september 30, 2009 | hey you, stop eating my brussel sprouts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
recipe | banana chocolate chip muffins
banana chocolate chip muffins... I've never been a super huge fan of muffins. Too often I find them dry and crumbly. I'm in constant search for a healthy, tasty treat for my boys. After trying dozens of different muffin recipes, I think I've found a winner. King Arthur's Banana Chocolate Chip muffins are easy to make and delicious to eat. Best of all, these muffins are anything but dry.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Yield: 18 muffins
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c milk
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar till they're smooth. Beat in the egg, flavoring, banana and milk.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, then gently stir them into the butter mixture. Spoon the batter into 18 regular-sized lightly greased muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Remove them from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn them out of the pan to cool.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
garden | gaggle of gourds
a gaggle of gourds... The newspaper headlines around these parts have been littered with articles on the hard hit pumpkin crops of this summer. The deluge of June and July's rains really stunted the progress of these fun crops. Ironically, I had planned for this summer to have my biggest concentration in all things pumpkin, squash, and gourds. Bad timing on my part, but I am thankful for the little bit of harvest I'm just starting to get.
We dipped to 30º last night and had our first hard frost of the season. Right now it looks like everyone survived, but I know the days are limited until Mother Nature wins. All across my garden, Lumina and Baby Pam pumpkins are still so young in formation. The winter squash crops of Sweet Meat, Baby Blue Hubbard, and Burgess Buttercup are trying their best to produce, but despite the miles long vines, I'll be lucky to harvest more than one or two each of these plants. I'm hoping they may get another week or so to grow, but I don't think they'll mature enough in time to be properly hardened off.
If you want to add whimsy and color to your garden, definitely plan to plant some gourds. These plantings have just proved to be so delightful and fun. They speckle the waning garden plots with color and personality.
The Baby Blue Hubbard winter squash is not only perky and adorable, but provides a delicious sweet addition to the dining table and is also a great storage squash. I think next year, I'll bulk up to growing the non-dwarf variety, but I am definitely going to grow this squash again.
Some are yellow and green. Some are striped in different hues of greens and yellows. Some are warted. Some are smooth. Some are round, some straight. Regardless, all are fun to grow.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
daily photo | field down the road
september 24, 2009 | the field down the road welcomes Autumn's arrival
recipe | boston baked beans
the perfect baked bean... Each year I grow new varieties of dry beans. This summer's selections were Tiger Eye (shown above), Saturday Night Special, and Cannelinni. Mainly I grow dry beans for just fun and looks, because honestly, to grow enough to make a good yield, you'd have to sow a half acre's worth. But I always get enough to make one, really good pot of baked beans.
With Autumn officially here, it is time to break back out those dutch ovens and bake some beans. Hands down, this allrecipes.com recipe for authentic Boston Baked Beans is absolutely, without a doubt, the best bean recipe ever. So incredibly good.
Boston Baked Beans
Yields: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups navy beans
1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black
pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer the beans in the same water until tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and reserve the liquid.
Preheat oven to 325ºF (165 ºC). Arrange the beans in a 2 quart bean pot or casserole dish by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of dish, and layering them with bacon and onion. In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over beans. Pour in just enough of the reserved bean water to cover the beans. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 3 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until beans are tender. Remove the lid about halfway through cooking, and add more liquid if necessary to prevent the beans from getting too dry.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 12/13/2008
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
living | headed to camp
the call of the loon... This past weekend, we rented a camp on Lake Winnecook. My husband spent his college years fishing on this lake, which the locals refer to as Unity Pond.
Prior to living in Maine, camp was always a place kids went to during the summer, but up here in Maine, camp was a weekend getaway cottage nestled either deep in the woods or on the water's edge. Camp is where you go to get away and take a few deep breaths. If you aren't lucky enough to have a camp of your own, hopefully you're lucky enough to have a friend who does and likes company.
The fog slowly gave wall to a glasslike, placid lake. Much different from the white capped tempest of the evening before. The boys climbed rocks all day as they hunted for dinosaur bones and other treasure, like this exoskeleton of a crayfish.
Sunset capped off the evening setting the lakeside ablaze in gorgeous light. I took an immediate liking to the blossom-like circle of moss that was growing on this old birch. It echoed the beauty and shape of the thistle growing just below.
As usual, we choose to take the back roads all the way home, so I keep on snapping as we whizzed past the fields of hay bales and corn.
Monday, September 21, 2009
photographic study | botanicals on set
botanicals on set... One of my favorite things to do when photoshoot time rolls around at work, is to purchase some beautiful botanicals to be used on set. I had originally planned on going to this florist on the East End in Portland, but my time ran short and I hit up Whole Foods instead. I was pleasantly surprised by their selection and the vibrancy of the florals.
Perennial shoot favorites, green spider mums and button mums, never disappoint in a photo. Whatever the shot is, they always add a great shot of color. I adopted these beautiful bouquets and brought them home after the shoot so I could have a little shoot for myself.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
wishlist | baking must haves
king arthur flour must-haves... I got my latest issue of the King Arthur Flour catalogue this weekend. It is always a great read filled with quality products and tempting recipes. There is something about the impending arrival of autumn that always turns my thoughts to baking. Maybe it's because baking warms that early fall chill that seeps into the house.
I immediately fell in love with the Bakery Boxes (above, $10/set of 4). These would be so handy to use for packaging up biscotti as a hostess gift, or sending a box full of cookies to the teacher. Just add a colorful hangtag and you have a wonderful, classic presentation with little effort.
A must buy with each of my catalogue orders is the Easy-Roll Dough Improver ($9/12oz) and the Italian-Style Flour ($7/3lb). I use the dough improver in each of my pizza dough recipes. It makes the dough so pliable and easy to work with. I also use it in any bread recipe where I need to manipulate the dough a bit, like french bread and hot dog rolls. The Italian flour is also a great addition to your pizza dough recipe. The semolina adds the perfect crisp to the crust. You can also use this flour to toss up a batch of fresh pasta in no time.
With the holiday season fast approaching, these Wooden Loaf Bakers ($16/set of 6) and the Laser Cut Cupcake Papers ($7/set of 12) are going to be perfect partners for the seasonal celebration. I'm definitely ordering the loaf bakers for holiday breads for friends and family.
Friday, September 18, 2009
life cycle | echinacea... I learned my true education about echinacea back when I worked for Tom's of Maine. This majestic herb holds not only wonderful herbal properties, but it is also drop-dead gorgeous to gaze at. Intricate buds began to form back in June. Slowly, with each day, these tight, green orbs would unfurl petal by petal building suspense until it's full bloom show.
As the petals unfurl, they stretch broadly out in a proud circle. As the cone begins to rise, the petals slowly turn their direction downward.
Without a doubt, echinacea is the most popular plant in my garden for butterflies and bees.
Even as its color fades, the echinacea still exudes a majestic grace as it slowly begins to wither. The drop of each petal, signals the cue for the seed head to go into full drive. Always eager to add more echinacea to my flower beds, I let these seed heads self seed and cross my fingers until next year for hopes of more of these stunning pink powerhouses.
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