It's been awhile!!

I know, you haven't heard from me in quite some time. It's not like I haven't wanted to write, I have just been very busy with my full-time job. One of the best parts of my busy week is managing the Wintertime Farmer's Market in Pawtucket, RI every Saturday. This market has an amazing vibe. I liken it to hosting the biggest and best party of the week. A party that everyone wants an invite to. No invitations needed for this party, everyone is welcome, just bring an appetite!

What will you find at the market this week? Pea greens, Queso Blanco, Oysters, Grilled Cheese, Apples, Cider, and more. I recently made a video that gives you a just a taste of what the market is all about. I hope you'll stop by some Saturday and say hi!

Well, after trying to upload the video direct to this blog, I realized it is too big. So please visit my site on You Tube and watch, Scenes From a Winter Market.

Happy Thanksgiving from Jen!

It is 6am and i am wishing and hoping for a Butterball radio station. It isn't that i need help with my Turkey. Think i am all set in that department. It is just very early and still dark outside, and as I unwrap my Turkey to get started, I would love to listen to others talk about food ad Turkey! NPR will have to do I guess.
What's on your menu this morning? As soon as the Turkey gets to room temperature, i will be rubbing an herb mixture under the skin (marjoram, thyme, sage and some s&p)and then coating the outside with butter. I will then stick the 20 lb. (I know, it is HUGE Turkey for 8 adults: lots of leftovers!)Turkey in a 350 degree oven (turning 180 degrees 3 times) for about 5hrs.
Is the coffee ready yet?
My sides today are surprisingly basic: mashed potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, honey glazed carrots, herb stuffing and my own cranberry sauce(please check out the video-up above and to the right-that I made) with orange zest and ginger. My Grandmother is bringing her famous Broccoli and cheese casserole. My Mom has made 2 pies: Apple and Pumpkin and my Great Grandmother Lida Baker's rolls. An heirloom recipe that was passed down to us from my Great Aunt Amanda who lived just shy of her 101st Birthday!
Mm mm...that is a lot of food! Hope I haven't forgotten anything! Oh yes, it is my daughter Zoe's 4th Birthday today!!!! So we will be having a small birthday cake as well.
I am very thankful for my family, friends: old and new, for you, the readers of my blog and listeners to my show!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Get Lost!

What I really mean is, get out this weekend and get lost in a Corn Maze!! They are all over the place this time of year. There are family friendly mazes to follow along during the day and then there are the ones for night time that are so creepy, you might feel as if Jack Nicholson's crazy character from The Shining is lurking around the corner! Whatever floats your boat!


It will also be a great weekend to head out to a local apple orchard. Some orchards apples may be all picked by now, but the stands should still be open and ready for you to pick out that perfect apple for pie or a crisp!
Pick a perfect pumpkin from a pumkin patch.

My Mother-in-law just arrived for a week long visit from sunny Florida (she only brought open-toe shoes! What was she thinking?). We'll be showing her some foliage (little bit left here in Rhode Island) and making caramel apples and warming her up with some nice soup and hot chocolate!

Here are some links to check out to get you started:
Farm Fresh Rhode Island
Local Harvest
Salisbury Farm
Go New England

Woonsocket Farmer's Market TODAY!

There were massive down pours at the start of last week's Woonsocket Farmer's Market, but that didn't deter the faithful foodies on their hunt for farm fresh goodies!
What can you expect to to see today? Hopefully no rain!
Moosup River Farm: cantaloupe, red bliss potatoes, broccoli (or, as Zoe calls them. little green trees), beautiful big eggplant(with chilly weather around the corner I see Eggplant Parmesan in my future!).

last week I purchased some of White Oak Farm's 'famous" corn. It was so scrumptious! Naturally buttery sweet, I can't wait to get more this week!
They also had green beans, field grown tomatoes, blueberries, Sicilian eggplant and some lovely , tiny, lavender colored fairy tale eggplant.

Hill Orchards had vibrant green peppers, corn, squash and cucumbers. Some early short term apples are starting to appear! Pristine Apples, Wellingtons and Jersey Macs. All are on the tart side. Alan also had some lovely, little, golden Japanese Shiso Plums along with some Santa Rosa plums which are actually very hard to grow here in New England. They prefer an all around warmer climate.

Here is a great deal: the Hill Orchards stand had: 3lbs. of plums, peaches and nectarines for $5.00!!

Cooks Valley Farm had 2ND Quality Peaches for sale which are great for canning, freezing and baking. At one section of the table, you could fill a bag of 2ND quality(I saw nothing wrong with them!) peppers and squash for $2.50! Terrific for stews, quiches and freezing.

They also had their own onions, shallots, potatoes. Green, golden and purple peppers. Big heads of lettuce and kale. Big, beautiful melons as well.
I love heading to the local markets every week. I always see something new and delicious I can't wait to take home and try. Or if you are like me, leave some napkins in the car. Those juicy plums and tasty tart apples, might not make it all the way home!

As always, the Woonsocket Farmer's Market is held every Tuesday from 4pm-7pm at St. Ann's Church. For more information about this market and others please go to the Farm Fresh RI web-site: www.farmfreshri.org
****A big thank you to market manager Laura Genello for this week's market pictures!

How 'bout them Apples?

A few weeks ago, I purchased a bushel of apples at a Farm that was closing for the season that week. We ate some of the Apples, but seeing as most of them were a bit blemished, I decided the rest were going to be "saved" for cooking. Well, they sat and sat, till one day My husband said, "Honey you need to do something with those apples, they are getting mushy!!!" "I know I know, don't worry I'll be using them soon...." I was keeping them in a bag at the top of the cellar stairs where it was nice and chilly. Figuring of course that they would, oh I don't know, keep through the winter?! The smell was just too much. Jim and Zoe picked a bunch out and pulled out the Apple- Peeler-Corer-Slicer I had purchased last year (and hadn't even used yet!). While Emma and I were at rehearsal for the play we are in together, they baked a yummy apple pie! Jim said Zoe went to town with the contraption. Peeling and coring those apples in 5 minutes. Truth be told I had avoided the Apple Peeler-Corer-Slicer. I am just not that technically inclined. Oh I love appliances like my Kitchen-aid Mixer, but sometimes I would just as soon peel and core things like apples by hand!
Even after they baked the pie, I still had a ton of apples left, and I did NOT want them going bad! I made a pie to take to NH for Thanksgiving, but peeled and cored the apples by hand!
"Honey, just use it, it will take 5 minutes! Heck, even a 3 year old can do it!"
So,,, today Zoe and I put on our aprons and got busy. I set up the Apple Peeler-Corer-Slicer, and put Zoe to work! You should have seen her, grunting as she cranked the handle round and round. I'll be darn, it WAS easy. I plopped the Apple slices (about15 apples in all) in a big pot, added 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, dash of cinnamon and 1 cup of water. There you have it, easy yummy Applesauce!