Brodie Plaid

11/01/2021

APPLE SCONE RECIPE!

The weather has been terrible, so rather than getting things done outside I’ve been in the kitchen cooking.

I had a scone craving, so in keeping with the season I made some apple scones. They are great with a nice firm apple, but just about any apple will work. These scones are great because they work perfectly with regular flour or with gluten free flour. My preferred gluten free flour is from King Arthur.

Apple Scones:

2 ¾ Cups Flour
1/3 Cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Penzey’s Pie Spice or cinnamon
1 stick of VERY cold butter

Combine butter and dry ingredients with pastry blender, 2 forks or fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Add 1 cup (1 large apple) of grated or finely chopped apple
In separate bowl or glass measuring cup

Combine
½ Cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla.
Stir to combine

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed, do not over mix.

Divide into 2 balls.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet pat each ball to make a 6 inch circle approximately ¾ inch thick.

Cut each circle into 6 wedges.
Sprinkle with 3 Tablespoons coarse sugar
Mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Place in freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.

Enjoy warm, plain, or with butter.

10/31/2021

Sounds good. We will have to try it out.

In 2019, Luong opened Saigon Restaurant at 976 Main St. with her life savings of about $50,000 through her saved pocket money and wages from previous part-time jobs.

10/28/2021

So exciting a real restaurant in Ashby, I will have to check it out
We did.get ice cream this summer but havent tried food yet. Cant wait to give it a try

Table Hoppin': Longtime chef fulfills dream with opening of 873 Café and Tavern in Ashby

10/28/2021

SEEDS IN THE MAIL

I’ve been wanting to add more native plants to my yard, as well as creating a landscape that will be welcoming to animals, butterflies and pollinators.

The yard has a ton of adorable little animal friends, so I want to continue to provide them with a welcoming habitat and attract more beneficial life.

I ordered some seeds form the Wild Seed Project to start this winter for planting this year. By the time I ordered many of the different varieties were sold out, but I was able to purchase Lupine, Milkweed, Coneflowers, Beard Tongues and BeeBalm.
In addition to selling seeds, the project strives to get people to pledge to plant 1000 Native trees by 2022.

Since we had to pull out several invasive shrubs and other problematic plants, we will be happy to pick out some Native Trees to add to the yard.

10/26/2021

Hello, hello! This dark and gloomy fall day kinda makes my heart happy, not going to lie. I love the fall, however I’m NOT a Halloween person 😬 so the end of every October always has me a little eager because November is my favorite month of the year. And for those who know me personally, yes my birthday is in November but that’s not why ! 🤣 I love the transition of late fall into winter. The crisp air and the leaves are in the brightest of colors before falling. Sometimes we even get the first snow in November which truly makes my heart happy. I may be an old soul, but it’s definitely a soul that’s always been in the changing of seasons. I love what the seasons represent. Change can be a good thing, opening new opportunities and GROWTH. We have to take big risks to get the big rewards and growth is the in between in there. That’s what I think of when I think of fall. The beautiful changing of the “in between”.
That’s how I feel about my little shop. Steady growth and changing. It’s been very, very tough, but it’s my heart and my passion. And I just wanted to say thank you to all my customers who have been so sweet on supporting me, it truly means so much !! Also what November symbolizes, being THANKFUL. And I most certainly am that !
The shop opens tomorrow at 11 and theres loads of new inventory in ! I’m holding onto fall and harvest season a tad longer until I have the Harvest Open House on Saturday, November 20th. I’ll be posting soon more on details of that. But for now, be sure to stop in this week to see what’s new, and to my spooky friends, Happy Halloween y’all !! 🎃👻

10/25/2021

GRAND OPENING!

Fabrics-n-things just opened on Airport Road in Fitchburg, right in time for Halloween. With all of the supply chain issues we have been having, your Halloween costume may not come in time, so you can make your own, and Fabrics -n-Things has just what you need to get the job done.

This new small business is minority and woman owned and fills a niche that has been missing locally, independent fabric stores. This store has a friendly staff, a wide range of fabric offerings as well as the notions you need for your projects.

Making your own Halloween costumes can be a fun and easy project to do alone or with your kids. There are tons of ideas on the Internet and youtube has videos on how to make just about any Halloween costume.

Fabrics-n-Things has things for decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. Stop by their new store and do your part to support a new area small business.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/g23653854/best-halloween-costumes-of-all-time/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_ghk_d_bm_g23653854&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiNSLBhCPARIsAKNS4_cpvM8gkzdFrX00uTwif88LfkfV_FVTcbysnS1vqTweF6uwEJm9qasaAh6UEALw_wcB

10/20/2021

This has been an amazing year for plants. Maybe it is just me but things have seemed very different this year. This spring the flowering trees were the best I have seen in years. This fall the daisies have been amazing.

They are so pretty I plan to add some to my garden to brighten up my curb appeal. The white ones are pretty but there are all sorts of different colors and varieties. The Farmer’s Almanac provides a nice rundown on several options.

https://www.almanac.com/crazy-daisies-types-colorful-daisies

10/18/2021

RECLAIMED WOOD SUCCESS

Several of our floors need repair. We didn’t want to replace them with something new, we want to replace the missing wood with something as close as possible to the original whenever possible.

I was struggling to find a source for what I was looking for.
As usual when we are looking for something my brother-in-law Casey Kaldenberg always knows “a guy.” When we needed someone to plow, mow the lawn, or a plumber, Casey knew just who to call.

My wood needs were no different. He knew of a man taking down a barn in Bolton and connected us. Marc from ASH Consulting had just what we needed. The wood is beautiful, and old, just what we were looking for.

We are looking forward to putting the flooring down to get another item checked off our list. 😄

10/16/2021

WESTMINSTER — Tucked away on a winding, idyllic country road is the picturesque and multigenerational Wildwood Farm, which is holding its inaugural annual fall festival this Sunday from noon …

10/13/2021

APPLE CRISP

I hope that you have been able to get some of the wonderful apples available all around Massachusetts this time of year. As a gluten-free person, my default apple dish is Apple crisp. Much easier than apple pie and quicker too. It is delicious alone, or with whipped cream, or ice cream. If you want the most delicious combo, Costco’s Vanilla Ice cream is the absolute best, even Consumer Reports agrees.

For an 8 inch Pan (recipe can be doubled for a 9x13 pan, it goes fast!)
Grease the 8 inch pan
Fill the pan with 6-8 large apples cut into good sized chunks
I like a nice mix of apples, Cortlands, Macintosh, Macouns, Empires, all work nicely. This is a great dish for all the random apples in your fridge that are getting a bit soft for best eating experience.
Sprinkle the apples with
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Mixed with 1 teaspoons cinnamon, or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon Penzey’s Apple Pie Spice
2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a bowl Mix
1 Cup brown Sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small bits
3/4 Cups old fashioned oats (do not use quick cooking, or instant oats)
1 teaspoon cinnamon, or combination of cinnamon and Penzey’s apple pie spice
Pinch of salt.
Mix the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and oats until it looks like coarse crumbs.

Top the apples with the oat mixture.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, until apples are soft and bubbly. Time varies with size of apple pieces.

Best served Warm.

Apple Crisp is one of the great dishes of fall. Enjoy this and all of the other great things that you can only really get during the fall. Things like warm apple cider donuts, the ones at Hollis Hills are delicious, and smell amazing.

PADA THAI

In my quest for great Thai food, I found another great place in the area. Bankok Hill was closed Monday evening, so I had to find a new place. I was delighted that Google sent me to Pada Thai. The food was delicious, the restaurant was very clean, although sadly, very empty. The Pad Thai was delicious with very fresh bean sprouts and the broccoli with vegetables was also very fresh and delicious. I got take out, and I hope that many others did as well, because the food was great. The menu looked pretty extensive, so I have many things to try in the future. It is great to have another terrific local option. Both places are quite close to John Fitch Highway, so if you want to try something different, give Bankok Hill or Pada Thai a try.