Mountain Musings

4 weeks down...

The first month of market has wrapped up, and Hannah and I are starting to get into a routine as the weeks go by. And they are passing fast! When almost every day has some sort of market prep planned, they fly by with Saturdays coming again very soon. :)

Last Saturday was our first experience with rain, and while it wasn't terrible, it's not something we really care to experience again! I always am keeping a close eye on the forecast, trying to make a decision on whether to start my baking on Friday or not. This week it's calling for a 40% chance of scattered t-storms....hmmm.

Today was supposed to be lower humidity than other days this week, so it was fudge making day! The candies can be made earlier than Friday, which helps out alot with my time in the kitchen. Butter Pecan (on the right) was a new recipe tested today, and I was pleased with how it turned out. Cleaning up my mess after fudge is always a yummy job. Anybody want to help me? :)

~Sarah

A Successful Market Day ~ Part 5

Saturday...the greatly anticipated opening day for Farmer's Market finally arrived!

We began the day early with a chilly 29 degrees...using flashlights to see inside boxes at dark o'clock to determine which soaps to display and which boxes held the pies. The van was loaded with stuff to unpack and a tent and signs to get in place!

Vendors began to arrive to set up their wares at the Wharf Parking Lot. Here's a shot taken looking down the main sidewalk as flowers and vegetables are brought out to display:

Hannah and Sarah worked on their booth to get it just right. Here they are just before market opened for customers:

The girls will experiment with a different table arrangement next week. This L-shaped display was necessary because end-to-end tables went just over the alloted parking space line. Oops! There were honey vendors in the parking spots on both sides of them--some close quarters.

Here's an upclose photo of Hannah's soap display:

And an upclose photo of Sarah's baked goods display which included pies, fudge, lemon blueberry muffins, butterscotch bars, and cheesecake wedges in the fridge:

Here's Sarah with bags of homemade marshmallows, gummy squares, cashew brittle, and puppy chow she made. Her free samples drew a crowd around her booth throughout the morning!

Here's a view from behind Sarah's booth as she keeps track of all the paperwork. She took custom orders to bring to market next week, too:

One of the fresh flower vendors sold out long before the end of market. Her display was beautiful, and her flowers attracted lots of customers:

She gave folks wandering by her booth a free tulip while supplies lasted:

Fresh veggies were everywhere!

My favorite: Beets!

There were several honey vendors. Jonathan was very interested in checking out those displays since his 30,000 bees arrive for pickup at the bee store this afternoon. The beehives he and a friend made are in place on our property awaiting their occupants. Post coming soon on his adventures as a beekeeper!

Some musicians set up at the end of the parking lot and played for a portion of the morning:

And there's Granny...she bought Sarah's last coconut pie and also some Gardener's Therapy Balm from Hannah. What a sweet and encouraging Granny! Well, that was a sampling of Saturday's Farmer's Market...one week down and 32 more weeks to go! Oh, my, I'm wondering if my kitchen will survive this venture!

~Deb

Home Again!

Last week I left all the Farmer's Market commotion going on around here and headed down to South Carolina to visit my sister for a few days...and I picked up Granny and brought her back here to live awhile with us! Yay!

We just got in last evening, and it's good to be home! While I was away, the girls entertained a photographer and reporter from the local newspaper who interviewed them, snapped lots of pictures, and wrote an article on their involvement in the local Farmer's Market.

Here's Granny reading about them in today's paper, and here's a link to the front page article:

Hopefully, the exposure will mean some extra sales on Saturday. The girls hope so!

And did you know that I'm making nine cakes and lots of cupcakes for the Market this weekend?

Can you picture what we'll all be doing from now until Market opens? Will we survive this week of busy-ness?!

Stay tuned...I'll show you on Friday all the cakes I've decorated!

~Deb

Top O' the Mornin'!

Edited to add the correct answers to the questions:

Dad's mom's maiden name was O'Connor, and her relatives came over from County Cork. So y'all picked the right place, but had trouble with the name. :) I also have other Irish ancestors - Dad's other side of the family (which I'm not sure what the name was or where in Ireland they came from...fill me in, Aunt Toots, if you know!) as well as in Mom's background. She had a great-grandmother named Virginia McSherry who came over with part of her family because of the Irish potato famine.

Three cheers for Ireland!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

Around the Mountain Musings household, we're celebrating our Irish roots today! A few years ago on the blog, we posted about the story of the real St. Patrick, so go on over there to read more about him.

There's Irish music playing, the table is set with green checked placemats, the green shamrock plant is the centerpiece, there's a green key lime pie in the freezer for supper, and of COURSE - I'm wearing a green shirt and my new St. Patrick's Day socks. :)

Just as a fun little exercise, I have created a couple of polls here for all of our readers to guess where our Irish ancestors lived in the old country and what Dad's mom's maiden name was. :)

  

~Sarah

Preparing for Market: Part 1

This past month has been a busy time around the Girotti house! Hannah and I have been accepted into the local farmers' market for the upcoming season. There is much preparation to be done before the start date of April 7.

One of my first tasks was to research and order packaging supplies at a good price. Large boxes have been delivered, unpacked, and stacked on our ping-pong table. You can get a little glimpse below of some of the cake boxes, cake boards, fudge containers, pie plates, pie wedge containers, and muffin liners that are all ready to go. I think I'm all set in that department for awhile now! :)

Hannah and I are splitting a booth, with her half being soaps, and my half being baked goods and candy. We want to try to set each half apart, so it will be obvious that there are two different businesses. My business cards are black and pink with some gold swirls, so I want to go with that color theme in my whole presentation - the table, the product packaging, and the way I'm dressed. I decided to make myself an apron to wear that would bring in those colors. A quick trip to Wal-Mart for the main fabric and bias binding, and I was ready to go.

 

I used a pattern that was bought at a yard sale and added a cupcake applique to the center to emphasize the sweets aspect. My scraps from past quilting classes came in handy for that - they even had swirls! A flower and leaves replaced the cherry in the applique pattern.

There's lots more to do - setting pricing, figuring out the table layout, receiving more orders, testing recipes, planning what to bring the first day, and of course...the actual baking every Friday. :)

More updates to come over the next month!

~Sarah

Home from Houston!

Today the Lord answered our prayers and brought Jonathan home safely from his trip last week to Houston, TX. Whew! Now I can relax.

I know, I know...people come and go and fly all the time! But Jonathan's avionics work doesn't often take him away from his home airport. So we were eagerly looking forward to his safe return.

Take a look at what Sarah baked up to welcome him home...quite the appropriate gift for our very own resident Cookie Monster!

Actually, Hannah found a picture on my sister's Pinterest and passed the idea on to Sarah. I'm not sure who to credit for the original clever idea. 

First, Sarah found a copycat recipe for Chips Ahoy cookies at the Food.com site. Then she baked the cookies that she put in Cookie Monster's mouth.

The cupcakes were made with a Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge cake mix, and then she piped on blue icing for the body and white icing and chocolate chips for the eyes. She made a pretty convincing Cookie Monster, don't you think?

And Jonathan wanted to gobble up all the deliciousness! Welcome home, Cookie Monster!

~Deb

I Ain't Fancy ~ Take Me to Smoking Roosters

Often on weekends I'll write a post and ask what's happening in your neck of the woods on Saturday. It's always interesting for me to read what others are doing all across the country on one given day.

Well, here's what happened in my woods: Tom asked me out on a date for lunch! Yes, I'll go!

Where to go though? Something simple, not fancy, something quick but good...did someone suggest Smoking Roosters?

There she is in all her glory ~ Smoking Roosters! Come on...follow me inside. I've never been here.

As soon as we entered we could smell the smoke of the bbq fires a'burning. At least that's what we guessed, but we didn't see smoke outside like you would think an authentic bbq place would have.

There were only two tables. No wait, a third that was sort of a mini table for two by the door:

I have to admit that I wasn't sure about that picture staring down at us as we ate. The caption said, "My faith got me here."

Just a few feet across from our table was a counter and some bar stools. Empty. We were there at noon and were the only customers, although I think they're probably busier on weekdays at lunchtime.

There's a Caribbean section on the menu that featured curried goat (no, thank you), tofu (no, thank you), shrimp (not for me), jerk steak (maybe), ox tail (no, thank you), and brown stew (what's this?). But we ordered one of the regular specials for Saturdays: Pulled chicken with fries and sweet tea for $5.

The only mishap occurred when the waiter set down my plate and spilled my pepsi all over the table and in my lap! After quickly cleaning up the mess, we prayed and started eating. Plum good! The minced pulled chicken was absolutely delicious but was messy enough to use a fork to eat the sandwich to prevent spills. Where's my bib when I need it?

Oh, I forgot to mention that the waiter was generous and brought us a mac and cheese sample, on the house, since we were first-timers. And maybe, too, because I was wearing my pepsi. :)

Here's Tom after he paid for our food. All the cookin' went on somewhere behind those back doors.

Okay, time to call it a date and head home. Here's Tom with a take-home box of mac and cheese for Sarah, the mac and cheese lover at our house:

So now you know what I did. What was your Saturday like?

~Deb

For the Love of Pepper

Last fall when I drove down to visit my sister in South Carolina, we went out to eat at Fatz Cafe...great restaurant with delicious food...and only 5 minutes from her house!

As we were sitting there during the meal, Bet's friend, Sonia, remarked on the pungent, spicy, and great taste of the milled pepper. I'm a real black pepper lover and also noticed how the Fatz pepper added to the taste of our food.

After we returned home to Virginia, I kept wondering how I could find some of that same pepper. Having no idea of the brand, I googled Fatz Cafe to see if there was any mention on their website. No, nothing.

I admit...this was a little out of the ordinary, but I contacted the manager and not only raved over our meal and the delicious pepper but also asked how I could locate some of the same pepper the Fatz Cafe chain uses.

The manager returned my email and simply said that the chain used Monarch brand and that it was his personal favorite. At least now I had a name to google. But after searching, still no Monarch peppercorns.

Yes, I wrote back again and explained the predicament. The next email from the manager said he would Fed-Ex some Monarch peppercorns to me to enjoy as a Christmas present from Fatz to our family.

What great customer service! I love it! (Or else he just wanted to get rid of this crazy woman!)

The above container of black pepper arrived just as promised a couple of days before Christmas. Thank you, Fatz Cafe!

Now I just need to purchase a pepper mill. Any suggestions?

~Deb

A Simple Woman's Daybook

For today: Thursday, January 12

Outside my window...the heavy rain from last night is over, and the sky is a mixture of sun and clouds with an expected high in the 50s.

I am thinking...about Granny. My sister called 9-1-1 this morning, and Granny was rushed to the hospital's heart center in downtown Greenville with some atrial fibrillation problems. Hopefully, she'll be released today. It's hard being long-distance and not able to help.

I am thankful...that Tom's colonoscopy procedure yesterday went well. He's back at work today and feeling fine. I think this week has had its quota of medical drama!

In the kitchen...today is bread baking day! The smells wafting upstairs are wonderful! I wish I could send Granny a freshly-baked, buttered, hot-from-the-oven roll for her lunch!

I am wearing...navy turtleneck, navy skirt, and navy crocs.

I am creating...my Saturday Sampler block for the quilt class on Saturday.

I am going...to Patchwork Plus this weekend for our last class for this pattern. New fabrics will be introduced for the next 12-month class...still deciding whether I should sign up or not.

I am wondering...what my little grandson Ethan is doing today in faraway Michigan. He called and "talked" to Hannah this week and told her Happy Birthday over and over and over! Sooo cute!

I am reading...a friendship card I received in the mail with a wonderful Mango Peach tea bag inside. A friend sent a card to me and also to each of the girls telling us that January is National Hot Tea Month. I never knew! Thank you, Kendra!

I am hoping...I'll continue to be diligent to write in the One Line A Day (five-year memory book) my sister gave me for Christmas. So far I've not missed a day.

I am looking forward to...tomorrow's quilting class with friends.

I am learning...that it's a lot of work to organize all my fabric, projects, and supplies so it will be easy to know which project to work on next.

Around the house...Hannah just left to take some bread over to her bartering partner in exchange for fresh farm eggs.

A favorite quote for today..."Never mind if you think you are unable to take another step, for either He will strengthen you to make you able, or He will call a sudden halt, and you will not have to take it at all." ~ Frances Ridley Havergal

One of my favorite things...sitting down to supper with the family.

A few plans for the rest of the week: taking time out to get some photos burned to disks and mailed out.

A peek into my week...

See more Simple Woman's Daybook entries here.

~Deb

A New Year for New Adventures

Today...we're trying to get back into the routine of normal living after Christmas, birthday, and New Year's Eve activities. Tom returned to work this morning after taking off vacation days since mid-December. Ohhh, I was getting quite used to having him around all the time; I'll love it when he retires!

To wrap up 2011 before the new year's blogging begins...I wanted to share about our annual family Christmas program that the kids always produce for the rest of the family on Christmas Eve. Here's a picture of the girls playing flutes for one of the carols. Tom and Jonathan also played guitar and banjo as part of the musical evening filled with scripture.

We also went out caroling on two different evenings this year...once to a neighborhood we weren't familiar with and once to our neighbors. We left each house with peppermint popcorn the girls made and a gospel tract, and we have been praying that the Lord will use the scriptures presented to change lives.

Last week we packed Granny up to head off with my sister to South Carolina for the winter, and we're missing her already! She took plenty of basket-making supplies with her to keep busy while she's gone.

Here's a picture of my beautiful Mustard Basket Granny made me for Christmas. I love it!

New Year's Eve was very enjoyable...we invited friends over and decorated with snowman plates, snowflake napkin rings, and a new item this year...snowman placemats and table runners (a gift Sarah made me for Christmas). Here's a picture of the table runner. A decorated tree centerpiece goes in the middle there, but it's removed so you can see the snowman heads turning every which way (I love them!):

Here's the dining room table set and waiting for company to arrive. The square snowman plate in the foreground right is a new one this year from my sister:

And here's the nook table set in the kitchen area:

Our menu was as follows: *Chicken in a Biscuit, Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Tossed Salad, homemade Strawberry Yogurt, and frozen Peanut Butter Pie for dessert.

I've probably mentioned Chicken in a Biscuit many times on the blog, but I'm not sure I've ever posted the recipe. I took pictures this time because usually everyone asks me: "How do you get the chicken inside those little biscuits?"

*Recipe on next page

~Deb