freeze your basil

i had extra basil and my plant was not looking too happy, so i figured i would try freezing it. they sell the cubes in the store so why not. i followed the instructions from kaylyn's kitchen. i used ice cube trays rather than plastic containers. when they are done freezing i will put them in a ziploc and label them. don't want to mix them up with the baby food cubes.

more squash

more warty squash!

sweet potato pie, mmmmm

i haven't had sweet potato pie and i have always wanted to, so i made some! i used the recipe from mrs. wilkes boarding house cookbook. i bought this cookbook when i went to savannah. since then she has come out with a newer book. i don't know if it has the sweet potato pie recipe in it, but i assume so. the only change i made to the recipe was it called for 1.5 cups of sweet potato and i used 2 cups. it was goooood!

stromboli and squash for dinner

used a martha recipe for the stromboli, but i made two different ones. veg-ajvar, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers. meat-salami, mozzarella, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers. i used the wheat pizza dough from trader joe's.

*put foil on your cookie sheet, or else you will be scrubbing for days.

cut up some fresh squash from the garden! added some onion, salt, pepper and olive oil and cooked it in a pan.

popovers

following martha's recipe from her baking book.

i poured half the batter in a muffin pan to make plain ones to eat with jam. (i don't need no stinkin' popover pan, silly martha) i also had some chives and cut those up for the second half of the batter. just a note-don't overcook the popovers, not as tasty.

interesting urban farming blog

stumbled upon this while looking for berry trellis:

Our Twenty Minute Kitchen Garden

although i don't know how they manage to do it in 20mins. (i guess if i put in 20 minutes every day i could probably do it.)

big pancake tips

to make giant pancakes, ok maybe not giant, but big.
*try not to use a pan with edges it will limit the size you can make.
*when using a pan with edges, make sure you don't make the pancakes too big, the sides of the pan inhibit pancake flipping and you need to be able to fit the spatula under the pancake.
*make sure you grease your pan with butter or spray, doesn't matter. just do it!

wedding treats! cupcakes and cake pop truffles

my mom got married and i took on the desserts. (it was a potluck bbq thang) i made a total of 45 cupcakes and 70 cake pop truffles.

cake pop truffles, you can get the recipe from the book cake pops but basically it is one cake mix, baked according to the instructions, you let it cool, crumble it into a bowl and add 3/4 of a can of frosting. for my cake pop truffles i used trader joes chocolate cake mix and trader joes chocolate frosting. in this case i used all of the frosting that the mix made. you mix it altogether. you will probably have to use your hands to smoosh it together. think playdoh. roll them into balls. i then refrigerate them. this is a process so it helps to break up all the steps. when you are ready melt your melty chocolate, i got mine from michael's. roll your balls in the melted chocolate and let cool on a cookie sheet.

  for the cupcakes i used trader joes vanilla cake mix, with raspberry jam on the inside topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. i used a pastry tip for the first time purchased here. i made the cupcake toppers out of coffee stirrers and paper. i think they turned out rather nicely.

the spread.

chocolate peanut butter cake

it was the hubster's birthday, and what better way to celebrate with a chocolate peanut butter cake. i got the recipe from the smitten kitchen blog.

it was good and i don't even like peanut butter. the cake was a sour cream cake and it was so moist and delicious. i think all cakes should be sour cream cakes.

chicken adobo (mexican kind)

i made chicken adobo from a recipe from the book some like it hot (a spicy cook book, not a novel). it is pretty easy. i boiled the chicken, (saved the broth for my own chicken stock!) and shredded it. i made the sauce according to the recipe and it makes a lot. it was yummy.

make your own photo corners

i couldn't find my colorful photo corners so made my own. you will need strips of paper about 1/4 - 1/2 inch wide and about and inch or so long.

 cut your strip of paper.

fold one corner down to the edge of your paper making a point.

fold down the other part of the paper to make a triangle.

cut off the extra paper.

here is your triangle, the good side.

put it on the corner of your photo and glue down.

pamphlet stitch

for my husband's birthday i assembled a mini book of 2 pages folded in half which gives you 4 pages front and back.i finally had photos printed and put them in the book when it was done. here is how to stitch your book together. you will need paper/cardstock, needle, embroidery floss.

 take your sheets of paper or cardstock, not too many pages though, it can get all out of shape, fold them in half.

 depending on wear you want your knot to appear, inside or outside, will determine your start point. i want my knot on the outside so i start from the outside and in the center.

pull your needle to the inside from the center.

 take your needle and stick in through your paper towards the back and pull the needle through.

pull your needle and make another hole at the bottom of the book. pull your needle through to the center.

put your needle through the center hole towards the back.

 make sure one strand of your floss ends up on either side of the tightly pulled string that runs down the back. tie in a knot.

all done!