Tag Archives: Howard County

Last Minute Gifts

Posted on December 18, 2013 by AnnieRie

We’re a week away from Christmas. Six more shopping days.

Have you found the perfect gifts yet? How about a few locally inspired/small business/non profit suggestions?

Even some of the more unusual items. Like gifts of food, or a CSA membership. Or, head over to the Howard County Conservancy or Robinson Nature Center gift shops to pick up stocking stuffers.

How about toys made in the USA, that Clark’s Farm has in their gift shop? They are open Saturdays from noon to three. The Enchanted Forest book, maybe, as a gift to someone who grew up here and has memories of visits and parties there.

Specialty foods for the holidays? Like the handmade specialty sausages made for Copper Penny by Simply Sausage. If you go there this weekend, I may be fighting for those last packages of these treats. Particularly the chorizo and the kielbasa. Although I may be tempted by that Philippine longganisa.

The same chorizo that they make for Jaleo chef Jose Andres.

Other local options. Wine from Black Ankle, Big Cork, Elk Run, Sugarloaf, Old Westminster, Serpent Ridge, all wineries very close to us and whose wines are available not only at the wineries but at many local liquor stores.

Greenbridge Pottery is another local place where awesome items are crafted right here in the county.

Gift certificates to locally owned restaurants would be a nice present. How about Iron Bridge, Victoria Gastropub, Bistro Blanc, Aida Bistro and dozens more? Make a choice to give something local instead of a chain restaurant card.

Local farms like Breezy Willow have gift items, not just food, but crafted items like the alpaca woven clothing, felted soaps, RJs herbal soaps.

Ice cream. Cheese. Local honey. Jam. Jellies. There are hundreds of possibilities.

Support Mother Nature’s off Snowden Parkway for your birding friends and relatives.

Crunch Daddy Popcorn of Columbia for those who love traditional and way out there flavors of popcorn.

Anything else you can think of? I have given you ideas from places where I have bought gifts, or visited, or dined at. What else is out there that supports the local economy?

hocoblogs@@@

Dreams vs Dreary

Posted on December 17, 2013 by AnnieRie

OK, after buying a ticket like millions of others, I didn’t win MegaMillions.

It would have been nice, wouldn’t it? Maybe I could fix dreary Columbia!

If you haven’t followed the latest local drama, the “dissing” of Columbia Gateway as dreary, by a New York writer, then you have been out of the local news loop for sure.

Personally, I agree the Gateway area leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe the Columbia residents need to pressure businesses to stop calling something Columbia when it isn’t.

Me, I think I will continue to love my part of the county. Make cookies again tomorrow.

Toll house, and then my mom’s sugar cookie recipe.

And, enjoy my tree from Greenway.

I think I did an awesome job decorating it.

Oh, by the way, much of the area is pretty dreary in the winter. Unless you love sunrises and sunsets, which are the heart and soul of the solstice.

Lovely, isn’t it? And, no, we didn’t win the money.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Commentary, Dark Days, Howard County, Local Businesses, Nature, Weather, West HoCo and tagged commentary, community, Howard County, local businesses, nature, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Way Too Much To Do …

Posted on December 15, 2013 by AnnieRie

… and not enough time to do it. Or, the weather doesn’t cooperate.

I was in cookie baking mode today, and also trying to decorate around the snow.

I can’t get the deer into the ground, until the snow melts a little. I did get the greens up around the door.

One very important stop yesterday on my rounds of Christmas shopping was the Sysco outlet.

The outlet is north of Rte. 175 on US 1. Near the flea market. It is where I get my basic baking supplies, and my cookie sheets. I was there yesterday to get a few new utensils, and some spices, and while there, I considered a couple more baking sheets. These sheets work very well. They are a light color, heavy and easy to clean.

I did more molasses cookies, like these, and I got my Viennese almond crescents done. I still need to do the sugar cookies. And the chocolate chip.

We don’t need any more snow, thank you very much! We have more than enough out there and I really did want to decorate the evergreens, if they ever lose their snow covering.

Tomorrow, the tree goes up in the living room, and more cookies get baked. We are running out of days to get it all done. I still need a few more presents.

Do I sound stressed? I should go relax, watch the football game and have a pastis.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Food, Howard County, Weather, West HoCo and tagged cooking, Food, Howard County, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!

Posted on December 13, 2013 by AnnieRie

Getting into the Christmas spirit using local farms for inspiration and products.

Like my poinsettias from Greenway Farms.

We headed out to the tree cutting site on Rte. 144 west of Cooksville after a visit to the landfill to rid ourselves of all the downed tree limbs.

I only wanted to get my poinsettias and maybe a really tiny tree. Turns out I really want a tree in the living room, so we succumbed and cut a five foot high white pine.

It is sitting in a bucket in the garage waiting for tomorrow to be put into place.

We also got a small basil for my kitchen window. They also have little rosemary trees, if you want a specialty tree for a table.

Keeping in the Buy Local spirit, tomorrow I am heading out to Copper Penny for a ham, and Breezy Willow for alpaca gifts.

Then, home to decorate while watching my favorite football game.

Christmas, only 11 more days to go.

hocoblogs@@@

It’s Been A Soup Sort of Week

Posted on December 10, 2013 by AnnieRie

Seems to be the norm this week to have soup for lunch or dinner. What with a second snowfall today.

At least we got the snow thrower some hours. I think it hasn’t been used in two years. My husband had everything done in about an hour this afternoon. All told, between the two storms we had about seven inches of snow on the ground.

It even brought the red bellied woodpecker up close to the house, something she rarely does.

While we were out there, the crockpot was on, with my latest version of cauliflower leek soup bubbling away.

The secret to my soup? Garam masala. It makes it much more complex in flavor.

The recipe:
1 small head cauliflower, broken into pieces
4 medium leeks, sliced, white part only
2 scallions, sliced
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, parboiled first
1 pint stock (I used turkey)
1 pint almond milk
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Everything in the crockpot except for the almond milk, for six hours on high, or eight hours on low. One hour before serving, I pureed most of the mixture, leaving about 1/4 of it in its chunkier form. After pureeing it, add the almond milk for the last hour to give it the creamy texture.

Tonight we dressed it up a bit.

I had a package of Copper Penny Farm mini chorizo in the oven on slow cook (250 degrees) for that last hour. Placed a few of them, with some of their juice, over the soup.

A mostly local meal tonight. Just the spices and the almond milk, not local. Warm, satisfying. It’s interesting how soup is one thing we love to have when the “weather outside is frightful”.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Birds, Farms, Food, Locavore, Nature, Weather, West HoCo, Winter Eat Local and tagged birds, cooking, crock pot cooking, crockpot soups, farms, Food, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, nature, weather, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

One Snowy Sunday

Posted on December 8, 2013 by AnnieRie

And it still isn’t over. There are at least five inches of snow on the ground, and we are crossing our fingers that there won’t be much ice tonight.

Around noon, things were somewhat under control but with more snow and now freezing rain, getting up the hills could be interesting. I am so glad as a retired old person that I can sleep in tomorrow and avoid that rush hour mess around DC.

We always got a bit more snow and ice here in the western edge of Howard County. Our elevation of 600-800 feet across these parts is high enough to be a few degrees colder, and we see it in our snow fall totals.

This is the beginning of the heavier snow and ice on some of our ornamental grass. I hope tonight that the evergreens are spared the ice load. A few years back, we lost quite a few limbs on our pines and fir trees.

Watching football with a glass of Old Westminster Chardonnay, and some Bowling Green cheddar. Nice to be inside and warm. Wish us luck, to keep us from losing power!

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Posted in Community, Howard County, Retirement, Weather, West HoCo, Wine and tagged community, Howard County, MD Wine, nature, retirement, weather, West HoCo, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Spirit of the Season

Posted on December 7, 2013 by AnnieRie

Let’s start with the cookies, and then move on to the crafts fair and then to the winery. All in all, a busy weekend so far.

The cookie inspiration came from Rantings of an Amateur Chef.

I adapted it to use my butternut squash instead of pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

What you will need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup roasted butternut squash
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup natural cane sugar, for rolling the cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. This took a while as i hadn’t softened the butter enough. Add the roasted butternut squash, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix at medium speed until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, not all at once. I had about a cup at a time. Continue mixing until combined and it starts to clump up.

Refrigerate the cookie dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days. I chill mine overnight when I can. Because I made a double batch, I did divide it in half.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the cane sugar in a small bowl or on a plate. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the cane sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. I put two sheets at a time in the oven. Top and bottom third.

The cookies will still be soft. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I made larger cookies and got about 30 of them per batch.

I made a double batch to take to the Conservancy. The holiday crafts fair, which was a huge success. Including some amazing crafts made by the children. Like this one.

I spent today assisting at the fair. Watching all the festivities and linking people with local farms for trees, and for holiday dinner items like beef and pork.

Then, we headed off to visit a new winery to try out some bubbly. Nothing like a good blanc de blanc to get you in the spirit.

Our first visit to Old Westminster Winery, and definitely not our last. What a wonderful family owned winery. Right up the road from Mt. Airy.

Just the beginning of the holiday season and already we are out and enjoying the festivities. Here’s to a few more weekends spent out and about.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Adventures, Community, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Wine and tagged cooking, farms, Food, Howard County, howard county conservancy, local businesses, Locavore, MD Wine, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Cut Your Own Tree?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

For those of us who love the scent of freshly cut pine and who want to have a Christmas tree up for four weeks, getting a tree that you cut yourself is a good deal.

Granted, it can be daunting running all over the farms looking for that perfect tree.

For I don’t know how many years, we would head out to TLV Tree Farm to get a tree. Right after Thanksgiving.

I have been going through old pictures to decide which to keep and I have found dozens of pictures of our decorated house. Mostly with trees that we cut ourselves.

There are three choices here in Howard County. This web site gives you the name of the farms, arranged by county. Besides TLV, there are two others. Greenway Farms and Browning Tree Farm.

Just over the county lines, Pine Valley is north on Rte. 97 with an incredibly huge selection. And, Gaver Tree Farm is west of Mt. Airy, on Detrick Rd. Very close to a farm I frequent during the winter to buy dairy, meat, eggs and produce, England Acres.

If you want to support local businesses this holiday season, head out to the farms and either cut a tree or pick up one that they have cut very recently.

Certainly beats those dried up things the big box stores sell. Price wise, they are a good deal too.

Or, those of us who support Gorman Farm on Gorman Rd. east of Hopkins, can head out there where the farm stand is also open.

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Posted in Community, Farms, Howard County, Local Businesses and tagged community, farms, holidays, Howard County, local businesses, traditions. Bookmark the permalink.

Holiday Crafts Fair

Posted on December 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

Another first Monday. Another program committee meeting. Where I spent this morning on last minute planning for this Saturday, and on longer term planning for our 2014 programs.

The fair at Howard County Conservancy. Have you ever been to it? For those who live in Howard County, this weekend marks the beginning of what I call holiday fair overload. There are certainly enough of them out there.

Why is the one I volunteer for so unique? It is a natural crafts fair. One where local artisans like GreenBridge Pottery from Dayton, and Breezy Willow Farm from West Friendship bring items they have crafted.

There is also a demonstration by a master gardener, on how to create greenery. And a critter craft table for the little ones to keep busy while their families shop.

Want local honey?

Or alpaca wool clothing? Or children’s books and puppets? Or pottery? Or, much more!

The fair has no charge to attend. It takes place from 10 am until 3 pm. Come visit and browse the collections. Have a holiday cookie. Partake in some awesome hot chocolate.

Get in the holiday spirit with us. And, don’t forget to pick up our new bookmark with the list of our 2014 programs on it.

Our creative committee came up with some amazing new programs for next year. You will be surprised and we hope you are delighted with what the volunteers are offering.

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Posted in Howard County, Nature, People, Volunteering and tagged community, farms, Howard County, howard county conservancy, nature, volunteering. Bookmark the permalink.

Small Business Saturday

Posted on November 29, 2013 by AnnieRie

For those of us who avoided Black Friday, and spent time doing things around the house, instead of standing in line at the mall, we have tomorrow to participate in the “Small Business Saturday” campaign.

For me, most of our time is spent in small businesses. Not just tomorrow, but most days we try and spend more of our money supporting local retailers, services, farms, and restaurants.

Where could you go tomorrow in and near Howard County that you might not have thought as a source of goods or services?

Christmas trees. Available at Gorman Farm on Gorman Rd. TLV Tree Farm on Triadelphia Rd. Greenway Farms on Rte. 144.

Meats for the holidays. Clark’s Farm. Copper Penny Farm. Maple Lawn Farm. Breezy Willow Farm. TLV Tree Farm. England Acres. Boarman’s Market. Wagner’s meats. Treuth Butcher.

Breads, cakes, cookies and more. How about Atwater’s in Catonsville. The Breadery in Oella. Great Harvest in Columbia. Bonaparte in Savage.

Shop Main St for gifts. Not just Main St. in Ellicott City, but in Sykesville, Mt. Airy, Laurel, Savage (The Mill), Catonsville, and in New Market.