Everything is coming up KALE

Are you a gardener, or a CSA receiver? Then you know one of the first crops to come up is kale, the good for you super green superfood that is prolific and sometimes hard to choke down.

One of our favorite ways of getting rid of it... consuming it is in chip form. And here at The Sweets Barn, we have all the savory ways to help you achieve this.

Kale Chips

For this demonstration we used our KTLC Poultry Seasoning, with Safflower oil, but 9 different seasoning blends, and five infused safflower oils, all blended and made in our store, there are endless possibilities. Try our Curry, BBQ or Taco Seasoning with our Chili, or Lemon oils.

Anyhoo, gather your ingredients. 

Thoroughly wash and dry your kale and cut it into bite sized hunks.

 Drizzle the Kale with the oil

 And sprinkle with the seasoning

 Massage the oil and seasoning into the leaves

They should look nice and green, but not oily.

 Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes

 They should be toasted and crisp. Let cool and enjoy.

Eating your greens have never been so tasty.

Your mother would be proud.

Infini-Tea Wars

Welcome to the first Sweets Barn Blog Post!
Hooray!
We are excited about spring, the warmer weather, traveling and the new Avengers movie.
Well two of us are, the other one just doesn't understand.

To celebrate our first blog, and the anything Marvel, Heather, the chocolatier, has created an exciting post she is calling the:

INFINI-TEA (and truffle) WARS - a pairing of tea and truffles with different Avengers.

 We'll start with Iron Man. We all know he's not a fan of secret identities, thus Tony Stark is a bold man. He loves his gadgets, being the center of attention, and he loves to drink. That's why we chose our Vanilla Bourbon Rooibos tea. It's red, it's bold, it's sold in bulk.
And of course, our Montana Whiskey Caramel Truffle is the perfect pair for the socialite superhero.

Next up, The Incredible Hulk.

He's strong, green and packs a punch. 

Just like the Gunpowder Green Tea. The strongest, greenest tea we have. You will be ready to "SMASH" anything in your way after a cup of this brew. Along for the ride is our Lemon Wasabi Truffle, smooth and citrus, with a surprising sucker punch of wasabi at the end.

Spiderman is a gentle soul, he's just a babe wanting to play with the adults.

That is why he's been paired with the Root Beer Rooibos Tea.

All the youthful taste of Root Beer, and all the adult sophistication of tea.

Spidey is also a fan of the Vanilla Bean truffle. This ice cream-like bonbon even looks like it was adorned with Spiderman's signature webbing.

Doctor Strange

If you suffer from aching joints and inflammation, Stephen Strange can relate. The car accident that crushed his skilled hands and the endless line of surgeries that followed left the doctor searching for alternative treatments. But you don't have to go to Kamar-Taj and train in the Mystic Arts, just drink this anti-inflammatory tea with real turmeric root. Paired with the Cinnamon Vanilla Rooibos truffle, the experience is out of this realm.

The legend of the Black Panther and his powers is an honored tradition in his tribe. The Wakandan Prince drank an elixir made from the heart shaped, purple herb.
Though we don't have access to such plants, we do have the Purple Earl Tea. A royal blend of Earl Grey and Lavender.
A flavor so great we had to put it in the chocolate as well.

Besides eating a whole box of pop tarts upon arriving to earth, Thor experienced another great human invention...coffee.

Thor is also a pretty boy, so we matched him up with our Coffee Lover's Vanilla Tea. A blend of black tea, coffee, real vanilla flavor, and roasted Yerba Mate. 

And so he doesn't shatter any more mugs, we will give him our Cowboy Coffee Truffle, our version of a chocolate coffee bean.

Captain America, The First Avenger, and now... we don't know what he is now, or which side he is on.  Of course he is loyal to his best bud, Bucky. But who knows how far down the brainwashed Buck will drag Ol' Cap.
He's fighting against good and evil, dark and light. That is why we would give him our Decaf Russian Chai with our White Raspberry and Dark Raspberry Truffles.
Let's just hope he chooses wisely.

Finally, when you are AntMan either everything looks like an avalanche or you are the avalanche. Our Avalanche White Tea, with it's pineapple and coconut flavors will blow you away. And for a little truffle with big flavor, try the Cookie Butter truffle. The fond flavor that brings to mind waffle cones, and ice cream shops... whatever is fresh and hot. (Dude)

So that is our pairing of teas and truffles.

What pairings would you do?

See you at the movies.

Bayou BBQ

We've been doing cooking demonstrations at the Barn and this last week was a good one. So good we've decided to share it on this blog, for all of you who didn't make it.

For those of you who haven't come to a demonstration, we use products from our store: oils, vinegars, seasonings, and even tea. Keep up on demonstrations coming up on our facebook page, and sign up!


For the BBQ, we did some beef short ribs, using our BBQ seasoning and Cherry Malt Vinegar.
This is the recipe:

Cherry Malt BBQ Short Ribs

Beef Short Ribs

2 tablespoons KTLC safflower oil

1/4 cup KTLC BBQ seasoning

1/2 cup KTLC Cherry Malt Vinegar

1/2 cup beef stock

Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel and rub with the seasoning.  

In a braising pan or a pressure cooker or slow cooker, heat the oil on high heat. 

Brown all sides of the ribs.  Do this in stages and don't overcrowd your pot.

Return all the ribs to the pot when done browning.

Deglaze with the vinegar and stock. Cover and cook for 2-3 hours in an oven on low heat (325), or 1 hour on low pressure in a pressure cooker. 

Take the meat out of the sauce and let rest on a platter, covered with aluminum foil.

While the ribs are cooking, you can prepare the rest of the meal.

Sweet Potato Fries with Maple Dipping Sauce

 

4 Sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean

4 Tablespoons KTLC Safflower oil

1 Tablespoon KTLC Steak Seasoning

1 Cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 Tablespoon KTLC Bay Seasoning

Cut the potatoes into wedges and place in a bowl.

Drizzle with safflower oil and toss to coat.

 Lay the wedges out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Season with steak seasoning.

Bake in an oven at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes. In the meantime combine the mayo, maple syrup, and bay seasoning

Mix well and set aside

And last but not least...

Braised Greens

6 bacon slices, diced

1 yellow onion sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups beef stock

1/4 cup KTLC Spiced Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tablespoons molasses

salt and pepper

3 pounds fresh greens, collards, chard, kale, turnip greens, or mustard greens.

 In a heavy pot, cook the bacon until it has become crisp and the fat has been rendered

Add the onions, and garlic and cook until the onions are tender.

 Add the stock, vinegar, and molasses and bring to a boil

 Add the greens and push them down into the liquid with a spoon.

 Cook partially covered until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, season to taste.

 Go and enjoy some tea while everything simmers, May we suggest... Root Beer Rooibos, Montana Sunset, or White Peachy Ginger? All great pairing with these dishes.  Ooops, I think I heard the buzzer.

Ah, look at those beauties!

 And the meal is complete

 Serve with your favorite southern beverage, like sweet tea.

Next week we will be doing a Cinco de Mayo demonstration.
Hope to see you there.