Blackberry Nectarine Lush

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Easter. I know we did! The hubby and I headed out to his sister's house to have dinner with the family. It also happened to be my mother-in-law's birthday, so we had quite the Easter celebration. We had it all. A turkey and a ham. Two pasta salads. A big chocolatey, butterfinger-y birthday cake. Kids hopped up on way too much sugar... You know, the normal Easter fare 😂

A Day In the Life: April 2017

I haven't done a "Day in the Life" post in forever (since February of 2013!!), so today I thought I'd have some fun. I'm also changing the format of the traditional "Day in the Life" post, just cause I can 😜

I woke up yesterday with the intention to blog. It was one of those mornings where I felt completely uninspired and couldn't come up with anything to say. I wrote out a post and then I reread it. Even I was bored. Deleted. One of my intentions since coming back from my break was to share quality work, not just sharing work for the sake of sharing. So I decided to take the day off from posting. To work in the garden. To do some yoga. To enjoy my pups. It was then that I had the idea to do a "Day in the Life" post so I decided to take some pictures throughout the day.

Oh yes, it's definitely time for a fun post! Let's get started-

It's Almost Spring!

Actually, I guess it is spring. 

Hello!

I know it's been awhile, but I'm feeling ready to get back in the swing of things. There's something about spring that's just so inspiring for me, I'm starting to burst from wanting to share recipes and photos again. Winter is my least favorite season, it always feels bleak to me. I know there's many wonderful things about winter, and I appreciate them... for awhile. But then I'm ready for renewal. I love when the early daffodils pop, when there's buds on all the trees, when I start seeing juvenile cardinals and gold finches at the feeders again. It's magical. I have a few items in my garden that just pop up all on their own, like little gifts from nature. Such as my chives, above. They just burst from the ground one day, green and beautiful, full of hope.

Lemony Lemon Cupcakes

Pen... and paper.

Cookies... and milk.

Socks... and shoes.

Peanut butter... and jelly.

Lighting... and thunder.

Spring... and LEMON!

I'm not sure why but when I think of spring foods, I think of lemons. I don't know what it is, March hits and all the sudden I want lemon bars stuffed with sweet homemade lemon curd. Ice-cold lemonades flavored with fragrant berries and aromatic mint. Moist, delicious lemon cakes slathered with a delectably tart and creamy frosting... 

Yes, yes, and YES!

Cherry Berry Power Smoothies

Let's talk smoothies.

I don't post a lot of smoothies. In my mind, they could be considered one of those things that doesn't even need a recipe. I always tend to hesitantly publish smoothie recipes, bracing myself for anyone that might comment that smoothies are hardly recipes. People do make those comments! Just the other day, (no names, y'all) a blogger posted a strawberry parfait that really was just strawberries layered with piped whipped cream, and someone left a comment on her post saying "Um, when did strawberries and whipped cream become a recipe?". I hate seeing comments like that. I mean, for one, even if I was thinking that myself, I would never say it. We all work way too hard on posts to be harassed by mean-spirited comments. And two, I started wondering if people thought that about my recipes.

It's a slippery slope. 

April, Abbreviated: 2016

It's May, you guys. How is it May? Almost half the year is gone already! On the plus side... it will be summer soon. Outside, the trees all have leaves or are actively growing new ones, the weeds have bloomed, the wasps are out *grumbles*, and we are on the cusp of humidity here in NE Kentucky. Yes, it is currently that short, maybe 2-week period we have here where the weather is warm and sunny, but the humidity is low. Because when the humidity kicks in, whew, it's tough to be outside in the afternoon. The garden is growing by leaps and bounds, to my delight. It also appears our bees have decided to stay. What I can I say? April kicked ass. Let's summarize the whirlwind that was last month-

Chicken Yakitori

It's that time of year again!

The weather is getting warm. Our days have been in 70's and 80's this whole week. Our forecast shows nary a night under 40º. It's those days when the sun is beating down on your shoulders and you have an ice cold beer in your hand that grilling is just... the best.

I mean, who wants to stand over a hot stove when the weather has just begun to break? I don't. The garden is just starting to grow and flowers are in bloom. If I can sit outside in a lawn chair and flip dinner every once in while, oh yeah, I'm gonna do it. 

March Musings: 2016

Holy April Batman!

Wow. My break went super-duper fast. Gone in the blink of an eye. I needed it badly. Truth be told, my expectations surrounding my back injury have really sent me straight through the ringer, and right back again. Back in January, I thought I'd be running by April. The timeline has not gone that smoothly in reality, and I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. I have no news to share on that front, and that's the problem. Right now, it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and that's been a hard thing to accept.

From New Construction to 3 Years

December 2012

3 years.

Well, technically it's been almost 3.5 years. But I digress. Can you believe it's been almost 3.5 years since I've done an update on the state of the homestead? Mercy. I thought we'd take some time today to remedy that. 

In case you were wondering, you can find the link to that old update here.

But for now, let's talk 3 years in!

Blackberry-Nectarine Preserves

Yeah, I know it's still winter. And preserves are probably the last thing on your mind right now. However, I was at Sam's Club a while ago and they had lovely bags of nectarines they were selling. You may not know this about me, but I have a compelling weakness for stone fruits. Peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries... I devour each equally. Seeing as how it was late February, one could say it had been a considerable amount of time since I'd had any stone fruit. And the nectarines looked amazing, I couldn't resist. 

February Findings: 2016

It's March! How did this happen? The days are flying by and I'm still way behind on my reading list for the year. Eep. 

February was a pretty jam-packed month. A snowstorm, the Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, bee school... February was pretty cool. I've got plenty of pictures from the month, so let's dive right in!

Spring 2015 aka Chipmunkpaloosa

Hello from Kentucky this wonderful Tuesday morning!

I'm not so sure about the wonderful part, since I've gotten up early for an appointment plus it's raining. But, to look on the bright side-

1. I got to see a big frog this morning, since it's raining. Just chilling on the driveway, enjoying the early spring rise in temperature.

2. I don't have to water anything I planted over the weekend. 

The Best Grilled Burgers

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend? I spent mine around the homestead. I literally did not leave the house. I had no intention of doing that, but somehow it just happened. I woke up with tons of energy on Saturday. The kind of productive, house-cleaning energy that doesn't pop up everyday. You have to take advantage of those moods when they come along, you know what I mean? Which I did on Saturday morning. Hello clean bathrooms, waxed bedroom furniture, and freshly scrubbed baseboards! 

Blueberry Cream Cupcakes

Well everybody, I thought since I posted the recipe for Fresh Blueberry Curd on Tuesday that today I'd post a follow-up recipe. My favorite vanilla cupcakes, bursting at the seams with fresh blueberry curd, all topped with whipped cream-like frosting and a few tart berries.

Fresh Blueberry Curd

-plus a dessert recipe!

It's officially Spring here in Kentucky! The air is warming up, gardening supplies are being stocked on the shelves at the big box store again, and blueberries are back in grocery stores. I love the start of Spring. There's just something magical about breaking out of that long rut of winter weather and gray skies into the first warm day that merely hints at what's to come. It really feels like everything is coming back to life. My heart leaps with joy, and I want nothing more than to be outside with my hands in the dirt. Of course, we haven't had our last frost yet so I can't plant anything just yet. 

Chocolate-Dipped Malt Cookies

I figured since it's been 364 days since I last posted a recipe with malt powder in it, it's time for another one. Yep, that's right. On March 17, 2014 I posted Chocolate Malt Cupcakes with Malted Buttercream. How's that for a throwback? There must be something about this time of year that causes my brain to be dreamily preoccupied with malt powder...

Eggs Poached in Marinara with Arugula

Happy Friday folks! I've got a great, brunch-y recipe for you today. Perfect for a late Saturday morning meal with your significant other. Or for dinner. We have breakfast-like meals for dinner quite a bit. Eggs, Bacon, and Toast is one of the easiest dinners to pull together at the drop of a hat. It's also a meal the hubby can fix when I don't feel like cooking :) Mwhahaha. But I digress. 

Springtime in Kentucky

Another weekend has come and gone. Where does the time go? We had a pretty productive weekend, even with the hubby working the nightshift. I planted 2 tomato plants and a zucchini plant, harvested plenty of herbs, baked muffins and a frittata, took plenty of pictures, snuck off to the gym a couple of times, and even braved the warehouse club that is Sam's. The hubby (on top of working, hello!) ran the weed-eater over the whole property and replaced the brakes on our old car. Whew! 

BTW, that's our house in the distance in the above picture. It's taking all my self-control to not harvest this bounty of wildflowers by our house. They would make an amazing flower arrangement on our kitchen counter, but I've been restraining myself. So that everyone can enjoy them :)

Gizmo, mid-air. I was surprised, #1 that the picture turned out, and #2 that it turned out well. He's a warm-weather loving dog.

One of my tomato plants, a starter I got at Lowe's. In true Jessica fashion, I killed all the seeds I planted in early April. Well, I take that back. The hubby bought the wrong kind of soil to plant them in, so couldn't we say he killed all the plants? I think so! Anyhoo, I bought a couple of starters for my beefsteak tomatoes. I've got some lovely blossoms on the plant, the hubby says I should have tomatoes in 5 weeks. Not soon enough!

Say what you want about daisies but I happen to love them. Takes me back to first-grade soccer, totally uninterested in the game, building daisy chains. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure daisy chains were a staple of middle school softball, too. I was older yes, but I played right-field. There weren't any balls getting hit there in middle school girl's softball. Trust me. The daisies kept me from the clutches of right-field boredom. And yes, there's a reason I played right-field ----->world's worst soft ball player.

Still sitting here, obsessed with the purple flowers :)

Birds have once again reclaimed the birdhouse. I haven't seen the birds that are nesting here, this box is in the hubby's aunt and uncle's yard. Last year I caught a glimpse of these birds in late June, so I probably won't catch a peep (hehe, peep) of these birds till later in the season.

These birds showed up about 2 weeks ago and only stayed for a couple of days. I'm left scratching my head as to where they went. I believe these are Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, which do winter waaay south. My best current guess is these particular birds summer a lot further north. 

*Side note- I just had to google this one. Where I'm located (NE Kentucky), I'm zoned migration-only for the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Therefore, I'm feeling pretty lucky that I witnessed them at all since they were literally just passing through.

A particularly sassy bluejay.

This squirrel cracked me up! This is the top of a tall, dead tree on the side of our house. One morning, I watched this critter scurry up there and just sit. This seemed like peculiar behavior to me, as he is just perched out there in the open for any predator to see, but hey, I'm not a squirrel. I enjoyed him nonetheless. 

One critter I did NOT want to see. Snakes give me the creeps! Bleh.

A cute picture I got of the hubby tilling the backyard. He actually drove around the yard singing, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy". I'm so serious. If anything else, he always makes me laugh :)

Annnnnd, this is what I do while the hubby works. Work on my tan!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I've got some delicious recipes on store for this week, so stay tuned!

Helpful links:

Rose-breasted Grosbeak wiki

Fresh Mint Lemonade

The first of many mint recipes to come for the season.

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty nice day (for the most part), and it turned out to be a great day for my first harvest. After watching several YouTube videos on harvesting cilantro, parsley, basil, and mint and armed with kitchen shears, I ended up collecting what would have been an expensive bounty of herbs from the grocery store. And the smells of my fresh herbs! I think I've been buying artificial cilantro from Kroger... Have you seen that Dairy Queen commercial, about the artificial fruit stand (ironic, being a Dairy Queen commercial)? "100% not-real fruit" sound familiar? Well, that's how I'm starting to feel about Kroger's cilantro.

And the mint? Ohhhhh, the smell of fresh mint...

True to what my mother said, the mint has indeed taken over its little box. What started out as one lonely strand has branched into many strands. I've got a million mint recipes running through my mind, cookies and popsicles being among the top recipes I can't wait to experiment with. But first, I put some spring-y lemons to good use with this lemonade.

I love fresh lemonade. The difference in commercial lemonade (prepared with artificial fruit juice and more chemicals than you'll ever be able to pronounce) and homemade lemonade (prepared with water, sugar, and lemon juice) is vast. Fresh lemonade is a revelation. It's bright, tangy, and summery. And combined with fresh mint? Holy yum.

You want to know what I think? I think this would make one mean margarita. Think about it. Yeah, it's not lime-based, but it is citrus-based. Mixed with some tequila, orange-licquer, and maybe a touch of light beer to cut the sweetness? That experiment be calling my name! Oh, I'm so doing it :)

If you don't include fresh mint in your diet, let me provide a couple of reasons why you should:

1. Soothes stomach indigestion.

2. Mint provides quick and effective nausea relief. 

3. Can clear up congestion of the nose, throat, and lungs.

4. Mint is a natural stimulant which can help fight depression and fatigue.

5. Mint oil is a natural anti-septic and can reduce skin inflammation and acne.

6. Potential increase in cognitive function and alertness.

There's many, many other reasons to add mint to your diet. Not only is it tasty and fragrant, it's exceedingly healthy for you.

The mint leaves really make the lemonade feel fancy. The scent of a glass of this lemonade is enough to put any grumpy-puss in a good mood.

Well, another week is almost gone. I can't believe it's Thursday already. I continue to be amazed at how busy the hubby and I have been this spring. Today's shaping up to be another busy day as the hubby has the day off. It's yard work and our nephew's t-ball game on deck. As for this weekend, the hubby will be working the night shift. We definitely won't be partying like we did last weekend! Back to reality :)

Happy Thursday!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

6 cups water

2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 6-7 lemons)

1/2- 3/4 cup mint leaves

ice

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 2 cups of water. Heat over medium-high heat until sugar has been dissolved, and the mixture once again looks like water.

2. In a large pitcher, add remaining 4 cups of water to lemon juice. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar mixture to lemon juice. Add ice to taste. Stir in mint leaves. Chill in fridge for 1 hour. Serve over ice.

Printable Recipe

Helpful links:

Mint facts- http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-mint.html

How to make simple syrup- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-syrup/

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Cheesy Eggplant & Orzo Casserole

Bear with me friends. This may not be the most attractive casserole I've ever made, but how often do casseroles really look beautiful? Seems to me, the very definition of casserole is a mass of different ingredients thrown together in a pot, cooked all at once, and then baked into bubbly goodness. Doesn't it make sense that a casserole wouldn't be the most photogenic baked good when you are just piling ingredients on top of each other? Well, that's how I justify it to myself :)

What this casserole lacks in the looks department, it more than makes up for in the taste category. To be honest with everyone, eggplant is not my favorite vegetable. I stuff them, and eh. I dredge them in a crunchy coating and bake them with marinara, and blah. I can take them or leave them. Not anymore! I finally found a recipe that makes excellent and delicious use of eggplant. Some even better news? The hubby adored this dish. We feel similarly about eggplant, and we felt similarly about this casserole. As in, keep it coming!

I changed the original recipe slightly. The source recipe calls for quinoa in place of the orzo, but I knew there was no way I was getting the hubby to eat eggplant and quinoa in one dish. No matter how I gussied it up. I decided to substitute orzo for the quinoa but you could substitute rice, brown rice, or even another grain, like farro. I got excellent results with the orzo however, the pasta provided a nice chew to the casserole. Since I knew the orzo would be baking in the casserole, I made sure I pulled the orzo from the heat while it was still a little al dente. Just so the end result wouldn't be a mouthful of overcooked pasta. 

Veggie lovers will love this dish. This is a vegetarian casserole, but I can almost bet you won't miss the meat. There's chopped onion and red pepper, sliced mushrooms, and of course, the eggplant. All tied together by a spicy tomato sauce and creamy cheese. Wow, I'm sad this casserole is long gone. I highly encourage everyone to make this one-pot wonder, you won't regret it. 

So, this bad girl did not tend to her herb garden yesterday. You can imagine what's first on my to-do list today. I didn't get a chance to make salsa yesterday either, so I guess that worked out for the best. I'll be making fresh salsa with fresh cilantro this morning. Obviously, I can't wait for the best part of that process... the taste test! I've been diligently watering my herbs, and still my oregano hath kicked the bucket. It was seriously weakened by all the wind we had this spring, and I wasn't sure it was going to make it anyway. It will just have to end up making good compost. I may get a start at Lowe's and plant it in it's place. Oh, and I wanted to warn everyone. My mint is growing like gangbusters, so expect some minty-fresh posts to start popping up. Man, I love summer :)

Looks like we are in for some blustery Spring weather today, so I better head outside to get my chores done before the storms arrive. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Ingredients (serves 7-8):

2 cups cooked orzo (about 1 cup uncooked)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 large eggplant, cubed (you can peel your eggplant, if you prefer)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 (25 oz) jar of Arrabiata Sauce

1  1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 cup parsley, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly coat a 8 x 8 casserole pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When warm, add onion and red pepper. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add eggplant, and sauté for 7-10 minutes, or until all veggies have softened. Add garlic to the pan, sauté for 30 seconds. 

3. In a separate non-stick pan, toast cooked orzo with crushed red pepper, pepper, and salt for 1-2 minutes. Set aside. 

4. Remove eggplant mixture from heat. Add Arrabiata sauce, orzo, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Toss to combine.

5. Distribute a thin layer of vegetable mixture into casserole pan. Top with some mozzarella and a little parmesan. Repeat process until you have 3 layers. Evenly spread any remaining mozzarella and parmesan on top of the casserole. Bake, uncovered, in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. 

6. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Top with parsley. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from See Brooke Cook.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday