Wonderful things available at farmers markets

April 1st was the opening of the Lawton Farmer's market so I'm sharing some of the wonderful things you can get at the farmer's market besides produce. I love, love, love going to farmer's markets large and small and go to different ones whenever and wherever I'm traveling.  It's always great so see what's available in each location.  Our local farmer's market is not large but has a great variety of items to pick up each week and will be in full swing this summer with a lot more produce. I love supporting local, knowing where my food and other products comes from is really important to me.  We try to use local products whenever possible and stay away from added chemicals and processed foods so the farmer's market is perfect for my family's needs but just fun to go to.

Entwined Vines Winery and Vineyard has great wine, jams, jellies and salsas for sale. They are one of our favorite stops. Plus Windmill Corner Farms has great baked goods for sale.  Their dinner rolls are my husband's favorites.

One of my favorite things is lavender soap made by Cathy Fields of Turkey Creek Lavender.  I've been using her soap for over 5 years and don't use anything else. My

absolute favorite is lavender lemongrass.  She also sells teas, sugars, culinary lavender, lavender spray, bath bombs and lotion bars.  This is my go to place for gifts for friends and family.  I love all her products and it's homemade.

The Jerk is another vendor that sells homemade beef jerky is many different flavors.  We've tried several and have loved them all.

Jerky is a great go to snack.

Legako Farms always has great produce plus Helen's Gourmet Dog Treats which are my dog, Clapton's, favorite treats.  He goes to the market with me and his 1st stop is at Helen's tent to get a pet and free sample. 

That's another great thing about the farmer's market, it's kid and pet friendly.  There are several people who bring their dogs and as long as they are on a leash it's fine.  Clapton loves to make new friends. Plus they have a special Dog Days at the market, this year it's May 6, 2017 with a lot more pet related vendors and treats planned.

From time to time, they also have activities for the kids.  Recently they a rabbit out where kids could pet it and take their picture with it.  They've also had scavenger hunts and stories read.

Cole's Greenhouse is a great place to get all kinds of plants.  Herbs, vegetables, flowers, and spider plants to name a few.  They are hardy to our area, reasonably priced and look great.  I buy almost all my plants from Cole's and have had great success with them.

There are also several craft vendors that come either weekly or on the 1st of the month.  My daughter and I had a booth for several years.  There's crocheted items, jewelry, wind chimes and bird feeders, wooden crafts and all kinds of stuff. 

Wilhelmina Ensing has beautifully sewn items, aprons, bibs, hot pads and more.  One of my favorite is a bowl hot pad that fits perfectly under a bowl for heating food in the microwave.  I keep mine in my lunch bag and have bought several for gifts.  They are pretty and practical and make great gifts.

Devil's Claw Ranch is back this year with homemade granola, salsa and sourdough bread.  I haven't tried the salsa but I love the granola and sourdough bread.  I keep a bag of granola at work to eat with my yogurt each day, it's great and not hard like ones I've gotten at the store. 

There are several vendors that sell fresh eggs.  I've been buying eggs at the farmer's market for years.  There is usually at least 1 vendor that sells during the winter so I can stay stocked up on fresh eggs.  I can't remember when the last time I bought eggs at the store.  Fresh eggs are so much better, once you try them, you're hooked at can't go back.


Another one of our favorite things is eating breakfast at the Dry Beaver food truck. Everything we've tried has been fantastic.  The farmer's market breakfast is one of my favorites.  It includes eggs (scrambled or fried), choice of meat, bacon is mine, biscuits and gravy, plus a biscuit and homemade jam and fried potatoes. We usually share because there's so much food.  Plus they have homemade ice cream that is so yummy. 

The manager's tent always has information about the market plus Oklahoma products for sale, peanuts, honey and peanut butter to name a few.

Another favorite of ours is Ballou Farms meat.   They bring a big refrigerated truck out with frozen meat that's locally raised.  They do their own beef which is great.  We always stock up on meat there instead of getting it at the store.  The chicken is fantastic.  They have a small store in Elgin, OK on main street and we have gone there for meat during the winter when the market was closed for the season.

I haven't listed everything that's there from week to week, just some highlights.  There is so much more available and as the season progresses there will be even more vendors out.  So come out and enjoy the farmer's market.


Enjoy
Bamah

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits

Chicken pot pie is on the menu for this weekend so I'm sharing the recipe for March's second post.I'm trying to stay on track for 2 posts a month. I love chicken pot pie topped with biscuits so that's what I make at my house. The original recipe I started with when my girls were little was from a Hungry Jack biscuit add in a magazine and I  used canned chicken, cream of chicken soup and canned mixed vegetables.  It was good and what I made for years but now I only use fresh chicken and vegetables along with cream of chicken soup and canned biscuits.  I'm not very good at homemade biscuits so just use the canned.  The majority of the time when I make this I can do the whole thing in my big skillet.  Cook the chicken, usually breasts, with seasonings until done then cut up and set aside.  Then I cook the vegetables, whatever I have in the freezer or from fresh from the farmer's market, until tender then add in the soup, seasoning and put the chicken back in then top with biscuits and cheese and bake in oven until the biscuits are done.  Any combination of vegetables is great, must haves are green peas, fresh or frozen and broccoli but I also add onions, sweet peppers, corn, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, shredded cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale or spinach, whatever's in season.  I'm going to try it with sugar snap peas since I have some in my freezer that I got and cut up last month. A friend at church makes really good chicken pot pies with pie crust that she freezes and cooks as needed.  She's also donated these at a youth fundraiser and I've bought several which we've really enjoyed.  I haven't made mine as actual pies but like the idea of having a ready made dinner in the freezer  so will give that a try as well.

Here's the recipe:
2 to 3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped up

cooked veggies, chicken and soup mixture

1/2 c sweet peppers, chopped
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/2 c eggplant, finely chopped
1/2 c carrots, chopped
1/2 c broccoli, chopped
1/2 c corn
1/2 c each zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, chopped
can also add shredded cabbage, kale or spinach
1/2 to 1 c frozen green peas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can large or 2 cans medium biscuits
1/2 to 1 t each seasoned salt, garlic powder, parsley, pepper, sage,
shredded cheddar cheese

original recipe with my notes

In large skillet, cook chicken in a little olive oil with seasoned salt and pepper until done, chop and set aside.  In same skillet with a little olive oil and butter cook vegetables, except green peas, until tender.
Add peas, chopped chicken, soup and seasonings and stir until blended. Top with biscuits, can cut up or leave whole, can also top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until biscuits are browned.
Enjoy,
Bamah

bowl of yummy goodness

Beef Stew aka Irish Stew

For March's post I'm sharing my beef stew recipe also known as good old Irish stew.  Stew is such a great recipe that is fairly easy especially if you throw everything in a crock pot and just let it cook all day, plus it's so versatile.  Years ago, when my daughters were little I made a tomato basted stew with a lot of vegetables, and browned stew meat in it which I grew up on.  We were eating at a favorite restaurant and they served this wonderfully thick beef stew with a rich beef broth and just potatoes.  My family loved it so I figured out how to do it myself at home.  Now per their request this is the only type of stew I make.  I still make my tomato basted vegetable soup from time to time but don't add beef to it. The secret to really thick and rich stew is to cook the beef by itself first and then add the potatoes and vegetables in later.  I almost always cook mine in my crock pot for at least 8 hours before adding vegetables.  I put the meat in, add seasonings, 1 chopped onion, minced garlic and 2 packages of beef gravy mix and water and let it cook until the beef falls apart.  I really like cabbage in my stew and found my family doesn't object if I cut it small enough and make sure it cooks down.  I always add chopped sweet peppers and sometimes carrots but try to limit the amount of vegetables I add. When I made stew earlier this month after the beef had cooked for about 4 hours, I added chopped cabbage and kale letting them cook for the remaining 4 hours which worked great.  We weren't going to eat the stew until the next day, so I added the potatoes in the crock pot in the morning and the stew was ready to eat at lunch.  Another secret I have for thickening stew (also soups) is adding instant mashed potato flakes when it's boiling at the end until it's the desired thickness. We love to eat ours topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

 

beef stew with carrots and potatoes

Here's the recipe:

Beef Stew aka Irish Stew

1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
seasoned salt and pepper
steak seasoning and marinade
Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 lbs. beef, any roast like cut
2 packages beef gravy mix



 In crock pot cook meat with 1 to 2 cups water on high 8 hours until
tender.  I usually make meat ahead of time then put together with vegetables. This makes the meat more tender and the stew thicker.





Add to cooked beef in broth

1/2 to 1 c carrots, chopped
6 to 8 med potatoes, chopped
1/2 c sweet peppers, chopped

beef stew with red cabbage

2 T sofrito

1 jar beef or veggie broth

1 to 2 c water as needed

1/2 to 1 c chopped cabbage

1/2 to 1 c chopped kale

 1 t each seasoned salt and pepper

 1/2 t turmeric

1 t parsley

Cook all together for 30 min to 1 hour until vegetables are tender and

stew is thickened.  Can also thicken with instant mashed potato flakes.

Enjoy,
Bamah



Yummy bowl of stew topped with shredded cheese

Easy fruit cobbler

February's second post is my easy fruit cobbler recipe. I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks several years ago for an easy peach cobbler that is more like cake and not made with pie crust.  I tried it and soon it became one of my favorite recipes.  I bought fresh peaches at the farmer's market and used them for the cobbler or just cut them up, put them in freezer bags and froze them.  Frozen fruit also works great for making the cobbler and it doesn't really need to be thawed out first, just add sugar and set aside then mix up flour, sugar, milk and spices in another bowl and pour into baking dish with melted butter, top with fruit and bake.  I started getting fresh blueberries, blackberries and cherries at the farmer's market as well so used the same recipe just substituting different fruit for the peaches or using combinations of fruit.  Black and blue cobbler with blackberries and blueberries is really good, plus peaches combined with berries is great as well. I've also thrown strawberries in with other fruit when I've needed to use them up and didn't have enough for strawberry shortcake. This recipe is so versatile which is why I love it and my family does as well.  I freeze or home can (process in water bath canner) fresh fruit that I get from the farmer's market all summer then can make cobbler whenever I want.  I've been make peach cobbler at our family reunion for several years and last year my youngest daughter wanted blackberry cobbler as well.  I processed several jars of blackberry pie filling and took it with us to Mississippi in August for the Beckman family reunion and it turned out great.  You just can't beat fresh fruit that you've preserved yourself. 
Here's the recipe:

blackberry cobbler

Easy Fruit Cobbler

8 large peaches, peeled and sliced or 2 cups of any type or combination of fruit, blackberries, blueberries, cherries or strawberries
2 c sugar, divided
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 1/2 c flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 1/2 c milk

Gently toss peaches, 1 c sugar and vanilla, set aside. Melt butter and  put in 2 qt baking dish, or can melt butter in baking dish in microwave. In bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt,  spices and remaining sugar, stir in milk. Mix well. Pour evenly over
butter. DO NOT STIR. Top with fruit mixture. Bake 350 for 1 hr or until brown and dough firm.
Is best served warmed and great topped with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy,
Bamah

Black and blue on left and peach on right

cherry cobbler

Pork pie recipe

I tried a new recipe this month and it turned out so great that it is now a family favorite so perfect for this month's post.  One of my favorite shows on Food Network is Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  I love Guy Fieri plus the concept of the show is great.  Over the years, we have visited several places featured on the show plus I have tried some of the recipes at home.  I was watching the show several weeks ago and saw where some place was serving pork pie and it looked good so I wanted to try it for myself.  I don't even remember where the place was but I had ground pork in my freezer and pie crust so looked up the recipe.  I found several recipes online but they all cooked the pork for 3 hours in water and no vegetables were added except mashed potatoes, so I created my own.  I browned the ground pork in a skillet and set the meat aside. In the same skillet with the meat drippings, I sautéed eggplant, sweet peppers, broccoli, kale and caramelized onions with a few seasonings until the veggies were tender.  Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, boiled potatoes with seasoned salt and pepper for mashed potatoes.  I added the cooked pork back in the skillet with the veggies plus added goat cheese to bind everything together.  You could add cream cheese instead but we really like the taste of goat cheese.  I then mashed the potatoes, adding a little butter and milk.  Next I added the mashed potatoes to the pork mixture until they were combined.   It all went into a prepared pie crust, smashing down a little then added top crust, crimping edges, vent top and brushed with egg wash.  The egg wash really made the pie pretty.  You could also substitute beef for the pork and make a beef pie. 

meat and veggie mixture

Here's the recipe:

1 lb. ground pork, browned

2 c. chopped eggplant

1/2 c. chopped sweet peppers

1/2 c. chopped broccoli

1/2 c. chopped onions or caramelized onions

1/2 to 1 c. chopped kale

1/2 to 1 t. each seasoned salt, pepper, parsley, garlic seasoning, sage

2 to 4 T. goat or cream cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 box pie crust with 2 crusts

2 c. mashed potatoes

mashed potatoes

In skillet, brown pork seasoning with salt and pepper and set aside.  Meanwhile cut up 5 to 6 small to medium potatoes and boil in salted water. I used red new potatoes which  don't have to be pealed.  In skillet with meat drippings, saute vegetables with seasonings until tender and add back in meat plus goat or cream cheese and stir until combined.  Drain potatoes and mash adding 1 to 2 T. butter and milk plus salt and pepper.  Potatoes should be fairly thick.  Add to meat mixture and put into pie crust, mash down a little to distribute evenly.  Top with 2nd pie crust, seal edges and vent top.  Brush with beaten egg.  Bake at 375 for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

I cooked my pie on a Saturday, let it cool then covered and put into the refrigerator to be eaten for lunch the following Sunday.  Before serving, I reheated in the microwave for 10 to 12 minutes and it came out great.

Enjoy,

Bamah

combination of meat mixture and mashed potatoes

evenly distributed in pie shell

seal edges and vent, brush with egg wash

Potato Soup, aka Beckman comfort food

As I was trying to decide what to post for my second post this month I realized that I haven't posted my potato soup recipe so here it is.  This is my family's all time favorite comfort food and has been requested many, many times from family and friends.  I make it at least once a month during the winter, typically soup weather but have also made it in the summer, just because. Whenever anyone is sick instead of making chicken soup, this is my go to recipe.  It really is the ultimate comfort food especially when lots of cheese is added. As with all my recipes I add more vegetables than just potatoes.  Turnips, cauliflower, kohlrabi, sweet potatoes especially white sweet potatoes go great with any kind of white potato.  I really like the combination of several kinds of potatoes with the other veggies added.  I also add green onions, sweet peppers and sometimes kale.  Most of the time I don't add meat but at times have added bacon or ham and of course lots and lots of shredded cheese. My secret ingredient to thickening it is adding a few instant mashed potato flakes at a time at the end of cooking to get the desired thickness.  We like our potato soup really thick.
Here's the recipe:
Potato Soup

8 to 10 potatoes, peeled and chopped (don't have to peel new potatoes)
2 sweet potatoes
1 onion chopped
1/2 c chopped sweet peppers
1/2 to 1 c chopped turnips, kohlrabi or cauliflower (or any combination)
water to cover
1 t each seasoned salt and pepper
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 to 1 c milk
1/2 to 1 stick butter
about 1 c instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 to 1 c chopped kale
shredded cheese
cooked bacon, bacon bits or chopped ham if desired
1 T parsley
2 T sofrito
1 T minced garlic


Put chopped potatoes and veggies (except kale) in large pot and cover
with water, add seasoned salt, pepper, sofrito and garlic. Cover and
cook 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add kale and other
seasonings, butter and meat and cook another 10 minutes covered.
Thicken soup with instant mashed potato flakes, adding a little at a
time, add milk and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste, can also add
about 1 t onion powder and/or garlic powder and sour cream if desired.

Enjoy,
Bamah

Black-eyed peas for luck

Black eyed peas with cornbread

Happy 2017. My plan for this year is to post twice a month and will try to share some more craft and farmer's market posts along with recipes. I'm going to share my black-eyed recipe for my first post this year.  Eating black eyed peas for luck on New Year's Day is a Southern thing that dates back to at least the Civil War. It's believed that when General Sherman marched through the South, black eyed pea were ignored being thought as animal food, unfit for human consumption. The people felt lucky having this food source to get them through the winter.
My family love black-eyed peas, well 3 out of 4 of us anyway.  They are one of my oldest daughter's favorite vegetables and my youngest daughter refuses to eat them.  I have found they are one of the few vegetables that I can't hide when cooking.  I did puree some cooked ones that were leftover and added them to garbanzo beans to made hummus once.  No one knew the difference and it tasted really good. We have black-eyed peas every New Year's Day served with either rice or cornbread but most of the time with both. Hoppin John is where cooked rice is added to the peas in the last 30 minutes of cooking.  We have that quite a bit as well since it's my husband's favorite. Years ago, I always used dried black eyed peas, soaking overnight then cooking.  In a pinch, I used canned adding rice and my own seasonings.  Now, I only use fresh or ones I've canned myself.  Fresh is so much better and really easy.  I buy them in the summer when in season at the farmer's market, shell them, put in freezer bags and freeze. When I'm ready to cook them, I empty the whole bag in a big pot, add more veggies, chopped celery, eggplant, sweet peppers, garlic, onion , carrots and corn and cook for 1 to 2 hours until tender. Kale, Swiss chard or some kind of greens is also good added in the last hour of cooking. Chopped ham, bacon, smoked sausage or ham hocks can be added the last hour of cooking.  If I have a ham bone I usually add it at the beginning to flavor the peas while cooking. The recipe in my book calls for salt pork but I don't use that, we love ham so that's my meat of choice for black eyed peas.

Black eyed peas with ham

Here's the recipe
if using dried black eyed peas, rinse and cover with water to soak overnight, pour off water and add clean water to cook

2 to 3 c black eyed peas
1 onion chopped
1/2 to 1 c each chopped celery, eggplant, sweet peppers, carrots and corn
1 to 2 c of Kale, Swiss Chard or some type of greens
1 to 2 cloves minced garlic
1 pkg Sazon seasoning mix
1 to 2 t each seasoned salt, pepper, and parsley
2 T bacon grease
1 to 2 c chopped ham, cooked bacon, can also use ham hocks, salt pork or smoked sausage
1 bay leaf
1/2 to 1 t red pepper flakes

Combine peas, vegetables, seasoning in large pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and cook 1 to 2 hours until tender.  Add greens and meat in last hour.  Can also add 1 c cooked rice in the last 30 minutes of cooking to make Hoppin John. Serve with cornbread.

Good luck in 2017
Enjoy
Bamah

Hoppin John, rice and smoked sausage