Foodie Friday: Pumpkin French Toast

Fall is a wonderful time to gather with friends and share your blessings. Brunch is one of my favorite ways to get together--it feels fancy without all the stress of a dinner party.  This seasonal french toast is easy to prepare but easily impresses all. It is a great party items or perhaps as a holiday breakfast.

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Apple Butter

This time of the year in the Northeast means falling leaves, crisp air, and visits to the apple orchard. Apple butter is on of the best treats of the fall season, yet I never thought about making it at home. That is until Pinterest and my seeming obsession with recipes. Win!

Ingredients:

Makes a little more than 1 pint

• 1 dozen apples, peeled, cored, cubed
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon All Spice

Method:

Peel, Core, and Chop a dozen apples.

Toss the apples in the sugar and spices.

Put everything in the Crock Pot.

Set on low and get on with your day.

To thicken, turn the heat up to high and prop the lid open for a bit.

To smooth, put the apple mixture into the blender and pulse til smooth.

I love it on biscuits, scones, and mixed into my morning oatmeal with some walnuts. YUM!

When life gives you lemons...

You know how the old saying goes. We all do. We have heard it a million times. As we transform those lemons, we sometimes still get a sour bit. It isn't horrible and it won't kill us, but it is not what we wanted or expected.

Yesterday, I was supposed to run a half-marathon, my second. Recently though, I had gotten off my training schedule and wasn't logging the miles that I should have been. I was immersed in rehearsals, a late summer mini-vacation, a new attitude towards my work day, being a good partner, and various other little projects. My blogging suffered but my IT band suffered more. 

In a last ditch effort to prepare for the race, I started amping up the miles last week. In doing so, I tweaked a recurring running injury. I underwent  2 1/2 months of PT earlier this year and almost lost the entire running season. By Thursday, the band was swollen and I knew that I had to make a big decision. I wasn't so upset about the money, I could still cancel the hotel room and I had registered for the race in February, so I wasn't missing the cash. I had, however; invested a lot and time and energy into training only to fail at the follow-through when it was most important.

I was disappointed in myself. In my heart though, I knew that if I tried that I might not be able to finish and that would be even more difficult thank not starting at all. 

So when the starting gun went of on Sunday morning, I was home. I spent the day making soups and baking. I drank lots of tea and sang along to my ipod. It wasn't what I had planned on doing, but in its own way it was just as rewarding and just as comforting. Instead of lemonade, I used those lemons in my tea. As the week goes on, I will be posting about tea and tea-related things. It soothes my soul and that is EXACTLY what I need right now.

Foodie Friday: White Bean Basil Hummus

I am a sucker for a dip. Maybe it is because I am a dip myself.

I found this recipe on The Greatist and knew I had to make it.

Foodie Friday: Dutch Baby with Blueberry Sauce

No, I am not advocating munching on infants from the Netherlands, but rather brunching on a delicious puffy oven pancake. It is super easy to make and even easier to enjoy. It would be a great easy dish to serve when you have company over for breakfast or brunch...looks impressive, but SO simple.

Sunday Funday: Making Memories

Today, I did not make anything--except wonderful memories.

We took advantage of a beautiful summer day, a free schedule, and the ability and desire to enjoy each other's company.

We brunched. We scoured the flea market. We stopped at an ice cream stand. We explored a forest. Had an unusually fun cemetery photo shot. We hiked. We swam. We reveled in the best burger in our town. Together. And it was glorious.

Foodie Friday: The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

In another life, I think that I was a country girl from the heart of the deep South. Such is my love for the biscuit. This recipe from the New York Times produces the best biscuits that I have EVER had.

Recipe from chef, Scott Peacock courtesy of The New York Times


INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
5 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed lard or unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 cups chilled cultured buttermilk, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

METHOD:

• Place a rack in the upper-middle position of the oven and preheat to 500°.
• Make your own baking powder by sifting together the cream of tartar and baking soda.

• In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, baking powder and salt.  Add the lard or butter and quickly work the pieces into the flour with a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers.  The pieces should be coarsely blended and resemble large peas.
• Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the buttermilk.  Quickly mix the ingredients until the mixture just comes together and forms a shaggy mass.  Add 1-2 more tablespoons of buttermilk if the mixture seems dry.

• Immediately turn the dough out onto to a generously floured surface and quickly knead the dough about ten times until a ball forms.  Gently flatted the dough and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out a thickness of 3/4 inch.

• With a fork that has been dipped in flour, pierce the dough at half inch intervals before using a fluted, 2 1/2 or 3 inch biscuit cutter to stamp out the biscuits.  When you have run out of room to stamp out more biscuits, carefully reform the dough and press out as many as you can.

• Arrange the biscuits  on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes.

• Remove from the oven a brush the tops with the melted butter.  Serve warm with butter, honey and/or jam.

Makes about 10-12 large biscuits

I served mine with homemade honey butter (comment if you need the recipe) and

a piping hot cup of tea. Heaven!

How Tuesday: Upcycled T-Shirt Tote Bag

Everybody loves an event with swag. At least most of the time...too much swag just becomes clutter or things that we never use.

I could and would never wear half of the t-shirts that I get at races. What I would use is more reusable shopping bags. Problem solved: turn on into the other!

After choosing your shirts, lay them out on you work surface.

Cut off the sleeves, preserving the side seams.

Use a template to shape the opening around the neck.

Cut around template. I used a bowl.

Mark the bottom where you are going to sew the short shut.

I also decided the angle some side seams so the bag would be 

wider on the bottom. The angle sides serve as a psuedo-gusset.

Sew along your markings. I did two hems around each

side for added stability.

I filled one with running gear...

...and used the other for some groceries.

You can keep the memories with these great shirts,

but use them more frequently and usefully!

Foodie Friday: Maple Sugar Scones

There is something about baking. It is a magical mixture of chemistry and art--exact measurements married to finesse. It takes time, a commodity that so many of us are lacking these days. Vacation days and rainy weekends are the perfect time to indulge in both the pleasure of making something from scratch and the delicious results.

Last summer, my sweetie and I took a wonderful vacation in and around Burlington, VT. It rained have the time we were there, but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time relaxing, lazing, exploring. 

Popping into my pantry this morning after my run to grab some mix-ins for my oatmeal I spied a bag of maple sugar from Dakin Farms that we got last summer. I knew it was time to use it.

One of my favorite cookbooks of all time is 

The Weekend Baker by Abby Dodge. 

The recipe for these scones is in this book.

Maple sugar is really the star of these scones, 

but brown sugar could be substituted.

Ingredients:

3 cups AP Flour

2/3 cup maple sugar

8 TBS. very cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 TBS. pure maple syrup

1 large egg

for the topping:

2 TBS. pure maple syrup

2 tsp. maple sugar

Method:

1. Put oven rack on middle rung. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, maple sugar, baking powder,

baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Add butter pieces and using a 

pastry blender (or 2 knives), cut the butter into the flour mixture until the

butter pieces are no larger than peas. Add the nuts and mix briefly.

Mix together the buttermilk, syrup, and egg until just blended.

Drizzle liquid over flour mixture and toss with a rubber

spatula just until the dough comes together in moist clumps.

3. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Briefly knead the

dough to combine and shape into a 7-8 inch round.

Using a lightly floured knife, cut the dough into equal wedges.

4. Arrange wedges on a prepared cookie sheet (not touching).

Brush tops with maple syrup and sprinkle with maple sugar.

5. Bake until puffed and a toothpick comes out clean--about 18 minutes.

Transfer the sheet to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.

Using a spatula, lift the scones from the sheet to a rack to cool.

Storage: Layer bakes and cooled scones between parchment or

waxed paper in an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature

for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

A delightful breakfast with a cup of tea!

Reboot

I am ecstatic. I have started again.

I have had a ton of stress lately. I know that everyone does, but it seemed like so many things were just piling up at once. I let it get me out of myself and out of my routine.

Things, mentally, came to a head yesterday afternoon. I recognized that I needed some time to actually reboot...restart...MAKE THINGS! So, I took two days off to do whatever I want.

This morning, I could have slept as late as I wanted, but I was naturally up at 7am. So, five mile run it is...then I decided to bake something and the day became a whirlwind from there: scones, stuffed mushrooms, zucchini and tomato casserole, banana ice cream, two bracelets, two tote bags...I AM BACK.

I now have projects and photos for several blog posts--regular posts starting tomorrow :)

Here's what I got up to today:

For tomorrow's Foodie Friday post: Maple Sugar Pecan Scones!

Picked veggies in the garden for dinner.

Made two grocery/gym bags from old t-shirts for
the Stitchy Saturday post.

Made a super fun owl bracelet for Metalwork Monday.

Lastly, made an awesome vegetarian dinner of onion/olive stuffed mushrooms,
zucchini/tomato casserole, and quinoa pilaf. YUM!

Regrouping

Three steps forward, four steps back.

 Just as I was starting to re-focus and re-align my priorities, life has thrown me another curve ball. Everyone deals with hardship, it is true, it just seems like I have gotten more than my fair share recently. I have to have surgery...nothing life-threatening or even huge, but still costly and a more than a little stressful. That being said, my sweetie and friends are super-supportive and caring and they bolster me everyday.

I have been taking baby steps towards normalcy as I prepare for my "work"--I have cooked more seasonal dinners, reconnected with more friends, resumed my half-marathon training (though barely), begun work on my script for the fall play and have walked back into my studios.

Projects lay unfinished. Fresh supplies lay heaped on my cutting table and bundled on my work bench. New tools cry to be used and patterns beg to be begun.

So I have started to organize...chose what projects I want to complete first...brainstormed themes for upcoming posts...planned more yummy dinners...and move forward.

I want to finished my bird embroidery, complete my TARDIS plushie,
make a tote for school, and make some metal pieces with
my new embossing die...I need another Craftcation!!

I took the time to smell and arrange the flowers. And my
favorite retro cookbook has inspired a theme week!

Can't wait to make a retro inspired apron as
an awesome holiday gift!

As I deal with it all, I will run my
way to serenity...I hope.

Sunday Funday: Back in the Saddle...again...

Life sometimes just takes you away from what you would like to be doing. Granted, so many aspects of my life are astounding. I haven't been able to make many things lately (or at least record many)--I have run a huge race and am training for another, I have had a really great summer jewelry show (and VERY stupidly got NO photos of the work that I made and sold), and have been loading up on quality time with my sweetie before the busy autumn overtakes us.


That being said though, I feel a little hollow not producing things and sharing them on this blog. It is not that my readership is huge. Some posts, I am the only one. But in times of uncertainty, it has lent so stability and predictably to my life.


So, here I go again...dusting of the Weasinart and giving her priority again. Baby steps, but any steps are better than standing still. 


Tonight, my sweetie and I made a lovely vegetarian feast, full of produce that we grew or got just 'round the corner. And I finally took photos of it...enjoy.

Salad that we grew, squash and tomato tian and pesto rice...yum!

To make the tian, I sliced up two yellow squash, two zucchini,
and two heirloom tomatoes. 

I layered them in a casserole dish and topped with thyme.
It baked in a 400 degree oven (covered with foil) for 30 minutes.
I then sprinkled a light layer and shredded Parmesan and
baked, uncovered, for an additional 10 minutes.

We had a load of basil in the garden,
so we whipped up a couple batches--one with walnuts
and one with pine nuts.

We mixed one scoop with some basmati rice and sprinkled on some cheese.
The rest we scooped onto a parchment lined sheet and popped them into the freezer.
Once they are solid, we will individually bag them to use thus fall.

After dinner, I walked by the studio and noted that I wouldn't be likely
to make anything when the bench was still cluttered from my
last session.

Ten minutes later, and I am ready to work again soon.

So, here I am again. Feeling a teeny bit more focused and ready to zip into autumn with scissors in one hand and my lap top in the other--ready to share it all with you.