A Morning of Laughter & Creative Energy Mixed with Spring Time Farmers Market Goodies Leads To..

Fun in the Kitchen:

Wednesday morning was a great morning that was filled with laughter,

creative energy and lots of good eats!

A very sweet and new friend, Margie Raimondo with Raimondo Winery came by with a beautiful woven basket full of fresh spring vegetables, fresh Arkansas strawberries

and exquisite oils and vinegars.

I started pulling out the items. The kale was so dark you could practically

see the vitamins & minerals. The asparagus was just perfect;

barely 1/2 inch thick and picked at just the perfect time.

Next out of the basket was picture perfect strawberries. They were so bright

and red that they looked like a party just waiting to happen.

Last; a big loaf of crusty french bread!

The smell of cinnamon and cardamom filled the air as I had just brewed a pot of coffee using my Fennel and Fire Coffee Twist spice. We leisurely sat down, sipped on our coffee and learned about each other's businesses. It was insightful and something every

business owner should do! Insightful and inspiring indeed!

After the coffee was finished, we got the juices flowing and started "creating and

creating". Margie pulled out all her Raimondo Winery Speciality Oils and Vinegars.

The wonderful rich quality was evident when i dipped my finger in the Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar. I practically felt like I had been transported to the fields of Italy!

Such items as Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cilantro - Roasted Onion Extra

Virgin Olive Oil, and Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar got my

creative juices flowing ready to make magic happen!

I pulled out all my Fennel and Fire Signature Spice Blends from the shelf. Margie took them one by one and smelled & tasted.vShe talked about each spice in the delicate blends and how they came together. As many of you know, when you have created something, and put your heart and soul into it, you get joy from watching someone evaluate the quality and appreciate that you have put forth great effort and created your best!

After sampling the spices and oils, we got busy...

This Kale and Sweet Potato Salad is one of the recipes

we wanted to share with you.