UPDATES! Recipe, Farmers' Markets, etc...

Well, the 2010 Farmers' Market season is well underway and we are excited. It feels like it is going to be a big season for us. We enter the season with our products in 3 cafes, one restaurant and the pretty out-of-the-ordinary cafe at Fletcher Allen, Vermont's largest hospital. We're working on other accounts and finalizing some great labels so we can finally start retailing in stores (thanks Shawn and Devon!)

Big online news is that we finally have a larger presence on Facebook. Please, if you are a Facebook user, search for FolkFoods, LLC and 'Like' us. We are hoping to get some great online conversations and we'll also be posting recipes, specials and other nifty stuff on there! Our website is also finally live (thanks Adam), although we need to add a ton of content - it will be coming soon. Actually this blog will soon move over there (www.folkfoods.com) and you all may have to go through the hullabaloo of subscribing to that new blog. We'll let you know. It is exciting though.

As for the Farmers' Market, it has been going incredibly well. We've started having weekly specials, as a way to promote our packaged products. The last two weeks we've have Taco Seasoned Veggie Crumble and Shelburne Farms Cheddar Cheese Stuffed Cornbread! The recipe is below, it is really yummy and goes well with Master Sauce (of course) and a fried egg. Once the site is up and running completely, we'll post all of the weekly special recipes both there and on Facebook. (We also plan on letting people know what the specials are ahead of time, so you all know to come on out and get some eats!)

Veggie Crumble Stuffed Cornbread

This recipe is infinitely variable. You can add roasted red peppers, jalapenos, fresh corn kernels, etc. The corn bread mix from Great Harvest is on the moist and sweet variety of corn breads, which goes really well with the well spiced and seasoned taco Veggie Crumble and cheese. This bread pairs really well next to a soup (try gazpacho) or salad and is always great with eggs. (Topped with Master Sauce, of course!)

1 package FolkFoods Veggie Crumble (12 oz. or about 4 cups)
1 cup of salsa, ½ cup water
About 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, or make your own
About 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can omit or substitute for vegan)
1 package of your favorite cornbread mix, or make your own
(I used to make it, but Great Harvest makes it so much better than I can!)
9”x13” pan, lightly oiled (this recipe is easily halved)

Mix water, salsa and taco seasoning together and add FolkFoods Veggie Crumble. Stir well and put aside. Make your corn bread batter, according to your mix or recipe. Pour half the batter into your oiled pan and shake gently until level. Sprinkle taco seasoned Crumble over the batter. Sprinkle shredded cheese. With a large spoon, drop the remaining batter evenly over the Crumble/cheese filling. Bake according to mix or recipe. Don’t forget to share!

Post-Market Update

Good Evening,

The Farmers' Market season has just ended. We had our first "free" weekend in almost six months, but now -- we're ready to get back to work!

So what are we doing?

Well, very soon our new and improved website will be up and running. (Thanks, Adam!) This means that we will re-establish our regular blog posts and recipes. And we'll soon have our online store up and running!

What else? We are working to get our products into stores and restaurants. (If you know of a place where you would love to see our stuff, please send us a note.)
And, soon, you will be able to sign up for updates directly from folkfoods.com!

Thank you for making this past year our most successful season yet! The best compliment you can give us is telling others about FolkFoods...

Eat Well!
Jason, Shana and Micah Baer

First Burlington Farmers' Market a Success!

Despite the rain, we had a wonderful time, and were excited to see so many people come out and support the market. Of course, we forgot our camera, so we'll post some pictures from next week's market.

People were real excited that we had packaged products to sell... our Veggie Patties and Veggie Crumble are back! (and of course, we have the Master Sauce!!)

Also, here's a cool video that ran on our local news about the market; you can see our booth in the background around 1:40



if that doesn't work click here

See you next weekend!

See You Tomorrow, With Product!!!

Saturday, May 9, City Hall Park
Burlington, VT
8:30am - 2:00 pm
The Burlington Farmers' Market!!

Well, this blog has been pretty silent for a long time. We've been busy. Our apologies.
But there is LOTS of activity ahead. We've got a lot of new recipes to post. We will soon have an active and updated website where this blog and other information will be found. Saturday farmers' markets begin tomorrow. Our production has worked 99% of the kinks out. Our boy, Micah, turned ONE in March, and now loves our Patties! We did a test run, making tons of sandwiches for our friends last weekend; all of our equipment is primed and ready (and the sandwiches were excellent!) We have a new friend, Brittany, helping us out; come on by and say hi! We are prepped, we are excited, and, well, we're tired.

So, hopefully, we'll see you tomorrow, and other Saturdays as well. Oh yeah, just to make sure that we are really clear...

WE WILL, ONCE AGAIN, HAVE VEGGIE PATTIES AND VEGGIE CRUMBLE TO SELL IN PACKAGES! (AND, AS ALWAYS, LOTS OF MASTER SAUCE!)

(Micah's gotten a lot bigger, you'll see!)

More to Come...

Happy Winter Everyone!

We have been quite absent from the blog world. It has been a crazy year and we are working hard to get everything up and ready for May's Farmers' Market.

We have a ton of new recipes coming; we are working on getting all of our products ready to be packaged and sold at market and at stores; we are getting ready for our son's first birthday; and we are preparing for some new FolkFoods adventures.

Everything will be coming along shortly. One thing to note, however, is that we will likely be moving this blog to our website, which is being constructed as we speak. But more on that as it develops. Until then, you can take a peak at our label's new look and bookmark our website at:
www.folkfoods.com

We'll see you soon!
-Jason, Shana and Micah Baer

Masterful Ginger-Lime Shrimp

(I wrote this post awhile ago; we've been sort of busy.)

The evening before my first Father's Day, Shana scooted Micah Baer and I out of the house so that she could prep a most wonderful breakfast for us. And thus began, what I hope, will be a yearly tradition: The Pre-Father's Day Boys' Night Out! I went over to my friend's place where we hung out in the garden, ate good food, drank excellent beer and listened to great old records. Dave's wife Jenny was out, so it was a great boys' night. Everyone was psyched to see, "the Baer" and I was really glad that he was in a good mood to hang out with us all.

Anyway, Besides making the best Root Beer on the planet with his wife Jenny (Rookie's Root Beer - get it at the Burlington Farmers' Market, Church Street and at several local restaurants on tap!), Dave is also a fantastic chef. He is a huge fan of our Master Sauce and this evening he introduced me to his most recent Master Sauce creation.

MASTERFUL GINGER-LIME SHRIMP

24 shrimp, skewered
4 Tbs FolkFoods Master Sauce (or more)
salt/pepper to taste
1 lime zested (shaved off the peel with a fine grater)
2 Tbs molasses
Mix Together and Marinate 15 min.

Grill those yummy skewers!
Crushed Ginger Snaps 10- 12 cookies
Sprinkle good quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil over all the shrimp while still warm
Sprinkle crushed Ginger Snaps on after pulling off the grill
Bam! Super-delicious treats.

TRULY, THESE ARE FANTASTIC. TRY THEM AT HOME.
(And, of course, let us know how it goes...)

Master Sauce Travels the World

Remember our friend Jenn? She described how Master Sauce solved a culinary conundrum. Jenn is a phenomenal cook who always finds creative ways to use our sauce. She is also a great writer and world traveler. She and her partner recently adventured in Belize. Naturally, they took a bottle of Master Sauce with them...

For winter vacation this year I went to Belize. Belize is pretty darned hot, and so is the food. In fact, it is home to a brand of hot sauce exported around the world: Marie Sharp’s. I must say—and I mean no disrespect—I find this hot sauce to be as overrated as the average film touted as a masterpiece by the Academy. Like the typical Hollywood production, it grabs your attention, but ultimately disappoints. It’s all hype.

In my opinion, Master Sauce is the indie hit of the spicy condiment world. To test this theory, I brought along a jar of Master Sauce to Belize, thinking that there I would find the most discerning panel of experts to judge its merits. I quickly learned not to call it “hot sauce.” (Belizeans require that a condiment burn the cilia in your throat to be called “hot.”) Much better to explain the theory behind the appellation “Master Sauce.” Once tasters understood the distinction, it was a hit just about everywhere.

In the photo I am offering a taste to David, a tour guide that my travel companion and I hired to take us canoeing through a beautiful river cave once used for Mayan burial ceremonies. The tour included a lunch of “super burritos” and Belizean beer (quite good!), and I suggested David try some Master Sauce on his burrito. (As you can see, we discovered that a screwdriver works well enough as a spreading utensil.) David loved it, but didn’t find it very spicy. He probably would have dumped half the jar into his burrito if I hadn’t told him it needed to last the whole vacation.

Did you catch that? I’ve become so addicted to the stuff that I can’t even go on vacation without it! My primary motivation for wrapping the jar carefully in a sarong and stuffing it inside one of my flippers was to try it in something completely different. I got my chance when I discovered that the atoll where we spent a week snorkeling and kayaking was teeming with conch. I had never eaten conch before, but by the time we left our island paradise, I had perfected a Master Sauce conch stew that can only be recreated with both rare ingredients. Here it is below.

Honestly, I’ve never seen conch in a store, but I live in a small town. Maybe it’s available in big cities at specialty markets. This recipe will work just as well with any other seafood, though. You could use calamari to approximate the taste and texture of conch, but fish or shrimp would also be tasty.

Conch Stew with Master Sauce:

Spend the day snorkeling, keeping an eye out for conch, which prefer flat, sandy areas. If you don’t have time to spend the day exploring a reef, go to the nearest seafood counter and buy the flesh of your favorite saltwater creature.

Sauté some chopped onion and garlic in oil with a little salt, and then add some cubed sweet potatoes or winter squash, carrots, and tomatoes to the pot. Sprinkle with herbs de provence if you have some. If not, don’t sweat it.

After the veggies have sautéed for a while, add enough liquid to cover the vegetables. The liquid can be canned coconut milk (cut with some water), or you can use the far superior and more exotic method of piercing a whole coconut and draining the water found inside. (To do this, hammer a nail into two spots on one end of the coconut, which will create a nice pouring spout.) I think whey would be good, too, if you happen to have a cheese-making friend.

Simmer until veggies are as soft as you like them. In a saucepan, sauté the seafood with a little garlic, salt, and—of course—Master Sauce! (Conch takes only about 4 minutes.)

Add seafood to stew and serve over rice. Or, if you value simplicity or simply dislike doing dishes, you can throw a cup of uncooked rice in the stew when you add the liquid to the vegetables. By the time the veggies are soft, the rice will also be cooked.

Add more Master Sauce to taste!