Around Town ~ Clemetine

 

        A long standing staple of Sulphur Springs, Yard by Yard, has successfully changed hands to become Clementine. Ready to celebrate their one year Anniversary on May 31st, Clementine has quickly become a local favorite for plants, coffee and community. Located at 612 Church Street, they are open 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday and 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday and closed Sunday except for special events. To book your party or event call and speak to Hope at 903-885-5371. 

Hope and Steve have many years of experience in the garden and landscape world from having a landscape business in Dallas that they sold to make the jump to owning Clementine. Never fear, if you have any landscaping needs they can still help you out.  If you purchase a tree they will plant it for you as an install. Do you need landscape design services and lawn care? Look no further, they have become a one stop shop for all your outside gardening needs. 

The Cafe Market was developed as a way to draw in the community for a location to meet up and join with friends and family alike. The market is a great place for the community to hang out and experience the garden. Making it more shoppable. You can find indoor plants, garden essentials, and of course coffee. The market is the perfect setting for remote work space  in a different environment.

The garden center is set up for landscapers and the home gardener.  Bulk orders for landscaping needs as well as single plants to adorn your home garden are easily found and purchased when you visit.  You can stroll through the garden center that looks more like an arboretum than a traditional garden center.  Displays are set up for guests to determine if they like the look and feel of the placement of plants, to use in their own home garden.  

They even have a veggie patch that demonstrates great ways to add in a garden to your own home easily.  Of course, any veggies that they have grown can be purchased in the Cafe, while some will be used in the food that they make on site.  It’s really a great way to see and know where your food comes from or to discover new ways to grow the items you love. They also bake all their items on site, have seasonal soups, salads and specialty coffee. Breakfast and lunch items, with specific seasonal offerings. 

Hope stated that the “staff has been great, and working well with each other.” This has allowed them to offer parties and classes.  They can accommodate up to 40 people seated in the back room, and love to host on Sunday when it can be the whole location. Many of the classes they offer are for free on Saturdays on how to grow things.  You can find classes on the website clementinenursery.com or on Facebook and Instagram as well. 

They don’t plan to stop there.  They are expanding behind their property towards Houston Street.  Their goals are to expand the cafe garden to  grow a lot of their own veggies, for salads as well as selling over stock. All of their veggies are organic and they plan to add in chickens one day as well. 

Along with expanding their own business they are trying to pull in other businesses, they are also looking to help support local artists and others with hand crafted items.  Their space provides a great one to display unique art pieces in multiple forms.  They want you to know that everyone is welcome and it’s a place to experience new things.  Stop by for a visit soon.

In the Garden ~ Farm to Table Breakfast

 

               Have you ever wondered about what breakfast is like at the Oaks Bed and Breakfast?  Today is the day that we want to share with you some of our secrets to the amazing meal we provide our guests every time they stay with us.  We truly feel that a great day starts with breakfast, and what is a better way to start than with a farm to table breakfast experience.  Welcome to our bed and breakfast where we’re proud to serve a farm to table breakfast that encompasses the rich agricultural heritage of North East Texas.

              

               Some of you locals may remember my in-laws, Bernie and Susie Thesing, who now live out in the country and take care of a little hobby farm filled with animals and produce.  The animals on the farm provide food for our table and theirs, and the garden provides produce.  Some of the best eggs I have ever eaten have come from the farm and are far superior to the eggs you can purchase at the grocery store.  There is just a better taste from an egg of a chicken that has had the joy of roaming the land and discovering the bugs that hop across their path. 

 

               As a rule, studies have shown that the benefits of pasture raised eggs include:

1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, and 7 times more beta carotene.  Who does not want to have more benefits from such a tiny specimen?  You can even see the difference between a store-bought egg and a pasture raised egg.  That is our first step in providing a great farm to table meal for our guests to enjoy.

 

               The second item we pretty much always use for breakfast is fresh herbs from the herb garden.  Summer is the best time to enjoy the fresh cut herbs, sauteed into a delicious meal, and one of my all-time favorites, incorporates fresh tomatoes as well.  Our crustless tomato quiche is a crowd favorite.  The flavors of the fresh herbs mixed with the sauteed onion, baked with shredded mozzarella cheese, is nothing short of mouthwatering.   The summer is the best time for this dish, because we can usually pull tomatoes from the garden to include them as the topper.  Each bite is a little taste of summer.

 

               Now that the seasons are attempting to change, we will start to utilize those amazing fall garden staples.  The remaining hot weather spinach will need to be used or saved, and sweet potatoes that were planted earlier in the year are going to be ready soon. When we prepare breakfast we always take into consideration the dietary needs of our guests.  Most often that means gluten free items, which works out well, in a veggie and fruit heavy meal.  You cannot forget about the fresh sausage or bacon from the farm. 

 

               The fresh meat that we use, tastes and looks so much better than their storefront counterparts.  I will say when we have that fresh bacon and sausage, it goes quickly.  The guests love the flavor and the family does too.  Any meat that we do not grow ourselves we try to locally source from farms we know. Our beef often comes from The Tully Family farm or we shop at Tolleson Family Market for those odds and ends we might not have on hand.