Baking,Baking and more Baking....

If there's one thing that I have always loved to do, it's bake! I'm not sure exactly how it all started but I remember wanting to make special cookies at Christmas time for family and guests. Each year I would begin baking cookies in the fall a couple of times a week. Sometimes I would just practice and other times I would freeze some. By the time the holidays arrived, I had enough cookies for gifts and for family and guests. This past summer I baked and sold bread and cookies at the local farmer's market. Now I'm baking for a couple of local coffee shops. This weekend I made some cookies and muffins. I also made a cake and a couple of different kinds of scones but neglected to take pictures to share. This has kept me quite busy! Music teacher by day and weekend baking warrior!

This is a chocolate chip muffin. Looks pretty tastey even if I do say so myself. I'm very lucky, my husband taste tests for me!

This is an Apple Cinnamon Muffin and the topping has walnuts in it. Wonderfully delicious!

Chocolate chip cookies that go really well with coffee!! The perfect combination....

The last but not least.....my shortbreads. My sister-in-law loves these cookies! I usually make them bite size but decided to try making some rather large ones to see how it would go. They came out well and tasted fine even in the larger size. My experiment proved to be a success.

Changes on the horizon

We've made some big changes at http://www.northforkgifts.com/ Take a look.... Sent out a hand painted candle to one of our online customers. Updates to the site make it possible to purchase various gifts from our shop. We're planning to add products from our bakery as well. Many pressed flower design candles were added as well. Soon we'll be out gathering lots of things to press. Pressed flowers are so beautiful and so much fun to work with. We are working on making more dried flower arrangements and decorative wreaths. These are always a great way to spruce up our home as we await the first spring flowers.

It's been very busy!

It seems like a very long time since I've written. I've been finishing up "my small business 101" through the entrepreneur center at Clarkson. I think we all learned a lot. I've met some wonderful people and my head is just spinning with new information and ideas for the bed and breakfast.

The baking continues as well. Scones, squares, bars, bread...very yummy stuff!! Today I spent the day in Canton at "Boot Camp" for women's business. There were many wonderful women there sharing their business expertise. It was a very interesting day for sure.

The out of the box sampler boxes are on sale and North Fork Gifts is in the box! It's very exciting!

Breakfast Scones and Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Just made these delicious Cinnamon Apple Muffins. A wonderful way to start the day!  I'm going to put the recipe on our website. Our Bed and Breakfast Guests will be having these muffins and Breakfast Scones in February and March. Finding new delicious recipes for our Bed and Breakfast guests is a lot of fun! Anyone staying at our B&B will have a chance to taste these for breakfast! Just let us know you saw our blog or the recipe on our website and we'll be sure to make these for you during your stay.

Our new Breakfast Scones are also a wonderful breakfast treat! These are yummy! Made with buttermilk and just a bit of whole wheat flour, they have a wonderfully wholesome taste. These go well with a variety of fresh fruits and vanilla yogurt.  They are great just by themselves as well with a cup of St. Lawrence Valley Roasters fabulous coffee. 

A Very Busy Day....

Today is a very busy day here at North Fork. We are creating several new products and we're very excited about them. We are making foot soap, new lotions, layered soaps and guest size sample soaps. We'll be posting pictures of these as soon as we can so check back to see them!

My Out of the Box Sampler

I feel the need to tell everyone about my out of the box sampler. I continue to be amazed by the number of artists and the variety of products that they make. My very favorite from my sampler box were the handmade cards. You simply must check these out! Go to her website and you too will be amazed!

Inside of the cellophane bag that the cards come in were card confetti, tags and it was sealed with a sparkly red heart sticker. Just the right embellishment.
I especially liked the ribbon the the card and stamp added just the right touch. It says "In Love With You yesterday,today,tomorrow,forever" The card itself has texture as it has raised hearts on the card, the ribbon and it opens at an angle. All of these characteristics lend themselves to this exquisite presentation. http://www.apenny4u.shophandmade.com/ is the place where you'll find what I'm talking about.

These pictures are just a few of the wonderful cards,gift tags, gift bags and gift boxes that you can purchase here. I highly recommend checking this out. I know you'll find something you'll love and just have to have.

http://www.apenny4u.shophandmade.com/

My Out of the Box Sampler Box Arrived....

I can't even believe it's been a week since I 've written. I apologize. Another music festival, illness and the sheer fact that things have just been way too busy would be the contributing factors.

Yesterday I was excited to find that my Out of the Box Sampler had arrived. It had all kinds of wonderful things inside from many different artists. There were soy tarts, cookies, lotion, soaps and handmade cards, just to name a few. I plan to provide more details later today or tomorrow. If you have a chance, do sign up for one of these boxes as they are worth every penny and then some. This one was a Valentine box. More details forthcoming. It's off to work for me! http://www.outoftheboxsampler/