wishlist | pretty paper bakeware

images shown in this post courtesy of surlatable.com

baked goods, the perfect gift... I recently noticed a pattern in my hostess gifting. I almost always bring a freshly baked bread. There is something about a good, crusty loaf of bread that pleases even the most finicky of friends. Honestly, think about it... who doesn't like bread?

Sometimes I just simply wrap the finished loaf in a brown bag with some twine and a tag. Other times I place it in a fold of parchment tied with a piece of grosgrain. But when I saw Sur la Table's line of paper bakeware products, I fell smitten.

I love baking cupcakes for birthdays. Bake in the great patterns shown above and half the decorating work is already done (Red Striped baking cups, $6; Patisserie cups, $6; Small Tart bake cups, $6). The Pirate Bake Cups ($12) are an easy pleaser for any mom with young sons. Sets are also available with princess, wedding and baby shower themes ($12 each).

These paper molds are perfect for cakes and breads. Bake up a sour cream blueberry coffee cake in the bundt mold (above left, $1.25) and you will have the ideal treat for those weekend visits to friends and family. The star is going to be a must-have for this summer's plethora of birthday parties ($1). You can even look way, way ahead to next holiday season and start stocking up on Panettone papers now. Whatever the event, these pretty papers will definitely make baking even that much more fun.

recipe | homemade butter in less than 10 minutes

homemade butter in less than 10 minutes... Some may say that man cannot live by bread alone, but they obviously never slathered it in fresh butter. It's funny how when you tell the average person that you make your own butter, they look at you as if you've never heard of things like electricity and modern day conveniences. Maybe that's because their only memory of making butter involved two hours of non-stop shaking of a Mason jar of cream back in kindergarten days. But honestly, if you have ten minutes on your side and a pint of heavy cream, then you can have fresh, homemade butter without the least bit of effort.

Homemade Butter

2c heavy whipping cream

salt to taste (I used a pinch of kosher salt)

Pour the cream into a food processor. Blend for 6-10 minutes until the cream forms into a ball. Remove the solids from the liquid. Squeeze out the excess liquid and pat butter into a dish.

It is pretty cool how the liquid comes together. The first four minutes, it comes together looking like thick whipped cream. Then within a minute of two, it starts to curdle and the liquid separates almost immediately. Another minute or two later, you have a nice round ball of butter. Save the buttermilk, the reserved liquid, for other recipes later in the week like pancakes or baked "fried" chicken.

from my window | spring emergence

i love daylight savings time... I know that Daylight Savings Time isn't technically a holiday, but I gotta say that it is one of my favorite times of year that I eagerly await. With its arrival last weekend came the immeasurable delight of once again being able to pull my car into the driveway after work, sling on some boots, and go traipse amongst our woods and gardens, camera in tow.

I continue to be in awe of the peace and relaxation I get from spending some quality time outside. I'm the type of person who can never shut off their head, so relaxing is not a forté of mine. It is only when I am outside taking in the beauty around me, that everything else dissipates from my mind and the rejuvenation begins.

I raked back the mulch from the lilies and garlic and am happy to report that all are doing great. The garlic had a 100% germination. I'm looking forward to this summer's taste test when the hardneck Siberian garlic challenges the softneck Early Red Italian.

Even some of my roadside replants are doing great. The Lily-of-the-Valley are spreading nicely and the charming phlox has taken home in its new location. Everyone is slowing awakening from their winter's slumber.

daily photo | red squirrel

march 16, 2010 | my pal the red squirrel

garden | how does your garden grow

how does your garden grow?... Seeds are germinating left and right around here. Everyday brings the birth of a new vegetable, flower or herb. It's so exciting to see this emergence, it is kinda of like a gardener's new year. Starting off fresh with some great new additions to the veggie patch and some fun and different varieties to explore.

Kicking back happily under the grow lights currently are some trays of onions, shallots, leeks, tomatoes, peppers, petunias, celeriac, and mesclun. This year I'll be growing around ten different varieties of tomatoes. I'll hoard up on my usual Romas because I use them the most for my sauces. But I'm also trying out Juliet again after a few years hiatus and Heinz Paste for the first time. We'll have some Super Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. I grew Sun Gold for the past two years and loved it, but am trying Super Sweet again for the first time in eight years. I'll also have some patio tomatoes for my deck for the days when I'm feeling too lazy to walk those extra feet out to the garden. And finally I'll be growing a mix pack of Heirloom tomatoes. The mix is made up of Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Pink Brandywine, and Black Prince. I grew these last year and they were coming along great until the blight hit, so I can't wait to try them again this year.

I'm also doubling up on my onion crop this year. After years of sad excuses for an onion harvest, last year's yield was incredible. I was a little amazed because I would have thought that the constant rain deluge of the summer of 2009 would have rotted the bulbs rather than help them, but I was wrong. We're still munching on Prisma Red shallots and Borettana cipollinis from last fall. This summer we'll be growing Red Marble and Borrettana cipollinis from seed and well be planting some long day sets from Pinetree Seeds. Sprinkle in some Prisma Red shallots, Lincoln leeks, Early Red Italian garlic and Siberian garlic and we will have ourselves one stinky summer. I can't wait!

wishlist | stylish storage from NapaStyle

stylish storage... I think the Spring cleaning bug is starting to buzz around my head. Now that buds have started to emerge, I've been finding myself gravitating to bins. Lots and lots of different kinds of baskets and bins to take my piles of winter clutter and finally organize them. It's kinda like shedding your home's winter weight in prep of summer fun.

clockwise: vintage metal bins; antique laundry baskets, $159; antique storage bins, $119-169

Of course, I have a predisposition for really cool storageware. I can't simply use one type of organizational unit. No, rather I have all different shapes and sizes of bins, bowls and baskets that can I organize my wares with. My dream of dreams is to one day own a old library card catalog (think Dewey decimal system) or letterpress desk to house my treasures. Until then, I found these really cool bins over at NapaStyle.com. I especially love the hues of the Vintage Metal Parts Bins shown above ($39).

weekly wine walk | hints of spring emerge

weekly wine walk... It is simply gorgeous out. We have had a wacky, wacky winter this year. Last weekend it was snowing. This weekend, we may hit the 50s, down right balmy. We only have patches of snow remaining in our yard, a far cry from the normal feet of snow in years past. I'd like to think that Spring is just around the corner, yet I remain a bit hesitant, weary of another possible snowstorm to come. Nevertheless, it is absolutely magical to walk around the woods and see signs of life emerging from a long winter's nap.

It is with this weekly wine walk post that I celebrate the completion of my first year of blogging and documenting the seasonal shift of my woods. It is really exciting to have spent the past year becoming aware of the subtle nuances of the nature around us. Little discoveries made each day have open my eyes to the vast amount of flora that we are fortunate enough to have in our yard. I cannot wait to continue to explore even further around our land this spring.

garden | growing your own quinoa

quintessential quinoa... Around two years ago, a South American grain caught my eye. It had a funky to say name of quinoa. It seems everyone I know that has actually heard of the grain, has a slightly different way of pronouncing it. But I was very pleased to get acquainted and make quinoa a pantry staple. Here's a fun fact on this nutty, delicious grain... it is actually a complete protein source. It is also gluten-free. When I feel like changing it up a bit, I just use it in place of rice or couscous. You cook it just like you would rice... 2 cups of water (or I use stock or bouillon) to 1 cup of quinoa. Simmer on low for 15-18 minutes.

image on right courtesy of www.incaorganics.com

One day I'd like to be able to grow and mill my own wheat, but until then, how cool is it that you can grow your own quinoa? I was flipping through Botanical Interests catalog when I came across their seed package for Quinoa Brightest Brilliant. The plumes resemble that of an astilbe. Come late summer-fall, you can harvest the grains when the seed heads start to fall off easily. Shake the heads into a bag or bucket. Dry completely and then store in a sealed container. Be sure to remove the bitter seed coating called saponin, prior to cooking. It should come off relatively easy when you are rinsing the grains.