(glimpses) - these things are

while warmer spring time days are oh so slowly returning, we had a really nice weekend with a simple, tasty easter meal (a little different from what's become our traditional fare).

dessert was a strawberry icebox cake made with a very simple homemade vanilla custard... it was very good :)  We made this first as it needed time coming together in our "ice box"

for dinner itself, we made a simple but delicious pairing of roast asparagus and pan-seared portobello mushrooms with rolled chicken cutlets filled with caramelized onions and artichoke hearts. a recipe i put together hoping to make our simple meal a little more special. 

for the rest of our meal, i was reminded of all the good things that are yet to come when spring thaws the rest of the snow banks.  hope this easter weekend was wonderfully delicious for you and your family too! 

(in the kitchen) - jalepenos hot and not so hot

somewhere little jalepeno plants must be flourishing...I was so inspired this week that I pick-up about a dozen or so of these hot little peppers to make into a jar of homemade pickled jalepanos for the coming weeks of quick taco salad bowls, taquitos, burritos and who knows what else ...

they were very simple pickle to make: hot mixture of boiling water, vinegar and sea salt brininess, garlic and bit of sugar to balance it out .... 

with the couple of spare peppers left over I made a very easy cucumber and cilantro salad for a last-minute local artist's potluck.

but this time the jalepenos were seeded (so not hot at all!) and mixed with lots of finely minced fresh cilantro, garlic, sea salt, olive oil and lime to make a very tasty, light summer salad.

ps. the cucumbers should be sliced as thin as possible so they marinate well in the dressing...

I have a few other of my own projects in the works like this hand-thrown bowl that I made for (of course) salad-filled summer days that are nearing ...

In the workshop, I have other new projects all in the kind middle state of completion mixing with these last days of school for my daughter who will unbelievably be an eighth grade this coming year ... it's been said before... "but how did this happen so fast"?

I've added a new sample size of the beeswax polish I make for wooden toys and housewares. The other sizes can be found here. 

Well that's all the time I have today to post...have a wonderful weekend!

(glimpses) - daylight savings baking

i thought with daylight savings time taking an extra hour from our sleep, that i might sleep in just a bit longer, but as it turns out … with the window shades up instead of down… that faintest of dawn light, had me up at baker's hours … 

maybe this week's morning transition will go be better than i was thinking…

these are friendly homemade cinnamon rolls I made for our early warming…still holding out for winter to end, a warming morning treat feels just right while we wait (still) longer …

and this is a beautiful bit of sunlight i found as i was clearing up after breakfast!

(around the table) - kale crisps

with all the sunshine and intervening rain of these long summer months perhaps  rampant stands of vegetation  have grown thick in your garden...

 

an abundance of hearty growing kale is magically turned into a healthy snack ...

the leaves are torn into manageable mouth-sized pieces while the thick stalks can be saved for another meal. Wash and dry the kale and drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil . Sprinkle with sea salt  and toss until evenly dressed .

Place on an baking sheet.  Bake In a  preheated oven of 200 F for 30 to 40 minutes and gently turn leaves over if needed once  ...

They are ready to eat ....I lost track of time (now was I busy in the workshop?) ... so the batch above were crisp, crisp kale, but definitely tasty..... well so that is all.hope you enjoy making and eating them  ....let me know! :)

Happy Weekend!!

(around the table) - deliciousness …part 2

the weekly blizzard have now turned into every other day blizzards and weather .... and in the meantime ... good things are happening indoors ...

Homemade Ri-Cot -Ta (or ricotta) ... the recipe is too simple


 2 quarts whole milk
1 cup cream (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 table spoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Bring milk (and cream) and salt to gentle rolling boil in a 6 quart heavy pot over moderate heat. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice and reduce heat to low  and simmer for about two minutes until the mixture currdles.

Pour into cheese-cloth lined sieve and let drain about one hour. (it's all ready for a warm winter meal or two... maybe lasagna ... we made manicotti, homemade ravioli and white pizza)


while pretty stitches practiced keep sewing needles comfortable and cozy.....

even for a little teapot enjoys handmade coziness as the snow falls

I  wonder if King Winter has know our wearied selves too  well ... and laid down blanket after blanket of winter white snow ....  that we might inside our warm homes a bit longer stay so that might rest and enjoy more deliciousness....

around the table - Apple Cake Turned Round Once

seasons have turned ...

bringing golden light through our kitchen window....

... while other golds go bye
encouraging a taste for autumn...













this apple cake recipe was adapted from a recipe found here. Once written the other way round,  but on a whim ... it was turned round once  ... so that our apple cake could be crowned with a spiral of golden apples ...

Apple Skillet Cake


Apples

• 2 or 3 medium tart apples (such as Mac), cored/ sliced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice or apple cider
• generous sprinkling of your favorite combination of sweet spices(cinnamon, nutmrg, cloves, cardamon, ginger, etc)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

  Cake

• 1 1/3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup warm milk
• 1 large egg
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 ½" to 10" (2" deep) cast-iron skillet; or a 9" square cake pan.

2) Combine the apples with the brown sugar, orange juice/ cider, spices, and salt. Set aside.

3) Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

4) Mix the warm milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, stirring to combine. Pour into the prepared skillet.  5) Arrange the apple at the bottom of the skillet in single layer pattern. Over medium head for 10 to 15 minutes let apple mixture caramelize and brown

6) Pour the batter on top and bake the cake for about 40 to 55 minutes until it is a light golden

7) Remove from the oven, and cool for about 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan, and place a large plate on top of skillet, turn over and serve.

Have a great weekend!

(around the table) - crunchy

when ever I get a chance to share this recipe, I am so excited and for good reasons

the taste and texture, and the crunchiness of fresh homemade granola is so very different than prepackaged granola

also homemade granola is much more economical to make than store bought granola

this granola can be made to suit special diet needs (such as wheat-free or nut allergies) or tailored to your taste and favorite ingredients …  (I love seeing what's in the pantry to make a special batch)

a fun, easy recipe to make with children…. they will enjoy scooping, measuring, pouring, mixing and of course tasting.

Here is the recipe.
This recipe is originally from 
The Silver Palate.

• 3 cups oats
• 1 cup chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or any combination of your favorite
• 1 cup or any combination of dried fruit (cranberries, golden raisins, apricots, dates, cherries, blueberries, etc)
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1 cup Pure Maple Syrup (adjust to taste)

Mix together in a large bowl. Transfer onto a large baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 325 degree F for 35-45 minutes stirring once or twice to cook evenly. Allow to cool completely on tray. Store in airtight jars or containers.

we love eating this granola with yogurt and fresh fruits and berries… enjoy!

(from the bookshelf) - beds, books and donuts

While under the weather, sick in bed for three weeks (that is almost the whole month of April ) ... there was definitely time to read a lot in bed.

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey had it's chance for a second time around read. This time read by my child who could mostly read this sweet book herself.

Homer Price contains a series of lovely short stories about life for a young boy from the town of Centerburg. The cast of characters includes: a pet skunk, the string savers club, sandwich advertising man, a comic book super hero, a tinkerer and a hermit inventor and the not to be missed latest, modern "time -saving" machines.






Now about those donuts ....


Having no new-fangled, modern machinery at my disposal and not wanting to fry donuts in a quart of oil .... I came across this wonderful recipe for baked donuts.

They were very tasty and an important way to end reading about "the donuts".

 

"Homer pressed the button marked 'stop' and there was a little click, but nothing happened . The rings of batter kept right on dropping...gadgets kept right on turning them over..."

Ingredients

• 7/8 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk  or yogurt

Directions 1- Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. 2- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, oil and buttermilk or yogurt until foamy.     3- Pour the liquid ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.   4- Butter or grease the doughnut pan; non-stick pan spray works well here.  Note: even though the pan is non-stick, since the doughnuts are low-fat they may stick unless you grease the pan first.   5- Fill each doughnut form half full. 6 - Bake the doughnuts in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. When done, they'll spring back when touched lightly, and will be quite brown on the top. 7-  Remove the doughnuts from the oven, remove them from the pan, and allow them to cool on rack. If desired, glaze with icing, or dust  with cinnamon-sugar or any non-melting sugar.  This recipe is originally from the King Arthur Flour website.

around the table - Bread ( ! )

For some months I have been convincing myself that I was going to bake tasty home-baked bread (and save money )... week after week ... time ran out in our days and we remained breadless...


Finally last week when day after day was a snow day ... we found enough time to make bread ... kind of ... no-knead bread is new to me ... I only just started hearing about it .... though it has been popular for some time with several new books being published this year alone about the methods.

When by chance I saw this short recipe in a baker's catalog ... a recipe taking no more space than a third of a page... I knew I would have time for baking bread. For really only fifteen or so minutes hands on work, we enjoyed four lovely baguettes (baked freshly almost every day for a whole week)!

 All the ingredients  .... (just flour, yeast, salt and water) are mixed together in a single container .... and that is the dough ... a molten, globby dough that bubbles and rises over night by itself.... awaiting it's time to turn into a golden loaf ...

We had so much weather... that the baking days were extended to make this pretty loaf of challah (not a no-knead) ... Baking bread is at least one way to be grateful for another snow day. Happy Baking !