In the beginning years of Potters, I discovered that I can cut hemp and string tags while I talk on the phone, watch TV, read a book, visit with my daughter, play with my granddaughter, you name it and I can keep cutting!  At the risk of alienating my entire family and developing a serious case of carpel tunnel, I knew there had to be a different way and I found it the day MARC walked into my life!

Madison Area Rehabilitation Centers provide community as well as center-based employment, day services and personal care to adults with developmental disabilities here in Dane County. They came into Potter’s, we negotiated a contract and presto, they took over stringing all our tags!

Every week they stop by and pick up large spools of twine and boxes of tags and return them the following week all ready to go!  Its like magic, only it isn’t.  What it is is a staff of caring, patient and committed folks whose goal is to provide a meaningful and respectful work environment for their clients.

Thank you to MARC, their staff and their clients.  Now the next time you open a bag of Potter’s Crackers remember it was produced and brought to you by a team- not just farmers, bakers and cracker packers but also MARC stringers like Paul and Jenny pictured here!

For more information about MARC check out their web site at http://www.marc-inc.org

And remember, “Where there is good cheese, there is Potters!”

Nancy

If it’s Olive’s birthday than Rhubarb Grahams couldn’t be far behind!

Our Rhubarb Grahams debut this week, hurray!  They are one of our favorites!  Along side our Rhubarb we will feature Cheddar Mustard and Sweet Potato Onion Crackers until we see more local produce at our Wisconsin farmers’ markets.

Speaking of farmers’ markets, we are very excited that we will be part of the Dane County Farmers’ Market in downtown Madison starting April 21.  We have been on the waiting list for this market, one of the best in the nation, for over five years, ever since we started the business!

Hope to see you there!

Happy Spring!!

Now about that cheese in California!  Many of you may have noticed that a Potter’s quietly sprung up in Sacramento late last year and began spreading the “flavors of California” in handmade, artisan, organic, cracker form!  Yes, it’s true my son and business partner, Peter Potter Weber, started Potter’s West!  Pete graduated with an MBA from UC-Davis last summer and decided to stay in CA .  If I had to lose my son to somewhere thank goodness he picked a place with cheese!

Just like Potter’s here in Wisconsin, they have a commitment to supporting their local farmers with flavors like Kalamata Olive and Orange Grahams. Eventually Potter’s West will have their own web site but for now if you live in the West and are looking for a local, organic cracker, Pete can be contacted at potterscrackers.ca@gmail.com.

It is exciting to expand and at the same time keep our commitment to being a local artisan product.  And remember-

“Where there is great cheese, there is Potter’s”

Our sweet pie pumpkins come in by the case from Keewaydin Farms.  We roast them till they are tender and then we mix them with those wonderful pumpkin pie spices to make our Pumpkin Grahams.  They are especially decadent with Linda’s favorite fruit dip (see recipes).

I grew up reading Laura Ingalls Wilder and the kids in these books were excited to get an orange in their stockings.  I never related to this concept until one day we ground one up and mixed it with cranberries and presto, Cranberry Grahams!  I know what you are thinking, oranges don’t grow in Wisconsin and you would be right. BUT, we are the number one grower of organic cranberries in the country and let me tell you, it is hard to resist this cranberry orange combination.

I can’t let Thanksgiving pass me by without sharing at least one picture of my granddaughter three year old Olive.  She wanted to be a Grape Ice Cream Cone with Purple Sprinkles for Halloween and she got her wish!  She is not just an adorable ice cream cone but she is also a sprinkles expert.  Check out her mommy’s web site www.layercakeshop.com and you will know why!

Happy  Thanksgiving and remember,

“Where there is good cheese, there is Potter’s.”

When I was a kid my mom would make what we called Cinnamon Tarts from her leftover piecrust.  She took the dough, rolled it thin, spread it with butter and cinnamon, rolled it up and sliced it like she was making little cinnamon rolls and baked them.  These miniature little swirls were the highlight of pie day! This is what Apple Grahams remind me of.  They are perfect alone or with a cheddar or spread with apple butter or a fruit dip or peanut butter or …you name it!  They aren’t around long, pumpkin time is almost here, so enjoy them while you can!

Our local organic sweet corn comes in later than most so our Grilled Corn and Onion Crackers are just making their appearance. You cannot imagine how good the cracker kitchen smells when we bake this outstanding cracker (and it is pretty too)!  This is the cracker that originally inspired our seasonal approach to flavors. That very first autumn we tasted the first grilled corn cracker and thought, “This cracker just shouts fall in Wisconsin, we have to make this when the corn is here.  It doesn’t belong to spring and summer.” That is the moment we realized our inspiration is our local farmers’ market, not the existing cracker one, and the true spirit of Potter’s Crackers was born.

Did you know sweet potatoes need to be “cured” before they fully develop their flavors?  We take cured sweet potatoes, roast them and then deliver this earthy sweet flavor to you in Sweet Potato Onion Crackers!

Sweet corn, sweet apples, sweet potatoes- fall in a time of abundance, enjoy the fruits of the season!

And remember, “Where there is great cheese, there is Potter’s.”

When we see fresh dill on our availability list from  Keewaydin Farms then we know summer is officially here!  We ordered in our first dill and then begged for just a few pounds of early basil to get started with.

Basil Walnut Pesto Crackers are one of the boldest flavors we offer. I have learned there are two distinct cracker palettes out there.  There are folks who want the crackers to play second fiddle to whatever they put on them and there are those who want a flavor giant of a cracker.  For those of you looking for that “big flavor”, Basil Walnut Pesto is for you.  Fresh garlic and fresh basil really deliver a satisfying pesto profile.

Carrot Grahams are so pretty!  You see shreds of bright, fresh carrot in every cracker!  Like our other grahams, they are nice alone for a sweet treat or pair well with  mild cheeses.  Summer Dill Crackers have a crisp, clean flavor  that compliments almost all cheeses.

Just like the garden is bountiful in July, so are your crackers choices.  Go for it, try something new!

Remember- “Where there is great cheese, there is Potter’s.”

When you purchase a bag of these “deliciously aromatic” crackers, just take a big sniff and you will be sold before you even take a bite!  They deliver BIG flavor!  We came up with this seasonal cracker to get us over that late winter time when we are all aintsy  for spring and want to say goodbye to Sweet Potato Onion and Butternut Curry for awhile.  Now that fresh basil and dill are  just around the corner I’m ready to say goodbye to Caramelized Onion too but we have customers saying, “please, no!”   I will hold out until the Grilled Corn and Onion debut but better get them while you can, the corn is getting tall here in Wisconsin!

Wonder what this photo is?  It’s a heap of onions  from Keewaydin Farms, chopped, caramelized, and ready to go into our Caramelized Onion Crackers.

As a Rachel Ray editor said,  ” This is one of the best crackers I have ever tasted!

Kathy’s Cheese Spread

1. Mix one third Gorgonzola and two-thirds Mascarpone.
2. Cover the top with chopped toasted pecans and drizzle with honey.
3. Refrigerate till party and that’s it!

She served it with two kinds of Potter’s Crackers, Caraway Rye and Hazelnut Graham. Take your pick, you could go sweet or savory, I liked both. It was just delicious and I am all for making entertaining easy!

Oh, and congratulations Joel on your graduation and of course to my sister Kathy, entertainer extraordinaire!

Joel, our cracker kitchen manager, chops our organic rhubarb from Keewaydin Farms and then we lightly simmer it before we add it to the dough.  Then, of course,  what’s rhubarb without a little cinnamon sugar on top!

I like my Rhubarb Grahams just plain or with a touch of strawberry jam. Be brave, experiment!  Enjoy this little piece of spring while  you can, it is such a short season in Wisconsin!