A Winner, Dinner & Pine Knolls Shore

We're home for the beach & settling back down. We were at Pine Knoll Shores in NC & it was delightful. The aquarium is right there, the beach is quiet & the Hampton Inn was actually terrific!

At Pine Knoll Shores we recommend:

Amos Mosquito's Restaurant, a little more expensive than we normally do as a family, but it was a great atmosphere & delicious food.

The Shark Shack, a little less formal, but delicious grouper!

NC Aquarium, can't go wrong. The girls loved it--again.

A Coffee Affair--great cup a joe.

Shells as shovels, free & fun.

Fort Macon, what a great historical learning experience!

Here are some pics from the trip:

sand exploration.

freedom.

someone else's gorilla.

fort macon

Leviah takes Fort Macon.

Dinner: Tabouli & Pita Bread from Moosewood. We already made the bulghur based Tabouli twice, if that says anything. It is great & perfect for hot summer days. & the pita was a success as well. Sorry, no pics of these--they were devoured too quickly!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner! Blame the beach... ;)

The winner:

Krishenka said...

Looks like the peacock bag is popular and can see why so lovely. 

Congratulations!

Thanks all for entering! Thank you Gracey May! & everyone--don't forget to shop Gracey May's lovely Etsy shop in the future! (remember, she does custom orders!!)

We Snuck Away...

Can you guess? It's a spur of the moment trip that is being thoroughly enjoyed...

AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET!! (click)

Zucchini Feta Pancakes--Moosewood Challenge #2

Seems like I'm only blogging about food recently! My first savory recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook was quite simple. I'm trying to use the recipes that require locally ready crops, so here's a plan for that excess Zucchini you probably all have! Plus, if you shred & freeze it, this will be great come winter, too.

Pros: Simple & easy ingredients. Feta was probably the most uncommonly found in the average fridge, but yum...feta. Always glad to have it on hand here.

these are hand-whipped whites! whew...

Suggestions/Alterations: Next time I'll hold the feta out & just sprinkle it on top. Also, make sure you eat these buggers hot & that they're crispy--much tastier this way. & I'm not sure they'd stand alone as a main dish. We went anti-moosewood and accompanied with some beef sausages, which was a great pairing--almost brinner like dinner.

Not putting the recipe! Get the book! ;)

& don't forget the giveaway!

A 31st Birthday.

Drew is 31 as of yesterday. We spent the day doing things he likes & enjoying a laid-back day. I have a tendency to go overboard but this year I decided to try his request for a simple celebration--I think he really did have fun, I know I did.
First we had a breakfast of Guilford Mill Yellow Grits, eggs & blueberry chicken sausages & then he opened his gift (a little silly, but he's wanted them for years. It's a 'status' symbol that he got as a joke.)

Then, we visited Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in search of something that might work for a worm bin bathtub, or any other useful items for the property. We scored some adorable vintage books & purchased a little Step 2 play set for the girls (mainly Leviah) entertainment at the property. The tree swing is just a bit much for a 1.5 year old.

Then home for some napping while I whipped up this, per Drew's request:

& back out to the 'homestead' to meet the well guy & discuss placement options. A quick run through the dairy for some ice cream & back home for another nap.

Drew & I went out alone, thanks to my sister, to a restaurant we've wanted to try for some time. A fancy but out of this world meal at Printworks Bistro. Someday we'll getaway at the hotel for a weekend...

Then home for some pie (recipe to follow), which I could barely eat after finishing my meal & partaking in some beignets! It was an indulgent day.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (rough measurement estimates b/c that's how I roll, & not my Aunt Ethel's recipe exactly, I couldn't find it, but thanks to my sweet cousin it WILL be used next time. This pie did turn out quite well, however--so the eaters say):
Pie Crust for one 9" double crusted pie. This is the recipe I always use.
Filling:
1 pint strawberries sliced
2 cups rhubarb sliced
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
3tbsp quick cooking tapioca
1 tsp lemon juice
Mix all the above ingredients together::Place in pie crust & dab with 1-2tbsp butter::Cover with top crust (don't forget slits!):: bake*::slice & serve!

*Bake at 400degrees for about 30 minutes, until it looks a little brown around the edges & filling is bubbling, cool & eat. Brushing the top crust with egg & sprinkling with sugar would have added a little pizazz, but I skipped this step...

Affiliate Shop Giveaway: Gracey May Embroidery

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

I'm so excited to have this giveaway! Penny from Gracey May (note her ad on the right) has the sweetest shop on Etsy & has offered to give away an amazing surprise. Read her 'interview' & enter with some comments!

Where are you from & how did you get there? 

I had a lovely childhood in Hot Springs, AR, spent my adolescent years in Atlanta, GA and my college years in Nashville, TN where I've been ever since.  I LOVE this city and it's become my home.

What were/are the women in your life like? (mother, grandmother, aunts, friends)

I am so blessed to have had wonderful women who were all around me growing up.   As well as a rich history of Great Grandmothers and Aunts whose stories fascinated me as a child.  From my Great, Great Grandmothers, who during the civil war took care of everything while their husbands were away at war, to my Grandma who grew up in the depression and knows how to make use of everything she has. To this day she can make about 10 meals out of one chicken and feeds herself and my Grandad very well on $150 a month.  And finally to my magnificent Mother who is a TRUE southern bell and loved by everyone.  All of these women are part of me and continue to influence me.  I hope to pass down their rich wisdom and history to my two daughters.

Where did you learn embroidery?

My Mother taught me how to cross stitch when I was six years old but it wasn't until I was pregnant with my daughter that I started to embroider.   I came across some vintage patterns and I became obsessed!  I didn't know how to do any stitches so I had my mom teach me everything she knew and then I practiced, practiced, practiced!

Where does your inspiration come from? & what draws you to embroidery & the things you make?

All of the women in my family have done some type of needlework, so I think it's just in my blood!  My Grandma made all of my Mother's clothes growing up and is an expert quilter.  I remember her telling me that hand quilting is the true way to quilt, not using machines!  My other dear Grandmother was always cross stitching and embroidering.  I remember being in her house as a little girl surrounded by her framed cross stitched creations and her embroidered pillows with ruffled edges.   And finally to my Mother who has always cross stitched, embroidered and done candlewicking as well.  When she was first married she would sell her embroidery to shops for extra money, if only Etsy was around back then! 

Embroidery reminds me of my grandmothers and my childhood and I love that!  I'm blessed to have many of my grandmother's framed embroidery she's given me hanging all over my house,  and they are a daily inspiration to me.   I love vintage patterns which is what I mostly embroider, but lately I've been drawn to more random embroidery, things that don't seem to go together.  Like my Steve Holt!, a character from Arrested Development, cross stitch and my framed embroidery with a quote from the movie Say Anything.   I was inspired to make those things after going through my grandmother's old sewing basket she gave me and finding an embroidery that said, "thank you for not smoking" but it was in pretty script with flowers everywhere.  It just looked funny to me because it was such a contrast to typical no smoking signs!  I love that!

What influence do your children have on your creations?  

When I first started embroidering all I did was onsies and clothing for my daughter so that gave me lots of practice to improve my embroidery.  I still love embroidering clothing for my girls, this year I embroidered matching easter dresses with bluebirds and flowers.  I hope to make pieces they love and want to put in their homes, just as I love all of the pieces passed down to me!

The Giveaway: An adorable vintage inspired lunch bag! Do your part & ditch those brown paper bags for this enchanting fruit adorned sack. 

The abundant ways to enter (Comment for EACH entry separately):

1. Visit Gracey May & comment here with your favorite item.
2. Buy something from the shop.
3. Heart the shop.
4. Follow this blog.
5. Announce the Giveaway on Facebook.
6. Announce the Giveaway on Twitter. (link to your twitter account in your comment please)
7. Follow Gracey May on Twitter.

Winner chosen at random (via random.org) on June 29th at 12am. 

**FREE SHIPPING** is being offered to all you lovely readers for the duration of the giveaway--just enter 'TurtlesToStart' as a message to the seller & you'll be refunded!

All I could ask of Penny? To keep a blog to document her crafting for us all! Good idea, right?

A Use for Stale Bread

I love pudding. It's something I've always known I like, but it's more of a love. All sorts, chocolate especially, but from tapioca to banana to flan and creme brulee. Just, yum. I maybe like it more than--get this: ice cream.

I also love great (simple) recipes. & more over, great recipe books that are a delight just to flip through & not on account of their beautiful photography, but on the rustic charm that adorns each page. Simple drawings & hand written directions make ANY recipe one worth taking a second look at. Plus, with no picture there's always the thrill of seeing the final result & the curiosity of knowing whether it has turned out as it should. Obviously I have a cookbook in mind...

Having just re-seen Julie & Julia, I almost feel obligated to commit to this far-less involved & much simpler & more Lacey-style version of cooking in 1 year. Plus, there's got to be like 1/8th as many recipes as Julia Child's anthology...so. I have no more excuses. There will be list making & ingredient having until every last recipe has been tried. Should be good. This book is chock-full of wholesome goodness, down-home style, veggie needing concoctions that will broaden our favorite recipe list--no doubt. So, 1 recipe a week. That's the goal, & a dessert. We'll see--I may up the anty.

The bread-pudding was great. I used fresh blueberries instead of apples or dried fruit & would recommend cooking it until you are positive it is thoroughly cooked. Ours was a bit soggy, but much better with whipped cream (& cold, i'm a cold pudding type) & hot with ice cream would have been a treat... I'm going to share this one, but because I believe EVERYONE should have a copy anyway, just go order it if you want them all (& I think you do).

Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding:

10 minutes to prepare

35 minutes to bake

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

 4 cups coarsely crumbled bread, 3 eggs (large), 3 cups milk, 3tbsp honey, 

2tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, juice from 1/2 lemon

1.5cup freshly grated apple and/or 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (we did blueberries), 

1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Have ready a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. Spread the bread & fruit in the pan.

3. Beat together remaining ingredients. Pour this custard over the bread.

4. Bake about 35 minutes, or until firm but not dry. Serve warm or at room temperature.

& for those interested in the farm life.

Easy as Cake!

Yesterday Naomi & I made a cape together. We're working on several 'sewing' projects together, which generally means she takes scraps & cuts/taps/pins/explains to herself what they are while I get the grunt of the actual project done. I LOVE it. It's a true replication of my childhood.

Anyhow. We made a cape & if your child doesn't have one, get to it--seriously! 30 minutes for loads of fun...

All you need is a rectangle of material, approx. 50"x30". Baste/iron down one 50" edge & then fold it over & sew about 3/4" for a chord to go through. (we used yarn, but I think i'll upgrade when I find something better), & finishing the edges all the way around would make it even nicer...

For an added ruffle around the collar: fold the top 50" basted edge down 1.5" & make an additional seem along the top edge (AFTER it's been sewed down). Once you pull the chord this will cinch & make a nice ruffle.

{this moment} - chocolate monster

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

I actually have a post for today, but I'm scheduling it for tomorrow because this needs published!

I treasure...

Well, I've always wanted to make a treasury via Etsy & it's SO much easier these days...no count down. Here is my very first, & of course I thought footwear would be an appropriate place to start, as I'm a fan.

Take a peek! Have you ever made a treasury?

& here are a few pics from the flowers of our garden. I sent Naomi out to get some shots as part of 'school' the other day & was inspired by her. For some reason, however, she couldn't see past the sunflowers--they are pretty eye-catching (when I find 'her' camera I'll post a few). But there are loads of blooms right now, from bee balm to spider flowers. I think it's essential that gardeners remember not to be strictly functional (I wrote a whole post about it a while back), the beauty of the bloom attracts all the beneficial critters you could want (which I suppose is an actual function...)

The Weekend in Pictures

Although we did fit in some extra nice napping, it's been a CRAZY weekend. There'll be more about what we accomplished at the land here, but we're a tid-bit sunburned & ready for a slower day tomorrow.

note: There's a great new local blog, up & coming. Follow it for upcoming events, local artists, great articles & more.

How to make a Heat Buster

whew. it's a hot one & only getting hotter. humid mainly, nothing dry about it, in fact, from one minute to the next we're not real sure if there will be enough moisture to actually create rain.

But, after spending far too much on store bought (but delicious) chocolate covered bananas last year, we made our own. SO simple & I really want to emphasize the 'so'.

Everyone seemed pleased, except for Naomi who decided she doesn't really like chocolate. We'll see if that lasts through tomorrow.

I broke off the pointy end of some skewers/shish ka bob thingies & stuck one in a half of a banana (4 bananas=8pops). We let those freeze for 3+hours. I melted some dark chocolate via the warming eye on our stove (a double boiler would work) & dipped the frozen nanas in & spread the chocolate around semi-evenly. Stuck them back in to freeze up again & wah-lah. delicious.

&, if you're looking for a meal that is terrific for a summer night here's one we stumbled on:
Noodles (we had a bag of flat spinach noodles that worked great, but spirals, bowties, etc. would be great)
Chopped Spinach (a handful or 2 from the garden)
Diced Tomatoes (fresh is best & local are easy to come by about now)
Parmesan (to your own tastes, about 1/2 cup is what we used)
Grilled Chicken (as much or as little as you like, we grilled in Amy's Limeade Marinade--yum.)
Olive Oil (lots. like 1/2-1cup).
Salt (to taste).

Boil noodles, add olive oil, salt & parm. Throw in the rest, toss it around & devour. It's great warm or chilled.

Happy summer time!