It's Raining and Pouring

It's been raining it's patooty off today. We've had a tornado watch all morning which has left me both anxious and wanting to watch Twister. But, since I'm anxious, I'm thinking that watching Twister is not a good idea. At least not until the tornado watch expires.

I wish I could explain the intense sound of rain pounding down on our roof. The barn has a tin roof and it sounds like the apocalypse is happening outside.


Dear barn,
Please don't fly away in the storm.

Pesto Presto

It's really nice having big, lovely basil plants on the farm. When I'm lacking creativity in planning dinner, I can just run down the hill and grab some basil to make pesto with. I always have a sleeve of garlic, pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, olive oil, and whole wheat spaghetti pasta on hand- so it's nice and easy to whip up. Sometimes I add pancetta or chicken to it as well.

This is my favorite recipe for pesto, but it can be done so many ways. You can use parsley and basil, as this recipe suggests, or you can use just one or the other or make a mint pesto. I know a lot of people add pine nuts to their pesto as well.

I make my pesto with a food processor. I've seen some people make it with a mortar and pestle which is pretty neat.

Parsley and Basil Pesto Recipe
Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup parsley sprigs
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup parmesan or pecorino romano cheese (like parmesan but a little sweeter)
• 2/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Place basil, parsley, and garlic in food processor
2. Add salt, pepper, and cheese
3. Blend until fully incorporated (about 1 minute)
4. Stop and scrape the bowl (the ingredients usually need to be scraped down a few times until the oil is added)
5. Turn processor on as you gradually add the olive oil in a slow and steady stream
6. Mix until fully incorporated

This recipe makes about 2 cups of pesto

I Scream

I really love ice cream. Like, REALLY love it.

Right now in our tiny freezer we have chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate peanut butter cup, and caramel delight ice cream. We're always stocked up on ice cream so that we can have a little ice cream night cap each night as we cuddle up on the couch before bed.

When it came time for last night's ice cream, I got really excited as I remembered that I bought some ice cream cones a few months ago. I dug them out of the pantry and made the perfect little serving size of caramel delight. Yumm.

 

It just makes it feel so much more special than eating it out of a bowl.

Cornbread

Remember that chicken corn chili I posted about a few weeks ago? I've been daydreaming about the cornbread that accompanied it. Sweet, soft, yummy cornbread.

So I decided to feed my craving and make some more for dinner this week. Since today is a gross, gloomy, rainy sort of day we decided to have chili again as well.

I love the color too; all bright and yellow. They're really cute when you make them into muffins.



Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Spray baking pan (I use a 7x11; you could use an 8 in square pan or a cupcake pan)
3. Melt butter and allow to cool slightly (if you leave the butter hot it can scramble your eggs)
4. Mix together melted butter and sugar
5. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each
6. Combine buttermilk and baking soda then mix into butter/sugar/egg mixture.
7. Mix in flour, cornmeal, and salt until well blended without any lumps
8. Pour batter into prepared pan
9. Bake for 30-40 minutes

Sloppy Joes

I've been feeling a little under the weather the last couple of days, which always seems to bring on cravings for comfort food. Oddly enough, today I started craving something I never thought I would- Sloppy Joes. The name is enough to make me think that I wouldn't like this dish. But I saw a recipe earlier today posted on Design Sponge about Sloppy Joes and it hit me instantly. This warm, messy dish just seemed so appetizing all of a sudden. I followed the recipe just as they explained, except I added some chili powder. Next time I'd add a little less brown sugar. It was really sweet.

But, it was just the comfort I needed.

Chicken Pot Pie

I love meals that are homemade, but easy to make. It's always nice to have a few easy to throw together meals aside from boxed macaroni and cheese and hot dogs.

A few months ago I decided that I wanted to make chicken pot pie from scratch. I searched around online and found a Paula Deen recipe called "Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie". I changed just a few things, based on personal taste, and it was awesome and easy to make. We always have all of the ingredients, except for the chicken, in the house so I can make this recipe without having to make a big shopping trip. The first time I made it, I used two small dishes so that Lucas and I could have individual servings, which was nice. But a single casserole means less dishes and more sharing :]

Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cup instant biscuit mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter (half a stick), melted
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• Salt and pepper, if desired
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots (I used a vegetable peeler to make slices)
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Cook pre-cut chicken
3. Layer chicken, peas, and carrots in the bottom of either a 2 quart casserole or two 1 quart casserole dishes
4. Mix together broth, cream of chicken soup, and salt and pepper (if desired) in a medium mixing bowl
5. Pour broth and soup mixture over the layers of chicken, peas, and carrots
6. Stir together biscuit mix and milk in a small mixing bowl
7. Pour biscuit mix over top of casserole
8. Pour melted butter over top of biscuit mix
9. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown

This dish would be really good with other veggies too like broccoli or diced potatoes. You could also add herbs or garlic to it for a little more oomph.

Sunflowers

Here in Maryland, there are many farmers that plant entire fields full of beautiful sunflowers which pop up in the beginning of September. They're a pleasant surprise and are oh so nice to drive by each day. It's a nice little "good bye" to summer and "hello" to fall.

We live out in the sticks where there are many sunflower fields surrounding us. We see them when we travel north and when we travel south. For most of the month there are cars all along the road belonging to photographers and other people who are simply there to admire the flowers.

We went to visit the sunflowers and take pictures on Saturday as the beginning of our "half-year anniversary" celebration. Unfortunately, most of the sunflowers were sad and droopy. We did get plenty pictures of these little guys though:

 

 

They look like they really want to be big sunflowers like the rest. I think they're sweet.


This is my handsome husband being Mr. Photographer:

And this is my Mr. Photographer's handy work:

Tea Party

For my friend Laurie's birthday, we had a lovely little tea party. We sipped tea out of little china tea cups and ate some delicious treats that were all set on a lovely old linen tablecloth. It felt fancy and we all agreed that the tea tasted better out of those little tea cups.


I saw a recipe a few months ago for a triple layered pink lemonade cake and had been searching for a reason to make it ever since- the tea party seemed like the perfect occasion. I decided to make cupcakes instead of a layered cake, partly because our tiny little oven wouldn't allow me to bake more than one layer at a time, and partly because I liked the idea of the girls being able to just pick up their own individual serving in the form of a cute little cupcake.

They were the smoothest, moistest, prettiest cupcakes I ever made. They had a nice pink tint to them and were topped with an equally delicious lemon buttercream.

I highly recommend you make them too :]

Here is the original Pink Lemonade Cake recipe. You can simply cut the recipe in half to make them into cupcakes (makes 12). You could also leave the recipe as is and make 24 yummy cupcakes!


Also, I didn't use the buttercream from the original recipe, but made this version instead:

Lemon Buttercream Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick) 
• 1/4 cup Crisco/vegetable shortening
•  2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 teaspoons lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. With a mixer, cream butter and Crisco together.
2. Gradually add in confectioners' sugar until fully incorporated.
3. Mix in vanilla and lemon extract.

Fries 101

Yesterday we talked burgers, today we're talking fries.

Fries and burgers are a perfect pair. Unfortunately, the fries you get at fast food restaurants are usually soaked in grease and not really something you're likely to make at home. But, there is a healthier, fresher way to make fries.

Making fries at home is really simple. All you really need is a potato and a knife. You can cut your potato into wedges for more of a steak fry, or make slim fries. You also have the option of leaving the skin on or peeling it off.

To give your fries some crispiness, olive oil does the trick, plus you can use so many different spices to give your fries a little flavor. For my fries, I like using garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper (about a teaspoon of each). But, just salt and pepper alone can make yummy fries. Simply sprinkle the olive oil and spices over the cut potato fries and mix with your hands to evenly coat. Be careful not to add too much olive oil though or they'll get soggy. Unless, of course, you like soggy fries. I use about 1 1/2 tablespoons.

When you bake them, they should all be placed flat on the baking sheet so that they all get cooked evenly. Bake the fries at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. The cooking time will depend on how thick your fries are. The ones pictured above took just 30 minutes.

Instead of regular potatoes, you could substitute sweet potatoes and make sweet potato fries. They'd be really good with melted cheese on top too!

Burgers 101

A couple of months ago we hosted a game of flashlight tag at the farm. Yes, I said flashlight tag, and it's still just as fun as when we were kids. Except, I'm a lot slower now. It was a really fun time and a really good excuse for me to make cook out food.

I had recently learned everything I'd want to know about hamburgers in the book Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook! and was excited to put my new knowledge into practice.

A lot of people use ground round beef, as that is what is most commonly packaged in grocery stories. Everyone differs in their preference of cut, but it seems that ground chuck is most preferred by cooks. It has a fat content of 20%, which makes very juicy burgers. To be honest, I usually use ground turkey when I'm cooking for my husband and I and beef for everyone else. Ground turkey just feels lighter and healthier, though it's not for everyone.

When I make burgers I usually add paprika, Worcestershire sauce, garlic or onion powder, and salt and pepper to the meat. For turkey burgers, it's also a good idea to add in bread crumbs and some olive oil to give moisture and hold the burgers together well. You can make a 2 inch burger as your tester to see if you need to increase your sauce or spices. When mixing together the meat and ingredients and when making the patties, make sure you don't over work the meat. Too much heat from your hands can remove the fat from the beef that gives it it's juiciness. After you make your patty, it's good to make a little dent in the center with your thumb to help the burger to cook fairly flat instead of puffing up into a ball. Also, try to to resist pushing the burgers down to make them cook quicker on the grill- this will squeeze out all those yummy juices.

Tomorrow we'll talk fries :]

Voting Day

Is it silly that I'm really excited about my first time voting as a Mrs.? Every first in our marriage, even something as mundane as voting together, is exciting to me.

Chicken Corn Chili

As a direct result of the colder weather moving in, my slow cooker will be making a regular appearance in my kitchen. It's time for stews, soups, and chili.

To be honest, chili never appealed to me much before, until I saw an episode of Giada at Home where she made some delicious looking chicken and corn chili. After I had Lucas look at the recipe, he was craving chili, but not exactly the way that Giada had prepared it. We looked through a few different chili recipes and picked out the ingredients that we liked best and I created my own version of chicken corn chili for dinner tonight.

It turned out to be really delicious, especially with a side of homemade cornbread. I'm happy to say that I am now a big fan of chili.

Chicken and Corn Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 (16 oz) jar of salsa
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chili peppers
• 2 diced garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 cups frozen corn
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans

Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients except for beans and corn in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6-8hrs. 
3. 30 minutes before the end of cooking, add corn and beans to the chili

(To add more heat, you could add red pepper flakes or increase the amount of chili powder)

Scrap

Meet Scrappy.

Scrappy was originally my husband's dog, now she's kind of the family dog, and definitely his mom's baby.

My brother-in-law usually takes care of her during the day and has left me in charge of Scrappy-duty while he's house-sitting for the week.

We've been enjoying some nice walks and picking flowers together.

When the Bee Stings

I'm currently wearing a frumpy sweater while sipping tea, and enjoying the cool breeze coming in through the windows, as I watch Julie Andrews on The Martha Stewart Show. It's quite a pleasant morning.

Martha asked her guest what some of her favorite things are (fitting, no?). Her list did not consist of brown paper packages tied up with strings or whiskers on kittens, but rather her grandchildren, husband, garden, and dog.

I now sit here thinking about my own favorite things from the simplest pleasures such as hand-picked flowers, warm socks, and hand written letters to the bigger things like my husband, home, and family. I have so much to be thankful for, so much that I adore. Life is filled with tiny little joys that add up to a truly joyful life.

Amatriciana

I'm in love with Italian food. I love the flavors, the cooking style, and the tradition.

I have Giada De Laurentiis' cooking shows Giada at Home and Everyday Italian on my daily DVR recording schedule. My favorite episodes are the ones where she has her Aunt Raffy on, who is from Italy. Her and Giada make traditional dishes and Raffy spends the whole time telling Giada that she's not doing it right. It seems that there is a right way to make a traditional Italian dish, and any minor change makes it the wrong way. It makes me wonder what the Italians think of our jarred pasta sauces that many people refer to as "spaghetti sauce", even though the ingredients in these jars aren't all identical. One of my favorite dishes that Giada and Raffy made was Amatriciana with meatballs. Traditionally, Amatriciana isn't made with meatballs (as Raffy made known to Giada). But, I welcome the addition. This recipe seems basically to be what we Americans call "spaghetti". It actually uses bucatini noodles but I use spaghetti since I always have it in my pantry. Whatever pasta you use, it's the ingredients and cooking style of the sauce that makes it Amatriciana.

Bucatini All'Amatriciana Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

(NOTE: this recipe makes a LOT of food. I cut it in half when I make it for Lucas and me. We still have plenty of leftovers afterward. I also use ground turkey instead of beef and veal for the meatballs) 

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 ounces pancetta, diced
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano

Meatballs:

• 1 small (6-ounce) onion, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/4 cup
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup
• 1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 8 ounces ground veal
• 2 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 (1/2-inch) cubes
• 1 pound bucatini or other long pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti)

Directions:

For the sauce: In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and reserve. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and the cooked pancetta. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

For the meatballs: Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and veal. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. 

Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the meatballs and sauce. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and Parmesan. 

This recipe can also be found here on the Food Network's website.

Labor Day Cookout

Happy Labor Day, friends.

Lucas and I went over my parents' house today for a little family cookout. I was excited to have an opportunity to make some pasta salad (with fresh tomatoes from here at Pohickery Farm!), burgers, and cookies. We've been getting our beef from a local farmer who is at the Farmer's Market on Tuesdays. It's neat knowing where our meat is coming from, what kind of cows provided the meat, how they were fed, and support the local farmers who provide the meat.

I made pasta salad for the first time a couple months ago. When searching for a recipe for pasta salad, I stumbled upon this article, Five Steps to Perfect Pasta Salad. It's a really nice, simple outline of how to make pasta salad using your favorite ingredients. These steps include pasta, key ingredients, intense flavors, onions & herbs, and dressing. The article includes a link to a recipe for dressing, but simple zesty italian dressing from the grocery store works just fine, as does balsamic vinaigrette. However, balsamic vinaigrette tends to brown your salad and make it less pretty looking. After trying many different combinations of ingredients, I settled on rotelle and penne pasta with yellow peppers, celery, red onion, feta or peccorino romano cheese, basil, and grape tomatoes as my go-to pasta. One of the main reasons I like this combination is because of how colorful it ends up being. You can also do pasta salad in different themes like Italian (sun-dried tomatoes & Italian sausage), Asian (sesame seeds & citrus zest), or Greek (feta cheese & olives).

You can just have fun with it and make it fit whoever you're serving it to!

Wedding Gift

On the day of our wedding, I walked into our soon to be home to be greeted by my bridesmaids. We said our hellos and they requested a tour of our tiny little barn apartment. As I walked them through the doorway of our bedroom, I spotted a small jewelry box on the dresser with a little card next to it that said "Starrs". The card also featured the little cross stitch daisies we had put on our wedding invitations.

I blushed as the girls urged me to read the card aloud and open the box. The card simply quoted "Here we are in heaven, for you are mine at last", from the song "At Last" by Etta James. I soon discovered that there was something even more special about this jewelry box- it had a music box that played "At Last". It was the perfect gift; a perfect little surprise so sweetly thought out by my darling fiance.

I'm so happy to now know him as my husband, who is still just as sweet and thoughtful as ever, and to have my sweet little wooden jewelry box to remind me of how lucky I am.

Photo by Heather Vaught of Steadfast Media (http://steadfastmedia.net)

Changing Seasons

The few days we had of colder weather kicked me into full on Fall mode. I'm packing up my summer clothing and bringing out my sweaters. I perused Target's website looking for their new line of cardigans, then promptly bought them in various colors. I'm now on the search for the perfect fall boots.

Changing seasons always seem to prompt my urge to clean, throw things out, and reorganize. My projects for the next couple of weeks include making new curtains for our living room window, finding a better way to organize our clothing in the bedroom, creating an office space in the bedroom, planting my Fall seeds, and prettying up the bathroom. Maybe it's Autumn, but I have the desire to make our home feel more warm and inviting. Stay tuned. Pictures of these projects are sure to come.

Preparing

Unified Underground , a conference held by Hope for the Rejected (the ministry Lucas and I volunteer for), is only a few weeks away.

Lucas and I are teaching a seminar this year and I could not be more excited. Or nervous. I've spoken before in front of groups of people. I've given presentations when I worked for the library. I've given presentations in front of classrooms as a student. I've read books in crazy voices to a classroom full of restless three and four year-old preschoolers as well as first and second graders. But, I've never felt much confidence in myself in terms of "teaching" my friends. I know it'll be fine though because it won't just be me speaking, it'll be the Lord. Thank God... Literally. I've been trying to push my boundaries lately, to be more open and available to love and help people. This is one of those areas where I need to just go for it and trust that God will use me.

Our seminar is about godly relationships; a topic that has been a huge part of our lives. We're really excited to share with others what amazing things the Lord has done in our lives and all that we've learned in the past two years in time of singleness, dating, and marriage. I'm so thankful for this journey of finding ourselves and each other. The times of brokenness, renewal, and discovery have all been so equally beautiful and vitally important to our relationship.

It's really something I should think about more often. I have so much to be thankful for. God has been such an active facilitator in this amazing love story of ours. We've also had the pleasure of seeing him do the same for several of our friends in the last few months. Lucas once noted the fact that many of our friends (including us) came to Christ in the same year. Now, many of those same friends are entering marriage in the same year. We've been able to learn from and teach one another. Our community is growing right before our eyes. It's such a beautiful thing.