MARTIN'S BUTTER BREAD

So the other day at the store, I saw this display of a new bread they are carrying.  "Martin's Old Fashioned Real Butter Bread".  I thought, hmm, interesting, I'll go home and research it.

They had quite a few loaves.  We read about it online and the reviews were great.  So I went back a few days later to get a loaf so we could try it...

Oops!  Gone.  I went to someone who was working in the bread aisle and asked and he said he would go check in the back.  He found some that they hadn't loaded into the display.  I snagged one.

It's really, REALLY good.  2nd Man said it's as close to homemade from a store that he's ever had.  I agree.  In fact, some of the reviews said it reminded them of "Grandma's bread".  It has a great homemade taste, rich in butter, soft, and fluffy.  Sure, 2nd Man can whip up homemade bread when we need it but when he needs a break from baking, this might just become our go to backup.

Anyone ever tried this?

COLLIN STREET FRUITCAKE

Well first of all, this is an unsponsored post, we bought this on our own to try it out after watching a show about them.  We decided to try something new...

Fruitcake!

Collin Street Fruitcake

This is supposed to be one of the best and a Texas tradition, made in the same place since 1896.  Apparently they are also shipped all over the world as well.  We figured we should try one of the top ones.

Fruitcake tin

It comes in this tin that has some fun imagery on it, somewhat North and wintery but then a cowboy in front of the Alamo and a Lone Star.

OK, that's definitely Texas.

Fruitcake

It comes wrapped and sealed in plastic, still in the baking paper instead of a foil container.  They say it's best to slice through the paper and wipe the knife after each slice so that's exactly what we did.

Pretty fruitcake slice

It's definitely good looking, well, as fruitcakes go or so we've heard...because, you see, neither of us has ever had fruitcake!  This was a new experience for us.  We figured we should try what's supposed to be among the best in the country.

Verdict?  It's good/OK.  Again, no frame of reference for how it should taste but I liked it.  2nd Man found it to be a bit too much though.  It was sweet but the flavor was lacking.  Or maybe it's just not what we were expecting.  It just didn't jump out and go "oh my this is the best thing ever".  He said he was expecting a brandy or other flavoring.  I heard the jokes over the years about how fruitcakes weigh like bricks. They do.

My Grandmother used to make something called "dateloaf" (a kind of candy).  The "cake part" of this fruitcake reminded me of that, minus the fruit of course (and hers was better, ha).  I ate a few slices over a couple of days, 2nd Man had one or two with coffee and then I took the rest to share at work.

Overall, we found it to be a dense and very heavy cake (as they are known to be) and a little of it goes a long way.  We know there are many varieties out there, including one made by some Monks at a monastery that's famous too, so we won't give up on them.  We'll keep trying.  Maybe we can even find a good homemade recipe for 2nd Man to try.

What about you? Do you like fruitcakes?  Have a favorite brand?  Have a great family recipe you're willing to secretly email to us to try out, ha!

LODGE CAST IRON PIE PAN REVIEW

I've reviewed our other two Lodge additions to our kitchen.  It was the pizza pan reviewed HERE and then the baking pan reviewed HERE.  We love them both and this one will be more of the same Lodge-love, ha.

This is the LODGE cast iron pie pan.  We have used it a few times and it just works as amazingly well as their other products.  The heat conducting ability and even heating all over is just astounding.

Lodge now has a "store" on Amazon.

Here is the link (affiliate):

Lodge Cast Iron Pie Pan

Lodge cast iron pie pan

Recently, he used it to make a chicken pot pie.  You can see the crust cooked evenly and browned beautifully.

Lodge cast iron pie pan handles and edge

There is a nice wavy design molded into the cast iron that can help create a decorative edge to your piecrust. 2nd Man didn't need a guide since his crust for the pot pie needs to be higher up because of the filling.

Chicken Pot Pie in a Lodge cast iron pie pan

Unfortunately, we couldn't turn it upside down to show you the bottom for obvious reasons, ha, but it was even and golden brown.  No soggy bottom!

It has really just been a perfect bake, every time.  He's made a pie in it twice (pecan and pumpkin) but I forgot to get pictures.  Will do that the next time and reference back to this.  As with everything from Lodge that we've ever purchased, it is a great cooking vessel.  And of course, like all cast iron, if you take care of it, it cleans up like a dream.  2nd Man loves it!

LODGE CAST IRON BAKING PAN REVIEW

For our birthdays this year, we said we didn't need to exchange gifts because we considered the farm truck as our big present.  Since the truck will kind of be mine to drive most often, I couldn't let 2nd Man's day go by without a little SOMETHING for him.

For Christmas I had gotten him the pie pan and pizza pan so I decided to add to his collection and bought him the LODGE cast iron baking pan.  It's from their new line of baking cast iron.  This measures 10.5 x 15.5 inches and is about the size of a regular baking sheet.  Of course being cast iron, it is a bit heavier, so plan ahead accordingly.  No top shelf for these, ha.  When I saw this baking pan, the first thing I thought of was biscuits.  So the other day I said "can you make some of your biscuits on your new pan?"  He said sure!

So he made a batch (RECIPE HERE) to see how they would bake up on this new pan.  He had to keep an eye on them since this was all new but...oh...my...

...they rose up and browned so much more evenly than on a standard aluminum baking sheet and came out to biscuit perfection!  Much like the Lodge pizza pan reviewed HERE this was just absolutely perfect for what we will most often do with it, biscuits!

Look at the bottom of these!  They are evenly colored, just as you'd want them and the pan was not greased, no parchment, no foil, no cooking spray, nothing...they were heavenly.  Even heating, no hot spots, no warping at high temperatures, it's very substantial and quality. 

This pan cooked just as well as any cast iron pan they make and cleaned up just as easily.  He's going to try cookies next.  Maybe a focaccia too.  Ironically we had planned on using the pizza pan for our biscuits and/or cookies but of course didn't know we'd own one of these pans.  So we'll save the pizza pan for pizza (or maybe a loaf of bread) while this has instantly become our new go to biscuit pan. 

Darn.  Now I want biscuits...

And sausage gravy...

HOMEMADE SOAP FROM THE POOR FARM BLOG

A few weeks ago we ordered some soap from one of our dear blogging friends...

Homemade Soap by Donna O'Shaughnessy

...Donna O'Shaughnessy from over at The Poor Farm blog.  She makes some wonderful soap in small, handmade batches, using all natural ingredients.  

These were the two we ordered.  The oval one is unscented and uncolored (it showed up golden with the flash but is more cream color).  It is made from cow's milk, in this case from colostrum (the first milk after calving).  We are using it as a shampoo bar and wow, it's so nice.  It makes a lot of lather and is very gentle.  We guys don't normally care so much about how soft our hair is but this really does make it softer.  

The second one, that looks like a beautiful slice of stone or granite, is a mildly exfoliating coffee-cinnamon bar.  It's made from pastured lard, with olive, castor and almond oils and she colors it with real coffee and scents it with cinnamon essential oil (and ever so mildly, which is nice).  She even put a middle layer with a few actual coffee grounds for the exfoliating benefit.  2nd Man said "it almost looks too pretty to use".  But we did (and do, ha).  She said in her post that it's good for cook or a gardener.  Well, 2nd Man is the cook and I'm the gardener...and we can both say without a doubt, it is wonderful!

She makes soap as time permits, usually posting about them with the details on the weekend,  calling it Saponification Saturday (or Sunday).  Side note, isn't "saponification" a cool word?  It's first come first served and when they are gone, they are gone.  We'll be looking forward to using these up and buying some more when the time comes.  Thanks Donna, keep up the good work and we'll be ordering some soon!

So check out her blog, the link again is HERE.  

Oh and did we mention she and her hubby built and moved into an amazing and round GRAIN BIN HOUSE?  It's ten kinds of awesome.  Tell her we said hi!

PLANT NANNY REVIEW

I was recently introduced to a product called the "Plant Nanny".  

Their website is HERE.  They sent me a set to try out.  As we aren't at the farm during the week, we do have the need for something to water in our absence.

Plant Nanny - Recycle a Wine Bottle

 Upon opening the package, I was struck by their simple beauty.  There is something elegant about them, and the design is functional.  They are made of terra-cotta, like clay pots, which helps their function.  Also, you're not sticking plastic into the soil so that's always a good thing.  And, short of dropping on a hard surface, they are definitely durable for long term use over several seasons.

FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

Recycling wine bottles to water your plants is easy with our Recycle a Wine Bottle Stake. It’s a great way to water plants day-to-day, and the perfect solution to keep plants watered while on vacation. As the soil dries, our terracotta stake slowly releases water from the reservoir deep into the soil and directly to the root system. Plants grow healthier by getting consistent moisture where it’s most needed.

Pre-moisten the soil and gently insert the terracotta stake near the center of the plant. The carefully-designed shape of the stake allows it to be inserted into the soil without damaging the plant’s root system. Fill a wine bottle with water and set it neck-first into the stake and the watering process will begin. Know at a glance when to refill the wine bottle by observing the amount of water remaining in the glass bottle reservoir.

•  Uses a recycled wine bottle as a water reservoir (not included)

•  Stake is approximately 7” high

• Use for medium to large sized plants, indoors and out

• Uses a recycled wine bottle as a water reservoir (not included)

• 750ml standard wine bottle will water for approximately 7-10 days depending on growing environment (humidity level, temperature etc)

They arrived very well packaged...a box inside of a box, some bubble wrap, and well contained next to each other.  This was the set of four.

Next I had to gather up some wine bottles.  

Since we don't drink more than one bottle a week (if that), I was lucky to be able to go downstairs to the trash area and find all the wine bottles I needed in the recycle bin.  Score!

The above graphic shows how they work...

For step by step picture purposes, I used this rosemary plant in a container on our porch.  I put the terracotta spike into the soil as described...

Plant Nanny Wine Bottle Waterer

...and filled the bottle up with water and then tipped it into the spike.  I left it alone and hoped for the best.

Here it is one week later.  Only about half the water used, the plant was still looking good with one week and no water by any method other than this.

Plant Nanny

I put the others in three different potted plants, like this bay laurel tree on the porch and they all went a week with no water and look just fine.  I think we may have finally found a great solution, certainly for the plants on the porch.  I will keep everyone updated throughout the Summer but so far, we are VERY impressed with this product.

They also make this (might have to try this in a test clay pot by the barn):

A great company looking to make some great solutions for watering which is most often the hardest part of keeping plants healthy...and they are letting us recycle bottles at the same time.  Check them out, we think they are definitely worthy of using.  Below is their website:

WWW.PLANTNANNY.COM

They don't sell them directly from the website but they are sold at many places, including of course, HERE AT AMAZON as singles.  But if you click on the singles and look at the "customers also buy" feature, you'll see the set of four.  

Also, stayed tuned Friday, for a special announcement connected to this review.

So far, so good...we are giving them 5 stars because they are working exactly how they are advertised!

HANDCRAFTED SOAP REVIEW

We were recently sent some items to review by the wonderful people at "Double Up Farm".  They are the ones that sent us the wool dryer balls that we reviewed HERE last Fall.  

We are still using them by the way, they are wonderful!

The direct link to them on ETSY is HERE.

She sent us an assortment of scents and a couple of sizes.  Opening the box was sensory overload, they smell wonderful!  The bars are made using essential oils for fragrance.  American Honey was my favorite.  2nd Man loved the Rosemary.

Since they are handmade and of course hand cut, it gives them a nice, rustic appearance.  They look great sitting on the edge of the sink at the farm AND in town at the apartment.  

Double Up Farm handcrafted soaps

As for using them (we were sent some loofah sponges as well, grown on their farm), they lather up with a nice and rich lather.  We like it when soap has a nice lather.  It's probably the shea butter but we swear it's making our hands softer.  Each bar is made with natural ingredients and does not use animal products. As there are no preservatives, you must use within six months.  I'm certain that ours won't last long enough to worry about that!

As for ingredients, here it is from their own website:

Ingredients: oil (olive, coconut, palm, avocado, sweet almond), Shea Butter; Sodium Hydroxide (lye), essential oil for scent. Some soaps use an all natural colorant (i.e., mica, coffee, sage)

A huge shout out and of course a big thank you to DOUBLE UP FARM.  Please stop by their website (they have a wonderful blog that was started this year) or their ETSY SHOP and say hello.  And pick up some handmade soaps or dyer balls or something else...it's always nice to support a small Mom and Pop farm. 

RIB SHACK RED WINE REVIEW

We like wine.  

But we don't understand all the tasting and smelling notes.  When someone starts talking about tobacco, blackberries, lemon rinds and oaky barrels as a good thing, our minds think "ashtray and trashcan at an orchard"!  We just know what we like and what we don't like.  So occasionally we'll post a review, our own review, it might make you want it or not, you might have a totally different opinion, but hopefully it'll make you laugh.  

It's all good fun right...?

Rib Shack Red wine review

During our "STEAKSGIVING" celebration a couple of months back, we (of course), had grilled steaks.  When I went to the store and the guy asked about the wine I was looking for, I told him we were having grilled steaks.  He said "for Thanksgiving?"  Hey, don't judge!  I told him it was for "Steaksgiving" and after describing it, he laughed and said he understood. 

He directed me to this variety.  It is a blend, meaning it's a combination of wines, in this case Pinotage and Shiraz (not even sure what that first one is but it sure sounds foo foo doesn't it?).  Hey, they even sound fancy as a blend don't they?  

Pardon me but do you have any Grey Poupon? 

This bottle cost $9.89 on sale.

Ribshack Red 2014 Blend Review

It was a good wine.  The color was a rich purple, almost the color of a rare cut of meat. The first sip is surprising because it really is kind of smoky.  I'm sure there is a 'note' that goes along with that in official tasting circles but it really did seem like liquid smoke.  Not that I've guzzled liquid smoke but if you could condense down that aroma that comes from a rack of BBQ ribs after they've been grilled, this would be it.  We could even tell that it was spicy (some things are obvious even if you don't know all the right descriptions).  There is no doubt this was created to add a little something to your BBQ/grilled dinner and that it does.  It's also very smooth after you drink it, no harsh after affects...unless of course you consume too much, well then, we all know how that ends...ahh college...but I digress.

TASTING AND SMELLING NOTES:  

Um...grill smoke, robots, thunder and lightning!

PAIR NICELY WITH: 

A good steak, BBQ sauce (but not mixed together), Transformers the Movie (but only the first one), and of course, friends and family.

BOTTOM LINE:

We enjoyed it, and when we grill or have BBQ again, we'll definitely consider this one.  As an everyday wine though, we feel it would only go best with its namesake...BBQ/grilling.

MARTIN FIERRO CABERNET SAUVIGNON REVIEW

We like wine.  But we don't understand all the tasting and smelling notes.  When someone starts talking about tobacco, blackberries, lemon rinds and oaky barrels as a good thing, our minds think "ashtray and trashcan at an orchard"!  We just know what we like and what we don't like.  So occasionally we'll post a review, our own review, it might make you want it or not, you might have a totally different opinion, but hopefully it'll make you laugh.  

It's all good fun, right...?

We picked up this bottle the other day.  It's Martin Fierro, an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon.  Don't Cry for me Argentina...yeah, maybe on this bottle you will.  It pours out as a deep beautiful color in the glass.  Sort of what you'd think a wine color should be.  Alas, the taste was a bit off putting.  The best description we can give is 'bitter'.  I'm sure there is some technical term that goes along with that, but hey, bitter is not something you want to taste in the first sip.  It has a kind of a flat taste too.  Not very memorable, except in a bad way of course, i.e. "Remember when we had that?  Don't buy it again"

Now please don't equate the screw top with quality.  Many bottles are going to a screw top, even some very expensive bottles.  This was $8.99, on sale.  I think the regular price is about $11.00.

TASTING AND SMELLING NOTES:  

I don't know, um, lions, tigers and bears...oh my?

PAIRS NICELY WITH: 

Bitter memories, Keeping up with the Kardashians, sticking your tongue on a 9volt battery

BOTTOM LINE:

We didn't like it, in case you couldn't tell.  

Will not be buying it again.

WOOL DRYER BALLS REVIEW

We were recently sent some items to review.  The first of these are eco-friendly wool dryer balls and came to us courtesy of "Double Up Farm".  They are handmade from the wool of their Romney sheep.  

The direct link to them on ETSY is HERE 

You simply toss all three of them into your dryer with your wet clothing and turn it on to your normal setting.

Let them tumble around.  I even caught one on camera through the glass front of our dryer as it was spinning around doing its thing.  

After you are done, you can just leave the in your dryer as we did here, so they are ready for the next load.  This keeps you from forgetting the next time around. 

Double Up Farm All Natural Wool Dryer Balls

They say a set is good for about 500 loads of laundry.  That's about 3 cents per load...definitely much cheaper than buying and throwing away regular sheets.

They come in a package of three in a handmade bag that we'll find another use for as well (we're keeping the balls in the dryer all the time).  We don't like to use fabric softener sheets because they have chemicals and usually a scent that is sometimes off-putting. Double Up Farm will add essential oil scent to these if you wish but they come standard with no scent.  Hmm, come to think of it, a lavender set might be nice for sheets and pillowcases!

We wish there was a way to convey how soft the items were when they came out of the dryer.  Our towels and t-shirts were much softer than they had been before.  It was a noticeable difference.  And if you are wondering if any wool fibers or hairs were released, nope, we had some black dress socks that always seem to attract random fibers and they were free of wool.  No chemicals, no fake smell, and best of all, no waste to throw away when done.  The best of living green!

I'm sure that as we use them week after week in our laundry, they will only makes things softer.  We can't wait to watch (and feel) that happen.  These will definitely be on our list from now on.

So a huge shout out and thank you to DOUBLE UP FARM.  Please stop by their website or their ETSY SHOP and say hello.  And pick up some all natural wool dryer balls, you won't regret it.  

NEW VLASIC FARMERS GARDEN PICKLES

Farmer's Garden by Vlasic

Never been a big fan of store bought pickles vs fresh homemade (we usually buy ours at a local farmer's market).  Someday I'll tackle making our own but until then, when we do buy regular grocery store pickles, we do like Vlasic brand.  They are always crunchy and always good.  So imagine our surprise when we were in the store recently (a grocery store out by the farm, ironically) and saw these jars.

It is something new that Vlasic is trying.  They are pickles of course, but made just like you might if you were canning them yourselves.  No fake colors, no artificial ingredients, just veggies, seasonings and distilled water.

Farmers Garden pickle jar vs Ball canning jar

They are hand packed and bottled in a jar very similar to a standard Mason or Ball jar.  Alas, I was hoping that the rings might just fit these jars but they do not.  Oh well.  The jars, once cleaned out, would still make for nice glass jar storage of things.  There are five varieties according to the VLASIC WEBSITE.

So how do they taste?  

Strangely enough, not as good as we had hoped.  Vlasic pickles are usually very crispy (they know how to do that), but these were a bit limp and the carrots were a bit mushy as well.  They might be hand packed but they are definitely over processed.  The seasonings were also a bit lacking.  In a jar such as this, I would hope to see some fresh dill, some peppercorns or maybe even some mustard seeds floating but nope, it's just the veggies and water.  There just wasn't much flavor.  In all fairness, it's possible we picked up an older jar that was maybe on the shelf longer than it should be.  There is no way to know that for certain and it wasn't near the 'sell by' date.  We appreciate the fact that they do not use artificial colorings and flavorings but feel these could be much better.  To be honest, we like their regular Vlasic pickles better. 

Alas, we think this might be more of a marketing ploy than anything else.  That is a double edged sword...on the one hand, it could make people want to try more farmers market/fresher type foods or it could have the opposite effect...make some people think "farm fresh goods aren't all they are cracked up to be after all".  And that would not be a good thing.

But hey, at least the jars are cool!

2 1/2 STARS OUT OF FIVE