Don't bother me-the flour will be flying!

     JUST KIDDING! After tomorrow I am on vacation from work and can concentrate on baking cookies.....tons of cookies! Oh-and pecan tassies and bourbon balls and pumpkin cream cheese bread and cranberry orange pecan bread and more cookies. Then there's the buttercream frosting and sanding sugar and chocolate dipping and sprinkle sprinkling.
     After that's all done we package everything in mugs and bowls and on plates and platters...wrap them up in cellophane with ribbon and bows and string and tags...then send them all home with you!!!
     Hope to see you all here next week. Somebody has to come get all this stuff I'm making!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

  Here's one of my pies all dressed up for the Thanksgiving table. We're also having a scrumptuous
Pumpkin Cheesecake that we watched Paula Deen make today on her show. She said to add a sprig of mint to get your vegetable serving. That woman is a nut-but we love her :)
    Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones and remember to be thankful for all your blessings.
Sue

Sue's Kitchen aka Pickin' Chix @ The Rural Society Antique & Garden Show

                           Mark your calendars Ladies and Gentlemen!
    On October 14&15 there will be a fabulous antique and garden show just north of Mt. Vernon at a beautiful farm owned by Page Price. If you like ANTIQUES, vintage, re-purposed, garden decor, plants, dried nature, delicious food, and just plain everyday country, than this is the show for you.


    Check "The Rural Society Antique and Garden Show" on facebook for all the details including dates/times, vendor list, and directions. There will be such a collection of talented, creative people there!


     My friend, Bee Katz, and I will be there as our alter egos, the "Pickin' Chix". We will have everyday antiques that have been loved through the years: re-purposed antiques (i.e. old farmhouse doors made into headboards, rolled paper wreathes from old hymnals); vintage recipe boxes filled with handwritten dessert recipes, vintage blank recipe cards and cooper cookie cutter-fabulous gifts for that baker in your life; pretty cake plates made from vintage glassware; Bittersweet bunches; pillows made from felted woolens and re-purposed sweaters; gorgeous chalkboards from antique picture frames; mantiques (very cool tool chests); picnic baskets; unique fall decor using everyday items and so much more.
    
      Did I mention we will also have some GOODIES for you? Sue's Kitchen will have personal size Pecan Pies and Cowtown Candies will have FUDGE (peanut butter, chocolate and one more kind). A girl has to have her sweet fix, don't ya know!


      We are still working on our finds and getting organized. We hope to see you there!
Sue

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

     I posted this recipe a couple of years ago on the Westerville Farmers' Market blog but I wanted to share it again because it's just so darn good! You can use small or boat sized zucchini-whatever you have. If you use the larger size it would be a good idea to remove the pithy seed center and just shred the meaty part of the zucchini. Just a little hint.
     Hope you enjoy making and sharing this recipe :)

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9x5" or (5) mini loaf pans. I also line my pans with parchment paper up over the sides so the loaves are easy to lift out without sticking once baked..hint #2.

     You will need:
(2) 1 ounce squares of unsweetened choclate-melted and cooled
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 cups hand grated zucchini (hint #3-hand grating helps keep the zucchini from getting mushy)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. each; baking soda, salt and cinnamon
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

       Directions:
Cream sugar and oil; add eggs one at a time then beat in chocolate. Add vanilla and zucchini.
Mix the dry ingredients together and add-mix til blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

     Bake large loaves for 1 hour and smaller loaves about 40 minutes OR til a knife inserted in the middle comes out with crumbs-not gooey. Cool on a wire rack.
     Hint #4: sprinkle a few chocolate chips on the top of each loaf while they are still hot. Looks really good and is so yummalicious!

What Sue's Kitchen is all about.................this says it all!

     This best describes Sue's Kitchen:
Baking with a farmer's heart and an artisan's soul.

Being a Hard Core Berry Picker...Take 2

     About this time last year I wrote about how to pick berries in the country...usually along the roadside or in the fields. Well, again this year I was out picking the coveted black raspberries and found myself in the rain with bugs all around. By the time I was done picking I was drenched (despite a rain jacket and rubber boots)...good thing it was warm. I swore to myself if anyone a wanted a #%@*&# black raspberry pie they would pay dearly for it.

     Then I decided I would not make any pies out of these berries!! I would make jam and share it with my family and friends. My good friend, Les Foor shared a case of jelly jars like the one in the picture-so he will be the first to get a jar. Hope you don't mind the seeds, Les!!

     The bucket in the picture has been used by myself, my Mom and my grandparents for MANY years to pick berries in. I can remember using it probably 45 years ago. It's handy because it's deep and has a bale to put your arm through so you can pick with two hands.

     I hope the purple stains wear off my hands before I go pick again in a couple days. The taste of that yummy jam sure is worth it though!!

Crumb Topping for Pies, Muffins, Coffeecakes....you name it!

     I don't know about you, but I think baked goods need to be visually appealing. Yes, they have to taste good but presentation is also important!  Something I use to "top off" my blueberry muffins, coffeecakes or crumb top pies  is my "Crumb Topping." It's simple to make and adds so much to whatever you put it on.
     Here's Sue's Crumb Topping recipe and "how-to":
     In a food processor, process 1 stick COLD butter ( if it's not cold it will be clumpy and mushy), 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt. Process until tiny pea size. You can add 1/4 tsp cinnamon if you want, especially with anything with apples. Add a heaping tablespoon on each muffin (I then add some more fruit on top) or cover your coffeecake or pie with the crumbs. Bake using your recipe's instructions.
     I keep extra crumb topping in the freezer for quick use.
     Check out the picture of the muffin at the top of my blog for the crumb topping...yum! They are crowd favorites at Market 65 as well as my Farmers' Markets.
     Happy Baking!!

Baking a LOT!!

     As you can see by the above picture, Sue's Kitchen is busy baking fresh pies and cookies for customers at the Westerville and Granville Farmers' Markets. I can't begin to add up the many dozens of cookies my oven produces each week and I can only guess there's about 40 pies each week. Then there's muffins, brownies, Biker bars, cinnamon rolls and whatever else I decide sounds good.

      Strawberry season is about over, as well as rhubarb....But the cherries are coming on and soon we will have Lodi apples and peaches....and berries!!

      Remember, I can hold back a pie or two if you call or e-mail me ahead of time. The pies go fast!!  See you at the market!

Farmers' Markets are here!

     It's time to come get your fresh produce, flowers, plants, salsa, jams, spices, and of course, BAKED GOODS, at your local Farmers' Market. The above picture is of my Mom Effie, my cousin Vicki and myself. It is our tradition to spend quality family time enjoying lunch after the Granville Market each Saturday. A group of us vendors usually try to have dinner after the Westerville market on Wednesday evenings, as time permits. It's a good way to unwind and spend time together.
       Come out this week to Sue's Kitchen for fresh baked Strawberry-Rhubarb pie, plain Rhubarb Pie, Cookie Snack Stack Packs and other goodies!!!

   Remember, I specialize in pies (mini, medium 7" and family 9"), & cookies and will be willing to make about anything for you that can be baked :) Most of my recipes are handed down from the women in my family-which means they are tried and true!
     Check my facebook page (Sue's Kitchen) as well as the Granville Farmers' Market and Westerville Farmers' Market pages weekly for who's coming, what they're bringing and what special things are happening.


See you at the markets!
Sue 

Lots of Baking for Fun & Parties & Fundraisers :)

     We've been busy at Sue's Kitchen and it's not even market season yet!! We've made pretty party dress sugar cookies for a bridal shower, loads of jumbo blueberry crumb and apple pie muffins for Market 65, and petite cheesecakes with fresh strawberries, (all pictured above).

     And now-we're putting the finishing touches on a Vintage Spring Gift Basket for the Morrow County Hospice fundraiser. The basket has fresh baked chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and sugar cookies, a loaf of Springtime Carrot Lemon Bread, a darling vintage apron, hand embroidered dresser scarf, a Pat Wharton porcelain bunny pin, vintage recipe cards, and recipe books all in a beautiful white basket. I hope the lucky person who receives this basket enjoys it as much as I did putting it together.

Tutorial from Sue's Kitchen: Cinnamon Rolls 101

     One day last year, my daughter Caitlin and I took pictures of how to make cinnamon rolls. So, if you have a desire to make your own jumbo cinnamon rolls, here's how I do it in Sue's Kitchen:

1. Roll out your dough into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface-any easy bread dough recipe will work
2. Brush the dough with cooled melted butter
3. Sprinkle on a mixture of 1 cup brown sugar & 1 Tbsp. cinnamon-don't be shy, I always add lots
4. Roll up the dough longways
5. Moisten the edge of the dough with water and pinch the edges to seal and prevent it from unrolling.
6. Cut your rolls. I make mine about 1-1/2 inches wide
7. Arrange in a lightly greased baking pan; for soft edges place them so they touch when they've risen
8. Brush tops with melted butter to prevent hardening and cover with a dish towel
9. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size
10. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until lightly brown
11. Cool 
12. Prepare buttercream or cream cheese frosting and frost each roll








13. ENJOY!!

Enjoy Spring Sugar Cookies and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!

     Spring in Sue's Kitchen means buttercream frosted sugar cookies with all kinds of pretty sprinkles AND strawberry rhubarb pies. I'll have both plus more goodies at the last Columbus Winter Farmers' Market this Saturday, 10am-1pm. We're at the Clintonville Woman's Club. See you there!