July 4th

Happy 4th of July to all those who live in the states.   Tom mowed the lawn.  The kids romped, and I baked a cake, did a bit of thrifting, and worked on some exciting plans for my fall classes.   We'll be eating dinner with my parents and my aunt and uncle in a few hours. It is a good day.

The recipe for the flag cake is from here. Deb says that the people at her party raved and gushed about it.  I'll let you know how it went on my end. Why the disposable tinfoil pan?  Because, as it turns out, I don't own a 9" x 13" pan (I know!), so I had to act quickly.

Have fun! Splash! Yum! Boom! And, all of the rest.

xox e

an evening on the porch

 
White Sangria  (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe)

1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup Cointreau (I used Triple Sec because that is what we had)
1/4 cup super fine sugar
2 firm white peaches thinly sliced
1 green apple thinly sliced
1 bottle of well chilled Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc (I used Pinot)
12 oz (or more) seltzer
ice cubes for serving

Pour brandy and 1/4 C sugar at the bottom of pitcher.  Stir, and let stand for 5 minutes; stir again to dissolve sugar.  Pour in cointreau, the bottle of wine, and stir.  Mix in the fruit and stir some more.  When you are ready to serve, mix the seltzer in, and pour each cup over ice.  Be sure to keep a spoon in the pitcher, for easy fruit transfer.

a tiny pumpkin

I baked a pumpkin pie for my family this weekend, and here is what I have to report:

1. The crust was flaky, light, crisp, and rich. Perfect.
2. The pumpkin filling didn't set, so it was, literally, a flop. We decided it was a sort of fall pudding in a crust dessert, so we piled some fresh whipped cream on top, and ate it all up.

And, 3. I carved a cute little pumpkin out of some of the remaining pie crust and decorated the center of the pie with it. It made the pie a bit more fall fancy. For those of you interested in making your own mini pumpkin decoration for your pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, the tip is to use a knife to cut out the pumpkin and stem shapes. Then, use the knife to "draw" little curved, vertical pumpkin creases. Plop it on top of the pie, and bake it the same way you normally would.

I spent this morning searching for my old pumpkin pie recipe, which always came out of the oven firm with a nice balance of sweet and spice, and I have plans to bake a redemptive pumpkin pie this weekend.

It is a rainy and blustery morning in Massachusetts, and I am left feeling like the time between summer sandbox play and pumpkin pie season was a blurry, quick flash. At some early morning hour this weekend, I peeked outside and watched the children running outside while Tom raked the leaves. They were bundled up with red cheeks and noses, running in that quick, trying-to-get-warm kind of way. And, while, part of me is not quite ready for the early fall warm days/cool nights to be over, I am reminded of how comforting it is to feel like this moment, whatever the moment, is the right moment.

xo e

apple cinnamon granola

Have you ever had one of those colds that seems to go away completely, and then it suddenly comes back in a new and equally as aggravating way? I thought I was in the clear yesterday, but just as I was crawling into bed last night, I grumbled because I had a brand new cough. This morning, I was determined to have a nice autumn morning with Mouse despite my scratchy throat. We planted tulip bulbs, met a giant toad who was living in one of the holes we were digging and jumped out when he saw my trowel (the poor thing seemed to be disorientated and confused), and chatted with some of our neighbors.


I was inspired by Amy's post about making granola, and since I was tired of being tired, I decided to make a big batch of my apple cinnamon granola with the hope that it would cheer me up a bit. And, it did! I made a kickin' batch of granola. I told Chick all about the granola on our walk home from school, and as soon as she opened the door she gushed about how amazing the granola smelled. She's a swell kid.


Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup oil (i used canola)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (adjust according to how sweet you want it)
2 t vanilla
1 T cinnamon
1 t kosher salt
1 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup coarsely chopped cashews
1 1/2 cup diced dried apples

How to:

Mix oats, oil, sugar, syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a big baking tray. I use my biggest roasting pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and mix in the nuts. Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and mix in the dried apples. Store in some sort of big jar.

The possibilities are endless. Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds would be great mixed in with the nuts, and raisins (gasp!), cranberries, currants, or dried cherries could be added at the end.

xo e

carrot cake

This was such a typical mid-autumn weekend at our house. Saturday was blustery and gray with clouds zooming by with bits of patchy blue skies making an occasional appearance. And, then Sunday was the kind of bright and sunny fall day where it is crisp in the morning, but by the afternoon you can almost get by with a t-shirt and sandals. And, as is almost always the case in mid-October, we were feeling overwhelmed by all of the house chores and autumn yard work that needed to get done. Our apple tree had dropped a huge dead limb, so Tom spent today chopping up all of the branches for kindling. I trimmed back our perennials as well as six or seven of our big bushes and trees, and now my hands and arms are kind of quivery. We also managed to do a zillion loads of laundry, Tom finished putting a gutter on the roof of the wood shed, and I cleaned my studio.

The whole time I was trimming and twisting branches, I was trying to figure out which sweet treat I would reward myself with. I'm so darn food motivated. I decided to make carrot cake since it is my most favorite kind of cake ever (as long as it doesn't have raisins in it). If it has raisins, it is my least favorite cake ever. I'm sorry, lovers of plump, warm raisins - please don't be offended.

This is my favorite carrot cake recipe. My mom's friend from many, many years ago used to make this cake when we'd visit her. I have one distinct memory where I was 4ish and peeking through the grate in the floor into the kitchen staring at a huge, magnificent carrot cake with a little orange carrot frosted onto the center of the cake. I remember thinking it was the most beautiful creation ever. Years later, Dorothy came to our wedding and gave me this recipe as part of her gift to us. I treasure her recipe because it makes the most perfectly moist, spiced, carroty cake.

Ingredients:
2 c flour (I use 1 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat)
2 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 c shredded carrots
2 c sugar
1 c oil
4 eggs
1 c chopped walnuts

sift dry ingredients (except sugar) together
mix sugar with oil in mixer
slowly adding the dry ingredients
alternate dry ingredients with eggs and the sugar/oil mixture
mix well after each addition
add carrots and nuts
grease cake pan
bake at 350
1 hour if in 9" tube
35-40 minutes if in a square pan
(check it as it bakes because of oven temperature variations)

Frosting:

1 stick of butter
2 t vanilla
3/4 lb of confectioners sugar (roughly)
1 8 oz pk cream cheese

Whip all of these ingredients with your mixer. mmmmmm.


xo e

some rosy cherries

We're having muggy weather that is making me wilt.


cherries to the rescue



and mocktails


and cocktails


A quick mocktail recipe:

1 part pineapple juice
1 part seltzer
1 part orange juice
ice
lime slice for the rim

Add some rum instead of the orange juice for the cocktail version. Or maybe keep the orange juice. And, don't you think a bit of coconut milk would make it even more yummy?


xo e

five

Wowzers. I've been away from this little blog space for a bit. It was an unexpected, but much needed, blog break. I have this strange throat problem that is taking forever to heal. It all began when I choked on a tuna sandwich on our way to Philly about a month ago. The doctor thinks I damaged some sort of membrane-y thing on my pharynx (wherever that is), and it has made eating and just generally existing a bit more challenging than normal. How weird is that? My new friend, the pharynx, feels so much better than it did a month ago, though, which is super encouraging, and indicative of its slow, but steady, healing process. There will be no injured pharynx allowed at Cape Cod when we go camping this summer.

Oh, and we had a big family birthday party for Chick who will turn FIVE on Wednesday. Don't even get me started on how big that feels and how she has lost almost all of her babyish features (except her hands, which are still chubby and stocky). Chick made a few fairy cup cake birthday invitations out of card stock, painted brown paper bags, and a glue stick. I stamped the back with an invitation stamp I bought years ago.

Here are her chubby little hands making the invitations. But, wait! Are they thinning out a bit? They still look kind of like a toddler's hands, right?


And, we made my besty besty friend's (mother of two lovely nieces and sweet cheeked nephew) bean salad. It is one of my favorite things to eat because of its sweet and tangy flavor and because of the texture. It has lots of different plump, tender beans and crunchy little bits of celery and pepper. It is one of those magical recipes that most people at the party eat and love and then ask for the recipe. And, look how pretty it looks!



You can use dried beans, but it will take a little more work because you'll have to leave time to soak and then cook them. I used canned this time around.


Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black eyed peas
1 can white corn
1 green pepper diced
1/2 cup red pepper diced
1 cup diced celery
1 jar pimentos diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


How to:

Drain and rinse the beans and corn well. Mix with diced pepper, celery, and pimento. Bring the sugar, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper to a boil until sugar has completely dissolved. Pour the warm sauce over the bean mixture, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Drain the marinade before serving. I doubled the recipe because I needed to have some leftovers for vacation week.

xo e

peachy

I'm known to make a peach cobbler on Labor Day weekend. There is something about a peach cobbler that both reminds me that it is the end of summer and makes me feel like summer is unending. How is that for a paradox? At this time each year the farm down the road has peaches filling their bins. They are practically spilling onto the floor telling me there is an endless, most plentiful supply of summer fruit. Summer indeed! Yet, the leaves are just beginning to turn around here, and I know that apples and squash will soon take over. So, I buy tons of those peaches and I make a dessert that is sweet and indulgent, and when I'm quiet I can hear it whisper, "Relax! It's still summer!"

The farm offers nice big bags of utility peaches for $4.00 a bag, which always inspires me to bake them down into what, for me, feels like the perfect dessert. Don't be horrified if you bite into a utility peach and it tastes like a tasteless sponge with hints of peach. Once those beautifully ripe utility peaches simmer, they will be knock-your-socks-off flavorful. I love how the peaches get soft and even more peachy as they bubble under the biscuit topping. It is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. This year, we went on a beach adventure (pictures to follow), so the cobbler traveled with us - across the Long Island Sound -to Greenport, NY.

The recipe I use is modified from one that was torn from a newspaper years ago. While I've read peach cobbler recipes that suggest peeling the skins, I really don't see the need since they become soft and almost indistinguishable after it cooks. I just slice the peaches as is -with the skins on- and toss them in a big bowl with the lemon juice.


I use this particular drop biscuit top recipe for berry cobblers too. It is simple and has the perfect balance of butter, sweet, dough.

Peach Cobbler
modified from a recipe torn from a local newspaper insert

8 medium peaches - sliced with skins on
1 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t cinnamon

Drop biscuit top
1 1/2 ounces chilled butter
1 cup flour
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss sliced peaches with lemon juice. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then toss with the peaches. Put in a buttered baking dish and bake until hot and bubbling. In my oven, this takes about 25-35 minutes depending on how many peaches I've used.

While peaches are baking, prepare biscuit topping. Put all dry ingredients and chilled butter in a food processor and pulse until it is crumbly. Alternatively, you can use two forks or a pastry blender to combine. Put crumbly mixture into a mixing bowl and gently whisk in the milk. Be mindful not to over-mix.

Drop biscuit topping onto the hot peaches and bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Just peachy.

xo e

keeping cool

Some good friends of ours, who moved to South Carolina this past March, drove back to our town to visit with friends and to pick up some of their belongings that were left behind. We were thrilled that they stayed at our home because we have missed them so much since they moved away. Our days together were full of yummy food, wine (once the kids were asleep), a picnic at the park, dominoes, and tons of playing. Chick was so excited to have her friend play upstairs in her room with her, and whenever any of the adults went to check on them, both girls would ask us to kindly leave so that they could continue.


This was the one week that summer decided to actually behave like summer, so it was hot and muggy outside and inside, which motivated me to cut up the big bag of cucumbers our friends gave us when they arrived. I had Tom cut some dill when he picked up our vegetables from the farm, which is the essential ingredient in this cold, sweet and sour cucumber salad. I ate this kind of salad at a friend's house seven or eight years ago and instantly fell in love. Since then, I have been given a few recipes from various friends, and I have sort of combined them all to make what, for me, tastes just as it should: crisp, tangy, cool, and infused with dill. It doesn't hurt that our dill came straight from the farm, so it was super flavorful and fresh.


This is a picture of leftover salad because I completely forgot to take a picture pre-dinner. If it looks a little bit two day-old, that's because it is.

Cucumber Dill Salad

Ingredients:
4 or 5 cucumbers
1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 T sugar
1/2 fresh ground pepper
1 T kosher salt
2 sprigs of dill (optional)

Peel cucumbers and slice thinly. I sometimes slice them in complete circles, but this time I scooped the seeds out and sliced little crescents. Sprinkle the kosher salt on the cucumbers, and toss to coat. Put cucumbers in a colander (over a bowl or in the sink) and let stand for an hour stirring occasionally.

While you are waiting, in a serving bowl stir the vinegar, dill, sugar, and pepper until sugar is completely dissolved. After the hour of draining, press cucumbers firmly into the colander one last time with a thin, cloth towel and then pat dry. Place cucumbers into the serving bowl, with the dressing, and toss to coat. Refrigerate until cold. Place two sprigs of dill on top of salad for an optional garnish.

*Note: feel free to add more or less dressing depending on taste.

Hey, Henningsons - Thanks for filling our home with cheer, laughter, and plastic horses. We already miss you, and the herd.

xo e

lemonade for everyone!

I discovered lemonade syrup two years ago when my family visited my Auntie Lynn's house for a summer party. It was a long drive, so when we arrived, we instantly slipped into her cool, bubbly not-so-hot tub where Chick lounged until her skin was wrinkly and raisin-like. We were sufficiently relaxed, feeling perfectly in love with our family, and lounging on couches, when out of of nowhere Auntie Lynn led me to a pot of syrupy, lemony joy and told us that we should help ourselves to a glass of cold lemonade. Just fill a glass with ice and water, add the right amount of lemonade syrup, and stir. Brilliant! I was hooked the moment I poured and swished.

I love lemonade, but I like it very diluted and very lemony, which is why this syrup is perfect. I add just enough to make it mildly sweet, and since the sugar is boiled with lemon rinds it is has a deep, lemon flavor. I've been making it every summer since. It can be packed nicely away in mason jars and stored in the refrigerator until the next lazy warm afternoon when only lemonade can quench your thirst.


Lemonade Syrup
adapted from The Joy of Cooking (I tweaked it a tiny, tiny bit)

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups of syrup
Ingredients: 1 c water, 2 c sugar, 7 lemons, 1/8 tsp salt

1. Place 2 cups of sugar , 1 cup water, thinly sliced rinds of 2 lemons, and 1/8 tsp of salt into a pot.
2. Simmer for 7 minutes.
3. Cool and add the juice of 7 lemons.
4. Strain and then add half of the rinds to the syrup for flavor and color.
5. Store in a jar and place in the refrigerator.
6. Add a little bit to a glass of ice water.
7. Sip, kick back, and enjoy.

So, so, so good.

xo e

table

I have been in total planning mode the past few days, which is why I haven't posted as much as I have wanted to.

Projects

1. recovering two thrifted chairs (I will have before and after shots)
2. sturdying an old stool and repainting with red milk paint (I will have before and after shots)
3. planning to do some mixed media work with fabric and paint on canvas
4. planning for Chick's birthday
5. thinking about valentine making

Oh, and we also bought a table on craigslist.com. I am such a stick-with-my-decision kind of person, especially when it comes to something that is so not a big deal - like a table. I promise! But, upon arrival, this table was so much bigger than expected and, really, it is so room filling and enormous. This is all relevant because I have been really busy coming up with big table jokes. Like about how I can't find my seat because I didn't mapquest it and "Okay, everyone, squeeze in so I can have room." Within hours of bringing it home, I was on craigslist re-listing it so someone else can smoosh it into their kitchen.

As of today, I am realizing that maybe the reason I re-listed so quickly has more to do with the fact that it is replacing my small round table than with its ridiculously big size. This morning, for the first time, I recognized that maybe I am a teensie bit sentimental about our old kitchen table. After all, I ate all of my meals on it from the time I was wee. It is one of the few material possessions that has been schlepped during all of my moves and squeezed into cars and moving vans (thanks Chris & Tracy). I played cards and dominoes and whatever else around it in my first apartment, I fed both of my babies off of it, and now a HUMONGOUS intruder is trying to take its place. This new table is really big. And, rectanglish. And, when I touch it, I'm a little lost. I think I really do need a map.

So, this morning, a few new super lovely friends came over for breakfast. We sat around (can you say that with a rectangle table?) it, and for the first time I felt myself willing to begin mapping it out. There was discussion, laughter, joining of ideas, and learning. And, biscuits with jam. At one point, my friend noticed that Miss Mouse's head fits just underneath - that her hair grazes it when she breezes under. This was its first reference point. It was the beginning of the map - the beginning of creating a new kind of permanence. Isn't that what change is all about? In the meantime, I have stopped being so snarky, and decided that maybe it can stay for a little while longer. You know, until I am ready to decide if it is right for our family or until Chick takes the old one to college . Whichever comes first.


Cornmeal Biscuits (served on my new table)

2 cups white flour
2 cups wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 T baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
7 T chilled butter (in tiny pieces)
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 egg white
2 t poppy seeds
2 t sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 450˚. Mix flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl and stir. Cut in butter with pastry blender (or 2 knives). Turn dough out onto floured surface and roll out until 3/4 inch thick (be sure it isn't too thin). Cut biscuits with a 2 1/2 inch cutter. Place biscuits on a lightly oiled pan, brush with egg white, and sprinkle seeds on top. Bake for 9 minutes or until golden. You will end up with 24 (sometimes 25) biscuits. I usually spread jam on them and eat them for breakfast, but, really, they are the perfect snack for anytime.

eat & look book

This pumpkin, oatmeal, applesauce muffin is my new favorite muffin. You can sprinkle sugar in the raw on the top before baking or an oatmeal, butter, brown sugar topping.


Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins
based loosely on Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious recipe for "applesauce muffins"

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of white flour
3/4 cup of wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 T of ground flax seed (optional)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg


1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Line or coat a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and flax in a bowl. In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil, and egg with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Careful not to over mix.
3. Divide batter evenly into each muffin cup and sprinkle sugar in the raw or a butter, oat, brown sugar blend on the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean.

Lately, by the time I crawl into bed I am too exhausted to do any serious reading, but I like to have a book open during the few minutes before I turn off the light. It dawned on me the other day that I need a grown-up picture book. You know - Goodnight Gorilla for the adult set. So, this is my new favorite 'I'm too tired to really read' book that I peruse just before I drop off. It is a little too modern for my taste, and it seems to be mostly for the 20-something who just got a new apartment, but it has some clever small space solution ideas.

potato

We belong to a beautiful and fruitful CSA (community sustained agriculture) farm where, at the end of the fall, we went home with way more potatoes then we could possibly eat. So, we got crafty and made potato stamps. They will rot after a few days, which is the perfect excuse to become obsessed with making as many stamped creations as possible. I have carved my own freehand in the past, but this time I used tiny little cookie cutters to make the shapes. They make perfect gift tags and wee cards. Chickpea's favorite was the strawberry.




We also ate our potatoes.

Mixed Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 smallish sweet potatoes
2 smallish baking potatoes
a handful of tiny fingerlings, yukon golds, or purple potatoes
3 T olive oil (or a little more if necessary)
2 T kosher salt
black pepper
1 t smoked paprika (smoked pimenton)

Directions:
Set oven to 425˚. Chop potatoes in course chunks. Cut the teenie tiny ones in half. In a mixing bowl blend potato chunks with olive oil, salt, pepper (to taste), and the smoked paprika. Dump into baking dish and roast for 35 minutes. Test with fork for doneness.