Oh, the Places We See . . . » Cruze Farm

Food trucks on Union: It’s Saturday morning!

Rusha Sams — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 03:20:28 +0000

Just about everyone loves the new food trucks on Union Avenue on Saturday mornings!

Saturday mornings in downtown Knoxville are just downright fun! You might not think a farmers’ market could bring out the masses, but it does, and for good reason. Even with the bulk of Tennessee crops gone for the season, the Saturday Farmers’ Market still thrives. We saw vendors with crafts and such, farmers with greens and cool weather veggies, and workmen setting up the holiday ice rink. And with today’s warmer weather, people were out walking their dogs, strolling their kids, sipping coffee, and buying something local to eat from ood trucks on Union Avenue!

Parked closest to Gay Street was Mister Canteen. It’s a simple, boxy truck advertising the food of the day on cool chalk boards. Like Wapsi Valley Grit Bowl: grits and gravy with Riverplains Farm fried egg and pasture sausage for just $10! And to wash it all down — Mister Tea: organic Earl Grey iced tea lightly sweet for just $2!

Mister Canteen

A sign to the right of the window said that Mister Canteen will be taping a segment for Eat St. on Friday, November 22nd at noon. You may want to head downtown for your 10 minutes of fame — or just to say you’ve been there!

Hoof wasn’t quite as busy at the breakfast hour when we were there, but I have no doubt that lunch will pick up since Hoof advertises grass-fed burgers and farm fresh creations. I’d be tempted to try the English muffin with sweet fennel sausage, cheddar, and an egg for only $6, but I might hold out for lunch so I could eat big on the Smokehouse Burger: bacon, cheddar, with smoked onion jam for $12!

Hoof offers grass-fed beef in their burgers.

Tootsie Truck posted a sign that read Temporarily Closed due to technical difficulties, so breakfast was out of the question. But if you got there for lunch, and they were open, you could try a Local Pheasant Plate for $11, a Pork Belly Plate (with sides of organic blackeyed peas and local turnip greens) for $9, or a Jerk Chicken Plate for $8. All sounds good.

Temporarily closed?

Savory & Sweet has been around a while, and I’m a fan of their Pork Burrito (coffee chipotle smoked pork, Spanish rice, black beans, jack and cheddar cheeses, homemade salsa, and chipotle crema in a spinach wrap) all for $8! But they also offer Pumpkin Ravioli ($7) and Cuban Lasagna with local grass-fed beef from Strong Stock Farm ($7).

Savory & Sweet

The Cruze Farm Milk Bar was there sporting new artwork. (Well, new to us.) Those cute Cruze Farm Girls were painted on plywood — one licking a cone and the other sipping fresh milk from a bottle!

Also new was what they call the Dolly Parton duets — double scoops in a cone! Like salted butter caramel paired with vanilla bean or chocolate chip paired with that same great-sounding salted butter caramel. Mmmmm. Double trouble!

Cruze Farm Dairy Bar

The Dale’s Fried Pies stand reminds me of a child’s lemonade stand but they offer delicious sweet or savory pies instead of lemonade! Today’s sweet pie choices were apple, cranberry brie, and candied sweet potato. In the savory category were sausage, egg, & cheese; chipotle mac & cheese; and turkey pot pie. If you wanted to warm up, rosemary apple cider would only set you back two bucks!

Dale’s Fried Pies: Savory or Sweet?

Last on the row was Good Golly Tamale, a stand under an umbrella where hot foil-wrapped tamales were awaiting your decision. Would it be the new Strong Stock Farm beef? Or Thai chicken with green chile, coconut and Thai basil? Or butternut squash with spicy maple glazed pecans? Or maybe black bean and farmer’s cheese on blue masa? Good golly. Get one of each!

Good Golly Tamale

The food scene in downtown Knoxville has just gotten even more complicated. And there are more reasons than one for coming downtown on Saturday.

So, shop the booths, sip the coffee, and try something new while standing on Union Avenue. There are worse things than being a food truck foodie!

For more information:

Mister Canteen: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mister-Canteen/480897121980922

Hoof: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoofKnoxville

Tootsie Truck: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tootsietruck

Savory & Sweet: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savorysweetfoodtruck

Cruze Farm: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CruzeFarm

Dale’s Fried Pies: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dalesfriedpies

Good Golly Tamale: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodgollytamaleknoxville

This is post #16 for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) for 2013.

Filed under: Farmers Market, Food, NaBloMoPo2013, Travel Tagged: Cruze Farm, Dale's Fried Pies, food truck, Good Golly Tamale, grass-fed beef, Hoof, Knoxville, Mister Canteen, Sweet and Savory Food Truck, Tootsie Truck, Union Avenue

“Puhleeze” butter my biscuits in Knoxville at the International Biscuit Festival!

Rusha Sams — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:49:54 +0000

Erin Donovan, Biscuit Festival Queen

Not ones to let a little rain dampen the day at Knoxville’s International Biscuit Festival (May 18, 2013), we grabbed our umbrellas and headed to Biscuit Boulevard alongside a handful of hungry folks milling around waiting for the 9:00 serving of the best biscuits in town! (After all, even if we did get wet, we’d be attending the top-ranked of the Top 10 Food Festivals in America named by Livability.com!)

We passed the Cruze Farm Milk Truck on our way to get coffee and then checked out the booths as they prepared for the onslaught of 20,000 festival goers — ready to dig in to the doughy delights.

The crew from Plaid Apron stopped a minute for a picture but quickly got to work setting up their chalkboard with what had to be the longest name in the best biscuit competition: Candied Benton’s Bacon, Clabbered Cream, Honey & Balsamic Reduction Buttermilk Biscuit!

Sapphire‘s was ready early on, so this blueberry specialty was one of my first of five samples I could get with a $10.00 ticket. Delicious!

By this time, the crowd packed the boulevard and long lines were ahead of us.

We waited about 15 minutes for a Green-Eyed Monster Pimento Cheese Buttermilk Biscuit from Tupelo Honey Cafe. Later, we learned this fab concoction tied for runner-up in the Best Biscuit category, but it garnered (deservedly so) the award for Best Biscuit Name. It wasn’t the name, however, that won us over: These biscuits were hearty yet light, creamy rich, and HUGE! (I knew I had to pace myself with more walking, waiting, and coffee sipping!)

The Pillsbury Dough-Boy stood ready with his newly acquired friend Rather from Crested Butte, Colorado. Husband Bert grabbed a Grilled Biscuit Sloppy Joe from their tent!

Flourhead Bakery and Tomato Head offered another cheesy delight: Sweetwater Valley Smoked Cheddar and Onion Biscuit that tied for runner-up with Tupelo Honey. All that yellow goodness on top really is that fabulous smoked cheddar you get from Sweetwater Valley Farm in Philadelphia, Tennessee. (Visitors welcomed!)

After spying another long line, we knew something good was waiting where the man in a red shirt from Applewood Farmhouse greeted everyone with a smile. Sure ‘nough. Winning the People’s Choice Award with the most guest votes was their Andouille Shrimp and Grits Biscuit — hot, spicy, and not on anyone’s diet, for sure. No wonder they took home the Biscuit Sunsphere Trophy!

But not to be outdone, RT Lodge now has bragging rights from the critics with their Deep Fried Biscuit with Braised Short Rib and Pickled Onion. Mmmm. A mixture of savory, spicy, and vinegary all in one. Deserved that Critic’s Choice Award!

We saved our last biscuit on the ticket for a sweet treat — the Strawberry Shortcake Biscuit from the Southern Living booth served to us by Whitney from Birmingham, Alabama. (Bet the whole staff wishes they’d had this assignment.)

If biscuits alone weren’t enough, there was even our favorite East Tennessee syrupy goodness from the Guenther family in a booth down the street: Muddy Pond Sorghum!

At the Biscuit Festival, even little kids get into biscuit eatin’ — like this happy fella who likes packin’ it in while strolling . . .

and these rather cooperative brothers in the children’s tent patting and rolling and cutting biscuits just like the chefs do!

Since we were stuffed from more carbs than we usually eat in a month, we were glad to take a break and enjoy the lively lyrics and thumping, hand-raising sounds of Jimmy Brown Johnson and the Band of Awesome on the Flatbed Music Stage. No one stood still — or even wanted to!

Click here to watch this YouTube video of “Biscuits in the Front, Party in the Back” as seen and heard on WBIR’s “Live at Five at Four.”

We stopped to talk to our friends Kathy and Dan Hamilton who were on their way to the Blackberry Farm Biscuit Brunch in Krutch Park Tent. From all accounts, this is the culinary route to a great Saturday, so we may have to try it next year.

Harry and David set up a booth for the first time this year . . .

and B97.5 motioned us over for more freebies on a plate.

We almost did a double-take when we saw the Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams booth with the owner himself, Allan Benton, serving his nationally-famous smoked country ham and bacon.

I said to him, It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Benton. And you’re still smiling after being on your feet all morning?

He politely replied in his Southern gentleman way: Any time I’m holding Benton’s bacon, there’s gonna be a smile on my face! (Sure enough. He was still smiling when we passed by a little later in the morning, too.)

We mozied back around to Market Square to take in some of the crafts and farm-fresh foods brought in for the day. We found Biscuit Festival mugs . . .

and Blackberry Farm products you can purchase online or from their catalog. (No surprise: They have blackberry jam!) Click here for more information.

And wouldn’t you know, we’d find something never seen by us before. Thrifty Girl brought something every biscuit lover needs to wear: biscuit head bands — I kid you not! One of kind, wouldn’t you say?

In fact, it’s just the sort of thing Erin Donovan, broadcaster for WBIR, might like to add to her growing wardrobe of must-have wearables with a biscuit theme! She’s the Biscuit Queen for a reason!

If you haven’t been to the International Biscuit Festival, make plans for next year: May 14-16, 2014. It’s a feast. It’s a fun day. And as organizer John Craig says, Who doesn’t love a biscuit?

International Biscuit Festival

www.biscuitfest.com

Click here for another blog on the International Biscuit Festival from Stuck Inside of Knoxville with that Urban Blues Again.

Filed under: Destination, Festivals, Restaurant, Travel Tagged: Applewood Farmhouse, B97.5, Benton's Country Hams, Blackberry Farm, Cruze Farm, Erin Donovan, Jimmy Brown Johnson, Muddy Pond Sorghum, Plaid Apron, RT Lodge, Sapphire, Southern Living, Tomato Head, Tupelo Honey Cafe

Books and Buttercream at The Great Cake Bake

Rusha Sams — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 01:01:06 +0000

Whitney Roberson’s teapot cake

If there’s anything near and dear to the heart of a former English teacher (that would be me), it’s a celebration of books and the joy of reading. So when I heard that Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library would send a book a month — FREE, you see — I signed up my granddaughter as soon as she was born!!! Sure enough, like clockwork, the postman delivers an age-appropriate book each and every month to the delight of . . . well, all of us.

So with great pleasure I joined the masses at The Great Cake Bake benefitting Knox County Imagination Library February 23rd at UT’s Neyland Stadium. Bakers from all over East Tennessee brought in their finest cakes and cupcakes – all to raise funds and promote reading! An event I could definitely get behind.

Lots of picture-taking at The Great Cake Bake!

Bonnie Naugher, long-time supporter of Friends of the Library, directed me to tables of these juried delights in categories ranging from Beginner to Professional.

Long lines of folks filed past the cakes pointing the details to friends (“Oh, look over here!”), taking pictures, and sniffing the buttercream!

I noticed a definite trend (at least on the children’s book-themed cakes): lots of green frosting. Like this Dr. Seuss Oh, the Places You’ll Go cake by Devon McGinley, Chesney Julian, and Erin Claxton.

And Lynette Kegley’s green confection depicting Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman. (Love that birdie in the nest!)

Author Eric Carle would have been proud of Dale Newman’s Very Hungry Caterpillar: chocolate cake dotted with green frosting and sporting a perky butterfly!

Courtney Haggard topped her three-tiered creation based on Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen’s Mine-o-Saur with — what else? — a green dinosaur!

Lining the center table were the more professional, adult-looking cakes. Adorning Whitney Roberson’s elegant creation were pale orange flowers atop creamy cake rounds.

With layers of pearly white flowers, dots, and frills, Lisa Cunningham’s wedding cake made heads spin. Her new business, OVENart, opens at the end of May in Maryville – offering cakes, confections, pastries, and breads.

Closer looks at some of the cakes revealed details I never imagined possible. Just check out Lee Umberger’s perky pirate resting against a palm tree with a happy crab, faithful parrot, and treasure chest by his side!

From the book Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White came a People’s Choice Award. Rebecca Grizzle’s towering, many-layered cake showcased some of the tidiest, tiniest details of the whole show. And there’s a ferris wheel smack dab in the middle!

The Junior People’s Choice Award went to Ellen Cofer for this adorable ensemble, Billy Goat’s Gruff. (Picture from Knox County Imagination Library Facebook Page. Click here.)

In the cupcake category, A Mud Pie for Mother was the inspiration for Donovan Scott’s piggie-topped creation complete with coconut grass.

My personal award for humor goes to Denise Campbell’s cupcake featuring a witch who met her demise in a sweet sort of way.

If I had to select one cake (and that would be tough) from all the others as a true stand-out, it would be the one by Sara Kroetsch. Based on Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, this colorful, quilt-topped four-poster with a cute down-and-out kid had it all — detail, workmanship, and a forlorn little face. Loved it!

Just looking at all these kitchen creations made me long for something sweet to eat. Fear not. There was a table filled with goodies ready for purchase. Most of the cakes on the display tables were for sale, too. You just had to wait ’til the show was over to take one home. (A tiny price to pay when you consider you’re bringing home a tasty masterpiece!)

About the time the hunger pangs hit, I spotted Magpie’s booth where they were passing out colorful squares (free!) from a sheet cake based on Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. (The chocolate was the richest I’d ever had in a commercial cake!)

Thankfully, the Cruze Farm girls were on hand with their great-tasting milk to wash it all down!

It was altogether a great event. Kids could practice cupcake-decorating.

And volunteers, like Elizabeth Parker and Ashley Jackson from the Knoxville Junior League’s Done in a Day committee . . .

as well as Anthony and Kate from Gap Kids said they’d definitely man the booths again. Besides, it was fun just wearing those green shirts!

The Great Cake Bake accomplished its goals and then some: raising money, boosting reading, and making some of us jealous of those creative bakers. What a great way to spend a Saturday!

If I’d stayed longer, I could’ve sampled The Berenstain Bears from Magpie’s!

If you’ve been to The Great Cake Bake or you’ve got a cake story to tell, please share. We love comments about as much as we love sweets!

Knox County Imagination Library

https://www.facebook.com/knoxkidsread

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Filed under: Benefits, Children's Books, Cooking, Food Tagged: benefit, cakes, Cruze Farm, cupcakes, Dolly Parton, Imagination Library, Knoxville, Magpie's, Southern food

It’s Family: Knoxville’s Market Square Farmers’ Market

Rusha Sams — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:31:49 +0000

It’s the people swapping stories and socializing that make the Market Square Farmers’ Market so cool.

I was long overdue for a visit to one of the area’s best farmers’ markets — or so I’ve heard it’s the best – right downtown in Knoxville’s Market Square. I marked off this Saturday for my inaugural visit just to see what all the talk was about and to bring home some veggies from the Market Square Farmer’s Market!

My husband and I dined at Pete’s first thing — French toast, eggs over easy, sausage, and piping hot black coffee. Love this little diner.

But we could have had a biscuit and coffee at any number of places, even at the Cruze Farm Milk Bar set up on Union Avenue. It’s all good, or at least looked to be.

Folks having breakfast at the Cruze Farm Milk Bar — a make-shift tent set-up right beside the truck.

It didn’t take me long to realize that our Farmers’ Markets have definitely kicked it up a notch. What I saw that morning were white tents, for the most part; uniquely designed backdrops announcing names, locations and websites (Yes, they now have websites!) of area farms and businesses; ID tags for veggies and fruits with varietal names of produce locally grown; business cards with Facebook pages and Twitter names!

Not like the old days of open truck beds with turned-up baskets spilling the pickin’s of the day. No sirree. This market is first class all the way.

Adam Colvin of Colvin Family Farm told me to check out their Facebook page. And he’s not the only farmer Facebooking! “My pleasure,” I said. Who wouldn’t like to see these pop-in-your-mouth summertime ‘maters from Bledsoe County?

One customer, Donna Redwine, told me that she and her husband come every Saturday — and bring the dog. It’s just the greatest way to end the week. We love it here, she said. And so did others, judging from the shoppers, casual coffee drinkers, and big-time talkers. Dogs do too!

Some folks admit to sampling everything first, then making a return visit to buy their favorites. Like this shopper/sampler at Sherie’s Garden Salsa.

Even Elvis showed up, charming the breakfast crowd at Cafe 4!

It really was a great experience all around. The produce was at its most colorful, the baked goods at their freshest, and the farmers, vendors, and creative crafters –ready to share information with anyone willing to listen.

Here’s what makes Market Square Farmers’ Market so good.

Mountain Meadows Farm won my prize for picture-perfect red peppers — you had to touch ‘em!

7 – S Farms teamed up with Log Yard Dogs, bringing cedar planks for cooking salmon on the grill, baskets of shallots, and a mountain of yellow grape tomatoes that wouldn’t fit into the picture!

Mushrooms — more than I knew existed — were in the next booth over!

Who knew mushrooms could be downright artsy?

One farmer asked me if I thought he should photograph his produce and sell the pictures. I said, “Why not?” With this color and composition, just add a simple white mat and black frame. East Tennessee art, for sure.

“Or,” I said, “look at these fabulous peppers! Naturally beautiful!” I think I’ve talked him into this photography thing. Look for pics AND peppers when you go.

Bob Due of Terraced Garden Farms told me all about how his soil — about 12″ of magnificent loam — produces these All Blue potatoes and Rose Finn Apple fingerlings. Another vendor down the way confirmed: “Bob has the BEST root vegetables, but you need to try his butternut squash, too!”

For fabulous color, my favorite booth was this one: Jim Smith’s chilies from Rushy Springs Farm in Talbott. Look for his website at the end of this blog for his Kickstarter project.

A basket of sunny yellow Trinidad Seasoning peppers from Rushy Springs Farm. Where’s that Southern Living cameraman when I need him?

My vote for prettiest booth goes to Spring Creek Farm for its artful arrangement of produce — and Shelby’s pretty smile, too!

Couldn’t resist a close-up of Spring Creek’s picture-perfect squash — or are these gourds? I should have asked!

This booth offered just what it says: hand-poured coffee — one cup at a time! Cute cups, huh?

Log Yard Dogs piled a table high with sunflowers more than a foot in diameter!

This man drove more than 2 hours from McMinnville to set up his booth and design this bouquet– that I eventually took home!

Anthony Carter brought his Junk-a-New Birdhouses made of recycled materials. Loved this one with the old horseshoe hung upside down for good luck!

Elizabeth Ethridge of A Thrifty Girl winds strips of fabric into rosettes for pinning on a blazer, gluing onto a mirror, or clamping into your hair! Clever! (Her Etsy site is listed below.)

Shyan Strunk of Soy 2 Joy candles told me their best-selling fragrances are Butt Naked and Monkey Farts, but I thought French Vanilla would be just fine at my house!

Sheila sold me two flavors of Ms. Cock-a-Doodle’s Gourmet Chicken Salad: Tarragon and Curry Cranberry Pecan. Their new store in North Knoxville has just opened, so you don’t have to wait ’til Saturday for great chicken salad!

Breads and pastries, too, were in abundance from cinnamon buns to cupcakes to hand-made multi-grain loaves. Perhaps my favorite booth — not for their showiness or for their vast array of offerings — was this simple one from Red Hen Breads.

This mother of two bakes her squshy soft rolls of milled wheat berries, flax seed, honey, free-range eggs, and yeast in a commercial kitchen owned by another vendor on Fridays and then brings them to market. During the week, she home-schools her sons who help her in their booth near Krutch Park.

Selling baked goods from Little Red Hen Breads of Knoxville.

And I guess that’s what I love about this Knoxville Market. It’s families working to bring us their most creative, very best products. And it’s friends helping friends find a place to bake or set up a booth or just talk about their products. The market has become a family unto itself – both to those who work there and for those of us who visit whenever we can.

Hope you get to any one of the Farmers’ Markets before they close. You’ll be glad you did!