Oh Baby It's Christmas, all over again: Gingerdoodles and other holiday recipes

It never fails.  The week before Christmas, on that drive home from school (the moment when Christmas break has begun) I turn the radio up, sing whatever Christmas song happens to be on the radio and feel purely giddy cause it's Christmas, all over again.    I am really excited this year, because most of the family will be back together for the first time in while.  Because I am REALLY feeling the Christmas Spirit this year, I will even forgive Don Schwenneker, my abc11 weatherman, for telling me it is going to be close to 70 degrees on Christmas.  uggghh.
My Christmas baking topped an all time high this year.  My grandmother asked me to do up some goodies for her to give as gifts.  I decided to go all out and do plenty for her to give, as well as me.  O.M.G.  I was sure my best friend, the yellow Kitchen-Aid, would shut down and never speak to me again.  To my surprise, that good buddy pulled through and is still going strong.  On the menu?

Tomato Dumplings

                                    
 A couple of years ago when I started my part time catering, I wanted to come up with a name that really represented me.  After throwing names around for days, I finally came up the the perfect one.  Tomato Dumplings.  They are a perfect balance of fresh earthiness from the tomatoes, and warm hominess of the dumplings.
           My Grandmother Mckinney, was the sweetest, most loving grandmother anyone could ask for.  She was always laughing, and welcomed everyone with open arms.  And she was also, always cooking.  What a cook she was!  Grandmaw never used a recipe; everything she knew how to cook, she had

Another trip to the Farmers' Market

One of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday morning is perusing the daily offerings at my local farmers' market.  Farmers' markets were just beginning to grow in popularity as I was moving from Virginia to North Carolina, about 5 years ago. Growing up, I always took for granted the fresh potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash I would enjoy from my dad's garden and grandfather's farm.  It wasn't really anything special, until  I realized it actually was.  I noticed more and more markets popping up in town, and surrounding towns offering fresh produce, grown by local farmers.  Fruits and Veggies, directly from the the soil, some with dirt still attached was now in high demand.
Living in Cary, there are at least 6 farmers' markets within 30 minutes from my home.  One of those being the state farmers' market.
This past weekend, I visited one of my favorite locations, The Western Wake Market.  If you get a chance to go, stop by and visit the folks from Coon Rock Farm.  I LOVE them!  They offer heirloom variety vegetables, raised without any chemicals; as well as pasture raised, antibiotic and hormone free chickens, eggs, pigs, lamb, and goat.
I came home with a fresh stalk of ginger root, and 2 bunches of Hakurei turnips, and a chicken (which comes in a little later).  The turnips are small, sweet, and delicious.  They can be eaten raw or cooked.  All of this really put me in the mood for fall so I decided to make sauteed turnips and greens, carrot ginger soup, and pumpkin-cranberry bread.

I got the soup recipe from this blog.  I used homemade chicken stock instead of vegetable broth, and