Friday, January 31, 2014

a birthday brunch . . . grey and linen



February is birthday month in our home!

We celebrate 3 of our 4 children's birthdays through the month, and then late March ends the birthday marathon with our youngest son's special day. I already have special plans for each of their birthdays.

Our oldest son, Nick, is turning 20 next week! Whoa!

He is an amazing young man, truly. And I want to show him how much we love and appreciate him with a birthday brunch this year . . . surrounded by his closest friends and family, love & happy wishes, his favorite breakfast foods, and his favorite cake of all time . . . Tiramisu.

Here's a peak at what I have planned . . .





our menu
.     .     .     .     .

roasted sausages
Sawmill gravy
home-made Southern biscuits
fresh crumb donuts
fresh strawberries
a grapefruit bar

Tiramisu Cake









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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

sauteed cauliflower with caramelized shallots and turmeric



I love vegetables. Love. Love. Love. 

I wish my family embraced them like I do. I think I'll keep serving them dishes like the one featured in this post, or this one here, or here, or here, and maybe they'll soon fall madly in love like me. It's worth a shot, right!?

It wasn't until I discovered roasting and sauteing . . . that vegetables went from ordinary (and eating them for 'good nutrition' value only) to extraordinary (eating them because they're delicious, with the 'good nutrition' factor being an after thought).   




Let's talk cauliflower . . .

Cauliflower is a blank canvas just waiting to be introduced to flavors that it can marry, so I thought I would experiment with it . . . and came up with a simple and delicious dish adding shallots, turmeric, and fresh herbs.

Turmeric is known to be spicy (like ginger, spicy), so I added shallots to this recipe to balance the flavors. The two create a nice balance of spicy (turmeric) and sweet (caramelized shallots) . . . and the fresh herbs brighten the whole dish.  The cauliflower shows to be the perfect base for this pairing, as it turns a bright yellow as the turmeric heats in the pan.

This "side" dish can stand alone, or be served alongside a meat, like chicken. I think it would even taste wonderful tossed with whole wheat couscous.

Anyway you serve it . . . I hope you enjoy!




Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, sliced 
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 shallots, finely chopped
Kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 Tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped


If you have this Olive Oil, then I highly recommend using it.
It gives this dish a mild garlic flavor. Yum!
If you don't have this olive oil, and like garlic, then add 1 minced garlic clove 
in the last 2 minutes of sauteing this dish.



Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Blanch the cauliflower in salted boiling water until crisp but tender, 2 to 3 minutes. 
The salt will impart flavor as well as help keep the cauliflower crisp. Immediately drain and run cold water over the cauliflower or plunge into an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process, then remove and gently dry.
Place a large saute pan over medium heat and melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the drained cauliflower with the shallots and add salt and pepper to taste. 
Sprinkle turmeric over the cauliflower, gently stir to coat.
The cauliflower will turn a stunning bright yellow as you heat the turmeric.
Cook to heat the cauliflower completely through, 2 to 3 minutes, or until cauliflower florets have slightly caramelized.
Remove from the heat and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. 
Toss with the chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley and transfer to a serving dish.










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Monday, January 27, 2014

strawberry vanilla bean jam . . . remembering my dad



We had our Annual Family Dinner over the weekend. 

My family gathers every year to celebrate and remember my dad. We enjoy a big dinner together at Buca di Beppos, and share memories, eat and laugh, and laugh and eat . . . and enjoy one another's company. There are only a few times a year when we ALL get together, and this is one of those occasions.

One of the ways I celebrate/remember my dad is by sharing a piece of him that I fondly remember. Last year I brought everyone a mini angel food cake. It was his favorite cake! And the year before, I brought everyone home-made divinity candy . . . his favorite candy.

This year marks 8 years since he returned Home; so  needless to say, I've prepared many things over the years, from desserts to CDs to 'fun bags' that were all intended to stir happy and loving memories of our Dad.




If you knew my dad well, then you knew how much he loved anything STRAWBERRY!  He loved strawberry shakes, strawberry jam, strawberry & rhubarb pies, strawberry syrups, fresh strawberries, strawberry ice cream, and Sees strawberry cream candies.




I felt inspired to make home-made strawberry jam in honor of him this year.  And because of how my brain naturally works, I couldn't resist adding a twist to the traditional strawberry jam recipe.

          I added vanilla!  The resulting jam is enhanced with subtle yet distinct vanilla overtones.




I think my dad would've been proud of my canning accomplishment . . . and he would've loved this traditional strawberry jam, with a vanilla twist.

                       We miss you, Dad. 





Ingredients
5 cups mashed strawberries, hulled and sliced
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
7 cups granulated sugar
( holy cow! That's a lot of sugar! )
1/2 vanilla bean, split

Preparation
Being a canning novice, I highly recommend this link.
It provides an easy-to-follow pictorial on how to make the jam, step by step.
I chose not to use Pectin, because I remember my dad sharing with me that his mother (my grandma) didn't add it to her jam recipes.
And this link provides an easy to follow pictorial, step by step, on how to sterilize your jars.





Strawberry Vanilla Bean Jam
Add half a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise, to the crushed strawberries.
Cook as directed, and remove vanilla bean before ladling jam into jars.





I studied the tutorial link I shared with you above a few times before attempting to make the jam. 

For years, I thought that canning was going to be too difficult to try . . . but it's not. It's quite enjoyable . . . and I love that canning possibilities and combinations are endless. Our oldest daughter, Charley, and I are huge fans of blackberries . . . so that will be our next canning adventure. Until then . . . 






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I love reading your comments and appreciate them so much!






Friday, January 24, 2014

baby's breath & apple tea . . . a quiet Friday morning



It's rare when I have a quiet morning without loud, playful little ones and loads of errands to run.

This morning was a little different with our youngest daughter not feeling well and sleeping in until nearly 10 o'clock, our youngest son peacefully playing with Play-dough, and our oldest daughter at school for a few hours . . . so with the little ones all busy with one thing or another, I found quiet time . . . and it was so nice.

Quiet time to count my blessings, read a few of my favorite inspirational books . . . and enjoy a cup of the most amazing apple tea in the pretty white china that my mom passed down to me when I got married

I struggled with taking advantage of the quiet time. It felt like I should have been making phone calls, paying bills, and cleaning the house . . . but instead, I chose to breathe in the quiet and walk the road less traveled . . . and I'm so happy that I did. 

So often, it's quiet time that rejuvenates our soul. 














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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

blue hydrangeas & lemon cypress . . .



I'm celebrating January with warm wood tones, cool grays & creams, and fresh flowers that remind me of Winter.




I love hydrangeas. They're in my home almost year round; and when I saw these icy blue ones, I thought they would pair beautifully with my lemon cypress . . . and I couldn't be happier when I see them on our dining room table, especially in the afternoon light. 

     So often it's the simple things that are the most extraordinary things.













This post is dedicated to my best friend, Alex.
Happy Birthday, dear friend!





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