Turkey Day Menu

It is so hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving is only a few days away! This year is sure to be entertaining for everyone because I will be cooking and serving our late lunch. This will also be my first turkey, so please pray for me next Thursday! I thought that I would share our menu and a few recipe ideas with everyone so here goes...

Oven Roasted Turkey with Cranberry and Walnut Stuffing
Zinfandel Cranberry Sauce
Old Fashioned Dressing
Sweet Potato Souffle
Arugula & Gruyere Cheese Quiche
Green Beans with Toasted Almonds
Homemade Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Whipped Cream
Cherry Pie from Big City Bakery in Athens, GA

Zinfandel Cranberry Sauce:
-1 cup sugar
-1 cup Zinfandel (We're using 4 Vines 2004 Sonoma "Sophisticate" Zin)
-12 oz fresh cranberries
-1/2 tsp fine orange zest

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally. Chill.

Arugula & Gruyere Cheese Quiche:
-1 frozen pie crust
-3/4 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
-2 tsp olive oil
-1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
-5 cups chopped arugula (this works with any leafy green...we even tried it with collards!)
-1 tsp balsamic vinegar
-3 eggs
-1 cup heavy cream
-salt & pepper to taste
-1/2 tsp paprika
-1/4 cup bacon crumbles (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Sprinkle shredded Gruyere cheese across the bottom of the pie crust. Saute olive oil, shallots, arugula, and vinegar until the greens cook down.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pour the vegetable mixture into the pie crust. Cover the vegetable mixture with the egg mixture and sprinkle with bacon bits. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the quiche starts to lightly brown on the top.

Green Beans with Toasted Almonds:
-1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
-2 tbsp olive oil
-Salt & pepper to taste
-1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Add oil to the pan. Toss beans in oil and melted butter. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle almonds on top and serve! Cook green beans 5 minutes in 1-inch boiling water, covered. Drain beans and return pan to heat.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Whipped Cream:
1 medium (about 6 pounds) Cheese Pumpkin
3/4 cups WHOLE milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the sliced and covered pumpkin until tender. When it is easily pierced with a fork, scrape away from the skin and transfer the "meat" of the pumpkin into a food processor . Add the remaining ingredients to the processor and pulse until everything is evenly mixed. Pour the mixture into a frozen pie crust and bake for 50-60 minutes .

Whipped Cream: Whisk together whipping cream and vanilla extract until fluffy. Place in the freezer for about 5 minutes and whip it again!

Cold(er) weather is coming...What are you knitting?

October begins the second month of Honey General's weekly Knit Cafe on Tuesday nights at 6:00 p.m. So we would like to know...what are you knitting for this winter? What crafts do you share with your friends and family during Christmas? Has anyone tried to knit the red bikini in the Stitch 'n Bitch book? If so, what happens when you take a swim?
Alice is finishing up her final (for now) pair of socks to tackle a few projects that require less brain power. Rose went back to crocheting after one very interesting lesson on knitting. I have set a goal for myself to complete one scarf per week from now until Christmas. That leaves me with ten scarves. The first one is an oatmeal colored angora 4" scarf with very, very, very small stitches. Friends and family, please put in your color requests now. :) Maybe next year someone will get a sweater or a yoga bag tote!
If you're knitting or stitching or crocheting alone, come and join our group! If you are a beginner, we can help you with the basics! See you soon!

Taste of Monroe's "Best Taste" Winning Nassau Grits

Ingredients:
-1/2 pound bacon
-1 cup chopped onion
-1/2 cup chopped green or red bell peppers
-1 jalapeño
-2 cloves garlic
-2 cups peeled & diced tomatoes
-1 cup Red Mule Grits
-3 cups water
-salt & pepper to taste

1-Fry the bacon and reserve 1 tbsp of the grease. Set bacon aside.
2-Saute peppers, onions, and garlic. Add the tomatoes. Simmer until mixture is thick.
3-Cook grits as package directs.
4-Add vegetable mixture to the grits. Add salt & pepper to taste. Top with bacon crumbles & serve hot!

Eggplant Creole

Ingredients:
-1 large eggplant

-1 large onion

-2 tomatoes

-1 cup cheddar or mozzerella cheese

-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 egg
-1/2 tsp baking powder

-salt & pepper to taste

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-1 cup bread crumbs or crumbled crackers

1. Peel, dice and soak eggplant in salt water for one hour.

2. Boil eggplant in clean water until soft.

3. Saute peppers and onions in olive oil. Add tomatoes.

4. Mash in eggplant, add seasonings, cheese, egg, baking powder, and bread crumbs.

5. Stir well.

6. Bake for 45 minutes on 350 degrees.

Fall is in the air...

Ahhh...the weather! After this scorching hot summer, the early fall breeze is a much welcomed change! Something about even this slight change of temperature tempts me to open all of the windows and start the first of the season's many batches of vegetable soup. Today, at Honey General Store, we started to get in our first order of pumpkins. We hope you'll decorate your porch with one of these monsters. We also have tiny ones too and the prices start at just $2.00 per pumpkin.

And on the social calendar...Monroe's fall activities are now underway. Taste of Monroe was a huge success! Everyone had a wonderful night with the food, music, and friends. Honey was the winner of "Best Taste" with our nassau grits, caprese salad, brownies, cookies, and breads! I can't wait to see what the second annual Taste will involve. Whippoorwill Hollow Farm's Field Of Greens (think organic farm aid) happens this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and they're expecting a huge turnout. Also this Saturday, GWA fall fest. Please visit the Honey booth for some samples, give aways, and to sign up for the co-op. Downtown Monroe is hosting its second annual Fall Festival on October 13th starting at 10:00 a.m. Visit downtown Monroe for shopping, music, kids activities, and a farmer's market. Please come out and support your local businesses.

Taste of Monroe Menu

It's only one week away and I have just finalized the Honey General Store menu for the Taste of Monroe. If you haven't bought tickets yet, you can still get them at Honey for $20 per ticket (they'll be $25 at the door). The Taste of Monroe will be held at the Van Horne Manor, 410 East Church Street, Monroe, GA 30655 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. You will have the unique opportunity to taste menu items from local restaurants and stores, do some early Christmas shopping at our silent auction, and enjoy our cash bar...all in one of our favorite downtown neighborhoods! The following restaurants and businesses will be participating in the tasting: Twisted Oak Woodfire Grill, Blue Marley Cafe, Van Horne Manor, Fox's Pizza Den, Nature's Magik Garden, Bella Cucina, A Better Bite Catering, SD Smokehouse, John's Supermarket, Bruser's Ice Cream, Robison's BBQ, Creative Dinner Solutions, Country Beginnings, Honey General Store, and a few more! All of the proceeds from this event will go towards the Downtown Development Authority of Monroe.
A few of these recipes will be posted individually, but I'd like to share a little about each of them first...Keep in mind that these items are available at my booth, but all of the other vendors will have 3+ items at their table for you to try!

• Pop's Nassau Grits: This recipe was given to my mother by a dear family friend, Harold Byrd, who now resides in Apalachicola Bay, Florida. He has been so kind to our family and we've spent several wonderful family vacations relaxing, scalloping, fishing, and enjoying Aunt Ebby's Ice Cream at his home! If you love grits, this is for you! If you're not from around here, haven't tried grits, or question the taste value of this Southern staple, this is for you! This recipe originated in Pop's area and the Red Mule Grits are from Athens, GA! Tim and Alice Mills and their mule, Luke, create a few quality corn products: grits, polenta, cornmeal, and porridge. You can find them at Honey!
  


• Caprese Cups: Caprese salad reinvented! Bright green (spinach) and red (tomato) fillo shells hold an all organic carprese salad mixture and are topped with a fresh local basil leaf.


• Asiago Flatbread: Fresh, cheesy, delicious asiago cheese flatbread from Big City Bakery in Athens, GA will be served in small bites for tasting. This bread is available at Honey General Store each Wednesday and is currently my best seller!
  


• Pumpernickel Bread: This yummy bread will be served with a soft honey butter. Also from Big City Bakery in Athens, GA.


• Sourdough Everything Baguette: We will have some dipping oils available when you try this Big City Bakery treasure!
  


• Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies and Ginger & Molasses Cookies: The names say it all! Order these for your sweetheart in a Christmas Cookie Box! Big City has a large variety of cookies for you to choose from.
  


• Cream Cheese Brownies: You won't be able to resist these treats from Big City! Also available in fancy holiday boxes.

I hope to see you at the Taste!

Vegan Spaghetti Squash Recipe

This is definitely the best recipe that I've created in a while! I can't wait for you to try it! I used soy imitation mozzarella cheese by a company called Soya Kaas. Their "cheese" is lactose free and has no cholesterol or hydrogenated oils. It works well in any recipe as a cheese substitute and tastes much better than the other vegan "cheeses" that I have tried...and you can get it at Honey General Store!

Vegan Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash cut into long halves, seeds removed
Water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup shredded soy imitation mozzarella cheese (or regular mozzarella if you aren't avoiding dairy)
3 large olives, pitted and chopped
salt & pepper to taste

1- Preheat oven to 375 F. Place squash in a casserole dish, open side facing down and fill the dish with 1/4 inch of water. Bake for 30 minutes.
2- Remove the squash from the oven and scrape the stringy flesh out of the squash with a fork.
3- Over medium heat, saute garlic with extra virgin olive oil and oregano for about 3 minutes. Add spaghetti squash, cheese, olives, and salt and pepper. Serve when the cheese melts!

Yum! Plums!

Plum Sorbet!

Plum sorbet...a sweet way to end any summer meal! Sorbet is a a flavored syrup with a slushy consistency that contains no dairy. Serve this treat in a chilled martini glass or small ice cream dish. Garnish with an sugared orange peel twist and mint leaves!

Plum puree:
3 cups ripe red fleshed plums
1 cup boiling water
2 cups superfine sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick

Plum Puree: Place the boiling water and sugar in a saucepan and stir them together until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vanilla pod, cinnamon stick and plums to the syrup and place the saucepan over a moderate heat. Bring the syrup to a simmer and reduce the temperature slightly. Leave the plums to cook gently for 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and remove the plums with a slotted spoon and leave them and the syrup to cool. Cut the plums in half and remove the pits from them. Roughly dice the plums and place them in a food processor or blender and puree them with cooking syrup. Set the puree aside until well cooled.

Sorbet: Place the puree and syrup in an ice cream machine and allow it to churn until the mixture becomes firm. Place the sorbet in a well sealed freezer proof container and freeze until ready to serve. If you don't have an ice cream machine place it in a freezer proof sealed container and place it in the freezer for 1 hour then remove it and stir, then return to the freezer and take it out and stir it every 30 minutes for 2 hours then freeze it until ready to serve. Remove the sorbet from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.