This is my newest collaboration with Papyrus that just came out this month. I love how it turned it out. So sweet, glitter, ribbon and bedazzled to boot. Even the message Papyrus chose is perfect 'lots of love to you. happy day' You could send this to someone well past Valentine's day!
Over at the shop right now! I listed the only 9 cards I have available to share.
lots of love to you and oh happy day!
This is for Laurie! Finally! finally I'm following through on my promise to post this recipe.
Every time I make this bread, I'm reminded how good it is and how I want to make it more often, then I remember that it takes a day ahead of planning, and then I remember that I like to procrastinate, but then wait! I remember that I'm super organized and I don't procrastinate anymore ;)
Here is the recipe passed on to me by Sean's step mom from an article in Cook's Illustrated. Notes from me are italicized.
An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. Use mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser {mild non-alcoholic lager also works}. The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 to 3 days. {this bread also freezes well and is good defrosted + toasted}
There are variations to this recipe that I have not yet tried, like adding olives, rosemary and parmesan, or making a whole wheat loaf, or adding cranberries and pecans.
Oh and one of my favorite reasons to make this bread, using my green dutch oven that I love. I bought it just for baking this bread and now I use it every chance I get. As a creative it matters to me to have pretty, colorful cooking pots and utensils. I find that pretty things inspire me and they really add to the whole cooking/baking experience.
Anyone inspired to make some bread this weekend? I think I'm going to have another slice right now...
While tweeting and carrying on, mostly about Wassail last night, I had a request to share this recipe.
As I mentioned this is a Martha Stewart recipe which means it is complicated but so very good. And by complicated I mean that there are a lot of *possibly unecessary* steps to make a simple drink, also her recipes always call for ingredients that I not only do not have on hand but cannot find at a regular grocery store or in the case of Calvados, most liquor stores. I went to three Los Angeles liquor stores to find Calvados...was still worth it. I finally gave in and ordered some maple sugar which I am expecting will arrive any minute now. In place of the maple sugar I have been using brown sugar. I'll let you know the difference when I get the maple sugar. I'm curious to see how different the flavoring might be? Last night I also improvised with some Asian pear instead of apple, also yum. And Sean prefers it with more spice so instead of just allspice and clove I've been using a pre-mixed collection of 'mulling spices' from Williams Sonoma.
Cheers! which according to this recipe is the translation for Wassail! in Middle English. Go figure.
Thanks to everyone who attended the shop update and snatched up some goodies. As promised, they have all shipped out to you! There are still a few treats left, as well as a new shipment of night lights and growth charts that just came in yesterday. Since I'm traveling this year, December 15 is the last day to get your order in before the holidays.
If you try the Wassail, let me know how it goes!
What can I say it's one of my all time favorite meals...still.
If you were to come over for dinner, chances are you might be served a spaghetti dish, and you'd probably find me reading the recipe from my orange and red polkadot binder ~ my official recipe collection that includes tear sheets from magazines, handwritten recipes, internet and email recipes. {And yes that is my washing machine that the binder is resting on ~ it also doubles as a recipe holder while cooking}
You name it, I got it. I started collecting these recipes about 15 years ago ~ really, since I became a 'domestic adult' and started actually enjoying cooking. It honestly may have originally been inspired by Martha Stewart Living, which I bring you this recipe from, circa I don't know because they didn't put a date on the magazine page I ripped out.
What I do know is this is one of the 'I've been meaning to share it with you', so I'm doing it now ~ before tomato season in this hemisphere comes to a close. I'm including a photo of the instructional images that were included in the article, incase you are like me and you also favor learning with visuals.
A basic, simple, delicious meal ~ it goes something like this ~ in the words of Martha Stewart Living:
"This recipe is perfect for dinner for two or as a first course for four. You will need 8 ounces of pasta and four 6 ounce tomatoes.
1. Fresh tomatoes should be peeled and seeded for best results. Bring a large pot of water (3 quarts) to a rolling boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt; use this water to loosen the skins. Cut a small "x" in the bottom of each tomato, and drop one or two at a time into boiling water, just until the skin begins to curl back at the "x".
2. Add your pasta to the water one portion at a time: one portion of spaghetti (4 ounces) is about as much as you can hold between the joint of your thumb and the first joint of your index finger. It's important to stir the pasta frequently as it begins to boil to keep it from sticking together; stir occasionally after that. Begin cooking pasta right before starting the sauce.
3. Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Heat slowly so the oil does not lose its green hue. Add 4 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Add 1/4 teaspoon each of red-pepper flakes and salt to oil; cook until garlic is medium brown, 1 minute more. Do not burn the garlic.
4. Tilt the pan away from you to avoid spattering; add tomatoes, along with reserved juices, to the pan. Cook over high heat, swirling occasionally, until tomatoes break down and become saucelike, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. While the tomatoes continue to cook, drain the pasta for about 30 seconds, reserving 1 cup of cooking water and shaking the colander a few times.
6. Slide pasta into pan with tomatoes, toss with the tongs to coat. If it gets too dry, add some resrved pasta water. Cook until sauce clings to pasta, 3 to 4 minutes. Tear up 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, and add to the pan; cook 30 seconds. Divide among two or four heated bowls; finish with a grating of cheese, if desired."
I have to be honest, as someone who tends to favor easy, speedier {but still delicious} recipes, I initially was a little intimidated by the whole getting the seeds out of the tomatoes and straining the sauce. It felt too 'Martha' style complicated, but really it's worth it. It does make the sauce better, and once you've done it a few times it goes pretty fast.
ENJOY!!!
I make a pretty mean pesto.
And I would like to have taken a prettier, more in focus, shot of it for you ~ but featured above is all I could get before I devoured it.
It's quite possible I haven't yet tweeted enough about this concoction that is, well, to put it mildly my version of 'crack'. Oh, and it is that good.
Inspired by Nigella, how can you not love her cookbooks ~ honestly three of them are my staple, 'go to' cookbooks ~ fresh pesto equals summer to me. And after at least a good 3 - 4 years of trying to perfect it. It goes something like this
Combine:
8 oz. of fresh, and by fresh I mean plucked straight from a basil plant, basil leaves
2 or 3 garlic cloves ~ the more garlic, the more bite
1 tbs or so of pine nuts
2 tbs or so of parmesan cheese
a pinch or so of sea salt
in a food processor
Then:
add 4 - 7 tbs or so of extra virgin olive oil
blend/process again, taste, add more basil leaves and a little parmesan or so to taste and you might have the best pesto ever.
spread over a fresh baguette, or crackers or bake it in the oven for a crostini effect, or fine, just spoon it straight from the bowl and Enjoy!
I hope everyone here in the states had a happy 4th!!!
Clearly, I've been cooking! visiting with friends, working, then cooking and visiting with friends some more. And did I mention that I even got in some filing? Just how a holiday weekend should be, filing, pesto and all.
7:15 morning begins ~ shower and head straight to the computer
8:00 Open registration for e-course!! email new students, enjoy coffee
9:30 talk with my mom by phone, more emailing, and tweeting
11:30 time to be Creative. It was Creative Thursday after all. Worked on designing an entirely new print for the shop
3:30 break to thank Sean for the beautiful tulips he brought home and snack on some Salt & Pepper Pistachios that he also brought to me as a gift {he's a gem} ~ then back to creating
5:00 fulfillment ~ preparing orders for shipping
7:00 work on yesterday's blog post while tweeting
8:00 have a glass of Cline Zinfandel ~ a favorite red wine in this house
10:00 another early night for us. I've been run down for a week so getting these longer nights of sleep has been a very nice, necessity
...............................................................................................................................
This was my first time making the mac & cheese above. I saw it on the Today Show and the ingredients are extremely loose. It's very good and very light for mac & cheese, so I thought I'd share it with you.
Basically you've got the following ingredients in this order. Use your own judgement on quantities. After making it once, mine needs some tweaking on quantities but I think I'll definitely be making it again. Also, for those of us managing our time...ahem... a very quick dinner!
Macaroni noodles {I used small penne pasta this time, but I think macaroni would be best}
Boil noodles, strain and add 1 raw egg to the hot noodles. This is like a carbonara effect.
Add parmesan cheese, quantity to your liking, and toss together
Spread plain Greek yogurt on a plate, quantity to your liking
Add noodles on top of yogurt, add a little salt and pepper if you like and ENJOY!
What better way to return to JOY than with one of my all time, stands the test of time, favorite childhood cake recipes?
More thanks to you, for all the love you've shown me, not only on the previous post, but especially over the last month. Somewhere between loss and birthdays it is time again to jump into life and savor every minute of it, and that includes savoring cake! I'm writing to you on a beautiful Wednesday morning, especially excited because as soon as I hit the "publish" button on this post I am off to paint. So I will keep it brief and leave you with a recipe today? How's that sound. I love to cook, actually, and have been meaning to start sharing some favorite recipes with you. I know I have found some great ones recently by searching online, and I'm ready to add mine into the mix.
Without further adieu ~ Galliano cake. Also known as a Harvey Wallbanger Cake. Also known as my most requested birthday cake that I had just last week. These photos below are of my recipe card I have had since I was a child. I probably wrote this recipe down when I was about 7 or 8, and just learning cursive. Not a fan of too much sweet, I usually don't make the glaze with this cake anymore. I find that sprinkling just a touch of powdered sugar directly on the cake after it has been baked, is PERFECT! And yes, this cake does have booze in it, as all good birthday cakes should.
Enjoy!!!
Also, also, also I'm very excited to play in the "blog it forward" blog mash-up that Victoria's got going. I'm next in the line up and will be back tomorrow with my post about "What Inspires Me"{besides, cake that is} ~ see you then!
If you spend any time with me personally, then you may hear me say "I have a new theory". Sean hears this all the time. And a new theory always presents itself in a moment of clarity.
I'm so happy to say that clarity has returned. I'm already feeling better again and while I know in my heart of hearts that everything is always working out for the best, it was really nice to be reminded of that by so many of you who left comments ~ thanks for reminding me. The mental break I've given myself from figuring out what's next has been especially nice and I'm honestly looking forward to the next "door that will open". I'm excited to see what it will be!
So my new theory is this ~ if you're feeling disappointed the best way out and back to hopeful optimism is to throw a 4 course Italian dinner party for your friends! It's true ~ Just the simple act of making your home beautiful, inviting and cozy for your guests is enough to appreciate how wonderful life already is. That and~ cooking and enjoying a delicious meal and sharing it with good company all accompanied by red wine of course and you will be well on your way to a brighter spirit. Oooh and I can't forget having a delightful breakfast with a new friend also helps, as does cooking the Spaghetti Lunghi found at Trader Joes, I mean, excuse me Trader Giottos. Have you seen this crazy long spaghetti there? You can't miss the bright yellow packaging. I'm sorry but eating super long spaghetti noodles is just good fun.
(...and you might take note that my kitchen aid mixer also happens to be orange, and you would be correct in that observation...oh, that orange!!)
Today was one of those days, an especially good one. Nothing crazy and exciting. Just a day at home where you can putter around and follow your bliss, moving from one activity to the next almost seamlessly, with little effort. One where time slows down a bit and you begin to take notice of everything around you. Simply put you feel a sense of peace and you make some cookies! Oatmeal chocolate chip to be exact...see recipe below.
We've officially returned from the beach and I'm more than certain that the few intended days of down time have carried on into this weekend. As I take a deep breath, I remember how nice it is when that happens and I'm inspired yet again to keep the feeling going on into my every days. :)
I hope you're having a nice, relaxing weekend. It was great to hear all your thoughts over at Holly's ~ And I'll see you on Monday with a painting for sure, as my paint brushes are beginning to feel neglected...I think this may have been the longest they've been left untouched in quite a while.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of Gabby (Sean's brother's wife and mother to Saoirse :))
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. chocolate chips
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
There are no directions included with this one. Gabby actually created this recipe combining bits and pieces from a couple of cookie recipies. I had them when we visited her last weekend, and found them to be delicious ~ not too sweet, hearty, maybe even a little good for you (she even used wheat flour in her batch)?! and especially good with milk. So when you put it together, use your usual cookie making insights ~ mix the wet ingredients first, then mix the dry slowly adding the combined dry ingredients to the already mixed wet ingredients, spoon them onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375º ish for 10 ~ 12 minute~ish. And eat and ENJOY!
