#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

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!

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!

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...