Baetje Farms Brie, photo by smalltowngirl

I met one of the owners on Saturday at the Apple Butter Festival in Kimmswick, Missouri, and was able to taste several flavors of Baetje brie before deciding to take home dark chocolate brie and brie with cranberry and oranges.

Tasting Baetje Farms Brie, photo by smalltowngirl

The owner of the farm suggested that the cranberry and orange brie would be great used in stuffed pork or chicken, and that the dark chocolate brie would be great with brownies. I spent my Sunday afternoon and evening experimenting on my parents with both suggestions.

The verdict: even my dad, who was raised on a cattle farm and is a good old steak and potato man raved about the chicken. Unfortunately, I was so anxious to eat the chicken that I forgot to photograph it. I’ll definitely be using the recipe again.

Dark Chocolate Brie brownies, photo (and brownies) by smalltowngirl

My mom, who didn’t care for the dark chocolate cheese on crackers, LOVED it in the brownies. I will, without a doubt, purchase more Baetje Farms brie, and it’s my recommendation that you do, too.

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For more information about Baetjie Farms, visit their website at www.baetjefarms.com.

You can find Baetje Farms cheeses at the Soulard Farmers Market, the Clayton Farmers Market, and the Kirkwood Farmers Market. Baetje Farms can also be found at many of Ste. Genevieve’s wineries and restaurants. See their website for a full list of vendors.

Dear FTC: Baetje Farms gives samples to everyone when they’re out at events like the Apple Butter Festival, so I’m pretty sure that doesn’t count as a freebie to get me to blog about them.

Baetje Farms, photo by smalltowngirl

Olde Tyme Pantry, photo by smalltowngirl

The simple concrete and steel frame of Olde Tyme Pantry is complimented by rustic log accents. On the front porch sits a wooden wishing well and several wooden rocking chairs. This Saturday, with the concrete patio newly expanded into the gravel parking lot, a group of people socialized around a large wooden table under the store’s front overhang.

I’ve been to the market at least four times now, and each time, the smell of fresh baked bread has met me as I’ve opened the front door. Just inside the entrance, on the right, sits a countertop with fresh-brewed coffee. Week before last, I bought myself a coffee grinder at the very un-religious local Wal-Mart, anticipating the purchase of fresh coffee beans at Olde Tyme Pantry. I was just as pleased with the flavor of my coffee as I have been with the fresh whole wheat bread I’ve bought week after week.

Old Tyme Pantry is a great spot for buying spices, dehydrated soup (and other types of) mixes, and basics like whole grain noodles and baking supplies. They sell trail mixes and dehydrated fruits (see cranberry and white chocolate chip trail mix, above), and did I mention that they’re homemade bread is really, really good?

And the eggs! Oh, the eggs! A dozen cage-free brown eggs is $1.99, and I guarantee that you’ll taste the difference between these eggs and the ones you’ll buy at the aforementioned Super Center. These eggs are amazing to eat, and it’s not uncommon for 4 or 5 eggs in the dozen to have double yolks.

As wonderful as the food is, the experience is what makes the trip – your first time at least. Kiddos tug the shirttails of their dads, who ring you up at the register. Ladies wear long skirts and fitted white caps, with no accessories or makeup.

It’s a shop where your humilty comes out, and in a magical way, this store brings out the manners in its shoppers, too. You’ll hear “please” and “thank-you”, and costumers will stop to advise one another…

“Have you tried the vegetable chips? They’re so good!”

“Oh, you have to try the deli meat.”

I think it’s fair to say that even in Missouri, there’s a rebirth right now of farming, home-cooking, and buying local. While not all of Olde Tyme Pantry’s products are locally produced (see cheese photo, below), it still feels good to know that the money you spend is supporting local business, and that the foods you buy are relatively natural and whole.

NY Cheese from Olde Tyme Pantry, photo by smalltowngirl

Shopping here on Saturday afternoons has become an almost-weekly habit now for my mom and I, and I think that once you visit a time or two, you’ll find yourself frequentling Olde Tyme Pantry, too.

The Pantry is open from 9-5 Tuesdays through Fridays, and 9-4 on Saturdays. For more on Olde Tyme Pantry, read the Daily Journal’s story here.