FrogPrincesse

Here is a picture of the booth. I did a mock-up on the kitchen counter before going to the market, so I had an idea on how I wanted to place items on the table. I had my copper jam pot and cookbooks as a conversation point. All my jam inventory was under the table;, I only presented one jar of each kind on the table. The cookies were on baking trays, all packaged and ready to go. Signage was handmade as I ran out of time to print things.

@Anna NOh, good. For a second I thought you were having cat food for lunch!

I am not a very crafty person, but I decided to make a banner to personalize our stand a little bit. You can order printed banners for rather cheap, about $20 from what I can tell. But I thought something homemade would convey better that we were selling artisanal products. So I looked around the house for little scraps of fabric. We went to the fabric store and bought really cheap fabric paint and foam brushes (I think we spent less than $5), and we made our own stencils with paper. My daughter sewed the banner on her sewing machine. Then, as the banner was drying on the counter with the paint still fresh, the kitten decided to grab one end of the string and run to the other side of the house... Fortunately, nothing bad happened. A few drops of paint on the floor that were easy to clean, and a very scared kitten once she heard our screams.

It looks like I forgot to take a picture when they got out of the oven, but here are the croquant cookies all packaged, 4 per bag. These are great with tea; they are crunchy with a nice toasted almond flavor, very light.

I have some left and would love to sell them to you, but the difficulty is going to figure out how to ship them! I've never done this... As long as you are not trying to get them before Christmas, I might be able to arrange this. Private message me, and we can talk more.

Yesterday was a clean-out-the-fridge soup. Here are the things I had to use: celery, leek, onion, carrot, parsnip, kale, arugula. I added a couple of potatoes and sundried tomatoes in olive oil that had been forgotten at the back of the fridge. I was thinking blended soup. However as I was cooking it, I realized I had re-created a minestrone of sorts. So at that point I looked for oregano. I didn't have any so I used some weird herbes de provence that I have that are heavy on oregano (weird because they also contain lavender so I rarely use them), also a pinch of Emeril's essence (another effort to use long-forgotten ingredients; the predominant flavors are dried garlic and paprika for a subtle kick). I garnished it with a robust olive oil and a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese. The result was nice for something that was initially random.

Since I had more or less forgotten to buy special ingredients for my cookies, I decided to make my favorite cookie recipe that can be made from practically nothing, the almond croquants from David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert. I fortunately had some sliced & toasted almonds on hand (that I keep for making orgeat). I also doubled the recipe and the yield was 63 cookies. Here there are before going into the oven.

Next I made the Snowy-topped brownie drops from Dorie's cookies. I also doubled the recipe. For the chocolate, I realized I had forgotten to buy any but I always have some on hand... I used a mix of Trader Joe's "one pound plus" dark chocolate, and 99% chocolate from Switzerland. I started measuring regular flour and then remembered I wanted to make them gluten-free, so I ended up using Bob's Red Mill all purpose mix. I used the OXO cookie scoop for these and it helped speed up the process. I packaged them in bags of three (one friend complained to me that the problem with odd numbers is that she had to fight with her husband over the last one!). The yield was 48 cookies.

The cookies... First I made the two-bite one-chip cookies (this was the day before the market). I doubled the recipes in Dorie's Cookies and the yield was 137 cookies. I had bought fancy OXO cookie scoops but even the small size was a bit too large, so I ended up scooping them with my OXO teaspoon. These I packaged in little bags of 6. They are good cookies but visually not super interesting, plus you have to explain that they contain a chocolate chip. So maybe not the easiest sell for a market.

Here is the Buddha's hand marmalade. Next time I will try a different citrus mix (the Buddha is quite mild compared to the very acidic calamondin), and I will cut the Buddha's hand a bit more finely.

I really loved your idea but ran out of time. I ever have an opportunity to do this again, what I would do is print and laminate little cards for each jam, and include information about the fruit used, pictures (especially for the most "exotic" ones such as Buddha's hand or calamondin), and suggestions for use. Anything that gets people to stop for a little longer at the booth so they have a chance to look at the products and be tempted. So the market went extremely well. The biggest challenge was transporting canopy, table and products to the location; only a minute walk but these things are heavy. Second biggest challenge was mounting the canopy which apparently requires two people (so they can pull the structure in opposite directions simultaneously). Thankfully someone helped me and the canopy got installed on time. What I wish I had done - information cards (see above), and also offering samples more freely! (I had almost all my jams to try as sample, but most people were too polite to ask!). I sold about 20 jars of jam, mostly to friends/family and friends of friends. I had 10 varieties and a lot of stock (more than 50 jars total). I ended up only making three types of cookies because a lot of other stands were going to sell cookies and I figure there was little point in making more. I pre-packaged them in little bags that were all priced at $2 to keep things simple. The gluten-free brownies were the most popular. I had more than 50 bags of cookies and sold about a dozen, but the rest I brought to holiday parties or ate with coffee. Another thing would be to dress a bit more warmly, because it got really cold once the sun was out! The market lasted for 4 hours and was a ton of fun, so time went really fast. And my daughter was delighted to sell almost all of her little friendship bracelets. Overall a great experience! I will post a few pictures once I've organized them.

That one is the one I am the proudest of. I winged the recipe based on an idea I had in my head, and it's wonderful. Vibrant and complex flavors, perfect set (not too loose and not too firm), and a great yield too (9 jars + 1 sample jar). Here it is on toast.

It's cold in San Diego and I am in the mood for comfort food! Bone marrow from Siesel's, my butcher shop, prepared a la Fergus Henderson, with a little parsley, shallots and caper salad on the side. I love this stuff. I just wish the butcher could cut the bones in the other direction. Roast chicken, prepared following the method from Les Halles, slightly simplified (butter instead of herb butter under the skin). Served with roasted potatoes and cauliflower.

Thanks! I didn't have a sweet potato on hand, but I followed your recommendation and went with curry & ginger (I only had dried); leeks for the aromatics. No cilantro so I garnished with fresh basil and a little bit of basil-flavored olive oil. It was pretty good. A little more interesting with a bit of crumbled feta... Then the next day I tried it again garnishing with chives and espelette pepper, arbequina olive oil. I think I liked that version slightly better.

Dark chocolate & banana jam. This was a late request from my daughter for the small market we were going to be selling at. It is a very easy recipe (by Christine Ferber) and it was a big hit! We sold everything but one jar. I used Belgian dark chocolate from Trader Joe's and 99% chocolate from Switzerland. Here it is on a slice of homemade brioche.

The brioche is heaven. I am not sure why I don't make it more often! I used to make it all the time and then I stopped for some reason... I used a local sage blossom honey.

The Lion's Tail, of course. It's a great drink. I also like the Winter Daiquiri. Three Dots and a Dash, Ancient Mariner... (although not especially Christmassy) I have to try this Reveillon Cocktail; that looks great too!

I have a lot of stuff in my home bar, but crème de menthe isn't one of them... Sorry, I cannot help you!

Since you enjoyed your first Old Fashioned, you may want to check out the following thread. Lots of suggestions in the same vein!

Kale pesto... That sound interesting! I might try to make some; I have a bunch of kale languishing in the fridge.

180 cakes a week? That's impressive! Great pictures too. I think I recognize them from your website.

I love the ideas, please keep them coming. I am taking notes for next year! Raw cookie dough is a fabulous idea. One "fancy" dessert place in town sells that for a very exorbitant price. People are willing to spend more to have something more interesting than toll house cookies I suppose! I was thinking of printing little cards or leaflets about the fruits used in the jam. Good idea about suggested uses and recipes. We will see what time permits. I am only 24 hours away from the market now!

I have an oven-roasted spaghetti squash which has little taste on its own. What should I add to make a delicious soup? I was thinking slow cooked leeks and curry for the seasoning, but I welcome all ideas!

She is pretty cute. She's been wondering about all the activity in the kitchen... I snuck in a tablespoon of cognac in the yuzu marmalade. I know Scotch whisky is standard, but I needed a French touch. Last year I used Japanese whisky but it has become so rare, I just cannot bring myself to doing it again.

Haha. My "business" isn't that elaborate... yet! These were friends, some of whom have sampled my creations in the past. I haven't tried the yuzu yet, other than warm (my standard practice is to lick all utensils once done, and mop up all remaining juices in the pot with a thick slice of brioche - I hate waste!) and it was pretty great; I like it better than the 100% yuzu I did last year. I had the Buddha's hand & calamondin for breakfast this morning. I was a bit surprised at how lemony and vibrant it was, but past that initial surprise I found it tasty and very successful in waking up my taste buds! I am just so relieved the marmalades set properly. I've had lots of issues in the past, and practice certainly helps. Now I have a much better feel for how the marmalade behaves when it's ready to set.