let's talk about grits

Do you know I'd never even tried grits until a few years ago?  I always assumed I didn't like them.  And I probably don't like them prepared a lot of ways.  But these dinner grits are the perfect thing for a cold fall evening and they cook in the crock pot, so they're basically impossible to ruin!

Slow Cheese Cooker Grits

Stir together 2 cups uncooked stone ground grits and 6 cups water in a slow cooker.  Cover and soak 6-8 hours. (I've soaked as few as 2 hours before and they turned out just fine).  Cook grits on high 2- 2 1/2 hours, stirring halfway through.  Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream, 2 Tbsp. butter, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  

What makes these grits a viable meal option, in my opinion, is what you put on them.  Most recently, we topped them with bacon (do you make your bacon in the oven?  Once Natalie told me about this trick, I've never looked back.), sauteed peppers, more shredded cheese (obviously), caramelized onions (here's how to make them), and mushrooms.  I sauteed the mushrooms in some butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and Marsala wine.  I could have eaten a whole bowl of just those mushrooms.  

As is usually the case on Mondays, I'm feeling optimistic about the week and all I'll accomplish.  I'm working on a new project for the shop, as well as restocking some sold out items.  I'm planning a few product posts for later this week because I feel like it's been awhile since I've shared what I'm working on!

you make the best fried chicken

I would like to preface this recipe suggestion by saying that I do not often fry food at home.  Maybe 3-4 times a year?  There is something about admitting that I fried food that makes me feel like I will be judged by all the organic salad eaters.  You know who you are.

But you guys- I can't keep quiet about these chicken tenders.  They were AMAZING.  I wanted to keep eating them all night.  Steve took one bite, looked up at me, and said, "How did you do this?"

And they were super easy.  I tossed the tenders in the marinade in the morning and mixed up the flour mixture at the same time, so when it was 30 minutes until dinner time, all I had to do was give them a quick dunk and 3 minutes of cooking time on each side. 

Here's one thing I think that helps make this chicken awesome- the flour mixture has three tablespoons of buttermilk in it.  So instead of dredging your tenders in a powdery mixture (as I've done every other single time I've made fried chicken) you are dredging them in a chunky mixture.  The result?  More crunchy bits. And I think we could all agree that fried food needs as many crunchy bits as possible.  

Making dinner feel even more like a party was the fact that I finished a new set of cloth napkins yesterday, just for us.  It is very rare these days that I make time for a personal sewing project- you know, like the shoe cobbler's kids?  Natalie and I laughed about this recently when I had to go out a buy a $15 TJMaxx diaper bag, while many of my friends walk around with Plumfield Shop originals.  

Anyway, the napkins completed my vision for our fall and winter table top, which includes the lovely gold placemats Steve's mom gave us a few years back and our winter dishes.  Yes, we have winter dishes. Mainly because the dishes we bought right after we got married have hydrangeas on them and I cannot serve Thanksgiving dinner on hydrangeas.  

Tonight we're trying out this recipe for slow cooker carnitas- I'll let you know what we think!

no, really, try the tacos

If you haven't made the Shredded Beef Tacos that I mentioned on Monday yet (what? you don't immediately try out every recipe I suggest?!?), run, do not walk, to your kitchen to see if you have all the ingredients. And if it happens that you are missing something (like a 2 1/2 pound chuck roast), head on out to the grocery store.  I promise they are worth the trip.  

Then, once you have made and enjoyed these amazing tacos, go ahead and make soup with the leftover broth and feel like a rock star who saves money and doesn't waste food and eats delicious things.  You're welcome. 

This really will be my last post for this month, but I wanted to be clear about it since I get really paranoid when bloggers go missing for weeks at a time.  Maybe that's just me.  My precious "morning hour" has all but disappeared and nap time hasn't been anything to write home about either.  I'm still navigating the work/life/mom balance and trying to make wise decisions about how to allot my time.  

We're super excited that my sister is coming tomorrow.  Although after I read her the list of things we need to accomplish while she's here, I was a little surprised she didn't cancel her trip.  So hopefully I'll meet you back here in October with lots of fun pictures to share and a much shorter to-do list!  Happy Fall!

a quick hello and what to make for dinner

Hi Friends!  Happy Monday!  I've been feeling overwhelmed lately and when I have too much to do, blogging is one of the first things to go.  I actually just stopped in today to share a few pictures from Steve's birthday celebration (oddly, neither of them are of Steve), and maybe a recipe.  We are preparing for a visitor marathon that begins later this week and runs through the end of the month.  So... see you in October? Deal.  

Last week I tried a new recipe for Honey Soy Chicken Breasts and it was so, so good.  And really easy. We ate these with salad and leftover cornbread and it felt like a gourmet meal.  This week, I'm trying Shredded Beef Tacos and I'm already excited about it.  I just finished the fish tacos from last week for lunch today.  Um, so we eat a lot of tacos.  But with different fillings!  Also, who cares?  I like tacos.  

Today, I am cutting leather for a big round of zipper pouches, catching up on the laundry, and refreshing my stock of world map bow ties- we keep selling out, which is a great problem to have!

banana blueberry muffins

When we end up with a rare and precious Saturday morning that we don't have anywhere to be, we like to make a big breakfast.  Steve will poach eggs and we'll have tea or lattes and sometimes I'll get a hankering for something sweet. (This doesn't just happen in the morning... does anyone remember the great pound cake of 2011?)

Last Saturday was just such a morning and I decided to make muffins with whatever we had on hand.  I also decided to make up the recipe, after not finding a suitable one online. So here it is, you know, in case you find yourself in a similar situation one Saturday morning. 

Banana Blueberry Cream Cheese Almond Muffins (because when I make up the recipe, I can make the name as long as I like)

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 cups almond flour 

pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup blueberries

Beat eggs and sugar until pale in color.  Stir in melted butter and yogurt.  Combine dry ingredients in another bowl, then stir into egg mixture until just combined.  Add bananas and blueberries and mix gently.  

At some point during this muffin-making extravaganza, I saw that we had cream cheese in the refrigerator and started dreaming about those pumpkin muffins at Starbucks with the cream cheese baked right into the middles.  In the interest of science, I wanted to see if it was just as simple as putting some cream cheese into the middle of your muffin, so I tried and it is.  Great news.  Also, somebody loved licking the beaters.  

Beat 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream, and 1/4 cup confectioners sugar until smooth.  Put one big spoonful of muffin batter in each muffin cup.  Then put a smaller spoonful of cream cheese filling on the batter and top with another big spoonful of batter.  

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Makes 12 muffins.  

I'm sure you could make these with wheat flour.  So how about somebody try it and report back here how it went?  Baked goods with almond flour tend to be dry, but all the fruit and cream cheese took care of that and these were delicious.  

Today I am making more bow ties, (do you feel like that's all I ever do?  me too.) and working on photographing more of our fall line.  All the men's scarves are in the shop and the rest of the items will be popping up over the next week or so.  

Awhile back, I was interviewed for a piece in the British online magazine The Upcoming- you can read the article here.  I just saw it for the first time today and it's always so exciting to see pictures of my work other places around the internet!  

sushi night

It all started with a rice cooker.  

Steve has wanted a rice cooker for some time now, because he likes to eat rice all the time.  I wanted a rice cooker to make sushi, because I read somewhere that you really need a rice cooker to make proper sushi rice.  But the thought of making sushi was not enough to push me over the edge to buy a new kitchen gadget, especially when we don't have any extra room for kitchen gadgets.  

Then we added a new family member who also likes to eat rice all the time.  The rice balance in the house has shifted.  

So out went the electric skillet (we have a strict one in-one out policy) and in came the rice cooker.  When I found out that it could steam vegetables as well, I felt better about giving it shelf space in the kitchen.  

Over the weekend, we purchased a few basic sushi supplies, all for less than $10.  We got bamboo mats and rice paddles and some beginner chop sticks for the little guy (all from World Market and Bed Bath and Beyond).  

We cooked the rice earlier in the day so that it would have a chance to cool off.  Once the rice was cooked, I mixed it with a mixture of 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 3 Tbsp. sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt.  

I cut all of our ingredients into matchstick-like pieces and that seemed to work out well.  We used cooked shrimp, smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, carrots, and cucumber.  

It was so much fun to have all of us at the counter making the sushi rolls.  Arthur loved being a part of the action and wore his apron and pressed his rice onto the mat like a pro.

He also discovered a real love for nori and ate several huge sushi burritos of nori filled with rice and shrimp while we worked.  I know he has a developed palate, but even I was shocked that he was eating seaweed.  

Making the rolls was a little challenging and we've determined to need to watch a sushi chef sometime soon to get some pointers.  Our rolls all ended up being a bit too fat- it's hard to know how much you need to put in each one.  

Cutting them was also tricky, but I figured out that if you wet the knife between each cut it helped a lot.  We rolled some in sesame seeds before cutting.  

It all sounds kind of involved, but it really only took us an hour and when we were done, we had a huge platter of fresh sushi!  Even though some of the pieces were falling apart, it tasted amazing.  I think that sushi night may be a weekly event now.  

Today is rainy and my sidekick and I are knocking out a bunch of household chores and working on some new flannel scarves for fall!

a lunch so exciting, you eat it early

On a visit to Natalie's house last summer, she made this quinoa salad.  It's not really a winter dish, since it's cold and uses fresh veggies, but somehow I've managed to make it like ten times since then.  It is so, so good. 

Also, I've finally learned how to pronounce "quinoa".  It sounds like "ki- nwa" and it took me forever to remember that. 

Here is the recipe- I don't know where it came from originally, but maybe Nats will pop in with a comment and tell us-

Quinoa Salad

Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package directions, but in vegetable broth instead of water.  Put cooked quinoa in a large bowl.

Dice 2 mangoes, 1 cucumber, 1 tomato, and 1 green pepper.  Add to quinoa.  Add 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained.  Add some chopped basil (or other herbs) and 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese. 

For the dressing, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. lime juice, and 3 tsp. honey. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.  Whisk the dressing until everything is combined and then stir into the salad.

 

This recipe makes a big bowlful- probably 10-12 servings.  I like to make it over the weekend and have it for lunches all week.  I will leave out the herbs and feta and just add them in each time I serve it because I don't think they keep very well in the salad. 

Quinoa is a great source of protein and calcium and is gluten free!  I love having something special planned for lunch during the week.  Normally, I don't plan out my lunches and just wander into the kitchen around noon to see what I can find.  But on days that I have a big bowl of quinoa salad in the fridge?  I find myself eating at 11:30am because I get hungry thinking about how good it will be!

Do you have big plans for Easter weekend?  We'll be visiting with lots of family and hoping for warmer weather! 

 

*Quinoa can be kind of pricey and/or difficult to find, depending on where you shop.  I like to buy a big bag of it at Target and think they have the best price.*

eat your veggies

This week, we've been mostly living off of all the leftovers from the food I cooked for our weekend with friends, but I did have to make a few things to supplement.  I roasted a chicken, which we've enjoyed for lunch and dinner, and I made up a new broccoli dish to go with it. 

 

Disclaimer: we almost never eat frozen vegetables.  I usually feel like they taste floppy and bland compared to fresh and can't bring myself to cook them. 

But I totally loved this broccoli dish.  I threw in several favorite flavors and some nuts (for crunch) and I found myself thinking that frozen veggies aren't that bad after all. 

 

Garlic Broccoli with Cashews (serves 2-3)

 

Heat 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. 

Add 8 oz. thawed frozen broccoli to the skillet- thawed frozen broccoli sounds confusing, but you know what I mean, right?

 

Stir to coat broccoli with oil and garlic and cook over medium low heat 6-8 minutes until broccoli is heated through.

Chop 2 Tbsp. cashews and sprinkle on top of broccoli.  Crumble goat cheese on top as well and serve. 

The garlic and cashews remind me of Chinese food and I love the balance of salty and sweet.  I think that this dish is best eaten right after you cook it, so I made just enough for the two of us each night.  But, as you can see, it takes about 10 minutes total, so it's a very easy thing to whip up. 

 

Do you have exciting plans for the weekend?  We're sourcing fabric for more bow ties and hoping to enjoy some warm weather!

zucchini noodles

Last night, we tried something completely different for dinner: zucchini noodles.  I used my new mandoline to slice the zucchini into super thin strips (like noodles, see?), but I was nervous the whole time because Steve told me that the mandoline is the second most dangerous kitchen utensil.  I don't remember what the first one is, but I don't think I own it. 

Thankfully, I managed to slice up six medium sized zucchini without incident (I peeled them first, FYI).  I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a big skillet and added some minced garlic once it was hot.

Then I threw in the zucchini, stirred it all around, and sprinkled on some onion powder.  I went light on the seasoning this time, but next time I think I would add more. 

We ate our zucchini noodles just like regular pasta- under lots of sauce and Parmesan cheese, with a salad on the side.  They were really tasty and I think this makes a great meal if you are trying to eat gluten free, or trying to fit more vegetables into your day. 

 

This morning, I shipped off my first bow tie and am making several more.  I'm also studying for the final exam in my small business growth class.  I have really enjoyed the course and think I'm going to sign up for another class this spring! 

less than half an hour away

Last week, I made chocolate chip cookies.  If you recall, I rarely make cookies.  This was, by far, my best cooking-making experience yet because of what happened after I made the cookies. 

I froze them.  Well, to be precise, I baked six of them and froze the other two dozen.  I placed all the dough balls on cookie sheets, as usual, but put the cookie sheets in the freezer for a couple of hours.  Then I tossed the frozen dough balls in a gallon plastic bag and put it back in the freezer. 

We've had hot, freshly baked cookies four nights this week.  It's been amazing. 

 

I used a gluten free cookie recipe that you can find here.  The almond flour gives the cookies a lovely, nutty chewiness.  And I can pretend they are healthy. 

 

You could, of course, employ the freezing method with any old kind of cookie.  They take about sixteen minutes to bake.  The oven takes about ten minutes to preheat.  That means that at any given time, I am less than half an hour away from fresh cookies.  I don't mind confessing, this makes me feel quite secure. 

The super cute dish towel under the cookies was a gift from Steve last night.  He came home from work with a bag of treats for me which included my favorite chap stick, two tea towels, and the email address of someone who might want to purchase some of my Charlotte totes for sale in her store.  One of my favorite things about Steve is how thoughtful and observant he is and I'm so thankful to have a husband who knows that it's not flowers, but tea towels and sales leads that really woo me. 

We're gearing up for a huge photo shoot weekend and took a few practice shots last night.  I absolutely can't wait to have everything listed in the shop next week!

Today I'm sewing up a few final products, tackling the laundry situation, and switching out the papers on our big silver frame wall from winter to spring.  Happy March!

perfect winter beef stew

Every year, as spring approaches, I find myself trying to squeeze in as many "winter" meals as I can to our weekly menu.  Things that I would never make in the warm months.  Things like beef stew. 

I've been using this beef stew recipe for years now and it is super easy, so I thought I'd share it. 

 

Perfect Winter Beef Stew

 

Ingredients

 

3/4 cup Italian dressing

2 lb. beef chunks

3 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup chopped onions

3 cups sliced carrots

1 1/2 lbs potatoes, cut into large chunks

1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 14 oz. can beef broth

Instructions

Pour dressing over meat and marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Remove meat from marinade and discard marinade.

 

Saute mushrooms and onions in a large soup pot over medium high heat 10 minutes until tender. 

 

Add meat, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and broth to pot. 

 

Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour 15 minutes.  Uncover and simmer an additional 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. 

As with all soups, this recipe is super flexible.  Today, I'm adding celery, because I happen to have some.  Sometimes I also whisk in some corn starch towards the end to thicken the broth a bit. 

We've only got a few more weeks of winter left, so enjoy this while you can!

warm food for a cold day

I find creamy rice to be the ultimate comfort food.  Well, truthfully, I find chocolate to be the ultimate comfort food, but I can't serve that for dinner.  Very often.  

 

 

Recently, Steve and I tried another new recipe from La Tartine Gourmande- Gorgonzola and pear risotto.  Risotto is a dish that takes patience, so it's great for a night when you have nothing else to do but hang out in your warm kitchen with people you love.  It's sort of an event in itself, making risotto.  

 

 



Ingredients

 

1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

3 red pears

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus extra

4 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus extra

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 leek, white part only, finely chopped

2 thyme sprigs

1 rosemary sprig

1 1/2 cups carnaroli or Arborio rice

1/3 cup white wine

4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese

3 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

pepper

1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

 



Directions

 

Dice 2 1/2 pears and thinly slice the remaining 1/2 pear.  In a frying pan, melt 1 Tbsp. butter and cook diced pear 3-4 minutes until soft; set aside.  Add a little extra butter to the pan and cook the pear slices 1-2 minutes on each side; set aside.

Heat the broth in a pot and keep warm.

In the same frying pan, melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.  Add the oil, shallot, leek, rosemary, and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until soft and fragrant.  Add the rice and cook for 1 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the wine and cook until the liquid is absorbed. 

Add 1 cup of broth and cook, stirring occasionally.  Wait until the rice has absorbed all the liquid before adding more broth.  Repeat until you only have 3/4 cup broth remaining, then stir in the diced pears and add the rest of the broth.  Cook until done and remove from heat. 

Stir in the cheeses and season with pepper.  Cover and let sit for 2 minutes.  Discard the thyme and rosemary and stir in the parsley.

Garnish with pear slices, walnuts, and a drizzle of olive oil.  

 

We both loved this dish!  I had intended to make a salad to go with it, but in the end, we just ate the risotto as our whole meal.  It's one of those dishes that could easily be eaten out of a deep bowl, in your pajamas, on the sofa.  Perfect for a movie night or a snow storm or just a wintry Saturday. 

 

Speaking of snow, I'm wishing for some, as it's 45 degrees and rainy here.  Thankfully, the house is nice and warm and I'm working my way through a large pile of sewing projects that all need to be completed this week.  If the sun ever comes back out, I'll snap some pictures to share!  

whole foods

We finished up our Christmas shopping last weekend at Whole Foods.  It was at least 20 times more fun than going to the mall. 

 

Steve and I had never been to Whole Foods before, but after we found out that they carry chestnuts, we decided a trip was in order. 

 

I would call Whole Foods the largest fancy grocery store, based on other fancy grocery stores in our area.  I was especially intrigued by all the beautiful produce.  They had vegetables that I've seen in cookbooks, but never been able to find in a store.  They had mandarins with the leaves still on them!

 

We walked the whole store twice, to make sure we didn't miss anything.  By the time we were done, our cart was filled with tea and coffee and soaps and sparkly beverages- all the Christmas necessities. 

 

After all that walking around, we took a break in the cafe with some orange and fig gelato.  Amazing.  All in all, it was a delightful place to shop. 

 

Last night, we went on a date to celebrate the eight year anniversary of the night Steve asked me to be his.  Today, I've been thinking about how I'd say yes to him a thousand times over.