Spring Update 2014
We have so many fun things to share with you this spring! Here’s an update on what’s coming.
Also, if you haven’t already, place your order now for dry goods. The deadline to order is this Thursday morning at 9:00.
Deadline To Order: April 17th at 9:00 a.m.
Pick Up Date: April 24th or 25th, depending on location
Printable Price List
Place Your Order Here
Vanilla
As we mentioned last night, we will be ordering from our vanilla supplier today in just a little while. So the sooner you get your order in for any of these special vanilla items, the better.
After sampling many different brands, we believe the Singing Dog Vanilla extract is one of the best there is. But we’re eager to know what you think too. Order yours now and take part in our Great Vanilla Search just by offering your feedback once you’ve tried it.
All Things Maple
The especially cool spring weather has presented our maple grower with a later-than-average harvesting time. So our organic maple order will be later than usual as well. Right now, it looks like the delivery dates for maple syrup, maple sugar, maple candy, and maple nuts will be in early-ish June.
Although it won’t be delivered until June, we plan to start taking orders for all things maple sometime next week.ates for maple syrup, maple sugar, maple candy, and maple nuts will be in early-ish June.
And folks, this is amazing maple syrup. Fresh from Vermont, the BEST we’ve ever had! You won’t want to miss this stuff! (And it freezes perfectly, so you can stock up for your own family or even for Christmas gifts if you’re the type to plan ahead.)
Rapadura Organic Whole Cane Sugar
You, we, and everyone else has been anxiously awaiting our bulk Rapadura whole organic cane sugar, so here’s an update. It has taken F.O.R.E.V.E.R. for the ship to carry our rapadura from Brazil, where it is harvested and processed, to the U.S.A. And even after it arrives here in the states, it has to be inspected and also receive clearance from customs before we can pick it up at the dock and truck it to Tennessee.
The good news is…
The rapadura has arrived in the states, cleared customs, passed inspection, and is ready for us to pick up. Now, the only question is WHEN it will arrive here in TN. We hope it will be delivered in time for our April delivery. If not, then it will certainly be available on our May order form.
We’ll keep you posted.
Cod Liver Oil | Green Pasture Special
Green Pasture, the supplier of our cod liver oils and butter oils, is careful to maintain equal pricing on their products for everyone. No matter where you buy your Green Pasture cod liver oil and butter oil, the price is the same.
But we’ve been given special permission by Green Pasture to make a high volume purchase, and pass the savings on to you this May. This order will include Green Pasture’s famous fermented cod liver oils and their butter oils in many different flavors.
You can also have your regular priced cod liver oil or butter oil shipped directly to your home anytime through this link. The shipping is on us.
Tropical Fruits
We’re still working out the details, but in May, we plan to offer a nice selection of fresh tropical fruits. Keep an eye out for our emails on this one. We’ll know more soon.
Peaches
Peaches will be later this season; we’re thinking late June.
What happened to the May peaches?
There are peach trees that bear fruit in May, some that bear in June, and others that bear in July. And just as you’d expect, the trees that bear fruit in May bloom sooner than those that are ready for harvest in June or July.
All over the southern, peach-growing states this spring, the weather warmed enough that the May bearing peach trees bloomed a few weeks ago. But just after the bolssoms had been polinated and the fruit had begun to grow, there was a cold snap, and the delicate new fruit was frozen and ruined. So there will not be any peaches available to us in May.
Mind you, there should be plenty of peaches in June and July. It’s only the May bearing trees that were affected by the frost.
Livestock Feed
Livestock feed will be available to order for pick up on the following dates. The order form for the May delivery dates will open soon.
May 22nd or 23rd (depending on where you pick up)
June 26th or 27th (depending on where you pick up)
SAF Yeast Special
SAF yeast in 1 pound bricks is 1/2 price on our dry goods order form! So stock up now!
The one thing you need to know is that the “best-to-use-by” date on these sealed yeast packs is May of 2014. So if you decide to store some up for a while, we recommend placing them in your freezer. This will help keep them fresh for a long time:)
Regular Price $3.93
Sale Price 1.97
Rapadura Caramel Popcorn
Upgraded Easy Rapadura Caramel Popcorn
By Erin Otto
I never would have attempted to make this recipe. Not because it’s difficult – because it is really quite easy. But because the recipe my daughter “adapted” it from called for two ingredients I never use, and I would never have expected caramel to turn out without them. But it did.
The two ingredients I don’t ever use: corn syrup and white sugar. And instead, my daughter substituted rapadura sugar and honey. To my complete surprise, not only did the caramel turn out, but this is the absolute best caramel popcorn we’ve ever had.
I love that’s made with ingredients you usually have on hand, and it’s rather impressive too. The work is all done in a matter of 5 or 10 minutes, and then all you have to do is wait for it to bake.
Ingredients
8 cups popped popcorn
3/4 cup rapadura, sucanat, or sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Butter 2 9×13 baking pans and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Place the popcorn in a large mixing bowl.
In a heavy saucepan mix the butter, honey and rapadura. Cook and stir over medium heat until it boils. Then turn the heat down a little and continue boiling, without stirring, for 5 more minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the baking soda and vanilla, and pour the whole mixture over the popcorn, stirring to coat.
Pour the popcorn into the prepared 9×13 pans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan onto buttered foil to cool. Makes 8 cups.
Apple Pie
I remember when I first learned how to make a pie. I was probably about 7 years old, and my family had a huge rhubarb plant in our garden. I always loved to bake things in the kitchen, and my mom showed me how to make a rhubarb pie using this crust recipe. Well, I was only 7 years old, and it was my first pie, so you can imagine that the first crust didn’t turn out quite as beautifully as my mom’s. But with a little practice, I mastered the techniques.
With so many good apples available right now, I wanted to share this pie recipe recipe with you. I wrote the directions based on a unique technique my mom made up – grating the butter using a hand-held cheese grater. It seems to work great every time, so if you’ve had trouble making flaky pies before, give this recipe a chance. You can also watch a video of me making the crust if you want a visual of what I’m talking about in this recipe. Click here to see the video.
For the filling:
about 6 medium-sized apples – 6 cups total or as much as you need to make a nice, full pie (We like the tartness of Rome, Ida Red, Granny Smith, and Jonathan, but any apple you have on hand will be fine. Just don’t use Red Delicious.)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup rapadura (or sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the crust:
2 cups unbleached white flour
2/3 cup cold, salted butter
very cold water
For the Apple Filling
Peel, core, and slice the apples. In a large bowl, toss them together with the flour, sugar and cinnamon.
For the Crust:
Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Take the butter directly out of the refrigerator and carefully grate it into the flour using a cheese grater (use a hand-held grater for this, NOT an electric grater). Each time you grate the stick of butter, roll it in the flour so it is always coated with flour. When all the butter is grated, mix it into the flour slightly. DURING THIS STEP, YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER-MIX. IF YOU OVER-MIX THE CRUST, IT WILL BECOME TOUGH.
Fill a small pitcher with water, and add an ice cube to make it extra cold. The cold water will help the butter to stay cold during this step, resulting in a nice, flaky crust. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the water into the flour/butter mixture. Stir the water in with two or three strokes. Again, make sure you don’t over-mix, or you’ll have tough crust. Keep adding water until you have a dough that sticks together nicely but is not so wet that it sticks to your hands. Don’t knead it; press it together gently, adding more water if needed.
Break the dough into two equal sections. Set one half aside while you roll the first one out for the bottom crust. Flour the counter well, or the crust will stick. To be sure that the crust is the right size, place the pie plate you plan on using over the circle you have rolled out. The crust should be about 1 1/2 inches bigger than your pie plate on all sides. If your crust is a little bigger, don’t worry – you’ll just trim it down a little when you have it in the pie plate.
Place the rolled out crust into the bottom of your pie plate. This can be a tricky step, because… well, how do you pick up a large circle of delicate crust and put it into your pie pan without breaking it? So I found a way to make it easier. Fold the crust in half – make sure it’s dusted with flour on the top – then fold it in half again, so your crust is just 1/4 the size of a circle, and then place it in the pie plate. Unfold it, and… you have a beautiful pie crust that’s NOT torn!
Pour the apple mixture into your crust. Roll out the top crust and place it over the pie. (You can use the same method of getting it onto the pie as you did with the bottom crust.) You should have about 1/2 to 3/4 inches of crust hanging over the edge of your pie. If you have more than this, just cut it off with a scissors or a sharp knife. Tuck the overhanging crust under the edge of the bottom crust, and crimp the pie with your fingers. Cut a few vents in the top. Then bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden.
The last step: ENJOY! This pie is best served hot.
Wow! Check out all of those beautiful flakes! They were all formed by the really cold little flakes of grated butter, and they were preserved by mixing the dough as little as possible.
How do you make pie crust? Do you have any techniques that result in a really flaky crust? Has anyone ever made a pie in a brown paper bag? (That’s Mom’s next pie project.)
Rapadura Carmel Popcorn
My daughter Emma invented this recipe on movie night last fall, and since it’s similar to a candy recipe, with specific instructions on boiling, I didn’t expect it to work with rapadura and honey – but it did! Good job, Emma – it’s a real treat! (And I never would have thought of it.)
8 cups popped popcorn
3/4 cup rapadura
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Butter 2 9×13 baking pans and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Place the popcorn in a large mixing bowl.
In a heavy saucepan mix the butter, honey and rapadura. Cook and stir over medium heat until it boils. Then turn the heat down a little and continue boiling, without stirring, for 5 more minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the baking soda and vanilla, and pour the whole mixture over the popcorn, stirring to coat.
Pour the popcorn into the prepared 9×13 pans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan onto buttered foil to cool. Makes 8 cups.