Good Season'n With Herb'n Renewal

As a child, I would have been thrilled to wake up and see that there was no school and the hills had snow on them. I could spend the day sledding and then come in to the house and find that my mom had opened a can of soup, heated it and that sure helped warm me up!

As an older adult, I wake up and have to roll into position to see out of my window...cautiously I might add so as to not move a joint quickly which would mean much pain. It does not matter if there is snow or not, because I am not leaving the semi warmth of my home and I now know how to make my own flavorful soups with ease!

Getting old does have its advantages...we do not have to go sleigh riding, we do not have to really enjoy the snow and if we don't want to leave our homes we do not have to...the grandkids can find their own way to our doors! Lol The good part is they can be met with the scent of wonderful homemade soups cooking on our stoves.

Herb'n Renewal really does take the guesswork out of seasoning! Here's a great starter soup for a cold winter day.

Chicken Veggie'n Rice Stew

1-2 lb. chicken, cooked & diced

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 qt. chicken stock

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 cup white rice

2 tbsp. RUB'N SEASON POULTRY

Roux for thickening (optional)

In a large pot, saute' celery and onions in olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add everything else, except the roux! Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer till the veggies and rice are tender...about 1 hour. Thicken with roux (equal parts melted butter and flour mixed together) if desired.

Enjoy the snow from the inside of your warm home!!!!

We've had three people contact us this week asking for a way to use up their leftover pork after the New Year dinner. Not a problem for us, because we love leftovers! It's a great chance to get creative and try something new without the fear of a disaster that cost you loads of money. Believe me, we've had one or two that ended up in Addie's bowl, but what the heck...we tried and we've come up with some recipes to share with you using some of our seasoning blends.

The first in the series (weekly, I hope) uses our Chili Season'n just cause the “Hog Wild Chili” is a great dish for Super Bowl Sunday. It is worth buying a pork loin if you don't have leftovers...I promise! We have a bachelor customer who serves this each year on Super Bowl Sunday and he tells us that his “man cave” is “the” place to be because of the chili!

Hog Wild Chili

3 lbs. pork loin, cubed

2 tbsp. Bacon drippings

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup diced green pepper

1 12 oz. can of beer

1 28 oz. Can diced tomatoes

1 29 oz. Can tomato sauce

3 tbsp. Chili Season'n

1 30 oz. Can chili beans

1 15.5 oz cans of Northern beans

Brown pork in bacon drippings until moisture is reduced and meat is lightly browned. Add peppers and onions; saute' 5 minutes. Add beer, tomatoes, sauce and Chili Season'n. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Add beans and return to a simmer and cook until meat is tender...approximately 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. If chili is not the desired thickness, add 1 tbsp. of cornmeal at a time to thicken ...make sure you stir after adding each spoonful.

Enjoy and may your team win! :)

 

Just in case you missed the salsa sampling at the Tomato Festival last Sunday, Drew is making another big batch for tomorrow at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market! It was a big hit so don't miss out on a another chance to sample a simple, easy to make...yet fresh and delicious salsa!

Our Salsa Season'n really does take the guesswork out of making salsa! Nothing more than chopped tomatoes, green peppers and onions...with some Salsa Seasoning. It just doesn't get any easier than that. Folks were asking if it was hot and spicy. Well, I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods and I love it. But, for those of you who prefer killer hot salsa, you can always add a hot pepper to really spice it up. We describe our Salsa Season'n as spicy enough to be great and yet not hot enough to make ya sweat!

We'll be at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market from 9 until 2...stop by and have a sample with us. While you're there you can shop for nothing but the finest and freshest homegrown fruits and veggies. It's Lexington's only 100% homegrown/produced farmers market!

BTW...the “Zuckie” cookies will be back and so will the Herb'n Buns!

Hope to see you at the market!

Looks like it is going to be a hot one at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market tomorrow. Its a good thing Drew took that into consideration when he was trying to decide what to sample at the market. Look for some “Not Your Average” egg salad! He'll also be making sandwiches with crisp fresh lettuce from our garden...it's the last of it for the season.

Karin has been busy in the soap shop, so look for a new soap this week...Little Bit O'Loofah! It smells wonderful and the loofah slice in the center adds a bit of whimsy and great exfoliating too!

The fresh tomatoes are in at the market so make sure you grab some of our Salsa Season'n. It really is sooooo simple to make and quick too! Simply dice tomatoes, onions, green peppers and add the seasoning. You're done and ready to enjoy!

Don't forget that special dad in your life! Have to admit that I was semi thinking of my dad when I created a great gift basket to take to the market tomorrow. It's got Craftsman BBQ tools in it! It's loaded with some of Herb'n Renewal's favorite grilling herb blends. I had to laugh and shed a tear at the same time. My dad was an avid woodworker but he couldn't boil water! HaHa I kept seeing the word “Craftsman” and thinking about him and his tools. Then I looked at the seasoning and thought how he would have passed it over to my mom so that she could cook him something. I miss my dad.

Heading to the kitchen to pack while Drew boils and peels the eggs. I gave him that job because I have a tendency to peel off half of the egg every time...he's much better at it. Guess all of those years spent in a kitchen paid off!

Hope to see you all at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market tomorrow...Herb'n Renewal will be there from 9 until 2!

But, by looks of the beautiful flowers on our baby Pak Choy, I'd say we failed the test! lol

I had one of those brilliant moments this winter while going through the seed catalogs.  Heck, why not introduce something new to our 100% homegrown farmers market...the Bluegrass Farmers' Market!  So, I ordered the seeds and planted them. :)

At first I thought what the heck, it said 40 days to harvest and it's been 6 days already...nothing.  How could these things possibly be ready for the market?  Well, then they just seemed to grow over night!!!  Who knew!  Certainly not us herb farmers.  EEK!  Our herbs are nice steady growers and don't go bananas over night!

We, or I should say "I" learned a good lesson...stick with what you know how to grow.  But, I have to admit that the yellow flowers are beautiful and they (hopefully) will continue to bloom all summer long...even if we can't enjoy the anticipated stir fry! 

This is me crawling back to my herb garden with my eyes towards the ground...except for a quick peek at those pretty yellow Pak Choy flowers!  I love farming or maybe I should say "herbing!"

BTW, please help us become America's favorite farmers market by voting for the Bluegrass Farmers' Market in Lexington, KY.  It's Lexington's only 100% homegrown/produced market and I promise we really do have farmers who know what they are doing with their veggies.  http://www.farmland.org/vote

Poor “Chuck” decided that he had other plans for us last Saturday and we missed the market. We actually spent most of the day on the side of Rt. 27 trying to figure out why he kept spitting a main belt out each time we started him up! Believe me, we would much rather have been at the market especially since we were loaded down with freshly harvested lettuce, herbs and a bunch of Herb'n Buns! Hey, the folks that stopped to help us ate good that night! Lol

So, a full day later, we think “Chuck” is once again in full service. We drove him into the big city of Lancaster last night so that we could take our GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) class and I'm happy to say we both passed with flying colors! But, I don't think anyone has ever failed. HaHa! It just means that Drew and I are both certified GAP and qualified to hand out samples at the market. Poor Drew, my brain started working on the way home as I thought of things we could sample using what was available at the market. Honestly, I think he was looking for a big rock to hide under...sorry Drew...part of the market experience!

We've got some more good news. Herb'n Renewal is now back at the Wood Shack in Bryantsville! It's been awhile since we have had our seasoning there and it's nice to be back. If you've never been to the Wood Shack, this weekend is a perfect time to start. They are having a “Picnic On The Porch” to celebrate Memorial Day and you'll find 20%-70% off throughout the whole place. It's a country decor lovers dream come true! Country crafts, florals, quilts, candles, gifts and of course herb seasoning! They've been in business at the same location for 22 years so “the Shack” is there to stay! If you happen to be looking for a great place to visit this weekend, you can find them at the junction of Rt.27 and Rt. 152...it's only about a 30 minute drive from Lexington. And, they'll have free food and drinks on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 10 until 6!

One last thing before I head to the kitchen to bake...please take a moment out of your Memorial Day celebrations to remember why we even have Memorial Day. We has so much to be thankful for because of the men and women who have given their lives for our country. We salute you and your families. Don't forget to fly your flag in their honor! We'll be flying ours at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market this Saturday from 9 until 2. Our flag always waves in your honor on the farm!

We're so excited to be back at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market after a very long winter!

We've been so busy weeding, clearing out beds and planting this spring. It's a good kinda tired though. Then all of a sudden it was time for Drew to head to the kitchen and start blending and Karin had to make soap. We needed to get ready for the market opening and somehow we let time fly by so it's been a very busy week at our farm. Now we are really tired! But, everything is done and ready for Saturday's market. All we have to do is load “Chuck” up and head towards to Lexington.

We've had numerous phone calls asking where to buy or blends and rubs and it was so nice to be able to say “we're back at the market!” We can't wait to see our customers and maybe even get to meet some new folks. Hope to see you all on Saturday at ...

The Bluegrass Farmers' Market

Lexington's only 100% homegrown/produced farmers market

3450 Richmond Rd. in the Fast Signs and Pedal the Planet lot

Saturday 9-2

 

The opening date for the Bluegrass Farmers' Market has been set and it's April 17^th! It feels so far away with all of the snow on the ground but it really isn't! Yippee, we're ready to get back to the market! And, yes, I did say “we're” that means that both of us will be there this year. Guess I'll be doing the selling and Drew will be manning the grill, kettle, skillet or whatever he happens to be using to create goodies using our seasoning blends and local produce from the market. Have to admit that it will be great having him by my side again...it was kinda lonely without him last year.

Do you remember that little spurt of warmth and sunshine we had the other day? Well, it made think gardening and how much we waste our garden beds each year. Why not utilize them to grow something while I wait for the real summer heat and our basil and tomato plants. So, I went catalog shopping and looked for something that we could grow in the cool spring. Guess what we'll (hopefully) be bringing to the market this spring? Oriental cabbages!!! Yup, I ordered seeds for baby bok choy and pak choy varieties. I know that we love using them at home so why not grow them ourselves and then sell them at the market. With two ounces worth of luck we'll have enough for Drew to even use them to cook with at the market. Wish us luck in our growing endeavor cause that means you get to enjoy tasty samples! :)

Remember to mark your calendars so that you can be sure to join us on opening day of Lexington's only 100% homegrown/produced farmers market...the Bluegrass Farmers' Market!

~*~OPENING DAY~*~

April 17^th

3450 Richmond Rd. in the parking lot of

Fast Signs and Pedal the Planet

9 until 2

Free and Easy Parking!!!

Hope to see you there!

It's been snowing all day and now the wind is really starting to pick up.  Darn glad we're inside where it is warm, sort of!  But, to help take the chill off of these old bones I decided to bake some bread.  Somehow that led to a kettle of soup...gotta have something to dunk those wonderful bread heels in. Ha Ha!  So I thought I would share our recipe for one of our favorite "warmer uppers!"

 

Cowboy Beans'n Sausage Soup

2 lbs. dried beans (we used pinto and white beans!)

3 qts. water

1 lb. smoked sausage, cubed small

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup green pepper, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 Tbsp. Herb'n Cowboy

1 tsp. each of beef and chicken bouillon

Soak beans overnight; drain and rinse. In a 6 qt. pot bring water and beans to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Brown sausage in a skillet for 5 minutes, then add next four ingredients and saute' three minutes more. Once the beans have cooked an hour add mixture and bouillon to beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for an additional hour or until beans are tender and soup has thickened...stir occasionally. Salt to taste.

Drew and I are cooking a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the second time in 15 years!!!!

The "bird" is in the oven, the taters will be leftovers from last night although I can't exactly call them LO's...we did it on purpose. :)  The market "sweets" are cooking in readiness to be mashed and have all sorts of goodies added to them before they go into the oven.  The green beans that we froze earlier in the season are simmering with a wee bit of ham and some of our Herb'n All.  And, the corn that we froze at the end of the season is soon to be a casserole with cream cheese!

The only boo boo so far is my attempt at making my own yeast rolls.  Why the heck didn't I just buy them?  I have a bowl full of dough that should have risen enough to punch down and yet, there it sits looking like a lump of dough!

Oh well, toast and gravy is good too...isn't it? lol

Have a very happy Thanksgiving Day everyone and  remember that just about everything that you eat today came from a farmer!!!

We've had an unexpected change of plans, so Herb'n Renewal will NOT be at Botanica's Christmas Bazaar...but you'll still be able to find plenty of other goodies!

*~*Botanica's Christmas Market and Bazaar*~*

Saturday, November 28, 2009 10:00am - 5:00pm

Sunday, November 29, 2009 12:00 noon – 5:00pm

A great time to get your Christmas shopping out of the way...

while supporting local artisans, growers and producers!

Botanica will have our wonderful Christmas gifts and decor including

fresh wreaths, garland, and centerpieces!

Craft Vendors will be offering unique gifts

Reflections of Africa's bead work

Handmade Swarovski & Silpada designed jewelry

Wooden nativity scenes

Personalized stationary by The Envelope Please and Itouch

Handcrafted baskets

Painted ceramic tiles

Christmas ornaments

Mary Kay® products.

Kentucky Proud Members will be bringing

Fresh produce

Jams and jellies

Homemade soaps

Beer cheese

State-winning local honey from Keith Green

Goodies from Karamel Kreations

Handmade quilts

Gourd birdhouses

Animal fiber art/felting/spinning

And, so much more!

~*~ Refreshments will be provided ~*~

Bring 1 canned food item for a chance to win a custom designed wreath!

Food donations are going to The Lighthouse Ministries

Directions:

From Lexington, go out Richmond Road to Jacobson Park and bear right on Old Richmond Road. Go exactly 4 miles

From I-75 go to the Athens-Richmond Road exit, go to Jacobson Park (about 2-3 miles), turn left on Old Richmond Road and go exactly 4 miles

After taking one year off from selling at a farmers market, Herb'n Renewal is back at it! Yup, we couldn't stand another year of not seeing our customers so we joined a newer, smaller but grower/producer only market in Lexington. The Bluegrass Farmers' Market welcomed us and so did the customers.

It was really a pleasure to be amongst “real” farmers and producers for a change. After 10 years of selling at the largest market in town and watching more and more resellers show up, it was indeed nice to actually talk to someone who really knew about that rhubarb that he was selling! Granted the Bluegrass Farmers' Market is much smaller but at least I know that when I purchase something that we don't grow...it's really local and homegrown!

So, if anyone would like to come visit us at our new “home” you'll be able to find Herb'n Renewal among other growers and producers each Saturday at the Bluegrass Farmers' Market. Don't expect to find corn or tomatoes yet cause they just aren't in season in Kentucky. But, you'll find great farm fresh eggs, beautiful bedding and hanging plants, loads of heirloom tomato plants, spring greens, baked goods, soaps, onions, rhubarb and even our herb seasoning.

You'll have to drive a bit outside of downtown but there's plenty of parking and it's a lovely lot with real trees, smiling farmers and happy customers! We'd love to see you.

Here's a link to the listing at Local Harvest for the Bluegrass Farmers' Market. http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M29529

Okay, the ice has melted and now we can really see the damage to our beautiful trees and we're gonna cry. Something had to get us out of our “funk” so what could be better than a kettle of soup! And, seen as how our sweet potatoes didn't care whether or not we had power...they survived! They ended up in a pot yesterday for one of our favorite recipes. :) Drew prepared this recipe when he was the guest chef at our local Williams & Sonoma and it was a hit! Rich and creamy without cream!!!

Thought I would share it with you. Pardon the CAPITAL letters. The font that I use on our recipe cards always come out that way and right now I've got to get busy trying to clear the limbs so I can get to our commercial kitchen...herb seasoning seems more important than old capital letters right now!

JAMM'N SWEET TATER SOUP

2 RIBS CELERY, DICED

1/4 CUP ONION, DICED

1/2 STICK BUTTER

3 LBS. SWEET TATERS, PEELED & CUT

INTO 1/4" CHUNKS. ABOUT 10 CUPS

2 LBS. YUKON GOLD TATERS, PEELED AND QUARTERED. ABOUT 7 TATERS

1 1 /2 QTS. CHICKEN BROTH

1 TBSP. JAMM’N JERK

IN A 4 QT. POT, OVER MEDIUM HEAT, SAUTE' CELERY AND ONIONS FOR 10 MINUTES OR UNTIL TENDER....DO NOT BROWN! ADD BOTH TATERS AND CHICKEN BROTH; BRING TO A BOIL. GIVE IT A STIR; COVER POT AND REDUCE HEAT. SIMMER FOR 20 MINUTES. REMOVE LID AND STIR IN JAMM'N JERK; SIMMER FOR 10 MORE MINUTES. REMOVE FROM HEAT AND BLEND UNTIL SMOOTH IN A FOOD PROCESSOR OR WITH A STICK BLENDER.

TRY ADDING A DOLLOP OF SOUR CREAM OR BLEU CHEESE TO EACH BOWL BEFORE SERVING! YUMMY! MAKES 3 1/2 QTS.

Here's a link to our Jamm'n Jerk. 

http://www.localharvest.org/jammn-jerk-C261

The snow and ice started on Monday night and by Tuesday morning we were looking at our beautiful pine trees collapsing. The both of us cringed each time we heard another branch break. All we could do was watch and shake our heads. And, of course we kept hoping that huge oak next to our house could handle the weight of the ice and thank heavens most of it did. The cherry tree in the back yard is now leaning towards our home and I'm afraid we'll have to cut it down.

Then the power went out!

It's a good thing we keep an emergency box on hand. Out came the candles, lanterns, radio and all of the extra batteries. The freezers all have extra jugs of water frozen in them so we knew our “summer stash” of veggies would be okay.

Then we hear on the radio that our water company has frozen pumps so we are put on a restricted water use mode. Then the trickles of water that we had stopped flowing, so no more water. Tough thawing out jugs of frozen water when the temperature outside is 5 degrees! We managed to cut open some jugs and boil our water on the outside grill. Believe me, neither one of us could have survived without our old coffee percolator!

By day four we had water!!!! Still no electricity though. Funny, our neighbors all had power. We've had this problem before and it seems like we are the last ones on the transformer and the fuse pops out every time the power goes off. The utility company comes out and pops it back in...two minutes later we have lights! Not this time. It took 13 days to get someone out to our farm and get us back in business. I think it might have taken longer except I finally called and informed them that we rely on our business to pay our bills...yours included! Lol Oh, by the way, keeping that old dial phone sure paid off because those modern ones don't work without electricity...remember that next time you see one at a yard sale.

The one good thing about not having power was the amazing food that we ate. The freezers started to thaw and I'll be darned if I was going to let all of my hard work go to waste. We had the most wonderful grilled veggie tortilla pizzas. And, the huge kettle of veggie soup was to die for! Of course Drew kept giving me a strange look every time his spoon came up with a whole Brussels sprout!!! I think I'll chop them up next time I decide to recreate that soup.

All in all we survived even if our tree lined driveway did not. But, I guess we'll just get a bit more eccentric and have 40' topiaries! It's nice to be back in the land of power and no....we do not want to go through this again!

This is what our farm looked like on day one!

Well, at least our Chili Season'n is!

We were lucky enough to have one of our seasoning blends chosen to be included in the gift bags that the attendees at the BlueGrass Ball will receive on inauguration eve. Karin was busy designing and printing some special packaging while Drew blended each night when he came home from the restaurant. Caros takes a bunch out him but this was very important so he stood out in the kitchen until the wee hours of the morning making sure that we had enough for Karin to package and get them on their way to Washington D.C. We're quite honored that Herb'n Renewal was one of the Kentucky Proud farms to be chosen. And, we certainly hope that the recipients enjoy their Chili Season'n!