June! When did that happen? (Also, does commenting on the rapid passage of time ever become old? It just always seems surprising!)
"Summer" takes on a whole new meaning in Houston. Unrelenting heat and humidity means fewer opportunities for outside play, a lot of watermelon, and pool time every day. We're still learning how to shape our days to beat the heat.
Read More35 weeks pregnant.
So, by the wonderfully imprecise timeline of human gestation, this baby should make her entrance in this world anywhere between 2 and 5 weeks from now. And though I feel totally done with pregnancy, we have one soccer camp, one swim camp, one house closing, and one MOVE before D-day. So my feelings notwithstanding, time is on our side.
To be honest, I don't have much to complain about in third trimester. I carry high and small, I don't gain a ton of weight, I don't have heartburn, varicose veins, or swelling. I'm tired like you'd expect (maybe a little more so on this fourth go around) and uncomfortable like you'd expect (i.e, feeling unwieldy and HOT), but nothing really to complain about. Still, I like having a good excuse to sit down and put my feet up a little more often than I usually do. Over all that time of R&R, I've mulled and mused over this pregnancy and pregnancy in general, and I thought I'd share some of that with you. I've got no particular structure here, no theme. These are just Maria's Thoughts.
Read MoreDid you know you can make yogurt at home? And that it's really easy? You basically need a pot and milk and you're set. I started making my own yogurt when we were on a very tight grocery budget - when, yes, the $2 per week that it saved was significant. And even though we're not strapped for those few bucks anymore, I've kept it up. OK, to be completely honest, I still try to save here and there if I can - it adds up, after all! But really, I just find it satisfying to produce some of the things I enjoy in my daily life. I remember the first couple of times I made it, it was almost like magic. I still find it kind of marvelous, kind of like every time I take a loaf of bread out of the oven I'm amazed all over at the process.
Read MoreOnce, a long, long time ago, I embarked on a project called Vintage Recipes. Remember? You probably don't, and that's OK because it sure looks like I didn't either. But I'm finally getting a start! I'm looking forward to finding some unexpected winners.
What's my idea for this project? First step, to interpret and flesh out the recipes. Some of them are very bare bones with obscure ingredients and directions. I figure I'll follow the recipe with only minimal, if any, adjustments; then, if it seems to hold promise, I'll gradually fine tune it into a recipe I'll save forever.
Up first: Blitz Kuchen. Lightning cake. Sounds like my kind of thing. From just a glance at the ingredients I knew not to expect anything wild and crazy, but simple and basic often produce classic, winning results (like my favorite scone and sugar cookie recipes).
Read MoreHappy mother's day to all you mamas out there! I hope your tomorrow is lovely. And if you're not a mom, happy mother's day to your mother! I hope you call her, at the very least.
Mother's Day is a funny balance of being appreciated for what you do as a mother and just wanting a day off from being a mother. Oh I'm kidding of course. Or am I? I find it to be a tricksy kind of day. I've got some Mother's Day musings coming. Stay tuned.
For now, join us for some Saturday morning reading, Mother's Day edition!
Read MoreIn Texas there is a prickly little bush found along paths, in parks, and in fields that yields a tart little berry called a dewberry. The dewberry is a lot like a blackberry in look and taste, and they grow here and there in careless abundance. There's something pretty addicting about wild berry picking. Not only is it satisfying to work for your food - and not having to pay for it like at pick your own farms - but you're constantly spotting "just one more little patch" with a goldmine of plump, juicy berries. Dewberries don't come entirely free, though - they come at the cost of a couple dozen pricker scratches up and down the hands and arm. You could theoretically avoid getting scratched if you are very careful but if you just haaaaaaave to get those fat ones nestled deep in the bush, your arm is going to pay.
A few days ago a friend of mine invited us over to her farm to berry pick. My kids were total champs and we came out with about three pints of berries after just an hour. And that's not counting all the berries consumed along the way. I told you, it's addicting. Fresh berries! Free! So what to do with an abundance of berries? I went back an forth for a while but decided I wanted a cake that was just loaded with berries - like, buckling under their weight. :)
Read MoreLast weekend of April! Visions of pools and sunshine and long summer days are starting to look like more of a future reality than a mere pipe dream. Have you all started to plan out your summers yet? Do you like to stick close to home or fill your days with camps and outings and vacations? We're in the middle of house hunting and a big part of me wants a pool because I'm definitely more of a home body. Also I'm 30 weeks pregnant and Texas summers are hot and heavy - a lethargy-inducing combo. The idea of lounging pool side all summer is obsessing me almost as much my craving for chocolate.
We've got a bunch of great links this week so grab your coffee, tea, or whatever you drink to kick off your Saturday and join us!
Read MoreThere has been a lot of buzz over the cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat. I had read all about it on various food blogs and websites before receiving it as a gift for Christmas. Cookbooks rank as my #2 favorite gift after chocolate so needless to say I was pretty excited about it.
The book is authored by Samin Nosrat, a self-described cook, writer, and teacher. While studying English at Berkeley, she got caught up in the world of cooking after being mesmerized by a meal at Chez Panisse, Alice Waters' restaurant in San Francisco. She began by begging her way into an apprenticeship at Chez Panisse, first doing grunt work but eventually working her way up into cooking. The internship began her extreme focus on and impressive perseverance in learning the ways of good cooking, taking her to Italy and beyond in the quest for culinary wisdom. Along the way she developed a theory of culinary fundamentals - that good cooking essentially boils down to the correct understanding and application of four elements: salt, fat, acid, and heat. The book, then, is the product all her research, apprenticeship, interviews, and trial and error in the quest of honing her theory and her skills, which she delivers to the reader in a very clear and detailed format. As she says, "You can become not only a good cook, but a great one. I know, because it happened to me."
Read MoreAnother week, another collection of this & that links for your (hopefully) quiet, peaceful Saturday morning. Some weeks seem to trudge by at a vengefully slow pace, don't they? This one passed in a blink for me. Either way the weekend comes as a welcome reprieve. Kick it off with some light internet reading!
This salad is a delight. It's so fresh and flavorful and the perfect accompaniment to barbecue, spicy Mexican, or any lighter spring/summer meal. Fresh sweet corn contrasts with salty feta and the zing of the lime bounces around in your mouth with the herby cool of cilantro. The fresh zucchini gets softened by the vinaigrette but keeps a pleasantly firm texture which it otherwise loses when cooked.
Read MoreIf you've noticed how quiet we've been this week, it's because we're all a little burned out by Easter preparation. It doesn't seem to matter how well I schedule my time or how much I do ahead of time, when the day after Easter rolls around I. am. beat. All I want to do is sit and read and eat jelly beans. (Which is a little what I did.) This week has been a good decompress, but it's time to get back to normal - meal plans, grocery lists, dinners more involved and nutritious than mac and cheese. But I'll take full advantage of the weekend first. :)
Read MoreI really don’t bake cookies that often but today I wanted peanut butter, pretzels, dates, and chocolate (hello pregnant!) and couldn’t think of a better platform for that combination than a warm gooey cookie. Blitzed up oats to chocolate chip cookies gives them a delightful chew, dates add a wonderful sweet contrast to the salty peanut butter and pretzels, but you can just do all chocolate chips.
If you can stop yourself from eating all the dough you’re going to love these sweet, salty, chewy cookies.
Read MoreHomemade donuts are an incredibly rewarding endeavor and a delicious treat that you should try at least once, and here I am to dispel any of your fears or hesitations about making them!
Read MoreThe coconut topping gets caramelized during baking and creates a sweet, buttery, chewy topping. The browned butter adds depth of flavor and the cake is moist and tender. It's like the dressed up sister of banana bread. Plus, it passes for dessert and is still totally acceptable for breakfast.
Read MoreI don’t think I would’ve thought to try a soufflé if I hadn’t been searching through this one particular magazine for a recipe I could fit into that week’s menu with the ingredients I had on hand. I think in my mind i had relegated soufflé to stuffy dinner parties or French restaurants, not weekday meals. Turns out, soufflé is simple enough for a weekday meal AND tasty enough to be gobbled down by kids and adults alike. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given the main ingredients of egg and cheese.
Read MoreStore bought English muffins will seem like flavorless cardboard compared to these delicious homemade English muffins! Just a tad more involved than bread but worth it!
Read MoreEven though on the one hand I'm pretty mortified at admitting that I struggle so hard not to shout at my own children, at the same time I realize, I am small, I am human, and this is the struggle of human love, to make it pure and selfless.
Read MoreWhen we chose the title for our blog, we didn’t exactly hash out all its implications to precision. We loved the images it summoned - crusty breads, flaky pies, sweet and savory pastries - but we also liked its suggestion of substance being interior, something concealed but exposed when cut into, divided, or, well, shared. It sounded good enough, so we went with it. But the more we’ve developed the blog with that idea in the back of our minds, the more we’ve come to see just how good it is.
Read MoreThis is my favorite aspect of making cakes: coming up with all the elements. I love looking at cake recipes in cookbooks and on blogs, but I usually end up picking and choosing from a number of different sources for my own vision or what have you. This hazelnut cake is really fantastic, which you'd expect from Cook's Country. Ganache and meringue are pretty standard recipes. The frosting, though ... I could go on and on about this frosting. It's my go-to. I find it to have the lightness of a Swiss meringue buttercream but without the fussiness of the egg whites. The cooked flour method dates way back so, really, it's a tried and true recipe.
Read MoreThe weeks before Christmas can be tricky. I'm like anyone else: I get all the warm and fuzzies when I see lights on houses, wreaths on doors, and hear Christmas jingles on the radio. But I'm just as interested in preserving the expectation of the weeks before Christmas as I am eager to celebrate it. After all, Christmas is about the birth of a baby, and just like with the birth of any other baby, the months beforehand are ones of preparation and joyful anticipation.
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