Jul

29

2010

Smores Ice Cream

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Category : recipes

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I’ve had my eye on this ice cream recipe for awhile. I held off on making it because I wanted to make the marshmallows and graham crackers myself (yes, I’ve done both before and although both are time-consuming they are worth it at times, or at least once to try it out). In the end, I decided to use store-bought because I just didn’t feel like going to the trouble.

This is the quickest ice cream I’ve ever made. Since there is no custard to make, and only 3 ingredients go in the ice cream maker it was a breeze to prepare. I used half and half instead of whole milk, semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the candy bar, and I’m not sure how many graham crackers. I gave a pack of them to Ve to crumble up, and since she only knows how to count to 2 and then we ate some it was probably around 5?

The ice cream is so good! The marshmallows gave it a creamy richness, and the graham crackers and chocolate added to the flavor, making it perfect. I’m really happy, because I hate camping and can’t build a fire on my apartment balcony, but now I can still enjoy smores! This is definitely going to be made again. Maybe as soon as we finish this batch.

marshmallows melting in cream and half and half

ve prepping the graham crackers

ice cream!

Jul

29

2010

Homemade Bread is Better

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Category : cooking

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If you’ve never made bread you should immediately get to your kitchen to remedy the situation. What you buy from any store isn’t as delicious as what you can eat fresh out of the oven. And it’s not even very hard, most of the time it takes is rising, which means it sits on the counter while you do whatever else it is you have to do. All you have to do is mix it up (in a stand mixer, not much kneading required), let it rise, then pop it in the oven. My very favorite loaf is is from Maria Helm Sinskey’s “Family Meals”. I’ve never made any changes to the recipe besides adjusting the amounts of all-purpose and whole wheat flours depending on what I’ve had on hand. I’ve made focaccia, cheese breads, bagels and more, but I always go back to this basic loaf. Me and Ve both love it lightly toasted, with butter and my strawberry jam, but I’ve even eaten it plain. Even if you are not interested in baking your own bread, this is great cookbook. I learned how to make ricotta cheese from it and her pancake and oven “fried” chicken finger recipes make regular appearances in my house.

dough, before it's risen

dough, after being punched down

dough, shaped into loaves for the 2nd rise

fresh bread

Jul

28

2010

Steak, rice and quinoa with rosemary and chives

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Category : recipes

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I haven’t been cooking much lately. I’m so disappointed in myself. We still don’t eat convenience foods much at home, but I order out often. Usually it’s good, but it’s just not the same as a home-cooked meal, and it’s way too expensive for all the time. Not preparing most of my own meals also makes me feel off. I love cooking, it’s so soothing to put together whole ingredients and turn them into something delicious, and I’m good at it. Chopping vegetables is relaxing to me. I also love knowing what’s in the food I eat and feed my daughter. No hidden salts or high-fructose corn syrup if I make our meals myself. One of the reasons I’ve slacked in the kitchen is I’m working a lot. Since I usually work at home I never get off and get to go home. The other is that I have a 2 year old that wants to “help” with everything, or at least be held by me as soon as I start doing something that doesn’t directly involve her. It’s not easy to cook, say, sauce, when the little wants to be one the one stirring it! Still, that’s no excuse for the way we’ve been eating.

This is the only thing I cooked in the last week (besides bacon, eggs and sandwiches). The flavors were amazing and I’ll definitely make this meal again. We don’t eat steak very often, but I think it’s an excellent choice at times.

1 ribeye
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh chives
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup quinoa (I buy mine in the bulk section at Whole Foods)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bunch carrots, cut into sticks
1 onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 350
Put steak in a bowl, cover with olive oil, add 1/3 of the fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste, set aside
Put rice, quinoa and chicken stock in your rice cooker and start, it takes about 25 minutes (If you don’t have a rice cooker the stove top will work just fine, rice is just one of the things that I can not seem to get right!)
Lay the carrots and onions on a pie pan or baking sheet, coat with oil to cover, add the remaining herbs, salt and pepper to taste, mix, roast 15-20 minutes
Cook the steak to desired doneness either on the stovetop or grill

brown rice and quinoa

roasted carrots and onions

Jul

28

2010

Speaking to an herb guild and Beverly Arts Feast

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Category : diy, recipes, special events

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I’ve had a really busy week. Besides my regular farmer’s markets I was able to participate in 2 special events in the past week. An herb guild invited me to speak on Thursday evening, and Sunday I had the Beverly Arts Feast.

I met a member of the herb guild about a month ago at the Homer Glen Farmer’s Market. She had asked me if I would be interested in coming to speak about soap-making to them, and to set up my products so the members could have a private shopping event. It’s different from the work I usually do, but I thought it would be a fun experience and give me the opportunity to meet some new people. I was nervous, I’ve never talked about what I do to more than a few people at a time, but I’m glad I did it. The group was really great, they were interested in my products and asked good questions. Just for fun, I decided to make a garden’s scrub out of pantry ingredients to demonstrate to them, and to teach them something they can easily do at home. I ended up having fun and hope to do it again some day.

Easy Garden’s Scrub with Lavender

1 Tablespoon any kind of sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried lavender (crushed)
1 squirt honey

a lavender field

I only found out about the Beverly Arts Feast a week before the event. I met a lady at the Oak Lawn Farmer’s Market, she passed my card along to her friend who is one of the organizers, who called me to invite me to participate. So it was a bit last minute to prepare, but I didn’t want to miss what proved to be a great event. Beverly is a really nice neighborhood in Chicago, there are beautiful old homes there and a cute little downtown area with shops and galleries. The fest was so nice, there were quality vendors, live music and bunches of great food! If you’re ever in the area, eat at Cafe 103, delicious! Luckily, the day was finally not crazy hot like it has been recently and bunches of people came out and many of them bought my products ♥ My friend Luz lives in the area and came out and ended up helping me all day. She’s a great salesperson, I don’t know how she did it, but I’m sure that my sales were higher because she has a magic way of framing my products to potential clients. I also got to meet Luz’s friend Erin, who was there giving massages. She offers yoga classes on Sunday mornings that I want to attend soon.

taking a break with mini gelato cones

I was exhausted after all of it, for days I didn’t have a chance to rest or get much done at home besides make product, but I’m glad for all of it. I met new people and introduced them to Veve’s Handmade and had fun!

Jul

22

2010

The Making of Tomato Basil Bars

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Category : Uncategorized

All good soap starts with an idea. In the case of my new Tomato Basil Facial Bars, it wasn’t my idea, it was my friend Ann’s (besides coming up with soaps for me to make, she does all my design work, photography and is my marketing advisor and webmaster ~ she’s amazing at all of it!). So Ann said something like, “Tomato-Basil soap would be really nice”, and I said something like, “Ohhhh, that would be nice”.

When I have a new soap in my mind it’s all I can think about until I make it and try it. I love the rich scent of fresh tomatoes and basil so immediately I wanted to work on these bars and do something different with them. For me it’s fun to use different liquids in my soaps and I envisioned a luscious creamy lather. Originally I was going to juice fresh tomatoes for use as my liquid, but in the end I decided on using a tomato-carrot juice. The tomatoes would have been cool, but I need nearly 4 lbs of liquid and I thought the expense would be too great, since I don’t have enough in my garden. To achieve the lather I wanted I added in some castor oil. I use it in shampoo bars but really wanted to try it something else too, plus I put in some sunflower oil for extra skin-soothing benefits.

I love these bars! The smell is a bit strong, in a good way. The combination of oils that I used is an excellent combo for the face, it is nourishing and antiseptic. With cold-process soap you have to pour it in a mold after making it, and in a day or so it will start to harden up and the PH will go down to a usable level. Then you have to wait another few weeks or month for the bars to cure, which means harden up so they don’t turn to mush as soon as you use them. I couldn’t wait that long on these, as soon as I unmolded them I had to cut a little sliver off so I could shower with it, and wash my hair with it (excellent results!). I’m still not sure if these will be a permanent addition to the line, or if I’d rather make this formula seasonally and come up with something else for the winter.

oils that will become soap

lye mixed with vegetable juice

tomato basil bars in the soap mold

tomato basil bars, all dressed up for picture day!

Jul

17

2010

This is Summer

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Category : fun, recipes

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Some of my friends and I have a Food Club. We planned it as a way spend time together even with our busy schedules, and we all like to cook so it’s also a great way to expand our skills. We meet every other month and take turns hosting, the host chooses the theme and prepares the main dish, everyone else brings a side or dessert. There have been many memorable dishes, like the time I made a Rick Bayless chorizo and chihuahua cheese dip that I had recently ate and loved at Frontera Grill, and the time Matt made the best hummus that ever existed for snack and board game night. We had a Julia Child night (flattened chicken, spinach quiche, chocolate-almond cake and plenty of red wine) and everything was amazing ~ the food and the entire atmosphere of the night was perfect, even though it was snowing and about 0 degrees out. Besides the obvious greatness of eating delicious homemade food, I love just relaxing and having fun with some of my best friends.

This month we had a pool party at Rich’s parent’s house. They have a beautiful home complete with a huge in-ground pool that I go swimming in every chance I get. They are also welcoming and fun to be around, and keep a great stock of toys for the kids ♥

The menu was toasts with a goat cheese and rosemary spread, toasted turkey sandwiches with arugula and pesto, couscous salad with fresh veggies and herbs, vinegared green beans, potato salad with yogurt and my contribution, lavender lemonade and basil lemonade (lavender and basil. Notes: I used 15 lemons for both, I added a cup of sugar to the lavender because it was too tart with just the honey and the basil won by just a bit).

The day was everything that summer should be. It was crazy hot but we got to cool off in the pool. The kids ran around playing together and making up games. The food was fresh and full of seasonal produce. Lovely.

learning how to play Connect Four

my sweet Ve

swimming!

this pool even has a basketball net!

Sebastian is a tiny daredevil!

Ve took a boat ride

lemonades

yum!

the littles are so cute!

Jul

15

2010

Product Reviews are Nerve-Wracking and Great

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The first time I was asked to send a product for a blogger to review I was so excited. It was shortly after I opened my Etsy shop, and I got a message from Kelsi at Dedicated Follower of Fashion asking if I would like to send some of my scrubs for her to review and post on her blog. I thought about it, consulted my friends and decided to do it.

I got so nervous waiting for it to be published, what if she hated it and told everyone that it was terrible? What if she hated it and decided not to publish it at all? All my worries were for nothing though, because she liked it and I was so pleased that I sent my product to a complete stranger who tried it, liked it, and even named it “Best Value” out of all the ones she tried! Here is the link.

My Real Chocolate Raw Sugar Body Scrub was named Best Value Scrub!!!

Today I had another review published. I really like Stephanie’s blog, Natural Life 101, because she is focused on natural living for herself and her family and sharing the information she finds with her readers, and I’m always striving to go more natural for me and Genevieve and that is reflected in the products I make and my business practices. I was less nervous this time around, since I’ve been through it before. I know I make great products and as more people confirm that, especially who aren’t my friends and family, my confidence grows.

My Solid Shampoo Bar with Tea Tree and Rosemary Essential Oils

I’m not sure if product reviews help my sales, but I think they do in the long run. I’m a small business with a growing client base, and the more people that know about my line, the more potential clients I reach. Since I don’t yet have an advertising budget the reviews are a way to get my brand out there. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to read what people think of the things I make ♥

Jul

12

2010

Bartering and Baked Chicken with Fresh Veggies

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Category : farmer's markets, recipes

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I get so excited every Saturday to go to work at the Homer Glen Farmer’s Market because I can make some great trades. It started with Benz Coffee, I traded them soap for a bag of their excellent coffee, and since it’s worked out on both sides we do it every week now, and I don’t have to buy coffee! Since then I’ve traded for flowers, vegetables and chicken. I love being able to get some of the things I want/need and paying for it in product. It’s also always pleasing that the other vendors like my soaps and continue to use them! Other vendors (like Anderson Sweets-try their Garlic & Rosemary nuts!) give me a good discount, so I in turn give all the vendors I’m not trading with the same discount. I think it’s really cool, we’re all out there working and it really makes me feel like I’m part of a community.

I planned an easy dinner for today from Saturday’s bounty. I had chicken thighs from Nature’s Choice Farm, produce from Mom’s Farm, my own fresh herbs and some pantry items. I favor foods that are simple to make, getting flavor from fresh ingredients. This chicken is not at all fussy and came out delicious ♥

1lb chicken thighs
1/2 cup or so chicken stock
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 onions
1 small bunch carrots
1 summer squash
1 zucchini
garlic, to taste
fresh basil, sage and oregano, to taste

chopped veggies

chicken in the pan

finished!

Preheat oven to 350
Remove chicken from fridge to bring to room temperature before cooking
Chop all veggies, keeping onion & garlic separate
Heat oil in a dutch oven, or other pan that can go from on top to inside the oven
Add onions and garlic, cook a few minutes, until soft
Turn off heat, add chicken to the pan
Add chicken stock, veggies and herbs
Cover pan and cook for an hour

Jul

09

2010

Breaking into the Craft Fair Circuit

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Category : craft fairs

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Me and my display

I’ve only done one craft fair. It was back in April, a small church fair. Last spring I applied to display at 2 more of them, but one ended up being cancelled and the other one was full, I had applied right before the deadline.

Before I started trying to be in the fairs, I thought it was a simple process, you filled out the papers and made a bunch of product then showed up to sell it. What I didn’t realize was how quickly they fill up, especially the good ones. Vendors from the previous year get mailed the applications early so they have the first option for it, and if they did well they will usually want to do it again. I also have to worry about people with a similar product line. Depending on the size of the fair and the estimated attendance, only a certain amount of vendors selling a particular type of product are needed.

I didn’t apply for any summer festivals. I meant to, I just didn’t have the time or the money to pay booth fees and then it was too late. I’ve already started applying for fall and winter fairs. I can’t believe it’s July and I’m already planning for December! I’ve been accepted to the Lake Katherine Monarch Butterfly Fest on September 19th, I’m waiting to her back about 4 more fairs and have been wait-listed on another one. Very soon I need to submit an application and photos for two juried fairs I’m interested in. Juried fairs means there is group that must approve your craft before you are invited to display at their events. My packaging is awesome and I have beautiful photos, but I’m still a bit nervous that it won’t be the style they are looking for. I never know until I try though.

This has definitely been a learning experience. Following the fair/festival circuit for close to a year has given me a better idea of how to get in and what to expect. At the farmers’ markets I’ve met new friends that have been doing this for years and I get the benefit of their advice. I’m making a master spreadsheet for myself listing all the pertinent information for each event that I may consider doing so that next year I can be ready. Wish me luck!

Jul

06

2010

Too many farmers’ markets?

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Category : farmer's markets

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Contrary to my previous decision, last week I decided to do another market. It’s on
Tuesday mornings, and it’s a new market. The first day I did okay, they gave out free food and t-shirts and a decent amount of people showed up. Today was terrible. Barely any people came, and I only made 3 sales. It was disheartening. I make a great product, and I think I do okay with marketing it, but I can’t sell things if there aren’t people there to buy it. I was crabby, sitting out there in the heat all day for almost nothing when I could have been working on other things, being productive. I’m probably not going to go back, but I am considering picking up a third market elsewhere.

This market is located on a gravel drive, with no stores right there, and doesn’t have bathrooms. I think this has a lot to do with the poor attendance, because people like to be comfortable. The other thing is promotion. It seems like not many people know about this one, there aren’t many signs up for it, they didn’t do any mailings, the word just never got out. In contrast, the Oak Lawn Market has been running for years, is well-established and gets plenty of foot traffic from the library and park. The Homer Glen Market is new this year, but has been well-promoted and is located in a busy intersection that people can easily see from the street and stop in, parking is ample.

It’s starting to seem to me that there is a glut of new farmers markets out there. On one hand, I think it’s great. People can buy local produce and other items, like my soap, in a convenient location. They are a great way to connect consumers and small businesses. On the other hand, how many markets do we need in a certain area? Where I live, I can go from one town to another by crossing the street, and I consider a drive of about 15 minutes close enough by to be more or less considered in the neighborhood, since the landscape doesn’t change much. There are a hand-full of long-running markets that people frequent every year, but then there are new ones springing up all over the place. Just today a lady came by handing out fliers to the vendors, trying to recruit people to her new market. I’m just not sure that the local economy can support more markets than what is already there. Then again, maybe I’m wrong. I do think it would be great if more people shopped at markets, supporting local farmers and artisans.

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