Cinnamon Pecan Scones with Frangelico Glaze
Nutty flavor is in every bite of these scones, both from the nuts inside as well as the hazelnut liqueur glaze
So if you know me, you know my attention span can be fleeting at times. For this reason, I avoided Pinterest for a long while. Then, I got on and got sucked in, then ignored if for a while after seeing too many ridiculous posts about one-pot meals and hyper-thematic kid parties. Since then, I mostly use it as a means of passing time while waiting in line or for mindless entertainment. I occasionally peek at it and feel inspired. One such occasion was a post about these scones. (more…)
Peach-Pecan-Pistachio Pull-Apart Bread with Elderflower Glaze
Tender dough littered with nutty, peachy sweetness with a touch of floral glaze. So good!
I had to schedule an 8am meeting with coworkers last week. I felt so bad about it that I told them I’d make something for breakfast. I was thinking something like scones or a huge fruit salad, then it dawned on me that I could make pull-apart bread. I wanted something fresh and spring-like, which made me think of my home-canned peaches so I ventured out on an experiment. It happened to turn out extremely well so I’ll share what I did. (more…)
Violet Syrup
Violets letting off their gentle essence, which will soon become syrup
There’s not much better than the gift of spring flowers and foliage after a long and seemingly endless winter. To that end, I’ve been taking every opportunity to celebrate the return of visible life & recovery. I’ve also recently taken up running (to be honest–jogging) as a hobby/fitness routine. I’ve noticed so many violets popping up here and there in small clusters. I’ve read things about using violets in salads or even making tinctures or syrups from them, but I hadn’t tried it so I told myself when I came across a patch of enough of them I’d give it a try. Alas, I really didn’t find any that weren’t in someone’s yard so I gave up on the notion this year. Then, while running an errand within a few blocks of downtown, I came across this hillside… (more…)
Something I Love: Microplane
I recently read an article where a chef was asked her favorite tool/utensil in the kitchen. I don’t recall the answer and it wasn’t the first time I’d seen that question asked of someone. I just kept thinking there’s no way I could answer because I couldn’t do what I do in the kitchen without the assistance of several things. I suppose my chef’s knife would come close since it’s something I use almost every time I cook… I dunno.
What I’d rather tell you about is Something I Love. I started this series an ingredient that I love, Snowville milk/cream. This time, I’m going to focus on a utensil I love, my microplane. (more…)
Growing Our Family
On our wedding day
This is likely the most personal thing I’ve ever written that will be made available to a public audience, but I’m doing so for multiple reasons. First, I’m choosing not to hold this in any more. As an extrovert I often need to express myself in order to process through thoughts and emotions fully. Second, I want our entire family to have the smoothest, most informed, most efficient, and loving growth experience possible. I feel that as I open up more about this we’ll discover connections and resources to help in making this the most ideal process that we can make it for everyone involved. Lastly, which is actually most important, I want my future son/daughter to know just how much s/he is wanted by and welcome in our family. My hope is that some day re-reading these posts s/he’ll affirm what we’ve been teaching her/him all along. (more…)
One Year of Blogging
The ride so far…
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been one year since I wrote my first blog post.
Image credit: Follow My Bliss
In that year, I’ve written 40 posts– largely food-related–and have interacted with quite a few folks I’d have likely not met otherwise. I rented a domain to give this blog a proper home and even started a Facebook page to help make interaction easier and more streamlined, especially for those who want to follow the blog via that format.
The road ahead… (more…)
Spring Cleaning Challenge: Week In Review
Well, we made it. No one was harmed or suffered too much during the challenge.
All tolled, we ended up using over 20 things from the freezer, avoided buying any groceries all week and only went out to eat the two times I mentioned in my mid-week check-in post. So, what’d we make? Was it all just chicken breasts and rice? No way! In addition to the things I mentioned in my mid-week post, here’s a sampling of other things:
- Pork Chops
If there’s one thing I know about my husband, it’s that he absolutely loves pork. I mean, loves it. So, I pulled out some of the stash in the deep freezer with all the rest of the pork we bought last summer (post to come about that). Later, I’ll tell you just how I made them. They were great paired with the produce I had on hand, including a local acorn squash we’ve been meaning to use for a couple months. They don’t last forever, but this one kept quite longer than we anticipated.
Pork chops topped with pan sauce and homemade pear-onion chutney served alongside roasted local acorn squash (right) and a salad of roasted beets, orange suprèmes, celery leaves and goat cheese w/ a champagne vinaigrette. (iPhone pic)
Spring Cleaning Challenge: Mid Week Check-In
Okay, so Sunday I announced that I’d be embarking on a freezer spring cleaning. You can read the rules here.
It’s now Wednesday. Here’s how things stand:
- As far as not eating out, I had two pre-scheduled business meetings–last night (Tuesday) for dinner and another today (Wednesday) for lunch so I’m giving myself an out on those. Other than that, we’ve stuck to the plan!
- We haven’t purchased groceries at all since Chad’s last trip Sunday before I came up with the challenge.
- We’ve used a good bit of stuff from the freezer and the rest has just been what we’ve had on hand. Here’s some of what we’ve made… (italicized ingredients came from the freezer) (more…)
Spring Cleaning Challenge
Loving to cook and not wanting to waste means our freezer fills up pretty regularly. I also like to make large batches of things like soup to enjoy on days when I don’t feel like/have time for cooking.
The bad part is I also get bored eating the same things often and I want to try something new. That’s not a bad thing except for the fact that the freezer is now a bit too full. Sure, we have a deep freeze in the basement but it’s just time to have a clean out.
Challenge
For this entire week, we’re going to try to:
- NOT eat out
- NOT go to the grocery store
- use up the ingredients in the freezer, and
- use only what’s in the pantry, fridge and basement food storage
We’ll see how this goes!
Shaken, Not Stirred
I freely admit that I’m highly susceptible to the power of suggestion. I recently read a recipe in Bon Appetit for a shaken egg white cocktail. Fast forward a few days to when I was in the mood for a nightcap. I decided to give it a try. Here’s what I did: (more…)
