birdsandtrees

Herbs, Herbs, Herbs...and some Blueberry Lemonade

At the beginning of summer, I mentioned to our friend/neighbor that I would eventually love an herb box right outside our kitchen door.  About two days later, he told me he had built it and was ready to hang it!!  Talk about a good neighbor!  

James and I have been looking for ways to use the herbs, and I came across this recipe for Blueberry Lemonade on Pinterest (my latest obsession), which uses some mint. 

I'm always looking for some new drink recipes in the summer, and this one was delicious!

Add some strawberry slices and I think this would be great for the 4th of July weekend. 

Need ideas for how to use your herbs?  Check out some of these:

- use some herbs in cocktails (you might have seen this in Southern Living)

- basil pesto (we've already made one batch!)

 - grilled artichokes with creamy mint sauce

- of course Martha has plenty of ideas

I'm here!

I figured it was time to do a blog post when my mother started counting the months since I last posted!

I thought I'd share some pictures from my phone, since that really shows what I've been up to. 

Since my last post, school has ended.  It was our last year for the school to be at our house.  This next school year, we're going to rent some space at a beautiful, historic church downtown.  I'll get into more details later, but I thought I'd share a present that the parents of the school gave me.  Bryan Johnson, our friend and neighbor (whose oldest son goes to our school), took school pictures for us this year (see all the school pictures on his website...they're amazing!)  He put this together and gave it to me on our last day.  I may or may not have cried. 

After school ended, I went with James to San Diego (he had to go for work). If you ever need some garden inspiration, San Diego is your place.  All I wanted to do was get home and start gardening! 

While we were there, we went to the zoo.  Even though the price of admission makes you gasp when you see it, it's totally worth it! 

Our favorite animal of the day was the meerkat.  I could have watched them all day.  You can see one of them standing guard...the zoo is a dangerous place, so you have to always be on the watch for predators. 

There was even a baby hippo!  You can spot him in the upper right corner of the picture, sitting next to his mom. 

Other than our trip to San Diego, I've been working for Bryan at his studio...doing anything and everything that he needs me to do!  He and the rest of his family have been in China for the past week or so adopting their daughter Finley (here's his post about it here).  So while he's been gone from the studio, I've been working on a little "spruce up" of his studio space.  It was so much fun!!

Lastly, I also "catered" a friend's wedding.  I made LOTS of cupcakes, several small cakes, and her wedding cake.  James even made his famous iced coffee for the event.  I'd say it was a success. 

So there you have it.  Now we're off to the beach with my family.  But there will be more to come, I promise!!   

A Valentine's Kiss

We had our 4th Annual Valentine's Poetry Party today at school.  The younger class recited some Robert Louis Stevenon, while the older class recited a couple from Emily Dickinson.  It's one of my favorite days of the school year, and I usually make heart-shaped brownies, but this year I made some homemade chocolate kisses! I saw the recipe on Bakerella - it looked easy and quick.  And it ended up being both of those things.   The inside is simply a mixture of crushed oreos and a block of cream cheese.  Here's what it looks like on the inside:

Then you shape them and dip them into chocolate (I use this kind, which you just melt in the microwave).  I also bought some red and silver foil (already cut into the perferct size for the kisses) from Michael's, but you could easily just use aluminum foil.  I will definitely be making these again.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some Tripp and A Dip

This weekend James's sister Emily, her husband Nelson, and son Tripp (above) came to visit.  We love having them here in Birmingham and wish they were here more often! 

We had our own small Super Bowl party here at home, and I thought I'd make some Texas Caviar for an appetizer (Nelson is from Texas, so I thought he'd appreciate a little shout-out to his home state).  I thought everyone knew about this dip, but they had never heard of it!  So I thought I'd post the recipe in case you ever need a quick, easy, and delicious dip for a party or get-together. 

Texas Caviar

Mix together:

 1 small red onion, diced

1 can Rotel

1 can shoepeg corn

1 can black eyed peas, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 small can chopped green chilies (I find these in the Mexican food section)

1 8oz. bottle Italian Dressing

The longer it sits, the better.  Fritos Scoops are our chip of choice for the dip.  

I hope you like it! 

Currently loving...

- Nigella's Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins, found in her new cookbook.  I've already made them twice and will definitely be making them again. 

- This AWESOME idea for kids at Thanksgiving time...I'm making it for our Thanksgiving party at school tomorrow.  I can't wait to see how it comes out!

- This beautiful Thanksgiving paper chain (via Twig & Thistle).  We had the kids fill them out at school today.  They should make a lovely decoration in the classroom, or in any place for that matter. 

- Advent Calendars - I want to make one for our house someday.  In a lot of the ones I see online, you can't fit much in the box (other than a peppermint candy or extra small trinket)...so when I saw this Advent Calendar, I was really inspired.  I love the fabric cones! 

- fort & field's Etsy shop.  So much goodness in one place. 

___________________________________________

James and I are headed to St.Louis for Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I'll be back here next week. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone! 

In the kitchen...

I know I said I'd share photos of the classroom, but it desparately needs cleaning and that takes some time! So I promise the photos are coming...just not quite yet!  I thought, in the meantime, I'd share what's going on in our baking and cooking world.  Because we've had some really good things going on. 

Like....

1.  I made this chocolate cake this past weekend for my friend's baby shower.  It's Beatty's Chocolate Cake, and the icing is the dark chocolate icing from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.  It was delicious - if you need a chocolate cake recipe, definitely try this one out!  Because I made the cake I was able to use my sweet little cake bunting that I got from this store on ebay.  I bought the kit (which is cheaper than buying them already made)...I see me making many more of these in the future!

2.  Butternut Squash Soup: I've made four batches of this soup in the past month and I'm still not tired of it!  Next time I make it, I'm going to put some in bags and freeze them.  With some homemade croutons and a dollop of sour cream, life tastes pretty darn good.

3.  James just recently made roast chicken with vegetables.  He put some of those leftover homemade croutons (from our soup) at the bottom of the roasting pan, and all the juices of the chicken ran into them.  SO good.  We loosely follow this recipe for what to stuff the chicken with, and then we just use whatever vegetables are in season.   

4.  Caramel Popcorn with Vanilla and Cinnamon: I don't remember how I found this recipe, but I've made it three times now, and it's really good.  I make plain popcorn, then mix in this mixture of brown sugar, maple syrup (the real stuff), vanilla and cinnamon.  Then you bake it in the oven for 15 minutes.  Next time I make it I'm going to add some cashews to the mix.  It's a great snack for a special treat in the fall. 

Up next in the kitchen this fall: Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Cupcakes for school next week, some curry recipes, Shepherd's Pie, Steak and Guinness Pie, and Beef Bourgignon.  Ooh and maybe a Winter Panzanella. 

Understood Betsy

This is my fourth year of having our little school in our house.  Every year it can be a challenge as I try to come up with new curriculum, new subjects to study, new authors to discover, and new books to read.  My favorite of all of those of course is finding good, living books to read aloud to the students. 

Our first chapter book read-aloud this year was Understood Betsy.  I can't remember where I heard about this one, but I'm so glad I stumbled across it.  This book was beautiful and one that I will always remember (much like this one).  It's the story of a girl named Betsy, who is sent off to live with her Putney cousins at their farm.  It makes you want to fill your house with geraniums and wear a gingham apron (the schoolteacher in the book wore one...maybe I should get started on one!).

One day at school, we decided to make some tea cookies to nibble on while we read the book.  I'd been wanting to try a recipe from this cookbook, and the Lemon Tea Cookie recipe seemed perfect (lucky for you there's another blogger out there that posted the whole recipe).  The recipe was easy and perfect to do with kids.  There's an icing that goes on top, but I was thinking some raspberry jam would be nice on top, too!  Perfect for an afternoon tea and alongside a good book. 

"That room was full to the brim of something beautiful, and Betsy knew what it was.  Its name was Happiness."  

- Understood Betsy

Lemony Goodness

As spring approaches and the temps begin rising, I've been wanting to make more "spring-like" desserts- light, airy, simple, and easy.  So this weekend I picked the perfect recipe to fit the bill - Orangette's "French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon."  I've made it once before, and after making it again, I think this may become one of those recipes that I whip out all the time. 

Since it is french-style, it's also called "Gateau au Citron," and I think I like that better.  In my mind, I like to picture the Maman of the household mixing this cake up, for when les enfants come home from school, or for that unexpected company.  And les amis and the neighbors just wonder, "How does she do it?"  Little do they know, this cake is easy.  And oh so good.  

Orangette has the recipe here, but in her book (which you all need to get and which I posted about here), she makes a couple of changes.  In the book, she adds a syrup and a glaze on top, which I highly recommend.

Here's the basic recipe, with my notes and adaptations:

Preheat oven to 350.  

Prepare baking dish: grease a 9" round cake pan (she also says to then line it with parchment and then grease one more time...but I might skip this step next time.  Cutting parchment paper is not fun.)  

Whisk dry ingredients in medium bowl together: 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, pinch of salt (I used an 1/8 teaspoon as my "pinch"), and 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Mix wet ingredients (in stand mixer) in the following order: 1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt (I used Stonyfield's vanilla...make sure it's whole-milk and you stir it well!), 1 C sugar, 3 eggs

Now, slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.  Don't overmix - then add 1/2 C vegetable oil.  Mix until smooth. 

Pour into cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  You could enjoy the cake at this point just as it is.  You could throw some blueberries on the plate with it (or spread some jam on top) and call it a day.  Or...you could add a syrup and glaze.  If you choose that adventure, read on. 

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  While it's cooling, mix syrup: 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice. 

Take cake out of pan and spoon the syrup over the dome-shaped/top of cake.  I did this on my wire rack with a cookie sheet underneath it to catch the drippings. 

Let it cool completely.  While it's cooling, mix glaze: 1 C sifted powdered sugar (I didn't sift and it came out fine) and 3 T lemon juice.  Pour over cooled cake. 

And voila! You've got Gateau au Citron.  My choice of cake for spring.  Merci, Orangette!

Pies in a Jar

Ever since I saw this post about making pies in a jar, I've had it in my mind that I would make them for some Valentine's gifts this year.  I was determined.  James's parents came in town which threw a slight kink in my plans of pastry crust and pie, but I pressed on.  Late Saturday night I attempted my first shot at making the pastry crust - I was tired, it was late, and the pastry crust just wasn't happenin'.  It was a failure.  I was really bummed and gave this long schpeel to James (after he was trying to convince me to go to sleep instead of whirring things in the food processor) about how I had wanted to make these, I had bought these cute jars, and gosh darn it, I wanted some pies in a jar!  

So yesterday I gave it another shot, and I'm so glad I did, because aren't they cute?!?!  They're like little baby pies! 

I basically followed the step-by-step directions from this post, but here are my tweaks and details:

- I made this pastry crust (found at the bottom of the recipe), but you could easily buy a store bought crust

- I used this simple apple pie recipe, but you could use any pie/crumble/crisp recipe you like (or whatever's in season)

- I bought my jars (they're small little half-pint fellars) from here and had to (since it was for Valentine's Day) buy these red gingham lids to go on top

Once you make and assemble them, you can go ahead and bake them fresh (lid off, of course), OR you can stick them in the freezer and then bake them whenever you're in the mood for a tasty sweet bite!  They can go straight into the oven frozen and the glass will not break or crack.  Isn't that crazy?  I'm thinking about making a batch to keep in the fridge for unexpected guests or last-minute presents. 

Between cake balls and pies in a jar, I'm not sure how things in the baking world could really get any better...

Bon Appetit!

After seeing the movie Julie and Julia, I knew I wanted to throw a French/Julia Child-themed party.  How could you not after being inspired by all the food and cooking in the movie?  So Valentine's weekend seemed like the perfect time. 
So Friday night James and I had some friends over, and each couple brought a different part of the meal. 

We had the main course, which is what we set on fire in my last post.  We made Boeuf Bourguignon - we decided to go with Ina Garten's recipe because she added Cognac (which you set on fire), and I think that part definitely appealed to James.  She notes in the recipe that the dish gets even better the next day, so it's great to make ahead.  We made it on Thursday, which really took the pressure off of cooking things on the day of the party.  When we set it on fire, I have to admit I was a little worried we might burn our house down, but it ended up being more fun than scary.  I poured the Cognac and James lit it up!  So fun!

And since we didn't really have to cook anything on the day of the party, that gave me time to set the table (which I love) and make embroidered heart place cards. 

I also made some pom poms to hang above the table.  I used this tutorial (and also this one) for directions. 

We also made Ina's Cauliflower Gratin, another great dish.  The other parts of the meal were homemade baguettes (AMAZING), pear and blue cheese salad (based on this recipe), and a chocolate cake to finish.

Everything was delicieuse (that's delicious in french) and the company was even better! 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!