Now that the Solstice graced us with the longest day of the year-we are certain it’s summertime. One of the greatest aspects of summer in Colorado is the fine produce and other commodities that our farmers and other locals create.
If you’ve ever been to one of the many Farmer’s Markets that the Denver/Boulder area has to offer, then you may already know it’s not just about fruits and veggies [anymore]. Many of the markets feature amazing local artists and artisans, who create anything from jewelery to soaps to incredible varieties of honey. Honestly, I think this is a great, unique place to shop for gifts-you are sure to find one-of-a-kind creations here, and a great bouquet of flowers to boot.

If you’re a novice, or even if you’re intimidated by the infinite choices provided by our amazing fresh markets, here are a few tips before you go:

1. Bring Cash
Small bills are best. Most vendors will only deal with cash and finding one that accepts credit cards would be the exception, not the rule, so come prepared.

2. Bring Bags
Not a total necessity, as most vendors have some sort of carry-all to give away with a purchase, but do your green duty and bring your own canvas or reusable bags or basket, or better yet-buy a hand-made one from one of the local vendors.

3. Bring Comfort
A long morning (or day) at the Farmer’s Market in the Colorado sunshine can be very…well, sunny. So be sure to wear (or bring) sunscreen, and wear comfortable shoes. If you fall in love with more things than you can carry, you’ll be schlepping your bounty to drop off in the car. If you plan to make a day of it-bring a cooler with some ice packs to stash it in the trunk.

4. Bring [your] Senses
The Farmers Market is a fabulous place to check out new scents, smells and tastes. Most vendors will let you sample a nosh of whatever it is they’re peddling, so you get a chance to try before you buy. Anything goes from home-made pies to cider to a fresh bite of a Colorado peach.
There are usually street-food carts, so if you come hungry, you won’t be when you leave.

5. Bring Timing
Depending on your circadian rhythm, you can plan your FM arrival time. If you seek the freshest and biggest variety of items (fruits, veggies, gifts, etc), get to the market early (sometimes as early as 8AM on a Saturday!!) but if it’s bargains you seek, stop by right at the end for the best end-of-the-day prices.

6. [Don't] Bring the Shopping List
Get out of your what’s-for-dinner rut by leaving your shopping list at home. The beauty of shopping at a FM is that you get an opportunity to buy and taste varieties you couldn’t find at your grocery store, like heirloom fruits and veggies. Trying something new is a great way to break out of you regular repertoire and most farmers actually offer recipes for the items they sell. Yay!

7. Bring a Smile
A Farmer’s Market is a great way to meet and converse with new people you may not normally feel comfortable chatting up at the grocery store isle. Connect with buyers and sellers alike by chatting up the farmers about their growing process, or ask the dude next to you how he plans to prepare the massive bunch of kale. (Don’t make me sing my “Kale Song”)

8. Bring your Swagger
Before you start your shopping, take a few laps around by walking the entirety of the market. Check out the prices at all the booths and pay attention to the quality of the products. Make mental notes to come back to the hat vendor for the mod fedora, or any other spot that strikes your fancy. Then start making your purchases as a well-informed consumer. If you don’t see a price-don’t hesitate to ask and if the price ain’t right (and FM’s can be quite expensive) then try your negotiation skills out and bargain with the vendors…but only a little.

9. Bring..The Dog, or The Kids…or Grandma..
Most people do. It gets crowded but ever so pleasing to people-watch and it certainly adds to the festivities.
Some markets have live music, so your little ones can cut the rug on the lawn, while granny can reminisce about the good ole’ days when food wasn’t shipped thousands of miles and you could buy jam made from your neighbor’s plums.

10. Bring your Inspiration
With all the different colors, smells, tastes, amazing art, clothes and jewelery that have been locally produced by the folks we share the state-lines with, it’s hard not to get a little Colorado-proud. Know you are making the difference by purchasing local food, grown on local soil, or supporting an amazing artisan by purchasing their love-filled piece of art or jewelery…or even a cupcake. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, so feel free to be proud of yourself and know that the secret finds you’ve just scored at the market will provide you with more than just fuel for your body.

Whether you’re a foodie or a newbie-check out one (or all) of our Colorado Farmer’s Markets:

The BIG ones:

Boulder Farmer’s Market

www.boulderfarmers.org

Cherry Creek Farmer’s Market
http://www.coloradofreshmarkets.com/markets.html

Well it’s that time of year again…flowers are blooming and the weather is warming up, which can only mean one thing..OK 2..it’s spring time and of course, time for the ultimate of all throw-downs, the competition of all competitions-The Grilled Cheese Invitational, held annually for the past 8 years in L.A. This is a grilled cheese cook-off that is legitimately ridiculous, all the while completely official… even endorsed by Kraft!!

I won’t bore you with all the details you can find on the GCI websitewww.grilledcheeseinvitational.com , such as how it all started long ago in lactose overdosed state in a smoky 90-square foot kitchen and an absurd argument, nor will I retell the actual RULES of said competition, also detailed on the site, but I will share with you my tiny tale of attending GCI2009 and returning a victorious champion…with a trophy. Yup.

I, The Kitchen Mistress, flew from Denver to compete with over 350 “grillers”, some inappropriately costumed folks I might add, though thoroughly entertaining. But I digress…I went. I grilled. I am now one of the few and the proud Grilled Cheese Champions, and I have an obnoxious, though completely legit trophy to prove it. It’s a dude with a glued on grilled cheese sammich, marble and all!

I won 4th place for the Honey Pot category, which is the dessert grilled cheese. *The Sweet Creamy Finish* I believe was the name of the victor: I grilled a deliciously *almost-frozen* cheesecake between two pieces of butter-top white bread, schmeered with a Tahitian vanilla butter (made it myself) and drizzled with a berry coulis, sprinkled with lemon zest. TADAAAAAAAAAA!! (See pic>>drool>>call Mistress for delivery. )

This year, I return, next weekend, to defend my honor and hopefully bring home a trophy that they won’t even allow on the plane. I want to make my glued-dude jealous. I want the 4-footer, baby! 3-tier, extra marble, please. AND, since I can’t have my trusty companion and good luck charm with me this year, I named one of my competing sammiches after him. So here’s to *The Jedi*…my 2010 hopeful…

OK, everyone loves getting invited to a dinner party, right? No cooking, no dishes, only the fun of enjoying a home-cooked meal, some wine and good company. For me personally, it can be the highlight of my weekend, so I always make sure I get invited back by bringing a treat or some flowers for the host or hostess. I enjoy this almost as much as I love entertaining myself and here I offer some tips to make sure you’ve got guests to entertain:

1. Be present: literally!

Plan accordingly, get help or make sure to start on time and you won’t be MIA and get stuck in the kitchen all night where nobody can see you or chat with you. What fun is that?

2. Stand by your dish: no disclaimers!

Once you serve your guests, just smile and make mental notes if it’s not what you wanted or how you intended the dish to turn out. Nobody wants to know what they *could* be having. Most people are happy to be there for the whatever you serve.

3. Let the food speak: no gourmet over-vocabularizing!

If your guests wanted to get the play-by-play gourmet commentary, they would have stayed home to watch the Iron Chef. If your guests won’t notice how fine the wine, at least you will know you’re indulging your friends with the best.

4. Relax! Nobody wants to party with a basket case.

If you’re constantly stressing when people come over to party with you, they will begin to think that it’s such a hassle for you, they’d rather not impose the extra work on their friend. Go for a quick walk or indulge in a (small) treat before the guests arrive. Breathe!

5. Dress to impress; hence “with the mostest”

I love playing the hostess, so I live it up! Nothing is better than feeling like a queen and getting compliments all night. Remember to smile- it’s almost as gorgeous as a cute dress and heels!

6. Keep a clean and cozy space.

Run the vacuum and stock the bathroom with some clean towels. Light a few candles, grab some fresh-cut flowers and voila-you’re ready to party! How easy was that?!!

7. Don’t try this at home.

Either try your gotta-have-it new recipe before the dinner party or stick to something you can rock! If your new dish fails on the first try, points 1-6 will never work out. Keep it simple and you will eliminate extra hassles pre-bash.

8. Finish strong: Light something on fire.

Dim the lights and throw a splash or rum on just about anything, strike a match and you’ve got flambe! (Be careful, please!)

Or, put just about anything in a martini glass, berries with cream, brownie crumbles with a mousse, etc, and you’ve got instant dessert-sex-appeal.

9. Splurge: if you can.

Hire a cleaning lady for the day after for just a few hours while you go to the movies, brunch or the gym. You deserve the treat!

10. Just hire ME!

If you’ve got reinforcements like me and my staff, all you have to do is points 4, 5 and 9!  I eliminate any worries of throwing a fabulous dinner party by taking care of all the details. You know how it is when you entertain; You end up *working* your own party. Let me handle the shopping, cooking, serving and cleaning while you enjoy your guests. I’ll even help come up with fabulous themes and decorations.

Results from trial 1:

The cookies turned out super awesome, but we had to wait quite a while for them to cool and congeal. Because I only baked them for 9 minutes at 350, they did stay very chewy, but there was no crunchy bottom part and they seemed almost undercooked.

Verdict: 9 minutes is not long enough. I would do at least 12 at 350.

Attempt #2

OK, so I decided to try using the same recipe as in the previous post with 2 exceptions: I used only 2 1/4 C flour and I switched to chunky peanut butter.

I also let the dough sit in the fridge a touch longer and I changed the oven temp to 375.

I used 2 cookie sheets with 6 cookies on each and set the timer for 5 minutes. Each tray was rotated and switched racks-top to bottom and vice versa. 5 more minutes and I think I got just one step closer…the cookies got puffy and didn’t flatten (like the first ones) and the bottoms were nice and crispy-see photos.

Maybe 3rd time’s the charm? Lets see what happens next Sunday!

Check out my fave daily addiction: Comics from Natalie Dee (“Where Peanut Butter Comes From”)

www.Nataliedee.com

Every once in a while I get a hankering for tea and a crumpet. Yesterday afternoon I gave in to my craving and stopped by a Highlands neighborhood café and bakery called  ‘6 Generous Servings’. When I first looked in the pastry case all there was left were cookies, of which I am not the hugest fan. I’m still not sure what made me decide to grab a few for the road anyways and I am so glad I did. I will have to say that the peanut butter cookie I had yesterday was the best [peanut butter] cookie I have ever had-crusty and crunchy on the outside, perfectly browned, and soft and chewy on the inside-a cookie enigma to me still!

I got so inspired by 6GS’s perfect cookie that I decided to make it my life’s mission to make perfect cookies…OK, maybe just a few Sundays in the Mistress Test Kitchen.

Attempt #1

To make it my own, I took an Allrecipes.com highest voted peanut butter cookie recipe and made a few changes based on some of the comments:

TKMPB Cookie 1.

1 C Butter (I used Organic Valley)

1 ¼ C Peanut Butter (1 C fresh ground I had in the fridge ¼ C Earth Balance Creamy)

1 C Sugar (I used Organic)

1 C Brown Sugar (ditto)

2 Eggs (Grant Family Farms-fairly large ones)

2 ¼ C Flour (All purpose Organic from King Arthur)

1 t baking powder

½ t Salt (I used Morton’s Kosher Coarse)

1 ½ t baking soda

1 T Vanilla (I used Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla  Bean Paste)

I creamed the eggs and the sugars first, then added the softened butter and peanut butter, all done with my KitchenAid mixer on medium/high. I added the salt, soda and baking powder and let it whirl for a bit. Then in went the flour one cup at a time, with the mixer still on, I just sifted in there mid whirl.

The batter got scooped up and wrapped in plastic, spanked**, and refrigerated for one hour.

I baked ice-cream scooper-size balls (flattened with tiny fork) for 9 minutes at 350. That wasn’t long enough, so I got them in for 2 more minutes. I think 11 minutes would be good, but next time I’ll try 9 minutes at 375, for comparison-I’ll try the same recipe.

I cooled the cookies and they settled quite a bit-but I left them out while Mr. Mistress and I went out and they were pretty much perfect when we came back 5 hours later-chewy insides, crunchy outsides…just a little flat.

OK…the search for the best recipe goes on….

**I don’t know if there is actually any scientific proof that making your cookies with a little flair will make them taste any better, but I do know that spanking a freshly plastic-wrapped cookie dough ball is not only naughty and fun, but also gets rid of the air bubbles. I do this only because I usually mix my dough longer than most recipes call for…well…maybe not JUST for that reason… :-)

Send some cookies to our Soldiers:

http://www.treatthetroops.org/

http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=angel-bakers