A Perfect Day

 

Yesterday was nothing short of amazing. It was full of love, and laughter, and food, and rain, and fog, and cuddles, and everything I hold dear. If it set the tone for the coming year, it's going to be a very, very good one, friends.

Highlights included:
*This book and this book from Hubs (along with a gorgeous, but too large, ring from Nervous System and a stunning, large, low, glazed hand-thrown ceramic plant pot).
*Hearty pancake breakfast at the Pisgah Inn (we were sat at the window, so we could watch the fast-rolling fog move by).
*Fog & rain-clad hike at Graveyard Fields (we powered through it and went all the way to the Upper Falls-so worth the deluge we experienced on the way back to the parking lot).
*Pretzels and cheese picked up at Pisgah Inn's country store for the rainy drive home.
*Gift certificates from family members that enabled me to score these lovely sandals I've had my eye on.
*A hot bath with my boy.
*My sister Devan fishtail braiding my hair.
*A homemade libation consisting of: Firefly mint vodka, Shrub and Co. ginger shrub, Izze's lemon & lime soda, lemon juice and fresh mint (recipe to come, I promise!).
*Local grass-fed beef burgers with homemade pimento cheese (the recipe will be in the new book!), my Persian pickles, and a corn/roasted red pepper/cilantro skillet side, courtesy of chef-extraordinnaire, Hubs.
*This cake, lovingly baked by my sweet, sweet sisters. Have mercy. I ate 3 slices (!!!), and then rolled myself off to bed.

It was simple, sweet, and grand. My idea of a perfect day.

If you want to see more from our hike at Graveyard Fields, go here.

Homemade Living Blow-Out!

Just in time for my birthday, folks! 36 years young today!

My editor wrote to give me a head's up on an amazing sale over at Barnes & Noble. If you have hesitated on buying any of the books in my Homemade Living series, hesitate no longer, dear friends of the interwebs! All four titles are now 50% off! Yeehaw!

This is an amazing sale. If you're tired of waiting for one of my books to get returned to the library so you can check it out again, or want a timely gift for a loved one, or just want to finally check out the pages of one of these books for yourself, now's the time to get on it! The sale runs through next Tuesday, July 17th.

Here are the direct links:
Canning & Preserving
Keeping Bees
Home Dairy
Keeping Chickens

I thank you, in advance, for your patronage!

Whirlwinds & Crushes

Whew. The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind. We threw a big 'ole Southern foods gathering out here this past Saturday evening, as part of my new book. It was amazing-kids, parents, dancing (cake walk!!!), food, bourbon, and heat! Oh. My. Word. It was hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. But it was grand!

Today I'm off to visit this farm on my way north to Burnsville. My sisters, Huxley and I are going to spend some time with family, enjoying the mountain and creek views provided by the swing on my Mom's porch. Oh, yes.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and we're thinking of beginning with breakfast (and more mountain views) here, before going on a hike at either Graveyard Fields or Black Balsam. For dinner, we might hit up Bouchon for their all-you-can-eat mussels night.

In the mean time, I wanted to share this post with you from the amazing Foodie Crush. Heidi Larsen has a real gem of a publication going over there and it was an honor and a delight to share some recipes, pie-dough tips, and general conversation with her. Check it!

What I'm Digging

Happy Friday, friends! My sisters are here for the week! I! Am! So! Excited!

Hope you had a lovely Independence Day (for those U.S. readers). We laid low at home, and rounded out the day gathered around our big oak dining room table with friends. Nice and easy, that's my style!

Here's a smattering of this's and that's that caught my attention this week:
*This is my kind of camp craft!
*Sweet corn and roasted red pepper potato salad. 
*Local living school!
*If I lived in London (or anywhere in the U.K., for that matter), I'd totally do this.
*All-natural mosquito control, as well as remedies for stings.
*Completely inspired by this company's mission (check out the videos).   
*Dan Barber's local food crusade, and critique.
*Bee balm fireworks.
*Cherry round-up!!!
*Community-supported medicine=genius concept!

We're working, working, working this weekend on another part of my new book this weekend. It's going to be so much fun!

And, apropos of absolutely nothing, this is tickling my funny bone (and my tail feather).

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!

Learned Behaviors

I've been so busy canning that I almost forgot to direct you to my post in this month's Verve, wherein I divulge the origin of my infatuation with the jar.

I'm holding honey in the jar above, extracted from my bees this past September. Yet another example of my affinity for putting edibles and delectables in jars.

What about you? What got you turned on to the world of simmering pots and tempered glass jars? I'd love to know!

Swimming In Cukes (+ Etsy!)

Our over-ambitious attitude in the garden this year seems to be paying off. We put in something like 20 cucumber plants and they are some kind of paying it forward, by the bushel!

To that end, I've spent the better part of the last 3 days making my Dill Pickles, Quick Persian Pickles, and Sweet Pickle Relish. Recipes for the former and the latter can be found in my book, while the middle recipe was featured today on Etsy's blog. Thanks for the love, Etsy!

That's a lot of chopping and jarring, and we're only just getting started! I love it, though. Standing in the hot kitchen, with things simmering gently under lids, and colanders full of homegrown cukes, and herbs and spices all around-this is good, good stuff right here.

What about you? Are you in a pickle over anything lately? On a related note, our beloved friends Jen, Jon and their daughter Awynn visiting from Georgia showed up with a 25-pound box of their state's finest-peaches!!! I'll be moving from vinegar to sugar, it appears!

Weekend Eats: Bolognese-esque Frittata

I hate wasting food. I go to great lengths to ensure we use every bit of food we purchase or grow. That's especially true of leftovers.

Sometimes Hubs cooks like there's an army coming over for dinner, instead of just us two and Huxley. I never complain, because his eats are always amazing. That said, we're sometimes staring down the same dish for multiple meals, across several days.

Which is where we get creative. This morning was one such occasion. We'd enjoyed a Bolognese-ish sauce over tortellini a few days ago. It was filled with tomatoes, spinach, herbs, spices and Hickory Nut Gap ground pork. So, so good. We'd had it over three meals, though, and had a bit more that needed to go into a new incarnation.

Enter the frittata. The meal you can always count on, the friend that's always got your back. As simple as simple can be, the frittata never disappoints. Whatever leftovers you've got on hand, they can go into a frittata. Pasta? Put it in a frittata! On-the-edge veggies in the crisper? Put 'em in a frittata! Or, like we did with our Bolognese-esque "we seriously need to mix it up" sauce-frittata to the rescue!

It's low-fi, affordable, fast, and good. And that, friends, is all you really need.