Ambitious Week

Here is the current lineup for this Friday's Lilburn Farmers Market:

• Mini Pies: chicken pot pies

• peach pie

• Cookies: brown sugar cookies with and without chocolate chips
• oatmeal cream pies
  

• S'mores: The homemade vanilla marshmallows and your choice of chocolate will be back by popular demand this week!
  

• Ready to eat foods: Purely Simple Catering will not be at the market this week so I have volunteered to bring the following:

bbq pork with my own secret ingredient barbeque sauce
pimiento cheese
homemade potato chips
sodas

It seems like an awful lot to get done, but I am hopeful I can get to it all. I also hope to make a vegetarian chili pot pie, if I can find the extra time!!!

Lilburn Farmers Market This Friday!

Here are a few things to look forward to at the Lilburn Farmers Market this Friday:


Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Mini Cherry Pies
Mini Apple Pies

Brown sugar cookies
M&Ms cookies
And any other cookies that I am inspired to make by Friday!

Tag Line

I am trying to come up with a tag line, any ideas?

So far I like 'where sweet dreams come true'

What do you think? I need some other options.

Christmas in July 16th, and July 17th

Time	Saturday at 10:00am - July 17 at 4:00pm
Location	Gilliland Heritage Alpaca Farm 1587 Dee Kennedy Road Hoschton, Georgia 30548
Created By	Lisa Slater
More Info	Lots of fun for the whole family! Come join us for the Christmas in July Celebration! 26 plus Artisans of food and art. There will be a water color demostration, cooking demos and tons to of samples. It is July so there will be lots of produce and a Truckload of watermelons available both days! Come join all the fun!Actvities for the whole family. Alpaca tours both days!

Fourth of July Specials!!!!

It is a holiday weekend, so there will be lots of 4th of July-themed goodies. They are great for your large holiday get togethers or an intimate family gathering. Call or email if you wish to reserve some of these treats. Otherwise, come out to the Lilburn Farmers Market Friday 4-8PM and the GHA Farmers Market Sunday 1-5PM and stock up!









Funfetti Cake Pops: Enjoy a vanilla cake studded with red, white and blue jimmies that is encased in either red or white chocolate and topped with more jimmies!

S'mores: In addition to my normal s'mores offerings, I also have a special coffee flavored marshmallow. Chocolate and coffee...yum!!!

Mini pies: I have cherry and apple mini pies available. They are individual sized so each person gets their own mini treat! What is more American than apple or cherry pie?

Instant Coffee plus sugar syrup = DISASTER

In preparation for the markets this weekend, I decided to add another flavor of marshmallow to my customizable s'mores. I already have 4 types of chocolate to choose from (milk, white, dark and dark with mint) and several other add-ons to make them special (Nutella, peanut butter, raspberry jam, orange marmalade and my recent addition of blackberry Merlot from Saucy Spirits).

Adding another marshmallow option was next on my list. Coffee and chocolate are a great combination and would have a wide appeal.

Here's a brief run through on how to make marshmallows. Soften gelatin in some water in a large mixing bowl with a whip attachment. Make a sugar syrup and heat to 240 degrees and slowly add to the softened gelatin. Once all the sugar syrup has been added, turn the mixer on high and whip for 10-20 minutes, or until thickened. Add vanilla or other flavoring and transfer to a greased pan to set up.

I toyed with where to add the instant coffee crystals. Whether I should add them to the water in which the gelatin softens or to the sugar syrup or at the very end. I didn't think the crystals would dissolve very well if I added them with the vanilla, even though one recipe I found chose to add it then. The water for softening the gelatin needs to be cool and I wasn't sure how the coffee would affect the gelatin.

So I just made my simple syrup in my same pot as usual and added two teaspoons of coffee granules. It made sense and things were going well until it reached a boil. At which time it majorly boiled over in half a second. Which spilled all over the hot stove, which caused a lot of smoke, which made the house fire alarm go off, which made the company call the house, but the house phone's battery was dead so I couldn't answer it, while trying to keep the sugar syrup from running onto the floor, running over to the alarm panel 5 times to shut it off, the dogs were upset at the smoke and the sound, then the garage door starts to open...my husband is coming home, the house phone starts ringing again at the same time as my cell phone, I am able to tell the guy not to send the fire department just as my husband walks in to the mess, all the while he is getting phone calls about the alarm. Then both our cell phones go off at the same time, our friends were calling to see if we were ok since they were evidently our emergency contacts through the alarm company.

Did you follow all that? And it all happened in a span of 2-3 minutes. Needless to say I am more than a little embarrassed about it all. And it doesn't help that I wasn't alone to clean up all the mess and no one would ever know better. Or that I could fix it all then tell people and laugh about it after the fact. But it is what it is. And now I am telling all of you about it.

So what do you think, should I give coffee marshmallows another shot? Maybe I will add the coffee crystals in the end and see how that goes. I am a little gun shy after the disaster I just made, but it happens to the best of us. I just need to pick myself up and keep trying because I never know what I can do until I try.

Farmers Market Updates

This past Friday started out great at the Lilburn Farmers Market. There was a live band playing and a fun activity for the kids. Many of the vendors flew a flag from around the world off their booths and the kids had to come guess which country it represented. Once they did, they got stickers in their 'passport' and when they visited all the booths, they got a goody bag. It was such a cute idea and it really got a lot of people interacting with the vendors they might not have stopped by in the first place.

It was also the first week of Lilburn Idol, which would bring more people to park right next to the market. Unfortunately, it started raining really hard so everyone packed up by 7PM. I believe the Idol competition was to start around 7:30 so I am not sure if it went on or had to be rescheduled.

Despite the rain, there was a really good turnout for the market and I hope it brought some new people in that will become regulars in the future!!

Yesterday I went to the GHA Farmers Market for the first time. This market is held in Hoschton on Sundays from 1-5PM. I am not very familiar with the area (other than the facts that Chateau Elan and the Mayfield Dairy are near by), so I had no idea how many people would be driving through the area. Its at a great location, an alpaca farm, so there is a lot to do. You can take a tour of the farm, sample some goodies from jellies to goats milk cheese to candles, biscotti and of course my wonderful cake truffles, s'mores and mini pies. And Lisa of Everyday Indulgence is always making something very yummy to eat, so bring your family out for a fun filled afternoon and a great meal!!!

Quick Update

Hi All!!
I know I've been a bit behind on the blog recently. I had a few out of town trips in a row that has really thrown a wrench in everything! I think I am starting to get everything back under control again. Here's a bit of what I've been up to:

The Lilburn Farmers Market started a few weeks ago and is bigger and better than ever! It is located in downtown Lilburn, just off Lawrenceville Highway. There are lots of great options at the market from pasta to produce to prepared foods to honey and soaps...the list goes on. So stop by and have a great night and find some very yummy things! Visit me on Fridays from 4-8PM. I have my homemade s'mores, cake truffles and mini pies.

This past weekend was Fathers Day and I was asked to come by a Wild BBQ at the Gilliland Alpaca Farm, which is also the location of GHA Locally Grown Farmers Market on Sundays from 1-5PM. Angie and Lisa are great hosts and have really big hearts, they really want the best for everyone. The farm is close to Chateau Elan in Hoschton, GA. It is easily accessible from I-85 and is in a gorgeous location. Not only can you buy products at the market, they also have an order system up on their webpage with four convenient pickup locations. How cool is that?

Now that all my traveling is done for a while, I can get back to focusing on the markets, hopefully spending some weekends at the GHA Farmers Market.

Check in with this blog and my new facebook page to know exactly where I will be and when. But don't hesitate to email me at sugarbearsweetery@gmail.com or call at 770-279-2048 with any questions or orders.

Birthday Cake!!! And Cupcakes!!!

I was asked to make a birthday cake for a coworker last week before going out of town for a few days. It was a bit crazy to get that and 3 dozen red velvet cupcakes for my husband's coworker done in the few nights before a trip to the Caribbean to see my brother get married, but I made it all work. I'm still not sure how it all came together, time must have taken pity on me and slowed down a little.

The cupcakes were straightforward...red velvet cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream frosting. No cream cheese frosting and no decorations. Luckily that was not difficult, it just took some time the night before leaving the country. My husband delivered the cupcakes since he was staying here. He told me that his coworker loved them and they were just what she needed. It was her daughter's birthday and she wanted something to bring in to her class, but knew she wouldn't have time to make it. It worked out well for everyone and it sounds like they all enjoyed the cupcakes!

Back to the birthday cake...My coworker wanted a birthday cake that wasn't too huge, but was two tiered, black/white/hot pink, shaped like a gift box and used the flavors from the Drunken raspberry cake truffle. Baking the layers and the initial layer of hot pink frosting was easy, I even split the layers and put a little raspberry jam in between. But I made sure to give myself lots of time for decorating.

I chose to use buttercream as the foundation because most people I talk to do not like the taste of fondant. Fondant may have a smoother appearance, but I haven't met anyone that actually likes the taste. Why have a pretty cake that no one wants to touch? I did use fondant for the decorations. She gave me a picture of a cake with tiger stripe-like decorations and I knew it would look best in fondant. I also made the ribbon on the box in fondant.

I haven't used fondant before, I was just winging it the best I could. The ribbon and side decorations looked good, but there was still the bow on the gift box to be done. I followed the directions on the fondant box (I bought it because I knew I was short on time) to make the bow. The pieces were not dry enough to put together that night, so I had to wait until the morning I was taking the cake in to work to assemble the bow...risky, I know.

I put together the bow right after waking up so it could set up before being moved to the cake. By the time I was leaving for work, I could tell it had sagged a bunch. I put the bow on and took pictures, which turned out nice. But then the bow was sagging even further than eventually broke. Rather than crying about it and being upset, I had to come up with plan B...and quick! I had a white gift bow that I put on top, hoping it would be good enough. I took some pictures and carefully drove in to work.

I gave her the cake and she loved it!!! I was so excited. I was hoping I had incorporated all the elements she wanted in the way she imagined. Its always nerve racking, but its good in a way because that forces me to be a perfectionist and produce the best product that I possibly can. Pictures will be posted this weekend for all to see. Enjoy!!!

New Cake Truffle Selection: BLACK FOREST

There is a new cake truffle in Sugar Bear Sweetery's land and it is yummy!

Introducing Black Forest cake truffles:
Imagine a rich devil's fudge cake and chopped sweet cherries are held together with a smooth buttercream frosting before being dipped in milk chocolate and studded with chopped dried cherries.

Is your mouth watering yet?!? Try one today!

New Variation on the Carrot Cake Truffle

I recently had an order for a dozen carrot cake truffles, but without nuts. My normal recipe calls for chopped pecans in both the cake batter and as the garnish. So I made a carrot cake without the pecans inside and came to the dilemma of how to garnish the truffles. I have been trying to make each garnish unique so that the various cake truffles are easily identified.

But what to do with these truffles? I originally thought of the mini marzipan carrots that I have seen in the past. That would be a cute idea. Though I was short on time and did not have an opportunity to go searching for them. So on to something else...

Finally it came to me. What else do some people put in their carrot cakes? Raisins! I don't normally have them in my carrot cake recipe, but knew that was something that is done on occasion. Woohoo! Garnish problem solved. I went ahead and dipped my truffles in white chocolate and topped each one with some raisins. They looked cute! I will have to take a few pictures and post them here.

What it comes down to is this: If I don't currently offer a flavor of truffle you are interested in, please ask! Or if there is something you would like to change about the current lineup, please don't hesitate to ask! I am more than willing to work with you to get you exactly what you are looking for.

I have a few new truffle ideas bouncing around my head at the moment, but I haven't tested them out. Options like a hummingbird cake (a Southern thing for those of you who have never heard of it, check one out at thejoyofbaking.com) and black forest are high on my list.

Any other suggestions? I would love to hear them!!!

Real Women of Philadelphia Cookbook

It is finally here! My Paula Deen autographed copy of my Real Women of Philadelphia Cookbook!!!!!

Here is my winning entry on page 28:

Atlanta Underground Market May 7th

Go here for the video fun: http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/user/recipe/orangey-fruit-dip

Here is a wonderfully light spring/summertime dessert that is still creamy and smooth thanks to Philly cream cheese. The orange marmalade brings a bright citrus note to the dip while the ginger gives it a little kick. A sweet ending to a meal that isn't too rich but is certainly satisfying!!

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1 minute
• Total time: 11 minutes
• Servings: 12

• 8 ounce(s) of Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 7 ounce(s) of marshmallow fluff
• 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. of almond extract
• 1/2 tsp. of ground ginger
• 1/2 cup(s) of orange marmalade
• 3 cup(s) of preferred dippers like strawberries, pineapple, grapes, sweetened crispy crepes, etc

Steps

1. Use a mixer to whip the cream cheese until light.
2. Add in the marshmallow fluff and mix until combined.
3. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, ginger and orange marmalade. Continue mixing until all ingredients are combined.
4. Transfer to a bowl and serve with desired fruit. Some examples are strawberries, grapes, pineapple, mangoes, kiwi fruit, and cantaloupe. If you would like to add in a crunchy dipper, cut dessert crepes into wedges then brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place under the broiler for a few minutes until crispy.
5. Dip can be stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

S'mores Cheesecake

You can find the video by clicking: http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/user/recipe/smores-cheesecake

I love all things s'mores and wanted to extend that fervor even further by combining the classic s'mores components of graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallow into a new form...a cheesecake!! Using Kraft Philly cream cheese in a rich chocolate cheesecake makes this dessert super silky and smooth. Sure to be a hit with all your friends and family, not only does this cheesecake taste great but it also evokes those nostalgic feelings we all have when it comes to eating s'mores!

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Total time: 45 minutes
• Servings: 8

• 8 ounce(s) of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup(s) of sugar
• 2 ounce(s) of semi sweet chocolate, melted
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup(s) of mini marshmallows
• 1 9 inch graham cracker crust

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat the cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Add in the sugar continue beating for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the chocolate and vanilla. Mix until combined.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
5. Fold in the marshmallows with a spoon and transfer mixture to the graham cracker crust.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. The marshmallows will make the cheesecake look a little more puffy than a traditional cheesecake, but that is alright.
7. Cool and then chill in the refrigerate the pie until set.
8. Store the pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Strawberries and Cream Pie

Go here for the video!!!
http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/user/recipe/strawberries-and-cream-pie-2

With lots of strawberries on hand, one of the first desserts that comes to my mind is this strawberries and cream pie. A few simple ingredients combine together to sum up more a whole that is so much more than its parts!

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1 minute
• Total time: 11 minutes
• Servings: 8

• 1 cup(s) of heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounce(s) of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup(s) of sugar
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. of almond extract
• 2 cup(s) of strawberries, cut in half
• 1 9 inch graham cracker crust
• 1/3 cup(s) of hot fudge topping, warmed until spoonable

Steps

1. Whip the whipping cream in a chilled bowl with a chilled whisk/beaters until soft peaks are formed.
2. In another large bowl/mixer, beat the cream cheese for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for another 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until just combined.
3. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, taking care not to over mix.
4. Pour into the graham cracker crust.
5. Arrange the strawberry halves on top. Drizzle the fudge topping on the strawberries.
6. Chill pie in the refrigerator until set and ready to serve. Leftovers can be store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Check out the video here: http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/user/recipe/strawberry-cheesecake-ice-cream-2

A twist on the classic cheesecake..cheesecake ice cream! Kraft Philly lends itself perfectly in this rich dessert that will have you coming back for more!

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Total time: 35 minutes
• Servings: 16

• 2 cup(s) of strawberries
• 8 ounce(s) of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup(s) of sugar
• 1/8 tsp. of salt
• 1 tbsp. of lemon juice
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. of almond extract
• 1 cup(s) of milk
• 1/2 cup(s) of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup(s) of chocolate sauce, optional

Steps

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the strawberries, cream cheese, sugar, salt, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts. Pulse until the ingredients are fully blended.
2. Transfer to a large bowl and add the milk and heavy cream. Stir until combined.
3. Transfer strawberry cheesecake mixture to the bowl of a chilled ice cream maker and prepare ice cream according to the manufacturer's directions.
4. Transfer to a container and freeze until hardened.
5. To serve, leave ice cream at room temperature until softened enough to scoop. Serve with chocolate sauce if desired.

Fiesta Bison Bake

This last week was the entree week with cooking creme for the Real Women of Philadelphia contest. I made a video for a Santa Fe burrito over a week ago and submitted it but still wanted to come up with another idea.

So here it is: Fiesta Bison Bake!

Check out the video and recipe here: http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/user_recipe/view/12273/11381/1

It is a bit of a play on the classic frozen macaroni and beef I loved when I was younger. It had macaroni and tomatoes and beef and cheese. I changed it up to use the cooking creme to smooth out the texture of the shredded cheddar and make everything super creamy. I changed the tomatoes to diced tomatoes with green chiles to add some heat. And I changed the ground beef to ground bison to change up the flavor a little bit. Plus, everyone says that bison is leaner than ground beef. It all gets tossed together and then baked in the oven for a bit. Nothing too difficult, but lots of great flavor and texture!!!

My husband said that he really enjoyed this one. He was telling me how he always looks forward to macaroni and cheese-type dishes and is always disappointed. The texture is never quite right and there never seems to be enough cheese to hold everything together. Not with this recipe! He was munching on it from the second I stopped filming, which is the greatest complement ever!

So go try out the recipe. It is great for anyone that likes a little bit of a kick!! If you want to take the idea in a different direction, then you can use plain diced tomatoes with the Italian Cheese and Herb cooking creme or even diced tomatoes with basil and oregano and the savory garlic cooking creme. All great ideas based on the same concept. Just change it around to make it work for you and your family.

STRAWBERRIES!!!!!!

Yay!! It is strawberry time! I made sure to make some time this year to visit Washington Farms to pick my own strawberries. Last year I didn't make it out there and was so disappointed! That wasn't going to happen this year.

I made time on Saturday morning, when the weather people said it would be a perfect day. Well, it was rainy and misty all morning (of course). Since I know how easy it is to get side tracked and the season isn't very long, I made the 40 minute drive out there anyway. This was my first time to the Loganville farm, I have always gone to the one in Watkinsville in the past. It wasn't too difficult to find at all, it was just a bit of a drive from my house.

I quickly gathered my two gallons of strawberries and seriously contemplated picking more. They all just looked too good! I decided that I would stick with the two I had and then if I use a lot of them in the next few weeks, then I would still have some time to get back before all the strawberries were gone.

So here are a few things I have made with the strawberries so far:
- Mixed greens salad with strawberries, mushrooms, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar
- Strawberry sherbet: I used a recipe from the Williams-Sonoma Desserts cookbook I found at the used book store last week. This turned out great!!! It is nice and smooth and doesn't leave a film in your mouth like some of the homemade ice cream recipes out there. I saw a waffle cone maker in the clearance section of Macy's and couldn't walk by it. So I made waffle cone bowls which were perfect with the sherbet.

I washed and hulled a bunch for freezing because even though strawberries are a good fruit for you, I don't think I can eat 2 gallons all by myself before they go bad. My husband will eat a few here and there, but it is mostly up to me. I think I am up for the task!!!

I have a few other ideas rolling around in my head for the strawberries. It is dessert week in the Kraft Philadelphia Real Women contest so I have a feeling strawberries will be making an appearance.

2011 Vegetable Garden

YAY!!! My garden is now officially ready for this season. I got the area tilled and added 33 large bags of soil (yes, thats lots of soil!!!) two weekends ago. And this past weekend, I filled it up with lots of pretty young plants!

Here is a rundown of what I am anxiously awaiting:
early girl tomatoes
grape tomatoes
solar fire tomatoes
jalapenos
okra
black beauty zucchini
crook neck squash
red bell peppers
green bell peppers
cucumbers
sweet potatoes
chives

I planted early girl and grape tomatoes last year and they thrived throughout the summer. I did not have any luck with the heirloom tomatoes (which never grew), the big boy tomatoes (I only got a couple of decent specimens out of this plant), or the roma tomatoes (which always went rotten before ripening and when I tried to pick them while green and ripen inside, they never changed color. So I chose to have two each of the early girl and grape tomatoes. Then I couldn't resist trying one other type. I went with the solar fire tomatoes, which are supposed to be very heat tolerant. We'll see how they fare this year.

I haven't had much okra in the past, mostly the fried kind. But last summer at the Lilburn Farmers Market, I picked up some fresh okra...and LOVED it!!! I roasted it in the oven with some garlic, butter, salt and pepper. Could not have been more perfect. So when I saw okra plants, I just had to buy some. I am really looking forward to the okra and hope mine is just as good!

I am not sure how the sweet potatoes will turn out, but I figured it was worth a shot.

I have one place left for something else, but I can't seem to make a final decision on what to put there. Should I try onions again (they did not seem to do well for me last year)? Or butternut squash (I only got one good plant from it last year)? I saw spaghetti squash plants that seemed interesting, as well. Hmm....I better decide soon!