Pink is one of my favorite colors. I used to see an acupuncturist and the wonderful room I would visit was the most amazing shade of pale pink. Remembering it makes me want a pink room.
While I don’t listen to Beyonce on a regular basis, I do like Single Ladies, and I’m totally impressed by her performance. And I love this cover. Enjoy.
I love our Farmer’s Market. We bought a flat of strawberries this week. They are so delicious.
Izzy hand picked a big pile for our tart. She carefully checked each one, turning it around and around, making sure they were the right ones, red and delicious.
We poured our cut strawberries onto the rolled out dough. She folded the edges of the dough over the strawberries. And we popped it in the oven.
This was totally delicious, and so easy a 4 year old could make it (with a little help from mom).
Rustic Strawberry Tart
Tart Crust
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg separated
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4-5 tablespoons ice water
Filling
- Lots of fresh strawberries, sliced
Preeat oven to 400F.
Put flour, butter, egg yolk and sugar into the food processor and pulse until the mixture turns into little balls, like course meal. Slowly add the cold water until the mixture forms one big ball. (Watch the amount of water you put in, too much and the dough gets too wet). Remove ball, wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by hand too! Make a mound of flour on a work surface, then make a well in the center of the mound and put the butter, egg yolk, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of the cold water into it. Mix the ingredients in the well with your fingertips, then begin incorporating the flour in until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal. Add 1 tablespoon water and continue to blend, adding water 1/2 tablespoon at a time as needed to form a workable dough, gathering it into a ball. Add a little flour to the work surface and knead the dough two or three times with the heels of your hands. Take care not to over knead. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Remove the chilled dough and place on a floured work surface. Roll out to desired thickness and size. Brush egg white over entire dough surface. Pour cut strawberries onto the center of the dough. Fold edges up over strawberry hill. Brush egg whites over the dough edges. *Optional, sprinkle entire tart with sugar (we did not and it was just fine!)
Place tart on flat sheet. I lined mine with parchment paper. Cook for 30 mins until crust is a golden color. Let cool for about 15 minutes before cutting.
We used just plain fruit for the filling, nothing else, and it was perfect for us, not too sweet. We’ll be making these tarts with the fruit we get each week from our Farmer’s Market, and it’s something Izzy can do a lot of by herself, pick the fruit, pour the ingredients, pulse the food processor, roll the dough, brush the egg whites, fold over the dough, and of course, eat it.
I remember the large black wood cook stove in our kitchen in our farmhouse growing up. It heated our whole drafty 200 year old log cabin farmhouse throughout those cold Bucks County winters. It kept us warm and cozy. Mom also cooked on it. And in it. One of our most favorite treats was beer bread. OH MY GOODNESS. It smelled so good, it just filled the house with bready sweetness. We’d stand there and wait for a whole hour, checking on it constantly. Finally, it would be done and come out of the stove. I’m sure we had to wait 15 minutes before we cut into it, but I remember the hot slices all steamy, in my hands, then gone! The bread never made it to the table. The butter was close by, and spread on each slice. HEAVEN.
If you haven’t made beer bread before, you are missing out. Seriously. It is a simple and amazingly delicious treat. You will eat it standing up at the oven hoping it has had enough time to cool off so it doesn’t burn your mouth. Super delicious alone, but some butter makes it even more delish!
Aunt Ellie’s Beer Bread
- 3 cups Self Rising Flour*
- 3 tablespoons Sugar
- 12 oz beer
- pad of butter
- sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 375F. Put a healthy pad of butter in a 8″ loaf pan and place in the oven so the butter melts in the pan. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Pour in the beer. Mix together so dry ingredients are no longer dry. Carefully remove hot loaf pan, sprinkle sesame seeds over the melted butter. Pour in the dough. Bake for 45-60 mins. Bread should be crispy on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.
*Don’t have self rising flour? You can make your own: for this recipe:
3 cups of Flour, 1 teaspon Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
Notes:
3 tablespoons of sugar makes this bread pretty sweet. If you want a less sweet bread, try 1 tablespoon of sugar.
when she was mad and she slapped my arm. Hard.
Ouch.
I let her know that it hurt and it was not ok to hit me or anyone else. She did it again.
I told her the same thing again and let her know that there would be absolutely no movie tonight. You see, we have a bit of screen time before bed time. It’s our way of slowing down a bit before getting into bed and reading books. Not long, but long enough to sit still.
But not tonight.
You know if I could spend the rest of every minute in my life sewing or making something I would. So what did we do instead? We got out the fabric box and sewing machine. In a few days it would be cousin Siena’s 2nd birthday, and what were we going to make her? (our goal is to make as many, if not all, of our gifts). Izzy wanted to make her a doll. GREAT! Let’s draw a picture of what we should make, no mom, I don’t need to. (So me before I decided I had to absolutely plan everything out.) Ok, I could do this without a plan…so first we looked at the fabric and she suggested we start with a triangle. I cut a triangle (on the fold). Then I cut out rectangles for arms or legs. I got out the bag of feathers and Iz sat at the sewing machine.
Once the body was all stitched up, I cut circles out and she worked on the eyes.
Voila! Siena’s Owl.
I was pretty proud. She was too. We had so much fun together (we always do…). She loves to make as much as her mom and dad do.
You know, I’m not quite ready for summer to be over. Perhaps because I’m dreading rainy days, I much prefer the sun. I really like the sun and the heat, and I really like being able to open my windows and let the warm breeze wash through the house. Oh summer, where did you go?
That’s not to say that Autumn doesn’t have a wonderfulness that I love. I love the changing of the leaves, the crispness in the air, the smell. I’m excited about my sweaters and thinking of making a new poncho (LOVE THEM). And well, the food is of course, fantastic.
I got very excited about a Pumpkin Soup recipe I found, and turned it into my own.
(adapted from SmittenKitchen – be sure to click over, the pictures are so beautiful)
I think making this the day before you want to eat it really makes it a more flavorful soup. I had to change this from my inspiration, as I didn’t have the same ingredients on hand. The pumpkin (the variety escapes me!), is not a pie pumpkin and has green seeds. I was really worried that it was not the “right” kind, but was actually perfect! When I picked these up at the Farmer’s Market, she told me she’d actually never cooked this kind before!
1 small pumpkin (with nutmeg and olive oil) or you can use a can of pumpkin puree
1lb dry beans, soaked and boiled until ready to eat
1 28oz can plum tomatoes
1 red onion, sliced into smiles
8 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup dried mixed mushrooms (I used the wild mix from Found and Foraged Edibles, which I can get at my local farmers market)
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Garnish: sour cream or greek yogurt and coarsely chopped lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
Make the Pumpkin Puree. Wash the pumpkin, slice the top and bottom off, cut into quarters, scoop out the guts (save these). Sprinkle with nutmeg and olive oil and place in a pan on one side. Place 1/2 the red onion and chopped garlic under the pumpkin slices. Sprinkle with Olive Oil. Roast at 400F until tender, about 45 mins. Remove and let cool slightly. Scrape the roasted flesh off the skin. Combine the pumpkin flesh, roasted onions and garlic in the food processor. Puree. Pour into another bowl. Set aside.
Chop mushrooms into bite sizes. Put into a bowl, cover with boiling water. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Set aside.
In a food processor coarsely puree beans and tomatoes. Set aside
In a soup pot cook onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened and beginning to brown. Stir in bean and tomato puree. Stir in broth, pumpkin, mushrooms, and wine until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 30 mins, until it thickens up.
Just before serving, add vinegar and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Season soup with salt and pepper.
Serve soup garnished with greek yogut or sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds. (To toast your pumpkin seeds, preheat oven to 375F, rinse and remove all the pulp. In a bowl pour a bit of olive oil and some salt. Spread mixture out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. (I did this, but on top of parchment paper). Sprinkle with a little bit more salt. Put in the oven. After 10 minutes, stir up the seeds. Cook for about another 10 minutes.)
(photo taken by Michelle Taylor)
It’s been a while, but we finally got around to celebrating Rob’s birthday. I missed his 39th, I was in NYC for work. I missed his 40th (YES I KNOW…I AM TERRIBLE!!) I had just moved to Seattle a few days before. I returned from China the morning of his 41st (and he worked that night anyway…) But with our BFFs and family in town, we decided to do it right.
So, well, you know me, I searched and searched for a cake recipe. Now, if you have been to The Old Creamery Grocery in Cummington, MA, then you are familiar with Perry’s AMAZING CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES. Sheesh, I sure do miss them. This recipe comes close, but not quite the same. It will do, now that I’m over 3000 miles away.
Chocolate Cake Recipe
(from Epicurious.com)
- Shortening, as needed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the pans
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly grease the bottom of each cake pan, then line it with waxed paper or parchment paper and grease and lightly flour the bottom and sides. If you are making cupcakes, line the cups with paper liners. (I highly recommend lining the pans with parchment paper. I was amazed how easily the cakes came out of the pan).
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour, the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Using an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat the butter in a large bowl for 30 seconds. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating each addition 3 to 4 minutes or until well combined. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes more, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
5. With the mixer on low speed and beating until just combined after each addition, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of the milk. With the mixer on medium to high speed, beat the batter for 20 seconds more.
6. Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter in the prepared pans. Unless your project directions indicate otherwise, fill round, square, rectangular, or shaped pans two-thirds full; fill cupcake cups two-thirds full. Bake the cake(s), 350 for 25 -35 minutes; each cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Transfer the cake in the pan to a wire rack. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack, lift off the pan, and peel off the waxed paper. Let the cake cool completely on the rack. Remove cupcakes from the pans after cooling for 15 minutes.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
(from Epicurious.com)
- 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Using electric mixer, beat 12 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter and vanilla extract in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.
(photo taken by Michelle Taylor)
(I promise to post photos later!)
I really can’t remember the first time I ate gazpacho. But I feel like I’ve loved it for a long time, and when I see lovely ripe tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market and it’s so stinkin’ hot, I have to make gazpacho.
I love it for a bunch of reasons. I love being able to taste every single vegetable in each bite. I love how it chills me right to the core. And I love when it’s so spicy my eyes water.
After looking through a bunch of recipes, I made my own. Mind you, this is not traditional, so you won’t find bread in this soup, but you will find seasonal ripe veggies. If they aren’t ripe or local, they just aren’t worth eating.
Enjoy!
- 4-6 large tomato chopped – 1 cup put aside
- 1 large cucumber – peeled and chopped – 1 cup put aside
- 1 large red onion – chopped
- 3 large stalks of celery – chopped – 1 cup put aside
- 1 yellow pepper – chopped – 1 cup put aside
- Cilantro (amount to your liking) – chopped
- 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Lemon Jiuce
- 4 cups Tomato Juice (I use V-8, seems to have the most real food ingredients)
- Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
- Hot Sauce
Makes about 8 servings.
Put chopped veggies and cilantro in a blender or food processor and pulse to desired consistency. I do it just a wee bit of processing, I like to chew this soup and taste each vegetable in each bite.
Pour into a non-reactive bowl, add the Red Wine Vinegar, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Tomato Juice, salt and pepper / hot sauce to taste and mix together. My blender and food processor aren’t big enough to hold it all, but if they are, you can put it all in and blend away.
I’m thinking about other gazpachos. I’ve had a beet gazpacho that was so amazing I just can’t forget about, and it might be my next gazpacho….
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