Archives for June 2012

06-14-2012

Sharing the inspiration…

FS Nominee for Excellence in Storytelling (150x172)

I am humbled, and so excited, to have been nominated for the Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling by Janet at trkingmomoe. Thank you so much Janet, you have some neat looking recipes on your blog that I’ll have to try out.

To complete the nomination I need to provide you a random tidbit about myself and share with you some of my favorite blogs….

For my random tidbit, I’ll share a secret confession… I easily get intimidated when I read other blogs. I wonder how these people have it all together, their sites look amazing, they make daily posts and their pictures could win numerous photo awards, etc. etc.

But more often than not, they probably are just like me…have preschoolers running around pretending to be transformers and yelling at the top of their lungs, their dishes are piling up in the sink, and it remains to be seen when their mound of clothes on the recliner will be put up.

So you see, its simply all about perspective and where one chooses to focus its attention.  I remind myself often, I shouldn’t be looking at their site, or a person, for comparison, I should be looking for inspiration!

So here are some of the sites that inspire me, although it was very hard to limit it to just the following….and I give a huge shout-out for food bloggers everywhere because until I started this blogging journey, I had no idea how long it took to write & compile recipe posts.

In Sock Monkey Slippers

Our Best Bites

In Her Chucks

Eat the Roses

Smitten Kitchen

Joy the Baker

The Pioneer Woman

Momastery

A Work in Progress

A Holy Experience

So scroll over to these other sites to check them out, I’m sure you’ll be just as inspired as I am!

Happy Thursday,

Jess

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06-13-2012

The Tomato Sandwich

Today, I pay homage to my most favorite food. One day, hopefully long away in the future, when I breathe my last breath, I pray I have just finished A TOMATO SANDWICH, made by Southern hands.

I simply think there is no better creation than some fine mayo slathered on some thick bread loaded down with too many to count slices of tomatoes; and of course, lets not forget….way too much salt & pepper on those things. Hmmm….

Fisherman looks on in disbelief as I eat my piece of heaven and cannot believe there are two tomatoes worth of slices on that bad boy, or that there is no bacon or lettuce anywhere to be found. OF COURSE THERE ISN’T. BLT’s are good – but they aren’t a tomato sandwich. There is a vast difference. And in my mind, to be truly Southern – 1. You need to be born in the south and 2. You need to relish a pure & simple tomato sandwich.  (I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on my Southern comments!!!) 😉

So how do I create such a delectable sandwich?

First, you must start with the proper ingredients….good, real Mayo….not Miracle Whip…the real deal.

Second, thick crusty bread…think day old bread to sop up all that juice.

Third, so many tomato slices that they are falling out of the sandwich.

And lastly, a VERY generous helping of kosher salt & fresh ground pepper. (Yes, I will probably pass from too high blood pressure, but life without some salt would be very sad indeed.)

You’ve got to sprinkle the salt & pepper two times on each side to reach the desired amount. And getting the spice all over the bread adds some special umpf!

Now eat that summer goodness and wash it all down with some Southern style sweet tea.

Love ya’ll,

Jessica

P.S….don’t even think about trying this in the winter or any other time when fresh off the vine tomatoes aren’t available!

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06-09-2012

Blackberry and Blueberry Crumble Pie

I just have to say…I LOVE berry crumbles! They have to be one of the easiest desserts to make…Whip together a few ingredients, and voila! Today I used fresh from the farm berries but even in winter, crumbles taste great with frozen berries.

To try something different though, I added a pie crust which soaked up some of the juices and was still flaky and delightful.  And the ginger in this recipe adds a spicy kick for a little something more.  Hmmm…life is good!

Recipe Cost
Since most of the ingredients are on stock in my pantry, I only added the price of berries and a pie crust to come up with a total of $8 for this amazingly delish dessert. To buy a dessert this yummy at your local bakery, you’d spend close to $20. Quite the savings to make at home!

Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
Knock yourself out making one from Grandma’s scratch recipe, or do as I do and buy refrigerated dough. One of these days, I’m going to figure out how to make a crust but for the moment, I am pretty intimidated on that front and blame it on my baking roller.  If you are just as intimidated with the daunting task of dough rolling, make sure to buy refrigerated not frozen pie crusts. Frozen pie crusts in those tin pans produce mushy crust; whereas a refrigerated one placed in your glass pie plate will produce a flaky and delectable crust.

For the Filling:
4 cups fresh blackberries and/or blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice (~1/2 of a lemon)
1/2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger or 1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

For the Crumble:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup coarsely chopped hard nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnut, etc.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
dash of kosher salt

For the crust ~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pie crust in a glass pie plate and add dry beans to the top for a weight. Blind bake the pie crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove beans or dry weights and allow to cool.

Don’t do like me and forget to add the weights/dry beans…the middle will puff up and the sides collapse into the middle!

For the filling ~ In a large, non-reactive bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, lemon juice, ginger, and mint. Next, gently mix in the berries and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.

Pour into crust once crumble topping is made.

The berries took on a shiny sheen all by themselves. No matter the lighting, the photo looked like steam was rising.

For the crumble ~ In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and then whisk in the butter.

You can also use a fork or your fingers. Basically, as the name implies, you just want the mixture to be crumbly looking. Place crumble mixture on top of berries in pie dish.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes, until golden brown.

ENJOY!!!

XoXo, Jess

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
9″ refrigerated pie crust

For the Filling:
4 cups fresh blackberries and/or blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice (~1/2 of a lemon)
1/2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger or 1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

For the Crumble:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup coarsely chopped hard nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnut, etc.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
dash of kosher salt

For the crust ~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pie crust in a glass pie plate and add dry beans to
the top for a weight. Blind bake the pie crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove beans or dry
weights and allow to cool.

For the filling ~ In a large, non-reactive bowl, gently mix together the sugar, flour, lemon juice, ginger,
and mint. Gently mix in the berries and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes. Pour into crust once crumble
topping is made.

For the crumble ~ In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and then whisk in the butter. Y ou
can also use a fork or your fingers. Basically , as the name implies, you just want the mixture to be crumbly
looking. Place crumble mixture on top of berries in pie dish.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes, until golden brown.

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