Tassleberry Tales

Amazing clients, and help us help you!

2008-02-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

We have amazingly dedicated clients. They have been SEEKING OUT our products:

Steven,
My good friend had us to dinner the other evening and made a wonderful salad with your Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar as the dressing. She said she had only seen your product in New York and her cousin brings her a bottle every time she comes, so I decided to look you up on the internet and was so pleased to find I could purchase the vinegar through you.
Thank you.

Which reminds me - where do you want to see this product? How do you want to buy this? We've been working on our distrubution - this store, that retail outlet - what is best for YOU?

Let us know - comment here or on the site

Strawberries, BBQ Sauce and Butter

2008-01-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

We're trying out new stuff - and mind you, none of it was my idea, so I immediately figured it was stupid. You'd think by this time in my life, I'd learn. I'm reminded of the friend who did his MBA dissertation on why Fedex was going to fail.

For the record, Strawberry BBQ sauce is phenomenal. The taste of strawberries just comes through as sweetness - not fruit. In commercial products, this sweetness is usually supplied by high fructose corn syrup. But in this one, the sweetness isn't based on a sugar product, so the sauce doesn't burn as readily as grocery store BBQ sauce. Ron added more of a kick to it than I thought necessary - wrong again I am. My chicken has never tasted so good.

Guess we're not reinventing the wheel, here, either - there are quite a few recipes for this online. (Sweet Hot Strawberry BBQ Sauce, Spicy and Sweet Strawberry Barbecue Sauce, Jalapeno-Strawberry BBQ Sauce) We should have some selling it ready-made...

The butter is the strawberry variety - not strawberries mixed into butter (my first thought) but just strawberries cooked down with spices until they are soft and spreadable. Think apple butter, but with strawberries.

As I was critiquing it ("Too much this, not enough that"), I went through the whole jar with a spoon. Then said - "well, maybe it's just right."

I'll keep you posted on when these are available.

Online Feedback and Vinegar Cures

2008-01-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

We are always amazed and humbled when someone takes the time to contact us to let us know their thoughts about a product. We have had a few online , and 5 or 6 emailed to us in the past few weeks. Our favorite is from a woman in Rhinebeck:

"I bought a couple bottles of the strawberry vinegar at the garlic festival in Saugerties back in September. Now it's mostly what I use in salad. My favorite salad I make with it is greens, feta cheese, crushed walnuts, cut up strawberries and the strawberry vinegar. I also put a shot of strawberry vinegar in hot water and drink it like a tea. I'ts good stuff I can't find anywhere else! "

We thought it was only the wise ones in our family (ie: older generation) who knew about drinking vinegar in water! My Grandmother's doctor prescribed hot Vinegar tea for almost every ailment that ever hit our family.

Curious, I poked around online to see if there is any true health benefit - seems like there is. I won't go into a discussion here regarding some of the more disgusting topics, but I'm thrilled to find some basis for the general pick-me-up properties of this family treasure.

Take a look at the Healthboard, and this Uses for Vinegar group site where vinegar tea is mentioned more than a few times. They use mainly Apple Cider Vinegar, but we weren't aware there was such a thing until we left for college, and the Strawberry vinegar seemed to do the same for us. And taste better, too.

I'm going to email this blog and see if she'll contribute her salad recipe - that sounds like it would keep body and soul happy, as well...

Strawberry Vinegar and the Magic Kingdom

2007-12-20T17:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we admit that a trip to Disney World has never been our style - camping in Canada, maybe, but, well, that's a rant for another post.

However, we have to admit that a few recent inquiries by customers has us intrigued. It seems that The Liberty Tree Tavern in the (at the???) Magic Kingdom is using a very popular Strawberry Vinegarette recipe. Our customers are fans of our Strawberry Vinegar, and wanted to get the recipe for this vinegarette.

We've passed it on, made it ourselves, and done enough poking into the Magic Kingdom to maybe, just maybe, think about it at some point....

Lifestyle, Cooking and Menu's, Oh, My!!

2007-11-28T07:57:00.000-08:00

We've had quite an increase in business after the Festivals we attended this fall, and happily, many of you have asked for more ways to use our products. We're turning to a friend of ours, beautiful and talented Mikaela, and her equally beautiful and talented chef boyfriend, to maintain an informative blog with Lifestyle, Cooking, and Menus, especially Occasion menus.

Take a look at the first pass, and comment as you like!

http://kaelaskitchen.blogspot.com/

Trader Joe's? We're old enough to remember Trader Vic!

2007-11-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

The nearest Trader Joe's ("your neighborhood grocery store") to us is closer to the City (NYC), so while we're familiar with them, we didn't expect to hear about them again, and again, and again at the festivals, and more recently, via phone and email.

It seems that customers that like Trader Joe's like us, too. We had one woman who swore she has purchased our Strawberry Marinade in a Trader Joe's on Long Island. (That's our cue to smile and nod.)

If you've been to a Trader Joe's, you understand the connection. These are GREAT stores. We have a tendency to buy too much when we do find one. Interesting products, good prices, and an all-around fun atmosphere to shop. (Balloons for everyone!!) We feel very hip and with it when we come home. And then we use the handled brown bags to tote things around, so that others will know we're hip and with it, too.

For the record, Trader Vic (a real person) invented the Mai Tai in the 30's. No, we weren't there. Yes, we know our way around a Mai Tai.

It's called Harvest time for a reason

2007-11-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

Because it's busy!! And busy we have been, with buttoning up the farm for the season, attending these fairs, and increasing production of the vinegar products.

First, the fairs - They were FABULOUS. Not only were we busy non stop selling our products through the 14 hour days, but the customers were wonderful, the weather was sunny and bright, and the other vendors at the events were fantastic. Amazing.

There were over 50,000 attendees at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. And I think we spoke to 3/4 of them. The Remsen Barnfest was slightly slightly smaller, but with room to breathe, our customers spent a bit more time with us. Remson is a beautiful village, by the way, if you ever get to upstate NY

Strawberry Vinegar still seems to be the favorite. We were so thrilled to have customers that were not only familiar with the products, but were telling US about how they use them. Take a look at our recipe section.

We'll be there next year again, let us know if you want some info...

And another reason to go away for the weekend...

2007-08-18T12:36:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention the Remson Barnfest, the weekend before the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival! I think we're so caught up in what to make/bring/wear (ok, so I'm not really concerned about what to wear, but you get the idea)/where to stay (very important) that we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Remson is a beautiful village - this festival takes place right in the center of town - stop by if you are anywhere near Upstate NY the weekend of September 22 and 23rd.

And on another note, I mentioned good press - check this out (click twice on play to get it going). It's Peggy with a VERY perky reporter from Channel 9. I've never heard anyone in my family say "OOHHH, PORK CHOPS" with quite so much enthusiasm, but have to admit, I'm grateful to her....

The Pork Chop recipe IS good - watch for it on the clip. The spinach salad is fantastic - especially at this time of year when you may even be able to get your hands on farm-fresh spinach.

I'll update you on the fairs through the month....

Garlic Strawberries, or Strawberry Garlics?

2007-08-18T11:26:00.001-07:00

We are WAAAAYYYY too excited about this latest development - WE'VE BEEN INVITED TO THE HUDSON VALLEY GARLIC FESTIVAL sponsored by the Hudson Valley Kiwanis.

Garlic, you say? YES!! We've been getting an enormous amount of good press (although what bad press would look like, I don't know. We're talking about a farm, here), and someone with the Kiwanis noticed, and asked us to exhibit. And no, they weren't just short on paying exhibitors - trust me when I say that they made it very enticing. And our booth is well located - near enough to the entrance, far enough from the port-a-potties.

We've been lobbying to be located between Caffe Aurora from Poughkeepsie who served Italian Pastries last year, and Spacey Tracey's Pickles, - FRIED pickles - just because we figure she's got to be a lot of fun.

They had over 40 thousand attendees last year - hope you can come.

Market Research and the comedy hour

2007-07-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

OK, so it was just the comedy minute -

We very happily pay some well-educated folks to help us get Strawberry Vinegar, Strawberry Dressing and Vegetable Dip (forgive the shameless plug) into your hands. And it's working - we went from shipping 360 cases of product in 2005, to 1,300 in 2006. Occasionally, our Consultants feel the need to educate us - and that's where the fun begins.

I had just finished hauling a new piece of equipment off the truck when the phone rang - I'm told to take a look at the info on my email when I get a moment. In order to answer the phone, I loosened my grip on the rope, dropped some metal on my foot, scratched the bumper, and yelled at the dog. Then the rain started, and we rolled a half ton of wet, slippery machinery into the barn quickly so lightning wouldn't strike the thing and kill us all.

So our truly wonderful Consultant (we always capitolize that) sent us a link to Packaged Facts - a site where people like her keep up with trends. Here are the scintillating headlines (good word that - scintillating)

Pickles, Relishes and Olives in the US

Ketchup, Mustard and Mayonaise in the US

Vinegar and Cooking Wine/Sherry in the US

Spices and Seasonings in the US

Salad Dressings in the US

And my personal favorite:

MarketLooks: The Changing Face of Nut Butters (Nut Butters, who knew?)

The punchline to all of this is that to read the full text of any of these exciting studies, I'd have to cough up between $1995.00 of my own dollars. That's a lot of Strawberry Marinade.

Our "in house" market research goes something like this: Go to Post Office to ship an order. Postman says "Hey, you're from that farm, right? My wife uses the strawberry stuff on chicken (Marinade, I assume), but I like the hot stuff better. " (Strawberry Jamaican Jerk).

Works for us.

And now the work begins

2007-07-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Picking season is just about done - and now the work begins. Strawberry Vinegar, to be exact. Many of the other product use this as a base, so it's a big deal for us.

It's been a good season, with little rainout - though what we DID have was more like a Monsoon-out..... I was brushing splashed mud off walls for days.

The people at the farm who know how to cook posted some great recipes on our site - Very grown-up stuff. I stick to Strawberry popsicles - the kids like 'em. We added a splash of Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar instead of the lemon juice in the original recipe - happy tummies with sticky red faces, to boot.

Strawberry Popsicles

1 cup of Strawberries (I use them frozen)

2 Tbs sugar

2 tsp Strawberry Vinegar

Place all in blender container and liquify (you can use your food processor, but it doesn't grind up the seeds as well).

Pour into Popsicle molds, or small cups - insert sticks and freeze.

Enjoy.

Hey Mom, We're on TV!

2007-06-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hey, I forgot to mention that we're famous. We won the "Best Overall Business Plan" competition at the 6th annual Mohawk Valley Edge Awards!! The anchor of this news clip is a hell of a lot cuter than we are, so just take a look for details....http://www.news10now.com:80/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=104896 Make sure to click on "watch the video." Our somewhat adorable mugs were not on this clip - I'll pull that up and add it tomorrow....

Watch the poor guy in the front of the picture at the beginning of the clip - he's chewing away, oblivious to being filmed.... That wasn't any of us, but could have been - Murphy's Law...

'tis the season

2007-06-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Strawberries still looking good - and so are the families coming out to pick. It looks like a Hallmark Made for TV Movie around here lately - moms and kids during the week, grandparents and kids during the week, Dads and kids on weekends. Then you get the serious pickers that bring their own containers and wagons, and pick enough to can/freeze for the neighborhood.

Speaking of that - my favorite lazy man's jam:

Easy Fresh Fruit Jam

1 lb strawberries washed, hulled and sliced thin (about 3 generous cups - don't use over-ripe berries)
1 cup of sugar
2 TBS lemon from one lemon
Bring all to a gentle boil in a 10-12 inch skillet
Stir frequently and skim foam for about 6 minutes until it looks syrupy
Test by putting 1/2 tsp on a cold plate - if it gels, it's done, if it runs, cook a bit more
Put in pretty glass jars, give to neighbors and pretend you worked all day.
Use within 3 weeks

So the grandkids are having a ball with the Strawberry Jerk. (http://tassleberry.com/Detail31c7.html?no=7). It's actually Strawberry JAMACIAN Jerk, but as you might imagine, the chance to call someone a Strawberry Jerk is irresistable. When the eyebrows are raised in their direction, we get an innocent "What??"

Aside from that, it tastes good, too. We had our moment of fame in The Nibbler http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/rubs/best-barbecue-sauce.asp, and are happy to say that either lots of you have been reading that online newsletter, or the sauce is just finding an audience, because it's selling well. Thanks.

If you have a favorite BBQ sauce, jam recipe, whatever - let me know...

Pickin' season, and I don't mean guitars

2007-06-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

CRAZY around here right now - picking georgeous berries that look and taste like a strawberry is supposed to. And ours don't have that spongy white core in them like the boxcar strawberries - what IS that thing? Our kids are fascinated with it - they like to "core" the hard winter strawberries from the grocery store and stick them on the ends of their thumbs as puppets. Gross.

While we're in the middle of picking, it feels like eternity, but really, the season's over in a flash. Farming is ridiculously difficult - more so since the appetite for out-of-season stuff has stores shipping rock hard fruit in from all over the place. People who couldn't find Chile on a map with both hands are more than happy to eat a sour plum from there in January. Go figure.

Glad we started the food line. (see http://www.tassleberry.com/) What doesn't get eaten/sold in strawberry season at least has a fighting chance to come back as a jar of marinade. Good marinade, at that.

Our current favorite snack - wierd as it sounds - is strawberries dipped in Strawberry Dressing and Dip. http://www.tassleberry.com/Categories473c.html?category=Strawberry+Dressing+and+Dip Add a hunk of cheese and a glass of Savignon Blanc (makes it taste less citrus-y, smoother), and bring on the night. And as my Granddaughter pointed out with the wisdom of a 6 year old - "it says DIP."

I'll end with a video my friend sent me - he didn't mean it to be funny, but I think it is. How to Make Strawberry Shortcake. http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b4LQIbYqj8. First of all - it ain't Strawberry Shortcake. Second of all, his pace is so manic I had to do a Yoga Pose to calm down afterward. Third of all, the focus on his hands had me thinking of the Seinfeld episode "Man-Hands."

Click on the clips at right for other recipes.

Let me know what you think...