Join them at the Kingston New York Farmers' Market.
Meet owner Elise Pittelman and her husband. And view their beautiful display.
Chocolate Revolution sells raw chocolate morsels sweetened with agave.
And what great customer service! I bought a chocolate bar on a hot day and they gave me an ice pack so the chocolate would make it safely home.
Contact Elise for more information. Elisepitt@yahoo.com
These pretzel rolls are dense, chewy, and moist. Perfect.
Last Sunday we zipped down to Saunderskill Farm to get more corn. MrMacho wants to eat enough corn this summer to sate his corn habit. “Where else would you like to go?” he asked on our way home.
Thank you for asking! I’d been thinking about those pretzel rolls ever since I ate one from Twisted Bread, at the Rosendale Farmers Market.
Twisted Foods bakes in a local commercial kitchen and sells at several farmers' markets.
Last time the lovely pretzel ladies were sold out of all but the plain.
This time I bought several to eat with all those tomatoes tumbling from the top shelf in my fridge. (My veggie crisper is full.)
And I never leave the market without one of Jody’s pies. Cherry. Get there early.
Get there early. Jody often sells out before noon. The Rosendale Farmers Market in Rosendale New York.
Fruit smoothies are the easiest and most delicious recipes to make with kids.
You actually don’t need a recipe, just a general idea of the ingredients. I like to use milk, yogurt, and fruit. Use any proportion you like. Frozen fruits are best. They make an extra yummy frosty drink. If you like sweeter drinks add sugar or honey.
I buy lots of fruit when it’s on sale. To freeze bananas: let them ripen (riper = sweeter) then peel, cut into chunks, and freeze. To freeze strawberries, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, blueberries, and most fruits: clean and cut into pieces, then freeze. They’re all great for making smoothies. Use freezer-safe bags and they’ll keep for months. If you can wait that long…
Banana smoothies - frozen bananas, milk, and yogurt.
Vanilla smoothies - milk, yogurt, and more yogurt.
Strawberry smoothies - frozen berries, milk, and yogurt.
For kids of all ages, it’s a great way to introduce the topic of nutrition and what makes a healthy daily diet.
For breakfast or snack, try vanilla smoothies with whole wheat gingerbread.
These are a great quick fix. If you’re selling smoothies it’s important to follow your portion guidelines so expenses remain constant.
Don’t have much time?
If you don’t want to spend time hauling out a mixer and then cleaning up later, just use a bowl and spatula.
Take any favorite cookie recipe and instead of scooping individual cookies, press the dough into a sheet pan.
Bake until golden brown and cool before cutting.
Cut into squares and you’re done.
Even if you need to package and label, these pan cookies are a quick fix.
Cinnamon Crown Cake, one of many samples
SUNY Ulster open house for Continuing and Professional Education
Wed Aug 18 4:00-6:00 pm – Business Resource Center, Albany Ulster Ave, Kingston, NY
Come learn about new classes, speak with instructors, attend workshops, and enjoy samples from my upcoming cookbook. No calorie counting allowed.
Recipe testing in progress
PLUS come chat about my two new courses this fall.
MOVING YOUR DREAMS FORWARD
Do you feel stalled and need help moving forward? This class is for people who have already taken “Start and Run a Home-Based Food Business” and need some specific help starting up. You will review the process, create a personal check-list, and discuss ways to handle various issues. October 2 Saturday, 9 am - noon
GROWING YOUR HOME-BASED FOOD BUSINESS
Where are you now? Where are you going? This class is for owners of home-based food businesses who are ready to expand their current business. The class will talk about techniques to increase customer base, add value to the products you already produce, develop marketing strategies, and more. Now that you have the basics, where do you want to go? October 2 Saturday 12:15 - 3:15 pm
For more information about the Open House call (845) 339-2025
Goodness from a blue ribbon baker.
A real blue ribbon baker!
I just heard from Annie, another student, in Rhinebeck New York.
Hi Mimi
Hope all is well and you are enjoying the summer. I’m now DBA [doing business as] ‘blue ribbon hearth.’
We belong to Hearty Roots farm a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in Red Hook. I typically bring bread and cookies to the farm on Tuesdays when I get my share and sell the goods to the other shareholders. This has been well received and expanded my bread recipes further into the whole wheat domain - - market demand!
I’m also selling scones a few times a week to a local cafe. This has been great fun: I bake off a few dozen scones, some cranberry and walnut, some jalapeno and cheddar, take them to the cafe, and sit back and watch. It’s a terrific feeling to see folks so heartily enjoy when they don’t have a vested interest.
Annie’s breads and scones.
Scones for sale at Cafe Omega.
Contact Annie at 845 235-7084 or by email: annie.ski@hotmail.com
Cupcakes by Ginny Farris of 'sugar me sweet bakers'
I received an email yesterday from former student Ginny Farris, who just began her new home-based food business, sugar me sweet bakers.
Hi Mimi,
These are a sample of my first paid order. I made 200 cupcakes for a cocktail party last night…each is a different flavor, only fresh fruit used for the strawberry and lemon…then there is red velvet with cream cheese, devils food with mocha frosting, and vanilla vanilla. I was so excited…and I got quite a few orders from this….the feedback was fantastic. A lot of work, but rewarding!
Just wanted to share…
Ginny
To contact Ginny by phone 845-246-2094 or email gaf325 at gmail.com
Check out these bakery videos from trade magazine Baking Buyer. Lots of great info, but don’t watch ‘em all at once or you’ll be on overload.
Why do a bakery tour? If you like food, it’s fun exploration and gastronomic entertainment. If you’re in the food business, it’s a pleasant way to do market research.
Recently I wrote about Bakery Tour Rules for easy and enjoyable consumption. Today we have suggestions for planning your tours. (Note the plural.)
How to Plan Your Self-Guided Bakery Tours:
1. Make a list of bakeries/eateries you have heard about; ask friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family for suggestions. Keep a running list for reference.
Magnolia Bakery in NYC had been on my list for a couple of years. An ABC-TV interview last fall found me only blocks away from one of their stores.
2. Pick a specific destination and then build a trip around it. Choose any destination – perhaps you want to visit a friend or go to a museum or you’ve heard about an interesting bakery …
We were heading up to Saratoga in a few days so the Bread Basket was at the top of my list.
3. Do a web search for bakeries along or near your route. Sometimes looking for bakeries on Yelp and similar sites can help you decide where to stop. But read the reviews carefully; I once read a one (out of five) star review because the person was angry the bakery was closed when she’d arrived. At nine p.m on a Saturday night, yes of course the bakery would be closed.
We were going up to Saratoga - reviewers said Mrs. London's was nice but verrry expensive. It was also verrry busy.
4. Map your route for any combination of driving, public transportation, and walking. Larger cities tend to have numerous bakeries close together. Loosely plan on where to sit down for a meal or snacks.
In NYC we came upon many bakeries as we walked around.
5. Bring supplies, wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. Don’t forget a camera, money, napkins, even extra bags. If the weather is hot or you’re traveling far, consider bringing a cooler.
Don't let inclement weather stop you. Bring an umbrella and large plastic bags.
6. Be flexible. Be prepared to make adjustments. You never know what you might see along your planned trip.
Sadly, for this family business on our list, the store was closed due to illness.
On our way home we just happened upon a lovely market bakery.
Speaking of pies, MrMacho and I were coming back from a farmers market recently.
As we drove away, winding through a side street, I saw two large signs. Pies!
“Yes! Let’s stop,” I squealed.
Uh, oh, I thought, walking up the front steps.
These signs were in front of a messy house with a junk-laden front porch and roaming cats.
The door was on the far left so I walked past the couch (is this where the baker slept?) and rang the doorbell.
“What do you want?” a man yelled from upstairs.
“Sorry to bother you,” I shouted back. “I saw your pie signs, but I’ll just leave.”
As I walked away he shouted that he’d come down. I was definitely skeptical about pie safety, but too overcome with curiosity. And I do love pie. I walked back up onto that junk-filled porch and he opened the door.
His kitchen was as messy as the porch. I desperately wanted pictures but I slid my camera into a pocket. He was much bigger than I was and that would have been too confrontational.
The kitchen was filled with lots of crap, cats walking on counters, and two pies on the table. These two pies were surrounded by more crap pushed to the side. He shooed the cats away as I peered down and momentarily debated if I should buy one.
But which one? There was a two-crust apple pie covered with a picnic-type cotton screening material; and an uncovered, open-faced berry delight, obviously meant as a cat-lick.
It gave me the creeps. There was no point in asking if he had a permit. There are good reasons why food establishments must be licensed and regularly inspected. I thanked him and left.
I walked out the front door and saw more junk at the other end of the porch.
Two promising signs. Buyer Beware.
Let’s file this post under market research and bakery tour.