The Earth Laughs in Flowers...

I love making cupcakes for my kids, such a simple pleasure. What a great way to celebrate the arrival of Spring!! I made these using Dum-Dum pops and green Fruit Roll Ups for the leaves, a few sprinkles of chocolate jimmies for the dirt, and voila spring has sprung.

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Cherished Possessions

Growing up I can remember having Sunday dinners at my Grandmother's house. My Grandmother loved to cook, which was something we had in common. She was a good cook, but not what you would call a healthy cook. I think sugar and salt were my Grandmother's two favorite ingredients. Even her tossed green salad was loaded with sugar and salt.
Most of her veggies seemed to come from a can and she even knew how to make those taste good. Her canned corn casserole is still on our table every year at Thanksgiving.
But you never did hear anyone complain about the meal that was put before them, especially my Grandfather. He used to say "Boy, I wonder what the poor people are eating tonight" every time we sat down together.
And dessert was always part of the meal. I can still remember her milk glass cake plate that her sugary cakes were placed on. Such a fancy thing to a 7 year old girl, a billowy frosted cake served on a pedestal.
As I got older and started preparing my own meals I realized just how unhealthy of a cook she was. She would often give me recipes or tell me how she would go about making something. And of course I would graciously accept them, however never giving them a second glance knowing that this one recipe alone might just take a year off my life.
Well, my Grandmother passed away a few months ago. I find myself trying to remember those recipes, and the things she shared with me, wishing I had paid closer attention. It's funny how losing someone makes those details so much more important. And those recipes she handed down to me are now some of my most cherished possessions, along with that beautiful glass cake plate that now will proudly serve my own beautiful confections.

Here is a recipe for short ribs. It is not my grandmother's recipe but she used to tell me all the time how much she loved short ribs and how I really should try them. Well Gram, you were right, they really are delicious. This ones for you!


Honey and Vinegar Braised Short Ribs
adapted from Bon Appetit

This recipe is best made the day before you are going to serve it.

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 1/2 lbs beef short ribs
1 cup carrots
1 cup onion
1 cup celery
8 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup vinegar
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups dry red wine
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil over med. high heat in a large heavy pot. Sprinkle salt and pepper over ribs. Working in batches brown ribs really well on all sides. Wipe out the pot and add remaining olive oil. Add carrots, onion, celery and garlic to pot, cook about 5 minutes stirring as you go, until vegetables are soft. Return ribs to the pot and add honey, cooking about 2 minutes. Add vinegar and boil until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add broth, red wine, thyme, and bay leaf and boil 5 minutes. Cover pot with lid and put in preheated oven. Bake until meat almost falls off bone, about 2-2 1/2 hours.
When ribs are tender, transfer them to a large bowl. Boil cooking liquid until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Mix butter and flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Whisk into sauce and boil about 3 minutes or until thickened. Let cool. Store both ribs and sauce in refrigerator over night in seperate containers. The next day when you are ready to eat remove both the ribs and sauce from the refrigerator. Skim the layer of fat off the top of the sauce that has formed over night. Return the ribs to the pot with the sauce and rewarm both the sauce and the ribs over medium heat.
Serve with sauteed spinach and creamy polenta...yum!!!

Oh yeah, and its almost spring....yeaaahhhh!!!

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A Piece Of Myself

I feel like I have been struggling lately with what I am supposed to be doing. "Whats next?" is constantly being played in my head like a broken record that cant seem to move past the first line of a song. And I'm not exactly sure how to get past that first line, to the place in the song where my heart and my soul come alive with what I am supposed to be doing. I have gotten away from this blog that I love. Put it high up on the shelf hoping to someday get back to it. After all the chores are done, the house is clean, and the kids are content. And after I'm done chasing the dog around the house to retrieve the last roll of toilet paper that he thinks would just be a hoot to spread all over the house. But that never happens. The house is clean, than its a mess. The kids are good, for about 5 minutes, until one of them screams from the other room, as if something is on fire, "He hit me" or "Ollie (our lovely thief of a dog) has my socks". So you can see that this stuff is never done. But I am learning that it is OK for the house not to be spotless, and the kids to work a few things out on their own. I am learning that sometimes it is necessary to put all that other stuff on the back burner in order to get back to myself a bit. To try and figure out what makes me happy and what might be next, so that record is no longer skipping. Capturing the essence of my life through the food that I make and share with those that I love, that's what makes me happy. So I am going to make a real effort to get back to this blog.

So what better way to get back to my blog than sharing with you a recipe for my favorite birthday cake. This is the cake I ask for most every year. And the cake I sometimes drive 30 minutes for just to have a piece of (it is from one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants up the road a bit). It is THAT good. And its even better the next morning for breakfast with a cup of nice strong coffee. And the best part about it is that it is made with love just for me by the ones that I love the most in this world.


Claire's Lithuanian Coffee Cake With Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground coffee (not brewed)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

cake:
12 tablespoons butter, room temp.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 lg. eggs
2 tablespoons brewed coffee, chilled
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream (can use low fat)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

preheat oven to 350.
spray a 10 cup bundt pan with cooking spray or grease with butter

combine filling ingredients and set aside.

for the cake, cream the butter and the sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 30 seconds. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, add the coffee, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients in mixer until just combined.
Pour half the batter into the prepared bundt pan and sprinkle half the filling over the top of the batter. Pour the remaining batter evenly over the filling. Sprinkle the top with the remaining filling.
Bake in center of oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted int he center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and then turn it out onto a plate to cool. After the cake cools, frost with butter cream frosting (recipe follows).

Buttercream Frosting
also from Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook

4 tablespoons butter, room temp.
4 tablespoons margarine, room temp.
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together butter and margarine with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the confectioners sugar, half cup at a time, beating about 2 minutes after each addition, until light and creamy. This takes a little time but you want to make sure you do it this way so the frosting is very light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla until well combined.

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The Next Best Thing...

If you are like me and cant wait for this seasons bounty of juicy, ripe, red, summer tomatoes than give this a try.
Go to the store pick out those barely red, hardly sweet supermarket plum tomatoes and throw them in the oven for a couple of hours. What you will pull out just might surprise you.

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

from Barefoot Contessa Bact To Basics

By Ina Garten

12 plum tomatoes, cut in half long way and seeds removed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

16 oz fresh mozzarella

12 fresh basil leaves

preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Arrange tomatoes on rimmed baking sheet, cut side up in a single layer. Pour olive oil and vinegar over tomatoes. Sprinkle with garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Roast for about two hours and let cool to room temp.

Slice mozzarella and layer with tomatoes and basil leaves. Drizzle with more olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve with grilled bread that has been drizzled with Olive oil, salt and pepper.

This should tide you over until August when the real thing comes along.

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The Perfect "One Cow" Burger

In our house we love burgers! Not the frozen preformed patties some people call hamburgers. I would much assume take the bun with all the fixins and hold the "Patty" if that were my option.

But rather the plump, juicy, fresh burgers that actually have amazing flavor.

It wasn't until I read the cookbook Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes (love this cookbook by the way) that I came across a recipe for the "One Cow" Burger. I know it doesn't sound very appetizing, but when you think about that preground stuff (or preformed patties) exactly how many cows do you think went in to make up that pound of meat? 25? 50? Possibly 100! And set aside taste for a minute, what about the chance of one of those cows having some sort of disease? Hard to think about- huh?

So here's the solution. Go to your local grocery store, pick out a fresh piece of chuck, go find the butcher and ask him to grind it up for you. They have always been more that happy to do it for me! And now go home and make the most amazing burger you have ever had and never, I mean never buy those preformed patties again!

The One Cow Burger

adapted from Blue Eggs and Yellow tomatoes, by Jeanne Kelley

2lbs ground chuck (premium beef if you don't mind paying a little more)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Unsalted butter

5-6 hamburger buns

preheat outdoor grill.

Combine first 5 ingredients, ground chuck through ground pepper. Form mixture into 5-6 patties, about 5-6 oz. each. Cook patties on grill about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Lightly butter hamburger rolls and grill them butter side down for a minute or two.

As for the toppings, go crazy if you would like. But mostly we like to keep it simple: shredded lettuce, chopped red onion, and chopped dill pickle, a little mayo on the bun and a squirt of Dijon mustard on the burger. And you now have (in my opinion) the perfect burger!

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Simply The Perfect Summer Spot

Hot lobster, warm butter, a squeeze of lemon on a toasted roll. Need I say more?
OK- how about a nice breeze and an amazing view?

Your not going to find anything fancy here. No sides, other than a bag of chips . Nothing that even requires a fork and a knife. Just simply put, the freshest lobster roll you will ever taste.
And no mayo either!!

So if your ever in the area and are looking for a treat check out Lobster landing- you wont be disappointed!

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Love

We forgot what it was like to have a puppy. And actually we never knew what it was like to have a puppy with two small children, but now we know. Life has certainly gotten more interesting around here. Yes, the kids are now chew toys and nothing seems to be safe from destruction. Who knew a 14 lb. puppy could steal a 5 lb. bag of rabbit treats, a small vacuum, a bag of art supplies, and drag a chair across the room all within the time it takes me to whip up my morning Mimosa (kidding about the Mimosa, but Oliver actually did do those things this morning).

His feet are the size of a polar bears and the sweetest moments of the day are when he is asleep.

But we love him already , so welcome to our family Oliver!

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In The Garden

Peonies waiting to bloom.

Our beautiful tree whose flowers are gone way to soon.

Jack loves the garden too!

my strawberry pot that needs more strawberry plants. You can see the plastic bottle I stuck in there. I cut holes in the bottom of the bottle and when I water the plants I put the water in the bottle and it helps the water get down deep to all the plants.

Here come the poppies...one of the first perennials to make an appearance in my garden. And I love the look of my beautiful willow fence.

Old man in the garden...this and the next two pics are from my lovely neighbor, Loretta's garden.

mmmm...mint for mojitos

waiting for the birds...

lonely daffodil

The last time Abraham (my four year old) and I were out in the yard looking at all the flowers he said to me "Mama, they make my heart bigger".

Sunlight fades, stars appear, garden fairy's gather here!

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Just a quick note to say that life seems to be balancing itself out a bit, I am really going to start blogging again soon.

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Magical...

Whoever said Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits just had to be biscuits?

Give these a try on a snowy day and serve them with hot cocoa. Your kids will think you are a magician.

Ordinary biscuits go from this:

to this:

And you can even make these:

Buttermilk Biscuit Donuts
from Paula Deen

Ingredients

Peanut oil, for frying (Canola is good too)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Icings:

2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
5 tablespoons milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Colored sprinkles
Chocolate sprinkles

2 cans buttermilk biscuits (I use the ones that come 10 to a can because they make mini donuts and mini donut holes. But you can also use the larger biscuits if you want bigger donuts.)

Directions:

Heat 2 inches of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 350 degrees F.

In a shallow bowl, stir together the ground cinnamon and sugar and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, set aside. This is the vanilla icing. In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of milk and set aside. This is the chocolate icing.

Lay out the biscuits on a cutting board and with a 1/4 to 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter (or any small circle you can find), cut out a hole from the middle of each biscuit. Fry them in the oil until just golden and then flip with tongs to fry the other side. Be careful not to cook them to long. You can even fry the donut holes. Drain on paper towels and then toss in the cinnamon-sugar or ice and decorate with sprinkles, as desired.

So make them for someone you love and watch the magic happen!

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On Giving Thanks And Praying

I am thankful that Obama won. I would not have much hope if he were not the one sitting in the white house for the next four years. In my heart I know that he is the change this country so desperately needs.

I am thankful that I live in a state where I can finally marry my partner of thirteen years. I pray for a day when minorities no longer have to fight to have the same rights as everybody else. I pray for a day when voting on other peoples rights is no longer an option. I pray that someday we will all be considered equal.

I am thankful for the friendship we had with our dear friend Tisha who bravely lost her battle with an illness that took her from us way to soon. If there is one thing I have learned from losing somebody so close, it is to not take our loved ones for granted. It is to appreciate and celebrate and love one another each and everyday that we get to be together.

Tish and I appreciated a lot of the same things. Good food, good music, and good shoes were a few of the things we loved to share. We marveled at each other when one of us was sporting a brand new pair of Keens (the shoe of choice for both of us) or when we found an amazing recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking Magazine. One time I remember complaining to her about my dull knifes and the next time she came to my house she brought me my very own steel. That steel has now become priceless to me, and I will never sharpen my knifes again without thinking of her.

She would often refer to me as Sarah Martha, telling everyone Martha Stewart had nothing on me. She was one of my inspirations for writing this blog, always reminding me that its been a while since my last post and didn't I think I should do something about that. In fact, she is the reason my last post is marked September 22 nd. I just couldn't find it in myself, until now, to write about my love of food when I could no longer share it with my friend.

These last few months have been full of highs and lows, ups and downs. Its amazing how life can give and take, yet still leave you feeling thankful for it all.

Here is a recipe I wanted to share just in time for Thanksgiving. Its a wonderful excuse to sit down with those you love and let them know just how much you are truly greatful that they are in your life.

Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake

from Baking: From My Home to Yours,

by Dorie Greenspan

For the Crust:

30 gingersnaps (or a scant 2 cups graham cracker crumbs)

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

For the Apples:

1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter

3 large Golden Delicious or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths

2 tbsp (packed) light brown sugar

For the Filling:

1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

6 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp apple cider

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

To Make the Crust:

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan. Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and whirl until you have crumbs; you should have a scant 2 cups. (If you are using graham cracker crumbs, just put them in the food processor.) Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, if you're using it, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Turn the crumbs into the spring form pan and, using your fingertips, firmly press them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan as far as they'll go. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Remove the pan from the freezer and wrap the bottom tightly in aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and lightly browned. Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the apples and the filling. Leave the oven at 350 degrees F.

To Make the Apples:

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices and cook, turning once, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so. Scrape the apples onto a plate, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

Getting Ready to Bake:

Have a roasting pan large enough to hold the spring form pan at hand. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

To Make the Filling:

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes. Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Finally, beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust. Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top. Place the spring form pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the spring form pan.Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 to 45 minutes , covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark. The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except, possibly, in the very center--if the center shimmies, that's just fine. Gently transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight would be better.Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan's latch and release and remove the sides.

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My Search Is Over...

For those of you who have read this blog from the beginning you know one of the things I have been trying to find is the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Dare I say, I think I have found it.

If you are a food blogger I'm sure you have seen the amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe from the New York Times. There has been so much buzz about this cookie recipe in the blog world I knew I had to try it (and share it with all of my non-food blogging friends).

There are a few tricks to making the perfect chocolate chip cookie. First you must make the dough about 36 hours before you are going to eat them. I know this sounds ridiculous. But by letting the cookie dough hang out in the fridge for a few days it actually develops a wonderful rich flavor that is missing in a more traditional chocolate chip cookie.

Secondly, this recipe calls for over a pound of good quality bittersweet chocolate. We are not talking chips here. I used Callebaut bittersweet that they sell in large chunks at my local grocery store and it tasted divine, well worth the extra cost.

Third, the recipe says to use 3 1/2 oz. of dough per cookie. This makes a very substantial cookie. I ended up making mine only 3 oz each and it seemed to be plenty. Making larger size cookies creates that desirable contrast between a crispy outside and a soft a chewy inside. Cookie heaven if you ask me.

And the last trick to divine chocolate chip cookies is a tiny sprinkle of sea salt right on top of those chocolaty mounds right before they go in the oven. Salty and sweet, what can be better than that?

Intrigued? Wanna give these a shot yourself? You can find the recipe here. Trust me, you will be glad you actually let that dough stay in the fridge longer than you thought was humanly possible. And besides, I never said you couldn't "test" the dough every now and then. Cookie dough, its a good thing.

Oh, and I almost forgot. These cookies are best eaten still warm (although they tasted pretty good at room temp. too), so I just baked them as we were going to eat them. The dough can hang out in the fridge for up to 72 hrs. But don't worry, I don't think it will last that long. And make sure you have plenty of milk to go with them. Enjoy!

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Its Worth The Drive...

These amazingly fresh, still warm donuts can be found here. Trust me, its worth the trip!

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