If you have been lucky enough to be one of the first to pick up at Farm to Folk the past couple weeks you have probably been able to sample a couple of the delicious muffins a couple of our producers have brought in. Heather from Heather's Bread was sampling The Everything Muffin a couple weeks ago and this past week Judy from The Berry Patch brought in Morning Glory Muffins. We got so many "oohs and aahs" and requests for the recipes, we now have them to share with you! Dig out your muffin pan because you'll want to make these muffins right away.

NOTE TO REMEMBER: On February 16, Farm to Folk will host it's first (hopefully first of many), cooking demonstration! We will be learning how to make a winter soup (yum...sigh). 
Also, make sure to check out the blog next week as I will have Valentine's Day gift ideas for the foodie in your life as well as our gathered responses to "what's the quickest way to your heart?" You won't want to miss it!

The EVERYTHING Muffin - Heather Sifka
 Yield: 12 servings
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp untested wheat germ
2 Tbsp wheat bran
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats
1/3 c. chopped pitted dates
1/3 c. walnuts
2 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp flax
1/3 c. dried cranberries
1 c. low-fat buttermilk
1/4 c. applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lg egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. boiling water
1/4 c. white or dark chocolate, chopped (added right before baking)
cooking spray

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat muffin pan with cooking spray.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in oats, dates, walnuts and cranberries. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, applesauce, vanilla and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in boiling water Let batter stand for 15 minutes. Stir and add chocolate. 

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately to cool on wire rack. 
(If making mini muffins, expect closer to 48 muffins and reduce bake time to 10 minutes)

Morning Glory Muffins - Judy Henry

1/2 c. raisins (or more) or dried cherries - soak in hot water for 30 min., drain
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. grated carrots
1 lg, tart green apple, peeled, cored and grated
1/2 c. nuts (pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds)
1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut
3 eggs
2/3 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp vailla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Generously grease 24, 1/2 cup muffins cups. 
Mix flour, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon in bow. Stir in raisins, carrots, apple, nuts and coconut. 
Beat eggs with oil and vanilla to blend. Stir into flour mixture until just combined. Divide batter into 20-24 muffin cups. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and tester is clean. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan. Enjoy!
(if carrots are 2 cups and the apple is large, you get 24 muffins easily!) 

I came across this delicious recipe recently. I already had a couple of the key ingredients on hand and soup was sounding really good in the current sub-zero temps we are experiencing. I found the recipe in a church cookbook and in the description it said the recipe was originally from "A Taste of Terrace Hill" a cookbook Billie Ray had helped create. I highly recommend giving this recipe a try, it's hearty, flavorful and delicious...it also makes a really big batch, so you can share some with your neighbors!

P.S. The lemon in this soup is what really makes the flavors come together and takes the soup from good to awesome. 

​P.P.S. I finally got some lemons on my lemon tree/shrub/bush...it's been almost 18 months since I first got the thing but the lemons are turning yellow. I used one of these lemons in the soup! 

1 lb. dried lentils
1/2 c. bacon, cut fine
2 lg. onions, sliced
2 lg. carrots, sliced
1 c. chopped celery
2 qt. water
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 bay leaves
1 grated potato
1 ham hock
2 T. lemon juice
Sliced lemon

Wash lentils; drain. Saute bacon and onion until onion is golden. All all ingredients, except lemon and juice. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Remove ham hock and bay leaves. Cut up meat from ham hock and return to soup. Add lemon juice. Serve hot with lemon slices on top. 
​Yield: 10 to 12 servings. 

Last week as I was going thru the deep freeze I found a bunch of meaty soup bones I've had for quite a while. Since one of the recipes I planned to make this week called for beef broth, I decided to make my own. Making your own stock is pretty straight forward and easy and the end result is so much tastier and healthier than the store bought. There are different ways of making stock but the most basic things you need are onions, carrots and celery.  

Start with a bunch of meaty soup bones, carrots and onions. Cover everything in olive oil and a little salt and pepper and put the meat on and veggies on a pan and in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, turning half way thru. 

After they come out of the oven, put everything in a large pot and add the celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and anything else you want to use to flavor your stock. 

Cover with enough water so it is 1-2 inches above the meat. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let it go. Continue to simmer for as long as you'd like, 4-6 hours being a good amount of time. When the simmering is done, set a colander lined with cheesecloth over a clean bowl and strain the stock into the bowl. 

Allow the broth to cool, then place in the fridge to create a layer of fat on the top. Once the fat hardens, skim it off and ladle the broth into jars and YOU'RE DONE! (You know, besides cleaning up your kitchen, making supper, entertaining the kids and doing the laundry.) 

Beef Broth
4-6 lbs (or more) Meaty Soup Bones
2 onions
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 bay leaves
2-4 garlic cloves
a bunch of parsley 
olive oil
salt & pepper

Coat the soup bones, carrots and onions with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, turing about half way through. 
Place the soup bones, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, garlic cloves and parsley in a large pot and cover with enough water to be 1-2 inches above the contents in the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 4-6 hours. 
Line a colander with two layers of cheese cloth and strain the stock into a clean bowl. Let the stock cool then place in the fridge until a layer of fat hardens on the top. Remove the fat and ladle the stock into jars. Enjoy!

**I used at least 6 lbs of soup bones and ended up with 10 pint jars of beef stock in my freezer.