the big heart baking company #1.

after writing my last "slice of life" #6, i was all juiced up to move forward on my baking mix idea. my design business has been called "big heart designs" for many years. it seemed only natural to call this venture "the big heart baking company", i have wanted to open a bakery called "big heart bakery", but that will have to wait for another lifetime. vistaprint was offering free business cards thru today, so i hopped on their site and created a quick free card.

 

 

discovered that vistaprint also prints business size labels... decided i wanted a label that would state the ingredients as well as the location to direct you to the recipes for the baking mix.

 

 

thought this was just perfect for getting started. both should be to me in 10 days or so. in the meantime, i am coming up with the first 5 recipes to taste test! so far these are the contenders:

 

1. almond cake with smash berry sauce.

2. citrus shortbread with lemon curd.

3. banana muffin with a smidge of fudge.

4. chocolate torte with almond crème.

5. peanut butter cupcake with fudge filling

and peanut butter frosting.

 

your thoughts??

 

slice of my life #6, with time to think... the beginning of the big heart baking company.

one of the blessings of being sick is that there is so much time to just think, ponder, create in your mind.
I spent some of my downtime reviewing in my mind this blog. I realize how important it is to me. I am someone who needs a purpose and goals. so to set the goal of at least one "something special" or "slice of my life" everyday, but giving myself the cushion on not having to post everyday. some days will  have more than one I am working on being kinder to myself. this has given me permission to be creative, focus on the moment and share slices of my life with others. I know that I lead a out of the box life, and hope that someone, someday will be inspired by what I have to say.
that in itself gives me a purpose.
I have spent the last month baking and cooking like a fiend. it is winter and that is what I am longing to do. I have wanted to fill the house with wonderful smells of the kitchen, keep the house warm with the fire and oven and make all sorts of comforting food that warms our bellies.
as someone who sees everything as a business opportunity, I dreamed of having a bakery, all gluten free. where I could bake all my goodies; cupcakes, cakes, muffins and more... where I could be creative all day long, where I could create this meeting place where folks could come and gather, where kids would drool over the variety of cupcakes and where I knew that everything baked was baked with love. sounds like a wonderful place and one that is actually needed in this small town. but when I sat back and really had time to ponder this idea, I realized that I can no longer attempt such a great idea. I just don't have the physical stamina for this kind of goal. it makes me sad and frustrated that i cannot make this come to fruition. i am not one to give up, but to find a different way of making things work. so this is how i retranslated this idea.
what if i packaged and marketed the gluten free baking mix i have created? what if instead of having to do all the baking, i could come up with new recipes for this baking mix and could share them? what if others could still enjoy these yummy delicious baked treats without me having to have a storefront? what if i could really just do this a few hours a week, instead of a 60 hour week? what if this could supplement my disability income? what if i could really do what i enjoy best, the creating, the coming up with new recipes, the marketing... without the work that taxes me physically? what a concept!!
what i do best is to take an idea and spin it out to the future to see what it could look like, then reel it back in to see the steps that it would have to take to be successful.
this idea seemed pretty basic to me. i already have the baking mix recipe, need to see what options there are for buying gluten free flours in bulk, price out the baking mix to see what the unit cost is,
determine what my price would be, see if it is possible to wholesale or keep just as a retail product, determine what packaging is necessary and where i can find it and write this all down!!! so it doesn't dance in my head while i am trying to sleep...
this is a fairly low cost investment idea. i am going to make up 12 units of baking mix, make up 6 in different recipes and ask a group of moms and kids to taste test them for me, and send out 6 to friends with a recipe to try and have them send me their comments.
and fine tune from there.
so, i have the baking mix recipe, i have the idea for packaging, i have my taste testing team, i have a few friends already to send samples to, and now i have to come up with my 6 most favorite
recipes to taste test. that is what i will be doing this weekend.
seems like this idea is taking shape. follow my journey on how this unfolds. i will start a new thread on this blog called "the big heart baking company" so you can follow along...
so here is today, i feel somewhat better, my fingers are writing, my head is a little clearer and it is a beautiful sunny cold day in the  mountains!

slice of my life #5.

oh my goodness, i think i have finally surfaced from this crazy flu. i had the sniffles all of last week, but it went into full blown flu last sunday. fever, stuffed up head, cold... seems that there are two flus going around right now. one is the throw up/stomach yucky flu and the other is this cold like flu. well, i am glad at least i got this one and not the other. i have spent the last 4 days either asleep, resting, or trying to keep the essential daily activities afloat. nothing is harder than being sick and having to be a mom at the same time. no one to tag team with... my son has been a champ, but i am afraid we have overdosed on screen time this week.
the extra special add on is that when ever i am sick, my fibromyalgia flares big time. i have been exceptionally tired, achy and depressed. i know what to do for myself; sleep, sleep, sleep, hydrate, eat and repeat. so now on day 5, i am feeling somewhat better. feeling inspired to write, maybe even cook. life is getting better. hopefully by the weekend, i will be back to my normal.

so far, i am thrilled.

days of blogging- 23
number of posts- 19/ 6 drafts
number of something special- 24
slices of life- 4
page views- 228

what I have discovered so far:

I love writing.
I love creating and sharing recipes.
I love sharing my favorite books.
I can't wait to take more pictures.

I am finding that my creativity is seasonal. In winter, all I want to do is bake and cook.
I will love sharing my favorite spring gardening ideas.
I will love sharing my favorite summer crafts.
I will love sharing my favorite fall gift making and celebration ideas.

I love writing about the challenges of my fibromyalgia. It is so therapeutic and healing for me.

When it comes to baking...
I don't want to start a full service bakery, don't have the energy.
I want to create gluten free baking mixes along with a recipe ideas for those who bake gluten free and for those who don't but would love super tasty, higher protein, lower carb baking mixes.

My hands are becoming numb... so that is it for now. More later.

#20-24 my favorite books from our bookclub

 

provence cure for the brokenhearted by bridget asher.

the back of the book review-
"brokenhearted and still mourning the loss of her husband, heidi travels with abbot, her obsessive-compulsive seven-year-old-son, and charlotte, her jaded sixteen-year-old-niece, to the small village of puyloubier in the south of france, where a crumbling stone house ay be responsible for mending hearts since before world war 2. there, charlotte confesses a shocking secret, and heidi learns the truth of her mother's lost summer when heidi was a child. as three generations collide with one another, with the neighbor who seems to know all of their family skeletons, and with an enigmatic frenchman, heidi, charlotte, and abbot journey through love, loss and laughter amid the vineyards, warm winds, and delicious food of provence. can the magic of the house heal heidi's heart, too?"

 I loved this book. I was transported into the lives of these characters. I felt like I had been to the south of france and back. I made me want to get on a plane and travel to france, now!! A good read for a stormy weekend.

*********************************************

nothing daunted by dorothy wickenden.

the back of the book review-
in the summer of 1916, dorothy woodruff and rosamond underwood, bored by society luncheons, charity work and the effete men who courted them, left their families in auburn, new york to teach school in the wilds of northwestern colorado. they lived with a  family of homesteaders in the elkhead mountains and rose to school on horseback, often in blinding blizzards..... nearly a hundred years later, dorothy wickenden, the granddaughter of dorothy woodruff, found the teachers' buoyant letters home, which captured the voices of the pioneer women, the children, and other unforgettable people the women got to know. in reconstructing their journey, wickenden has created na exhilarating saga about two intrepid women and the "settling up of the west."

 another great read. i always had a such a hard time learning history growing up. i have learned that my comprehension of history is greatly underdeveloped. this book read like a movie to me. I was transported into their time and could visually watch their story. i love books about strong women who defy society's expectations. this book was wonderful. I would strongly recommend this book to teachers in particular.

********************************************

the orchid house by lucinda riley
"spanning from the 1930-'s to the present day, from the wharton park estate in england to thailand, this sweeping novel tells athe tale of a concert pianist and the aristocratic crawford family, whose shocking secreats are revealed, leading to devastating consequences." review on the back.

simply loved this book. as you are finding out about me, i love to be transported into the book like it is playing out like a movie in my head. this book took me to england during many generations. i  felt like i was right there as a character of this novel. again a great read.

****************************************

 

 park lane by frances osborne.

 

written by the author of the bolter,

this book is "gripping... it captures brilliantly the outbreak of war and the changing attitudes towards women" writes - booksellers' choice, the bookseller.

 

 

again, i learned an amazing amount about the history of women's rights. the graphic details of what the prominent women in the women's movement did to promote women's rights was incredible.

a history in words that once again transported me into their world.

this is also a great read.

 

********************

 

I love my book group. it is a small group of women who meet once a month to chat about the chosen book. I often bring

baked goodies for them to enjoy and review!

we have read a couple others that I will post a bit later.

 

all of these books were chosen by my book group and our fearless leader, kym- co-owner of maisie blue in murphys california.

feel free to call her to order any of these books.

209-728-8261 maisieblue.wordpress.com

 

enjoy being transported into history~~

#17-19, cupcake wars!!

last weekend, my son (age 7) and I decided to "play" cupcake wars, like the show on food network. we love watching the show!! our initial challenge was to make one cupcake. we decided on a peanut butter and jelly cupcake. his favorite sandwich!
I used our newly created gluten free baking mix, (I am finishing up r and d so that I can offer this mix online), added a half cup of peanut butter, the wet mix of eggs, butter, vanilla and milk. oh my goodness, this cupcake is awesome!! with the mix of almond, coconut and rice flours, the cupcake is light but also has a density to it that reminds me of the cupcakes I grew up with as a child.
once the cupcakes had cooled, I made my mother's favorite buttercream frosting. a blend of powered sugar, butter and heavy whip cream and I added a bit more peanut butter. this made into the yummiest, smoothest peanut butter buttercream frosting.

next up was to make a trio of winning cupcakes. we decided on: our peanut butter cupcake with berry jam and peanut butter buttercream frosting.
a banana cupcake with fudge crème filling and peanut butter buttercream frosting.
a chocolate cupcake with berry jam filling and mocha buttercream frosting.

the winning trio!!

this was a super fun day with my son. he learned a lot about flavors, combining flavors, measurements and taste. we are still working on our presentation, but I think these cupcakes are worthy of winning cupcake wars!!

a slice of my life #4.

the biggest challenge with fibromyalgia is the unpredictability of when I will feel good and when I will not. it is so hard to plan to do anything. sometimes the plan works out and sometimes it doesn't. one might view me as flaky as I have had to cancel plans at the last minute. just making plans to go out to lunch the next day aren't always safe.

for example, my son wasn't feeling well yesterday when he got home from school. so, instead of pushing thru the whole evening, bedtime was at 5.30. we read together for awhile. watched a little food network. and lights were off by 7ish. he fell sound asleep. I, on the other hand got a second wind. I knew better than to get up, but I did. I took a shower and washed my hair. then I got back into bed. it wasn't until 11 that I actually fell asleep. now that probably doesn't alarm you, but... it made getting up this morning pure hell. I am groggy, not feeling well and would really like to get back into bed. so much for plans today. while there wasn't much on my list, not much will get done. most people can push thru a day like this. if I do, I will be in even worse shape tomorrow. so, today I rest, am gentle with myself... easier said than done.

initially I really wanted to post one "something special" a day, but what I realize is that there will be days that I don't post, and days that I post one, and days that I post many. my inconsistency in posting will reflect my physical and emotional energy for the week. it will show you visually how unpredictable life is when you have fibromyalgia. I am not being flaky, just real.

a slice of my life #3 the woman in the mirror.

I rallied myself today to go to a new exercise class at the fitness center, zumba. I knew I would have to modify so that I could make it thru the class and not end up in a 3 day fibromyalgia flare up. once the music started, my body began to move... not fast, not in sync with the others but to the beat of the music. I remembered how much I love to dance.
as I was trying to stay somewhat in sync with the class, I noticed a woman in the mirror I didn't recognize. she was trying so hard to stay with the beat of the music. she obviously hadn't been to this class before. her body was so much larger than anyone else in the class. she had worn clothes that were loose and wouldn't show her body's shape. her face looked tired. her posture was such that it looked like she was carrying the weight of her worries on her shoulders.
I remembered seeing a woman that looked a lot like her 13 years ago. back then she would have been about 40. the woman in the mirror looked to be in her 50's. thirteen years ago, she was thin and toned. it was clear that she spent a lot of time working out to keep her body fit. her hair had been long and blond.

I remember how proud she was of accomplishing the goal she had set for her 40th birthday. for the two years prior, she had set the goal of being a size 8 for her 40th birthday. she was obsessed with getting there. she had spent the prior 3 years trying to get pregnant and had gained her "pregnancy" weight without the joy of actually getting pregnant and delivering a healthy baby.

I remember her telling me that she has her own business, designing and creating wedding gowns. her business had been so busy that she often worked many many hours each day, 6-7 days a week.
she loved what she did, but it had already ruined two relationships and the stress was becoming unbearable. she had started a second business that in a few years would be able to replace the wedding gown business. she was so excited about this new venture.
she knew that for 3 years she would have to balance both businesses so that one could fade off and one could become her livelihood.
she was beautiful, confident and determined.

it wasn't until now that I remembered her back then. the woman in the mirror clearly was related to this other woman.

the woman in the mirror had carefully placed herself so that she couldn't watch herself move. I wondered why she had done that. this is such an awesome fitness center. no one cares what you look like, what you wear, they just want you there.
it seemed that this woman in the mirror was uncomfortable with herself. I wondered if she was unhappy. I decided after class to introduce myself to her.

she told me her story.
yes, that had been her 13 years ago. back then she lived near the beach and had recently moved to the mountains. it was 1999 that she had turned 40 and she had accomplished her goal and beyond. she was a size 6 on her 40th birthday. her plan of phasing out one business and replacing it with another was on track. she couldn't have been happier and more exhausted.
by 2001, she had opened a showroom in Denver for her new business. she still had a retail location, a huge design studio and a home studio as well. she was traveling between the three trying to keep up with both business's demands.
on 9/11/2001, she had been in Denver. it took her 4 days to get out and back to her home. she had decided to stay at her parents home for a few days when she got back. in the middle of the night, her dog and her parents dog came to her bed asking to go out... she sleepily got out of bed and walked down the first set of stairs.
as she went down the second set, her foot slipped off and she fell down about 4 stairs to the cold cement ground. she heard her ankle snap as she landed awkwardly on her leg. clearly she had broken her ankle and perhaps her leg as well.
she screamed out in pain for her parents to find her. they came running down to see her at the bottom of the stairs. her dad being very practical suggested that they pick her up and take her to the er. she screamed in pain to call 911. no one was going to move her but the emt or paramedics.
long story, short, she had broken her tibia and fibula severely. she needed surgery to put her bones back in place with screws and plates.
she knew as she was lying in the hospital that in the moment she slipped and fell, she also lost everything she was working towards. she was a one person business and it was clear that she wasn't going to be able to complete any of her holiday orders that she had spent the last two years cultivating.
I felt so badly for her.
here she had put together a plan to continue to be successful but by moving out of the bridal industry and into the home accessory industry, her stress levels would be reduced significantly and her life could become her own again.
she told me that shortly after her fall, she had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and the depression/anxiety that comes with a chronic pain condition. in order to be at all functioning, she had to take a cocktail of medications... each had the side effect of weight gain. with each medication came an extra 10 or so pounds.
her svelt body was becoming rounder, fuller, fatter. to a point where she didn't recognize herself anymore.

during the past 13 years, she had broken her tibia and fibula, had also broken her foot, had a hysterectomy, had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus and had also developed a major blood clot in her leg that required a lengthy hospital stay.
during the past 13 years, she had also provided hospice care for two loved ones.
during the past 13 years, she had become a foster care home and mothered two teenage girls.
during the past 13 years, she had met a young pregnant woman and mothered her as well.
during the past 13 years, she had been named godmother to the young woman's son. 
during the past 13 years, she had been received her godson after his birth mother was arrested and not able to care for him.
during the past 13 years, she had fought for his adoption.
during the past 13 years, finances were so difficult that they often ate at the St Anthony's dining room for lunch, gathered coins for gas and had to sell her wedding bands, family silver and jewelry for rent money.
during the past 13 years, she was humbled by living a life she had never expected to live.
during the past 13 years, she had tried to patch her business back together without success.
during the past 13 years, she had become a college instructor, an aquatic therapist, a community program director, a nanny and more.
the effects of the last 13 years had taken her to a point of being disabled.

but today, she was at her first zumba class, trying to keep up, making sure she couldn't see herself in the mirror. not recognizing herself when she caught a glimpse of the woman in the mirror.

perhaps now, she could be more compassionate and gentler to herself  because she knew that the woman she had remembered and the woman in the mirror was me.

#15 super easy dinner. loved by william.

#15.

I saw this idea on the food network's holiday idea show. thought I would give it a whirl...

what you need:
6 pieces of very thinly sliced ham or turkey.
4 eggs.
a muffin tin and 6 cupcake papers.

line the muffin tin with the 6 cupcake papers.

preheat oven to 325 degrees.

 started scrambling the eggs, just eggs.

place a piece of either ham or turkey into each cupcake paper,
form little cups.

 cook eggs until barely firm.... remove from stove.

 spoon eggs into each meat cup. bake at 325 degrees until the edges of the meat are crisp and the eggs are firm. about 10 minutes.

serve!! this is going to be my go-to recipe next time I have a brunch. you could make all sorts of variations, using different meats, seasonings and garnishes. my 7 year old son loved these for dinner!!

#14 my most favorite cake using almond and coconut flours.

hi all.

I wanted to experiment with almond and coconut flours this week.
Could not believe in my sleepy little mountain town, the local market carried both!! and at the same price as amazon.com. Found a very simple recipe on bob's red mill almond flour bag and have been fine tuning it to my perfection.

this is the first version;
took longer to cook than expected.
was still a bit undone in the middle, while the edges were getting too brown.

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar.
4 eggs
1/2c milk
1 t vanilla to 1 t of vanilla or almond or maple.
1 1/2 cup almond flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour.
1/4 t salt.
2t baking powder.

350 degrees for 25 minutes

when I took the first one out of the pan, the middle was sticking... but got it cooled and added raspberry jam to the middle. plated with a dollop of whipped cream and a very small dollop of chocolate raspberry crème.
OH MY GOODNESS, this is likely the best cake I have ever made. holy cow!!! it is so moist and flavorful. needs no icing... think if I tweek it just a bit, it will be perfect!! the almond and the coconut flavors are so rich and decadent

found this amazing heart cake pan at ikea last month. wish I had bought a few more...
this cake was loved by many.... including myself, William and a few friends.
to solve the problems that I had with it... I am going to make it in a larger cake pan, or for this pan, decrease the flour a bit, and an egg.
will let you know what happens. in the meantime, make it and enjoy every morsel!!

m

a slice of my life #2.

good morning. it is a beautiful sunny and very cold morning.

this past Thursday, I treated myself to 4 hours of a handywoman's assistance in helping me finish projects. finally got the bathroom finished. I had about 3 sq feet that still needed painting. but it was up high and painting over my head is not at all comfortable for me. she changed the light bulb in the hallway. not a big deal, I know. but I hadn't done it for 6 months. very low on my to do list. she also finished painting the hall way and got to cabinet knobs fixed for me. huge success!!! money well spent. got to know her better, she is also our pto president. I knew I wanted to get to know her when I saw that she drove a vintage orange vw camper bus. so way cool!!
crossing off items on my "finish the house to do list" felt so wonderful!! p.s. she is coming back next week!!

it is very hard for me to ask for help. I am a do it myself kind of gal. stubbornly independent. but as I am finding even up here in the mountains, I have limited energy. so hard for me to admit. I use to work 12-16 hours a day. 5-7 days a week. one down day a week and I could recharge.  now my fibromyalgia related exhaustion/ fatigue creeps up on me so much earlier in the day. I am up at 7am, unheard of for me, but I don't the power to change the start time at school! lol!! If all I am doing is taking wm to school, gently exercising 30-1hr, doing about 2 hours of "stuff", therapy appt, or knitting circle, or quilting guild, or cooking/baking, or writing, or sewing, or running errands then a bit of housework, picking up wm at 2pm... I am out of energy by 4ish. pushing thru to get homework done, dinner on the table, wm's night routine, we are in bed by 7pm. 6.30 is more my speed. we read in bed and watch a bit of tv, always the food network!! yes, my son loves to watch the cooking competition shows as I do.  as he was eating my new favorite cake recipe, he said to me "mommy, if you were on "chopped", you would win!!" that sure did warm my heart!!. we are both asleep between 7.30-9. that is my day. add more to that and I am likely to be overly tired the next day. then, I have to slow down even more, catch up on more sleep to get back on track.

the acceptance of this schedule is very hard for me. I am trying to be kinder and gentler to myself... ask for help when needed... know I just cannot do what I did years ago.... and be so grateful that I get to stop and smell the roses, enjoy life in a slower and deliberate way and can become more mindful not mind full.

we are going to gently enjoy this day!

a slice of my life. #1.

the key to my life is pacing. as long as I pace out my activities, exercise, challenges, I tend to be able to manage fairly well.
but, when I have a day like yesterday:
drive an hour in the cold/ice to an eye doctor's appt.
wait for 2 hours for a 10 minute follow up appt. (I tore my retina 6 weeks ago).
rush thru walmart to get the 8 items on my list.
drive back an hour to get my son at school.
drive again a half hour to his intake evaluation appointment,
which included an hour interview with me telling his birth story
until now, which is crazy stressful for me to tell....
drive a few minutes to get a quick hamburger with a  gluten free bun!! yeh!! eat in the car on the way back home....
stop off at the dump to off load garbage....
then get home.
to unload my shopping.
get dinner ready for William, who decided he hated the hamburger we got.
ck emails, facebook, blog.
by 6:15, I had hit the wall. we were in bed at 6.45. watched an hour of food network, "chopped", our favorite show.
by 8pm we were both asleep. that's my 7 year old and I.

so you would think that after 10-11 hours of solid, good sleep I should feel rested. NOT. I am exhausted. I am a bit sick to my stomach (typical warning sign for me that I am exhausted).
I am feeling that I am being sucked into that horrible black hole of my self critical place. "I never get anything done. My son deserves a parent who can keep up with him. I should do more. I should be better at getting things done. I should have a cleaner house. I should be able to provide better for my family".... yadda yadda yadda. the critical talk starts to sing it's familiar song.

so what am I going to do to take care of myself today.. get up, that in itself is huge. if I hadn't been on carpool morning duty. I would have slept the day away. but I didn't. I got the kids to school on time. I got to the post office. I got to the market. I got to class. I got home. I have ckd emails and facebook, this makes me feel connected to my friends who I moved away from. I have baked a cake. a new recipe that I haven't wanted to try. and now I am going to get my son.

we will have a very very slow afternoon. a very very early dinner. and go to bed very early again. it is so much easier maintaining this kind of schedule up here in the mountains where there is so little external distraction. one of the main reasons I moved us here.

that is an accurate slice of my life... when I have done too much and my fibromyalgia is flaring. I feel the exhaustion before I feel the pain. 3-4 days of recovery after a stressful day like yesterday. hope to be feeling better by the weekend. and if not, we will be watching a lot of movies, taking it slow, and not doing much else this weekend.

I miss my mom and friends who babysat for me while we lived in the bay area. the hardest part of being here is not have a team of babysitters that can punt for me when I need to be napping and recharging.


m

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working on expanding our audience!

thanks, megan

mail order!! on the menu...

hi all.

I know that we don't all have time to cook and bake as I do.... so,
I am happy to provide a mail order service for you.

on the menu-
crèmes- not as soft as sauce, not as firm as fudge.
semi sweet chocolate fudge creme- 16 ounces
semi sweet chocolate mint fudge crème- 16 ounces
semi sweet espresso caramel chip fudge crème- 16 ounces
white chocolate fudge crème- 16 ounces.

$8.00 per 16 ounces plus shipping. ( will ship the most economical way possible).

these are great gifts!

$25.00 for a combination of 3 jars and the wrapping paper and ribbon for gifting!! plus shipping.

hope you will enjoy!!

fudge and shortbread. #9-13.

#9 fudge perfected.
1 stick of butter.
1 cup of mini marshmallows
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

mix together in a double boiler. or put one pot inside a bigger pot that is half way filled with water.
when all smooth.... add the chocolate chips! mix until all smooth and creamy!! you are done. I use
16 oz. jelly jars for storage. makes 4 16 oz jars.

#10 shortbread- gluten free.
2 sticks of butter.
1 cup of powdered sugar.
2 1/2 cups of gluten free flour/ I used bobs red mill all purpose gluten free flour.
1 egg.
1T of vanilla.

mix and crème the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. then slowly mix in the flour. I ended up mixing by hand, and with my hands at the end.
spoon into a cupcake tin/with papers.
bake at 325 degrees. until the edges are brown. like above.
this makes a very flaky, light shortbread.

#11, #12 and #13 variations on the fudge recipe.

#11 white chocolate fudge
use white chocolate chips instead of the semi sweet chocolate. that's the only change.

#12 chocolate mint
use chocolate mint chips instead of the semi sweet chocolate. I used the winter variation that nestle's had during the holidays. I also used peppermint marshmallows. I don't think that made much of a difference.

#13 espresso caramel chip fudge
to the fudge recipe I added a large tablespoon of instant espresso coffee, and 8 oz of caramel chips.
the caramel didn't melt as fast as the chocolate so I left them in more as a chip than melted with the chocolate chips. super yummy!!

 how to plate the combination of recipes.

I plated with one shortbread round, 3 very fresh organic strawberries and a dollop of the fudge crème.

super yummy!

january 11th, "rich life"

this week's "rich life" has all been about fudge crèmes, thicker than a sauce, but softer than a stand alone candy. a crème, the perfect description. created a dark chocolate crème, a raspberry dark chocolate, a dark chocolate mint, a white chocolate and a raspberry white chocolate. packaged in the "vintage" 16 ounce glass jelly jars. canned til the "ping" of perfection. my kitchen as smelled so decadent all week. to hold up the crèmes, I had to create a gluten free shortbread. think I came up with a pretty good recipe on my first try... very buttery, flaky, light, hint of vanilla, baked in a cupcake paper with enough room for crème or curd, and a dollop of fresh whipped crème.
that was the sweet part of my week, the bitter part was to find out that yes, I still have carpel tunnel syndrome and it has progressed to the point of needing surgery. not happy... the recovery time is going to be very frustrating for me. no cooking, baking, knitting, sewing, gosh what am I going to do? type with my left hand only.... posts may be shorter during the first week!! date to be announced.
well on with the weekend. glad it is here. cold and snowy... will catch you up on our activities on Monday!
happy weekend. until Monday.
m
p.s. I owe you #9, 10, 11 recipes and pics. not going to happen tonight but will over the weekend.

snow snow... #9, and #10.

snow snow oh beautiful snow. you turn our neighborhood into a winter wonderland! but sure make it difficult in the morning to get my son to school. need to start shoveling at 7am... in order to make it to school on time. yeh!! we did it.
since yesterday was such a busy out of the house day, carpool, stretch class, 45 minute drive to get an evaluation on my carpel tunnel... yes, I have it and yes, I need surgery. that will be interesting since I use my hand for everything... a bit of thrift store hunting, sign up for a new cell phone, then home. totally exhausted. 
I was able to make dinner but that is it. let's see it was 3 days from when I did all of that crazy ice removal on my driveway. this is how my fibromyalgia shows up. a few days later, in bouts of pain, exhaustion, depression and the feeling that I am the worst mom out there, can't do anything, and defeated. I know what I need is a super good nights sleep... and a very kind day to myself today.
so after dropping off my son to school, I decided to come home, no zumba. started to tidy up. cleaned the kitchen. organized my canning, and got on the computer. this is where I am now.
my thought for the day, since I have made so much lemon curd, it is time to create the perfect gluten free shortbread/tea cake recipe.
will report back in a bit...
oh nothing like cooking while watching Julie and Julia. one of my most favorite movies and my muse at the moment.
made up my first batch of gluten free shortbread. here the batch at the crumble up point. well, I just took them out of the oven... they smell divine!! can't wait to plate them up with lemon curd and berries! seems that I need to set up a tea party when spring is soon upon us. date tba. I will post my updated perfected fudge #9 and shortbread recipe #10 in the next few hours. until then, time to clean up.

enjoy # 9 and 10.

january 8th. ( and #8)

Hello beautiful sunny cold winter day.

I welcome this bout of sunshine as it shines on the snow and makes everything sparkly.

First day back to school for my son was yesterday. Super hard to wake up in the morning and get ourselves out the door by 7.35am. How easy it was to slide back into vacation mode during the holidays. But we did it and he would have been on time if there hadn't been a fender bender on the hwy on the way to school. It seems that an suv tried to go around the school bus and crashed into it's back bumper instead. What a horrible sight to see so many red lights flashing and a school bus in the middle of the site. No one was hurt, but it certainly reminded me how unsafe our roads are when there is a lot of ice packed down. Yet another reminder of what it is like to live in the mountains....

Since carpel tunnel syndrome has been flaring up, I decided that yoga on Monday was not a good idea, but rather I would start zumba on Tuesdays. What this meant was that I could finally go to the quilters guild meeting on Monday!! This is a huge deal for me. Yet another source of community but  also another creative outlet. The hall was filled with women, sewing machines, chatter and so on.... there must have been at least 50 women there of all ages. And I was told that the attendance was low yesterday. whew!! I joined!! Received a few projects to sew to help out the guild, met some new friends, met some friends that I already new, had a fun time and was proud of myself for 1. not taking on too many projects, and 2. that I actually got there and joined. I am sure I will have all sorts of stories to tell!

The other creative component to my Mondays is my knitting circle that I am always too early for and have to leave early from in order to pick up my son on time from school. I dearly love the owner of the shop, Maisie Blue, in Murphys California. She and I always have so much to catch up on. Kym runs the sweetest knitting, yarn, book shop that is my favorite place to spend money. She always has such an amazing variety of good cookbooks, yarns, home décor for me to enjoy.
This is also the place for my monthly book club.
Kym decided to offer another session of a build a block knitting class. Can't wait to start. I really hope to increase my knitting skills this year, including how to read a pattern.... Big challenge for me.

So for me, 2pm ends my day and starts my day of being "MOM". We have a very tight schedule between 2pm and bedtime. Especially since I am to be in bed by 7pm at the latest, 6.30 if possible.
Between playing, running errands, cooking dinner, eating, doing homework, bathing, reading, and watching our 30 minutes of food network together... the time flies by.

Lastly, I choose my special something for the day. Yesterday #7 was fudge. Just seemed to fit the day. We had made it early so I didn't have any pictures. I am sure I will make it again soon... and post some sweet pics to drool over...

Today's special something is this home décor idea.

#8. I have created my kitchen into my creative space, one l shape for cooking and baking and the other for my laptop, jewelry making, drawing and such. I have been focusing on every detail. I didn't want my sink to be cluttered with bottles....
so I put my dish soap into a creamer, my dishwasher soap into a tea pot and my hand soap into a cup.
Super easy, super cute....

Another glorious day in the mountains... until tomorrow, 
enjoy!

special somethings. #1-7.

since I started my facebook page before my blog... I wanted to catch you up on the first few days of my favorite special somethings... so here we go 1-7!!  I would love your comments!!

#1- gluten free, chocolate, chocolate chip banana muffins. /picture below.

1 package of betty crocker's gluten free chocolate cake mix.
3 eggs.
1/2 cup oil.
1 very full cup of mashed bananas.
1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips.

mix all up together until fairly smooth.
fill papered cupcake tin with about 2/3 full.
should make about 18.
bake at 350 degrees until done, poke the middle of one muffin with a sharp knife.
it will come out clean when done.
cool and devour!!


#2- gluten free, banana muffins. / picture below.

1 package of betty crocker's gluten free yellow cake mix.
3 eggs.
1/2 cup oil.
1 very full cup of mashed bananas.

mix all up together until fairly smooth.
fill papered cupcake tins with about 2/3 full.
should make about 18.
bake at 350 degrees until done, poke the middle of one muffin with a sharp knife.
it will come out clean when done.
cool and devour!!

#3- thai coco pumpkin sweet potato soup/ picture coming.

1 can of light coconut milk. from trader joes.
1/2 cup of yellow curry sauce. from trader joes.
1 cup cooked mashed sweet potatoes.
2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin.
salt and pepper to taste.

mix all together and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
cool and devour!!

#4- dwell in possibility inspirations/ picture below.

#5- "the art of a heartfelt life and home.", new tagline for my blog!!

#6-  favorite book- the gentle arts of domesticity/ picture below.

#7- easy fudge recipe./ picture coming.

1 jar of marshmallow crème.
1 stick of butter.
1 can of sweetened condensed milk.

mix together in a saucepan and cook med heat. until all blended and smooth.
then add in the 12 ounces of chocolate chips. and mix until all blended and smooth.

pour into a 9 x9 baking dish. I line with parchment paper first.

chill in frig or freezer.

this is a fairly soft fudge. I keep mine in the freezer before serving.

 

 favorite muffins. #1 and #2.

 

 inspiration #4

 my favorite book. # 6.

special something #7. easy fudge recipe

during the holidays, I searched for an easy fudge recipe that used marshmallow crème... and not much more. I found a few, but ultimately created my own, (oh course). and here it is:

1 7oz jar of marshmallow crème.
1 stick of butter.
1 can/14 oz. of sweetened condensed milk.

mix together in a saucepan and melt, blend together until smooth.
then mix in 12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips. mix until smooth.
pour into a 9 x9 pan, I line the pan with parchment paper first.
cool in the frig or freezer.

this is a soft fudge, may be more firm with more chocolate chips added.
but I put ours in the freezer and remove a portion at a time. super yummy!!

I will need to add a picture next time we make it, we have already finished ours!
we actually made this 2 weeks ago!!

enjoy!

a special something each day.

I will be posting a special something each day. It may be a gluten free recipe, a favorite book, a favorite inspiration, a fun craft, a photo... the first 5 have been posted on my facebook page.
1. chocolate chocolate chip banana muffins. gluten free.
2. easy banana muffins. gluten free.
3. colorful inspiration of yarn, plant and calendar.
4. "the art of a heartfelt life and home", inspiring tagline.
5. "dwell in possibility" picture, inspiration.

all details on my simplelivingforarichlife facebook page.

#6. is one of my favorite books!! a total validation of domestic arts! pick up a copy from amazon, at a fraction of the original $35. I will be referencing this book often!!

welcome to my journey.

welcome to my journey.

six months ago today, I moved my 6 year old son, our two small dogs and myself from the heart of silicon valley to a very small town in the sierra mountains.

I can say without a doubt this is the best decision I have ever made.
  
I have been an over-achieving, driven, creative, business minded gal all of my life. eventually, it all caught up with me. I am now on disability with a fixed income. in order to be able to live on $1500 a month, i needed to move from the bay area. we have been living with my mom for the past 2 years. it was great timing, but not healthy for either of us for the long haul.

my mom has a cabin up here. I have spent every summer for the past 15 years visiting this area. i consider it my second home. last summer, while my son and i were spending our summer vacation here, it was obvious to me that this was the time, and this was the place to move to. we looked at the rental market and the real estate market. the timing was perfect to buy and with my mom's help we did. we found a quaint 2 bedroom house, close to town, and needing very few repairs. it all worked out and now this is our home.

immediately our lives simplified. only one market, no box stores, few restaurants, no movie theatre, no bowling alley, no stop lights, no traffic,
only one school with only 155 students, no starbucks, no peets, a small post office... you get the picture.

what we gained was lots of fresh air, numerous lakes to swim, kayak and fish in. a beautiful state park for hiking and exploring, lots of new friends. and the ability to finally take a deep breathe and exhale the stress of the past many years, and so much more.

I have wanted to simplify our lives for years... get back to the basics without
the distractions that move you in the opposite direction.
I wanted to release my full mind and become mindful. 
I wanted to get back to all of the domestic arts that i love; cooking, baking, stitching, knitting, quilting, spinning, felting, weaving, gardening, home decorating... basically creating a heartfelt life and home.

this blog is my journal of my journey...