Recipe of the Week: Jalapeno Poppers & Carrot Cupcakes

Well I have decided to try something a little different this week and change the format of the blog. I figured that this way I could have all the recipes we wanted to share posted on the blog instead of only one here with the additional on Facebook, and it will also be archived now so if you missed out on something it will be easy to find again!

I wanted to share two recipes this week with you. The first is inspired by Otto's Feierhaus & Bierstube in New Ulm from my days working as a bartender. It was my favorite appetizer on the menu and made excellent breakfast in the morning! 

BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

25 fresh jalapeno peppers
14 -16 ounces cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 
2 (16 ounce) packages bacon 

Directions:

1. Cut stems off of peppers and cut them all in half longways.
2. Remove seeds from peppers.
3. Fill each pepper with cream cheese and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
4. Wrap 1/2 slice of bacon around each pepper half.
5. Place on baking sheets and place in 450 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until bacon is fully cooked.
6. Remove and serve when cooled.

The second recipe this week is for all of the baking enthusiasts...

CARROT CUPCAKES WITH CREAMCHEESE FROSTING

2 cups of grated carrots
2 cups of flour
1 ½ cups of sugar
1 cup of oil
½ cup of chopped walnuts
½ cup of shredded coconut
3 medium eggs
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons of crushed pineapple
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of mace spice
Frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Place muffin liners in standard muffin pan.
2. Combine the grated carrots, sugar, oil and eggs then set aside.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and mace. Then gradually add the dry mixture to the carrot mixture.
4. Fold in the raisins, crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts nuts and shredded coconut. Then spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan(s).
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until done and allow to cool, then frost.

A summer of learning, a summer of change

Many people will tell you that the first few years of a new business are what's known as the hardest and those in which we grow and succeed or fail. We have certainly been learning alot during our first year here at Kelso Acres. We have discovered which markets are best during different times of the year as well as what sells best at one market may not sell as well at another. Other growing pains have included surprise costs in canopy's, tons of coolers, building a box for the truck so we can fit more produce to bring to the markets, and trying to find a way to keep tomatoes upright without the aide of tomato cages. Mostly it's been in discovering that what is traditionally done for a personal garden, doesn't quite work well (economically speaking) on a large scale. We have learned that some days harvesting, cleaning and packing can take all day which is why we are looking to implement a few minor changes here at the farm.

We are very excited to announce that we will be attending the Mankato Farmer's Market on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday every week starting the week of 8/7! We will still be attending the New Ulm Farmer's Market on Thursday and Saturday as well and filling in the other markets when possible (if we have enough produce). We hope that by focusing our efforts on our two larger markets it allows us more time in the fields to harvest and weed so that we can continue to provide the best produce possible to everyone who comes to see us. (Hopefully no more dawn to dusk days...or at least that they are fewer and less frequently needed!)

I truly enjoy my weekly walks through the garden on Sunday mornings as it is always full of surprises! Since I always have my camera along (love love love to take photos and scrapbook) I have included some pics to share and of course had a hard time limiting myself. ;)

Cucumbers are coming along nicely now that they have a trellis to climb

The sea of dill

Sweet corn has tasseled out!

The ears are small but they are growing!

We have many different varieties of peppers in our garden such as Serrano Del Sol, Habanero, Jalapeno, Anaheim, Cayenne and of course multiple varieties of bell peppers. So for those who enjoy making homemade salsa and/or pickled jalapenos there will be plenty to choose from this year!

 Cayenne peppers

Bell Peppers

 

 Jalapeno

 

Habenaro

Eggplants are ready for harvest...well some of them anyhow

Just a different variety of grape tomatoes...I even spied a roma that was starting to turn!

Rain Rain Go Away...wait....what ?!?

Lately we've been having what can be considered typical weather here in Minnesota. Thunderstorms, strong winds, and humidity so high that there is condensation on the windows of your home with air conditioners working round the clock! Friday this past week was no exception, however, it was harvest day. We had to get veggies pulled and washed for our three markets the next day. Normally we are very thankful for the rains that come and give our garden a much needed drink to quench it's thirst in this heat wave we're experiencing now, but on Friday all we wished was that it could hold off for just a few hours so we could get our work done.

This past Friday we had three rounds of thunderstorms throughout the day and even lost power for awhile. Thankfully it didn't take too long to get the power up and running otherwise our produce wouldn't have looked nearly as nice as it usually does with all the sloppy wet mud clinging to it! Harvest was finally done closer to 6 pm on Friday when normally it's done around lunch time!

Gotta love it when the humidity is so high the camera lens is fogged up!

The poor table is a little over crowed as is the Prius with all the wonderful produce. I think I need to find a way to squeeze another table in the car somehow!

Ed and I enjoyed a walk through the garden this morning and I came back with muddy toes! Guess the weeding will have to wait until the soil can dry out more. We did find a few additional surprises this week in that our cauliflower is starting to produce, the sweet corn is continuing to grow nicely, okra is ready for harvest, watermelons are flowering and we have baby peppers!

Cauliflower

Stevia

Edamame flowers

Watermelon flower

Fennel

Sweet Corn

Baby Jalapenos

Okra

A spider keeping a look out for our eggplant!

Flowering Eggplant

What a difference a week makes!

This past week we've added a few additional trips to the market list with the opening of the New Ulm farmer's market after the 4th. So instead of attending 1 market Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday and 2 on Saturday we are now going to 1 on Tuesday, 2 on Wednesday & Thursday, with 3 on Saturday!

After Ed got home yesterday from the Annandale flea market & we unpacked the truck (tent included) and he took a nice long nap, we then took our stroll through the garden. It truly is amazing how much these plants grow in one week! We also had a nice discovery this week after harvesting cabbage, as Ed was removing leaves he found a surprise. The cabbage started to produce another head! It is the garden that keeps on giving...

You can see the secondary head growing just above where we harvested the first.

Pretty soon we will have produce coming out of our ears! We brought cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, carrots, cabbage, swiss chard, green beans and lettuce (iceberg, romaine & green leaf) to market on Saturday. The walk through the garden last night showed that the zucchini has grown about 3" in just a few days and should be ready soon, while the next batch of radishes are about grape size..probably 1 more week and we'll have those to sell as well. Other items coming soon are the roma tomatos, grape tomatos, and okra. 

Pole  beans...using tomato cages to help them climb

Sweet potatoes are coming along nicely

The next bed of cilantro to be picked

Cilantro that went to flower and will become coriander. I love how one plant can provide 2 amazing flavors!

Using fence posts and twine to keep the tomatoes upright. With over 1,000 tomato plants, cages would be quite expensive so a different, low cost alternative was thought up. It will be interesting to see how the twine holds up to the weight of the tomatoes as they grow.

Roma tomatoes

Orange blossom tomatoes...I made a wonderful sauce with them last year.

Help me Obi Weed Kanobi...

A great disturbance was felt in the garden this past week as many weeds were up-rooted, mowed or weed-whipped in order to provide growth and light to our emerging veggies and herbs! There is a great path of destruction in the walking paths along the plant beds and the veggies are rejoycing for all the space they now have to spread their roots and grow!

Onions started in the greenhouse and the planted by hand in the garden

 

 Watermelons are off to a good start...especially with the chickens doing their job and picking out the seeds from the straw before it was used as mulch to prevent weed growth!

mmm...tomatoes are well on the way..salsa fresca anyone?!?

Other adventures this weekend included camping at the Annandale Flea Market on Thursday night to make sure we had a good spot for Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately the heat and mugginess (is that even a word?) here in MN drove people away from the market Friday and to the lake or inside for much needed reprieve. Severe storms came Friday night and as the tent was collected and awning broken down the sirens went off and I raced to the safety of Bill and Julie's home...thankfully they were only 5 minutes away! I got indoors just as a tree snapped in their campground with the top laying in the roadway and we all crowded (20+ people) into the basement for safety. It was our nephew's 13th birthday and we opened presents by candle and lantern light. Just as he blew out the candles of the DQ (Dairy Queen) ice cream cake the lights came back on and we all rejoiced as there was much discussion whether the bathroom could be used if we were without power for the 24 hrs we were prepared to see happen. 

We arrived Saturday to see our awning was moved and our spot was lost, but at least we were safe and dry Friday night. We got to experience the overflow area and were incredibly thankful to those who searched among the 250+ vendors there to find us way in the back just to score some of our tasty lettuce and radishes! It was so touching to know that our produce was valued that greatly...

A day of rest...whats that ?!?

Typically many would tell me that Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Not so much if you're a farmer or farmer's wife or family. The work never stops! But that is a good thing..a day of rest can be when the rains come and it's too muddy to do much work outside, but alas that is when you play catchup to make sure the house is still in order.

This week has been our first week at farmer's markets and of harvest for Kelso Acres. It's been alot of weeding, harvesting of the produce and then washing it and making sure everything is ready for Market day. It's been getting rained on while at the markets but most of all it's been meeting new people and having fun talking to them about our farm! The Wiest family went to three markets this past week, while Ed and I hit up or first market on Saturday at the Annandale Flea Market/Swappers Meet. The meet opens at sunrise which means for an early day, but it was definitely worth it. Mother Nature even provided us with a shower free of charge!

After returning home from Annandale we enjoyed a walk through our garden to see how things were coming. I've included some photos here for you of the wonderful broccoli, swiss chard, spinach, peas and carrots that we hope to harvest soon!

Just one of the broccoli florets! They definitely benefited from the rains this week.

The peas are flowering!

Even Pepper is licking her chops at the sight of all the yummy goodness in the gardens!

It's chores around the house this morning then back out to our plant beds for weeding this afternoon. I wonder what week 2 at the markets will bring and can't wait to see all the smiling faces as they come and collect yummy garden goodies from our farm.

And we're off...

And running that is! We had our first harvest of produce yesterday even though we had 1.75 " of rain the night before which made for a muddy morning in the garden and then rain again in the afternoon at the farmer's market in Belle Plaine. Even with the rain we sold our first lettuce and radishes of the season! Photos of the day can be viewed on our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/kelso.acres

The sun is shining this morning and we are preparing for another afternoon at the market, but this time in Glencoe (from 3-6 pm). If you are nearby please come and check us out. Hope to see you there!