Cranberry Apple Smoothie

Lately we have been having difficulty getting Eric Jr (3) to eat his vegetables and fruit even meat without a fight.

He loves ice and ice cream, so we were asked if we had considered making smoothies for him. We didn't think of it but we decided to try it.

In the process of trying to figure out what fruit to use and if we had any on hand we realized....we have plenty of fruit it is just in the form of fruit butter!

We got the ice, the Cranberry Apple Butter and orange juice and put it together in the blender.

 It was amazing!!!!! Eric Jr absolutely loved it. He drank 2 cups full, Julianna enjoyed some and so did Eric and I.

Cross Creek Farm Cranberry Apple Butter
Picture taken by Kristen Rice Photography.

Pine Needle Tea

While looking to expand our herbal tea line, we came across a recipe in an herbal book for Pine Needle Tea. As I began to read it was very clear that this is a tea that I should be drinking as well as a tea that would benefit some of our customers. So we decided to harvest some off the property and sell it.

Before we could sell it we obviously had to try it ourselves. I will have to say that I was a little nervous. I was thinking it would taste like Pine and if you have ever tasted Pine sap it is not so tasty. 

White Pine Needles

I will have to say though that this may now become my favorite drink. I plan on making a jug full tomorrow so that anytime I want a drink I can just go to the fridge and pour it in.

It is a very mild tea with a refreshing flavor. Does not taste like Pine Needles like you would suspect.

This was our first weekend with Pine Needle Tea at market.





The best way to drink it is to use fresh pine needles. Being that we have to have something that can be sealed for sale we dry it.

They say you can use any pine you want but the best pine to use is White Pine. So after scouring the fields and woods we found we have plenty of White Pine Trees.

When prepared as a tea Pine Needles inhibit mucus production in the bronchi and act as a disinfectant. It is a very good stimulant giving a boost to anyone who is tired and drained. They have a very high Vitamin C content. Pine Needle Tea is also a mild diuretic as well.

Besides just the straight Pine Needle Tea that we are selling today we will also be offering a few different varieties mixed with some other herbs once harvest season comes back around.

White Pine Needle Tea

We are going to be carrying a White Pine Needle Tea mixture that is said to help flush the urinary tract. As well as one that is said to help with circulation and one for neuralgic pain.

We are very excited to be adding new teas and to also be expanding on the teas and offering bulk loose leaf teas as well.


As we progress I will try to give details about some of the new varieties we will be releasing.