Saturday, August 28, 2010

Shout out to my first commenter!

Saturday, August 28th  10:12pm  PST

Dear Sandy,

Just wanted it to be noted (a few days/weeks) late that you are my first commenter.  In honor of your comments you receive a photo of....more bread.

Focaccia

If I could send this all the way from my side of the United States yours and it still be piping hot with olive oil pooling in the craters, I would.  

Love,
Susan 

Sunday, August 15, 2010

If it is the weekend, then I must be making Scones

I made scones almost every Saturday or Sunday.  Fairly easy to make and with variations can make the whole family happy.  But...I only make them if I have blueberries in the house as I fill mine with blueberries.  Why not?  Because I'm the CEO of my kitchen I'm in charge of what is put on the table.  I love it!
Nutella filled scone
First up the Nutella filled scone.  These are for the boys.  Don't get me wrong, I love Nutella but they are just to sweet for me in the morning.

Chocolate Chip scone
Ick.  My husband loves these.  Chocolate chips go in chocolate chip cookies or hot chocolate or chocolate ganache, but not in scones.

Blueberry Scone
This is my baby.  A scone filled to the brim with blueberries and of course I serve it to myself on a pretty plate.

Have a happy Sunday!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Vegetables have taken over my sewing table!

Veggies have taken over my sewing table!


Yes, that is my sewing table.  It used to be the kitchen table, reading the paper table, eating all meals table, opening the mail table, doing your homework table, etc.  But this summer it has been my sewing table. Since we have returned from our vacation this table has been taken over by all the vegetables I have picked from my two (2) tomato plants in my backyard and the six (6) {what was I thinking?} tomato plants at my garden plot.  Oh, and the jalapeƱo pepper, zucchini, summer squash and eggplant. Almost forgot to add the Onions which were not ready for this photo.  

Garden plot you say?  Yes, I have a 20 x 30 garden plot in a local community garden and I love it.  All that you see above came from my plot.  I've had a larger garden in my backyard for years but after adding on a few years back, my available space with full sunlight all day was severely diminished.  I obtained my garden plot three years ago and  learn something new every season about what I like and do not like to grow.  Love all summer vegetables but hate grasshoppers. Winter vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower are a wonder to grow and taste amazing - nothing like what you can get in the store.  

Wondering what I do with all of those tomatoes?  

Freshly canned San Marzano tomatoes


Thirteen quarts canned as of today.  I went to my garden yesterday and picked five plastic grocery bags worth of various kind of tomatoes.  My fingernails are going to be pink for a week!  






Thursday, August 12, 2010

Olive oil sputtering on fresh hot bread

Olive Oil Bread

Zucchini Bread

We love bread in this house...especially fresh bread.  Depending upon what I make for dinner, I bake bread 3-4 nights a week.  Focaccia is my go to bread - 1 1/2 hour in the bread maker and then 30 minutes on the counter rising and about 20 minutes in the oven is all it takes.  I'll admit that it is a thrill to pull focaccia out of the oven while the olive oil is still sputtering. cut it up and pop a piece in my mouth.  As the smell permeates the house the troops file into the kitchen to get their "before dinner" piece.  

Olive Oil bread is my favorite but it takes a bit more time and as I hate wasting food, need to plan it right so that the day old bread can be used for sandwiches, toast, etc.  My neighbors and friends think I am "Martha Stewart" but I'm really not, I just follow directions very well and plan ahead. 

A good bread maker is my secret because it does all the work for me.  Combining, kneading and rising.  All I do is fill it up with ingredients and then take out the finished dough.  I never use my bread maker to actually bake the bread as not only does the bread come out in a strange shape that is not easy to use but the crust is usually too hard. Not to mention the strange cutout in the center where the dough hook is.  I should call my bread maker a dough maker.  

All this talk about bread has just helped me decide what to make for dinner:  focaccia and some of the beauties that you see below.  



Ciao!  




Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Current Quilt in Progress

Spring Time Quilt

This is my first official quilt top.  I used the Spring Time Recipe by Cherri House @ the Moda Bake Shop website. You can go here to check it out:  http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/04/welcome-spring.html  I used Kona White and a Nature's Notebook by April Cornell Jelly Roll.  I finally bought backing yesterday and plan to start quilting very soon.  

My son was holding up the quilt top for me and there was so much wind in the air that a few seconds later it had whipped up over his head!  

The instructions listed in the recipe were excellent and I am very happy with the results.  I'm off to iron the backing and get quilting!  

Hot Fudge Sundae @ 11am




What could be better than a Hot Fudge Sundae for lunch? The family and I spent a whirlwind week touring Yosemite National Park, Napa and Sonoma Valleys, SF, Paso Robles, SLO and the Santa Ynez Valley. The husband and I discovered and brought home copious amounts of wine but one of the best memories was having Hot Fudge Sundae's at 11:00 in the morning! Only on vacation. The photo to the right is a Gold Rush Hot Fudge Sundae that I enjoyed at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, CA. Not only was mine filled with glorious hot fudge, but also peanut butter! I just love the two together.

As the only female in a house of three boys/men, driving past a quilt store made me sequel with glee while in Sonoma, CA. They obliged my need and I spent about 30 minutes in Broadway Quilts which was a lovely shop not only because of the amount of wonderful fabric inside but because the store itself was very well laid out inside. Plenty of light, room to move around and view the amazing quilts on all of the walls. Check them out at www.broadwayquilts.com

Up on the left (still trying to figure out how to add photos to Blogger) is the Tri-Tip Sandwich from Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo, CA. My husband and older son are just mad about these. Whenever we are within 100 miles of SLO we coordinate our trip to some by here either for lunch or dinner. My younger son always has a burger but I like to vacillate between the salads and burgers. This place is always busy but always churns out their delicious food fairly fast.

More later with food from our whirlwind trip around CA.