Uncategorized

Coconut Tart with Spicy Gingersnap Crust

July 13, 2018 by Erin Leave a Comment

I needed a break from pie. Isn’t that awful? Who says that?

Every year for Father’s Day I make my dad a fruit pie. This year, I couldn’t get motivated to do it. I didn’t feel driven or inspired by any of my usual fruit pie variations. And actually, I hadn’t felt really inspired to bake much since we moved into our new house.

Did I mention that we bought a new house?

We’ve spent the last year unpacking, discussing color options, designing our gardens and sitting by our woodstove. A friend wisely said we would be nesting for a while, but didn’t expect settling into our new space to pull energy away from our other interests too. I guess it did.

Meanwhile, this all started to worry me. Was I giving up on baking? Who am I? What am I interested in now? What do I do next? Should I get rid of my cookbook collection? Is it my interests that define me or something more complicated? The internal angst was intense and I was having crazy thoughts! Get rid of my cookbook collection? What?

Never fear dear reader, I got my groove back. I was buying fresh local strawberries planning on slogging through a double crust strawberry something-something and then all of a sudden I had my plan. My plan! Inspiration was back! I had had a mini tart a week or so ago at another bakery. It had a cookie crust, vanilla pastry cream and away strawberries doused in powdered sugar. I wanted to make a version of that tart but make it better. And incorporate some of my dad’s favorite flavors.

…

2017 Was My Year

July 11, 2018 by Erin Leave a Comment

2017 was big and filled with momentous occasions, huge milestones, and travel. I celebrated a 20-year friendiversary on the Isle of Vieques, Puerto Rico. I traveled to Italy to attend a huge food show and ate a lot of beautiful prosciutto and parmesan. My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, bought a house then journeyed to Barcelona and Costa Brava Spain for a week of roaming and eating.

2018 is shaping up pretty well too.

…

Apple Pie with Cheddar Buttermilk Crust

November 16, 2016 by Erin Leave a Comment

*Many of us need a little extra comfort in our lives right now. I know I do. I wrote this post before the election. Before most of us woke up to confusion and extreme disappointment.

I believe in the healing powers of making something good for the people you love. It is important that we all keep our spirits up so we can continue to fight for what is right. For me, making a pie for the ones I love is just the right medicine. The best thing we can do right now is to be the antithesis to hate. Share a meal with your neighbors. Reach out. Help someone. We have so much work to do, but first, let’s share a slice of pie.

So, we went apple picking. When I say apple picking, I mean APPLE PICKING. Between Evan, I and our two bags, we picked 90 pounds of apples! And it was awesome! It was a perfect afternoon. We went for a quick hike, stopped for BBQ and on the way home visited a pick-your-own orchard. We romped with our dog to the farthest end of the orchard and picked our way back to the farmstand. It didn’t take very long until we were both gleeful and tired hauling our bags. We left feeling strong (I carried a 46-pound bag of apples uphill!) and dreaming of all the things we could make.

Did I temporarily forget I work for a produce company? Yes. Does this amount of apples we picked for the two of us make is prepsteaders? Possibly? It is now four weeks later I still have a lot of apples.

There have been many apple projects happening at our house. Our kitchen smells pleasantly of apples all the time. I have chipped away at our supply with pies and crisps. Honestly, we are not complaining….

Chive Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and Roasted Tomatoes

September 21, 2016 by Erin Leave a Comment

I mourn the loss of summer every year. I always want the longer warm days to last longer. It doesn’t feel right for dusk to come before seven pm. I still want more swing time in the hammock and time in the sun playing with my dog.

I am certainly not ready to say goodbye to summer produce. Pumpkin-spice-everything began showing up at the beginning of August. I am not a fan. It seems sacrilege to pine for summer weather, foods and adventures all winter only to hasten fall flavors in the dead of the most anticipated season. Let’s savor summer while we can!

Every time I think my garden is done producing tomatoes, I turn around and find another basketful ready to harvest. We have eaten tomato everything this summer. There have been gallons of gazpacho and panzanella every which way. Now that it is a little cooler I am ok with turning on my oven to roast the last tomatoes of the season. I expect my plants to stop producing sooner or later!

My friend Josephina made me biscuits and gravy for the first time a few years ago. I don’t know how I had missed this perfect hearty breakfast for so long! Josephina’s methods are based on family tradition. She uses her grandmother’s recipe for buttery biscuits smothered with a creamy roux thickened gravy and browned sausage links. Josephina’s biscuits and gravy were a treat and kept me satiated long into the day. This is the breakfast one needs when there is a long day of work to do or adventures to be had.

…

Hops Infused Vodka Tonic

September 7, 2016 by Erin Leave a Comment

I know you want one!

I am on vacation! I have lofty goals for this week including napping in our hammock, light garden work, beach days and blogging. So far I have napped and look at me blogging! Woo-hoo! I am on a roll. As soon as the weather cooperates, I will hit the beach.

A few years ago we let a friend plant a few hops rhizomes around our house. I innocently didn’t think we would have enough for the beer making projects we had planned. So, I planted some more. Silly me. We way more than we can use! Last summer, Evan and I harvested 8 pounds of the suckers! We made a few batches of beer, and a failed attempt at hops infused caramel (too floral), and some hops infused vodka. We gave a lot of the hops away.

The infused vodka was delightful. The hops added a refreshing citrusy bitterness that I enjoyed in my late summer vodka tonics. The medicinal quality of hops is calming and slightly sedative, so this recipe is not for your party cocktail. This vodka and hops infusion is the libation of long warm afternoons spent sitting in the shade dozing with your dog. Sounds like vacation aspirations to me!

It is hop harvest time again. Since I am on vacation and I plan on spending some more solid hammock time reading and napping, a few thirst- quenching hops infused vodka tonics this week will set me right up.

…