Marin County Farm Day Tomorrow!!

Marin County Farm Day is a fun, child oriented event that is coming up tomorrow, Thursday, March 20th. 

Held at the Marin Civic Center, 9 a.m. to noon,  this free event provides hands-on educational experiences outside the classroom for school children of all ages.  Over 30 Northern California ranchers, growers, producers and educators provide interactive exhibits on agriculture, health, farm animals, gardens and environmental education.

If you come by, make sure to stop by and say hi to me at the Tri-Valley 4H and Marin County Farm Bureau tables where we'll have rabbits to pet and calves and sheep to visit.  

The photos below are from a previous year's event to give you an idea what it's all about! ........

Our friend, Derrick, with his bunny at the Tri-Valley 4H table.....

Paige and her cousin, Leila, holding Cinnamon and sharing him with kids who came by the 4H table.

Lots of 'hands-on' happens at Marin County Farm Day......the kids LOVE it.

My nephew, Gavin, answering questions about the dairy calves......

There's also quite a few interactive tables set up where kids can learn about insects,

maybe do a little gardening,

and create some art work.

There are many demonstrations to view as well.  Last year the 'Loomers' were on hand to answer questions and show their skills.

But for my little girl, the vaulting experience was a favorite.....she only wished it had been done a real horse!

You never know what new experience you might encounter at Farm Day.......nature at it's best.  Hope to see you there!

Farm Day is a collaborative effort of the following agencies: Marin County Department of Cultural and Visitor Services, Marin County Farm Bureau, Marin County Office of Education, Golden Gate Farmers Market, North Bay Dairy Women, Marin Farmers Markets, Marin County Department of Weights and Measures, and the University of California Cooperative Extension/Master Gardeners/4-H.

Driving directions to Marin Civic Center


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Guinness Apple Melt

Guinness goes hand in hand with St. Patrick's Day for most.  I drink it at times but you know what?....I mostly cook with it, so when the U.S. Apple Association sent me this recipe for, get this....Green Apple Guinness Melt, I HAD to try it!  

Oh my gosh.  It is SO good!  Perfect for a party appetizer on St. Patrick's Day OR any other occasion.

Okay, here's what you need for success......

Slice up the Granny Smith apple into thin slices, set aside.  {full printable recipe below}

In a skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat and cook til bubbling and golden.

Add flour and whisk.

Add the Guinness and stir, reduce heat to medium.

Reduce heat to low and add cheese, mustard and Worcestershire, until cheese is melted.

And looks like this.......

Dig out the center of the baguette pieces and slather the mixture on to the pieces.

Arrange the apple slices on top and broil for 2-4 minutes.

Serve hot.

And pair it with the rest of the Guinness!

Green Apple Guinness Melt

Ingredients:
1 baguette, cut into thirds, then each piece cut lengthwise in half {6 pieces total}
2 1/2 T salted butter
2 1/2 T all purpose flour
6 oz dry stout, such as Guinness
14 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 T whole grain mustard
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Kosher or sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Turn broiler to high and set a rack about 6 inches from the heating element.  Line a baking sheet with foil, shiny side up.  Arrange the baguette pieces, cut side down, on the sheet and broil until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes.  Remove from oven, turn the pieces over, and use your fingers to scoop out enough bread to make a channel  in the center of each piece.  Set baguette pieces aside, still on tray.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook until bubbling and golden brown.  Add flour and whisk it in until the mixture is smooth and chestnut brown.   Add the beer and whisk until smooth, then reduce heat to medium and continue stirring until thickened and smooth.  Reduce heat to low and add cheese, mustard and Worcestershire, stirring continuously until melted and smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon a generous amount of the cheese sauce into each baguette piece.  Lay a few overlapping apple slices over the cheese, then transfer to the oven and broil until browned and bubbling, 2-4 minutes.  Serve hot.

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St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef ~ Crock Pot Style

St. Patrick's Day is coming right up this weekend and if you're like me, you only make corned beef once a year.....in the month of March for St. Patrick's Day.

Low and slow is how I cook mine....in a slow cooker.

Place your corned beef roast in your slow cooker.

Add water, about 3 cups, seasoning packet, potatoes,

and carrots.  Set on low for six hours and that is it!

The easiest corned beef you'll ever make.

In the United States and Canada, corned beef typically comes in two forms, a cut of beef {usually brisket, but sometimes round or silverside} cured or pickled in a seasoned brine, and canned {cooked}.

In the U.S., corned beef is often purchased ready to eat in delicatessens. It is the key ingredient in the grilled Reuben sandwich, consisting of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island or Russian dressing on rye bread.

Corned beef hash is commonly served with eggs for breakfast.

Smoking corned beef, typically with a generally similar spice mix, produces smoked meat {or "smoked beef"} such as pastrami.


Corned Beef and St. Patrick's DayIn the U.S. and Canada, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick's Day.  Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick's Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their celebrations in North America. In Ireland, the closest traditional dish is bacon and cabbage {similar to Canadian style bacon or ham}. Corned beef and cabbage became popular in the U.S. after Irish immigrants in the northeast used corned beef instead of pork in the dish. This substitution was likely due to the low cost of corned beef in the U.S.


Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon by Irish American immigrants in the late 19th century.  A similar dish is the New England boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and parts of Atlantic Canada.

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St. Patrick's Day Cocktail Recipes

Are you looking for something other than green beer to serve on St. Patrick's Day weekend? When I received an email from Bushmills with these fabulous looking refreshing cocktail recipes, I had to share with you all!  I'm a BIG fan of Ginger Beer, so the "Honey, I'm Home" recipe is the first to try on my list.



St. Patrick's Day Cocktails
Bushmills Irish Honey Smash:
1.5 oz of Bushmills Irish Honey
2-3 Mint Leaves
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 Pieces of Lemon
1 oz Water

Drink Recipe Preparation: Muddle the lemon, mint, water, and simple syrup in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add Bushmills, shake, and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish w/ a sprig of mint and serve.





Honey, I'm Home:
1.5 oz. Bushmills Irish Honey
Lemon Wedge
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Ginger Beer

Drink Recipe Preparation: In your mixing glass, add Bushmills, bitters and ginger beer. Shake, stir and strain over ice.





Irish Old Fashioned:

1.5oz Black Bush
1/2oz simple syrup
2 dashes of orange bitters
1 orange rind

Drink Recipe Preparation. in your mixing glass, add your black bush, simple syrup, orange bitters, and stir over ice for about 30 seconds. 

When you're done, strain this into a fresh glass of ice, and garnish with an orange rind. Enjoy.


Photos and recipes courtesy Bushmills

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Barrel Tasting along the Wine Road

It's the beginning of March, there's been a break in our rainy weather and it's the second weekend of Barrel Tasting in the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, which means great wines, good food and picnicking and phenomenal people watching.  Unfortunately, I am unable to attend this year's event but I thought you might like to, or at least take a peak into what it's all about. Tickets are still available at the door.....

The following photos are from Barrel Tasting 2012, when it was an unseasonably warm 70 plus degrees outside.  A beautiful and memorable day.....

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Our journey along the Wine Road began at Dutton Estate, where my friend, Debbie, was pouring....

We sampled some delicious wines right out of the barrel.....which will only get better with age.
We collected our samples directly from Terry, the wine maker.

Dutton wines were paired with very moist pulled pork and corn bread....so good.

There were 130 wineries participating in Barrel Tasting weekend this year.  We managed to visit four of them.  A. Rafanelli, in Healdsburg, was our second stop.

Rafanelli wines are not sold retail, only restaurants and on special wine event weekends....Barrel Tasting weekend is my opportunity to stock up on a few bottles.

There's is always a line to enter the tasting room at Rafenelli, but the people pleasers that they are, always have someone pouring down the line while you're waiting.......

Hello Big Bold Zin......

After our 15 minute wait to enter the tasting room, we were not disappointed.....we tasted, bought and tasted a little more.

 All the wineries have beautiful scenery with everything beginning to bloom which = great photos, but not so great for allergies.....but I didn't complain.....at least not til later...

We were on a mission.  We knew what wineries we wanted to hit, a list of top priorities.  Third stop, Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves.....

Bella has beautiful grounds that include a picnic area with shaded tables under majestic trees, a country shabby chic tasting room, and cool, dark wine caves...........

a fabulous pairing of bacon and grits with their wines.  

Bacon, I was in heaven.

We spent at least an hour at Bella, I don't think any of us wanted to leave. 

But we did.....finally.

On to Armida, our last stop of the day. 

For me, Armida is more about visual stimulation.   Armida has beautiful picnic grounds as well.  You can sit on their lawn, overlooking the pond and share a bottle of wine while eating from the picnic basket you've brought along.

For more info and a map to wineries participating in Barrel Tasting, click  on WineRoad.com

Enjoy!

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Ham and Cheese Beer Bread Muffins for St. Patrick's Day

I seem to be on a bit of a Krusteaz kick lately.  It's so easy to bake great snacks, desserts, etc. with the ready to mix box and sometimes, that's all I have time for.  When I discovered the Ham and Cheese Beer Bread Muffin recipe, I thought it would be perfect to incorporate it in to a St. Patrick's Day party idea.  Beer, afterall, seems to be what St. Patrick's Day is centered around.....at least in these parts.

 

Photo and recipe courtesy Krusteaz

Prep time:  5 min.

Servings:  16 regular sized muffins

Ingredients

1 box Krusteaz Beer Bread Mix

16 ounces stout beer

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup diced ham

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a bowl, combine the bread mix, melted butter, and beer. Stir until combined.
• Fold in the cheese and ham.
• Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins and bake for 28-30 minutes, until golden brown.

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Krusteaz Giveaway and Valentine's Day Waffles

Wouldn't these be the cutest Valentine's Day breakfast waffles ever!!?  They're chocolate, they're easily made with Krusteaz Belgian Waffle Mix and you can win FIVE coupons for free Krusteaz products.

Prepare Krusteaz Belgian Waffle Mix as directed for 4 – 5 waffles, adding 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa. Use a heart-shaped waffle maker, if desired. Garnish with whipped cream, shaved chocolate curls and sliced fresh strawberries.

Did you all know February was National Pancake Month?  Lucky for us, Krusteaz is going to help us celebrate by by giving a lucky reader coupons for free Krusteaz Mixes!  They have quite a variety of pancake mixes....
They also have a list of recipes to help you put your own spin on your favorite flavors.   

Blueberry,

Chocolate Chip,

Apple Cinnamon,

Honey Wheat,

Heart Healthy, and

Original

ALL you need to do to enter the Krusteaz Coupon Giveaway is comment below telling me what your favorite pancake flavor is!  A winner will be chosen by Random.org next week!  

{If you are a subscriber by email, you must go directly to the blog site to leave a comment... http://thewifeofadairyman.blogspot.com/2014/02/krusteaz-giveaway-and-valentines-day.html

Good luck!!

UPDATE 2-20-14:  
Congratulations, Vera!  You won!!

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Valentine's Day Cocktail Ideas

Valentine's Day is on a Friday and I predict even busier than normal crowds at restaurants this year....so why not stay in?  Here are a few ideas for some fun cocktails featuring Skyy Vodka.....one for before dinner and a creamy, luscious one for after.....

BLVSH

Created by Mixologist John deBary of New York speakeasy PDT

1 ½ oz. SKYY Infusions Vanilla Bean

½ oz. SKYY Infusions Moscato Grape

¾ oz. Lime Juice

½ oz. Simple Syrup

½ cup Organic Raspberries

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds. Pour into a coupe glass.

Purchase heart-shaped ice cube trays for an added touch!

Heart Ice Cube Tray

Crème de Vanilla

Created by Mixologist Franky Marshall of Clover Club

2 ½ oz. SKYY Infusions Vanilla Bean

½ oz. White Creme de Cacao

½ oz. Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee

¾ oz. Half and Half Cream

½ oz. Cinnamon Syrup

Milk Chocolate Shavings

2 Vanilla Beans

Pour all ingredients into a small tin, and fill up 3/4 of the tin with pillow ice. Blend on Medium-High for approximately 16-20 seconds. Then pour into small snifter. Garnish with milk chocolate shavings and vanilla beans.

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Slow Cooker Stew

We have FINALLY been experiencing some wet weather here in California.  And with rainy days, comes my craving for stew....along with a fire in the wood stove and a glass {or two} of a full bodied Zin.  We have quite a few roasts in our freezer at the moment and sometimes, just to mix it up, I cut a roast into stew sized pieces to cook in the slow cooker.....and this is exactly what I did over the weekend.

I pulled out a Sirloin Tip Roast out of the freezer and thawed it, sliced it into chunks sized at around one inch squared.  Now, if you're not lazy, like myself, you can brown the meat chunks after dredging them in flour and salt and pepper in olive oil for a few minutes.

I didn't do that, this time.  Sometimes a rainy Sunday calls for a lazy day.  I through all the meat in to my slow cooker, added whole, washed, Yukon Gold potatoes, baby carrots and a package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix with 2 cups of water.  Cooked on low for six hours.  

Dinner was done and ready to serve at 6 p.m., fire roaring in the wood stove and a glass of Zin in hand = a happy Mama.

What's your go-to rainy day meal?

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25 Best Packaged Foods of 2014

Like many of you, I try to feed my kids as healthy as possible most of the time.   Our lives are extremely busy year-round and it's nice to see a list of packaged foods to choose from that are family-friendly items that contain reasonable levels of fat and sodium and contain no artificial colors or flavors.  

After scouring the supermarkets for new products,  Parents magazine revealed its picks for the “25 Best Packaged Foods of 2014.”  Here are their picks, divided by categories....

KITCHEN STAPLES

Mrs. Dash Salt-Free, All Natural Taco Seasoning Mix 

Ortega Fiesta Flats

Smucker’s Natural Concord Grape Fruit Spread

Marzetti Simply Dressed & Light Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Jif Whips Creamy Peanut Butter 

MEALS & SIDES IN MINUTES

Birds Eye Recipe Ready Grilling Blend

Dole Chopped Asian Blend Salad

Lisa’s Organics Sweet Peas in Parmesan Herb Broth 

Ore-Idea Simply Olive Oil & Sea Salt Homestyle Wedges

Earth’s Best Organic Mini Pancakes (Homestyle flavor) 

Tyson Fun Nuggets

Applegate Naturals Uncured Reduced-Sodium Sunday Bacon 

BETTER-FOR-THE-FAMILY DESSERTS

Roba Dolce Ocean Spray Honey Fig Gelato 

Newtons Fruit Thins (Cherry Vanilla) 

Ruby’s Rockets (Rock-It Red flavor)

Keebler Simply Made Butter Cookies

QUICK SNACKS

Amy’s Bean & Cheese Burrito Snacks

Dannon Oikos Yogurt Dips (Cucumber Dill)

Pearls Olives to Go!

Simply Balanced Sweet Corn Freeze-Dried Vegetables

Wholly Salsa Avocado, Black Bean & Roasted Corn Dip

Chobani Champions Flyin’ Dragon Fruit Yogurt Tubes 

Cascadian Farm Crunchy Oats & Honey Granola Bars 

Rudi’s Organic Bakery Multigrain Organic Soft Pretzels

The Laughing Cow Light White Cheddar Flavor 

For a full list with photos, go to:   www.parents.com/packaged-foods and the list also appears in the March 2014 issue of Parents Magazine.

What's YOUR favorite??

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Rack of Ribs

Yesterday was the big game day in our house.....Super Bowl, the second biggest eating day of the year, right after Thanksgiving.  But with Super Bowl, party food can be made, kept warm in a slow cooker, set out and grazed upon all afternoon.  No formal sit-down dinner required.

I have cooked a LOT of meat in my lifetime but I had yet to attempt a rack of ribs.  My debut rib cookin' day was Super Bowl Sunday and yes, it was as easy as I had hoped.

I bought a package of pork spare ribs, three racks.  There is a membrane on the back side {bone side} of each rack that needs to be removed.  I stuck a butter knife in between the membrane and the ribs and pulled the membrane off....kind of like peeling wall paper off a wall, you hope that it comes off in one big sheet. Mine didn't.

After the membrane is removed, I applied a dry rub to both sides of each rack.

For three racks, mix:

2 T Seasoned Salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp of beef seasoning

Rub on the rack.

Place the rack {s} in an aluminum foil tray.  Broil the rack {s}, bone side down for about 10 minutes on high, to seal in the flavor.  Remove from the oven, turn the oven down to 225 degrees.  Apply some BBQ sauce to the rack {s}.  I like the Trader Joe's BBQ sauce because it has a nice kick to it.  Place back in a 225 degree oven, covered with aluminum foil and cook for 3 hours. Remove from heat, brush more BBQ sauce on and place back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and cut apart each rib.

This is what my three racks looked like after broiling for 10 minutes and before saucing them.

Make sure you have enough for leftovers!

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