Just Like Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Pepper Jelly

Today was the start of the Paoli farmer's market adventure!  After getting scolded for being in the wrong place by the man who OWNS Paoli (in all fairness it's like 1 block long, but still), we got all set up for fabulousness.  It was a tad slow, but I got caught up with Deb E who served as my jam sidekick for the day, and I don't get tired of saying it, I definitely won the cutest table contest.

For anyone who has never been to Paoli, the town is unincorporated and literally 1 block long, BUT that block is full of cute little tchotchke shops, art galleries, a DELISH cheese shop, and of course, my new business best friend, the Paoli Bread and Brat Haus!  Deb and I had super yummy homemade brats brought right out to us, which of course, is just about when we got busy.  In fact, we got busy just after I spilled pesto from my brat all over my boob, and my shirt had this awesome oily stain.  Luckily, the stain didn't seem to deter, and I sold me several jars of hot peppa jelly!  WHICH, by the way, is super yummy with...vanilla ice cream.  Weird, yes.  Yummy, YES!  Just sayin'.

I'll take more pics next weekend, but this area could not be more quaint and idyllic.  In fact, looking at the pics, it's like its own small town utopia.  Even though it's not directly in Madison, I think it's totally worth the mini-trip.  If not for my jam, for homemade brats, fresh picked fruit, and awesome cheese (the horseradish chive havarti is my FAVE)!

These were just pretty!

That's right, it's a pony.  A PONY!  Could it be any cuter there?  And I'm pretty sure kids can ride him.

Here's what I'm sayin':  some Saturday shopping, a fun art purchase, a loaf of artisan bread, a jar of homemade jam, a wedge of fresh cheese, a basket from home with some wine, and a little picnic by the creek.  I'm not sure it gets more quaint, yet fabulous than that.

Products and Friends

Oh hey y'all,

I have some future posts in mind (I made cardamom plum jam today, and strawberry-basil jam yesterday), BUT for now I'm just gonna make sure that I have a list of my products, and my new Farmer's Market Friends listed on the blog.

Some Kolaches from Paolo Bread and Brat Haus.  Um, yum.

First, let me introduce my new Farmer's Market friends!  First, there is Miss Jamie, who is one of the co-founders of the Paoli Bread and Brat Haus.  Not only did she make this insanely delicious bread with a jar of my relish, she thinks she might be able to make a cheese/bread/hot pepper jelly concoction.  She might just be my idol.

Paoli site:  http://breadandbrathaus.com/   (Please note that this Saturday is apparently the naked bike ride?  Did a girl pick the right day to join a market or what??)  I suggest visitors...

Also, Jamie even made me a member of the restaurant food family!:  http://breadandbrathaus.com/?page_id=15

Secondly, there are all sorts of other amazing vendors at the market:  Birch House Farms (they technically win the "Cutest Table Contest," but only for now...), Cookies with Heart, and Elderberry Farm (this adorable newbie farmer named Eric who just might have the best salad spring mix and swiss chard this girl has EVER had). Oh!  And cheese curds.  There are delicious fresh cheese curds.  And many, many others.

And in case you're not one of my loyal friends who dutifully reads my blog postings, here is a list of my goods!

Products currently available:

Hot Peppa Jelly!                             Spicy Pickles                       Spicy Carrot Pickles (delish!)
Strawberry-Lemon Jam                  Relish
Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam               Blackberry Jam
Cranberry Mustard                         Strawberry-Basil Jam
Black Bean and Corn Salsa            Cardamom-Plum Jam

Future products:

Apricot Jam
Mango-Pineapple Relish
Peach-Habanero Hot Sauce
Orange Rhubarb Jam
Strawberry-Poppyseed Jam



Y'all can always email me at whambam.jams@gmail.com if you can't make it to the market, and want to place an order!

(Ok, this picture has absolutely NOTHING to do with anything.  However, I just really liked this carrot.  When I was making the spicy carrot pickles last week (during the tornado, oops), I decided that if there were ever a carrot to turn into a wand, this would be it.  I could totally Petrificus Totalus someone with this wand a la Hermione Granger.)

First Farmer's Market!

Trying to coerce people into trying my shiz.  

Thursday was the first market, and I am now an official Jaminatrix!  I could tell you that I was cool and breezy and not worried, but that would be a big, FAT lie.  I had a couple, ok SEVERAL, minor freak-outs on Wednesday.  Do I have enough stuff?  Do I have too much?  Will I even make back the booth fee ($10)?  Why don’t I have a husband to help me, or at the very least comfort me?  Why don’t I have any parents to alleviate my fears?  Why are there no grown-ups to ask!?  Yeah…I went there.  It was ever so slightly fatalistic, and entirely melodramatic, but pretty funny now that I’m not in the moment.  

Everything I had planned to sell (and much much more than I could ever have sold in one day) was made and ready to go by Tuesday.  I spent the day Wednesday tending to details like tent weights, sunscreen, and labels.  My bro and his wife did an AMAZING job making label templates that I could just fill in and print here at home—convenient and fabulously creative—and everybody at the market RAVED about them!  In addition to all the other details (you would not believe the rules and restrictions that apply, and the statements that must appear on the labels), I was trying to win the “market’s cutest table contest” that I had going on in my head.  I thank my cousin Angie for that, who started the whole thing when we went to a winery, and she busted out her picnic basket set complete with tablecloth and all the accoutrements one could need for a day of wine and cheese.   My table was pretty gorge, but it’s hard to make it beautiful when all you have are jars, and I think the booth with all the vases of wildflowers just might have edged me out.  I’m already plotting improvements for next week; think window displays a la the 1987 classic, Mannequin.  

See...pretty cute, mostly due to the table cloth, but one can only do so much with jars.  Next week, perhaps I'll add some different layers/heights, maybe a vase with some fresh fruit?  

So…a solid 22 jars sold, 2 jars exchanged for some wildflowers, a piece of red velvet cake, and a plan to pair a bratwurst sample with my relish for next week, and a possible 2 more markets I can join.  Not too shabby for my first day! 

A special thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit me, and to Lauren and Rachel for all their help!  No joke, there wouldn't have been samples without Rachel bringing the covers, and without Lauren, who constantly made sure the samples were "stocked."