muffins baking in the morning

I have been baking for the 1000 Faces kiosk at Trappeze for a few weeks now, and I must say that it is one of the highlights of my week. I get up early in the morning, gather ingredients, brew some coffee and play around with muffins and scones and whatever else my heart desires before anyone else in my house is stirring. Shaping a round of dough and slicing it into perfect pie pieces for scones is one of the little pleasures in life. I have found a really lovely base recipe for scones that produces such a light, fluffy, almost cake-like result, that I can't help but make a few extra every time to munch on throughout the following days. My favorites have been chocolate chip with a hint of lemon zest, blueberry made with the frozen leftovers of a giant bucket of berries I bought from Jim at the end of his season, and maple pecan made with chopped up pecans from McMullan Family Farm.


I have also found a muffin base recipe that I am utterly delighted with. It calls for ricotta cheese and buttermilk, and makes what can almost be described as cheesecake combined with a muffin. It is so rich and luscious on the tongue that it almost feels like a luxury to be eating them for breakfast. Some of my favorite flavors so far have included cherry chocolate, lemon poppy seed, ginger apple walnut, and pear pecan.

everything starts with a before

We will be refurbishsing the old Amoco sign, placing our lovely oval logo where the Amoco is and making an area where the gas prices used to go to let you know what produce is freshest each week.

This is the perspective from the corner of Chase and Boulevard. It is hard to imagine now, but in just a few months this area will be filled with the fragrance of herbs, and the sound of soft music, forks tinking on plates and happy voices.This is the view from Chase Street. We will be building an extension off of where the office used to be for the seating for the market. It will have a curved wall on the left corner and have lots of glass to let in all the light. The right garage door will be refurbished so that we can open up the dining room to the refreshing spring and fall air. The space where the left garage door is will be made into our main entryway with a new door and storefront built into the existing space. A patio will come out from the space in front of the garage doors, surrounded by planters full of herbs and covered by a wooden pergola to keep off the sun.If you stretch your imagination, you may be able to see a bocce ball court to the left of the building with benches for spectators.

This wall will be coming out and will have a lovely view from the dining room into the market space. Imagine a curved bar coming out into the dining room. The darker area to the right will be walled off and will become our kitchen.

You can see the kitchen space more clearly in this photo. The bathrooms that back up to the wall here will be removed and the kitchen area will be extended.

This back corner will house our bathrooms, with storage above them. There will be a banquet bench built in along this wall and tables running up to the front windows.

The view of what will be our dining room. Again hard to imagine, but I know that it will be lovely.

It's all happening.

I drove by 815 N. Chase St. yesterday around 10:00 am to see the cars vacating the lot of the mechanic shop. With only about 5 cars left and 2 about to drive away, butterflies started to fill my stomach and I understood that this is becoming really real now.

We have contractors giving us bids this week, and we could even start building as early as February 7, which is only 2 weeks away. 2 weeks away! Crazy. My days are filled with costing recipes, punching numbers into spreadsheets, getting quotes, looking at used equipment, trying out dishes for the menu, examining the virtues of this plate over that one and which fork is best suited for our use. Which pos system is the best for us? Which payroll company should I go with? How do I price items in our market component? Will our display cases put off too much heat? Will this ever work? These are the questions running through my mind minute after minute. It all comes so quickly, and the frenzy is quickly turning into a blur. Before we know it, it will be late spring and we will be putting blueberry bushes in the ground at the corner, arranging tables and chairs, receiving buckets of produce from our farmers and opening our doors to the fresh warm air and our wonderful community. I can't wait until this is all a reality, but for now I keep wanting to slow everything down so I can see it all more clearly.

I am balancing somewhere between overexcited and overwhelmed most of the time, but I know this will be such a great place, and I welcome it with open arms.

beets & pears

"The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious...

The beet is the melancholy vegetable, the one most willing to suffer. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip...

The beet is the murderer returned to the scene of the crime. The beet is what happens when the cherry finishes with the carrot. The beet is the ancient ancestor of the autumn moon, bearded, buried, all but fossilized; the dark green sails of the grounded moon-boat stitched with veins of primordial plasma; the kite string that once connected the moon to the Earth now a muddy whisker drilling desperately for rubies."

— Tom Robbins (Jitterbug Perfume)

Inspired by Tom Robbins and the snow surrounding my house, I decided it was time to make the perfect winter lunch. Beet Soup with Dill Cream and Foccaccia topped with pears, caramelized onions and Bellissimo, a blue cheese from Greendale Farm. How heart warming it was to bite into the warm foccaccia and slurp up the bright purple soup while gazing out on a hawk gliding through the snow covered woods behind my house.


The foccaccia recipe was taken straight out of this month's Food & Wine magazine. Too perfect a recipe to alter, it can be found here.


Winter Beet Soup with Dill Cream

Serves 3-4

3 beets
3 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 c red wine
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 red potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 c + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 c sour cream
2 tsp chopped dill, plus a few sprigs for garnish

Oil a pan and roast the beets at 400 for about 20 minutes, until soft. Peel beets and dice.

Saute onion, carrot, celery and potato in a sauce pot until they begin to soften. Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Deglaze with red wine. Add stock, dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook until all of the veggies are cooked through and broth has reduced slightly, about 20 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and puree in the pot with a hand blender. Add in 1/2 c of buttermilk & orange juice. Continue to blend until smooth. Return soup to a simmer.

Ladle into bowls. Stir together sour cream, remaining buttermilk and dill sprigs. Place a dollop in the center of each bowl of soup. Serve.

snow day in the south

my little spotted snow foxes didn't know quite what to make of their surroundings.



Northerners scoff at those of us who live in the South when at first mention of impending winter weather, the grocery store shelves empty out and everyone settles into their homes to hibernate until the storm is over. Often "the storm" refers to a few scattered flurries or even just a cold gust of wind. Last night most of the northern half of Georgia was lucky enough to be graced with a white blanketing to tuck us all into bed. My husband and I were like little children awaiting Santa Claus. Neither of us could sleep and we kept sneaking away through the dark house to gaze at the glory that covered the woods and creek behind our house. The snow reflected all the light from neighboring houses and nearby streetlights, casting a pinkish glow everywhere, as if we were looking at a day-lit sepia photo rather than just out the window at midnight. By morning, five inches of snow covered everything and the whole state seemed to be shut down.



rosemary peeps through the snow. unfortunately, it is the only plant to make it through the winter in my ill-planned garden.



My husband and I ventured out late morning to see the new forms that everything takes when covered in snow. We met few others along our path. Kroger, Wendy's, the gas stations and Jittery Joe's were the only businesses braving the weather on our side of town. I learned on our walk that trekking in 5 inches of crunchy snow is good for the quads.





Upon returning home, I made a lovely pot of drinking chocolate with a dash of cayenne and cinnamon....mmmm....soul warming.

The best thing about the snow day is that it has given me a little extra bit of time to reflect on where this year is going for me. I have left Ike & Jane to focus full time on our up and coming business venture, and with the holidays following close behind my departure, it has seemed like things have been purely go, go, go since then. Days are full of meetings and phone calls, spent staring at a computer screen and touching base with lots and lots of people. I am so grateful to have such overwhelming support from everyone I have encountered.


In the past month, Heirloom Cafe & Fresh Market has gone from a great set of ideas to a beautiful set of plans, which will soon be followed by a wonderful community gathering place. DOC Unlimited has done an outstanding job putting together our plans, and has been very patient with us in this process, which is quite a learning experience for all of us involved. We passed through the Historic Preservation Board approval without much of a problem, and are almost finished working through the finishing touches with our plans approval from the city. The above drawing shows the southeast perspective of the restaurant, as will be seen from the corner of Boulevard and Chase St. More drawings, including the site plan and interior elevations can be found on the Boulevard Neighborhood Association page at this time.



We put up a facebook page and are ecstatic to have so many likes already. We have had a little bit of press so far, with mention on the blog from Full Circle Realty, the Flagpole and the Athens Banner Herald. We should have a website up and going relatively soon to help keep everyone informed and excited. It is being designed by the lovely and wonderful Megan Boling of Brown Parcel Press and Natasha Murphy. Megan also designed our logo, which can be seen above. She has also recently produced a gorgeous letterpress calendar inspired by her recent experiences running Three Centuries Farm in Sparta, GA. Check out her blog, Brown's General, when you get a chance to read about her adventures in learning the world of farming.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of taking a lovely stroll with Benji Anderson of Anderson Farms in Comer. This is the first contact I have had with potential suppliers for the restaurant, and I have to say I now know that meeting the farmers, seeing their operations and sampling their products is definitely my favorite part of this process. Benji walked me through his fields, pointing out all the different groups of pigs, each separate in age by about two months. Of course, I loved the little ones the most, but I was also charmed by the bigger ones that wanted to sniff me all over with their muddy noses and even tried to nibble on my blue jeans. He has gotten his operation off to a great start, and the pork he gave me to taste is phenomenal. I hope to form a great relationship with Anderson Farms and many other farms soon.

With the clarity of the step back a snow day allowed me to take, I can see that this year is going to be a phenomenal one, and I can't wait for it to roll in.

an apple a day

Fall is upon us, my favorite time of year. I can finally break out my sweaters and tights and the air has a delightful crispness that makes the blue sky seem higher and the colors of the changing leaves pop. Last week, we decided to venture into the North Georgia mountains for some leaf peeping and apple picking. We stopped at the B. J. Reece orchard on Hwy. 52, between Ellijay and Dahlonega. We had tried our hand at the apple festival in Ellijay, but it turned out to be more craft and food vendors than apples so we met up with our friends Megan and Brad and ventured eastward to get the coveted apples ourselves. As always, it is more fun to get your food straight from the source than to pick it off a supermarket shelf. The orchard was crawling with people seeking the perfect apple, the perfect symbol of the season. The Arkansas Blacks and Rome Beauties were at their peak, and we picked as many as we could carry.





There are so many treats that can be made with apples...apple pie, crisps, cobblers...apple butter and applesauce...caramel and candied apples. The list goes on and on. I began my apple indulgences by making apple butter and applesauce. My husband has been on me to make some granola, as well, so while I was being inspired by the apples, I made him a treat.


For homemade granola, preheat your oven to 350. Combine 2 quarts of rolled oats with 1 cup sliced almonds, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 3/4 c vegetable oil, 3/4 cup local honey, 2 tablespoons flax seeds, 1 tablespoon vanilla soy protein powder, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix thoroughly and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, stir with a wooden spoon to ensure even browning and then bake for another 5-10 minutes until everything is well toasted. Allow to cool and mix in chopped dried fruit, if you like. Serve with fruit and yogurt or some milk or soymilk.




I adapted the apple butter and applesauce recipes from The Gourmet Cookbook.

For apple butter, combine 4 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 pieces each, 1 1/2 cups of unfiltered apple cider (you can buy this at the orchard when you go to pick apples), 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the apples soften.

Run the mixture through a food mill and return it to the pan. Continue to simmer 20 minutes to an hour over medium low heat, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan to keep the apple butter from scorching and sticking. When the apple butter appears ready, test it by putting a small glop on a plate and refrigerating it for 1 minute. Tilt the plate and if it stays in a glop and doesn't run, it is finished. Keep the apple butter refrigerated and spread it on toast or biscuits or between two pieces of bread that you then make into delicious stuffed french toast. Glop is a trademarked technical term.




For applesauce, combine 1 pound apples, peeled, cored and diced, 1/2 cup apple cider, 1/2 cup sugar, finely grated zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes, until the apples are soft. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Eat as a snack or serve alongside latkes or pork chops or on pancakes. Yum, all the things you can do with it.

Well, that is all the appley goodness that I have for you. Things are moving right along with the restaurant and I am about to be able to make some exciting announcements about it, so check back soon.

a book, a name, a plan

Oh, how my aspirations were high when I thought that I could be a blogger and keep this thing up day by day or week by week. Alas, things got away from me and after 2 posts, I gently let these aspirations slip away. As the summer starts to fade, however, and we begin to welcome the first cool nights, the first winter squashes, the first bonfires and the last sleepy porch sitting afternoons, I am returning to the world of blogging. Hopefully, you will all greet me with open arms.

a book...

My first topic of discussion is a plug to the next book that we will be discussing at the PLACE book club, which meets on Tuesday, September 21st, after the Farmer's Market at Little Kings Shuffle Club. We are reading Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly by James E. McWilliams. This book outlines a valid argument concerning the greater points to forming a sustainable global food system over focusing on a local food system. He speaks about the importance of the general carbon footprint over the number of food miles an individual piece of food travels from field to fork. He points out the follies of the big organic producers. He argues that a meat eater cannot call himself an environmentalist, especially if they are eating any of the mass raised and slaughtered land dwellers. He does say that happy meat, as I like to call it, or sustainable, small scale farming of beef, pork and poultry is better for the environment than the farms that are involved with mass production, but only barely. He gives a strong argument towards aquaculture, and says that sustainably farmed fish is the best source of protein for the planet. He even goes so far as to defend genetically modified foods to an extent, and he blames government farming subsidies for a great deal of our problems. He generally wants to make us think on a more global level. I see what he is saying about a lot of these arguments, but I feel like there is a balance we can strike between being locavores and helping to establish a sustainable global food system. Obviously, we have quite a ways to go, and need some pushing to set us off in the right direction. If you have read some or all of the book, I hope you can come out and join us for discussion. There is still time to read some of it by next Tuesday, and if you need to borrow my copy, feel free.

a name, and a plan...

On a very exciting note, I have thought of a name for my upcoming restaurant...Heirloom Cafe & Fresh Market. Sleepy, bobble-heading Jess came to this one evening last week, mulled it over for a day or so and presented it to the world. It is exactly what I have been looking for to express everything that I want this business to be. An heirloom is a gift passed down from generation to generation, something precious and delicate or sturdy and rugged, but most importantly, something to be saved and savored. It is a part of our history and a part of our present, and it is a treasure that could easily be lost in careless hands. Not only can a piece of antique china or an old farm table be an heirloom, but also a folk tale, a piece of land or in this case, a food tradition.

Athens is a community that embraces its own, and cherishes it, that fights against the modern or corporate, but embraces new businesses that are indicative of our place. Heirloom will embrace the growing food culture of Athens that is immersed within these old traditions as well as the culture that surrounds new innovations in sustainable farming. Our farmers grow heirloom vegetables, from seeds that have been tediously saved from year to year. The Athens farmers market is full of varietals of tomatoes, okra, squash and beans that haven't been seen in a supermarket since the 1920's. The seeds are painstakingly sewn and the starts are gently tended by people we know in our surrounding fields. We are also lucky to have farmers who are raising heritage breeds of pigs, cows and chickens in our community that would have died out long ago if they were not being kept alive, raised and marketed on this scale.

Not only will we be supporting our local farmers by selling the fruits of their labor in our market, but we will also be using their products to provide you with a cozy, friendly and delicious dining experience like no other you find in Athens. Located in a rehabilitated space within a thriving historic neighborhood, Heirloom will provide the community with a warm gathering place and a vital food hub. Dressed in handmade aprons, amid shelves of staples, produce, dairy, proteins, coffee, pastries and prepared meals, our friendly staff will assist community members with their selections on the way to and from work or school, or take their order for breakfast or lunch to eat in our luminous dining room or on our lush patio. Dinner, a more leisurely sit down affair, will be table service and hosted by smiling, courteous staff, or can be picked up from the market by busy mothers or business people in a rush to get home. Sleepy hipsters or families on a stroll can join us for brunch on our patio, offering farm fresh egg dishes, housemade pastries and other delicious treats.

My goal is to provide the community with a dining and food experience that they can embrace and love, passing along the love for food and the appreciation for food traditions that has been provided to me by past generations.

"The foundation on which [Southern food] rested was pure ingredients, open-pollinated seed--planted and replanted for generations--natural fertilizers. We grew the seeds of what we ate, and we worked with love and care." -Edna Lewis