SP Etsy Shop

There is now a live link to the Sweet Pohickery Etsy Shop as well as a link to email me under the Shop SP tab on the blog. Just click on the blue web address to get to my store or the blue email address to email me. Thankss!

 

And thank you to my smartypants husband for his techy help.

Ye Olde SP Shoppe

As promised, the Sweet Pohickery Etsy Shop is up and running. Like I said, I'm starting small and will be adding more in the weeks to come. As of right now, there are just a couple of prints up for sale, which can be sent by email or snail mail, as well as canned apple sauce (which has already gotten the seal of approval from my husband and parents; that counts for something, right?). The apple sauce is sweet, just like everything I make, and as someone who's not usually a fan of applesauce I gotta say- it's mighty fine.

Look forward to various jams, hand towels, aprons, cupcake decorations and more soon! I'll post here in the ol' blog whenever a new item is added to the store. And again, please let me know if you have any baking needs! My information is under the "SP Shop" tab of the Sweet Pohickery blog.



PS: Today Lucas and I took engagement pictures in Baltimore of my dear friend, Laurie, and her fiance, Sean. I'm really excited about them and will be posting about the experience sometime next week!

Random Baking Tips

 When I first started baking many years ago, I was a mess of a baker. Literally. I made a huge mess. Lucas would argue that I still am a mess (always getting flour and icing all over myself and the counter tops), but at least now my messes result in some delectable treats. Every cake I made during my rookie years would overflow in the oven and every cookie was burnt to a crisp. I was horrible at icing and even box mixes ended up in failure, let alone recipes from scratch. But, I've come a long way since then and after lots of practice and reading cook books and tips online as well as watching a ridiculous amount of baking shows, I've learned a lot about the science of baking. Not the scary kind of science. The fun, still room to be creative kind. Anyway, I thought I'd share a quick list of baking tips that I've learned throughout the years.

1. 
   

1. Always use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated in the recipe when baking. Every stick of butter differs in how much salt it contains. If you use unsalted butter, you can control the amount of salt you use in a recipe.
2. Unless otherwise noted, a recipe requiring eggs calls for large sized eggs.
3. Unless otherwise noted, all baking ingredients should be room temperature
4. Whenever I am baking a cake (especially bundt cakes), I always butter then flour the pan. This helps the cake to come out easily and also keeps the cake soft and not burnt on the outside.
5. When making a pie crust, don't work the dough too much with your hands. The warmth from your hands will melt the butter in the crust. It's important that the butter stay cold until it starts to bake. The crust will become nice and flaky as the butter melts during the baking process.
6. If a recipe calls for you to pre-bake the crust, use pie weights to keep the crust from shrinking down. You could also use dry beans.
7. When baking cookies, start to babysit them after the minimum baking time. Take them out right when they start to get golden around the edges.
8. When cookies and cupcakes are done baking, take them out immediately and let them cool on a wire cooling rack. If you leave them on the baking sheet/in the cupcake pan they will continue to bake.
9. When making individual cake layers or bundt cakes, leave them to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing them.
10. When baking layered cakes, make sure the amount of batter is exactly equal in each layer. A kitchen scale can help to ensure equal amounts.
11. A little bit of lemon juice or a pinch of salt can really help to bring out flavors.
12. When using nuts in a recipe, toast them first to bring out the flavor more.
13. When cutting a cake, use a serrated knife and wash it with cold water then wipe off clean between each stroke. This will help you to get nice, neat slices.
14. When cutting a pie, cut two slices before pulling one out. For some reason it comes out easier this way.
15. When you are using lemons, roll them with your hand on the cutting board before cutting into it. This releases the juices. 
16. When alternating dry and wet ingredient additions to a batter, always start and end with the dry.
17. When adding eggs, introduce one at a time and mix well before adding the next one.
18. When creaming sugar and butter together, make sure they're thoroughly mixed together and fluffy before adding other ingredients.
19. When you frost a cake or cupcake, use an offset spatula. It's easier and gives a smoother result than a knife or regular spatula.
20. When making whipped cream, add a little honey to keep it from separating.
21. Use an ice cream scoop to pour cupcake batter into the individual cups in the pan. This has made a world of difference for me. It helps to evenly divide the batter and to get nice clean cups.
22. I don't always follow measurements exactly. With things that impact the taste of a dish (ie. chocolate, vanilla extract, honey, etc.), I will eyeball a tablespoon or teaspoon and sometimes add more if I think it would taste better with more of the ingredient. However, for dry ingredients I always follow the recipe to a T. The reason for this is that the amount of flour (and type of flour), baking soda, baking powder, or cornstarch you use greatly effects the outcome of your dish. If you don't follow the recipe, your dish may not rise, or it may rise too much or it may not thicken correctly. Also, it can impact the taste of the dish.

Yellow Cupcakes

My husband's family has a huge gathering for Christmas each year at alternating houses. This year the gathering was at Pohickery Farm, which was really exciting since it was my first Walther family Christmas as an official Walther family member. My job, fittingly, was to make a few desserts. I had planned on doing all of my baking on Saturday (the day before the party), but unfortunately we had a bit of a family emergency to tend to (poor Lucas has an awful eye infection, but it's starting to heal!). So, Saturday night I was up until 2am, watching You've Got Mail ("don't cry, ShopGirl") while baking cupcakes and pie, then woke up early the next day to bake some more. Luckily, I have quite a guy (a real trooper) who volunteered to help me decorate the cupcakes even though he was under-the-weather. He's a great helper. If I were ever to be a contestant on Cupcake Wars, he'd definitely be my assistant.

 
I decided to make a blueberry pie, red velvet cupcakes, and yellow cupcakes for the party. I've made yellow cupcakes before that were pretty rockin'. Unfortunately, I didn't save that recipe and had to find a similar one and then try to tweak it according to my memory. Lucas approved them and that's all I needed to know the recipe was a good one.

 My mother-in-law said that they taste like Berger Cookies and they really do thanks to the fudgey chocolate icing. Most of the pearl sprinkles on the cupcakes were added by Lucas while I tried to throw myself together in time for the party. I think he did a pretty fantastic job.


Yellow Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake tin with paper liners
2. In an electric mixer beat to combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the butter to the dry mixture and mix well
4. Add the egg and mix well
5. Add the two egg yolks, mixing well after each addition (at this point the batter will be thick like cookie dough, but don't worry, it'll be more batter-like by the end!)
6. Add vanilla extract and sour cream and mix well
7. Evenly fill the cupcake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean

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Chocolate Fudge Frosting Recipe:
 Ingredients:

• 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water
2. Set aside chocolate to cool
3. Cream butter in the bowl of a mixer
4. Add powdered sugar to butter and mix well
5. Add vanilla to frosting and mix well
6. Add in melted chocolate and beat until well blended and smooth

It's Time

I've been out of work for about a year now. I started off on medical leave for health issues that didn't allow me to return to work before my allotted time off was up. It's been an interesting journey trying to figure out, essentially, what I want to be when I grow up. I used to think I'd be a librarian, as I had worked in a library from the time I was 14 to the time I was 20 and loved every bit of it. Plus, I'm quiet so everyone thought I just "fit" in a library. But, I realized that wasn't what I was meant to do. Then, since I loved learning about medical issues and advances, I thought about nursing and soon successfully completed the Certified Nursing Assistant program. I said "goodbye" to the library and worked at the local hospital for the next three years while working through my pre-requisites for the nursing program. I was set on being a nurse. I felt passionate about it; I love medicine, I love the way the body works, and I love taking care of people and comforting them. But, at the end of my second year as a Nursing Assistant, I started experiencing health problems that made many day-to-day tasks difficult, especially those at my job. About a year later, I knew I just couldn't do it anymore. It wasn't safe for me or for the patients. So I took leave, got a great doctor, but still wasn't ready to come back weeks later. And I knew in my heart that I wouldn't ever go back. I knew it would be hard to tell others that I wasn't going to be a nurse anymore, but I knew that I wasn't. That I couldn't. And that the plan had changed. For the better.

I've spent the last year at home, learning more about myself and my passions and skills. I won't pretend to know what our future holds, but I know where I'm meant to be in this moment. And I know that one day I will be a stay-at-home mother. I will take care of my home and make it a beautiful, loving place for my husband and children. I will use my hands and my skills to help my family in all the ways that I can. And right now, I'm beginning that journey. I know this is where my heart is and where I am meant to be. It may not sound practical and I know there are many out there that think it financially impossible, but it's not. I firmly believe this is my path, and that God will honor that. I always looked at the Proverbs 31 woman and thought "no woman can live up to that", but I tell you she can. It makes sense to me now. She is a woman who uses her hands to mend and make clothing for her family. She works out in the field to bring in food and profit for her family. She sells her works to bring profit to her family. She cares for her home and for her marriage. These are the things I hope to accomplish. I'm definitely not saying it's wrong for a woman to have a career. Different people are called to different roles in life. I believe I was meant to have my job in medicine to help me to better talk to and love people better and to prove to myself that I could do whatever I put my mind to. But, now I'm called down another road. And it's time to start this new season of my life. It's time to prepare for my future so that I can be able to stay home with our children. It's time to follow my dreams.

That being said, it's time to make the jump. I've spent the past year planning and creating and deciding what I would use as part of my Sweet Pohickery business, but I've been too scared to stop planning and start doing. But, it's time. I'm taking the plunge. The Etsy shop I've had opened since August will finally be up and running this week. I feel like saying it here on the internet gives it power. THIS WEEK. There. Now I can't get out of it. Like I said, I've been battling some health issues that have made things difficult, but I'm ready to push myself. I'm starting with some easier things and will work my way up from there. I will be selling canned goodies, domestic goodies (dishcloths, aprons, etc.), prints, and maybe even some photographs. I'm really excited about all of these things, especially because I absolutely adore making them. Also, Lucas and I are accepting any requests for photography gigs with our company Martyr Media (contact: starr@martyrmedia.com) and I am looking forward to expanding the baking side of things as well (if anyone is interested in baked goods I can be contacted at sweetpohickery@gmail.com). Sweet Pohickery will also be present at craft and baking shows later this year. For some reason, people aren't really into craft and baking shows around here in the winter, I guess since they can't have them outdoors. But, I'm greatly looking forward to all of the post-snow shows. I'm in love with baking, but I need to start baking for other people so that I stop eating it all myself:] I'm working on getting more promotional materials together for Sweet Pohickery as well and will be incorporating some of that into my blog in the next few months.

This blog entry was really scary to write. Things are happening! Big big things. But it's wonderful.

Pesto Paninis

Sometime in the Summer (or was it the spring?) my lovely friend Melissa and her husband went to the Strawberry Festival (which was sadly lacking in strawberries) with Lucas and I at a local church. Our manly men enjoyed the pit beef provided by the church while we ladies waited to eat a lighter meal back home. Melissa is a vegetarian and I was excited about the opportunity to make a veggie counterpart to the pit beef sandwiches. From this exciting opportunity came my pesto paninis which I now love and make often. They're really simplistic, but taste awesome.

To make the paninis, I simply spread about a tablespoon of pesto on one slice of Italian bread then add to that sandwich one slice of a Roma tomato and one slice of mozzarella (folded in half). Next, I place a second slice of Italian bread on top and brush the outsides of each bread slice with olive oil. Finally, I cook the paninis on our George Foreman Grill (because I don't have a schmancy pants panini maker).

 
Lucas recently had the idea of adding strips of bacon to them which works really well with the other flavors in the panini. But they're just as rad without the bacon for all y'all non-meat eaters.

Hasselback Potatoes with Pesto

A few days ago I saw this blog post by Joy the Baker and decided right then and there that I needed to make it for dinner this week. Her post shows step by step how to make this wonderful dish. Basically, you take a baking potato, cut slits in it, stuff slices of garlic in the slits, drizzle olive oil and salt over the potato, place a tablespoon of butter on top, and roast it for one hour in the oven (basting the potatoes every 10 or so minutes). Sound tempting enough? Potatoes, garlic, salt, olive oil, and butter. What more do you need?

She tops her dish with spinach pesto (recipe listed on her blog post), but I just used the basil and parsley pesto I had in our freezer. Easy peasy. The potatoes are good enough on their own, but just a smidge of pesto adds a little sumtin sumtin. Honestly though, mine didn't look very pretty with the pesto. I guess it's what I get for putting the cold icy pesto on top of the super hot potatoes, but it got all melty and runny and looked quite unappealing. But, hey, it still tasted awesome.

Here is a picture of the potato looking pretty, before I ruined it.

Taters and succotash. I never even knew succotash was a type of food until Lucas and I started dating. I always assumed it was just a silly word that the writers of Looney Tunes made up (Sufferin' succotash). Now, I know it as a delicious side dish that I like to drench in melted butter.

I realized after the fact that I didn't make as many slices in my potatoes as Joy did. I think next time I'll be sure to do that to ensure that more of the potato insides get covered in the butter and oil. It'll also allow me to stuff more garlic in there. Mmm. Garlic.

Avalanche

 
This past weekend Lucas and I attended YFC's Avalanche retreat as chaperones. It was a lot of fun though admittedly I was nervous about going. I don't do well with last minute plans, especially with new things that I haven't done before involving people I do not know. But I'm glad we went. I got to share my testimony with a group of teenage girls and tell them what a loving, redeeming God we have and the beautiful love story He wrote for Lucas and I. Listening to them talk reminded me of how hard high school was and how during that time it's hard to think of the bigger picture instead of the seemingly big issues you're dealing with in the moment. It's hard to think that your perfect husband is out there somewhere and you don't have to settle for or hold onto your high school boyfriend for fear of not finding anyone better. It's hard to think that one day that fight you had with your best friend won't matter anymore. It's hard to think that the friends you consider to be as close to you as family may not be existent in your life five years later. I know I've only been out of high school for about seven years (which actually seems dreadfully long to me), but I still forget sometimes just how emotional high school and the experiences kids have there are. I'm excited about working together with Lucas to love these kids the best we can and to help them see the bigger picture. Most of all, I'm excited about the testimony we have and the passion we have for sharing it with others. I want God to use us and our story to help them to not feel alone and to know they're children of God and He wants the best for them.

 

Jewelry Holder Frame

We've been slowly making progress on cleaning out our bedroom and finding more efficient ways of storing things. In order to make more space in my dresser, I moved out all of my jewelry and hair clips and made a jewelry holder to hang on the wall, also saving space on top of the dresser.

I started with this frame which used to be a memo board (I removed the center, added little studs to the corners, and painted it blue):

Lucas stripped a piece of scrap wire so that I could use the white wire for the frame (what a guy):

He also helped me with the next two parts because math makes my brain hurt and a staple gun in my hands would end up hurting someone as well:

(He figured out based on the size of the frame how far each wire should be spaced apart. I would have just winged it.)

I held the wire tightly across the frame as he stapled it down and we just snaked it around:

Then we trimmed the ends of the wire and I hot glued around the staples to make sure they'd stay in place longterm:

The finished product:

Ta-da!

Christmas at Longwood Gardens

The husband and I had a nerdy post-Christmas photography date night last week. It was delightful. We ventured out to Longwood Gardens in PA for their Christmas display. They had several Christmas trees lit up and covered with glass balls and a lot of beautiful, colorful flowers throughout their greenhouses.

Last time we were at Longwood Gardens was on our honeymoon. It was fun this time being able to take pictures with Lucas and being able to pick out shots together instead of just waiting for and watching him while he's taking pictures. I know how to be a good photographer's wife now too by making sure I'm not blocking his light and that nothing, including myself, is casting a shadow over the photo he's trying to snap.

It was nice to extend the Christmas season a little bit. I'm usually sad about packing away the Christmas decorations, but I think I'm ready to move on now. I'm excited about what this new year has in store for us.

2011

Goodbye, 2010. You were a great year.

In 2010 I married my best friend and began my life here at Pohickery Farm. I made my first attempts at photography, gardening and canning and baked to my little heart's content. We traveled down to Florida to watch two of our lovely friends join together in marriage, and ate some amazing southern food along the way. We witnessed some of our dear friends here in Maryland enter into marriage as well. We had many goofy, fun moments and walks around the farm. We've started to see new direction for our life that we're eager to pursue even further in the new year.

So goodbye, 2010. Thank you for being one of the best years of my life.

Hello, 2011. I don't know what you will bring, but I know that I have many reasons to be thankful and rejoice at your very beginning.