Sue's Kitchen: May 2010

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Back to the real world :)

I hope everyone's having a great week. I'm now back in Pataskala and working today (what a reality check). Sure hope the weather improves for the markets this week...according to Jym Ganahl it will be better....I'm holding you to that Jym!

For Westerville's Market I'm bringing Pastry Lemonade Dessert Bread; Pies (mini and regular): Strawberry Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Blackberry, Peach, Cherry; Cookies: Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle, Oatmeal Raisin and Oatmeal Walnut Crispie.

For Granville's Market I'll have breakfast fare: Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls, Blueberry Coffeecake and Cranberry Scones w/Lemon Glaze; Cookies: same as above plus my famous Biker Bars; and Pies: same as above.

I look forward to seeing you all there and remember-you can e-mail or call ahead to place an order.

Relaxing in Brooklyn

Sunday we decided to relax so we visited Brooklyn Label for brunch (veggie burgers with mixed greens salad-YUM) then strolled the neighborhood near Sara's (Greenpoint area) where we came upon this new cute little bakery called "Cookie Road". I peeked inside and saw a a variety of macaroons and beautifully decorated sugar cookies. I'll have to taste test next time :)

We then went to my favorite grocery, The Garden, for my flavored coffee purchases and purchased items for dinner (fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato and asparagus mini pizzas and fresh fruit cheesecake pie).

Sara also designed a "Sue's Kitchen NYC Brochure" so her friends can order fresh homemade goodies. I hope they order lots of goodies because I have so much fun packaging them and shipping them off. My very first "NYC paying customer" was Steph who said she ate all the cookies herself...oh my!

I also baked some Chocolate Chip cookies to donate for a fundraiser being held to raise money for playground equipment in Guatemala. Sara's good friend, Courtney, has a brother in the Peacecorps and the proceeds help their cause. Its being held tonight and they have donations of artwork, hotels rooms, goodie bags from AE, and more. Sara drew this picture of Courtney's brother with some of the kids so the fundraiser's poster. I hope they have a successful night!

Chocolate Chip Cookies packaged on vintage china

Top 10 NYC Bakeries

On Saturday I drug Sara all over SoHo and the West Village checking out bakeries, some of which were on the NYC's top 10 Bakery list. Pictured are Crumbs Cupcake shop, Grandaisy and Balthazar Bakery. We tasted a delicious Lemon Ginger cookie from Grandaisy. Yummy! While walking we came on a great street festival with live music, lots of delicious food and spirits, artwork and flea market items. We also took in Time Square to see the new American Eagle flagship store-very cool. If I haven't mentioned it before, my daughter Sara designs for American Eagle.

We enjoyed lunch @Cafe del Mar and was too full for dinner but managed to have some drinks with freshly homemade quacamole and chips.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

My Weekend in NYC

Views of Chelsea Market 5/14/2010

When I'm lucky I get to come visit my daughter, Sara, in NYC, which just so happens to be this weekend!! We always check out some of the top bakeries so I can borrow (steal) ideas. Yesterday she had to work so I started out @Union Square Farmers' Market. It was a gorgeous day and there was everything to choose from. I was in need of coffee and a pastry so I purchased a HUGE blueberry scone (only $1.50) then found some Apricot Almond Biscotti ($2.50 for 6). I headed over to Starbucks to enjoy my finds but I was quickly disappointed :( The scone was dry and tasteless and the biscotti was SOFT-whoever heard of a soft biscotti?? In the trash they went and I took off for Chelsea Market. In the meantime I saw a famous person! I have no idea what his name is but I know he's been in comedies.

Chelsea Market is where the Food Network is taped (upstairs) and where wonderful specialty shops are located. Its a must-see for a foodie like me. I visited Ruthy's, Amy's Breads, Eleni's Cupcakes, SaraBeth's Kitchen, Fat Witch Brownie shop, the BoweryKitchen (where chefs go to buy anything and everything), and had lunch at Friedman's Lunch. I don't know if the fried green tomato w/blue cheese on whole wheat was worth $10 but it was good. I kept an eye open for Bobby Flay but he didn't show :(

After visiting my Sara and her pals at work we took off to Wild Wood BBQ for some ribs and all the trough of sides. The sweet hickory BBQ aroma pulls you in the restaurant and is hypnotic!! After dinner we got Pomegranate and Mango yogurt @ Pinkberry (YUM!) with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and dark chocolate crisps-what a way to end the day!! We had a ball with Crystal and Helen-both foodies likes us! I miss you both!

In the evening we chillaxed and relived Betty White's "Muffin" skit from last week's SNL-what a riot. More fun tomorrow........

Monday, May 10, 2010

Cookies, Pies and Dessert Breads...Oh My!

Who doesn't like Blueberries? Well- I have a great dessert bread for you: Lemon Pecan Blueberry! My kitchen will be filled with such sweet smells when I bake these. I can't wait to wrap them up for the market this week.

I'll cut my rhubarb again this week but my connection called Saturday & I'll be getting 20-30 pounds later this week. Oh baby, oh baby......bring on the strawberry rhubarb pies :)

I haven't been to NYC since last fall but I'm going this weekend to visit my daughter, Sara. of course we will be taking in some more bakeries; taste testing, getting ideas, etc. How fun is that? I'd really like to visit the Cake Boss' bakery in Hobokan-we'll see if we make it there.
Also need to revisit Chelsea Market and Balthazar Bakery. I can't wait!!! More on that next week.

Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes this past weekend...it doesn't hurt that buttercream icing topped them off along with mini sugar daisies.

Come visit us this Wednesday in Westerville. It is supposed to be a beautiful day. Last week you could get fresh asparagus, rhubarb, herbs, lettuce, radishes, jams, cookies, meats, eggs, beautiful flowers, heirloom tomato plants, and my PIES. What a wonderful start to 2010!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Rhubarb, Rhubarb...May is Rhubarb month!!!!

Wow! That's alotta rhubarb! This picture is from last year but I just cut my rhubarb and I believe I have about this much. Guess I'll be making lots of "Springtime Strawberry Rhubarb" and "Just Rhubarb" pies! There's also a great Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble I might make. Do I need to say that May will be my official Rhubarb month?

Call me or come to the markets to get your fill of Rhubarb for 2010!!

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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