Category: Farm Girl Bakes

 

Baking is a prerequisite on the farm, it’s one of those things you learn very young and continue to hone into adulthood. These are the beautiful things that give us that extra energy when tending the fields, or reward us over the winter.

My November… plus Cookies, Revisited

My November… plus Cookies, Revisited

Posted on by Kasha
"Mom, did we have power on  Halloween?" "No." "Did we have power the day before Halloween?" "No." "When did the power go out?" "October 29th." "And what's today?" "November 5th" "Well that's just ridiculous..." **Note: Power went out 10/29 when 2 trees came down and took out a ton of lines.  Thanks to Frankie for spearheading the tree removal process!  Power was finally restored on 11/6. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Up here in Orange County, we've pretty much recovered and Hurricane...Read More
If the baking bug bites you, scratch that itch!

If the baking bug bites you, scratch that itch!

Posted on by Kasha
[caption id="attachment_3327" align="aligncenter" width="612"] Thomas loves car racing so his dad took him to a Ferrari race in CT and he got to meet this driver. Look familiar? He's on ABC's Shark Tank![/caption] I'm helping a customer at the Ringwood Farmers Market one Saturday when I politely hold up a finger and excuse myself for just a second. "Thomas, can you go in my cooler bag and get my drink?  The pink one, please." I return my attention to the customer at my scale.   "Lately I've noticed that people, adults and children alike, don't use please and thank you...Read More
Better-Than-Devil Dogs or Los Perros del Diablo

Better-Than-Devil Dogs or Los Perros del Diablo

Posted on by Kasha
I almost died this weekend. Maybe I shouldn't say it like that, but it's true. Every Saturday morning I drive to the  Ringwood Farmers Market on a stretch of road we like to call "Old 17".  Old 17 runs from Harriman, NY to the NJ border and until the NYS Thruway was opened in 1953, was the main route to 'upstate' from NYC.  Remember the movie "Dirty Dancing" and the Catskill resort/bungalow colony culture?  Old 17 is how city folks got to Sullivan County. Red Apple Rest, a cafeteria-rest area, was built in 1931 and was approximately halfway between NYC...Read More
Lemon Ricotta Bars (with Goat’s Milk Ricotta)

Lemon Ricotta Bars (with Goat’s Milk Ricotta)

Posted on by chris
Holy cow. We started markets this week.  It was hot.  REALLY hot. I drank a lot of water, lemonade.  and iced coffee and saw a ridiculous number of smiling faces - all of them thrilled that we are back and selling lots of fabulous local produce.  Many sincere thanks to those who remembered and mentioned the hardships we endured last summer with the massive, devastating floods.  It was nice to hear the praise and admiration, not that it was expected or even deserved.  We did what we had to do and we got through it.   Anyone faced with similar...Read More

Bailey’s Irish Cream Glaze for Aunt Lynne

Posted on by Kasha
Actually, it's for a chocolate pound cake mini-bundt.... But since my dear Aunt Lynne is a lover of Bailey's, well, this glaze is, and shall always be, eaten in her honor.  I'm hoping that by posting this recipe my cousins will make it for her one of these days.  I'm pretty sure she has the main ingredient ;) You can use this glaze to top just about any kind of cake.  It was perfect with chocolate, but I'm sure some kind of mocha or even a yellow or white cake would be tasty.  Bailey's is good as is, so how could it NOT be...Read More

Cherry-Pistachio Shortbread Cookies including Gluten-Free version!

Posted on by Kasha
Not even eight years old and already my kid's got girls making him buy shit --- his friend Megan is selling Girl Scout cookies and last night he casually asked me if we could buy some. "I want some chocolate and mint ones.  They're only $3.50 a box!"  (yeah, for like twelve!) "Oh, you mean Thin Mints?  I love those... " "HOW DID YOU KNOW???" *** I've still got my son believing I  am a magical and omniscient being.  I haven't let on that I know all these things because I, too, was once seven years old.  I'm riding this wave until...Read More

Valentine’s Cookie Decorating Seminar for The Boy

Posted on by Kasha
[caption id="attachment_2784" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Made from scratch and decorated 'to order'..."][/caption] I am not one of those ‘class mothers’ who attends every party, PTO event, and nose-picking that takes place at school. I could be, now, in the off-season, but my son insists that he doesn’t want me there. Is he embarrassed? Probably. I guess that's normal, though, right?  It may very well be the embarrassment factor that makes him resistant to have me in his class. Or it may be the fact that he can’t be ‘himself’ when I’m there. Or at least the Thomas that he becomes once he plunks his...Read More
A blog post that has Nothing to do with Super Bowl snacks.

A blog post that has Nothing to do with Super Bowl snacks.

Posted on by Kasha
It's been a bit of a crazy January around here.  I'm working on painting and redecorating (which means a trip to Paramus to get another slip cover for the Ektorp sofa... Oh, please!  Twist my arm to go to IKEA.) and that has left my home in a state of complete disarray. Mealtimes are no longer planned.  In fact, it's usually a glance at the clock at 5pm that reminds me I have a hungry second grader who needs a nourishing meal to fill his belly.  My pantry is stocked with easy-to-piece-together foods and once a week I make it to...Read More

Ladies, This One’s for You….

Posted on by Kasha
Have you scheduled your annual mammogram yet? Well get on that!  There's no time like the present.... You don't want to waste a gorgeous day off in the spring or summer do ya?  Do.  It.  Today. Around the farm, this winter in particular, there's not much going on. This is when we take care of things that we've had to put off because of that darned growing season.  So I've been seeing doctors, dentists, optometrists, and hair colorists (shhh.... don't tell).  I've been cleaning and purging and sorting and organizing .  I've been choosing paint colors, patching nail holes and moving furniture.  I'm...Read More

‘Royal’ly Cool Ideas for Cookie Decorating (Part 2)

Posted on by Kasha
So you made all your cookies and you got all your pastry bags full of various colors of royal icing, right?  I know, I know... You've been waiting patiently for me to tell you HOW to decorate the cookies.  WHY?  How could you resist?  If you have never, ever decorated a cookie before, I urge you to just dive in and get piping (that's what you call it when you squeeze the frosting out of a pastry bag).  You'll get the hang of it, I promise.  And I bet you'll find that you get more creative, faster, and more confident...Read More