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i’m not one for pre-packaged, processed food. but have you seen these? when b brought them home from the store a few weeks ago, my heart skipped a beat. no fuss, no muss. and healthy to boot! ok, so maybe not healthy, but as healthy as a pre-made cookie can get. this new simpler recipe is immediate gratification for my cookie dough cravings with only partial guilt for not making them from scratch myself!
…or maybe the best FALL idea ever. As we have been up to our eyes in apples (and pears) lately i think this is a FANTASTIC way to preserve some of the goodness and also a very thoughtful, handmade gift. This is definitely one of those… “why didn’t I think of that!”
Found originally by this lovely blogger, but for the full tutorial go to the horses mouth here.
The sneak peek:
We spent the afternoon apple picking yesterday. There was a nice break in the rainy fall weather, so we took advantage of the opportunity. I can’t think of a better way to say hello to October.
{We used our booty to try our hand at apple dumplings, Mmmm…..}
so much going on in my life right now that is out of my control. experiencing moments like this bring me peace.
it doesn’t look like summer is over. or at least as seen at the local farmers market which provided me with ample color & cheeriness today. (& we will definitely be eating good tonight.)
you would think it’s fall around these parts. with highs only in the low 60’s i have been getting the itch for autumn flavors and smells… and the kitchen has been my outlet. on sunday Brad and I made an apple pie from scratch and tonight before we headed over to a friend’s house for dinner i whipped up a peach cobbler that was oh-so-yummy if I do say so myself! i got the recipe from this book which i have mentioned before. and i couldn’t not share this delicious comfort food goodness. peaches are in season here so get to your local farmer’s market and make something wonderful. if it’s hot where you are a sherbet or sorbet might be in order, but on this rare summer day i had to go with something warm.
Double-Crust Peach Cobbler
8 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 5 lbs)
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
pastry for double-crust 9″ pie
Stir together first 4 ingredients in a dutch oven; set aside until syrup forms. Bring peach mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; add almond (or vanilla) extract and butter, stirring until butter melts.
Roll half of pastry to 1/8″ thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut into a 9″ square. Spoon half of peaches into a lightly buttered 9″ square pan; top with pastry square. Bake at 475 for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon remaining peaches over baked pastry square.
Roll remaining pastry to 1/8″ thickness, and cut into 1″ strips; arrange in a lattice design over peaches. Bake 15 to 18 minutes more or until browned.
Yield: 8 servings (or 4 very hungry gluttons!!)
{Post Script I totally cheated on the lattice top because my pastry was too crumbly to weave. I used a recipe that used only shortening for the pastry and I would NOT recommend it. I had better luck on Sunday with one that used butter.}
I know. I’m obsessing about food. But when it’s a thousand degrees outside, what else are you going to do other than stay inside and eat? Visiting my family always delights my palate in a way no other place in the country can. You mix a little nostalgia with unexpected spices and a little humidity and you’ve got a fantastic meal. Friday night we celebrated being alive and together at a fabulous restaurant called Suga’s and Saturday we topped off a movie with martinis and tapas at a laid back old house.
Friday: Pan-Seared Tilapia stuffed with Lump Crab, topped with a Shrimp Cream Sauce, served with Herb Risotto and Seasonal Vegetables; cheesecake; white wine
Saturday: Grey Goose L’Orange Cosmo; ceviche – shrimp & fish, marinated in lime juice served with homemade chips; fresh hummus on homemade pita chips; goat cheese medallions of cheese drizzled with basil pesto, cayenne honey and mango poblano sauces
There may not be much landscape, and it’s too damn hot, but the best part of SE Texas is the food. Imagine the best of Southern, Cajun, and Mexican cuisine and you’ve got a culinary cultural explosion manifested on your plate. Visiting here always makes me want to cook too a little more too. And mostly I love that food itself is used in SE Texas as a verb. It’s healing, it’s hospitality, it’s love. And most of it is to die for!
photos via
I’m so excited that tomorrow I’ll be in the motherland and I’ll get to have my most favorite ice cream ever: Blue Bell.
{This photo courtesy of a fellow BB lover rubbing in his immediate access.}
see for yourself
I love tea. I love all sorts; so when I found a tea I had not tried a few weekends ago I had to find some more. What initially caught my eye was the lovely tea tin sitting on the counter. And then I actually tried some. I knew right away that the Ethos blend would be one of my favorites. It is a “tranquil blend of chamomile, mint, and rooibos”. Yum! You can see more on their website here.
Could my carbohydrate cravings get satisfied any better?? Check it out here at The Knead For Bread.
fresh
food
tomatoes
and avocados
together with ciabata
summer farmer’s market bringing color to my plate
I was feeling inspired by my recent book review, Easter sunday and my friend’s table she set for a dinner party. I would like to make a print for her, but I can’t decide which one I like better. I of course like the black and white because well…it’s b&w. I like the color one because it really captures that moment in her dining room. Maybe I should switch fonts or something else… Hmm… What do you think?
…that I enjoy so much. Today I sent a note to a friend and included a lovely little poem about spring. I also made a recipe card for a different friend. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. On Saturday we made the most delicious Cavatappi dish and so I snapped a photo of it cooking. I then used that photo as a watermark for a recipe card. I think I’m going to try to do a series of those for a family member that’s getting married in May. Too bad for me that I will now need to make my favorite meals and then print out the recipes. Looks like I’m eating good in April!
Take This Bread – Sara Miles
Sara Miles is an unexpected Christian; a self-proclaimed left-winger, lesbian journalist with an obsession with food raised in an atheist home, she finds herself at an unexpected place: St. Gregory’s in San Francisco. It is there that she experiences a profound “conversion” as she participates in communion. She then records her experience of joining a community that she can’t help but love and hate at the same time. Basically she sees the heart of Christianity as LOVE and one of the most basic ways to offer love to ALL people is through food. She decides to start a food pantry and reaches out to the poorest of the poor in San Francisco and a very interesting story ensues.
I think my friend Lynn said it best when she describes Sara as a “crass Anne Lamott”. I always find it refreshing to have an unexpected take on traditional spirituality, especially something that seems to make it more accessible to all. I love that this woman has a story…a great personal story. She’s covered wars in Central America, had a child, cooked in restaurants in New York, has a great family and is crazy-passionate about food.
I can see how for a stuffy-suburbanite this book (and author) could seem completely radical. Her spirituality (and that of this little Episcopal church in SF) is quite “unorthodox.” I think people could be completely turned off by her or as some have said in my book group, I LOVE THIS; I didn’t realize you could be a Christian and be like her.
For me, it was much like when I first read Blue Like Jazz; an unorthodox approach to spirituality and church is not revelational (for me). So yeah, guess what: surprise! church happens outside of church. Loving people, and especially those different from you, is church. It’s Christ.
But what I did think was great and fresh was her whole approach to food. I found myself being so envious of not only her love of food (and GOOD food) but her ability to see it as this thing that can cross boundaries. I wish I was that passionate about food. Fortunately for me several people in my immediate circle of friends and family are very passionate about good food and therefore I receive their spoils; however unfortunately for me I’m totally an Eat to Live person. It’s not that I don’t enjoy good food, I’m just not willing to put in the effort that my husband will to tickle my palate with delicacies most do not.
But that’s the thing with this author, even though she’s a total foodie, she still makes it accessible to all. I think I can only be so insouccient about food because I’ve never been in a place of want. I’ve always had it. I’ve never had to go without this most basic need. And I wish I could syphon some of her passion about feeding people.
I like knowing there are people like her out there doing things that I would not think of. A good read indeed.
(purchase from your local bookstore)
after last week’s craziness, i’ve decided to catch my breath a bit. tomorrow i’m going to stay home and catch up on some much needed crafting. i will however, head back over to the attic to finish the tile job that I began last week. i tiled the entire shower by myself and now i need to grout it. my hubby is kind enough to give me the day off; well, after he saw all the trouble i went to last week for his party. i of course made it more work than what it should have been, but it’s what i do i suppose.
here are a few photos from the big day.
Last night we had dinner with friends in their beautiful 1920s home. They are interested in Brad remodeling their basement, so they decided to turn it into a dinner thing since we’ve never all hung out. I brought over some homemade snickerdoodles and much to my surprise I did not go home empty handed.
Somehow the conversation had turned on me and we were discussing my ineptitude at keeping things alive. The hostess, a should be professional green-thumb, assured me that she had a plant that I could NOT kill. I told her I bet that I could and probably faster than anyone she’s known. I mean, I killed an ivy once for Pete’s sake. It’s not just neglect that ensures these little life forces meet their fate…I think I hover too much.
None-the-less, my confident friend said that she was positive that I couldn’t kill this plant and to prove it she sent me home with one. She said she loves to give them away particularly to people like me who should be shunned by any green-loving organization or individual. I believe that this pretty little purple plant is called a shamrock. It actually sleeps at night and then opens at first light. I kinda like that. Anyway, this particular plant is a seedling from the mother plant that my friend has in her living room. She said she’s had that same exact plant since she was twelve. (My friend is in her 40’s now.) We’ll see, but I’m not holding my breath; I think this could end up very badly for the plant!
i’m loving me some cupcakes! any excuse to bake them, i’ll embrace…
I worked on my mini some more. There are some pages I like more than others, but I think for now I’m enjoying the process. (Mostly because I get to do something crafty every day.)
last week i was confined to the indoors because I injured my back. I officially feel like an old lady now. my back is feeling much better and I was able to leave the house a bit this weekend. it snowed almost constantly from friday to sunday night. it was quite lovely to watch it fall to the deserted streets. my sis came into town for a spur of the moment get-a-way and we pretty much just read, played games, and watched a movie. it was perfect. (except the part when i slipped on the ice…not so fun.)
this picture doesn’t do this meal justice. we cooked “stuffed steak pinwheels”. it’s flank steak with spinach, feta, bacon, thyme, & tomatoes. yum. email me for the recipe; it’s a little long. i know i shouldn’t eat red meat, but who could resist something this good????
My first award…granted to me by the always-kind OH!. This lovely little thing is an inspiration award. I am terribly flattered that anyone finds anything I might say or do inspiring. I still find myself a bit perplexed as to why I’m even doing this ‘new, hip thing’ — blogging. But for now it still tickles my fancy and I always enjoy seeing what others are doing in their lives and having a chance to learn something new. So apparently I am to nominate 7 others for whom their works stand out from the rest. Lately I can go to these places for inspiration:
For Me, For You … for all around fabulousness
Katie at doodlesprouts has always got something going on and can get me to dust off my needles. (check out her shop too.)
Scott Smith, a.k.a. The Sartorialist for capturing life on the streets
Mandi for doing some cool things with paper and embracing being 23.
Ez over at Creature Comforts for always having the prettiest layouts and pointing me to things I don’t always need, but always want.
Amy at Eggs on Sunday. Food. Need I say more? (Photographed so damn well too!)
And Kate the Great for kickin’ ass and taking names. This lady has got whatever “it” is. You’ll find visual and audio inspiration where she is.
These little darlings may not look like they could ever come from Cooking Light, but they did. This is by far the best sugar/snickerdoodle cookie I’ve EVER had. And I of course can’t not share. Here’s the recipe:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teapsoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 oz.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at meadium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat just until combined. Shape dough into 30 balls. Combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small shallow dish. Roll balls in sugar mixture, and place 2 inces apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 for 8 minutes or until tops crack. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack. yield: 30 cookies. (Only 99 calories a cookie).
Something I can’t possibly live without.
Well it’s officially fall around here. Yesterday we made apple crisp from freshly picked apples, watched a scary movie and kept the windows open. Today it rained and stayed in the 60s and my hubby was inspired to make a fall meal. Each year when the leaves begin to turn, I reach for one of my favorite cookbooks. Well, it’s not actually a cookbook. It was a “best of” from Cooking Light in 2003 (or 2004). This little book-lett holds 119 recipes of the best soups and stews. And today proved to be no less memorable than in fall’s past. We had the Crab & Corn chowder and Oh-So-Help-Me. Yum. We originally invited my in-laws over, but I’m glad they couldn’t make it because now we have left-overs!
(too lazy to type the recipe. email me if you want it typed out!)
So I decided to make a new cake… well actually it was a new chocolate frosting from last month’s Gourmet magazine. Whoa… it is RICH! The recipe is simple:
1 1/2 lbs of semi-sweet chocolate
3 cups heavy cream
Put choc. in large bowl. Heat cream to simmer and then pour over choc. Stir until melted. Let cool then chill overnight & thaw before use.
For the cake I just used a basic yellow cake recipe from the Southern Living Cookbook of choice. And I decorated with the a basic butter-cream recipe from Wilton. As Michael Kors might say, I think I over-worked it. I should have left off a few dots and flowers…but I couldn’t edit myself when I had all that sugar.
