Category Archives: Food & Drink

Strawberry Rosemary Shortcake

July 4, 2013

Happy 4th of July! I hope you are celebrating with a BBQ of some sort and time with family and friends.

I have a classic summer dessert for you with a twist. Once you try these Strawberry Rosemary Shortcakes, there’s no going back. The herby, woodsy flavor of rosemary pairs so well with sweet ripe berries.

Strawberry Rosemary Shortcake

2 cups flour

2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

3 tbsp. strawberry preserves (I used homemade freezer jam)

2/3 cup milk

Mix flour, rosemary, baking powder, cream of tartar, sugar and salt together. Using a pastry knife, cut the COLD butter into the flour until it looks like course meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and jam. Add the milk mixture and just barely combine the ingredients by tossing it gently with a fork. The less you handle the dough the more tender it will be.

Roll out to 1/2 inch and cut circles. Bake at 400 F for about 12-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Slice the shortcakes in half and fill with a generous amount of sliced strawberries (I like mine with a little sugar) and fresh

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Food & Drink

Maple Nut Shortbread

June 26, 2013

I can’t go to Banff, Alberta without buying a piece of maple fudge. You probably know I’m a huge fun of shortbread. They are the easiest cookie to make and their butteryness (yes that is my world) is so irresistible. I’ve come up with the perfect Canadian cookie, a Maple Nut Shortbread.

Maple Nut Shortbread

1 cup butter (room temp)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. artificial maple flavoring

2 egg yolks

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts would be great as well)

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add the salt, maple and egg yolks and beat until smooth. Add the flour and mix till dough comes together. Add the nuts. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4″ thick and cut out your maple leaves. Place cookies on parchment lined baking trays and place the trays in the freezer for about 10 mins. If the cookies start chilled, they keep their shape better during the baking. Then you don’t just end up with maply blobs. Bake at 325 F for about 12-15 mins or just until the edges of the cookie start to turn golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

For more Canadian fun, be sure to print off the free Canada Day bunting and check out the Bay Blanket round up I put together.

DIY / etc. / Food & Drink

Science Themed Birthday Party

June 8, 2013

So, here’s how we celebrated my son Dylan hitting the double digits. For his 10th birthday, our little geek wanted a Science Themed Birthday Party. This was a proud day for his nerdy, Biology teacher dad. All those years of brain washing final paid off and science is cool.

I shared some of my science party decor sources last week. I’m so pleased with how all of this came together. The yellow and teal color scheme was bright and cheery and played well with the blackboard details and vintage frog dissection chart.

For the dessert/treat table I had fun making white chocolate Lab Rats, Atomic Pops (oreo truffles), Flask Cookies (that my mom skillfully decorated), candy filled test tubes, and Petri Dish Delights.

And I sewed fun treat bags with the fabulous sciency fabric I had found and filled them with fun nerdy notions.

This was one of the easiest parties I’ve thrown in a while. We didn’t have to organize games or keep the kids entertained and out of trouble. My husband simply kept the kids busy with fun, interactive science experiments. He had them look at the cheek cells under a microscope, they played “guess the magnified object” under the microscope, they made a classic soda and vinegar volcano, they made their own borax goo, and they even got to participate in a dissection.

And what’s a party without a cake. I like to make my kids classic piped buttercream themed cakes. This year’s was super simple, I just made a big flask cake.

And these are my two favorite geeks in the whole world.

Food & Drink

Stuffed Turkish Apricots

May 31, 2013

Earlier this week I shared pictures from the Modern Orange and Grey Baby Shower I threw. I promised to share a few of the treat recipes with you. So, here’s the Stuffed Turkish Apricots.

This is my version of a yummy dessert I ate at a fantastic Turkish restaurant in London about 9 years ago. Then when I went back to London about 5 years ago I had to eat them again. It was such a simple and dare I say healthy dessert. It’s the perfect combination of sweet, salty and creamy. I believe the original ones were stuffed with clotted cream, but that’s a little hard to come by here in the states. I think cream cheese is a good substitute.

Stuffed Turkish Apricots
2 dozen good quality Turkish Apricots
2 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and honey until it is a smooth consistency. Find the hole in the apricots, where the pit has been removed, and insert your thumb to open up the apricot. Then using knife fill each apricot with about 1/2 – 1 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture. Then roll the top of the apricot, where the cream cheese is, in the chopped pistachios. And ta-da, you’re done! Store these in the refrigerator.

etc. / Food & Drink / Style

Modern Grey and Orange Baby Shower

May 28, 2013

I had the pleasure of throwing my sweet friend a baby shower recently (you may have seen bit and pieces of it on instagram). I was a really fun party to put together, and the whole day turned out to be really lovely. It was one of those very relaxed, easy going parties, where everyone seemed comfortable.

Before Baby Reuben arrives we needed to have a little celebration for his Mama. I took the color inspiration from the nursery colors. I sent out Minted‘s Urban Baby Invitations , nothing sets the mood for a party like a beautiful invite. These invites a clean, crisp and elegantly modern. Decorating for this party was a piece of cake, I simply used Minted’s Urban Baby Party Decor as well. With the customizable buntings, I was able to make one to welcome Baby Reuben (and how much fun will this be in his nursery later?).

You’ve probably heard me say it before, but I really believe great parties are all in the details. And these party decorations have the perfect details. I not only used the straws and flags for the drinks, but I also cut them in half and used with as cupcake toppers and I also used them in my party favors (which I will share soon).

Minted also sells beautiful party serving pieces. I use my large and small modern white cake plates from there all the time. Varying heights of treats on a party table adds interest and movement.

I was really smart with this party and when friends offered to help, I gladly delegated. I love the decorating and treat making part of parties, so I gratefully gave over the task of organizing games to a friend. She did a great job, and it was one big weight off my shoulders. And I also gave another fantastic friend the job of making the savory treats (the REAL food). She is a fabulous cook, so I could trust that she would make something yummy and elegant. That left me with the fun stuff. I kept my treats in the orange and grey color scheme. Here’s what I served:

The Menu
Iced Coffee
Cucumber Orange Water
Blood Orange Sodas

Veggies and Hummus
Curried Chicken and Egg Salad Sandwiches

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
Honied Apricot Marshmallows
Turkish Apricots
London Fog Shortbread Cookies

And a mini treat bar with Cutie Oranges, Hershey Kisses and Junior mints.

The Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes were a Vanilla Bean Cupcake, filled with Orange Curd and then topped with Orange Butter Cream Frosting (I’ll share the recipe soon). I love serving unique homemade marshmallows at parties, I got the Honeyed Apricot recipe from this cook book. And the Turkish Apricots are a copy cat of a dessert I had in London at a Turkish restaurant years ago (I’ll share that recipe soon as well).

Food & Drink

Cranberry Orange Corn Pancakes

May 15, 2013

If you’ve missed it this week, I’m in the mood to go camping. Yesterday I shared some cool Camping Decor and the day before a little video from our Spring Break trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

I really enjoy cooking for my family when we camp. It’s a great excuse to come up with new, easy to make in the great outdoors recipes. The last two times we’ve been out camping, I’ve made these Cranberry Orange Corn Pancakes. They were a hit with my family. They require very simple ingredients and really no syrup is required, they are naturally sweet with the orange juice.

We even ran out of camp fuel, and I cooked these over the fire one morning.

Cranberry Orange Corn Pancakes
1 pkg. JIFFY Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg
2 tbsp. butter (melted)
Zest of one orange
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
1/3 cup craisins

Place the butter in your frying pan or griddle, heat it until the butter melts. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients , including the melted butter, well. When your griddle is hot, pour about 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake. You will need additional butter for cooking the pancakes. Cook the pancakes just as you would regular pancakes. When the tops of the pancakes are bubbly, flip them. Because these pancakes have corn meal in them, they are a little more fragile to work with. Don’t be alarmed if the first couple break in half.

I’ve also discovered that Trader Joe’s sells shelf stable UHT whipping cream (so no need to refrigerate). I used to buy this when I lived overseas in Papua New Guinea and Yemen. I had never seen it here in the States though. It’s such a handy product to have in your pantry. I gave the chore of whipping this by hand to my kiddos. It kept them busy while a cooked the pancakes. A dollop of whipped cream on pancakes while your camping – wow, now that’s pretty good.

If you’re interested in more kid approved, outdoor tested camping recipes, you might like some of these:

Hobo Meals – Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Campfire Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Graham Crackers

Campfire Nachos

Chocolate Coconut Camp Cookies

Food & Drink

Orange Curd

May 10, 2013

I’m hosting a baby shower tomorrow for a sweet friend and one of the treats I’m making is Creamsicle Cupcakes. I’m making a vanilla bean cupcake, filling them with orange curd and then topping them with orange buttercream.

One of my favorite things to make is Lemon Curd. It’s a fun process and the end result couldn’t be more rewarding. We still have a few oranges high up on our tree, so I couldn’t think of a better use for them then making a batch of orange curd. I based my orange curd recipe on my favorite lemon curd recipe (Martha’s). This curd is not as zippy as lemon, but is bright and citrusy and a fun new twist.

Orange Curd
8 egg yolks
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 stick of cold butter cubed(1/4 cup)
orange gel food coloring (optional)

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, egg yolks, zest and juice. Mix until smooth with a wire whisk. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook stirring constantly for about 8-10 mins. When the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a wooden spoon, then you know it is done. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it is melted. Then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps and the big pieces of zest. Pour into canning jars, seal and store in the fridge.

Because orange juice doesn’t give a really bright orange color, you may want to add a tiny bit of orange gel food coloring to the mixture with the butter. But, this is totally optional.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Take some time to make something homemade and from scratch this weekend. You’ll feel totally productive and your family and friends will be pleased.

Food & Drink

Pink Grapefruit Shortbread

April 19, 2013

I’ve been eating a grapefruit everyday for the last couple of weeks. I can’t get enough of their refreshing tart flavor. We don’t have any more left on our tree, but I made friends with a neighbor by the kid’s bus stop who has a loaded grapefruit tree. He gave me a huge box full and I’ve been enjoying them daily.

Earlier this week, I decided that I needed to come up with a grapefruit cookie recipe. So, using my London Fog Shortbread (earl grey tea and vanilla bean) recipe as a starting point, I came up with these pretty pink treats. To be honest, I wanted just a hint of pink, but I accidentally dumped way too much red food coloring into them. Oh well, they were still tasty.

Pink Grapefruit Shortbread
1 cup butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp. grapefruit juice

zest of one grapefruit (save a little zest for the icing)

a couple drops of red food coloring

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla grapefruit juice and zest. Add the flour and mix until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 mins. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Roll out the dough to a little less then 1/4″ on a well floured surface. Cut out desired shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Chill the cut cookies for at least 20 mins. before baking. Bake the cookies for about 12 mins. or until the edges are just barely brown. Cool on wire racks.

For the icing, mix together the juice of half a grape fruit, a couple drops of red food coloring, a little zest and about a cup of icing sugar. Mix until smooth. Pour into a squeeze bottle and drizzle over cooled cookies.

These cookies freeze well in an air tight container.

Entertain / Food & Drink

Circus Birthday Party – Homemade Cracker Jacks

April 11, 2013

Recently a friend is threw a BIG Circus Birthday party for all 3 of her kids at once. I love this idea, it’s one party to plan, prep for and clean up after. Pretty brilliant, right?

Yesterday I shared with you the fun DIY for Greatest Kid on Earth Badges that I made for each of them. And I also shared that we used Minted‘s Greatest Circus Party Decorations to help out. Minted has the BEST party decor guys. Party favors can be put together in no time at all with their glassine favor bags and Greatest Circus Scalloped Stickers. I simply filled the bags with homemade cracker jacks and sealed them with sticker.

Homemade Cracker Jacks

6 quarts popped popcorn

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter, stir in sugar, syrup and salt. Boil 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, then stir in baking soda. Pour over popcorn and mix well to all kernels are coated (you can add 1 cup dry roasted peanuts if you like). Spread onto two cookie sheets and bake 1 hour at 250 F. Stir every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

We also ordered the fun Flag Stickers, and the fantastic custom bunting.

This is my mom’s recipe and it never fails me. Be warned though, it won’t last long. Once you start munching on this sweet treat, it’s hard to stop. It’s always a party and holiday favorite.

Food & Drink

Orange Almond Bundt Cake

April 4, 2013

I made this yummy cake a week or so ago. I’m a fan of a bundt, they are such simple cakes to make and they always look pretty (especially on my jadite milk glass cake plate). This cake is fragrant and moist. It’s the perfect partner to a good cup of coffee.

Orange Almond Bundt Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

zest of 1 orange

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond essence

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter milk

1/4 cup slivered almonds (lightly toasted)

juice of one orange

1 – 2 cups powdered sugar

In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, zest, vanilla, and almond essence. Beat until smooth. Mix in the butter milk. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 F for about 40 mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Mix together the orange juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze. While the cake is still warm, pour the glaze over the cake and then sprinkle with the almonds.

Adapted from this Taste of Home recipe.