Thank You So Much to CityKitten For the Gift Guide Feature!

I think its wonderful that she has featured one of our products on her Holiday Gift Guide: Treats under $25

Please go read her article, click on the shops and follower her blog....
http://citykittendesigns.blogspot.com/2010/11/guift-guide-tasty-treats-under-25.html

Do I ever stop baking?

That answer would be NO! I had 9 lbs of biscotti to bake today for orders, and still managed to make dinner and bake a pumpkin pie.... but not ANY pumpkin pie!

I wanted to try something new, so I did a search online for pumpkin with marshmallows and found a few no bake one's I've seen before. I wasn't too thrilled with the choices, and my books didn't have much. So, I winged it and this is what I came up with.


Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie

1 Package 10.5 oz mini marshmallows
1 cup pumpkin puree (I make my own from roasted pumpkins)
Mix this until a smooth mixture over a double boiler and set aside

In a separate bowl with a mixer combine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin spice (I did Chai spice with some extra cinnamon)
5 oz evaporated milk
3 Large eggs
pinch of salt

Now whip the pumpkin marshmallow mixture into that. 

Add to a deep dish graham cracker crust and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean.

Delicious!!!

Canning Cranberry Chutney

This WONDERFUL chutney is going to make the perfect thanksgiving left over sandwich. Its sweet, but kind of like a relish.... so it could be a side, but its an excellent condiment! Look out for it in our shop for the holiday.

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Cranberry Chutney

4 c fresh cranberries
1 1/2 c sugar (I use sugar in the raw)
1 c water
1 tbsp chai spice mix (cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, ect)
2 Large Rome apples cored, chopped (skin on)
1 medium yellow onion chopped fine
1/2 c golden raisins
1/4 c regular raisins


Directions:

In a large stockpot, combine cranberries, sugar, water, & spices. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop, about 10 to 12 minutes. Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers.

Stir in apples, onion, and raisins. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thick, 15 to 20 minutes longer, remove from heat.

Pack into sterilized half-pint jars, and follow your favorite directions to process in boiling water bath canner. Makes 6-7 half pints.

Whole Wheat Thankgiving Stuffing Bread

Saving myself a few bucks, and some time on Thanksgiving with this one thing ready to go! A loaf of bread with all my seasonings right in it. Just need to freeze it until 2 days before, then take it out and leave it to thaw and the start to stale. Then Thankgiving, chop it into chunks, add my green apples, cranberries and chicken stock before being the dressing into the oven.

Whole Wheat Thanksgiving Stuffing/Dressing Bread:

Prep Yeast Base:

4 Tsp Dry active yeast
1 Tbsp Honey
2 Cups Warm Water
(Mix and let rise 30 minutes)

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup veggie oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp Mrs. Dash
1/2 tsp rosemary crushed
1/2 black or white pepper
1 chopped small onion

(Mix together in separate bowl, then add 1/2 cup at a time to yeast base until all is smooth)

Knead mixture about 10 minutes (or with dough attachment in mixer is quicker). It will be elastic and smooth.

Cover with a tea towel in a warm spot. Let rise in oiled bowl 20-25 minutes.

After it has doubles in size, punch it down and separate it into 2 loaves. You can manipulate into any shape you want, putting slits in the top, and brushing with egg white to brown. OR you can put them into loaf pans, still putting slits in the top and the egg wash. Your choice!

Let rise another 20-25 minutes and pop into a 375 oven for 20-25 minutes. Top should be a pretty brown.

(For a crustier bread put on a pizza stone in the oven when you free form it.)

Rising beautiful dough:

Husband's Woodworking & Reclaimed Garden Items

The man who has inspired me with creativity and the love of his trees. (He insisted on our fruit trees and still wants more) Goes as far as finding wasted items, metal, wood, ect, from job sites and it turning everything into functional garden items, and home decor! You'll find things such as Mason bee houses, Bird houses, wood buttons, signs and more on his new Etsy store. Special orders are available there... or through me here! :) He's really enjoying what he's doing, so help support his passion and go green at the same time.

http://HandyHubby.Etsy.com

Would You Like to Stop in and Eat at Fogl's Kitchen?

 All our friends and family sure like stopping by. They get to taste test so much too. There is always extra preserves, a few extra quarts of pickles to opened, a new pot pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie or biscotti to try! I'm already feeding the masses.

I do all this while trying to support our local farms, and farmer markets. I suggest people stop by many of the places I do as if I was going to the market... like Holland Farms. They've been growing produce and selling it from Holland Rd/Purfoy Rd in Fuquay Varina since the 1700's! Yet so many people don't know its there. I give directs and people have passed it 100 times and never noticed they could stop at the stand and buy the most amazingly fresh produce, eggs, jams, honey and handmade gifts. FOR LESS THEN THE GROCERY STORES!?

Anyways, the economy has made me feel I would never realize my dream to open my own bakery cafe. That internet sales and private orders may be my only venue. But I won't allow that to keep me down, because I know this can and will be a successful business... if it wasn't, my internet sales would not have tripled in these hard times.

So I am here to let you know, we will be collecting donations to start this business! So know that soon you will be able to stop in, say hi, grab some coffee and fresh biscotti and hit the road whenever you like.Though I would love to start a completely new shop w/ all required purchasable items, we're looking at $20k! I am hoping, since there are a couple bakeries and restraunts for sale, for $10k we'd be able to get in on one of those and get a loan to remodel and get into business even sooner.

We've found a way to collect these donations, from people who shares our views and tastes, that makes you know your money is going to the right place. If we don't get enough to get started, you get your money back. If you want to put in extra... you can. Through Kickstarter.com you'll be able to learn more about our business, know they doing to this for a good project, with good food for a good cause.

Here is where you will find our profile: http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/biscottiqueen

You can't donate just yet, we're waiting on approval from the site. We had to prove we're the real deal!

But please... share this with your friends... your family... whomever you think would love to see this grow and evolve. Even if you could never possibly visit our cafe, we will still run Fogl's Kitchen online and will always ship the goodness that is NC to anyone who wants a taste!!!

****Update 11/10/10 **** 

Kickstarter has not accepted us. Though I am told I am not a good food, I have been informed someone with a similar plan across the country has been accepted and I don't think they want the $$$ competition across the site. My plan is to resubmit the plan in Feburary.

Until them I am planning on starting some fund raising on my blog, and maybe through facebook and etsy. All I am trying to do is get a small amount in which to show my seriousness to take out a loan for the rest.

Our plan for a cafe/market place isn't only for our business, but we want to help sustain and raise up the troubled local farms that are part of our community. I want the customers and community members try to keep their $$$ in the community. We want to donate space to local artists to share our walls. We don't only want to be a business, but we want to make a difference.

If you are interested in helping, even donating $1 to try to get this dream off the ground I will be setting up a way to make donations through Paypal. I will be giving coupons and rewards for larger donations!

Fogl's Test Kitchen!

Now you have a chance to purchase a 'sample' of our newest inventions rolling through the kitchen. We need tasters to vote on new items before we introduce them to our shop. A tester is 2 pieces of biscotti (either 2 of 1 flavor or 1 each of 2 different flavors). It is $5 to receive the samples, and this does include shipping.

Currently we have 2 test subjects going you can try from; Whole Wheat Honey Cherry Biscotti & Green Tea Biscotti.

We'd appreciate any comments on flavor & what changes you would make to posted to our blog, facebook or private conversation through Etsy. We are proud of our product and we want you to know that you are sampling a product we have not decided is good enough to make it into our line up yet. This is a chance to get your voice and opinions heard though!!!