Memorial Day Weekend can be one of the busiest of the season at the farmers’ market.  Attendance depends on the weather and this weekend’s forecast is just about perfect:  blue skies and  temperatures in the mid 70′s.  Our opening day on Mother’s Day weekend brought an estimated 25,000 people into the market and the crowd this Saturday will be about the same.  Let me tell you…that’s a lot of people!

When the farmers’ market is busy it can be difficult for vendors to leave their booths to do a little shopping or to buy prepared foods for lunch.  It isn’t unusual to find long lines of shoppers waiting to make a purchase at almost every booth so I often take snacks from home to get me through an  energy slump.  No market sales can be made before the 8:00 am opening bell but vendors are allowed to purchase from each other before then so that is usually when I do  my weekly shopping.  I like to pack some cookies with my market gear and chose this easy recipe for granola cookies.  I make and sell granola in my booth so this was an easy choice but any granola would do nicely.  The strawberries I bought last week were so sweet and juicy, not always the case with the first berries of the season, and I can’t wait to make a big strawberry shortcake over the holiday weekend.

Early Spring Flower

 I filled my flower pots  with new soil and they ready to plant.   The red and white geraniums are my favorite.

Radish Mountain

This is one of my favorite early season market photos and I post it every spring.   This mountain doesn’t last long before it disappears at the hands of eager customers.

First of the Season Strawberries

 I’m thinking “Strawberry Shortcake”

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Granola Cookies

The Nutcracker in my booth welcomes holiday shoppers.

I hope you will drop by and visit these wonderful blogs this weekend.

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper

One the Menu Monday at StoneGable

I hope you all have a very happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend.

Its Secret Recipe Club time again and I was pleased as punch when I received my May assignment of Foodness Gracious.  I met Gerry at an earlier reveal so was familiar with his blog when I got the email from Group C leader, Angie, that assigned me his site.   I have visited his blog many times and bookmarked several recipes so making my choice was an easy one.  Gerry, originally from Scotland, lives in Southern California with his wife and two very cute kids and a mischievous Lab named Daisy. Gerry’s enthusiasm and love for cooking show through in all his posts whether he is preparing a simple meal or a dish for a special occasion.

I selected this recipe for Thai Coconut Chicken because we love Thai food at my house.   I have several recipes I use often but what appealed to me about Gerry’s recipe are (1) I thought it looked delicious,  (2) it doesn’t have a list of 2 dozen ingredients that so many Asian recipes call for, and (3) I can put it together quickly when I’m short on time.   The leftovers reheat nicely if you should happen to have any. I saved out just enough for my lunch the next day, but ordinarily there isn’t a speck left.  I learned a new technique from Gerry’s instruction to add bruised lemon grass, chunks of peeled ginger and chilies to the coconut milk/broth combination and let it steep for a few minutes.  I let mine simmer for about 30 minutes and the infused flavors were delicious.

Almost any vegetables can be added to this recipe and I had a few scallions and a red pepper half, so in they went.   I sauteed them along with the mushrooms in a little olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then added them to the chicken and broth mixture. I added this step to the recipe but think that next time I will omit it as unnecessary.  I also made coconut rice (recipe to follow) but it really wasn’t necessary because the chicken mixture is so flavorful.

Have you ever wondered why you don’t see chop sticks in Thai restaurants. In Thailand it’s customary to use spoons and forks, and knives are conspicuously absent from the table.  Most Thai food is already bite sized in the cooking, and its unusual to have to cut anything into pieces, so they omit the knife in most cases.  Occasionally chopsticks are used for bowls of rice or noodles.  Customarily the spoon is held in the right hand and the fork in the left. The fork never goes into the mouth. It is used to push food onto the spoon which is the only utensil that is put into one’s mouth.  As for sticky rice, the custom is to eat it with the fingers. Mangoes and sticky rice are my favorite Thai dessert, but I’ll stick to a fork and spoon.

I can’t believe that I have had this recipe in my files since 2008 and have just gotten around to trying it.   I thought it looked delicious when I saw it at Noble Pig  and printed it out, but it kind of worked its way to the bottom of my now huge box of recipes and I forgot about it.  A gigantic display of beautiful, fragrant pineapples at the local grocery store last week jogged my memory and I finally gave the recipe a try.

All I can say is that this is one of the most lusciously delicious desserts I’ve tried in a very long time.   This is going to be my go-to dessert this summer and I can’t wait to prepare it for  my family and friends.  It’s sweet and juicy and warm and crunchy and gooey…and just plain damn good.  This is the kind of dessert you leisurely enjoy after a good meal…one you can pick away at until there isn’t one speck of fruit or topping left in the shell.  Oh mercy, this is a winner.

 Noble Pig was one of the first blogs I discovered after I started my blog and I’m been a follower ever since.  Cathy is almost a neighbor of mine now here in Oregon wine country.  She and her husband own Noble Pig Vineyard and Winery and their wonderful wines are available through mail order and can be found in many local wine shops.   Check out her 2008 blog post about this fantastic dessert.  She used a lot more topping mixture than I did (I was afraid it would be too sweet) and I think I’ll pile on more the next time I make this. It’s so much fun to find something new that is a sure pleaser and I know you will like this dish as much as I do.

Pineapples ready to fill

 The preparation couldn’t be easier.  Mix together the topping and the sauce.  Remove the core so you have created a little trough for the condensed milk and crumb mixture.  Fill and bake.  That’s it!   The recipe calls for rum, which I didn’t have, and I used tequila instead. If you can find small pineapples you can make individual servings.  Otherwise a half serves two.  Delicious.

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This week I’m joining the festivities at

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper

On the Menu Monday at StoneGable

I hope to see you there

 What is it about cream cheese frosting that makes it irresistible?  Is it its luscious silky texture … the heavenly tang of  cream cheese … or the fact that it isn’t  overly sweet? It’s such a simple frosting of cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla but the taste is like nothing else. It compliments whatever flavors it is paired with from chocolate cake to zucchini bread.   I admit that I can eat it by the spoonful and have made graham cracker sandwiches out of it when the cookie jar was empty.  I have bought a cupcake just for the frosting when I’m in the mood for a special treat.  What can I say…I’m hooked on it.  

I made this cake for Mother’s Day dinner and judging by what’s left everybody enjoyed it.   If you do have leftovers the cake keeps well, and is even a little better the second day.  Wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

  My piping skills are so bad but I think  little squirts of frosting on the cake top dress it up.  I bought the little sugar carrots at the cake supply store earlier this spring  and they were a nice touch.  If I had more time I would have tried to put a little fancy finish at the bottom because I could have scraped it off if it was too awful.  But I ran out of time so this is what went to the table.

Carrot Cake Crumb Coat

 A crumb coat spread on the cake before it’s frosted prevents little crumbs from spoiling the look of the cream cheese frosting.  Just spread on a thin layer of frosting with an offset spatula and let it dry for an hour or two.  You will be amazed how much easier a cake is to frost if you do this one easy extra step.

 Aren’t these the cutest placemats?  I have had them for years and think they are the perfect table decoration when carrot cake is served.

KitchenAid Mixer

I recently won the most wonderful KitchenAid Mixer in a giveaway at Rattlebridge Farm.  I seldom win anything and was just overwhelmed when I heard that I was the lucky one.  This is an extraordinary piece of kitchen equipment that means business when it kneads several loaves of bread dough or a large batch of cookies.  Thank you ever so much, Michael Lee.  I know my family and I will get years of enjoyment from this great gift.  I splurged a little bit and bought the paddle attachment with the rubber edges that I’ve seen advertised in Bon Appetit and I can’t recommend it highly enough.  With it there is no need to stop and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.  You need this!!!! I paid $24.99 for mine at a big box store so this deal on Amazon is a steal.

Whole Wheat Honey and Oatmeal Bread

This picture of the wonderful black forest ham, Vintage Tillamook Sharp White Cheddar Cheese and crisp Granny Smith apple sandwich I made yesterday with fresh slices of whole wheat oatmeal honey bread just doesn’t do it justice. This sandwich just didn’t want to be photographed.  The cheese and apples wanted to ooze out between the bread slices when I tried to handle it and the cheese coagulated faster than I could take pictures so here you have it…an uninspiring photo of one very delicious sandwich. You can see, however, how beautifully the bread browned when I sauteed the sammy in a little butter and the taste and texture of whole thing were delicious. I quickly gave up on the picture taking and ate the sandwich for lunch.

 I have found some great bread recipes on King Arthur Flour’s website.  I recently bought a bag of their white whole wheat flour and  wanted to make a good sandwich loaf so this is the recipe I chose.  I like the inclusion of rolled oats and honey and was impressed that it got a 5 star review from 69 of the 71  commenters.  I have never heard of maple sugar and read in the reviews that substituting brown sugar works just as well.

 Several weeks ago I made KA’s Cinnamon Swirl Bread (it made the best french toast)  and the loaves fell during the last 15 minutes of baking.  The help line person told me it was probably due to over rising so that is something I watch closely now.   The whole wheat dough rose quickly and reached this stage in about 45 minutes.

This bread smelled so wonderful while it was in the oven.  There is nothing like that aroma of baking bread.  My loaves would have come out the same size if I had taken a minute to weigh them on my little digital scale , but I’ll remember next time.  I brushed the hot loaves with a little melted butter. My bread baking skills are slowly coming along with the help of great products from King Arthur Flour and Bob’s Red Mill.  Both companies offer excellent customer service so if I do have problems there are always very knowledgeable people available to help me fix them. I recently visited the Red Mill Store and will take you on a little tour very soon.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  I hope you will try it.

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Fresh Slices of Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

If you think you have seen this post before, you aren’t seeing things.  When I was working on it the middle of last week I hit the “publish” button instead of the “preview” button and it went flying off into cyberspace before I could stop it.  Unfortunately I did this late at night so the half finished post was on my blog until I saw it the next morning.  I even got a few comments from readers who must have thought I had lost my marbles. They were very kind and didn’t mention that my post had no text and no recipe.  I was able to delete the post but it still shows up on blogrolls.  I guess there is nothing that can be done about that other than me being more careful in the future.

Despite asparagus being available year around I still think of it as a Springtime vegetables.  When I was a child one of the highlights of our Easter dinner was the platter of fresh, first of the season,  asparagus that my mom always served with baked ham and creamed new potatoes and peas. Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies as long as it is cooked the way I like it – barely fork tender.  And I like the big fat spears that  don’t show up in the markets too often any more.  The wimpy little pencil sized spears just don’t do it for me because their flavor can be strong and they overcook if you take your eye off of them for a second.   I can often find the large spears at Costco  where, for some strange reason, shoppers don’t like the large stalks and throw the occasional bag of them to the back of the stack of boxes where I can quickly find them.  I know, it’s all a matter of taste.  An asparagus vendor will be in the booth next to me when the farmers’ market opens next week and he will be swamped by people buying those spindly little spears.

Asparagus Prep

 My favorite way of preparing the jumbo stalks is to pan roast them.  They cook quickly, brown beautifully, and retain their sweet, fresh texture and taste.  This technique only works on large spears, those at least the diameter of a dime.   When asparagus is steamed it can turn into a grey-green mush in a matter of a minute or two if it’s overcooked.   That won’t happen if you pan roast them (and keep a close eye on them as well).

Wash the spears by letting a strong stream of water hit them from above so any bits of grit will be dislodged.  Trim off 2 to 3 inches of the woody stem.  Snapping off the bottom section is way too wasteful and isn’t necessary. Peel the bottom 3-4 inches with a potato peeler.  Dry the spears well. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium skillet and heat to medium-high heat.   Add the asparagus and cook for about 7-10 minutes (uncovered) depending on the thickness of the spears, turning them constantly so they don’t burn.  They are done when barely fork tender.  If you want them to brown more turn up the heat a bit – don’t cook them longer.

When the spears are cooked to your liking remove  from the heat and place on a serving platter.  Drizzle a mixture of 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon lemon juice over the spears and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Garnish with parmesan cheese shavings and serve.  For a scrumptious appetizer wrap the warm spears in a paper thin slice of proscuitto and serve with a small lemon wedge.

Asparagus with Lemon Butter and Parmesan Cheese

 Pan roasting asparagus is so quick and easy and you won’t believe how much better it tastes when it’s cooked this way.   I had some leftover spears for lunch today that I dunked into homemade blue cheese dressing.  Sinful…but so good.

This post is linked to

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper

On the Menu Monday at StoneGable

Tender baby back ribs glazed with a honey-sherry sauce.

I can’t believe that in over four years of blogging I have never shared this recipe.  I posted so many of my best recipes in the first six months of blogging (back when very few readers ever saw them) and I was sure this was posted in that time period.  I would have bet money on it but when my daughter mentioned that she couldn’t find it on my blog I was sure she was wrong and I went on a search.  Result…no recipe!  Thanks, Sweetie Pie, for bringing this to my attention. This is definitely a recipe that I want to share.  The rib sauce is a bit tangy and the celery seed and honey-sherry mixture give the most wonderful flavor to the pork ribs.  If you are stuck in the rut of preparing ribs the same way over and over I hope you will try this amazingly easy and delicious recipe.  It’s been our favorite for almost 40 years.

I don’t remember my family ever grilling or barbecuing anything when I was growing up, but we did love ribs and my mom always baked them in the oven.  I’m sure these ribs would be fantastic prepared on a grill as well.  I found this recipe in Family Circle Magazine in the early 1970′s and the little clipping is close to falling apart.   You can serve 2 people or 20 by adjusting the amount of sauce you prepare, an important feature for me since I often cook for myself.  Larger cuts of meat don’t work for me unless I’m having a family gathering so I get all that barbecue goodness in a small rack of ribs.  If you have any leftovers just wrap them in foil and reheat.

Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs

One of my favorite back yard meals in the summer is honey glazed ribs, roasted potatoes, corn bread drizzled with a bit of honey, a crisp green salad… and a glass of a nice Oregon wine, of course.

Happy May Day everyone! If I could I would leave a little bouquet of posies at your front door  to celebrate the first day of May. I hope your day is a happy one. Thanks for visiting.