A-market we will go

Sundried Tomato-Black Olive Bread; Herbed Loaves

So -- at this writing, late Friday afternoon, I have two more loaves of herbed bread making their second proof, and they're almost ready for the oven.  Yay!  The kitchen smells so mmmmmmmm when I bake this bread, seasoned up with garlic, oregano and basil.  It's become my go-to bread recipe for extended-family dinners because everyone loves it and it's kind of a departure from the more traditional dinner rolls.  (Sometimes I have to make an extra loaf for my nephew Matt to take home.)  The herbed bread has a nice crunchy-but-not-too-hard crust, and I think it's best when served warm.  It reheats well wrapped in foil; it also freezes well.  But my very favorite way to eat this bread is lightly toasted, then slathered in butter and jam -- there's something about the savory with the sweet. . . .  No -- wait -- maybe my favorite way is as the bread in a grilled cheese sandwich.

Okay, now let me tell you about the sundried tomato-black olive bread.  Let's call it the STBO bread.  This stuff is loaded -- and I mean loaded -- with sundried tomatoes and black olives.  And some basil.  Its flavors border on the intense.  It's dense, and moist, and some might call it decadent.  It's one of those "guilty pleasure" breads.  Serve it with cheese or alongside soup (I know it's nearly summer, but this bread is a reason to crank up the A/C to eat a hearty bowl) -- the STBO bread is a novel alternative to jalapeno cornbread.  Ooh, or have it with a glass of wine!  This bread is wonderful whether at room temp or warm and can be frozen if you must hide it from filchers (or yourself).

And for breakfast, or snacks, there are the scones.  I have often found scones to be sort of dry and sometimes too big and maybe not all that tasty.  But the ones I make are the opposite on all three counts.  I've got cranberry orange and cinnamon raisin for the farmers market this Saturday.  Here are the mini cinnamon raisin ones, which I'm batching up by the half-dozen.  There's a larger size, too.

I've also made fresh granola bars in bundles of three, and they're packed with cranberries, apples, almonds and sunflower seeds, with a hint of cinnamon.  A good friend of mine says he doesn't like crunchy food, but this morning he dropped by and I forced one of these on him.  He would have professed to conversion but he was too busy eating.



Anyway, these are just a few of the items I'll be purveying tomorrow at the Downtown Kennett Farmers Market.  Take a look at my earlier blog posts to see other things I'm offering.  If you're around, come by!