Farmer's Market—Week 13, August 27, 2012

Boy, was I off to a great start yesterday! The market opens at 3:00, and by 3:30, one of my mom's friends stopped by my table and bought 6 of my blueberry happyjacks (mini pies). Dee had stopped by my table the week before after I had run into her at church the day before that, and reminded her about the farmer's market. Last week, she bought 2 blueberry happyjacks, and some cookies. Over the course of the week, she ran into my mom and told my mom how great the pies were, and that she'd be back for more. So, as promised, she stopped by again and bought all 6 blueberry mini pies that I had. She paid me a lovely compliment by saying that friends that she has that are "in the business" raved about my happyjacks. It was very sweet, and I was very grateful for her business. She bought a few packs of chocolate chip cookies, too. It was a great way to start the day.

My cookie of the week this week was a sugar-free cookie—my last of the season. These ones were made with oatmeal, peanut butter, and bananas, plus a small amount of maple syrup (pure, of course), and some raisins. My diabetic customers, and those watching their sugar intake, loved these cookies. A few people purchased a dozen, and another purchased a 1/2 dozen, which didn't leave very many cookies left for the rest of the crowd. But that's ok. I'm just so happy to be able to provide a treat for those that can't really eat much sugar, or don't want to eat much sugar. 

So the cookie of the week was pretty well-depleted by around 4:30. Same with the apple happyjacks, too, and several other cookies. And I think I would have had another sell-out had it not been for the rain that set in around 5:15 and lasted pretty much until the market closed at 7:00. But I only ended up with 7 packs of cookies leftover, which isn't too bad. Jack was happy to have some brownies to gobble up for his bedtime snack last night.

The market is closed this coming Monday for Labor Day, but there's no rest for the weary in my house. My very special niece is turning 21 next week, and my brother and sister-in-law are throwing a big party for her. They've asked me to make the desserts for 60 people, so I'll still be busy this weekend, but in a different way. For her party, I'm making a bunch of cupcakes, a pie, a cookie cake, a regular cake, and a variety of cookies. So it will be fun, as most of these are desserts I don't make regularly. It will be nice to change it up a little bit. Oh, and on top of all of that, I have to make a batch of old fashioned chocolate chip cookies (you know, the ones from the recipe on the bag of chips) for my husband's fantasy football draft this Saturday. Whew, I'm tired already!

When we are back in business on September 10, we'll only have three weeks left to go. I'm planning on doing pumpkin infused treats for cookies of the week for those three weeks.... I'll probably do pumpkin pie bars on September 10, pumpkin whoopie pies on September 17, and then pumpkin pie bars again on September 24. They seem to be very popular this time of year. Lastly, I'm planning to make cranberry orange pound cakes those last three weeks, instead of the blueberry sour cream pound cake I've been making, so be on the lookout for that.

Until next time, have a yummy day!

Farmer's Market—Week 12, August 20, 2012

The weather today started off beautiful. The sun was shining. The humidity was low. The temperature was pleasant. The wind was refreshing. But then around 5:45 pm, the threat of rain started to set in. We got lucky, and it never really did rain, except for a few sprinkles for not even 10 seconds at a pop. But I think it still drove customers away, and it caused extra work for me, as I decided to put up two of my tent's sidewalls to try to ward off the dampness from the rain that never came. Those sidewalls are a pain every time I try to use them, but during a rainstorm, it's helpful to have them, as it protects me from the rain that decides to blow sideways into the tent.

Anyway, I'm not sure how to evaluate my week this week. I didn't sell out, but that's because I made a bunch more stuff. I had the equivalent of 97 items to sell, and I only sold 84. That's not too shabby. Last week, I had 80 items to sell, and I sold out at 6:30. That's why I decided to make more. I guess I didn't need to go as overkill as I did on the extra stuff, but I must admit, HappyJack is pretty happy tonight because he got to eat some apple pie. He's been begging for leftovers for weeks, and I just haven't had any to bring home. Tonight, he is a happy man.

Today's market was fun, as usual. It was nice to see all of my regulars, as well as the few new customers I had today. I hope the newbies enjoyed my treats. I had one customer ask about what happened to the other girl that had been selling pie at the market. I told the woman that the other pie girl was no longer selling her pies at this market, and the woman said, "Her pies were so good!" as she was standing there in front of my mini pies. I had to laugh (to myself, of course). So I then said, "Well, have you tried mine? They're very good." That wasn't enough to convince her to buy one. Oh well. Maybe next week. Someone else bought one, commenting, "This better be good for as fattening as I'm sure it is." Hopefully she ended up a satisfied customer. But I may never know.

This week's cookie of the week was my mom's old peanut butter cookie recipe. They're so fabulous. I just love them. I used to make them all the time before I discovered all of these other wonderful cookie recipes (back when I was more of a one-trick pony in the kitchen), so it was a nice memento of another time in my life. They sold pretty well. I had made a lot of them, and ended up selling about 75% of what I made. My friends at work will probably be happy to have some leftovers tomorrow.

I'm thinking of doing another sugar-free cookie for next week's cookie of the week. It's been about a month since I did one, so I'm interested in trying another recipe.

This time of year starts a rough time for me and the market. I have a love-hate relationship with it at this point because of my husband's schedule (he coaches volleyball, so he often has games or practices on Monday nights). He was unable to make it to help me pack up my gear (and subsequently unpack it back at home) at the end of the day today. And I think over the course of the remaining weeks of the market, he may only be able to help me once. It may not seem like a big deal, but it is for me. Everything is heavy, it takes a long time when there's only one of me, and I have to do it all after having worked a 12-hour day between my regular job and the farmer's market. But c'est la vie. I manage, and it's never enough to make me want to quit, because I get so much joy and satisfaction out of baking, and making friends with my customers and the other vendors, that at this point, I can't imagine my life without HappyJack Bakery.

So until next week, have a yummy day!

Farmer's Market—Week 11, August 13, 2012

Wow, three weeks in a row selling out. I don't get it. Four weeks ago, I had the worst week I had had this season so far. I had taken the equivalent of 83 items (6-packs of cookies, single happyjacks, or a single pie), and I came home with 18 items. It's unusual for me to have that much left, but four weeks ago, that's what I came home with. I was so discouraged. But I don't know what happened. Ever since that week, things have really picked up, and I've now sold out week after week. And I feel badly as people walk by my table at 6:00 pm, with one hour to still go, and all I have left is a few sad little bags of cookies. There's no selection left, but fortunately, what's left still sells, as it's still all good, no matter if it's what's left at the end or not.

So now, in order not to disappoint my customers, I'm torn about whether or not to make more items for next week. I don't like to have leftovers, but I don't like to sell out too early, either. The girl that was selling mini pies at the market in prior weeks was not there today, but even without her there, it still took all afternoon to sell my 12 mini pies. I don't understand how she comes and that's pretty much all she sells, and I'm sure she sells more than 12. So why do I have so much trouble selling my 12? It's not because they're not good; I'm certain of that. I just don't get it. So if I made more, would I sell more? If I made more cookies, would someone come along and buy them? I guess maybe I'll just have to try it and see, and be ok with the fact that I might have leftovers. 

My cookie of the week this week was a vanilla raisin cookie, and wow, did I really like it. I'm surprised. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, and I'm almost considering adding it to my menu for next year, perhaps even replacing the oatmeal raisin. I don't know. We'll have to see. Speaking of cookie of the week, I feel bad because every week, someone comes by that had my cookie of the week from the previous week, and they want more. They don't realize that the cookie of the week is usually a one-time deal. But often, they don't buy anything else from me when they find out that the sought-after cookie is not there. Surprising.

As you can see, I really don't have anything new or interesting to tell you about today, so I won't bore you any further with the details. Next week, the other cookie lady is making a sugar free cookie, and I'm going to make one the week after that. So that still leaves next week's cookie of the week open for suggestions. I'm sure I'll find something if no one makes a request, but if you have a hankering for something, let me know, and I'll see what I can do for you.

Until next week, have a yummy one!

Farmer's Market—Week 10, August 6, 2012

This week was amazing.

Last night, I was having a tough time of it. I have a "real" job where I work in an office, and my role is an operations manager for a design firm. I love that job, but baking is my passion. I love to bake, and most people that eat my treats love to eat what I bake, so it's always a win-win. But during the farmer's market season, I don't get a day off. I work at my "real" job four days a week. On my three days off from my real job, and even on days that I work at my real job, I'm home baking, or I'm at the commercial kitchen baking or making dough. So I have no day that I'm free from work. And then even on those days that I'm home baking (you know, those days we call weekends), there's so many things to also be done at home that I rarely feel like I get to rest or relax. It feels like all my family does is run here and run there. I'm sure you feel the same way. It seems to be an epidemic that we're always on the go.

Well, last night, I had a mini breakdown. My husband and daughter spent the day at a birthday party (they were gone from 1 pm until almost 8 pm), while I stayed home to get things done. I didn't get to relax at all, and barely had time to eat dinner before they got back, only to be disappointed in myself that I didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done while they were gone.

So after my daughter went to bed, and my husband and I were finally sitting down to watch a little bit of TV, I just started to cry. It's been over two months of this non-stop pace, and I had just had it last night. I was tired, cranky, hungry, pooped. You name it, I felt it. Jack suggested I take a week off from the market. But this is where the rub comes in—I can't seem to be able to allow myself a day off. What's wrong with me? Am I a glutton for punishment? I don't think that's it. I guess standing at the market, having a sell-out, greeting customers, talking with my regulars—I guess all of that outweighs the pains it takes to get there every week, and it makes it all worth it.

To make my point, today I had one of my regular customers stop by to buy her three regular treats: Squish Monsters, Chocolate Chip Snowballs, and Fudgy Brownies of Doom. We chatted for a minute or two, and when I went to give her her $1 in change, she said, "Just keep it." I tried to give it to her saying, "No, I couldn't possibly keep this. It's not necessary, but thank you." But she insisted. And then she said something like, "I'm so glad you're here every week, so I want to thank you with this tip." Well, if she just didn't know what to say at the right time, huh?

But it's for reasons like that, among all of the other accolades that I receive from my customers, that keep me coming back. Not because I like people to tell me how good my treats are, but because I know that I'm making them happy with my treats. I'm so happy that I can make all of you so happy. Again, it's a win-win. 

So to everyone that came out, to those that hung out and chatted with me for a while, for those that I haven't seen in a while, and for the new folks that came by today and tried some goodies for the first time, thank you so much for making what I do so worth it. 

Oh, by the way, today was another sell-out. Woo-hoo! So an extra thank-you to that man that bought the last pack of oatmeal raisin cookies. I really appreciate your business!

Until next week, have a yummy day!

Farmer's Market—Week 9, July 30, 2012

This week was a total success.


After last week's lackluster performance, I wasn't sure what to expect this week. But I decided to make most of what I normally make anyway. Last week, I had 14 packs of Squish Monsters for sale, and only sold 7. This week, I only had 10 to sell, and I sold out by 5:00. I'm sure I could have sold more if I had them. Also, last week, I had apple pie samples that I was giving away, yet I still ended up with a leftover pie, and lots of people asking for Apple HappyJacks, which sold out early last week. So this week, I didn't make any big pies, and made an abundance of HappyJacks (12 apple and 6 blueberry). Fortunately, all of the HappyJacks sold out, and believe it or not, within the first 30 minutes, I had someone ask for a big pie. It killed me to send them down the parking lot to the competition.


By the end of the day (in fact, by 6:45, a little before closing time), I had sold out of everything. I was thrilled. But it does make planning for next week a little more complicated. Will I really be able to sell another 18 HappyJacks? It seems like such a lot, and they're risky to make a lot of because they can't be frozen for the following week. Jack likes when these don't sell, because he then gets to eat them, but right now we're both trying to lose a few pounds, so it would really not be a good thing to have leftovers.


Anyway, my cookie of the week this week was the Snickerdoodle Blondie. The cookie of the week usually sells out by 6:00, if not sooner, so I was surprised this week when it took until almost 6:45 to sell them all. They are such a good cookie... kind of cake-like in texture (well, dense cake-like.... like a brownie), with snickerdoodle flavors. The cinnamon... the nutmeg.... oh, I can just taste them now. They were divine! I'm not sure what next week's cookie of the week will be. I'm not feeling particularly inspired at this time. I'm sure something will come to me.


Also, I decided not to make fortune cookies this week. They just have not been selling well, which I really don't understand. They're so good and flavorful, and they even have fortunes in them. But they're not worth the effort if no one is interested in them—they take a long time to make (well, relatively long, considering how long it takes me to make all of my other cookies).


Lastly, this week I also decided to make some homemade ice cream...not to sell at the market, of course, but to enjoy at home. I had some leftover Squish Monsters from a batch I had made for home, so I chopped up about 8 of them and put them in the ice cream. It is to die for! It's too bad I can't sell ice cream at the market. I'm certain all of you Squishie lovers would love this, too!


So that's the scoop for now (ha, no pun intended!). Until next time, have a yummy day!