Good Herbs!

I love good coffee and tea. But come summertime, sometimes I want something light and refreshing, chilled, with a hint of the garden. That's why I've started a line of herbal blends for light beverages, now being sold at Local Roots. These herbal "teas" -– known as tisanes -– combine homegrown herbs and flowers with other herbs from local farms for a relaxing, uplifting change of pace from regular iced tea.

Here are my three Summertime Blends --


Lavender Lemonade: Inspired by a drink I enjoyed at Pickity Place in New Hampshire, this blend includes my favorite homegrown lavender, dried homegrown lemon balm, and a pinch of hibiscus blossoms, resulting in a blush pink iced tisane that will relax your body and lift up your spirits.

Lemon Mellow: Some days I want lemonade, some days I want lemon tea. This blend of lemon verbena and bronze fennel from Karen's Garden Delights along with wildcrafted nettle and red clover goes down smooth as silk, cools you off, and lets you breathe a sigh of relief.

Midsummer's Dream: Even Shakespeare would approve of this fairytale blend of homegrown lavender, lemon balm, spearmint, and rose geranium. Iced or hot, this brew will settle you for the evening and bring you sweet dreams.

To brew:

--Add 2 heaping spoonfuls of herbal blend to a clean glass quart jar.
--Pour hot (not boiling, but almost) water over the herbs.
--Allow to steep for 15 minutes.
--Using a strainer (and canning funnel, if you have one), strain out the herbs as you pour the tisane into a clean quart jar. (You will probably want a hot pad or oven mitt to hold the first jar!)
--Compost the herbs -– the earth will thank you!
--Sweeten the tisane with good local honey.
--Add a lid, refrigerate, and by the end of the day you will have something cold and refreshing to soothe you!

Note: Herbal tisanes are mild and light-colored. Do not overbrew in order to get a deeper color.

Try some and see what you think!

Basil Pesto Flatbread

Summertime means a fragrant bounty of herbs as well as of vegetables, and basil sings to me of the hottest, most lush summer days. I always try to grow several basil plants so that I can freeze a good quantity of pesto for winter pasta and other recipes.

This week, I clipped several large branches of basil from the garden and made pesto, but this time I decided to spread it on the basic artisan dough (enhanced with whole wheat flour from Stutzman Farm) for this heavenly basil pesto flatbread. The pesto itself has just basil, walnuts, olive oil, black pepper, and garlic from Banzhaf Garten Organic Farm, but the whole flatbread is topped with shreds of mozzarella from Ohio Farm Direct.

You'll find these alongside the garlic pesto flatbread on my Local Roots shelves this weekend. And as always, let me know what you think!

At the Market July 29-31

Wow! Another scorcher today! But just for you, I kept the oven going, baking my heart out...

Here's what I'll be bringing to Local Roots Market over the course of the weekend (starred items will be there Thursday at noon):

--Cheese crackers**
--Cheese-herb artisan bread: four varieties -- cheddar-basil, chèvre-rosemary, feta-oregano**, and Miami Erie Canal (Swiss-style) with dried parsley**
--Cinnamon pecan bread**
--Garlic-herb baguettes**
--Garlic pesto flatbread**
--Light rye bread**
--Maple oatmeal bread**
--Onion flatbread
--Pain aux noix**
--Sesame thins**
--Whole wheat pita (in bags of four)

I'm planning to try a basil pesto flatbread as well, so look for that this weekend!

For the bakery case, I may not get anything done for Thursday (but then again, I might), but the plan is this:

--Vegetable cheese rolls Friday and Saturday: corn from the Habitat Community Garden, hot pepper and tomato from my own garden, onion from Adonai Acres, herbs, and chèvre from Lucky Penny Creamery -- a Southwestern seasonal treat!
--Pains au chocolat Saturday only: grab one of these buttery, flaky, chocolate-filled delights to go with your coffee!

This Saturday is the Community Commons Block Party, and Local Roots will be participating along with the Wayne Center for the Arts, the Wayne County Public Library, the United Way, and the American Red Cross. Stop by and check out the fun!

See you at the market!

Onion Flatbread

Following the dried tomato flatbread, I decided to try a variety of seasonal flatbreads showcasing some of the local produce I find, either in my garden or at Local Roots. Similar to what I'm doing with the vegetable-cheese rolls, these flatbreads will instead be topped with the vegetables and herbs (and occasionally cheeses) for a savory finish.

So here's the first of what I hope will be several successful efforts: carmelized onion flatbread. The onions, from Adonai Acres, are carmelized very slowly and carefully in a mixture of olive oil and local unsalted butter. Once I've scattered them on top of the bread dough, I add fresh rosemary (also from Adonai Acres) and a sprinkling of the incredibly delicious blue cheese from Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese. These smelled so wonderful while they baked that I was sorely tempted to keep them all for myself!

But don't worry -- you'll find limited quantities at Local Roots today only, and then I hope to have them again next week, if you like them!

Don't Hide! It's Only Zucchini Bread!

Zucchini has a bad reputation. It grows promiscuously, causing overwhelmed gardeners to offload huge zucchini "bats" onto unsuspecting (or slow) friends.

But at this time of year, I welcome a few of those "ba-zucchini" (like bazookas, only tastier) for making zucchini bread.


This week, I'll have a handful of mini-loaves of my favorite whole wheat zucchini bread for sale at Local Roots. I've used fresh zucchini from Adonai Acres, whole wheat flour from Stutzman Farms, butter and milk from Hartzler Dairy, eggs from Autumn Harvest Farm, and maple sugar from Gortner's. To top it off, you'll find walnuts worked through the loaves, and the bread is kissed with a hint of my favorite orange-vanilla flavoring.

Not too sweet, not too big, not too rich -- these zucchini breads are just right.

At the Market July 22-24

July has been an incredibly hectic and problem-filled month so far, keeping me from baking as much for market as I'd like! But here's hoping things will ease up a bit in the coming weeks -- and that my computer will behave enough for me to share good things with you.

Here's what I'll be bringing to Local Roots Market over the course of the weekend (starred items will be there Thursday at noon):

--Cheese crackers**
--Cheese-herb artisan bread: four varieties -- cheddar-basil**, chèvre-rosemary, Ludlow with sage and tarragon, and Miami Erie Canal (Swiss-style) with dried parsley**
--Cinnamon pecan bread**
--Garlic-herb baguettes
--Garlic pesto flatbread**
--Light rye bread**
--Maple oatmeal bread**
--Pain aux noix**
--Sesame thins**
--Whole wheat pita** (in bags of four)

The cheese-herb artisan breads and garlic pesto flatbreads will have a slightly different look this week:


Can you figure out what's new? Give up? I'm adding local organic whole wheat flour (from Stutzman Farms) to each batch -- not much, but enough to give it a little added flavor and a slightly less chewy texture. I really like the added flavor and hope you'll enjoy it, too!

That same touch of whole wheat goodness will also show up in this week's vegetable-cheese rolls featuring zucchini from Adonai Acres, garlic from Banzhaf Garten Organic Farm, basil from my garden, and fresh mozzarella from Blue Jacket Dairy. These were a hit last week, so look for a few today (Thursday) and more both Friday and Saturday, only in the bakery case at Local Roots.

Also in the bakery case, you'll find an old favorite: espresso chip shortbread. If you enjoy these early enough, I might even make more.

If time permits, I'm hoping to test a couple new flatbreads, so stay tuned!

At the Market July 15-17

Another full to overflowing week! Due to the expected heat today, baking may be limited after this morning's push, so quantities will be limited at Local Roots. Here's what you can find there this weekend:

--Cheese crackers
--Cheese-herb artisan bread: three varieties -- cheddar-basil (with fresh homegrown basil), Ludlow with sage and tarragon, and Miami Erie Canal cheese (Swiss-style) with parsley
--Cinnamon pecan bread
--Garlic-herb baguettes
--Garlic pesto flatbread
--Maple oatmeal bread
--Pain aux noix
--Sesame thins

I will, however, keep the bakery case items coming!:

--Hazelnut shortbread with local hazelnuts, butter, and wheat flour -- Thursday until sold out
--Vegetable-cheese rolls featuring zucchini from Adonai Acres, garlic from Banzhaf Garten Organic Farm, basil from my own garden, and fresh mozzarella from Blue Jacket Dairy -- starting Friday


--Peach-almond tart, with peaches from Tennefoss Farm, wildcrafted black raspberries (if still available), buttery spelt crust, and a not-too-sweet almond filling -- available Friday (not sure about Saturday yet)

If I bake anything else, I will let you know!

Almond Croissants

I've been making homemade croissants for at least 25 years now, and pains au chocolat off and on for the last 10 or so. But this is the first time I've ever made almond croissants, and it was done as a special request from a fellow baker.

The dough is the same buttery-rich dough I use for the other two items, incorporating local unsalted butter, milk, and eggs. But the filling uses a delicious almond paste combined with more butter, egg, maple sugar, flour, and a touch of vanilla.

You might think you've seen something like this before at bakeries or even places like Panera. And you'd be right, up to a point. But a quick taste test this morning showed that despite the loads of butter used in the recipe overall, the pastry remained light and flaky, and the filling avoids being too sweet and rich while satisfying your ideal of what an almond croissant should be.

But maybe I'm biased. Stop by Local Roots this morning to try it yourself.

At the Market July 8-10

It's been a day of unexpected occurrences, so I have not been able to bake quite as full as repertoire as usual this week. However, you will still find plenty of quality Grain Maker baked goods at Local Roots this weekend:

--Cheese crackers
--Cheese-herb artisan bread: four varieties -- dill-cheddar, chèvre-rosemary, Ludlow with sage and tarragon, and the new one featuring the Miami Erie Canal cheese (Swiss-style) from Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese combined with dried parsley
--Cinnamon pecan bread
--Espresso chip shortbread (in plates of 4)
--Garlic-herb baguettes
--Garlic pesto flatbread
--Light rye bread
--Maple oatmeal bread
--Pain aux noix
--Sesame thins

I plan on having zucchini-carrot-feta rolls in the bakery case on Friday -- Saturday remains to be seen.

If anything is added to the list, I will let you know!

Surprise!

I decided to make an extra-special something for the bakery case at Local Roots this weekend:


Introducing: chocolate truffle surprise cookies!

This is a recipe I developed a number of years ago, using a shortbread-like dark chocolate dough and wrapping it around fresh wildcrafted black raspberries. These may look like soft chocolate truffles, but there's a solid bite before you get to the sweet and juicy fruit inside.

Available for a limited time only!

Four for Four!

Update!:

I did get shortcakes made this morning, and I'm giving customers a special deal on them. For this weekend only, the week of the Fourth of July, a package of four shortcakes will cost only $4.00 (instead of $4.50). Limited quantities will be available starting today.

And if you pick up some of my shortcakes, be a sweetheart and pick up some fresh berries from another Local Roots producer while you're at it! We have plenty!

Happy Fourth!

At the Market July 1-3

Looks like we're going to have beautiful weather this weekend for the holiday celebrations -- it's a perfect time to gather your friends or family and head out for a picnic! So don't forget to stop at Local Roots before you head out -- we have plenty of great picnic-friendly foods for you to enjoy (including, of course, some delicious bread!).

Here's what I'll be bringing to market over the course of the weekend (starred items will be there Thursday at noon):

--Cheese crackers**
--Cheese-herb artisan bread: four varieties -- dill-cheddar**, chèvre-rosemary**, Ludlow with sage and tarragon, and the new one featuring the Miami Erie Canal cheese (Swiss-style) from Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese combined with dried parsley**
--Cinnamon pecan bread**
--Dried tomato flatbread
--Garlic-herb baguettes**
--Garlic pesto flatbread**
--Light rye bread
--Maple oatmeal bread**
--Pain aux noix**
--Sesame thins**
--Whole wheat pita (in bags of four)

If I have time, I may also make more shortcakes. Don't think of these as just for strawberry shortcake season -- try topping them with any berries (or a mix of several), and consider substituting a honey-sweetened yogurt sauce or some good ice cream for the whipped cream!

For the bakery case, I plan on having these items available Friday and Saturday:

--Blueberry lavender cake (with fresh blueberries from a local farmer and my homegrown lavender)
--Zucchini-carrot-feta rolls: like the spinach feta rolls, these use shredded zucchini and carrots, just now coming into season

And if I get inspired to make anything more, I will let you know!