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!

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

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

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.

On our farm, leftover turkey is never a problem...we love having it.  Oh my gosh, those turkey sandwiches loaded with the leftover dressing and a bit of cranberry sauce are to die for!  Then there's the turkey hash  for breakfast.  Of course, everyone makes turkey soup!  But then there's still some leftover and what the heck can you do with it...something different perhaps. :) 

How about this recipe...

WHITE TURKEY CHILI

• 1 LB DRIED NAVY BEANS
• 1 LB DRIED GREAT NORTHERN BEANS
• 2 CUPS TURKEY BROTH
• 3 QTS. WATER
• 1 CUP CELERY, DICED
• 2 CUPS ONION, DICED
• 1 GREEN PEPPER, DICED
• 2 (4OZ.) CANS DICED GREEN CHILES
• 2-3 LBS. COOKED TURKEY, CUBED
• 3-4 TBSP. HERB’N RENEWAL CHILI SEASON'N
• 2 TSP. SALT
• 3 TBSP. CORN MEAL

IN A 6-8 QUART POT SOAK BEANS OVERNIGHT, DRAIN AND RINSE; ADD CHICKEN BROTH, WATER AND SALT. BRING TO A BOIL; REDUCE HEAT, COVER AND SIMMER FOR 2 HOURS...STIR OCCASIONALLY. SAUTE' CELERY & PEPPERS FOR 5 MINUTES. ADD TO BEANS, ALONG WITH CHILES, TURKEY AND CHILI SEASON'N. SIMMMER FOR 1 HOUR, UNCOVERED..STIR OCCASIONALLY. TO THICKEN, SLOWLY ADD CORN MEAL, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. ENJOY!

Sorry about the CAPS but I have this saved in the same font that we print our recipes that are included in each package and frankly, I don't have time to redo it...farming comes first and I have lettuce seeds to sow! :)

Need something to help keep you warm during the cold fall and winter nights?  This chili recipe is a "fer sure" warmer upper! It's not your normal chili recipe...think Louisiana and the Bayou! 

Bayou Chili

1 lb ground beef

1 lb smoked sausage, quartered and cubed

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup green pepper, diced

2 cans of beer

1 lb frozen corn

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 30 oz. can chili beans

4 Tbsp Herb'n Renewal Chili Season'n

1 29 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup frozen okra

1-2 lbs. Peeled, raw shrimp

In a large (7 qt. Or more) pot, brown ground beef; remove and drain well. Set aside. In the same pot, over medium heat, cook the sausage for 5 minutes. Add the celery, onions & peppers and saute' for an additional 4 minutes. Return beef to the pot and add the next 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes...stirring occasionally. Remove lid, continue simmering for 1 hour or longer...stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and cook for 5 more minutes or until shrimp is pink and thoroughly cooked.  Enjoy!!!!

Add a fresh green salad and a loaf of homemade bread and you've got a meal guaranteed to bring smiles to your guests faces!

Here's the link to our Chili Season'n

 http://www.localharvest.org/store/item.jsp?id=39

Thought we would share one of our very most favorite "Sunday company" meals with you on our very first entry to our new blog. :)  This recipe is so simple and sooooo very delicious.  We were proud to be asked to participate in a Kentucky Beef Council program and this is what we prepared as our "sampling!"  Have to admit that some of the "beef folks" were a bit leery consdering we were "doctoring up" their prized beef.  But, they came back for second helpings so our seasoning passed the big test. :)

Here's the recipe and we hope you enjoy it as much as they did.

Herb'n Swiss Beef Tips

2 1/2 lb. Round steak, trimmed & cut into 1/2” pieces

2 1/2 Tbsp. Herb'n Renewal's own Rub'n Season Beef

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into strips

1 green pepper, diced into 1/4” pieces

2 ribs celery, sliced into 1/2” pieces

2 tsp. Sugar

1 14 1/2 oz. Can diced tomatoes

1 29 oz. Can tomato sauce

1 8 oz. Can mushrooms, drained

Toss beef in the Rub'n Season Beef; let sit for 30 minutes. In a large skillet, brown beef in olive oil on high heat. Add onions, celery, peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a large covered baking dish and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender. Serve over rice or noodles...add a fresh crisp salad and some crunchy homemade bread and you've got one heck of a meal! Enjoy!

Here's a link to our Rub'n Season Beef

http://www.localharvest.org/store/item.jsp?id=32