Market Square Farmer's Market 11/17/12

The last official market is upon us! I'm not feeling too nostalgic or sentimental quite yet, as we have four holiday markets to go, and I envision myself shivering beneath my tent for most of them. One of the many wonderful things about the market--it takes you out of your comfort zone in more ways than one!

Just to be clear, I will be at all four holiday markets. The first is on December first, and then they follow for three weeks after that. The markets run from noon to 7 p.m., and vendors begin setting up in the morning at around 10 a.m. You can expect many of the Little Blue baked goods you know and love in addition to some showstoppers for gifts and stocking stuffers.

I just made my annual batch of fruitcakes, which will be available at the holiday markets. They are absolutely packed with fruit and nuts--figs, raisins, dates, dried plums, cherries, pecans, and hazelnuts. I will be brushing them with spiced rum for the next couple weeks, and then they will be wrapped in rum-soaked cheesecloth. This week I also unwrapped a fruitcake that I made last November and have been aging in the back of my fridge ever since. It's perfectly moist and boozy and no worse for wear. I will have this well-aged fruitcake at my booth for sampling--I used the same recipe this year.

I will also have "Baker's Bundles" for sale as stocking stuffers--a bottle of my double-strength vanilla, vanilla sugar, and a few vanilla beans all tucked into a wooden berry basket. I will also have a selection of unique candies (my espresso pumpkin seed brittle being one of them) and cookies.

Now for this week's offerings:

--Cheddar Scallion Biscuits--$3 (Colvin Family Farm scallions; Cruze Farm buttermilk)

--Lemon-Blueberry Scones--$3 (Cruze Farm buttermilk)

--Butternut-Sage Scones With Walnuts--$3 (Terraced Gardens Farm butternut squash; Cruze Farm buttermilk)

--Green Eggs and Ham Quiche--$5 (all-butter pastry crust; arugula pesto feat. Colvin Family Farm arugula; prosciutto)

--Cranberry and Roasted Pear Tarts--$5 (all-butter pastry crust; Asian pears)

--Plain, Dark Chocolate, Ham and Cheese, and Almond-Filled Croissants--$3, $4, and $5

--10-Grain Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls--$4 (Musick Mountain Farm pumpkin)

--Rosewater and Black Sesame Shortbread--$2/bag

--Grasshopper Sandwich Cookies--$2 (crisp dark chocolate cookies; peppermint buttercream)

--Dark Chocolate Cacao Nib Loaves--$5 (Dutch-process cocoa powder, cacao nibs, spiced syrup)

--Seeded Granola--$7/ 12 oz (pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds, cacao nibs, walnuts, organic oats, organic local sorghum syrup, maple syrup, olive oil)

--Double-Strength Vanilla Extract--$8/ 4 oz (Bacardi 151 and Tahitian vanilla beans)

 * I have several spots still open for my intro to pie and pastry class this Sunday. If you're interested in attending, please let me know at petitbleu88 (at) gmail (dot) com. The class is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes a light breakfast and lunch, four hours of hands-on instruction, a booklet of tips and recipes, and a pie to take home. Cost is $65 per person.