Denial

I refuse to believe that summer is ending. So even though we had a gray and rainy weekend, I got busy making a deep dish peach pie.

The weather has been steadily improving since then.

You're welcome.

Lunch

These were too fun to not share!

Picked up these great little sandwich shape cutters the other day and they are a huge hit.

The selection included dinosaurs and hearts, so we were set. We have used large cookie cutters in the past to cut our lunch sandwiches into cute shapes but there was always quite a bit of waste. These cutters, since they're made for sandwiches, are able to neatly eliminate the crusts without wasting too much of the actual bread and filling.

Here's the heart one in action.

This bread is the larger, more rectangular bread (we call it grown-up bread in our house) so you can see that there is a little more waste than you would get with a regular more square loaf. We've tried the cutters with pb&j as well as ham, turkey, and cheese - all with great results.

Lunch is served!

These are also fun for morning toast and hot sandwiches like grilled cheese. Best of all, the kids love them and clean their plates!

Summer

Today I spent most of the day outside with the family. We recently had a house guest for a couple of weeks and this was our first weekend being just us again. The kiddos ran all over, got dirt and sand in some very unmentionable places, and are sporting rosy sun-kissed cheeks.

I, on the other hand, am sporting some sore thumbs and fingertips from shelling a bucketload of pecans. Actually, only half a bucketload. There are more to be shelled at some later date.

Seriously, these are some tough nuts to crack! I think I finally found a method that works for me but does involve the use of a hammer as well as a nutcracker. They were brought to us fresh from Oklahoma, where my sister-in-law gathered them to bring to us.

Some of these will be making their way into a pecan pie and the rest into homemade cinnamon buns. Yum!

Wishing everyone here in the States a safe and happy Independence Day!

Happy Mail

You know it's a good day when something like this shows up in your mailbox:

Kerry is a new blog friend and we've been chatting a bit back and forth. She has a wonderful blog full of inspiring and creative projects so be sure to check it out and say hi. A little while ago I posted a picture of some homemade cinnamon rolls and that prompted a little personal swap.

I sent some really strong cinnamon along with a potholder and some little fabric bits that I thought Kerry would like along with the recipe for the cinnamon rolls. And this is what she sent to me:

Am I lucky or what?! I should mention that there were also two fabulous chocolate bars that obviously didn't last long enough to make it into a photo and some tasty tea.

Really beautiful fabric - all new to me!

And here's the back of the potholder, complete with one of Kerry's handmade tags, which I adore.

And a better look at the front of the potholder. I have it hanging in my kitchen with strict instructions to my husband to not use it! I just want to enjoy looking at it!

Here's the potholder I sent:

And the back has a pocket for your hand:

Thanks for such a fun swap, Kerry!

Best. Dinner. Ever.

Popovers, I love you so.

Ever since having popovers at my friend Gretchen's house a few years back, I've been in love. They are dreamy. It's like the very very BEST bread crust with an airy interior, almost hollow but with just a perfect amount of doughy goodness clinging to the sides to soak up some butter.

I wish I had one to eat right now.

They are sublime with a big bowl of vegetable beef barley soup.

True confession: I have been known to sit in front of the oven with the interior light on just to watch the popovers "pop" because it is a beautiful and magical thing to behold. Yum.

Success!

The first ever visit to see Santa went surprisingly well! Miss B was a little freaked out at first but was totally chatting Santa up by the end. And in typical little girl fashion, the "official" Santa photo taken by the photographer has her lifting her dress. Priceless.

Owen was thrilled. I think he feels great relief at being able to tell Santa, in person, what he really wants for Christmas.

A super fun way to start Christmas eve! Now we're all at home, watching Rudolph and baking cranberry pumpkin bread for tomorrow morning. We assembled a few last minute gifts of apple spice muffin mix in a jar for our neighbors and there are two pans of Bailey's nutty bars to give to family we'll be seeing later tonight.

Ho ho ho!

Giving Thanks

From our family to yours, wishing you a wonderful day of gratitude and thanksgiving.

Look at this little 23 pounder just waiting to make the house smell amazing.

And then there's this little 42 pounder:

And his sidekick/cohort/groupie/impersonator:

Gobble gobble!

Lookie here!

I went and got myself a serger!

It's so awesome! Very very basic model but it got excellent reviews. Love. It.

Whipped up these little snack bags to test everything out. Tutorial here.

I went ahead and made them with two layers of fabric to give them a lining. Seriously - including cutting, sewing and pressing, it took about 20 minutes to make 6 of these puppies.

Best of all? They match the kiddos lunch sacks!

Okay, I'm off to see what else I can serge!

Comfort food

It is nothing short of miraculous that a pile of simple tools and ingredients like these:

Can turn into something like this:

And don't forget the vanilla bean ice cream.

What are you baking these days?

Roasty goodness

Mmmmmm...I love a good roasted beet. So yummy on a salad with goat cheese.

Although my kitchen looks more like the site of a terrible massacre.

And if anyone looks at my hands for evidence they'll have no trouble identifying me as the guilty party.

The Roast Beet Bandit.

It's that time of year.

When I spend a LOT more time in my kitchen. I love holiday baking. It's become both trickier and more fulfilling now that there are kiddos on the scene. They love to "help" but my kitchen often qualifies as a disaster zone when we're through.

In an effort to class the place up a bit, I decided to make covers for my blender and mixer so that they a) don't collect dust when they aren't being used and b) look way cuter.

Blender before (and keep reading if you're curious about those cookies on the cooling rack):

And blender after:

Why, you may ask, is the blender covered in mixer fabric? That would be because I made this very very late at night and realized too late that I was following the blender measurements instead of the mixer ones. Nice, huh?

But have no fear, there's more of that fabric lying around and I have a pretty green kona that matches the green in the print so the mixer will have a matching cover soon.

Check out the yumma-numma cookies we made the other day:

Found the recipe over here. The cookies themselves are pretty awesome, almost like a shortbread but easier (I think) but it didn't hurt to add the cream cheese icing.

'Nuff said.

Summer Love

Ooops! Apparently, I spoke too soon as it's now raining. Oh well, it's Oregon, right?

Anyway...one of my favorite things about late summer is that I finally get to make this:

Roasted corn and tomato salsa. So so yummy!

It's a family tradition and I usually end up making about three big batches before summer's end. Best of all, it freezes well so we can enjoy it even after the fresh corn and tomatoes are long gone.

So, who wants to bring the margaritas?

Is it really June?

Because the weather seems to think it's March. I'm beginning to wonder if our fair city will EVER seem summery. My poor kiddos are going absolutely mad being inside all the time and dashing outside to play for five minutes then running back inside to wait out a rain shower that lasts for half an hour is getting kind of old.

So today we baked bread. Bailey loves to watch the mixer go round and round and round. I mean, she LOVES it. Gets transfixed. It's hilarious.

She also likes to stick her nose into the bowl and take a big sniff. "Mmmmm...Mommy. Smells like dough." And then she runs amok with all my measuring cups and spoons, shrieking with delight. Sigh. At least we get to eat this with our "sgabetti and neatballs" tonight.

And the best part is that the whole house smells like a bakery. I love that.