Bridal bouquets and more!

Hi! I'm Judy Ivers, the manager of the Floral Department here at Pete's County Market. I've been in the floral business for over 20 years, and it seems like things are always changing- especially when it comes to trends in bridal flowers.

This week, I got to spend a day at a Bridal Designs Class at Len Bush Roses, one of our great suppliers out of the Twin Cities.  It was fun, exciting, and really interesting to learn how to create the amazing floral looks found on Pinterest and bridal magazines!

Take a peek and let me know what you think!  We can do beautiful hand-tied bouquets, elaborate cascade bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages, even arrangements for your little flower girls. No wedding is to big or  too small for  us to handle!

Brides are often surprised at everything we can do for them at Pete's- whether it's their flowers, catering, or cake. We can help you save a lot of time and a lot of money by working together under one roof for all those services.

If you want to set up a time to chat, stop in or give me a call at 320-762-1158 and we can sit down together and plan the flowers of your dreams!

Enjoy!

Judy

Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Basil! Oh my!

I will be honest. I have no idea what to call this, other than amazing.

Shopping list:

7-10 small zucchini

1 pint grape tomatoes

Garlic

Olive Oil

1 container fresh basil

1 cup (or so) walnuts

1 container reduced-fat feta cheese

*WW Points Plus value of 9 per serving. The pesky walnuts add 6 points! They really do make this good,  but you could certainly skip them if you want.

Wash the zucchini and using a vegetable peeler, slice into thin ribbons.

Wash the tomatoes and cut them all in half.

Wash the basil and chop.

In a large sautee pan, warm a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of chopped garlic, all the zucchini, and all the tomatoes. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the zucchini is tender. Stir in the basil, some salt and pepper.

THERE! You're mostly done-ish!

Top each serving with a handful of walnuts and a generous sprinkle of feta.

Uff da, it's good stuff. And you can feel virtuous eating something so healthy!!!

Try it  and let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Megan

Panzanella. Sort of.

Shopping list:

1 loaf Vienna, French, or Italian bread

1 pkg. fresh basil

1/2 a purple onion

1 Tbsp (or so) minced garlic

8 tomatoes

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt & pepper

So... before the red blooded Italians start sending me hate mail, I KNOW this is not really how you make Panzanella.  Traditional Panzanella is made with stale Italian bread which you tear up and soak in water before you mix up the salad.  This seems so wrong. As in, "Crime Against Humanity" wrong.

But you know what's so RIGHT?  Toasty, golden brown cubes of toast which soak up just enough juice from the tomatoes to be soft enough to stab with a fork as you shovel it into your face as fast as you can without attracting stares. Yep. THAT good.

Check this out.

 

First, I take a big loaf of some sort of white bread from the bakery- at Pete's, I love to use the unsliced Vienna bread, but Italian and French bread all work beautifully.  This bread is fairly soft, so if you have an electric knife, this is a great time to break it out. You'll thank me.  Cut it up into roughly 3/4 inch cubes and lay them out on two big sheet pans. You can drizzle them with olive oil or, if you're lazy like myself, give them a generous spray with Pam Olive Oil spray. It really is just olive oil, and works great on stuff like this. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stick the pans in a 350 degree oven until nice and toasty. Keep an eye on them, because they can get REALLY brown REALLY fast. When they look good to you, take our the pans and let them cool. (Protip: These are basically just croutons. Perfect for putting on salad or simply eating by the handful.)

Next, chop up a package of fresh basil leaves, half a purple onion, and as much garlic as you dare and put them in a BIG bowl.

Remember that electric knife you had out for the bread? You're going to be happy you have that out because now you're going to core and cut up EIGHT (or more) tomatoes. This is a fantastic way to use up tomatoes from your garden in August!

Throw the tomatoes in the bowl with the basil, onion, and garlic. Add about a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.

If you can let this sit for an hour or so, that's perfect. But don't mix in the bread until right before you eat. It's no good as leftovers. If you want to have it later on, I like to put some of the tomato mixture in a Tupperware bowl, the bread in a Ziplock bag, and mix it together right before lunch.

My kids will happily polish off 2 or more plates FULL of this super duper healthy salad for supper and nothing else. I usually throw some chicken breasts or shrimp on the grill to go along with it.

Enjoy!

Megan