Paula Deen Guest Blog: It's All About the Biscuits!

So excited to be a guest blogger over at Paula Deen's blog today! Now you can have biscuits for breakfast, lunch, dinner... even dessert! 

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Muffins!

by Sarah Barry Spooner

all things Farmer contributor 

What is better than a warm muffin with a pat of butter?

Almost nothing.

I unashamedly love muffins. Some people love cereal. But I am a muffin girl!

Growing up my mom made muffins of all kinds, pumpkin being my favorite. 

In college I would buy a lemon poppy seed muffin and a strong cup of coffee from the library cafe before I found a cubicle and zoned in to my nursing school books.

As a young, working married girl I made double, triple batches of muffins to freeze so I could grab a couple to warm in the microwave before my 30 minute commute to work.

Now I make a couple muffin batches a week. I love them on early mornings when I wake up before my kids. Having a quick muffin to grab keeps the kitchen quiet and helps me maximize my early morning time by not having to spend precious minutes making myself breakfast.

Both of my children love muffins. "Mu-nins" as they call them. I get a thrill pulling a warm dozen from the oven and treating them to a special afternoon snack. It makes me feel like a regular Susie Q homemaker. This simple muffin making makes home feel like home.

Over the years I've adjusted my muffin style. I use less sugar. And I prefer whole wheat white flour over all-purpose white. I like to use healthy grains like oats and nutritious ingredients like berries, apples, carrots, bananas, and nuts.

Muffins are an excellent way to get my kids to eat a vegetable.

One day I felt like I hit the jack pot when I came across THIS blog post on Simple Bites. She gives a basic muffin recipe and a list of various combinations of ingredients to put in the muffins - carrots and raisins, apples, raspberries and chocolate, coconut and peanut butter chips, etc. It's muffins 101. A tutorial on my favorite - muffins!!! I love love love the basic recipe, and I have officially adopted it as my go to. I've tried several different ingredient combinations, most recently and pictured above are grated carrot and rasin muffins. YUM.

basic muffin recipe
adapted from Simple Bites

 Makes 12 medium muffins

• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup brown sugar (sometimes I make it a heaping cup)
• ½ stick of butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat white flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• add ins - whatever you like!  (so far I've tried blueberries, apples, carrots and raisins) - all fantastic!

Mix milk, oats, and vinegar in a bowl. Allow to sit for 1 hour.

Add remaining ingredients and add-ins. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake at 375 degrees for 12-18 minutes. Time will vary depending on what add-ins you use. *I like to top mine with extra oats before baking to make them look nice.

Note that these muffins are not super sweet, which I like. If you prefer a sweeter muffin just up the sugar a little.

I highly recommend spending one of these cooler afternoons with a batch of muffins and a cup of hot tea. Invite a friend over or simply share them with your family.

Guest Post: a Book Review

Hello dear friends of the Farmer!

It's Sarah Barry from Spoonful here. I'm guest posting today to tell you about James' FABULOUS new book, A Time to Plant.

I've known James a long time. We were friends at Auburn. He was a groomsman in our wedding. We've traveled the Southeast together on numerous trips in college and post college. Most recently, we carpooled to my home town of Greenville, Mississippi for James to speak to the ladies' garden club --- my two year old son and nursing baby in tow. JTF III is a trooper!

So of course I'm thrilled for my friend, that at the whopping age of 28 he has written and published his very own book. A real book! It sits on my coffee table, and I can't wait to tell all my guests that "Yay, my friend wrote that book."



But I must admit that prior to receiving my copy, I thought "Can it really be that good?" After all, I wasn't getting this information for the first time. I've heard James speak at multiple events, read and re-read each blog post, seen all his photos, discussed with him basic garden philosophies in person, photographed some parties he's given. Honestly, I thought that I would have a 'been there, seen it, done that' mentality when it came to experiencing his book. I hate to admit this, but I was concerned that I would be underwhelmed.

But my experience was much the opposite. I was stunned. Thrilled. Completely enamored from the moment I saw the cover. For one, the book itself is beautiful. The photography on each page is breathtaking as well as the drawings and illustrations.

In the dedication James references the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth." I love the last lines of the chorus:

"Lord of all to the we raise 

This our hymn of grateful praise."

This book is just that - a hymn of 'grateful praise' to God's glorious creation.



The second thing that struck me about A Time to Plant is it is so incredibly practical. On occasion, James has asked for my input about his blog. To which I always respond by encouraging him to explain things so the po' folks can understand. How can I, a busy mother of two, who can't even find time to take a shower, begin to dabble in a little gardening? And entertaining? Where do I start? Do I grow herbs? How? Do I plant perennials? But which ones? And what time of year do I plant them?

Y'all, it's all in the book. James gives the most practical instruction and advice about garden living, a concept he describes as bringing the garden in - to your cooking, your home decor, your relationships - and making the most of each season. And he presents it all in a way that is charming and fun to read. I can't say enough good things.



Get this book for yourself, your mom, your mother-in-law, your husband - everybody who's anybody needs a copy. I have no doubt it will become a legendary go-to guide for Southern gardeners and entertainers for years to come.



James, thank you for sharing your time and talents with us. You are a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Q and A with Spoonful - Knockout Roses, Tomatoes, and Full Sun

Hello all! It's me again, Sarah Barry Spooner from Spoonful, a novice gardener and friend of the Farmer. One advantage I have as having James as a real life friend is that I can shoot him an e-mail with my gardening woes and questions. Below in green are the questions I sent him regarding knockout roses, tomatoes, and full sun. I found his answers helpful and totally worthy of a blog post. James agreed.

my email to James:


James,

my knockout roses are splotchy on the leaves. are they diseased? what should i do?

also, i'm working on tomatoes. last time i grew these rodents got them. is there a good way to keep this from happening? should we get a scarecrow?

oh and when should i pick them {tomatoes} off the vine? when they are green?

what is considered full sun? is there an hourly limit? my yard is so shady and i'm really hoping my zinnias and wild flowers will make it. i planted in sunny places, but even the sunny places are somewhat shady at certain parts of the day.

i know you are super busy! answer these questions in your own time. i was thinking we could make a post about them. sort of a Q and A. I'll provide pictures if you like and link up on my blog.

i love collecting gardening knowledge little pieces at a time, year by year.

Mama Spoon

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James' answers are in blue text

my knockout roses are splotchy on the leaves. are they diseased? what should i do?

KO roses are probably the most disease resistant roses out there. Occasional splotches and blotches are to be expected on any rose though. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about them. Clip off spent blossoms to encourage new growth, fertilize with rich organic matter, and if the spots become severe, try a mixture of Murphy’s oil soap and water one cup to one gallon. Spray on the leaves, underneath the foliage too. That little bit of oil soap makes it tough for critters to stay on the leaves. There are non-organic and other methods to try, but for KO roses, I’d wouldn’t be too stressed.

also, i'm working on tomatoes. last time i grew these rodents got them. is there a good way to keep this from happening? should we get a scarecrow?

There is probably a remedy for every rodent when it comes to growing tomatoes and the like. Scarecrows do help, until the crow start resting on his arms! Rodents are startled easily so if the scarecrow has something that moves with the wind or is reflective on him, then that might help scare the crow away. Other fun things…marigolds help keep aphids away, cayenne pepper is frowned upon by squirrels, and moth balls detour just about anything or anyone!

oh and when should i pick them{tomatoes} off the vine? when they are green?

LOVE this question!!! pick off the vine when YOU want to eat it. tomatoes and many other fruits will ripen off the vine, but on the vine lends the most flavor. YET, there is that magic moment when a tomato is absolutely perfect one second and rotten the next. I pick them when I need them or know I’ll need them. Say I’m having BLT’s for lunch or tomatoes with supper…I’ll pick them that morning for sure or even the day before. With the heat coming on strong, the fruits will ripen faster, so picking a few green ones to ripen off the vine on your kitchen window sill or screen porch is just fine. Pick when you need them or within the day of cooking with them. And remember, each stage of the tomato’s ripeness yields different flavor…the green ones are spicy and mix well with red ones in a stew or succotash.

what is considered full sun? is there an hourly limit? my yard is so shady and i'm really hoping my zinnias and wild flowers will make it. i planted in sunny places, but even the sunny places are somewhat shady at certain parts of the day.

Full sun…that’s a loaded question… sunlight is somewhat akin to color theory…your blue might be gray and my green might be blue. But typically, an area that receives 6 or more hours of sunlight a day is considered “full sun.” When those 6 hours hit the plant it makes a huge difference. Morning light or an eastern exposure is completely different than a western exposure. Six hours of morning light versus afternoon light can make or break a plant. So when considering full sun, consider the type of light the plant will receive. Anything that gets sunlight from noon on is full hot sun to me. Yet, a plant that needs full sun and gets it until, say 3 pm, will be just fine shaded the rest of the day. Plants like hydrangeas and azaleas, or ANY blooming plant for that matter, need sunlight to photosynthesize and flower, but that softer sun, such as eastern exposures, is ideal for shady plants who still need some sunny love.

This was too much fun!!! thanks dear!!! let’s do more!

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Just for fun, some pictures of my efforts...past and present....

yellow knockout roses, given to us for our son's first birthday. What a neat gift, right?!

homegrown tomatoes, graciously donated to us in summer 2009 because mine were a big failure

 my first zinnia garden, summer 2008

Thanks for having me back, James!

Spoonful's Summer Faves

Hello readers, followers, and fans of ALL THINGS  FARMER. This is Sarah Barry from Spoonful. Since James is swamped with work, book promoting, and garden living, he asked me to do a "guest post" to navigate you kind people through some of last summer's recipes and garden goodness!
Here are few of my faves...

summer veggie salsa

the Farmer's tea

 peach tart

hydrangeas

herbs

Thanks for having me, James! Hope to be back soon with a little Q&A about knockout roses, tomatoes, and the technicalities of full sun!!!