On another hot summer night here in Minneapolis and I was hanging in the garden with my friends neighbors. Emily was kind enough to give me a tour of the Quails in her backyard.
They are quite small and dainty little birds, they lay the most beautiful speckled eggs. I was Lucky enough to come home with a dozen. Which inspired a photo shoot and trying out this pasta dish.
Classic Carbonara Quail Egg recipe
Making some Limoncello, I discovered the love of Limoncello while in Italy.
Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, it is made from the zest of lemons and is steeped in vodka until the oils are released. It is traditionally served chilled as an after dinner digestivo.
How to make Limoncello:
Ingredients:
12 organic lemons
1000 ml Everclear or 100 proof vodka
1 1/2 cup sugar, made into simple syrup
Directions:
2. Place lemons in a large glass mason jar or other glass container than can be sealed airtight. Cover with everclear or vodka. Secure lid and place in a cool, dark location for at least 1 week and up to 4 weeks.
3. When liquor is yellow in color and peel begins to turn white and easily snaps in two pieces when bent, limoncello is done. The longer it steeps the stronger the lemon flavor will be.
4. Strain limoncello into a clean class jar, discarding lemon peels. If desired, strain the lemon liquor again through a fine mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter. This will remove even more residual solids and result in a smoother final product.
5. Combine sugar and 3 cups filtered or bottled water in a saucepan set over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool, then pour into jar with lemon liquor. Secure lid and return to your cool, dark location to mellow, at least 2 weeks or more. The longer you let it mellow, the better your final limoncello will be.
6. Once limoncello has mellowed, Chill in the freezer for at least 24 hours before serving. It can be stored in the freezer for up to a year
Sitting on the patio sipping on some sangria. At my local Cub store they have this frozen sangria fruit mix you can buy, large nice slices of oranges, peaches and cherries.
It’s so simple add a bag of fruit a bottle of dry red wine, 2 cups of 7up and 1/2 cup of brandy. mix together in pitcher and serve.
I like it when things are simple and delicious.
cheers robin
I just wanted to share this pretty cherry pie picture we had on set the other day. The amazing stylist Karla Spies was preparing it in the studio and I had the pleasure of getting to watch her and see all the trade secrets. First of all its really a mash potato pie with a layer of cherries on top, so I guess a savory sweet pie. And the other tip I learned was she made her lattice pie crust on a sheet of wax paper and then put it in the freezer so she could lay the whole top on perfectly. Then let it thaw out and crimp the edges.
It was a thing of beauty, of course those stylist always make it look so easy. Perhaps this will inspire you for those thanksgiving pies that are right around the corner.
thanks Robin
This Lemon lime shrub is a refreshing beverage to sip on as the temps and humidity keeps rising. The discovery of shrubs continues for me,. I found this recipe and many more in this book by Michael Dietsch, this is a great resource for process and recipes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-orourke/cookbook-review-shrubs-by-michael-dietsch_b_7336720.html
I mix this lemon lime shrub with sparkly water and either vodka or gin for a simple cocktail. With shrubs I suggest using a milder vinegar like a champagne or white wine and start by adding the vinegar in small quantities and continue to taste till you like the flavor.
Ingredients
Process
In addition you do a process called oleo-saccharum with the peels of the lemons to add some more in-depth flavor to the sugar with blending the oils of the lemon peels and the sugar.
the sugar will add some zesty flavor to your shrub.
cheers
I discovery a shrub at a farmers market in Madison Wisconsin, a lady was selling kombucha and this syrup called a shrub.
The fascination still continues as I read about the history and google recipes online. As most things usually go once you discover something then you start to notice it.. My friend Karla and I did some research and made a few shrubs at home. There are a lot of techniques for making shrubs we use the cold process.
The shrub is a fruit, sugar and vinegar syrup that can be mixed with soda, booze or both. A shrub is both tart and sweet; the acidic trace enhances the fruit and smooths out the sweetness of the sugar. In colonial America shrub syrup was a method to preserve fruit before we had refrigeration. And a thirst quencher on hot days.
As I mentioned there are several methods to making a shrub, I use the simple cold process.
Recipe
Ingredients are all equal parts
1cup fruit diced up into pieces
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar {cider, champagne or balsamic}
Place fruit in bowl. Cover with sugar and stir.
Cover and store in refrigerator until juice exudes from fruit and starts to combine with sugar to form syrup. This may need a couple of days. Don’t worry how long the fruit sits in the frig it will not harm the syrup.
Strain syrup from fruit. I use a cheese cloth and squish lightly on the fruit to express any remaining juice. Add any remaining sugar into syrup.
Add vinegar and stir to combine.
Pour into clean bottle. Store in refrigerator.
Check to see if all the sugar has dissolved.
I’ve read that you can keep the shrub in the frig for up to a year.
Cocktail Mixture
2 parts spirit {gin,vodka,rum ect}
½ part shrub
2 dashes of bitters {lemon,orange ect.}
other options are to add:
1 part flavored liqueur
combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker poor over ice in glass and add a splash of sparkly water.
images styled with Karla Spies
I had to share this salted Caramel chocolate chip bar with you. It is so sick, we were making them in the studio and I could not stop snacking on them till I felt sick. But it is worth it. This bar is a chocolate cookie salty sweet gooey goodness. And easy to make with the quick Caramel microwave instructions.
this recipe comes from Brown Eyed Baker
photo stylist Barb Standal
mmmmmm enjoy
There are a lot of claims for apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon a day will keep the colds away. Last winter I got on the cider band wagon and I did stay pretty healthy. I found this recipe on health& fit point.
“Whenever people have problems with some infection, they immediately turn to pharmaceutical products to get rid of it as soon as possible. Remember that infections in the body should not be always treated with antibiotics. So, why don’t you look for a natural solution instead? We have the right recipe for you. Besides from being very effective, it is very healthy. Its preparation couldn’t be simpler and revitalizes you body, giving it back its proper function. You know that strong immune system means healthy body. Therefore, this remedy will boost your immune system and you can forget about infections and bacteria.”
Last winter I received this olive oil mixture as a gift, at first I was scarred to try it. It seamed messy and suspicious. It took someone else to try it out first on her hands, she gave it a good review. So I gave it a try rubbing it on my hands, yea it’s nice. It exfoliates and leaves your hands silky smooth. It’s good to keep in the shower and use on your legs, really never felt so smooth-ok maybe TMI.
It’s about 50/50 brown sugar and olive oil and then add a couple drops of lavender oil, just to make it smell nice. That’s all and everyone can find it in their cupboard. I’ve read on-line people use it on their faces, but I’m not going there seems like too much oil. This is a great mixture for those winter months.
It’s dipping below zero temperatures here in Mpls. Makes you want to stay inside and make something warm. I’ve been reading about how healthy sweet potato and Quinoa are for you, so when I saw this recipe in Donna Hay Magazine I had to give it a try. I enjoyed the soup pretty simple to make and you can load it up with all the spinach you want.
photoappetite 