May 07, 2013

Well, Howdy!

Hello from our family...

Things, they are a'changing around here. Some things are not ready to be spilled yet but for right now I have decided to close shop on my personal chef endeavors at this time. The cost of food and the lack of people who are willing to pay for the full service has made it impossible to make any extra money for our family at this time. People are cutting back and I get that.

I can no longer afford to work outside of my home. Texas allows for me to run a baking business from my own home so I am going to provide baking services only. Baking is really my favorite anyway. I will be providing individual orders for cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes and other specialty items. I won't be available for catering but for a pick up service only.

I am baking more and more gluten free things for my family so those will be available for purchase, too. I will have specific times when I will do gluten free so that I can make arrangements in my kitchen to have it as wheat free as humanly possible.

In other news, I am currently working on a family cookbook project for our upcoming family reunion. It will be full of recipes that each side of the family has submitted and it will only be available for the family but it is such a great experience for me to be able to do this for our 50th reunion anniversary. One of my Sisters-in-law has put together a children's section and many family members have submitted some very delicious contributions so it totally a group effort. It has been a real treat to look at old recipes, photos and stories each person has submitted.

Some changes are coming here as far as blogging goes, too. I am going to be combining my personal blog with this blog. I just need to be in one place on a regular basis instead of splitting my time between two blogs and barely writing. I want to feel like I can share ALL my interests in one place so this will still have lots of cooking and recipes but it will also have movies, books, crochet, gardening, projects, faith and family, etc... all in ONE PLACE. There is no sense in splitting who I am any longer. :)

April 14, 2013

New To Me...

I met Nigel Slater today.... not in real life. LOL

I met him by way of the movie Toast.

It is a very interesting movie based on the Memoir of Nigel Slater by the same name. I found it on Netflix Watch Now. The most fascinating part for me was the progression toward becoming a professional caterer and what drove him toward that life. I had just had someone ask me if I had seen it and so I looked it up and there it was.... just waiting to be discovered. It won't win any Academy Awards but it has it's moments. My favorite part is when he becomes enrolled in a Home Economics class and the determination he showed in learning to bake a Lemon Meringue Pie. He was certainly driven...

Nigel is a food writer in the UK for The Observer and he has written a plethora of books on food, gardening and cooking. He also has had several video series over the years on food.

Slater has his own website which is simply his name so it is easy to remember... www.nigelslater.com.

He is a home cook (not a chef - as he shares right up front), a writer and a gardener....
I cannot wait to discover more.

Here is a little bit about him in video form.

I think I will be looking for some of his books and videos on YouTube to investigate more!

April 12, 2013

Bread & Wine...

I know... I know.... I am MIA a lot lately. Life is just that way right now but I had to come here and share a real treasure with you.

I recently got this book in the mail to read. It was an advanced reader copy that I requested because the topic was right up my ally. I am not getting paid to tell you how wonderful this book is.... and it is truly wonderful! I would never say it if it were not true. It is about my most favorite things and it really touched me in a very personal way as I read it. It is about food and family and friends and God...

It was written by Shauna Niequist

(she has written several other books to date: Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet)

It is about gathering around the kitchen and family table together. It has everything I look for in a book. It has stories about family and friends. It has recipes to share. It has gluten free and healthy food. It has the occasional splurge with comfort foods and rich indulgences. It has recipes that use real food... whole food... butter and wine even! They are not complicated but they are beautiful and delicious. I have made several of her recipes as I have been reading the book. It is a deliciously delightful read about life and how bringing people to the table enhances that in a way that nothing else can.

I think this says a lot to give you some idea of the beauty of this book...

You can read more about her journey in writing the book here...

Bread & Wine Backstory

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

It is available right now... at just about any place that sells books

Particularly at Amazon for your convenience

I will share some of the things I have made from the book over the coming week with you as I have an opportunity.

I truly have enjoyed reading this book!

March 04, 2013

Irish Soda Bread Darina Style...

Wanted to share this great tutorial video from Darina Allen... she is so charming!!!

February 12, 2013

Shrove Tuesday....

We celebrated tonight with crepes, fruit and sausage...

This is a banana, brown sugar and lemon filling

This is a lovely strawberry syrup

I made gluten free crepes for me

Fresh blueberries on sale at the grocery today

Homemade whipped cream... using whipping cream, sugar and some vanilla

No matter how much sausage we make it is never enough. LOL

Regular crepes...

The spread

There cannot be crepes without Nutella

Building my own crepe

DELICIOUS!!!

Happy Fat Tuesday to you all!

February 03, 2013

One more tea post...

I encourage you to drink tea daily!

Here is a great list from a great site.

Check out the site, too.

TOP 13 TEA RESOLUTIONS FOR 2013

January is National Hot Tea Month – January is also a time to make some changes for the better. Use National Hot Tea Month to learn more about tea and enjoy tea more, each and every day!

Try something new to you. Visit a tea room or shop to purchase a new loose leaf tea. In most cases, you should be able to purchase a small amount to try.
Freshen up your inventory. Clean out the cupboards! Get rid of that old stale tea in the back of the cabinet.
Try adding your own healthy flavorings to your tea in place of sweeteners. Try a slice of lemon, or simply lemon zest.
For black tea, try adding spices such as cardamom or cinnamon.
Explore teas from different regions of origin.
Explore teas of different methods of processing: white, green, oolong, black. Learn what makes each different.
Make tea a healthy part of your daily fluid intake. Skip the milk and sweeteners!
Learn to enjoy the taste of tea with nothing added. A quality loose leaf tea should be so delightful that you would never think to add anything to it.
Learn how to brew different types of tea using different temperature water/brew time. No more bitter tea if you treat each type correctly.
Store your tea in a dark, airtight container. Do not refrigerate (unless it is something unusual and suggested by your supplier), the condensation will ruin the tea every time you open it.
Use quality water for brewing.
Try cooking with tea, adding tea to food and beverage recipes.
Take time for tea every day. Enjoy tea with family and friends and business associates too!

Just to clarify... the link above is where this list came from... I did not write this list but am inspired by it to enjoy more tea in 2013. :)

A few more great sites...

The Art of Tea

Tea-Time

In Pursuit of Tea

Tea Magazine

Oh, and some Matcha Tea Drink videos...

February 02, 2013

Thinking Outside the Cup

Tea can be used for more than a good cuppa...

It can be used for medicinal applications, household cleaning, cosmetic use and even for healing and soothing Pink Eye. We used Chamomile tea to heal a case of Pink Eye a few months ago. We used the tea as an eye wash and the bags to sooth the swelling and puffiness.