while still warm. I remembered the cookies Mom baked for us kids and she gave me her Oatmeal Raisin cookie recipe, which I make every week. I always loved Gramma Rose’s Molasses Sugar cookies, which are a fall favorite. I am lucky to have her old wooden recipe box complete with all her handwritten recipes, tips and even some letters. Some interpretation is needed here and there to replace her “butter the size of an egg” with actual measurement.

Another summer farmer’s market season is just beginning along with the growing anticipation of what new to bake, how to reach out to more people and how to design my new logo and website with the help of my friend Linda and my daughter Sara. I hope you all enjoy the ongoing happenings from Sue’s Kitchen.

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