Honey Pickles

Fun Stuff

2011-09-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

My friend Jamie and I went to the local bead show a few weeks back. We had a blast looking and oogling at all the pretties. I ended up buying a good amount of beads. The top bracelet is a triple strand of silver pyrite beads and a mix of stones. I added some labradorite drops to add interest in the bracelet. The second bracelet is also silver pyrite and just a mix of stones. I like the simplicity of both. The second bracelet was inspired by a bracelet I saw in the Sundance catalog. It is my interpretation.

I was fortunate to be able to take a class this weekend to learn a new technique. My class was on viking knit. It was really fun and I love the look of the knitted piece. The best part of the viking knit is pulling your piece through a draw plate and watching it get smaller and prettier.

Moments

2011-08-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to fine the time to do more jewelry work. I have had these beads for quite some time. The lava looking blue beads are from one of my mother in laws necklaces that I inherited. I love the quirky look of them. I little book pendant I found at my local antique store. I love the patina on the pages. The rest of the necklace is filled out with kyanite and Yayin beads. I love the glow they give off.

My friend Georgette brought these beads to me to make a rosary for her. They are the millefiori style beads for the Aves and just red glass beads for the Paters. The rosary turned out very nicely.

A New Necklace and My Mom

2011-07-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have been working on some of my jewelry lately. This piece is one I have had in my head for awhile. The pendant is of Our Lady that was fashioned out of an old coin. It was part of my mother-in-laws collection. I like the blue accents on the necklace as well as the clear vintage rosary beads. I am beginning to feel like life is getting back to some normalcy. My mother passed away a month ago. It had been a long, long fight with cancer and she succumbed to the disease mid last month. It is still is hard to believe she is gone. Yet she really was gone for me two years ago when they did brain surgery to remove the tumor and then whole brain radiation. What an awful thing whole brain radiation is. It took the women I knew as my mother away from me and my family. Of course I loved my mom up to the end and I will always love my mother, but the essence of the women she was was gone after that. I am sure it will hit me at some odd moment and I will break down, but I really feel I did a great amount of mourning two years ago.

2011-07-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Two of my new favorite recipes and perfect for warm weather entertaining. The top pictures is from Dorie Greenspan and her cookbook Around My French Table. It is a Savory Cheese and Chive bread and it is fabulous. I have made it twice, it is very easy and the texture is so tender. The key is to not over stir. You can vary the flavorings by using different cheese and herbs. The first time I made it I used Gruyere and Cheddar cheese. This time I used Gruyere and Comte cheese, both were delicious! I can't wait to try more recipes in her cookbook.

The second picture is my new favorite salad. I clipped the recipe out of our local newspaper. It is a recipe adapted from Jacques Pepin. It is a warm bean and bacon salad. How can you go wrong?

Warm Bean and Bacon Salad (adapted by Jacques Pepin)

8 ounces of Pancetta
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
two 15 1/2 ounce cans of Navy or small white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 avocados
1 lemon

Place pancetta or bacon in a medium saucepan over low heat. Saute, covered, for about 8 minutes until the meat has rendered and is crisp. Add the onion and garlic and cook, until soft and translucent. Take care not to burn the garlic. Transfer the contents of the saucepan and 1 tablespoon of rendered fat to a large bowl.
Add beans, salt, parsley, vinegar, oil and pepper. Mix well then serve warm or at room temperature. Slice avocados and toss with fresh lemon juice. Add alongside the salad of toss with the salad.

Brownies and Rosaries

2011-03-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Interesting title huh! Tells you all what I have been up to. I have been really enjoying visiting my favorite antique shop this past week. I found some gorgeous rosaries and pieces. Some of them are not completed rosaries and I will probably turn them into jewelry pieces. The other rosaries are complete and I will probably just use them. I love the old world feel of the well worn crucifixes.

I thought I would also include a recipe for Butterscotch Brownies with Brown Sugar Butter Icing. It is from Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather. I loved the name of the book. One of my sons went crazy over this recipe. It is full of sugar and butter, but it is quite yummy. It makes a lot of brownies, so this would be perfect to take to a pot luck or for a bake sale. Enjoy!

Brownies:
1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups chopped pecans, toasted (optional)

Icing:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup half and half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a half sheet (13 x 18) pan with aluminum foil and grease with butter or cooking spray. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup butter and 3 cups brown sugar on medium high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla and continue beating for another minute. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture on low speed until incorporated. Stir in the pecans. Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake until the bars are set and slightly puffed, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt the 1 cup butter and 2 cups brown sugar. Once the mixture is lightly bubbling, decrease the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes; set aside. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the powdered sugar, half and half and vanilla on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minutes. Add the melted butter mixture and beat until combined. Pour over the cooled brownies and spread evenly. Let the brownies sit for about 30 minutes to allow the icing to firm up before cutting into squares.

Rainy Day Goodness

2011-03-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

This is comfort in a bowl! I thought I would share with you a fantastic recipe for tomato soup. I know it's not glamorous, but it is solid, dependable and immensely adaptable. Here in Northern California we have had a bit of a rainy spell. This soup seemed perfect for today. I use the base recipe to start and then I went from there. I sometimes add in shredded cheddar cheese or maybe some mascarpone if I have it in the fridge. Since we are in Lent right now I used a vegetarian broth base, but I have also used chicken broth, whatever is in the pantry will work. On a non Lent Friday, I would also add in some crispy pancetta to the top. Use your imagination, the skies the limit.

Tomato Soup (adapted from Tyler Florence)

2 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 scant cup of extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 quart of vegetable or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons dried basil
Optional add in's: 3/4 cup cream or 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, or 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, crispy pancetta crumbles

Heat olive oil in a stock pot. Add onions and saute until beginning to lightly brown. Add chopped garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the tomatoes, 3/4 of the stock, basil, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream or cheese and adjust consistency with remaining stock. Season to taste.

Confirmation

2011-03-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Our oldest son made his Confirmation last week. I tell you, I was so happy for him. It was a lovely Mass and Bishop Soto was terrific. We are so lucky to have the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist catechizing our children. It made it so special.

What I have been up too!

2011-03-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

Life has been totally crazy! One day I will have to sit down and write about what has been happening. Until then I thought I would share with you some of my recent work.

This rosary was made for Renee. It has the look of jade, but is actually glass beads.

I just made this rosaries for a dear friend daughter's baptism. I have made all six of her children's baptismal rosaries. I was happy to keep up with the tradition.

This is one of my favorites! I am keeping this one for myself. I love the black and silver together. It feels great in the hand too!

I hope to have more pictures up this week. Our oldest son is making Confirmation this week. What an exciting week we have.

Hodgepodge

2011-01-25T16:12:00.000-08:00

I made this pretty little necklace for a dear friend of mines daughter. I had made her rosary for her First Holy Communion in light amethyst beads. The necklace reminded me of her. I did change out the crucifix and added a Fleur de Lys medallion. She and her sister were able to travel to Lourdes with the Knights of Malta. Both girls are very ill and they were very blessed to be able to go and experience the healing waters of Lourdes.

This rosary was made for a friend's niece, Caroline. I love the yellow flowers with the soft blue beads. Very girlish!

I was browsing one of my favorite local stores called Fleuri in Carmichael. It is a beautiful little shop filled with French inspired home accessories. It is the kind of store you need to spend a good amount of time in because there are so many things to see and digest. I spotted in a corner some pretty antique bottles that had a vintage rosary wrapped around the neck of the bottle and decorated in the front. The price tag was $85. A little to rich for my blood. So, I decided I could create my own version of the bottle. I dug through my broken jewelry pile and came across this broken cross necklace. I then glued some paper to the bottle and wrapped it with some burlap. Finally I added a Miraculous Medal and Voila, my very own art bottle.

I had this wire basket that I bought from IKEA a few years back. I love the shape of the basket, but I was never very keen on the wire drops hanging from it. Since I had a lot of my beads out, I thought maybe I could jazz up the basket with some beads. I like the new look of the basket.

Happy New Year to You!

2011-01-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

I hope this New Year finds everyone healthy and happy. I hope to be able to post more often. The last 6 months have just been crazy for me . Trying to help my parents adjust to their new living situation and clean out 45 years of stuff from their house, had been daunting at best. This year will see a lot of changes for us. Our oldest son will be going into high school (too weird!) and I am contemplating homeschooling our middle son. In the meantime, I just wanted to make a quick post and share with you a new blog I found. It is called 100 days of real food. I love the concept of this. No processed foods, just real honest to goodness food. I especially found her packed school lunch ideas interesting.

Karim's and Therese's Rosaries

2010-11-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

I was blessed to be ask to make a wedding rosary for Karim and Therese's wedding. Karim's sister wanted blue to be the prominent color. Therese's rosary (top) is made with pressed blue glass flowers and natural turquoise. I really like the contrast of the two blues. Karim's rosary (bottom) is made from buri seeds and blue agate. The buri seeds are a favorite of mine. They are called poor man's ivory. They have a smooth and wonderful feel in the hand.

Renee & Sarah's Rosary

2010-09-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

I have been very blessed to have so many rosary orders as of late. These rosaries are for a mother and daughter. I think they turned out beautiful. The top rosary is for Sarah. It is agate beads for the Aves and sterling silver filigree for the Pater beads. The bottom rosary is for Renee. She chose kyanite for the Aves and the same sterling silver for the Pater beads. They both feel nice in the hand.

Joan of Arc Piece

2010-09-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

I was excited to come across this beautiful Joan of Arc necklace at my favorite antique store. I was getting ready to leave the store when I spotted her in one of the cases. I love the old world look of the piece. I plan on putting it together with some aquamarine beads I have in my stash.

What Fun We Had, Part I

2010-08-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

Boy, what a busy summer we have had. We have been on so many vacations with the kids. We started our summer camping at Donner Lake. Next, we spent 4 days in the lovely Squaw Valley in Tahoe. Then we spent another 4 days at Santa Cruz and finally we spent a week in Disneyland. I am exhausted! Santa Cruz was a blast. We spent two days hanging out at the boardwalk and on the beach. The weather was fantastic and the crowds were not too bad. We were also able to go to the aquarium in Santa Cruz. It was a nice change from the boardwalk. Outside of the aquarium, there were all these cute bunnies hopping around. The boys loved going on the giant dipper roller coaster and I think they rode it 20 plus times.

Squaw Valley

2010-07-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

We have a packed summer. Hubby and I took the boys up to Squaw Valley for a few days to get out of the heat. I really enjoy staying at Squaw Village. The boys can roam and have some freedom. This time I didn't join them up at high camp. Instead, I was able to get away and do some shopping in Truckee. The boys had a great time ice skating and swimming at 8200 feet. We did make it into Truckee as a family for breakfast one morning. We ate at the Squeeze Inn. You may have seen it on Bobby Flay's Throwdown. The Squeeze Inn is known for its omelets. We didn't have any of their omelets, but the food we had was fantastic and I can see why it is a favorite with the locals.

Day at the Ballpark

2010-07-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

We had a fun evening watching our baseball team, the Rivercats. It was a fun night and fortunately not too hot. The boys enjoyed watching the game and playing around on the grass.

Book Love

2010-07-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

My dear neighbor and friend was doing some housecleaning and asked if I would like to look over her cookbooks. Of course I said yes howdy! I love cookbooks and I probably have around 100 plus cookbooks in my home. I love to get inspiration from the recipes, plus it is a good read. Anyway, she was going through her late husbands books and wanted them to go to a good home. I was thrilled and honored that she gave them to me. What awesome books they are! Not only that, but a lot of them are signed by the authors. Her late husband ran a speciality cook store and had meet these chefs/authors. He was good friends with Jacques Pepin and knew Julia Child. How cool is that! I will always treasure the books. Now what to make first?

Camping & 4th Fun!

2010-07-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice 4th of July this year. My mom and dad are getting settled in their new apartment and they are safe and I was able to relax a little and enjoy the time with hubby and the kiddos! We had our dear friends over as usual and had a nice time with friends, good food and fireworks! We have already had a busy summer. We just came back from a weekend of camping at Donner Lake. It was a beautiful weekend and fortunately the weather was not too hot. At first they boys had a hard time unplugging. Then they started to explore and have fun. I really enjoyed not having the TV on or the Xbox or computer. It was great to just sit around the campfire and talk and play games. Our one bit of luxury; we got up early and went to Starbucks to get the traveler coffee for everyone. Got to have the coffee!

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!

June Re-Cap

2010-06-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate to be very busy making rosaries. As school came to a close I was able to make quite a few teacher gifts. I also made this wedding rosary set. The rosary at the top is for the groom and made with blue tiger eye. The brides rosary is made with pearl and Czech crystals. The other rosaries were requests for teachers gifts. They all turned out nice. I was happy I was able to make them.

Hope and a sandwich!

2010-06-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

These days have been difficult as my parents transition to their new living arrangements. I have been overcome with sadness and guilt as I try do what is best for them. They are adjusting and I have noticed that they are enjoying some of the activities. Best of all they are getting the care they so desperately needed. Three good meals, medicines being managed and help with all the daily living activities. I feel more at ease knowing that they are safe and being well cared for. I have prayed and prayed as I have been on this journey with them. So today I feel hopeful for the first time in quite awhile.

I promised you a sandwich and here it is. I made this a while back and have been meaning to post about it. It is a grilled chicken and red pepper jam panini. Boy was it delish! I used my handy dandy grill pan and grilled a flatten chicken breast that I seasoned with salt and pepper and oregano. Then I placed the chicken breast on foccacia bread that I brushed with oil and added a slice of fontina cheese on top of the chicken. I then topped if off with some Earth and Vine roasted red bell pepper and ancho chili jam. I grilled the sandwich in my panini press and voila a fantastic sandwich!

Tasty Blog

2010-06-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to do much lately or even check out my usual favorite blogs, but I did come across this new blog called the Noble Pig. Her stuff looks tasty. I found her on Under a Blue Moons blog. Give it a look see!

Life

2010-06-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

Life is complicated! I know it's an understatement. This past week I had a very hard decision to make. My father fell three times in the past week and ended up going to emergency Friday night. He did not break anything thankfully but, he has since been hospitalized due to his advanced Parkinson's. Yesterday I signed papers that will move both my parents into assisted living. It was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make, but I think it is the only right decision I could have made. I have written about my mom's battle with cancer, my dad has his own battle with Parkinson's disease. What a nasty disease. It essential robs you of everything. My dad was such a lively soul. He loved racing motorbikes, woodworking and making incredible stained glass windows. He also loved fly fishing and tied some of the best flies. As a young girl all my friends where playing with Barbies and I was learning to tie flies with my dad. It is a good memory. He can't fish anymore, or woodwork, or work with stained glass. His facial expression is usually blank, but on occasion you can make him laugh. I am mourning the man his used to be and trying to help the man he is today. It is such a tough place to be. I pray a lot!

A recipe ! Wild Blackberry Cobbler

2010-05-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is so yummy! One of the great things about spring besides the nice weather is the bounty of fruits and vegetables that start to make there appearance. I found these lovely blackberries at our local store. I was thrilled to be able to make my aunts blackberry cobbler recipe. I my aunt got this recipe from this neat old cookbook, simply called The Western Cookbook. What I really loved about the book was that the cover was wooden and wood burned with the title and a picture of a cowboy. Too cute!.

Wild Blackberry Cobbler

3 cups wild blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Butter
1 egg, well beaten
1/3 cup milk
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the berries, 3/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Pour into a well greased baking dish and dot with butter and cover with the following batter: Beat the egg and gradually add the remaining sugar; stir in the melted butter and milk and add the dry ingredients which have been sifted together. Beat thoroughly. Bake in a 375 F degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot with plain or whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

More Celebrations

2010-05-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

This was the cake for my little guys First Communion. It is a strawberry white chocolate mousse cake. It is divine! This has been our celebration cake for all the big events in our lives. It was our wedding cake, all kids baptism cake and all the first communions. It is so light and airy. It is from a local bakery called Ettores.

My middle son celebrated his 11th birthday last month. He was so excited to get his gift; a new bike with all the accessories.

This is my mom with her little namesake, Audrey Frances. She is my sweet cousins little girl. My mom and dad were able to attend our sons first communion with the help of my auntie. I couldn't have done it without her.

Catching Up

2010-05-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

My youngest son celebrated his First Holy Communion a few weeks back. It was a beautiful celebration. I love seeing him in a suit. He really wanted a plaid tie and we were able to find one. It was an amazing day! He is our last one to have First Communion. Next year our oldest will celebrate Confirmation.

I haven't posted too much lately. I have to say, blogger updated there system and I do not like it. I have had so much trouble trying to upload pictures and manage them. UGH!

A lovely day

2010-04-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

I was invited to attended our schools ladies table setting luncheon yesterday. It was my first attending. Each table is sponsored and decorated with that persons theme. Our tables theme was "Bird's Bakery a spring time retreat". It was beautifully set with a spring theme. We had a lovely time.

This was the treat at our table. It was a delicious sponge cake.

This tables theme was "For the Birds".

This was a mother daughter table for the 2010 graduating class.

This table theme was an herb garden

This table was dedicated to "Our Lady". This was my friend's Georgette's table. I made the rosary chaplet bracelets for the favors for this table.

She put each bracelet in an organza bag with a prayer card. It turned out beautiful!

This was St. Therese, the Little Flower

This tables theme was "Spring is Here".

There was even a pirate themed table. This one was called "It's a Pirates Life for me" Very whimsical!

Overall, a very fun way to spend the day with friends and help out our parish school.

Chaplet Bracelets

2010-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

These beautiful chaplet bracelets are for a charity event at our parish school. I was asked if I would make them for one of the tables at our ladies table setting luncheon. Each table has a theme, and this tables theme is Our Blessed Mother. So, at each place setting there will be one of these bracelets for the guest. I think it is a nice touch. I am looking forward to attending the luncheon. I am actually a guest at another table. Hopefully, I will remember to bring my camera to take pictures.

Neat Video

2010-04-14T14:36:00.001-07:00

Pretty Neat!

Life in the Fast Lane

2010-04-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's been hard to keep up with everything! Life is so crazy. It seems like it was just January and now we are in the middle of April. I have been consumed with my parents as of late. There care is increasing and I am struggling to make it all work. Having the boys off for Easter makes it equally challenging. With hubby traveling for work, I have to find a delicate balance.

I have been blessed with many orders for my rosaries. I truly love making them and they are my way of relaxing. Each one is an expression of love for Our Lady. You may have noticed that I have added a new slideshow bar of my rosary and jewelry work. I will update as I add new pieces. It always feels like Christmas when I get new parts in the mail. I just got in some beautiful sterling confirmation medals. I can't wait to do something with them.

This is one of the rosaries I made this Easter. It is a beautiful pale blue/green. The beads are Amazonite for the Aves and the Pater beads are a Czech crystals in blue lagoon. The center is the Sacred Heart and the crucifix is of the Holy Family.

He Is Risen! Alleluia!

2010-04-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a Blessed and Happy Easter!

Shrimp Ceviche

2010-03-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is so yummy! I found this recipe in the new Eating Well magazine. It is Shrimp Ceviche and boy is it good. I have made it twice now and I can't get enough. It is light and fresh and will be perfect for summer.

Picot Cast-On

2010-03-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty good tutitorial on how to make a picot cast-on. The picture is not very clear, but you can get the idea of how to make a picot cast-on. Check out the baby kimino.

Happy Spring!

2010-03-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

First Communion Rosary

Confirmation Rosary

Boys, the days around here lately have just been beautiful. Spring has set in in Northern California. We have had sunshine and 70 degree weather the last few days. I love the change of seasons. What I don't like is the time change. UGH! Losing that hour of sleep is really hard for me. I have been busy making lots of rosaries. I made 36 plastic bead rosaries for our preschool program for our parish school. The kiddies love them and they were fun to make. I also have been working to two special rosaries. I have the honor of being a confirmation sponsor to a very nice young man. His mother and father are dear friends of ours and I was deeply touched that he asked me to be his sponsor. He wanted a blue rosary and his mother wanted it to honor Mary. So I did a sodalite bead rosary with white African opal pater beads. I am really pleased how it turned out. The other rosary is for my baby. My youngest is going through First Communion this year. I can't believe he is old enough to receive First Communion! He also wanted a blue rosary. He even picked out the beads he wanted. They are a beautiful blue Czech cathedral beads with sterling silver pater beads. It is stunning and mostly importantly, he loves it! I have two other rosaries on my worktable and I am just waiting for the centers to come in. One is garnet beads with sterling silver paters and the other is black onyx beads with sterling paters. I love the old look of both of them.

Garnet Rosary with Sterling Paters

Black Onyx rosary with sterling Paters

Coughing and Sneezing

2010-03-08T07:32:00.001-08:00

That's how we are all feeling. The inkling of spring around Northern California produces much agony for allergy and sinus sufferers. Everything is starting to bloom, which is beautiful, but miserable at the same time. I haven't been posting much lately. I am now taking care of my parents full time. I am over at their home everyday. I struggle with seeing them go downhill so quickly. I struggle with the burden of their care, but at the same time, I am glad I am able to care for them and for the time I get to spend with them. When someone said that this is the sandwich generation, they weren't kidding!

I do have some new recipes to post. My camera is on the blink, so I will try to get them up as soon as possible. I also have made a few more rosaries. I will work on getting them up this week.

Cupcakes! Need I Say More

2010-03-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Do you see these lovely gems? They are too good! Not very pretty, but oh so good! They come from this book, Baby Cakes by Erin Mckenna. It is a delightful book filled with wonderful gluten free, sugar free recipes. I made the vanilla cupcakes and they tasted fantastic! The flour used is a garbanzo/fava bean flour. It is a high fiber flour which not only good for celiacs, but also diabetics. I have several close friends that are celiac or gluten sensitive. I am always looking for a good recipe I can make for everyone, so no one is singled out. I am very happy with the way these turned out. On a more personal note, I like the fact that Babycakes features agave as there sweetener. I am a recently diagnosed diabetic and I do not like all the fake sweeteners. As I have been struggling with trying to deal with my diabetes, and learn all the ins and outs, I am very interested in striving for a more natural diet. It is definitely a journey.

Two recipes

2010-02-15T07:32:00.001-08:00

I just received from Amazon a new cookbook called Love Soup by Anna Thomas. What a terrific book! It is a vegetarian soup book filled with yummy goodness. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a vegetarian, however I do try to incorporate vegetarian meals into our family diet. Especially with lent around the corner. Soup is the perfect way to do that. I tried this weekend her french lentil stew with roasted carrots and mint. Delicious! I am not a big lentil fan, but I did like this stew. It had tons of flavor.

French Lentil Stew with Roasted Carrots and Mint (adapted by Anna Thomas)

1 1/2 pounds carrots

1 1/2 pounds yellow onions

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste

freshly ground black pepper

1 generous cup French green lentils

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup of water

1 generous tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon harissa or other hot sauce

feta cheese and olive oil for garnish

Preheat over to 375 degrees F.

Cut the carrots and onions into fairly large pieces, about 1 inch long for the carrots and 1/2 inch wedges for the onions. Toss the carrots in a bowl with a tablespoon of oil and sprinkle of salt and pepper, and spread them on a baking sheet. Do the same with the onions. Roast the vegetables for about an hour, or until they are soft and browned, stirring and turning them a few times during the roasting. The onions will need more stirring and will be done sooner than the carrots. When the vegetables are ready, let them cool a little, then turn them out on a board and chop them very coarsely.

Meanwhile, combine the washed green lentils in a large pot with 4 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer, covered for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender but firm. Add the chopped roasted vegetables, vegetable broth, 1 cup of water, mint, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and harissa or hot sauce to taste.

Simmer the stew for about 10 minutes to marry the flavors, then taste to correct the seasoning with more salt and pepper or a little more lemon juice as needed. Remove from heat, stir in 2 tablespoons of fruity green olive oil, and serve. Garnish each bowl with a few more drops of olive oil and a few crumbles of feta cheese.

We had a super bowl party and my friend Marianne from Two Monketoes brought rice crispy sushi. I love it! So cute and the kiddies devoured them. She said she just made the regular rice crispy treats recipe and roll it out thin. The inside was chocolate smores on one and chocolate walnut on the other. I have to give this a try.

This little jar of delight is so good! It is sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic pesto. I first tried this recipe on Christmas Eve at my brother-in-laws house. His girlfriend made this spread and I honestly couldn't get enough of it. I am not sure where her recipe came from but it is fantastic. I begged her for the recipe.

Sun Dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Pesto from Melody

2 cups of sun dried tomato, softened and minced ( I actually used jar sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and just drained the oil)

1 to 2 heads of garlic, roasted

3 to 6 dried pasilla chiles, re hydrated in boiling water for 25 minutes, stemmed, seeded and minced

4 green onions, minced

1/4 cup packed minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

rosemary leaves to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon

hot pepper sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Can prepare up to 5 days in advance and refrigerate or freeze up to 6 months.

Menu Wednesday Week #5

2010-02-03T15:49:00.001-08:00

Here is this weeks menu. Bon Appetit!

Wednesday: baked potatoes & salad

Thursday: Lamb kofta, pilaf, carrots

Friday: burritos, mexican rice, salad

Saturday: grilled buttermilk chicken, rice, homestyle potatoes

Sunday: Super Bowl party!!! Go Saints! Go Colts!

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday: leftovers

Grilled buttermilk chicken (adapted from Sunset Magazine)

1 quart buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground pepper
6 chicken drumsticks
2 chicken breasts, split

In a large bowl, mix buttermilk, shallots, garlic, salt, sugar, cumin and pepper

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Submerge chicken pieces in buttermilk brine. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, or up to 1 day.

Lift chicken from brine; discard brine. Wipe excess from chicken with paper towels.

Lay chicken pieces on a barbecue grill over medium coals or medium high heat on gas grill; close lid on gas grill. Cook, turning frequently, until browned on both sides and no longer pink at the bone, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

New Rosaries

2010-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

I have been busy working on new rosaries. I love how these came out. The rosebud rosary is the faintest of blues. Very pretty and very delicate. I have also been making rosaries for our boys school. They are auctioning off a dozen rosaries for our second grade class. I made 6 pearl rosaries for the girls and 6 blue rosaries for the boys. It was fun to make them. I unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures.

Menu Wednesday Week #4

2010-01-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here is this weeks menus. Bon Appetit!

Wednesday: Turkey meatloaf, potatoes, cut up vegetables

Thursday: Tofu parmigiana/Chicken parmigiana, pasta, salad

Friday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and broccoli cheddar soup

Saturday: Grilled salmon, rice, carrots

Sunday: chicken enchiladas, Mexican rice, beans, salad

Monday: hamburgers

Tuesday: teriyaki chicken rice bowl

Valentine preview

2010-01-24T13:50:00.001-08:00

I was checking out all the crafty blogs I follow and came across this idea with the hugs and kisses frames. So cute! It is from Taterots and Jello and she has a very cute and creative blog. I love how simple and cheap the project was, but the results looked like something I would see at Pottery Barn. I bought the frames at the dollar store and added valentine themed scrapbook paper. I picked up some petite marbles at Michaels and glued them on. I also found at Michaels these cute little red heart ornaments. I tied them onto a ribbon with scraps of burlap and toile fabric. I like how festive it looks. Check out Tatertots and Jello. She has great ideas and wonderful tutitorials.

A teenager in the house

2010-01-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are almost already through January. We have had a lot of activities already.
My oldest son had his birthday this past weekend. He is now officially a teenager. Unbelievable! I think he has grown up overnight, at least that is what it feels like. He is funny, outgoing, sensitive, smart and all around great kid. Happy birthday kiddo!

Menu Wednesday Week 3

2010-01-20T06:49:00.001-08:00

I wanted to give feedback on last weeks menu. The two Rachel Ray Magazine recipes were okay. I don't know if I would make them again. Here is this weeks menus. Bon Appetit!

Wednesday: Appetizer Dinner

Thursday: Shrimp & Chicken Etouffee with rice, veggies

Friday: Chili & Fixin's

Saturday: Ham & Cheese Crepes, Parisan Salad

Sunday: Grilled flank steak, rice pilaf, salad, green beans

Monday Sausage & Cheese Quesadillas

Tuesday: Baby Back Ribs, potatoes, salad

Menu Wednesday Week 2

2010-01-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Oops! I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I wanted to give some feedback on last weeks menu. The crepes were fantastic. My family really liked them and they were easy to customize. I will make them again. The beer braised steak was not as good as I had hoped. I will have to play around with that recipe to see what I can do to make it work. Here is this weeks menu (a day late).

Thursday: spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Friday: Dinner out (Pizza)

Saturday: chicken gyros, pilaf, salad

Sunday: Birthday Celebration (my oldest turns 13!) Grilled flank steak, raviolis, garlic bread, salad

Monday: grilled 5 spice shrimp, rice, veggies

Tuesday: Vegetable noodle stir fry

The last two days are recipes from Rachel Ray's Mag. I will let you know the verdict. Have a great week!

Honey & Goat Cheese Filled Fig and Flaxseed Muffins

2010-01-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Oh, are these good! They are also good for you. I was browsing the new Eating Well magazine and came across this recipe for honey & goat cheese filled fig muffins. They sounded too yummy. You can click here for the original recipe. When I started to make this recipe I decided to omit one of the eggs and add ground flax seed as a substitute. I used Meyer lemon zest with the goat cheese filling. I also didn't have any white whole-wheat flour so I just used regular unbleached. I would absolutely make this again.

Honey & goat cheese filled fig and flax seed muffins (adapted from Eating Well Magazine)

3/4 cup crumbled soft goat cheese or reduced fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 cups of unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon ground flax seed( mixed with 3 tablespoon of water and let sit for 2 minutes to gel)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Line muffin cups with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.

Thoroughly combine goat cheese, honey, lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Lightly beat eggs, egg white and flax seed mixture together in a medium bowl; add brown sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in buttermilk and oil until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined; do not over mix. Fold in figs.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Add 1 generous teaspoon of the reserved cheese filling to the center of each muffin, and cover with the remaining batter. (The filling should not be visible.) Sprinkle the muffins with sugar.

Bake the muffins until the edges start to brown and the tops spring back when gently pressed, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Meet Audrey

2010-01-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

I was able to go and visit my cousin and see her new baby over Christmas break. She is so cute and adorable. I really enjoyed holding her and listening to her coo and talk. I spent most of the time playing with her and smelling that new baby smell. Love it! My boys loved seeing their cousin as well and playing with her big dog, Wiley.

It was a fun visit. I can't wait to go back and spend more time with them.

Menu Wednesday, Week 1

2010-01-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, this is our first menu of the new year. Here it goes.

Wednesday: pizza

Thursday: crepes with ham and cheese
crisp salad

Friday: deconstructed sushi bowls

Saturday: Grilled Fish
brown rice and sweet potatoes

Sunday: Beer braised sirloin tips with mushroom sauce
Yukon gold mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli

Monday: homemade tamales

Tuesday: Slow roasted pork shoulder with carrots, onions and garlic
potatoes
crisp salad with amazing dressing

Bon Appetit!

Happy Birthday Little Guy!

2010-01-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

My little guy is eight years old. I can't believe another year older! He is my daredevil, my fearless one. That is what gives me more gray hair. I love your sense of humor, your compassion and your joy for life. Happy Birthday my love!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am so happy to say goodbye to 2009! What a rough year. I have a very optimistic heart for 2010. We all had a really nice Christmas. The boys received lots of nice gifts and really enjoyed their time off from school. I thrive on routine and will be happy to get back into one. I don't know why I always get so harried with time leading up to Christmas. My hope for this year is to slow down and enjoy the time with family. I am not one to make resolutions for the new year, however I plan to have a goal list. I decided that instead of saying or thinking I wish I had done that, I am just going to set it up as a goal. Nothing to huge, just things I have wanted to try.

I did do some baking this Christmas. The one thing I made that got me into trouble were these little candies.

They are called Buckeyes and they are deadly. They are a peanut butter centered candy enrobed in chocolate. Too good! I got the recipe here.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

I will be taking a short break from blogging to enjoy this magnificent holiday with my family. My wish for you all is a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

God Bless,
Marie
(HoneyPickles)

Silent Monks

2009-12-18T06:45:00.000-08:00

I saw this one on American Papist. I had to share with you as well. This one made me smile!

Menu Wednesday #5

2009-12-16T16:32:00.001-08:00

This is such a crazy time of year. I have simplified my menu to reflect our hectic life. Everything is easy and pretty fast to prepare.

Wednesday: Crock Pot turkey breast (held over from last week)

potatoes

green beans

Thursday: Quesadillas

tossed green salad

Friday: Dinner out

Saturday: Chicken Milanese (held over from last week)

rice pilaf

Sunday: Chicken enchiladas

rice/beans

salad

Monday: hamburgers

oven fries

Tuesday: Pizza bread

The Loss of a Good Man

2009-12-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

I am so sad today! I just found out my neighbor died today from complications due to cancer. He was the most generous, kind hearted person and his loss will be greatly felt. My kids adored him and his wife. They would host movie and pizza night and have the boys over. The boys deemed them the coolest neighbors. We have lived in this home for about 8 years and it was happenstance that Bill and Terry were our neighbors. I have actually known Bill for over 20 years. He owns a fantastic store in our area called William-Glen. It is the go to store locally for wonderful home decor and gifts. Bill and I use to go to the same parish. He attended my wedding and I had seen him off and on through the years. It was such a wonderful surprise when we moved in and we found out that he was our neighbor. Bill was such a funny, compassionate and generous person. I am still in shock that he is gone. My prayers are for his wife, Terry and his kids. Bill just became a grandfather and I am so sad that his granddaughter will not know this incredible man.

The Harmonica Man

2009-12-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

This made me smile today!

Teacher's Gifts

2009-12-14T16:19:00.001-08:00

This year, I haven't had the time to make any gifts to give. To be honest, I was plum out of ideas. So, when I came across these cute candleholders, I knew just what to give. The glass candle holders are from IKEA and they hold both tealights and tapers. All you have to do is turn them to the side you want to use. How cute and clever! I found the scented tealights and tapers at IKEA as well. Even the santa gnome sack was from IKEA. The best part of all, these candle holders were only 49 cents!

Top Chef Ending

2009-12-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

Drats, Michael won! I really didn't see that coming. I truly thought it was between Kevin and Bryan. Even listening to the judges comments, I didn't think Michael would win. Overall, a very exciting season and I had fun spending my Wednesday nights watching these insanely talented chefs.

Top Chef finale

2009-12-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for the finale tonight. I think Top Chef is my favorite show and this season has been one of the best. I am hoping for Kevin or Bryan to win. Just anyone but Michael. He is so arrogant. He is probably a great chef, but I would want one of the other two to win. It's going to be good!

Menu Wednesday #4

2009-12-09T07:37:00.001-08:00

I haven't been posting very much, I know. This is such a busy time of year. The kids seems to have more activities and the days seem to go by too fast.

Here is this weeks menu:

Wednesday: Honey Hoisin Chicken (I saw this recipe and had to give it a try)
Rice
cut up veggies

Thursday: homemade pizza

Friday: Slow cooker turkey breast ( I know, I know but this is so good)
potatoes
winter panzanella salad

Saturday: Salmon (held over from last week)
Fish sticks for the kids
rice pilaf

Sunday: Antipasto
spaghetti
garlic bread
salad

Monday: Fried rice

Tuesday: chicken Milanese
salad
Parmesan pasta

Bon Appetit!

Menu Wednesday #3

2009-12-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

Are you tired of Thanksgiving leftovers? I know I am. Here is our menu for the week.

Wed. Spicy stir fried chicken with fresh veggies
rice

Thur. Fresh Dungeness Crab (Yea! it's back in season)
crusty bread
cut up veggies with ranch dip

Fri. Tacos
Spanish rice

Sat. Grilled salmon
rice
salad

Sun. Chicken yakitori
soba noodles

Mon. Philly cheese steaks
cut up veggies

Tues. appetizer dinner (I put out a bunch of finger food and the kids go wild)

Getting in the Spirit

2009-11-29T07:23:00.001-08:00

I think I am the last person to know about Eddie Ross 's fabulous wreath. I love the simplicity of the wreath and it is very easy to craft (click on his link for the how to). The hardest part for me was positioning of the bow. I am still not satisfied with it, but I love overall how the wreath turned out. My word of warning, it took a lot of ornaments. My ornaments were smallish and it took 72 to make this wreath. I read on someones blog that they went to the dollar store to get their ornaments. Great idea!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T06:01:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Menu Wednesday #2

2009-11-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

The big turkey day is fast approaching. Here is a list of our menus for the week. Hope everyone has a Blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Wednesday: Soup & Sandwiches (keeping it simple)

Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner
Turkey
Ravioli's (an Italian tradition in our family)
gravy
mashed potatoes
dressing
green beans with bacon and onion (everything tastes better with bacon!)
shrimp salad
homemade rolls
homemade cranberry sauce
homemade pumpkin pie
marionberry pie
tums! (just checking if you are paying attention)

Friday: Leftovers! (probably hot turkey sandwiches)

Saturday: The Great After Thanksgiving Enchiladas
green salad

Sunday: spaghetti with meat marinara
salad
garlic bread

Monday: roasted salmon
rice pilaf
carrots
salad

Tuesday: Grilled teriyaki chicken
rice
grilled vegetables

Keeping Busy

2009-11-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

The kiddos have school off all this week. Do you remember as kids, we only got Thursday and Friday off. So, that means I need to find things for the boys to do. I spent this morning finishing up my Thanksgiving day shopping and doing the rest of my planning. I decided to take the boys to Sky High Sports for the afternoon with some of their friends. What fun! The boys were able to jump until they were exhausted. The huge space is filled with trampolines galore. They have one section just filled with a huge trampoline space, another space with trampolines and a foam pit and finally a trampoline dodge ball section. Guess what my boys liked? You betcha, the dodge ball! I remember playing dodge ball as a kid in school. Not always the nicest playground game sometimes. However, this was pretty tame and the boys had a blast. I think Hubby would love to play it as well. Maybe next time.

Menu Wednesday

2009-11-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been trying to be more organized with my families meals. I have started writing down a weeks work of menus at a time. My normal way would be to make a haphazard list and menu and then hope for the best. I thought it would be fun to start posting my menus online as a way of keeping track and hearing what you might have to say. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment. I am always looking for new menu ideas. So here is goes:

Wednesday: Chile Chicken with Cashews
Rice

Thursday: Chicken Vesuvio
pasta

Friday: Baked Penne
Salad
Garlic Bread

Saturday: Fried Rice
cucumber salad

Sunday: slow roasted pork
rice
sweet & spicy roasted veggies

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Leftover Soup (turkey noodle & black bean)

Blog Land

2009-11-15T09:17:00.001-08:00

I love bloggers! I love being a click away from fantastic ideas and wonderful inspirations. I think that is why I started my own blog. It started with wanting to share ideas and having one place to put all those ideas down. I try to go through some of my favorite blogs a least every other week. I love getting that kernel of an idea and then running with it. I have discovered some new to me blog sites that I wanted to share with you. Happy Inspiration!

Snackpicks mom ran website that is all about snacks for the family

This Week for Dinner great inspiration for new menu ideas

Ravenhill Very cute blog on family and crafts

A Bushel and a Peck A mixed media artist and family life

Betz White felting, family and projects

The Magic Onions adorable felted projects

The Vintage Pearl stunning sterling silver jewelry artist

Lettres from The Blissful life and french decor

Testosterhome I love her blog, it is about raising boys

American Papist catholic blog

I hope you will enjoy these bloggers as much as I have.

Soup Update

2009-11-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay, I know the picture is not the best, but don't let that deter you from trying this soup. It is very good. I posted the link in my last post. I came across the recipe in the latest Food Network Magazine. You know I love my slow cooker and when I saw this recipe I had to give it a try. The recipe calls for a smoked turkey drumstick. I don't like eating or feeding my family the whole nitrate/nitrite stuff. I was able to find an organic smoked turkey thigh at Whole Foods from Diestel Farms. My only criticism of the soup was the pickling spice I bought. I really wasn't wild about the flavor of the spices. I would absolutely make this again and I would add my own spice mix and omit the pickling spices.

Fall Colors

2009-11-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

We awoke this morning to a beautiful cold clear day here in Northern California. These are the days I hope for all year long. I love how clear and blue the sky is and how crisp and cold the air is. My lantana's are sprouting gorgeous colors right now. I have a beautiful black bean soup in my slow cooker and we are off to a day of soccer games. Just another lovely fall day.

Countdown to Thanksgiving

2009-11-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness were these good. I found the recipe at Little Birdie Secrets. It is a version of the crescent rolls. I made a trial run last night for Thanksgiving dinner with the rolls. They are soooo good. The kiddo's and I couldn't get enough of these yummies. They were easy to make and they made quite a bit of rolls. Just a word of warning. This is a really sticky dough. Don't panic when you see how sticky the dough is. I read the warning at Little Birdie Secrets and I tried not to panic as I made them. They go though two rises and once you turn the dough out onto a board dusted with flour, they roll out just fine. I will definitely be making these on T-Day.

Harvest Festival Fun

2009-11-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

Our school puts on a harvest festival each year. Each classroom makes an item to sell at the country store to earn money for that classroom. It is a way for the class to earn extra money and with the state of the economy, it has become essential way for the teachers earn money for their class for just basic items like paper and pencils. For the last four years I have helped organize the country store for our harvest festival. I love seeing all the inventive crafts that the classes come up with. One of the crafts that a class did was from a book I had checked out at the library. It was called EcoCrafts by Susan Wasinger. I loved the coffee bag tote! I was excited to see this craft and loved the environmental aspect of recycling tied into our harvest festival. There was shrinky dink jewelry, cookie mix in jars, lavender mint tinctures, calendars, hot packs and fairy cradles. Very fun and crafty!

Our local Whole Foods saved their coffee bags and donated them to our school.

One of my sons class worked on felted heart pins and fairy cradles.

I loved how the fairy cradles turned out. We had a parent cut walnut shells and then the kids put in the wool roving.

Another parent came up with this cute poem for fairies.

Happy All Saints Day!

2009-11-01T06:46:00.001-08:00

Today is the feast day for All Saints. It is also my sweet little boys birthday. He would have been 13 today. You can read about him here. I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Old fashioned barn dance

2009-10-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

Our school had an old fashioned barn dance and Halloween party this past week. The boys were excited to try out their costumes. My oldest went as a rocker with tattoos, my middle son went as a zombie and my youngest was a ghoul. I hate buying Halloween costumes. My theory has always been to make your own. I don't particular like Halloween anyway and I hate spending money on a costume that they wear a few times. So this year once again, we encouraged the boys to make their own costumes and even offered the boys five dollars if they made their own costumes. My oldest really wanted a cool costume, so we did end of buying the tattoo shirt. My youngest really wanted a long black cape and mask for his ghoul costume. My middle son the only one that really made this own costume and one to take us up on the offer.

Pumpkin bowling

The donut on the string was really funny!

Spooky story telling time.

My ghoul with cotton candy.

A rocker and a ghoul.

A zombie with a skateboard.

Our trip to Apple HIll

2009-10-16T06:27:00.001-07:00

We made our annual trek to apple hill yesterday. It was nice to get out of Sacramento for awhile. The day was beautiful, especially after all the wind and rain we recently had. Our first stop is always Rainbow Orchards. They have the best apple cider donuts and the boys, big and little look forward to them.

The famous apple cider donuts. They make them to order and are always hot and decadent. Are you drooling yet?

This is Grandpa Cellars orchard. We always stop her for their preserves. They are selling their property and retiring. Hubby was contemplating what it would be like to own an apple farm.

Overall, a fun day with the family. The boys love coming up to apple hill and the drive is so beautiful.

Bead show continued

2009-10-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

I returned to the bead show today and found more beautiful beads. I decided to pick up some sterling, even though the price was high. I did some research around town and online and found that the prices were better than what else I could get. The sterling will last me a little while. I love the charm and pendants I found. The dog tag Sacred Heart and crown are two of my favorites. I was able to also find some beautiful crucifix's and centers. I picked up a few more bead strands as well.

This rosary has an old world feel to me. The beads are some of the beads I purchased this weekend. They are heat treated glass. I love how intense the color is. The picture does not do it justice. The beads have a look of rubies. The sterling crucifix and center was also purchased at the bead fair.

Bead show score

2009-10-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

There is a bead and gem show in town this weekend. I went on Friday to see what they had. As you can see, I picked up some nice bead strands. I am going to go back tomorrow and pick up some more beads. I was hoping to buy some silver, but the prices were so high. I am looking forward to making some nice rosaries and jewelry with my new finds.

This is my latest rosary. I love how light and airy it is. The beads are Czech glass cathedral beads and the Pater Noster beads are African Opals. I made this rosary for my dear, dear friend Charmaine.

Great Finds

2009-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I ended up at my favorite antique shop in Carmichael called Magnolia Antiques. I always end up finding something unique that I "need". I was browsing the store and found this beautiful French green ribbon. The green is a soft green. I can't wait to use it in some of the crafts.

I also found this beauty. My cousin was wearing a necklace similar to this at her baby shower. I came across this at the antique store and had to have it. It was a steal for $15. The necklace is made from crystals and glass pearls and is in good shape, but I thought the beads would be lovely in a rosary or turned into another piece of jewelry. I will keep you posted.

I have had a lot of jewelry request lately. My aunt had these lampwork beads that were strung on stretch cord. I do not like stretch cord. I was happy to change these up to flex wire.

These rosaries are donations to some local Catholic schools. I was really pleased how they came out. The top rosary was made with Czech glass cathedral beads in smoke and sterling silver beads. The crucifix is one I purchased some time ago at Magnolia antiques. The second rosary is made with red tiger eye and carved bone beads. The chaplet is made with orange jasper and an antique crucifix that I happened to have.

Get a chuckle!

2009-10-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

You have to check out this blog called Cake Wrecks. I came across Jen's blog and have been chuckling all morning reading her blog. She also has a new book out of the same name. Read her entry on the USB cake and "Falker Satherhood". Very funny.

A two part weekend

2009-09-27T06:39:00.001-07:00

I hosted my cousins baby shower this weekend. We had a high tea for about 18 ladies. What fun! My cousin looked beautiful and the tea turned out nice. The above picture is the party favors we handed out.

The tables turned out nice. My cousin is expecting a girl, so the theme was pink!

The mother to be.

I had to take pictures of the food!

And desserts!

My mother was even able to attend.

I am so happy to have been a part of Holly's shower. I had fun putting it together. I am so excited for both of them.

The second part of this weekend was another dinner party on Sunday. We had our new parish priest come to dinner along with some close friends. I was so caught up in everything that I forgot to pull my camera out. I hate when I do that. Overall a great weekend visiting family and friends. I am exhausted but feel very uplifted.

Great Video

2009-09-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Great little video combining Taylor Swifts, Love Story and Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

Teal Rosary

2009-09-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

I love the color teal. I made this rosary for a young lady who also likes teal. The Pater beads are some sort of composite stone. I love the color variations in it.

Life is always full

2009-09-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a long time. Sorry about that! The past two weeks have been heck! My mother developed a skin infection that takes daily care and then she fell last week. Thank God she didn't break anything. She ended up bruising her ribs and cutting up her hand pretty bad. We are very fortunate. It is just so sad to see such a strong woman slowly diminish before you.

To keep my sanity, I have been busy cooking and crafting when I can find the time. Fall sports has started and that spells craziness for our family. My oldest has decided after 8 years of soccer that he wanted to try football. Oh, it makes a mothers heart skip a beat. Fortunately, he is only playing flag football not tackle, so it is not so bad. My two younger boys are still playing soccer. That means we have practice with one or two sports every day of the week and games on Saturday and Sunday. I love fall, but I forget how crazy it is on the family.

Since it is almost fall, even if the weather is in the 90's, I have pulled out my fall projects. I made this cute pumpkin necklace from some lampwork beads I purchased online a few years ago. Sorry, I can't remember the bead artist I got it from. I love the copper with the orange of the pumpkin. Very fun and very fall!

This tart was so good! it was fantastic, really, really fantastic! I found the recipe at Andrea's blog, Under a Blue Moon. You can click here for the recipe. Her tart came out prettier than mine, but I bet they both tasted great. It is so easy to make. I had gone to the farmers market that morning and purchased organic zucchini, yellow squash, red onions and sweet red peppers. I purchase a store bought pie crust and let it thaw then smushed it into a tart pan and baked. I then sprinkled a very generous amount of goat cheese over the cooled crust and layered with my vegetables. Top with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until veggies are tender. Andrea also has an apple tart on her site. I will have to try that next. YUM!

On top of it all, Hubby's birthday was earlier this month. It was the big 5-0! We didn't do anything big, but enjoyed a nice weekend with family.

Life is always interesting!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2009-09-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today is hubby's birthday. It has been one tough year for us, but though it all he has remained strong and a rock for our family. I love his wit, compassion, sense of faith and strength. Happy 50th Birthday!

Flash mob Tommy

2009-09-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

My dear friends niece was part of this flash mob in San Francisco. I had never heard of a flash mob before. According to Merriam Webster a flash mob is a group of people summoned by e-mail or test message to a designated location at a specified time to perform an indicated action before dispersing. This event reminds me of how a musical is on film. The actors break out in song and dance and then go back to there normal routines.

Sunday Supper

2009-09-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

My dear sweet cousin sent me this link to Sunday Suppers. What a beautiful blog. Their pictures are stunning. The Brooklyn based Casey Solomon and Karen Mordechai are the brains behind all of this. Casey cooks and teaches and Karen takes breathtaking photos of the meals. The premise is a learning and dining experience using organic and market fresh, in season food to create a memorable meal. The pictures alone are inspirational. I was inspired to try to make our Sunday supper a little more special this past week. I loosely followed one of her menus and made this menu for our meal; grilled skirt steaks, pureed parsnips, tossed green salad and fresh fruit. I also tried Ina Gartens Gougeres( cheese puffs), for part of our appetizers. They were fabulous and easy to make. The show stopper of the evening was Casey's dessert, bittersweet chocolate pot de creme with almond cream. OMG!!!! It was incredible. More than that it was stinking easy to make. Check out her recipe here.

A beautiful lunch and a crazy life

2009-09-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

I really wish I had pictures to share with you. I had the most wonderful lunch with one of my dearest friends. Alisa and I have known each other since high school and we have seen each others through the ups and downs of life. With both of our hectic lives, we don't get to see each other as often as we both would like. However, we always make sure to see each other for our birthdays. My birthday was last month. We found a day in both of our schedules to meet an d go to lunch. Since it was my birthday, I got to pick the place. I chose La Provence restaurant in Roseville. We had the most wonderful lunch. We started out with a lovely tapanade as our starter. I had a cup of carrot and ginger soup the was nice and she had the Caesar salad. My main course was the gnocchi Maison with a truffled cream sauce and a balsamic glaze. The gnocchi was light and delicate and melted in your mouth. I have had horrendous gnocchi and I have had fantastic gnocchi and this rates with the best. Delicious! Honestly, I could have bathed in that sauce. It was so good and had a very complex flavor. I was skeptical about the balsamic on the gnocchi, but it was a perfect foil to the richness of the dish. If I wasn't in public, I would have licked the dish. I have no shame, I know. Alisa had the Coquilles St. Jacques, which were diver scallops on a corn cake with mesclun salad. Tres bien! Our service was terrific and the place was absolutely gorgeous. I will definitely be going back. After the week I have had, it was nice to spend time with a dear friend and just forget about everything for awhile. The task of taking care of my parents has become more difficult. This week in particular, they have been obstinate on their care. I really understand on trying to preserve the dignity of getting old, but when the safety outweighs the dignity you really have to take a stand. It is totally the pits! Big understatement.

Kid's in the Kitchen

2009-09-03T07:29:00.001-07:00

My middle son came home from school yesterday and wanted to cook. Ever since he was a little kid, he has wanted to be a chef. He is still really interested in cooking, but now I think he wants to be a motorcycling riding, jet flying pilot and chef. Don't you just love kids! One of his new teachers this year is Indian. She did a cooking demonstration in class and had the kids make roti. J. came home with the recipe and started at it. They were really yummy! He was so proud of what he did all by himself.

Simple Roti Recipe (by Ms. Ladi)

1 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
chilled water

1. Add enough water to the flour to make a soft dough.
2. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
3. Cover with a damp cloth and leave at room temperature for a least half an hour.
4. Break dough into 4 pieces
5. With the hands, stretch the dough out, fold in half, and repeat this 4 or 5 times. Roll out to approximately 2mm thick, shake off excess flour.
6. Preheat hot plate or griddle.
7. Place roti's onto hot griddle one at a time, and cook for a minute or so, until it starts to go crispy. Turn, cook another minute, then turn again. It should puff up. If your roti's don't puff up a lot, it doesn't really matter.
8. Keep warm. If they do get cold they may go a bit hard, but sprinkle with water, cover, and microwave for a few seconds and they will go soft again.

Daring Bakers

2009-08-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

I am sad to write this post. I have, after much thought decided to quit the Daring Bakers. I truly have enjoyed the challenges and all that I have learned from this group. My life is too crazy right now, with the kids starting back to school and taking care of both my parents. I need to be honest with myself and acknowledge that I am overloaded. Please check out all the wonderful goodies this group whips up. You can check out the Daring Bakers here.

More play time

2009-08-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Since I have had some of my beads out, I have been busy making new pieces. I mentioned in an earlier post that my dear friend, Jamie had some beautiful lamp work beads that she wanted made into jewelry. Well, she actually had quite a few sets that she wanted turned into bracelets, earrings and necklaces. This teal set was gorgeous. I love the play of browns on the beads. I partnered them with some beautiful faceted smoky quartz I had on hand. To make things interesting, I used a leather cord for the necklace to give it a funky organic feel.

When I was at our local bead shop this past week, they had a table dedicated to new beads. They had these funky Picasso beads that are a beautiful blue when you hold them up to the light. I love the play of color with the browns and purple. I added river rock beads as the Pater Noster beads and it came together nicely. This piece is for my dear friends husband. He had lost his rosary I had made a long time ago. Enjoy Stephen!

Useful Thyme

2009-08-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

I was reading the Seattle Times online and found an interesting article on using thyme as a lawn. I love thyme and use it in my courtyard and as a border in the front of my home. It grows fast and requires little care. This article goes a step further and talks about the benefits thyme has on the environment. It is drought resistance and use very little water. Check out the article here.

Work Table Revisited

2009-08-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

This necklace has been on my worktable for almost a year. I am embarrassed to admit that it has taken my so long to finish it. I first got the order almost a year ago, right before my mother and mother in law got sick. My neighbor had asked if I would rework two of her favorite necklaces into one. Both necklaces, one blue seed bead and one coral seed beads were twenty strands long. I think the two combined turned out nicely. I added floral bead caps to hold all the strands. I still have enough beads for an additional necklace. She wants the next one to be random beads on a long wire so she can wrap it around her neck several times. I am working on that now, hopefully I will have this done a lot sooner than the last one.

This was a request by my dear friend Jamie. She went to a local craft show and found these beautiful lamp work beads. I wanted to showcase the beads for her and just added some sterling silver beads to accent the red. I love how it turned out.

Too Sweet!

2009-08-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist making this cake when I saw the recipe in last month's Bon Appetit magazine. I happened to be waiting in my dentist's office (ironic, I know) and as I was browsing through some magazines I came across this recipe. It's for chocolate cake with ganache and praline topping. Whew! Now, I love ganache and I love praline, so putting the two together I thought was genius. Not quite, while the cake was moist and delicious, the ganache and the praline together, dare I say, was too sweet. I thought the cake itself was very good and I would make the cake again. I would just leave off the praline topping or make it separate and to the side.

French Farmhouse Cooking

2009-08-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

On a lay over in the Denver airport, I picked up the newest issue of Food and Wine magazine. As I was thumbing through the magazine I came across an article about Alain Coumont and his restaurant, Le Pain Quotidien. The article talks about how his menu is quietly becoming vegan and how they use fresh seasonal ingredients in their menu. The story and recipes intrigued me. I couldn't wait to get home and try some of them out. So, last night I tackled his Brown Rice Pilaf with Green Olives and Lemon. It was fantastic! It tasted more like a risotto than a pilaf to me. I love how creamy and complex the flavors were. You could really taste the earthiness of the olives and the hint of lemon and the herbs. The creaminess comes from the slow cooking process and all the water. I made the recipe exactly as written and I usually do when I try a new recipe. Let me just say, the servings were for twelve. It makes a lot. I would cut it into a third next time. Believe it or not the recipe uses 3 cups of short grain brown rice to 10 cups of water. Yes, I said 10 cups of water and the rice absorbs most all of it. I will be eating this for quite awhile, but that's okay, it is so good and good for you. I highly recommend picking up this months issue and reading the article.

Wool felted soap

2009-08-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Last Christmas my dear friend gave me this neat felted soap. I believed that she picked this up in a shop in Point Arena. I was intrigued as to how they felted around the soap. I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and came across this tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets. She goes into detail on how to make these little beauties. I think this would make some nice Christmas gifts.

The Windy City

2009-08-05T06:47:00.001-07:00

We all traveled to Chicago this past week for a family reunion. It was the first time that my two youngest boys have been on an airplane. They loved it! I on the other hand am terrified of flying, so I was white knuckling it all the way there. We had a great time once we landed. It was a whirlwind of two days seeing the sites of downtown Chicago.

We started our trip off with a visit to the beach at Lake Michigan. It was funny to see palm trees dotting the beach. I felt like we were in San Diego. I was dreading the weather on this trip. Everyone kept telling me how hot and humid Chicago can get in the summer. The weather was great for us. It was cool and we even had some showers.

Later that same day we took a cruise along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. What fun! It was very interesting to see all the architecture the city has to offer. The boys really enjoyed the cruise. We ended our first evening at the ESPN Zone for dinner. It was a very kid friendly place and they had one whole floor dedicated to arcade games. The only catch was the games were really pricey and you had to purchase a card to play the games. But, my boys managed to have a great time.

The next day we headed out to the Field Museum. What an incredibly interesting museum. They have the most complete T-Rex called Sue. She is huge! The boys thought she looked like the dinosaur from Night at the Museum. The exhibits were great and the museum was huge. We spent most of our day there and still didn't see everything. They had a wonderful exhibit on pirates. I thought it was going to be just some kitchy exhibit, but it was fascinating. It was the story about a slave ship called the Whydah. It told about the slave trade and about the people and life on the ship. The story continued on how the Whydah was captured by the infamous pirate Sam Bellamy and turned into a pirate ship. They told the story of the pirates and even had the pirate treasure on display. Very interesting! That evening we went to Navy pier and walked around.

My brother in law journeyed with us. This is all of them in front of Soldier Field.

The boys were hoping these were filled with real syrup. They were just piggy banks.

Our second half of the trip was spent in Wheaton and Naperville for our family reunion. Naperville is a cute town and they had a lovely river walk.

Hubby's cousin hosted the reunion and she has a beautiful old farmhouse. The kids had an Olympic contest and my little guy is winning the "spin around on a baseball bat and walk straight" contest.

We had a wonderful time visiting with family. The boys loved meeting cousins and seeing Uncle Tom and Aunt Marion. What a joy to be with everyone and reminisce. My hubby had a terrific time, especially seeing family he hasn't seen in a long time. Fond memories and fun times!

Daring Bakers Challenge- Cookies

2009-07-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This was a fun challenge. I absolutely love cookies! I mean who doesn't love sweet little morsels that you can pop into your mouth. I was excited when I saw the choice of cookies as well. These are tops on my list of favorites. The Milan cookies were very delicate and tasty. I did make a very rookie mistake when I was whipping these guys up. I didn't incorporate the sugar enough in the first batch and had blobs of sugar in the cookies. I fixed my mistake for the next batch, but I piped the cookies too big. They turned out like spatula's! They may have not been pretty but they were mighty tasty. I kept to the original filling of chocolate and a hint of orange. Yum-O!

The marshmallow cookies were my favorite. These morsels were fantastic! I loved biting into them and tasting the marshmallow and chocolate on a luscious shortbread type cookie. My kids devoured them. I would definitely make these cookies again.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Farmer's Market Revisited

2009-07-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

Here is the promised picture of my favorite stone fruit vendor at the farmer's market. If you are in the Sacramento area on Saturday morning, head over to Country Club Plaza and check out his stand and that of the other farmer's stands as well. Matsumoto Farms has the sweetest peaches, plums and nectarines around. I met my friend Lisa who is a fellow blogger, this morning at the market and we bought some of his delicious fruit. We ended up talking for over an hour after that and caught up on what we both have been doing this summer. Very fun! They have Spring Hill Cheese, local honey, olive oil, musical entertainment and tons of beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables. You really can't go wrong.

I was browsing some blogs last week and came across these little gems from GlutenFree Gobsmacked. These are called nut cookies that ooze goodness and are good for you. I made them last weekend when we entertained our very good friends who happen to be allergic to gluten. This recipe really intrigued me. It has oatmeal, flaxseed meal, agave, almond butter and pecans (the original recipe called for walnuts, but I have an allergy to walnuts). The result was a very satisfying cookie. Even my picky kids really liked these cookies. I can see all the possibilities with this recipe. They would be good with chocolate chips added and some grated orange peel or maybe some dried cranberries and raisins. Yum-O!

Will the heat ever end!

2009-07-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of a 100 plus degree heat wave. This is the part of living in Sacramento that I cannot stand. I detest hot weather. For nine months out of the year the weather is great, but the summer months are at times unbearable. I am not a nice person when the weather gets into the triple digits. I get cranky and a bit surly. Just ask my family. We would love to move up to the Pacific Northwest. Maybe, one day we will make it up there. In the meantime, we deal with the heat. Today's forecast is 103. I guess to look on the bright side, it's not 110!

I went to the farmer's market this weekend and look at these jewels I picked up. They are the sweetest peaches I have ever had. Look how the grower packaged them. He didn't want them to bruise so he packs his gems in these boxes lined with foam. It was like opening up a jewelry box. I will try to take a picture next week of his stand. He grows the absolute best fruit. His nectarines are fabulous!

I know I have been complaining about the heat, but I couldn't resist trying out this new chili recipe. It turned out even better than I thought it would. It is Guy Fieri's recipe from the August/September Food Network magazine. It's called Ryder's turkey chili . I love the complex flavor of the chili. I halved the recipe because the original recipe served 10 to15. I still had a lot of servings and ended up portioning out the servings and freezing the rest. This would be great for a crowd. Serve this chili with some saltine crackers or homemade tortillas. Yummy!

Homemade flour tortillas ( adapted form The Well-Filled Tortilla by Victoria Wise and Susanna Hoffman)

3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon slat
1 cup of warm tap water

1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Add the oil and mix together with a fork or your fingers until thoroughly distributed and the flour is crumbly in texture.

2. Mix the salt with the warm tap water and add to the flour. Mix together with your hands until you can gather the dough into a ball. Place the dough on an un-floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover with a towel, place it in a warmish spot, and let rest for up to 2 hours, but no less than 30 minutes. The dough may be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator. Use within 1 day.

3. To make the tortillas, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each between your palms to make a ball. Flatten the balls, then place on a very lightly floured board. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into an 8 to 9 inch very thin round. The uncooked floured tortillas may be layered between sheets of plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator overnight.

4. To cook the tortillas, heat a heavy cast iron frying pan over medium high heat. Place the tortillas, one at a time or as many as will fit without overlapping, in the pan and cook for 30 seconds. If the tortillas puff up, gently press them down with a spatula. Turn and cook on the other side until speckled with brown spots but still pliable and not crisp, about 3o seconds more. Remove and stack as you go, while the tortillas are still warm. Use the cooked tortillas right away or reheat just before serving.

Kumihimo

2009-07-16T10:43:00.001-07:00

Have you ever heard of it? I had never heard of Kumihimo (pronounced koo- mee-Hee-mo). It is an ancient art of Japanese braiding. Here is how I found out about it. I was browsing Etsy (a very dangerous thing for me) and I came across tastykaeru. I was intriuged with her fiber work and fell in love with her bradied bracelets. Well, of course I had to buy one. I purchased a gingerbread colored bracelet and I am looking forward to receiving it. My curiousity was piqued about this form of braiding and I started to do some research. I found this video on youtube on how to do this braid.

I also found this link from Primative Originals with beginner kits on kumihimo. It looks beautiful and like a lot of fun. I think I will have to try my hand at this.

Portobello Parmesan

2009-07-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

I was watching Giada De Laurentiis yesterday and she was doing her show on favorite vegetarian dishes. I didn't really pay too much attention until she did her mushroom parmesan. It sounded and looked really good. I decided to give it a try. I didn't follow her recipe per se, but I did use her idea. I took a large portobello mushroom and sliced it into thick slices. I sprayed a casserole dish with cooking spray and spooned in some bottled pasta sauce. The mushrooms were breaded with egg and bread crumbs and browned them in a pan with a little olive oil and butter. I then layered them on top of the sauce, spooned more sauce over the top and finished with some sharp provolone, mozzarella and parmesan. I baked it in a 400 degree F. oven until tender and browned. It was fantastic! I didn't even miss the meat at all. This is a winner and I will definitely be making this again.

Cutest library bag

2009-07-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

Check out Anna Maria Horners blog here. She has made the cutest book bag from dish towels. She gives a short tutorial on how to. Adorable!

Bountiful

2009-07-13T13:04:00.001-07:00

This is what I was able to haul in from our local farmers market this weekend. Yummy! I love going to the farmers market and seeing all the bountiful harvest. I picked up cantaloupes, beans, peppers, tomatillos, corn, herbs, nectarines and plums. Tonight I made pork chili verde using the tomatillos, cilantro and jalapenos that I got at the farmers market. I also made up some homemade tortillas. I forgot how easy they are to make and how much better they taste than the store bought. I combined two recipes for this chili verde. I started with Elise's recipe from Simply Recipes. You can click here to view the recipe. I also used a recipe I already had. It came out really nice. The chili had a lot of depth and the pork was really tender. The tortillas turned out well too! I had to use olive oil for the tortillas because I didn't have any shortening in the house. It still turned out delicious.

Pork Chile Verde

1 1/5 pounds of tomatillos, husked and cut in half
5 garlic cloves, with paper on

Heat broiler and roast for 5 to 7 minutes until skins are nicely brown.

2 small onions, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 can green chilies
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro

Add cooled tomatillos and garlic with skins removed to blender and the onions, jalapenos, green chilies, garlic and cilantro. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

2 to 3 pound pork roast, cubed
flour to coat
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
pinch of ground cloves
Olive oil to cook

In a large saute pan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Toss cubed pork in flour and salt and pepper, just enough to coat. In batches, brown the pork cubes and set aside. Add pork back to pan and add tomatillo mixture and a pinch of cloves. If meat is not completely covered with mixture, you can add a little of chicken stock. Bring to boil and then simmer until fork tender, about 2 to 3 hours.