Friday, May 18, 2012

it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood

awaking to sunshine & blue skies is such a treat. after being mired in by the fog for a few days, today is glorious. 


motivation enough to work like a crazy person all morning so i have time to go for an afternoon hike...

i'm also in a stellar mood because i picked up two bronzes in the coast's best of food survey, for best stall at the market (prepared food) and best local food blog. thanks so much for reading & thanks so much for voting & thanks so much for buying my food & thanks so much for supporting my business... ummmm thanks a bunch!

i'm also almost done cooking for the week - squeeee!!! this week i restocked all of my best sellers.
i made a ginormous batch of chicken, leek, broccoli & bacon pies this week... it required standing on a stool to stir the pot. this batch is even better than usual because i used a bunch of smokey, belly bacon from getaway farm - it made such a delicious difference.
small $10 large $20

there's also a new batch of chicken stew. i have been having the hardest time keeping this one in stock, it has definitely become the #1 bestseller in the soup category. so there's homemade chicken stock, braised chicken, potatoes, celery, carrots, parsnips, celery root, white turnips, leeks, peas, herbs and a squirt of lemon to brighten it all up.

i made more chowder too. this batch has quahogs, mussels, smoked haddock, regular haddock & eco-certified salmon from the fish shop. the veggies are: potatoes, leeks, celery, celery root, onions and it's finished with fresh lemon & dill.

there's also a new batch of beef stew. it's finished, but in all honesty, i don't know where i'm going to put it - the freezers are full! this is going to require a pretty intense game of tetris... anyway, it's made with getaway farm grass-fed beef, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, celery, peas, sage, rosemary and it's in a rich beef stock.

per usual all soups, stews & chowders are $7 each for a 500ml container and all of the flavours are listed on my freezer door at the market.

then i went a little crazy on the salad front. 


they are all started but nowhere near finished so if i'm behind schedule one might get scrapped... but if all goes according to plan i will have four salads for the market this weekend.
the first is the quinoa. this week it will have artichoke hearts, green beans, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, lemon, garlic, dill & dijon.
the second is wild rice. this week it will have roasted butternut squash, toasted walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, arugula & maple.
the third is sweet potato. this one is a favourite of mine & the folks over at fruition. it's roasted sweet potatoes with bell peppers, pumpkin seeds, green onions, cumin, lime & cilantro.
the fourth is broccoli. this week it will have raisins, toasted almonds, red onion, red bell pepper & a creamy dressing.

i'm making smaller batches than usual, so if you want one in particular then pop by early to reserve it, please & thank you.

on to desserts:

i made a cake this week & i think it was my best buttercream frosting job thus far... i've been working on my technique ;)


it's a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and raspberry cream cheese frosting and fresh raspberries hidden inside.

for the market i will have snickers brownies, sour cherry cheesecakes with a graham cracker crust, passionfruit meringue tarts, chocolate macaroons & oatmeal/white chocolate/dried cranberry cookies.

i also did a trial last week of the maple walnut squares i have been working on. they got rave reviews with most people having seconds, however, they were really messy, too messy for me to have on the table. i've made a few adjustments and if all goes according to plan i will have them tomorrow.

oh & i can't forget the cupcakes:
vanilla with vanilla
chocolate with chocolate or mint
red velvet with raspberry
carrot with maple cinnamon
banana chocolate chip with peanut butter
rhubarb with blueberry 
apparently i make 6 flavours a week now... oops.

i also have cupcake orders for two weddings tomorrow, yes two! what was i thinking? at least the weather's supposed to be stellar for the happy couples.

best get to baking, a demain.


1 comment:

  1. so, after making an extra couple hundred cupcakes for the weddings tomorrow, i've run out of space & tupperwares. regrettably the rhubarb cupcakes have fallen by the wayside. next week i'll have them, promise!

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