Rainy Day Baking

08 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

I have been in the baking mood. Have you? It seems like that it has rained here for weeks. I am not complaining though…because in Missouri…we sometimes have really, really dry summers. I think that it’s just throwing everyone off a tad…because it looks like fall outside. Of course then you step out into the humidity and you are all like “Nope. Still summer.”

Ethel, the mixer above, (I just named her this week.) is my right hand gal in the kitchen. My husband bought her for me, for Christmas one year…and talk about excited! She is definitely a workhorse. She twirls my egg whites and sugar into meringue…while I just stand there…filing my nails. (Just kidding…I don’t have nails…to file. Well…I have fingernails…just not long ones. Didn’t want to freak you out.) 😉

Do you have a stand mixer? They are amazing. If you don’t have one…I highly recommend saving your egg money or your quarters or just being really good so you can get one at Christmas. They are truly wonderful for those hard to stir batches of cookies. I just give ol’ Ethel the flick of a switch and she does it for me.

This week we have made zucchini muffins and cherry cobbler. I’m kinda in the cookie baking mood right now though, which is funny because I am more of a pie baking kind of gal. One pie and you are done. When you bake cookies…you are in the kitchen for like, ten years. (Okay..slight exaggeration.) I’m telling you..it’s this rainy weather. No wonder people diet in January. From the first day of fall until then…they are baking cookies. 😉

I hope that you have a wonderful Thursday, Dirt Roaders. I hope that you bake cookies and pies and that your little kids smile with crumbs around their mouths. I think that the Proverbs 31 lady would approve. I would say that she had yummy things waiting on her crew when they came home. I love to do that. I love…loving my family through food.

Waving at you with my oven mitt on… (not really)

p.s. A big shout out to my friend Sue Joyner. Your words of encouragement…brought home by my husband yesterday…were wonderful. Thank you for your kindness. It was just what I needed. I shall….blog on. 😉

The Great White Kitchen Debate…and a Goat

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style

≈ 11 Comments

Have you ever gotten a wild hair? You are just sitting there all like…minding your own business…and all of the sudden you want to paint something?

Sometimes I have these wild hairs…and then sometimes I mull things over for months before I act on them.

We have been having The Great White Kitchen Debate around here. I love kitchens that are all white…but my family is very attached to the Russet Rose. So I have come to a conclusion. I asked my husband for a beadboard backsplash for my birthday. It’s coming up you know. So is my one year blogging anniversary. That sounds like a good reason to put new backsplash up. For now…the Russet Rose will stay. The bead board will “farmhousey” it up in there. Someday…I may break out the white paint…but not right now.

Oh yeah…and I also asked for a goat. Yes…a real goat.

Happy Thursday Evening!

Just in case you missed it…

30 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

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Hey Dirt Roaders! I am so serious about the fact that you will love this recipe from yesterday…that I am posting it again…and a little more snazzy this time. I’m also going to pop it onto Pinterest for ya. If you want to follow me on Pinterest…I’m here at Along the Dirt Road. Now…how fun would that be? 🙂

If you did indeed miss yesterday’s mmmMonday! post…you can find our recipe here.

I hope that your Tuesday is full of all good things. 🙂

Smiles!

mmmMonday! on Wednesday (Pickled Beets 101)

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, fluffin' the nest, Yum for the Tum

≈ 2 Comments

Hey Sweet Dirt Roaders! How are you? We are good…doin’ good. Life has been crazy…and summer has been super busy. Busy is good though. I missed mmmMonday! this week…because of some of the busy in our lives. Sooooo….since I was canning our beets from the garden yesterday and sharing on Instagram…I thought that I would bring a little mmmMonday to Wednesday this week. Are you down with that? I knew that you would be. You are flexible that way. 😉

Sooo…here I was laboring away in my farmhouse kitchen…and what to my wondering eyes did appear? My momma. How awesome is that? I know…pretty awesome. She came just in time. Plus, she brought our little cousin…to swim with my little one….so it was a win/win all the way around. She can peel beets like nobody’s business. Even hanging way over the sink…right Mom? 😉 AND…getting to visit with your mom…while you are having to work….makes it go super fast. I love you Momma….you are an amazing person. Thank you for teaching me the joy and satisfaction of raising a garden and putting up food for your family. I hope that your new wax pot worked and I hope that you are enjoying all of the goodies that I sent you home with. Plan that vacation….and get back up here….PRONTO…please. 😉

Okay…so….here is my “famous” pickled beet recipe…for all of you that want to know. It’s a little hodge-podge. Our friend Connie gave it to me a few years back…and I tweaked it (of course) to my own taste…..so…well….I hope that you enjoy.

Connie and Kelli’s “famous” Pickled Beets

3 gallons of beets

4 c. of sugar

4 c. of vinegar

4 c. of water

about 1 tsp. of allspice

sea salt (to taste)

Directions:

Cover beets with water in canner and boil until skins loosen. Drain and let cool. Peel beets and place back in (washed) canner. Add vinegar, water, sugar, allspice and sea salt (a couple of pinches) and taste. Just kind of go by your own judgement and tweak it to the way that you think they should taste. I don’t like them really spiced. Maybe you do. Just go wild. 😉 I love the way that the salt balances out the sweet. Cook them until they boil and then ladle them into hot jars. Seal…and wait for the popping sound to start. (My favorite part of canning.)

If you have questions about all of the steps to canning I will be happy to answer. Just leave me a comment. Canning is an art…and actually for me a heritage. It has been passed down from my grandmothers…to my mom and now to me. Even though it is a lot of work…canning is one of my favorite things about summer. There is a certain feeling in your kitchen and home…when you are preserving. Maybe it’s the essence of the Proverbs 31 woman….in the room. Whatever it is…it makes me thankful for this country life that I am blessed to live.

Smiles!

mmmMonday! Too tired to cook!

01 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

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Okay….am I the only one that ever feels this way? We have been nutty-busy lately. Matter of fact I am blogging from my phone…yet once again…because I need to head to town in second.

I really need to figure out what we are eating tonight. I’m thinking that no matter how yummy ice cream is….it’s not meant for a meal.

Do you guys have a go-to meal for times like these? If it were winter I might throw on a pot of chili….but the Mr. doesn’t dig soup and chili in the summer. I can understand that.

Sometimes on nights like this we have breakfast for supper. I enjoy it. When I was a kid….I hated it! Things change. 😉

Part of the reason for my dilema…is….I need to go grocery shopping. Ahhh….now we know….what all this wee-wahhhing is about! 😉

(Hey…at least it’s chocolate!)

Have a wonderful day…Sweet Dirt Roadies. I promise…a meatier post…next time. Sorry….that was lame. 😉 Now….go forth and cook a feast…..I think we might have a PB n J!

Smiles!

Instagram….the addiction….

28 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, everyday stuff, fluffin' the nest, Simply...living, Yum for the Tum

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Are you crazy about Instagram? I mean how fun is that? I know….pretty fun. Today…I have a ton of craziness going on…but I don’t want to leave you hanging over the weekend….so I’m doing one of my handy dandy phone posts. I thought that I would share a few Instagram pics to brighten your Friday. Hey…it’s Friday…and we can do what we want, right? Well…..okay then! 😉

Have a wonderful weekend, Dirt Roaders….and join me on Instagram….if you dare. 😉

Smiles!

Kelli

Something borrowed….something blue…

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, fluffin' the nest, Yum for the Tum

≈ 6 Comments

Aren’t wedding showers fun? Good food…good friends…a chance to laugh your guts out.

If you are the person that gets the honor of throwing the shower, it’s so fun to decorate…because the whole time you have the guest of honor in mind. My sweet friend and fellow foodie Amanda threw this shower for our friend/cousin Danna. I offered our place, along the dirt road, for the party shack.

The chicken salad recipe from mmmMonday! was for the shower. If you missed that recipe…you can find it here. It was delish, along with all of the other food that we had. Of course…we HAD to have food. I mean…what fun would that be…if we didn’t? 😉

(A big” thank you” and “I love you” to my Mr. Thank you for listening to my huge chalkboard idea…and then digging around in your scraps (except the board that was intended for a shelf) and making my idea come to life. I love you more than words…can say.)

You wanna hear something crazy? The day before the wedding shower…our air went out on our main level. Thank the good Lord that it’s still working upstairs, so we have somewhere to go and cool off. (I’m waiting on the guy to come and fix it today.) Our gals are troopers though. We didn’t let a little stuffiness keep us from partying!

Saturday morning, it was quiet at the Farmhouse. I had beans that needed breaking…matter of fact I have some waiting on me now…but I couldn’t resist some quiet shots before the shower.

Isn’t it exciting, getting together and celebrating with friends? I love entertaining here. We have a very kid-friendly farmhouse…so it’ all good…and we can just concentrate on having a good time.

I hope that you have a wonderful day, Dirt Road Sweeties. I hope that your a/c is cranked and you are feeling thankful for it…after reading this post. Thank you for coming by and checking out a few pictures from the shower. After all…if you didn’t…I would be blogging…in vain. 🙂

Smiles!

mmmMonday! Lemon Juice and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

17 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, RaMbLiNgs, Yum for the Tum

≈ 4 Comments

Would you like to come and visit my happy place? Well…one of them. I have several actually…and one of them could involve stripey party straws and turquoise Ball jars…but that isn’t the one that I’m talking about on mmmMonday! today. By the way…I am not responsible for any mason jars or stripey straws that jump into this post today. Okay…I am…but I know that it’s totally off subject…and I just can’t help myself. I am rambling…but I’m crazy about the fact that Ball is celebrating with blue jars this year. Okay…back on track. Today on mmmMonday!…..my happy place of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. It’s a beautiful thing.

A couple or three years ago…my friend Jenny introduced me to the beauty of lemon juice on salad. I’m just talking…a simple drizzle of olive oil and squeezing a fresh lemon over the top. It’s so bright. So fresh and delicious. It’s also very healthy.

You may already do this. I just wanted the folks that have not tried it…to know the beauty of the humble lemon. We have used it to make lemonade over the years…we have used it to flavor fish and chicken and lots of other things but squeezing it over salad without making a fancy dressing? I challenge you to try it. Your favorite veggies…with a sprinkle of sea salt and a few twists of freshly cracked pepper….then a drizzle of oil and a splash of lemon juice? Amazing.

Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite way to dress a salad. I really want to know!

Smiles!

p.s. I hope that the dads in your life had an amazing Father’s Day weekend. I think that ours did. I enjoyed honoring my husband and our dads so much. God is good…to give us these men to love us…lead us…protect and provide. Amazing…this plan of His. 🙂

Can one be addicted to blue jars?

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, everyday stuff

≈ 2 Comments

They came in the mail. Amazon offered a pretty tight deal. Free shipping. Can you beat that? Not when you cannot find them in your town. Yes…I am talking about the new “vintage” Ball jars. Have you seen them? If you are an addict like me…I know that you are in for a treat today.

Okay…so addict is a strong word. I just have a very strong liking for the turquoise Ball jars. (Did you know that they were blue because of the sand that they used from lake Michigan and the temperature in the furnace?) You have probably noticed that before in posts. I’m sure that somewhere lurking in the background of some shot was a turquoise Ball jar or two. Oh..duh…there is one in the header of this blog. It just dawned uponst me. (Ha! Uponst…my new word! Spell check is balking!)

So then…one day…somewhere in Blogland, or Instagram or the Web, there they were. Ball decided to come out with these “vintage” blue jars to celebrate their 100th anniversary! How cool is that? I know…pretty cool. I checked around and couldn’t find them here. I even had my husband’s aunt check in their town. Nada. So…I checked out good ol’ Amazon…and now…here they are.

The funny thing is…um…I haven’t taken them out of the package. It’s weird. I was kinda like that when my very first roll of baker’s twine came from Pick Your Plum. I just didn’t want to open it. It was too pretty. This though, is more like…I’m not sure what I’m gonna do with them once I open them. I know that I will wash and dry them. Believe me…I have lots of ideas…I just haven’t decided. What would you do with them?

Canning season is just around the corner. Things are growing in the garden…but I’m not sure if I will can in these or use them for pretty. Whatever I decide…I will try to let you know. They are just so stinkin’ pretty…I just stare at them. It’s Momma’s fault you know. She always dressed me in turquoise when I was a little kid.

Have a wonderful day, Dirt Road Sweeties! May it be filled with all things wholesome and grandmotherly. Then tonight…when you snuggle up in your little nest…may you dream dreams of vintage mason jars and cobbler and warm days on the farm and antique quilts! Wouldn’t that be fun!? A junkin’ dream! 😉

p.s. This is not a sponsored post. It’s just me…gabbing about something that I love. 🙂

A few little things…

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, fluffin' the nest

≈ 2 Comments

Are you a mover and a shaker? Let me explain the question. Are you one of those people who start out cleaning and then start moving things around? Maybe you move things around and then clean. Sometimes I do this for inspiration and sometimes I do it because it just needs to be done. (When things don’t “feel” right…I move them until they find their permanent home.)

This week was one of those times. I had never found a good spot for the little (junkin’) German canisters that I bought. Then it dawned on me. They might fit…where I keep my cooking utensils, olive oil and s & P. I was so excited when they did. I wanted them on the counter…where I could see them all the time…but I didn’t want more stuff on the counter. Did I lose ya? No? I knew I wouldn’t. You are Dirt Roaders after all. You can track a rabbit…down any trail. 😉

Okay…so…then this package came in the mail. It was from Pick Your Plum. Do you know about them? Oh. My. Goodness. The best baker’s twine…in the history of ever. It’s so pretty…I didn’t even want to open it for a few days. Then I decided that I wanted it in my kitchen…not in the craft room in the basement. I mean…I wouldn’t be able to gaze upon it. (btw: Pick Your Plum is not paying me to say this…I am because I was so pleased with their product.) Anyway….I don’t have one of those twine holder thingies…so I used my Martha Stewart over the cabinet towel rack and some garden twine. It works for me.

Sooo…..then I noticed that I still had daffodils on our farmhouse table in the dining room. (They were fake…by the way.) Now…that being said…if you still have some out…wonderful. It’s still spring and if you want to leave yours out all year…I respect that. It’s your house…live it up the way that you want. I just had the itch to change mine up. So, what does any self-respecting foodie do when she needs fresh “flowers?” Herbs of course. I love the way that the oregano and spearmint pop against the white. Adorbs.

Last…but not least I decided that my olive bucket needed something in it. My sweet Mr. and our kids gave it to me for Mother’s Day. I love…lovity…love it. So, I stuck some lavender in it. Impressive…I know. 😉

Well…those are just a few little things. They don’t actually make me happy because life is not about stuff. Blessings, like the grace of God, the strong hugs from my husband and the sweet snuggles of my children truly make me happy. These few little things, that I have for now, they just make me smile.