The BIRTHDAY BOOK IS DONE!!!

At long last I am actually writing this post. I have dreamed about this for almost as many years as I have been authoring this blog. It is with great satisfaction I can finally say–and mean it–The birthday book is done! 

I have told my husband and the kids so many times "the birthday book is done" that it started to loose meaning. Draft after draft, after frustrating small-tweaks-here-and-there draft, it is really truly completely, no-more-to-do done. I invite you to to pop some champagne for me... no not really, I can do that myself, but geez luize, it is good to put this one on the shelf and say fini! 

It was a project my good friend Robin and I started back when the kids were little. We traveled through so many stages of our lives and I have lived in five houses since we started. I guess I like to move! Or it has just taken a long time and finding the place that is home takes a long time too. 

But anyway, enough about that, here are some of my favorite images from the book:

Filled to the brim with step-by-step instructions for making original gifts, favors, cakes, wrapping, decorations and games, BIRTHDAYS: HANDMADE, HOMEMADE is interwoven with stories, photographs, illustrations and anecdotes. We invite readers to pull up a chair, pour a cup of tea and spend the afternoon making and creating. Our goal is to offer inspiration on how to make a birthday handmade, homemade and your very own.

Readers will love the creative ideas that make this book so personal and tangible. Projects range from fast and easy . . . Dinosaurs in real eggshells, to more timely and in depth . . . Dining table forts. Young parents and do-it-yourself enthusiasts will find endless help onhow to prepare and execute a homemade birthday party.

At a time when it seems like families are trying to take back just a bit of their own and blogs hum with self-reliant know-how, this book is a great jumping-off point for those aiming to leave commercialism behind and bring it all back to the ones they love. 

Birthdays: Handmade, Homemade is available online. 

Hope everyone is enjoying summer!
                                   

                                              Cheers~
                                                         Marica


P.S. I have one copy to give away, so if you live in the United States and would like to enter for a chance to win, leave a comment below. I'll pick a name at random and post a winner Sunday July 23rd.

Making Raspeberry Freezer Jam

After being given several flats worth of almost over-the-hill raspberries, I made it my afternoons work to make a stock pile of freezer jam. (Freezer jam is real jam, it is just skipping the step of processing it in heat and instead using a freezer to preserve the jam and keep it safe to eat.)

 The nice part of making freezer jam rather than canning, is that it is fast and less messy. If you are worried you won't have the time to can a bunch of jam this can be a fabulous substitute.

 I usually follow the rule of thumb to use equal parts fruit and sugar. I don't typically add pectin, which means the jam will be a bit sloppy—but I like it that way. Simmer down the fruit and sugar for at least 20 minutes; though you can go a little longer and the jam will become thicker. I sometimes add a dash of spice or orange zest. My favorite spices to use are cardamom, nutmeg or allspice though cinnamon is a good one too. Depending on the fruit and how juicy it is, you may need to add a splash of water to avoid burning the bottom of the pot. Note, too much will make soupy jam that doesn't hold at all. 

Pour the jam into clean mason jars leaving half an inch of head-room. Twist on the cover and let cool. Place the unopened jars in your freezer and keep opened jam jars for use in the fridge.

The jam will last quite a while. I looked up specifics and this link said up to a year in a freezer and once thawed about 3-4 weeks.

Hope summer is wrapping up well for everyone!

                                                        Cheers ~

                                                                   Marica

Ginger Love (and a recipe for how to make sweet pickled ginger at home)

I am a ginger devotee. It is probably one of my most favorite ingredients to eat or cook with. At Japanese restaurants there is never enough pickled ginger on my plate and I am willing to endure the hollow, sour feeling in my stomach that comes free eating far too much pickled food in one seating. Oddly, I have never attempted to make my own pickled ginger. Today, however is a new day, and guess what, I made what will now most likely become a staple in my kitchen—pickled ginger! 

What brought it all to the forefront was a batch of fast pickled radishes I put together at the food truck yesterday. I was needing a little salad pizazz and had a small bin full of fresh pink radishes (I'll actually give you all that recipe another time, once I figure out the precise proportions to use.) Either way, yesterday evening I was too tired to bother with ginger but my mind was already running with ginger thoughts and laughing at the idea I had never before even tried to make my own fast pickled ginger. Well today it was my priority. Between biscuits and omelets, pies and ice tea, I shuffled aside some time for ginger experimentation. 

The result is utterly satisfying. After eight hours of soaking, the pickles are fantastic; bright, extremely potent, sweet and with a true bite. I will bet tomorrow and even the day after, they will have come to terms with their fate and settled down to a somewhat milder delivery of their pickled ginger charm. 

Pickled Ginger Recipe

First wash and peel your ginger then slice very thinly until you have about one cup. I used a peeler, but a cheese slicer could work as well. Be sure to follow the grain or the ginger will be rougher in texture. Also note, the ginger gets more stringy as it gets closer to the center so optimally just use the outer portion for this recipe. Place the ginger in a bowl and mix with the following ingredients and then let sit covered in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours: 

1+1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 cup water

Please enjoy and let me know how they come out!

                                                        ~Marica

Vegan Sweet Potato and Lime Soup Recipe

BLOG OVERLAP FROM DEAR COUNTRY MOUSE

Dear Country Mouse,

Oh my gosh it is so dark and rainy up here. I do love it, but seriously it is rain, rain, rain right now. I'm trying to send some of this dripping, wet, goodness southward, but I have yet to succeed.

Your succulents are so wonderful! How fun to find the old pieces of ceramic-ware to turn into pots. Come spring, I think I will do that with a couple of my cracked tea pots I've been holding on to.

I made a nice sweet potato and lime soup today. Just note, I kept it vegan for the sake of some of my regular customers that I was expecting, though it would be lovely with chicken stock instead. You'd think my food truck was vegan as lately all the recipes I send you tend to be vegan. But truth is, as you know, we are far from it.

Vegan Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until soft:

2 lbs sweet potatoes

In a decent size pot sauté for several minutes:

1 teaspoon safflower oil

1 large sweet yellow onion chopped

Add and continue to sauté for several more minutes:

2 cloves garlic chopped

Add and simmer for 20 minutes:

4 cups vegetable stock

Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and blend with:

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

Continue to blend adding the soup stock and add:

2 limes zest and juice

3 tablespoons molasses

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

Return to the pot and bring to a desired temperature.

Also, I liked it with tabasco and  fresh parsley or cilantro on top. 

Anyway, I love you to pieces! Thanks for the cool idea on plant pots, I will be on that soon.

Hugs and hugs again,

City Mouse

A Holiday Tea Party… and savory butter recipe

A few weeks ago I asked my eleven-year-old if she wanted to have a tea party with her friends and their moms. I love tea parties, especially preparing them. It made me miss my friends from far away back home, because it reminded me of so many an afternoon we had spent together. There was a lot of cleaning to do, the kids are just getting over colds and the house always needs a good scrub come Monday. Luckily I had spent some time Sunday evening reorganizing bits of my house, and the swoop to get tea-party-worthy-clean wasn't too bad...

We did the classic gingerbread cookie bit...

 We did all the cookies beforehand...

 So as not to have a crazy kitchen...

 "Too many cooks in the kitchen can spoil the...

 FLOOR!"

 But cookies are christmasy and fun to decorate...

 On Sunday while I was at the truck, I baked our desserts...

Apple Custard Pie with a gingerbread crust...

 And Brandy Poppy Seed Cake…

  (This link is to a different recipe, I thought it was the same one, but I guess I have two) 

I brought home leftover biscuits and made the most tantalizing savory butter to spread on them...

The very rough recipe is:

Rough Savory Butter

Please use your tongue as your guide, if at some point I get an exact recipe I will update this.

In a bowl combine:

1 stick butter room temperature

1/2 or more teaspoon summer savory

1/2 or more teaspoon tarragon

1/2 or more teaspoon onion powder

1/2 or more teaspoon sage

1/2 or more teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon toasted ground cumin

1 pinch nutmeg

zest from one lemon

Whisk until evenly distributed. Taste and adjust. 

We set out oranges and cloves to make hanging orbs of heavenly aroma. 

I remember doing this with my mom when I was very little…

 The cloves always hurt so much to push in...

 All in all it was lovely and very sweet. A very nice bunch of girls and their mamas...

                                                       All my best ~

                                                                    Marica

Turkey and walnut meatballs recipe ...

These meatballs came out really nicely!! I usually prefer how beef meatballs taste, 

but these are rounded, tasty and entirely satisfying!

Turkey Walnut Meatballs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix:

1 small onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

1 lb ground turkey 

1/2 cup walnuts (pulse in a food processor until they become granules)

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Dash of some sort of Italian seasoning… dried oregano, parsley, basil...

Salt and black pepper

Form into 1 + 1/2 inch balls and place in a large heated pan with olive oil and a dash of tomato sauce. I usually make my sauce in a separate pot, then put about 1/2 a cup in with the meatballs. This way the meatballs stay tidy and the sauce doesn't get a super meaty flavor. That's the way I prefer it. Having grown up vegetarian, I am weird about random meat related things. Cook at medium heat and flip when they look ready. Once the meat balls are close to done, place in a baking dish and bake at 375 degrees until the meatballs begin to have a nice light brownness, about 10-15 minutes. 

                                                                  Cheers ~ Marica

A Simple Recipe for Gluten Free Waffles…

Waffles are incredible. What an amazing invention!!! But truth be told, regular waffles leave me feeling over-stuffed in a not so pleasant way. The following recipe I made for some friends who are currently eating gluten-free, and I think I just might like these waffles better than regular waffles… 

 We also had a frittata…

Which made the meal feel like complete luxury...

Gluten Free Waffles

This recipe is simple, and you don't need a whole ton of weird ingredients to make it work. 

I prefer tapioca flour to corn starch, but I recently ran out, so I used corn starch.

Start your waffle pan heating.

In a large bowl mix:

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 butter melted

1 +1/2 cups milk

Sift then add:

1+1/4 cups sweet rice flour

3/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Add stirring gently:

5 egg whites beaten stiff
(save yolks for this recipe…)

Cook in your waffle iron like you would any other waffle recipe.


Happy Weekend!!
   
                                                      ~ Marica


P.S. We are getting MORE SNOW!!!!!

Lunch of Golden Bass Soup...

Sick children and a lovely cool, yet sunny day inspired this soup. 

Of course it also helped I had golden bass in my refrigerator. 

Golden Bass Soup

In a medium pot saute:

Dash olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

4 carrots, chopped somewhat finely 

1 clove garlic, minced

After a few minutes add:

1 pound goleden sea bass washed well first

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon paprika 

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Salt and black pepper to taste

A few dried chilies if you have them on hand

Continue to saute until fish breaks up and browns a bit.

Add:

1 + 1/2 cups left over tomato sauce

4 - 6 cups water

large bunch chard, diced

a dash of white wine

1/2 a lemon zest and juice.

                                    Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend ~ Marica