Salem New Hampshire Farmer's Market Part 2

We had so much fun when we attended the Salem NH Farmer's Market, that I couldn't get everything we saw and enjoyed into one post!  While we were waiting for Jamieson of Brookford Farm to set up his table, we went inside, and checked out some of the vendors in there.  You could smell fresh waffles cooking in the waffle iron.  I told my lil guy that they were selling "Waffles on a stick" AKA Waffle Lolly's!  They are made my a sweet woman named Christine, and her business is called Want Waffles, and that link will bring you to her Facebook page.  She was running a special for children ages 6 and under could get one for $1.00!  Aidan enjoyed maple syrup and powdered sugar on his, and he thought it was fantastic! 

While Mom was checking out the other tables, the music had just started up, and the guys are suckers when it comes to Blues and Jazz!  Poor Howard Stith had just started playing, and Aidan wanted to be front and center.  Howard is a great guy and we all enjoyed his music.  Actually, Aidan enjoyed it so much that that is where the guys stayed until Mom was done shopping and chatting!  I thought Howard was great,  He plays what he refers to as "traditional 12-string blues and roots music", "Songs from Mother's knee and other low joints."  In between songs Howard shares stories, jokes and anecdotes, and it draws you in and makes you want to hear more.  He is out of Dover, NH.  He did have a CD available for only $10.  Aidan wanted a bit of Howard's music to take home with us.  It was definitely worth the price.  Aidan has CD's at home, Dan Zanes, etc, but this was his first non-kid CD.  When Howard heard this, he breaked after his song, and autographed the cd liner for Aidan!  We have been listening to that CD non-stop since, whenever Aidan is in the car! 

By this time, my bags were getting heavy, and my camera was in some pocket.  I made my way over to the busy table that Hurd Farm, a family farm from Hampton, NH were selling their "Naturally raised meat, the healthier choice for you and your family"!  
Here is a little bit about them found on their site:  "We were a dairy farm that has transitioned to locally raised all natural meats and poultry. The Hurd family has owned and operated the farm
since 1923.
Today we raise all natural grass fed beef and chickens and Heritage breed pigs.
Our meats and poultry are fed an all-natural diet with no added antibiotics or other
additives as growth stimulants. Our animals are provided access to green grass
and sunshine on our farm's 160 acres.
We offer the best home grown beef, pork, chicken, and eggs to our customers." 

 The Hurd family was very friendly, and they told me that they have a meat CSA, as well as selling their great products at local markets.  If the line at their table was any indication, I knew we were in for a treat when we made our pulled pork!  I purchased a Pork Butt and pound of nitrite free bacon.  The next day the Pork Butt went into my crock-pot!  And the end results......Wow!  Melted in your mouth!  Aidan is a pulled pork fanatic and he thought it was the best!  

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the finished product.  I did not have my camera handy.  


We saw many other vendors that day, all had some great stuff available.  The Salem, NH Farmer's Market is definitely worth visiting.  


One thing I have enjoyed about our participation in CSA's, farmer's markets, and visiting local farms, aside from supporting my local community, is that my son is learning where his food comes from.  I think he is starting to get that the food we buy at the farm, and market or receive in our CSA is not anything like they sell in the grocery store.  I want to thank all of the small local businesses that keep on trudging, even though the economy is getting more and more difficult.  Makes us want to spend more of our dollars closer to home!  Have a great Easter, Passover or whatever you believe in!  May you have a great time with your family!


Kellie & Family!

 

Family Fun at the Salem, NH Farmer's Market! Part 1

This past Sunday, the guys and I decided we wanted to visit a farmer's market that we hadn't been to before.  We decided to Check out the Salem, NH Farmer's Market.  It is located on Lake St. at the Lake Street Garden Center.  The market is open on the first and third Sunday of the month during the winter.  The hours are 12pm-4pm until May.  The market was founded in 2010.

I can honestly say what drew me most on the list of vendors was Brookford Farm.  Brookford Farm is a NH farm that offers raw milk, yogurt, cheeses, all from grass-fed cows.  They also have pastured pork, Grass-fed Beef, free-range eggs, New England Grain, vegetables, and a Whole Diet Based CSA Share.  Their site is beautiful and their staff is very friendly.  At the market, I met Jamieson, and he told me he has been part of the Brookford Farm for two years.  He had a table set up in front of an old white truck that was reminiscent of the old milk man's trucks.  When we arrived Jamieson was still setting up.  I held back from running over....I was dying to try raw milk.  I have never tried it, and have read of many health benefits of consuming raw milk.

Doesn't this remind you of the old milk man's trucks?

This is a quote found on the Brookford Farm website.  "Our milk is also raw, meaning that it’s never pasteurized, or subjected to high temperatures. We believe that raw milk is better to drink because it contains beneficial probiotic microorganisms, vitamins, and enzymes. It’s also much higher in vitamins like beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E. Even some people who are lactose intolerant are able to drink milk in its raw state, since the enzyme lactase, which helps to digest lactose, is not destroyed by the high heat of pasteurization.  Many people also think that Brookford Farm milk is uncommonly delicious. In 2010, we were awarded “Best Milk” by New Hampshire Magazine, and have won numerous awards from milk distributors like Organic Valley and other organizations."

I have to say, me and my family totally agree with New Hampshire Magazine.  Brookford Farm Milk is honestly the best we ever had.  My son normally drinks chocolate milk, but he loved it so much he had three glasses.  He said "it's so creamy and delicioussssssssss!  Can I have more?"  Normally, we are not milk drinkers, and usually we have to (and I hate to admit that we are so wasteful) throw out part of our milk because it has gone sour.  This milk was so tasty, and like Aidan said creamy, and sweet.  We drank the half gallon in two days.  I can't wait to go back to get more.  We love that it comes in Ball Canning jars too.  We use them for everything at home.  Drinking, canning, storing leftovers, making yogurt.  I told Jamieson about my blog as I was buying the milk and he offered to give me some yogurt to review.  That too, was just as great as the milk, smooth, creamy, and fresh.  I like to make yogurt when I have the time, but I haven't in a while so we were excited to try new to us products and support a local business.  I can definitely say that I will be looking into their other products and continue to buy milk and yogurt from them.

Cookies, Crispy pops, and Marshmallow samples!  YUM!

Cupcakes

We needed something to enjoy our milk with and the place for that was Modern Sweets, a Merrimack, NH based baking business run by a mom named Charlotte.  Her booth was so cute it drew me over.  She had beautifully decorated cupcakes, and Easter cookies, and homemade graham crackers drizzled in chocolate, and some rice crispy pops.  I started talking to her about how great everything looked. She told me she just recently started her business a few weeks prior.  She is definitely off to a great start.




 She offered samples of her homemade marshmallows, and once one melted in my mouth, she had me sold.  I told her that I have a blog, and when I told her the name she mentioned seeing it on a search.  She offered me some of her Easter sugar cookies, and two different flavored cupcakes to review.  I knew Aidan and I would have fun trying them out, and I bought some of her marshmallows and graham crackers so we could make some microwaved smores.  All perfect to taste with our Brookford milk. 


And the taste testing begins!....



We went to the market Sunday and Aidan and my niece tasted some of the cookies, and loved them!

Monday after school, Aidan and I set up for our sampling!  We couldn't wait for supper.  We had a lot of fun.  First was the milk and cupcakes.  The cupcake on the left is chocolate with peanut butter frosting.  My boy loves chocolate, but only really likes peanut butter in sandwiches, so he wanted to have some cookies instead.  I liked the cupcake.  Then we tasted the beautifully decorated carrot cake flavored cupcake.  I love carrot cake and so does Aidan.  We make one for John's birthday every year.  I adored this cupcake...I was proud of myself.  I didn't devour it.  I split it in three.  I needed to leave room for the Smores we were about to create in our microwave, while Aidan was busy dunking an Easter egg shaped sugar cookie in his second glass of milk...Those were really good, but I behaved.  I had some Pulled Pork cooking in my crock pot that we purchased the meat from the market Sunday from Hurd Farm.  ( I will talk about that in post 2).  We had some smores we had to make!

 I apologize for the lousy lighting here.  These pictures do not do justice to the delicious Graham Crackers, marshmallows, and smores we created with our Modern Sweets.  I don't think after eating these graham crackers that I will ever want a boxed one again....This was....amazing.  I will have to try to make some with Aidan for those times we don't have a chance to catch up with Charlotte at the market.

 Are they making you hungry yet?  These are not flimsy graham crackers, but dense, crispy, tasty goodness.  They had just the right amount of chocolate to make good smores.  If you are going to make some smores, it is a good idea to remember that these are fresh, homemade ingredients, without all the preservatives of the store bought marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.  We don't have a huge microwave and it only took about 7-8 seconds...(make sure you stand and watch, so you don't get a huge mess) to get some ooey-gooey smores perfection.  Seriously, screw you Nabisco, Hersheys, and Kraft.....Modern Sweets are where the best smores are at.  And no, Charlotte did not pay me to say that....that's my opinion, and the evidence is below!  See what I mean??????  (Again, sorry for the lighting, the skylights are great, until you need a picture!)

I will post soon about the other great products and vendors at the Salem, NH Farmers' Market.  We will definitely making a return trip soon!

Enjoying the Winter Farmer's Market

My plans were to keep up posting here regularly, but we know life doesn't always go as planned.  I have been through the wringer, and hopefully it will be coming to an end soon.  I am having a tonsillectomy this Friday, and a biopsy to my lymph-nodes.  I cannot wait for this to be over and done with so I can enjoy the Spring weather with Aidan, and hopefully get back into the kitchen, full force.

 

I was feeling okay a few weeks ago, so Batman (Aidan) and I ventured out to Newburyport Winter Farmer's Market .   The weather was great, and so were the vendors.  Aidan really enjoyed the music, and the others visiting the market really enjoyed Batman.  I got a delicious Chai, and Aidan and I got  lunch from Kellie Brook Farm.  I had the pulled pork sandwich, and Aidan had the hot dog, all made locally from their natural pigs.  They are located in Greenland, New Hampshire.



Aidan and I both loved their meat so much that I bought a Pork Roast to Bring home to make our own pulled pork.  That too, was amazing.  It was an all out good day.


We left there with some local apples, some delicious quinoa salad, that even my picky eater liked, and a homemade smores.  I can't wait to feel better and get back out to enjoy the Winter Farmer's Market.  I would like to check out the Salem, NH Winter Market.  I think Aidan and John will enjoy it, and we can check out some different vendors.  Here are some pictures from our great Sunday outing!   The pulled pork was delicious.  I wish I got a picture of the finished product.  Just thinking about it, is making me yearn to get back there, and fast to get some more pork from Kellie Brook Farms.  I know Aidan would love to have another of their great hot dogs, no additives either.  : )

Pulled pork going into the crockpot!

Aidan enjoying Quinoa Salad from Figtree Cafe & Catering.  They are in Rollinsford, NH.  I'm gonna make it a goal to check out the different markets in our area.  I did go to the Lawrence Farmer's Market once, and did not like it at all.  It could've been a bad day, maybe we will give  it another try this year. 

New Year! Update!

I know I haven't posted for several months now.  I had just got my blog up and running, and then I needed to have a major surgery.  I thought I would be better after recovering, but we had to move, due to a severe mold infestation.  During these last few months I have still been having health issues, some mold related, and had to have a few more surgeries.  Unfortunately, I haven't been spending as much time in the kitchen as I would like to.  I am grateful that I was able to get a lot of canning done thanks to my CSA share at Farmer Dave's CSA, and the Haverhill Farmer's market.  All that work before I was sick is helping a lot now.

Farmer Dave's Apples!

 We are reaping the benefits of our canning during the Summer and Fall. We are lucky to be enjoying "fresh" vanilla peaches in January!  The recipe is found in an earlier post here,  Peaches in Vanilla,  Hot Pepper Jelly for Christmas gifts, Dilly Beans, and Pickles for snacks, and homemade canned beans, saves some money at the grocery store.  Last night Aidan and I made a "homemade" apple pie with Apples from Farmer Dave's and the Haverhill Farmer's Market, because we canned some Apple Pie Filling!  With a store bought refrigerated crust, we had the fresh taste of homemade, local apples, and Aidan and I enjoyed a bit of time in the kitchen.  Since I have been spending much of my time taking it easy, I have found more time for my other passion, reading!  The recipe that we used for the apple pie apples came from a recipe I adapted from goddesshobbies.blogspot.com  Her ingredient list are as follows. 

Sarah Jean's Apple Pie Filling

Granny Smith Apples

4 1/2 cups of sugar

2 Tbs cinnamon

1/2 tea nutmeg (I liked 1 tea)

1 tea salt

1 cup corn starch

10 cups water

Mix all ingredients, except corn starch. Mix the corn starch with a little water and then add it in. Boil all ingredients. 

Fill jar half-full with apples.  Jam them in.  Then fill the jar part way with the syrup and fill with more apples to the rim of the jar.  (Normally, I am prepared and have pictures for you, but today, I don't....Sorry ; ) !  )  

Work bubbles out with a knife.  Wipe the rim of the jar, and add lids.  Submerge in a hot water bath for 20 mins.  I believe I got 6 or 7 quarts and a pint or so.  I never made a pie with a canned filling before, but my boy and I were pleasantly surprised.  It took almost two quarts to make a 10" pie.  Some of the sauce was left and a few apples, but my boy enjoyed snacking on a bowl of the delicious apples right out of the jar, while our pie was in the oven.  Easy Peasy!  I will definitely be using this recipe for years to come! 

As a family, my lil guy, the big guy and I are all avid readers.  My parents bought me a kindle for my birthday.  I didn't think I would like it much because I love turning the pages, and the feeling and weight of holding the book while I read.  I knew I would need to find a good cover!  I searched high and low.  I wanted to find one that is made in the USA, and would stand up to being used a lot.  I found one I truly loved on Oberondesign.com.

Here is the link to my Tree of Life Kindle cover!
http://www.oberondesign.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1609

Oberon Designs Tree of Life Leather Kindle 4 Cover.  Made in the USA!

I love the way it feels and it is so nicely hand tooled!  Between Amazon's free reads I have found on pixelofink.com and www.netgallery.com, I have managed to find a bunch of great books to start my ebook library.  I hope to share some of my reviews on here.  I enjoy many different genres, to the cooking, canning, gardening, memoirs, Non-fiction, historical fiction, romance, inspirational, and more.  I find myself reading a lot of Amish fiction lately.  I am enjoying learning about their culture.  I love doing things the old way a lot, and if you know anything about the Amish way of life, they live without electricity, they can, bake, cook, garden.  My son calls them "the pioneers of today", and he's right.  I hope you will enjoy my new entries when I get a chance to get on here and post some updates and reviews.  I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy Holiday season with their families.

I just ordered a Vitamix a few days ago, so once we receive it and get a chance to try it out, we will be having a post hopefully soon!

Our little tree at the new place! 

Me and my Little Baker!

Kellie~

Puttin em Up!

Me and My Boy!

Pickled Jalapenos

Dilly Beans

This Summer seems to have flown right by.  A lot of that is probably because I had surgery.  I was down and out a lot of the Summer.  I did take Aidan to the zoo.  We had a blast.  I also made sure I got to the farmer's market every Saturday, and my CSA pick up on Tuesdays.  This is the first year in a long time that  I began doing one of my other loves again after a long hiatus....Canning.  I didn't grow up around anyone who canned, I was just drawn to it.  I really missed it.  I have had to take it easy, but it has been like therapy...to me it is calming, and I love creating and making things for other people.  I started with watermelon rind pickles, and since I have made diced tomatoes, salsa, dill pickles, and dilly beans, strawberry jam, cherry jam, pickled jalapenos, apple sauce, peach jam, peaches in vanilla, and hot pepper jelly.  I have also canned kidney beans and chickpeas.  It feels so good knowing what it going into the food that my family will eat this year into the next growing season.  No unknown ingredients, I have become friends with many of the farmers I get my food from.  The milk I make my yogurt from comes from Kimball's, my garlic, and green and wax beans from Polly at Fletcher's Community Farms, tomatoes from Farmer Dave, and Wally's, but the majority came from Jeff at Simone Farms.  Can you say where your food comes from?  To me it is important.  By buying local, you are supporting your community and helping keep small farms and business' alive.  My peaches and pears this week came from my Aunt Lynne's trees.  I am going to share some pictures, and post the recipe for the Peaches in Vanilla!  It is worth the time spent.  Home canned goods make excellent gifts as well! 

 

Peaches in Vanilla!

Peaches in Vanilla adapted from (Canning For A New Generation by Liana Krissoff)

1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar (I used lemon juice)
8 pounds peaches (freestone are best)
4 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans split, and cut in half
2 quarts water

Fill a large bowl or pot with cold water and stir in the lemon juice.  Blanch and peel the peaches, putting them in the acidulated water as you peel (helps retain their color).  Halve and pit the peaches.  Slice or quarter them.  Return to the water.
Prepare for water-bath canning.  In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 quarts water and bring the syrup to a boil.  Drain the peaches and pack them tightly into the jars, leaving 1 inch headspace at the top.  Ladle the hot syrup into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Slip 1 or 2 pieces of vanilla bean into each jar.  Use a butter knife to remove air bubbles around the inside of each jar.  Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars and place a lid and ring on each jar, adjusting so it is finger tight. Return the jars to the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by a 1/2 inch.  Bring to a boil and boil pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes.  Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours.  You should hear that wonderful "ping" sound.  This is your jars sealing!  If a jar does not seal properly refrigerate and eat soon.  Otherwise label the sealed jars and store to enjoy later!  Peaches in Vanilla make fabulous gifts, just ask my friend Ellen.

With our first jar of them, I made a quick dessert of peach shortcake.  I took one can of Pillsbury buttermilk grands and baked them according to the package directions.  I used about a pint of peaches in vanilla, and heated it in a saucepan on low.  While stirring I slowly added some water combined with cornstarch to thicken the sauce.  I lowered the temp and let it cook until it was the consistency I wanted.  I cut the biscuits in half, scooped some vanilla ice cream, topped with some peaches and sauce, topped with some whipped cream and the top of the biscuit.  One little peach slice on top and a dollop of whipped cream.....delicious, quick and easy!!!!