Baked goods galore at BT farmers market

Under cloudy skies and sheltering from the wind, four vendors offered smiles, baked goods, and award-winning jelly on the opening day of the Big Timber Farmers Market.

"Well have more vendors as the season gets going," promised market manager Shona Wieting.

When the Hutterites start bringing vegetables, beginning next week if the weather is better, more customers will appear as well.

Meanwhile, today there were plenty of freshly baked pies, cinnamon twists, rolls, loaves of bread, doughnuts, lemon bars, and brownies to choose from. I bought a few things to bring home for myself.

You gotta love these ladies who get up at 4:30 a.m. to bring the lucky citizens of Big Timber warm goodies fresh from their ovens.

Be sure to visit them sometime this season. But get there early. On a pleasant summer day, those cinnamon rolls sell out quickly.

Big Timber Farmers Market

West 1st Ave & Hart Street, across from American Bank

June 14 - September 27 (depending on weather)

Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm

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Baked beans

(click to enlarge)

Theres something very warming about baked beans on a snowy day.

Today I cooked up products from Western Trails (see my blog entry about my factory visit, too), made and grown in Montana. Arent the beans (above) lovely? Can you pick out the adzuki, black, great northern, navy, pink, and pinto beans?

Rustler BBQ Bean Sauce and Buckaroo BBQ Bean Mix

Moz admires the beautiful layering of beans

These products are tasty and easy to use. Also, they keep a long time in the cupboard, and all you need to do is add water. This is important for long Montana winters, where you might not go to the store -- or at least feel like you dont want to go to the store -- for weeks at a time. If the power goes out, simmer them on the wood stove.

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Pumpkin bread pudding

Thanks to a suggestion by discerning dots4eyes, I made the pumpkin bread pudding on the Smitten Kitchen blog.

Its really easy to make, and there are all sorts of variations possible. For example, I did not add bourbon; I dont have any and dont particularly like it -- certainly not enough to drive miles on an icy road to add it to this recipe.

I used my own pumpkin, which is a bit watery, so it wasnt the bright orange you might get using the commercially canned variety. But it was sooo tasty that I felt like doing handsprings. Unfortunately, I am so bundled up in sweaters and long-sleeved shirts that wasnt possible. Or maybe that was fortunate. I havent done a handspring in many years, and there might have been sad consequences.

One thing I noticed in the comments to the original recipe is that many people are unsure of their cooking skills. One gal lamented that her bread wouldnt cut into squares. Mine didnt either, but in this recipe that doesnt matter.

crumbs being added to custard

One thing that does matter, I think, is to use unsalted butter. I rarely pay attention to this in recipe instructions, and Ive never felt anything was too salty . . . except this time. The custard is quite subtle, so whatever is in the butter does shine through. I recommend using the finest butter you can afford. (I used the IGA brand on sale this week, so dont let that stop you.)

Also in the comments was a suggestion to top it off with whipped cream mixed with brown sugar and sour cream. I just used the whipped cream and sugar. The pudding definitely does not need anything added to it, but you really cant go wrong with whipped cream on anything. I sprinkled on some freshly grated nutmeg for an extra spark.

Many comments included something like: "I could eat the whole pan!" Yes, its that good.

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