#stormcupcakes

alas, it appears winter has another wallop in store for us this weekend.

if the weather network forecast is actually true, and not just propaganda, chances are i won't be making it to the city on sunday. best to not take any chances, come by tomorrow to stock up on #stormcupcakes #stormmeals #stormsoup... i've got all your #stormgrub needs covered.

i'm pretty exhausted so this will be brief. yet again, i've allowed cakes to take over my life. this evening i experienced a frosting induced rage blackout. cakes are a lot of work & they make A LOT of mess but i guess they do look nice once they're finished. here's my handiwork from this week:

ugh.

at least i'm really happy with the salad selection this week.

broccoli slaw: broccoli, kale, carrots, red pepper, purple cabbage, peanuts, ginger, sesame, citrus, sriracha. paleo & vegan

bean: adzuki, garbanzo, green, lentils, celery, cucumber, red pepper, dill, dijon & garlic. vegan & gluten free.

quinoa: quinoa, millet, fennel, pink grapefruit, arugula, radicchio, white wine vinaigrette. vegan & gluten free.

there's a new batch of coq au vin too. red wine braised chicken with leeks & a mushroom medley - kings, oysters, shiitakes & creminis. served with kale & maple glazed root vegetables. the regular version comes with creamy parmesan polenta.

and the paleo version comes with sweet potato puree.

they're both gluten free & the paleo version is even dairy free!

i also decided that this is the week everyone should rekindle their love affair with snickers brownies. there's a reason they've been on my menu since day one.

& they're even gluten free.

that concludes my weekly blog update. i'm really looking forward to going to sleep!

hope to see you all tomorrow. fingers crossed the storm misses us on sunday but don't forget to stock up on #stormcupcakes just in case.

weekend update

i'm not sure where this week went but all of a sudden it's friday night again & i'm updating my blog.

i've been cooking away all week & the freezers are absolutely brimming with tasty grub.

first up was a batch of thai chicken & rice soup. i always start off with chicken stock made from scratch & then jazz it up with lots of garlic, ginger & aromatics. after this tasty concoction simmers all day, i add in the chicken, rice & veggies - carrots, celery, peppers, bok choy, bean sprouts, scallions & cilantro. it's both gluten & dairy free with a touch of coconut milk.

$8/500ml

then it was on to a batch of lentil shepherd's pies. this is pretty much the healthiest thing i make. it's gluten free, dairy free, sugar free & vegan. it seems that 1/2 of halifax is on some sort of restricted diet at the moment so this one is a great option for most people. in lieu of beef like a typical shepherd's pie, i use lentils cooked up with onions, carrots, peas, corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, kale & herbs. the mash is a cauliflower-sweet potato-parsnip-potato combo with roasted garlic, nutmeg & sage. there is so much stuff going on in this dish you won't miss the meat or dairy.

small $9  large $18

i've really been loving the 3-bean and quinoa salads lately (i've even been eating them myself & that NEVER happens) so i kept them the same for this weekend. they're both vegan & gluten free.

i have been getting pretty tired of the broccoli salad though. this week i switched it up & used a tangy peanut sauce, toasted sesame seeds, red cabbage, red pepper, a touch of orange & peanuts. it's now vegan but not gluten free because i used a splash of soy sauce in the dressing. i've been making the broccoli salad for so long, i thought a bit of a change would be nice - i hope you enjoy it!

the sweets are pretty much the same as last weekend except carrot cupcakes are back instead of strawberry. also, if you haven't had the goat's milk fudge lately, i've changed how it's portioned so it's all uniform & you don't have to wait around while i slice & package it.

it's $1/pc & so much more efficient like this!

ok that about wraps things up.

but just wanted to let you know, i've been accepted in to the halifax crafters spring show which will be held april 18th & 19th at the olympic centre on hunter & cunard. if you follow @halifaxcrafters or #halifaxcrafters on instragram you'll be able to see the work of all the great people who attend the show. mark your calendars now because this show is fantastic!

ok time for sleeping!

hope to see you all over the weekend.

hibernation

i made a ton of food this week! 

i haven't really been leaving the house much, just staying in & cooking and i'm actually ok with that at this time of year. if you're also hibernating, i made the perfect food for you - soups, hearty comfort food & cupcakes.

my first project of the week was a new batch of curried butternut squash soup. this is a vegan, gluten free & paleo option. i roast the squash first to enhance its flavour & sweetness and then simmer it all day with aromatics, coconut milk & lots of interesting spices. this batch is much less spicy than usual but has a bit of a bite on the finish. this is perfect cold weather food.

then it was on to beet, parsnip & pear soup - another vegan, gluten free & paleo option. this soup is ultra healthy & ultra flavourful. the beets and parsnips are strong & the sweetness from the pears really rounds things out. i brighten it up with fresh dill & a touch of lemon.

vegetarian soups - $7/500mL

then began the chilli pork & cornbread saga. i started with 20 lbs of local, pastured pork from getaway farm which i braised overnight with chipotle, cumin & charred tomatillos. once it was super tender & delicious, i stirred it in to a giant vat of red chilli with black beans, corn, bell peppers & lots of lime. then that delicious concoction was topped with homemade cornbread crumbled with cheddar cheese & scallions.

small $10  large $20

and last but not least, i made another batch of brisket & blue. this is a definite menu favourite at this time of year! again, i started with 20 lbs of grass fed beef from getaway farm. this time i cooked it up with lots of red wine, sundried tomatoes & pears. it's accompanied by blue cheese gnocchi with roasted garlic & kale.

small $11  large $22

i also have small servings of blue cheese gnocchi on its own, which always makes a great side dish. they're $6 each.

last week the 3-bean salad was quite a hit so i made it again, with the addition of lentils.

the broccoli & quinoa salads are also the same as last week.

if the crummy weather has you craving sugar, i also made lots of sweet treats for the market.

cupcakes:

vanilla

pink grapefruit

strawberry

red velvet-raspberry

lemon-blueberry

chocolate

chocolate-mint

gluten free chocolate

the gluten free raspberry cheesecake bars are back this week with the addition of blueberries. the pecan blondies with brown butter & salted caramel have also returned.

and of course, there's goat milk fudge, snickers brownies & breakfast cookies - those are pretty much staples.

well the forecast actually looks decent for the weekend, the days are getting longer & the end of winter is in sight. i'm feeling a bit more positive this week & i hope you all are as well.

hope to see you all over the weekend!

saturday 7am-3pm

sunday 9am-3pm

don't forget sunday! it's not nearly as crowded so you can take your time & chat with your favourite vendors (AKA me). you can also bring the kids, have a leisurely brunch & let them run free without fear of getting lost. sounds like a win-win to me ;)

comfort food

it's official, it is the grumpiest time of year!

everyone's spirit seems to have been broken by mother nature - my self included. i think the general consensus is that sleep, sweatpants & comfort food are the only things to cure the winter blues (if not a trip to the tropics).

...or maybe a cake. it seems like i've been on a bit of a tear.

i've also been trying to switch up my sweets spread a bit. this week i'll have passionfruit shortbread bars & the raspberry cheesecakes are now gluten free with an almond crust.

i also made a ton of savoury comfort food this week!

lately it's been incredibly difficult to keep shepherd's pie in stock. even though i just made it two weeks ago, i replenished the regular & paleo versions.

small $10  large $20

i think mac & cheese may be the quintessential comfort food. this week i added double smoked bacon, broccoli, cauliflower, cheddar, parmesan & mozzarella.

small $9  large $18

beef stew is another comfort classic & i finally restocked my supplies - potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, tomato, herbs & peas.

$8/500ml

as of tomorrow, the chicken, beef & seafood soups will be $8. the vegetarian varieties will remain at $7 - thanks for your understanding.

to offset all the hibernating & #stormchips, i have lots of salads for the weekend. the broccoli is the same as usual but i have 2 vegan, gluten free options as well.

3-bean: cucumber, celery, red pepper, garbanzo, adzuki & green beans, dill, dijon & garlic

quinoa: since everyone seems to be feeling under the weather, i made the vitamin c version with pink grapefruit, fennel, baby arugula, red onion & parsley 

ok i think that about wraps it up. the freezers are brimming at the moment & there is a ton of variety. this is both a good & bad thing - while it's great that i have tons of options, i will without a doubt forget to pack something tomorrow morning so please bear with me as i get sorted.

sleep well & i hope to see you all over the weekend (don't forget sunday!).

'twas the night before valentine's day

i had quite a busy day...quite a busy week in fact.

this is the first time, since i started my business, that valentine's day has fallen on a weekend. i'm anticipating a rather bananas day tomorrow.

i have tons & tons of treats:

goat's milk fudge

spicy cinnamon heart brownies

raspberry cheesecakes

passionfruit shortbread bars

salted caramel, brown butter blondies

snickers brownies

hello dollies

cupcakes:

vanilla

strawberry-vanilla

lemon-blueberry

pink grapefruit

red velvet-raspberry

chocolate-mint

double chocolate

paleo chocolate

i'm doing special, valentine's day 3-course dinners tomorrow too (they've all been preordered). this year i was actually smart & just made larger batches of it all so i could turn a bunch in to freezer meals. 

new frozen options are:

coq au vin with polenta

paleo coq au vin with sweet potato puree

brisket & blue

paleo brisket with sweet potato puree

creamy celery root & parsnip soup

lobster risotto side dishes

salads this week are broccoli & beet.

can you tell i'm tired? my blog is definitely lacking in pictures tonight but if you hop over to my Facebook page or check out my instagram feed, you'll get a better idea of what i've been up to all week.

hope to see you all tomorrow. 

have a happy valentine's day!

ps: looks like there's going to be a blizzard on sunday. should it materialize, chances are i will not be at the market so make sure to stock up tomorrow before the snowpacolypse arrives.

be prepared

if you're not familiar with frankie macdonald, you should be. his passionate weather warnings urge maritimers to always BE PREPARED! 'order your pizzas, order your chinese food, buy cases of pepsi, buy cases of coke'... or maybe you could just have a freezer full of little red kitsch'n food to help you weather the storm.

i got back to nova scotia on tuesday evening. there is a lot of ice here. i was worried the roads would be too dicey to get around & pick up all my ingredients to do the cooking but miraculously i got everything done! i'm even sitting down at a relatively reasonable hour tonight so hopefully i'll be ready for my first day back at the market.

i restocked a number of winter staples this week. first up was a double batch of beef shepherd's pies - 1/2 regular & 1/2 paleo. the regular version has cheddar-green onion mashed potatoes, tangy sauce, peas, carrots & corn. the paleo version is dairy free, omits the corn and replaces white potatoes with sweet potato puree.

small $10  large $20

next up were turkey & dressing pies. this is always tough to keep in stock. it's all white meat mixed with veggies in a rich turkey gravy made from homemade stock. then it's topped with dried cranberry & sage potato-bread dressing so it's like a holiday meal all wrapped up in one.

small $10  large $20

the remainder of the turkey stock made its way in to some hearty turkey stew.

it has potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, peas, herbs and a touch of citrus to brighten it up.

$7/500ml

for some lighter fare, i have 3 varieties of salad for the market this weekend.

sweet potato:

beet:

broccoli:

i'll also have a new sweet on my table this weekend - raspberry cheesecake bars. they're nice & creamy but with a little ginger and the tart raspberries to cut through the richness. i 'sampled' the edges when i was portioning it & i'm pretty pleased with the results.

i also made a ridiculous amount of goat milk fudge today. it's definitely the sweet i missed most while i was away.

the bricks are headed to obladee wine bar. for the market i made over 100 of the little individual cups so hopefully that'll last the weekend.

also, it's valentine's day next saturday! since it falls on a market day this year, i won't be offering delivery service but i will be doing special 3-course meals which can be picked up from me at the market (preorders only). i wrote a little blog about it earlier this week.

unfortunately, i won't be able to take any more orders for v-day cakes but if you'd like to place orders for cupcakes, they are $30/dozen & $10/dozen for minis. they'll be in shades of pink, cream & violet with heart shaped sprinkles. orders can be sent to jenna@littleredkitschn.com

thanks for reading & i hope to see everyone at the market over the weekend.

ps: please don't forget the market is open sundays...i'm there...& i get lonely ;)

Valentine's Day Dinner

i've been away for a few weeks and am just getting back in to the swing of things, hence the lateness of this post!

i will be doing special 3-course valentine's day dinners-for-two this year. since valentine's day falls on a saturday this year, i won't be doing deliveries but will have meals available for pick up from my table at the market from 7am-4pm.

meals will be fresh, never frozen, to make heating up a little quicker that evening. i've tried to accommodate lots of dietary restrictions & included a design-your-own main course feature; i just ask that couples choose the same selection so it doesn't get overly confusing for me - thanks!

dinner for two - $50

first course

chai-spiced carrot, apple, ginger soup (vegan, paleo, gluten free)

creamy celery root & parsnip soup (contains dairy, paleo, gluten free)

main course

slow cooked beef bourguignon - braised beef with pearl onions, sun dried tomatoes & pears

coq au vin - classic red wine braised chicken with leeks & wild mushrooms

both mains are gluten free, paleo & dairy free.

both mains come with a side of maple-glazed roasted carrots, beets, baby turnips & winter greens and 1 choice of side.

side dishes

sweet potato puree (paleo, dairy free, gluten free)

creamy parmesan polenta (gluten free)

blue cheese gnocchi

lobster risotto (gluten free) additional $10 

sweet sampler

mini cupcakes, goat milk fudge, brown butter blondies, passionfruit shortbreads, chocolate ganache brownies

please specify if you need entirely grain free sweet samplers

orders can be sent to jenna@littleredkitschn.com. cash, cheque or credit card is ideal when you pick up at the market.

thanks!

ps: i don't want to discriminate, if you'd like to order dinner-for-one that's totally cool & will just be 1/2 price xoxo