Hi all!

I have been busy experimenting this week with vegan recipes, thanks to the inspiration from my friend Belinda's book Babycakes by Erin McKenna.

I was keen to work out a non-chocolate vegan cupcake.  NOT that there's anything wrong with chocolate, and NOT that there is anything wrong with the delicious vegan chocolate ganache we top our chocolate cupcakes with, but for some reason there are people in this world that don't like chocolate.  It's true.  Working out a vegan icing (that doesn't contain icing sugar or processed soy products) has been on my List of Things To Do for quite awhile now.   It occurred to me that instead of an icing or frosting, I could do a vegan streusel topping for an apple cupcake.  And that's just what I did.  And it was delicious.  The resident tasters all agreed.

My aforementioned friend Belinda brought us a couple of batches of scones from Babycakes (the book, not the New York City bakery) which were completely unreal.  In a good way.  Hers were strawberry which was really unbeatable.  My cranberry & pistachio version wasn't too bad though, if I do say so myself.  Another vegan triumph!  I swear, it's getting easier to imagine myself never using dairy or eggs again... except for the whole frosting issue.  My buttercream is just too good.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and spring has sprung.  I'm looking forward to a day outside at the markets on Sunday!  Hope to see lots of friendly faces there.

Take care!

Jen

Hi everyone!

It's been awhile since I've posted on here.  We have been busy since the kids and I came back from America 3 weeks ago.  It has been wonderful having Nick doing most of the baking, and I intend to focus more on recipe development so we can bring some new things to the markets.

We have been selling organic rapadura and organic cocoa powder which has been very well received.  This week we are introducing our Spinach & Rye Brownie Mix.  Just add eggs, butter, and spinach and you've got our famous brownies in your own kitchen!  There are variations listed on the package, including a vegan version.  You can substitute pumpkin, applesauce, sweet potato, or any other fruit or vegetable for the spinach, or even use a jar of baby food rather than doing the pureeing yourself.  Tons of options!

Our delicious cookies haven't been selling particularly well, so we're thinking of bringing cookie mixes instead of cookies.  Just add butter and eggs.  I need to work on some vegan cookies!

I'm looking forward to spring, and the weather warming up!  We have been scraping ice off of our windscreen on market mornings.  Ick.

Take care!  As always, any feedback is appreciated.

Jen

Well my time as Commander-in-Chief of the kitchen is just about over, as The Big Boss Woman arrives back in Australia later this coming week.
My time in charge has been challenging, frustrating and controversial but yet ultimately rewarding. I had never really baked before (I prefer to cook), but the way Jen has set the company up, I think a monkey could do it. I like monkeys. They are cute.
Everything seemed to flow exceptionally well, except for the shenanigans with the Warringah Council but that's with our lawyers now.

The new packaging for the muesli and cookies, along with selling Organic Rapadura and Organic Cocoa Powder has been a successful addition during my reign. There have been a few other monor tweaks that I think have been beneficial, but I guess that's for Jen to decide. She is the boss after all. I am just her servant.

So I will hand back this blog (and the kitchen too) back to the wife, who will run it heaps more professionally than me. Is that bad English? I reckon. This whole paragraph is a massive understatement.
On that high note, as Jim Rome would say, "I'm out."

...and so is this blog!

While wifey (and the kids) is out of the country, I, Nick Holland am running the business (to the ground?). First week every thing has seemed to go as planned. No stuff ups. So that's all good. Got a Kitchen Aid Mixer. That makes the job easier. Can't complain about that. Getting 8 hours sleep/night. Good stuff.

Blah blah blah, not sure what to write.
I'm preping. I'm baking. I'm working on new shit stuff. Not sure if I can swear. Shit yeah I can, I'm the one in charge, baby!

I type in short sentences.

Blah blah blah still searching for stuff to write.
Sport. Of corse. Parramatta had a good win on the weekend. Haynesy is magic. He is a magician. The Lake Show look like they are putting Stan Van and Superman to bed with ease. That sucks. You don't even know what I am typing about? Anybody still there?

Holla at me fools, I'm the new boss.
Nick Holland

Hello all,

I'm very excited that our new packaging has finally arrived!  We will be phasing out the current plastic (recyclable, but still...) muesli containers and transitioning to paper bags.  They look great.  The sizing will be different - instead of offering 250g and 500g containers, we will only have 400g packages with a special on purchase of three bags.

Also with the arrival of the bags comes... Spinach & Rye Brownie Mix!  Just add butter/oil, eggs, and pureed spinach (or pumpkin, or applesauce, or zucchini, or beetroot, or.....), pop in the oven, and enjoy a tray of our best sellers at home!  I've been looking forward to this for awhile as there has been a huge demand for the recipe- one problem with that is that I use a mix of ingredients that most people don't keep on hand in their kitchens and might not use for any other purpose, so it could end up being more expensive than just buying a tray from me!  So this is my solution.  I don't think I'll have this at the markets until July when I get back from my overseas trip.

Yes, you heard me right.  I'm sure I've already mentioned that I'll be overseas for all of June, but Nick has proved himself to be a very proficient baker, so he will have no problem filling in for me.  Many of you have met him already at the Frenchs Forest market as he used to come each week up through January.

Off to finish getting ready for the markets tomorrow!  Wish me better weather than today's.

Jen

Greetings!  (Nerdy hello, I realise.)

Well I never got around to the jam and cream, but the scones still sold out.  And they were pretty good, even if I do say so myself (which clearly I have).  Next weekend I'll have two varieties- I just ran out of time this week!

I haven't had a two market weekend for 4 weeks now since Rouse Hill was cancelled due to Anzac Day last month.  I feel out of practice.  Hopefully it will all run smoothly!  The Castle Hill market is a tough one- some months I sell out and some months I hardly get a glance in my direction- so it's always hard to prepare for.  I'm just going to prepare to be a massive success, and hopefully it will all work out that way!

Some of you may already know that I'm taking the kids overseas in June to stay with my mum (Hi Mom!), so Nick will be taking over the baking and market duties while I'm away.  We're going to start the baking crash course next weekend, and I'll leave him lots of notes!  I will really miss the whole shebang, but I'm happy to know that it will go on without me while I'm away.

At the end of the month, I'm going to be donating some food for an Australia's Biggest Morning Tea which is a benefit to raise money for the Cancer Council.  You can check out their site at www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/.  I'm looking forward to the event.  It's exciting to get my food out there, especially for a cause so close to my heart- my mum is currently beating the crap out of her breast cancer.  Stay tuned for a full report!

Take care everyone.  I'm off to make some chocolates!

Happy Mothers Day this weekend to all of you mothers out there.  And Mom, I know you're reading this since you're my biggest fan.  Happy Mothers Day to you.  I love you.

Jen

Hello out there,

I'm very excited to announce that I am now supplying a school canteen!  Wow.  The thought of those kiddies eating my organic, junk-free stuff just makes me happy all over.  This is the first week, and hopefully it will all be well received!

Well my Easter chocolates were so well received, I have been bringing chocolates every week.  Instead of moulded chocolates, I am making chocolate clusters - goji and almond, hazelnut, ginger - and they are fantastic.  I've gotta say, there's nothing quite like homemade chocolate.  It just melts in your mouth, and is so much easier to appreciate than the cheap compound supermarket counterparts.  Now if I can work on the tempering part so it is a little bit more stable, we'll be golden.  Until then, it still tastes... magnificent.  A woman dropped by my market stall today to let me know how wonderful the Easter chocolates were, and she made my day.  I LOVE feedback.  Thank you mystery chocolate lover, I really appreciated it!

I picked up some organic macadamias, pistachios, dried nectarines, and dried mango from Honest to Goodness today.  I like mango, but their dried mango is just on another level.  It is... magnificent.  I'm thinking the macadamias and mangoes would pair well, and the nectarines and pistachios would make a tasty combo as well.  I'm not quite sure how that will eventuate (possibly just in delicious dark chocolate clusters if I don't come up with anything better), but this weekend I'll have a few new items with those tasty additions.

I'm also going to work on good old fashioned scones this week.  (By the way, I'm sorry Aussies, I just can't bring myself to pronounce scones the way you do, with the short "o" sound.   I also pronounce mocha with a long "o", but have amended my tomato to contain a short "a".  Some things are easier than others.)  And I guess they won't be old fashioned at all since they won't be made with white flour and sugar.  Anyway, I expect them to be delicious, and I plan to serve them with jam and cream at the markets.  I intend to use the Over the Moon cream which isn't organic but is still a lovely small company, and I can buy the cream at the markets so it will be nice and fresh.  I'm not sure about the jam - we use a nice strawberry jam at home that isn't organic but doesn't contain any sugar.  Preferably I'll find one that meets both criteria.

Hmm, what else?  I have lots of ideas in the pipeline, I just need to actually work on them to make them come to fruition.  I'm thinking dog biscuits, soft pretzels, veggie chips... the list goes on and on, and hopefully I'll be able to complete some of these projects soon!

I'm being called to dinner by my lovely husband, so I'm signing off for now.  Please let me know that you're out there and what you think!

Take care,

Jen

To everyone who celebrates this holiday for religious reasons, or purely as a long weekend to enjoy with family and friends, we want to wish you a Happy Easter!

We will be at the Castle Hill markets this Saturday, and yes the Frenchs Forest markets are still on this Sunday, and yes we will be there.

I'm taking a little break from my pre-baking preparations.  I thought it was worth noting that we are phasing out the few conventional (as in non-organic) ingredients that we had been using.  We are now using organic macadamia oil instead of conventional.  I'm researching which oil to use when we finish our stock of canola oil (I know, I know, but I only use it in the dairy-free nut-free items...).  We have had some trouble finding organic sunflower seeds, but we'll work on that.  Off the top of my head, I think that's it!

That's about it from here.  I can only sit here for so long before I get back to chocolates, truffles and lollipops!  Take care and enjoy the long weekend.

Jen

Okay, I'm about to head into the kitchen to start working on Hot Cross Buns, finally!  At least I got to it before Easter, hehe.  I have some lovely organic currants to throw in there, and I'm going to experiment with some different wholegrain flours so see what tasty concoction I can come up with.  We're big fans of soda bread, so maybe we'll go yeast-free.  Anyway, all things going well we will have some buns at the markets this weekend!

We also have a few more Raw Vegan Fudge flavours - Carob and Ginger Nut.  They are scrumptious and I'm very proud of them!

Hope to see you at the markets!

Jen

Hi all!

I have a few new products this weekend that I wanted to let you know about. 

First off, Easter lollipops!  Yes, they turned out beautiful and delicious and will be gracing my stall this weekend at both Rouse Hill and Frenchs Forest.  They are made from agave syrup and rapadura, so no nasties.

I haven't done any hot cross buns... yet.  I'm hoping that tomorrow might actually turn out to be 36 hours or so long instead of the usual 24, and then I hope to do some experimenting.  After all of the other market baking.  We'll see.

I have, however, made lots of chocolates!  We have goji berry and almond chocolates, fig and walnut chocolates, crystallised ginger chocolates, and our plain old spectacular dark chocolates.  There are eggs, bilbies, and bunnies.  Something for the chocolate lovers out there (like everyone in this house!).

I'm also happy to introduce our vegan raw chocolate fudge.  Made with organic medjool dates, organic walnuts, and organic raw cacao powder, this fudge is a powerhouse of nutrition.  It is loaded with antioxidants and omega-3 fats, and conspicuously free from sugar.  I hope to continue to introduce new raw foods to the repertoire.

I'm also happy to have a new gluten-free item: Buckwheat "Sugar" Cookies.  They are made with rapadura and the tasty buckwheat, and they are chewy and delicious.  We polished off the trials for dessert last night!

That's about it from here.  Tomorrow will be a busy one, but I'm excited about making a good impression at Rouse Hill this Saturday!  Hope to see you there.

Take care!

Jen

Well hello to everyone!  It has been awhile since my last post as I spent an unexpected month in the US.  My mom, who as some of you know was planning on moving here to Sydney right about now, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and is undergoing chemo, so I flew over to be with her.  Thanks to everyone for your thoughts.  She is doing really well and is an amazing, strong woman.

So I do have some Laughing Planet news!  I mentioned in a past post that I was thinking about candy making.  I will indeed be making candy, starting with lollipops for Easter.  I am expecting my molds to arrive today, and am so exciting to be able to offer candy made without the ubiquitous refined sugar, corn syrup, and artificial colouring.  My kids will be so excited!  There is no getting away from the fact that they will be dark brown, since I'm using rapadura, but the trials have been absolutely delicious.

I have also ordered molds for chocolate eggs and chocolate bilbies!  All of these will be available at the markets or online... if I get around to updating the website to include all of my products.  I still need to work out the details.

Another piece of news is that I will now be at the Rouse Hill markets on the fourth Saturday of the month.  I'm really excited about this one for a few reasons, not least of which is the fact that it is only a few minutes from home!  What a difference from the 40 minute drive to Frenchs Forest every Sunday.  That means that Nick can bring the kids to visit and it isn't a huge time commitment.  I have been on the waiting list since last October, and to be honest I had given up on it.  They had denied my application, saying that there were already other similar items represented there.  Now as any of my loyal customers would know, my products aren't just your run of the mill cakes and muffins.  If you have no interest in eating refined flours and sugars, there wouldn't be anything for you there besides me.  I'm hoping that the Rouse Hill shoppers will be excited about my products.  Looking forward to it on the 28th of this month!

As you might have seen in the comments to the last blog post, I am going to look into some hot cross bun recipes.  I asked last week at Bakers Delight if they offer any wholemeal hot cross buns (to go along with the choc chip and mocha choc chip...) and they don't, so I'm sure there will be a significant market for them.  Hopefully I'll have my act together enough to be able to bring some this Sunday, but that might be a bit optimistic as I'm also helping out my sister-in-law at her office for at least a day this week.

Oooh yeah, I'm also working on crystallised ginger, yum!  It too is much darker than the white sugar version, but the trials were very tasty.  Ginger lovers rejoice!  (Speaking of loving ginger, I love my Ginger Spice Cupcakes more every time I have one.  You gotta try them.)

That's about it from here.  I have some mothering to do today- we're off to the park!  Thanks for all of your support, and I'd love to hear from you in the comments section!  I'm always so excited to see new comments.

Take care!

Jen

Hello everyone!

We had a lovely break over the holidays.  We did a lot of... nothing!  It was nice.  I hope you all had a lovely holiday break as well.

Today was our second Sunday back at the markets.  It has been very slow with everyone still apparently doing a lot of nothing (ie no shopping).  Even a lot of stalls are still missing, but there were heaps more this week than last.  We're looking forward to the return of the shoppers!

We're finding that the cupcakes are increasingly popular, and it's easy to see why- there aren't any other cupcakes, conventional or otherwise, at the Frenchs Forest markets.  Kids are very attracted to those little darlings with their delicious frosting, and it's fun to see the parents hesitantly follow their kids over and then read the ingredients and say, "Oh wow, those look great!"

I'm waiting on some organic arrowroot which I need for my gluten free vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes, and then hopefully we'll be able to bring those next weekend, along with the other four varieties we brought this week: Carrot Cake, Chocolate Orange (gluten free), Vanilla with Pink (beetroot) Frosting, and my favourite, Ginger Spice.

As always, we love to hear from you!  Leave a comment on this blog to let us know you were here.  Tell us what you would like to see at our stall.

Take care, and we'll see you soon!

Jen

Hello everyone, and happy holidays!

It's an exciting time leading up to the holidays.  We are getting ourselves ready for the last market before a two week break.  I'll have plenty of my truffles this weekend!  I'll also have plenty of Christmas cupcakes for those Christmas celebrations.  If you didn't see them last week, they turned out pretty cute - Ginger Spice Cupcakes decorated with Christmas trees (coloured with spinach juice) and candy canes (coloured with beetroot juice).

Over the break, I plan on working hard in that kitchen!  I want to improve the Apple Walnut Mini Muffins to make them less crumbly.  I plan to work on another cookie recipe or two.  I want to work out The Perfect Chocolate Cake.  I also want to get this website up to date!  Busy, busy, busy! 

Hope to see you at the markets this weekend!  If not, have a lovely holiday season.  We plan to.

Jen

I'm about to head into the kitchen to get ready for this weekend.  We have the Castle Hill and Frenchs Forest markets.  The Castle Hill market is the last one before Christmas, so it is most likely going to be a busy day! 

Today I'm going to work on a Ginger Spice Cake recipe.  I plan to make cupcakes and decorate them all holidays-ey which will really be the first test of my natural food colouring ideas.  We'll see how green I can get that frosting without it tasting like spirulina!

We got our display cases yesterday, so we'll have a much more professional looking setup this weekend, which will also help to protect our food from the elements.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the stall looks like all set up!  Plus a bit nervous, because for the Castle Hill markets I set up on my own - how long is it going to take me?  I might do a test run at home before Saturday to make sure I'm ready :o)  We took the camera along with us to the markets last weekend but never ended up taking any photos.  We'll try to remember to do that this weekend so that we can post the photos on the website, which I hope to have finished over the holiday break.

Well now I'm just procrastinating.  I need to step away from the computer and get into that kitchen!  Mention this blog at the markets for your free cookie :o)

See you soon!

So I'm beginning to have to think about what to do when my favourite ingredients go out of season.

I couldn't find any English spinach for my Spinach & Rye Brownies!  What to do, what to do.  On the one hand, I want to change the seasonal lineup of foods available (if there is no spinach, there are no spinach brownies).  On the other hand, what about the people who look forward to those brownies each week at the markets?  It's a toughie. 

This week I decided to amend the recipe, rather than getting rid of the brownies altogether.  I will use silverbeet (Swiss chard for you Americans reading) instead of English spinach.  I have supplemented the English spinach with a bit of rainbow chard in the past and I couldn't tell the difference, so hopefully all will be well.  I'll just use substitutes if my favourite English spinach is unavailable.  And when silverbeet disappears from the markets?  I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

On another note, my vegan, gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Cake was a success!  It turned out dense and fudgey, and with a great flavour.  It all held together which took a bit of experimenting (hooray for arrowroot!).  The little boy loved it and so did his little mates.  His mum was so happy to be able to provide a cake that he could eat, and of course I was thrilled too.

I made some vegan, raw chocolate truffles for the markets this weekend.  They were reeeeealllly yummy, and they sold out!  I'll definitely be making more of those for the upcoming weekend markets at Castle Hill and Frenchs Forest.

Take care, and we hope to see you soon!

Jen

Hello all of you lovely blog readers!

I'm working on a gluten-free, vegan chocolate cake today for a little boy's 2nd birthday this weekend.  I tend to rely a bit on coconut when it comes to gluten-free and vegan items, but he has reacted to coconut in the past so I want to avoid it. 

I had a go this morning with rolled quinoa and a variety of grated fruits and veggies.  The zucchini turned out the best, which won't surprise many of you seasoned bakers- I'm definitely not the first to combine chocolate and zucchini (and besides that, I do it every weekend with Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Cookies at the markets)!  But the rolled quinoa just didn't work.  The texture was too bitty.  I suspected as much, but thought that it couldn't hurt to have a go!

I'm about to head in there for round two.  I'm thinking chick peas, almond meal, maybe grinding some of that quinoa down to flour.  More zucchini for sure for some inner scaffolding.

Wish me luck!  Hopefully by the end of the day I'll have a wonderful new recipe for a gluten-free vegan cake!

Jen

Hello everyone!

If you were out and about last Sunday, you most likely got soaked by the rain which was accompanied by the gale-force winds.  We realised very quickly that you get what you pay for when the frame of our budget gazebo was warped by the strong winds within minutes of setting up.

We were in our new (and hopefully permanent!) location and our new neighbours were very helpful and kind, letting us tie a rope from our newly broken gazebo to theirs, which kept us in place.

Even with the terrible weather and the broken gazebo, we still had a great Sunday!  We're looking forward to the good weather forecasted for Sunday in our new permanent location.

Take care...

Jen

So next week we will be in a different spot at the Frenchs Forest markets, again.  A friend found us today and mentioned that we weren't there last week, but we were!  We were just hidden down a seldom-used, under-populated aisle.  Nick talked to the market manager who is lovely and accommodating, and we will try out a new spot next week.  So look for us!

Next week I plan to have some almond brittle, along with the rest of the usual goodies.  Also, we made a sample batch of lemonade this week, and we hope to have some of that, ready to drink, as well (served with fresh mint).  We'll be ready for a hot day!

As cherries are coming into season, I'm looking into some possible cherry recipes.  They are so delicious.  Miniature cherry pies?  Cherry shortbread?  Cherry lemonade?   What are your favourite cherry recipes?

Gotta go - the kids have planned a party in their bedroom, and Nick and I have been invited to attend. 

Jen

Hello friends,

Well, we got to the Frenchs Forest markets on Sunday and found that our space was gone!  Turns out we had to move again.  A few of our regulars were able to find us (Sandra spotted Nick walking around with Eli in the sling and followed him to the stall!), but we worry that some of you may think that we just didn't show up.

We did show up, and we will continue to show up, rain or shine!  We are now next door to the coffee stall which is next door to Henry's bookshop.  Kind of right in the middle of the markets, which isn't the best for walking traffic, and it's easy to get lost in there.

We have banners now, so look out for our green gazebo and banners.

And if you're reading this blog, mention it to us next Sunday and get a free cookie!

Take care, eat well, and have a great week!

Jen

I baked a whole lot more varieties yesterday than I have for past markets, and it was a looong, busy day.  I went to bed exhausted after 12 hours in the kitchen.  It's a good feeling then to come straight home from the markets and want to immediately cook an experimental strawberry rhubarb cake!

I love Barbara Kingsolver's quote, "Cooking is 80 percent confidence," and I have to agree.  I was confident that if I cooked a bit of rhubarb, threw it in the food processor with strawberries, a few eggs, and some rapadura while I got together some spelt flour and bicarb soda, and then threw it all together in a cake pan in the oven, it would work out.  Having never cooked with rhubarb before, I'm not sure where the confidence came from.  But work out it did - it needs a bit of work but we'll get there this week for our two markets on the weekend.

We're excited about the buzz around our stall.  How wonderful to have people coming back each week for their favourites, or to check out our new creations.  We love being able to provide wholesome foods for people, especially people with food intolerances who have a very hard time finding suitable foods that don't contain junk.  As one customer said today about store-bought gluten-free snacks, "Just because it doesn't have gluten doesn't mean it is healthy."

Gotta go - the baby is calling.  See you next week at Castle Hill or Frenchs Forest!

Jen