one of our favorites

I've made this Salt-Kissed Buttermilk Cake from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks.com a couple of times now with different fruits. The other morning I made it with some of the blackberries we picked. It's become one of our favorite breakfasts.It's not so much like a cake as it is a soft, sweet biscuit or shortcake. You can literally mix it up in 5 minutes flat, bake it for about 30 minutes, and then have it fresh out of the oven for a yummy breakfast...just like we did. You'll be glad you did!

Below is the recipe changed to what I actually do--the link above will take you to the original recipe. I must add one note--the large crystal sea salt and sugar that you sprinkle on top are what really make the cake. Don't skip that! And it's best served with a little dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream on top and a mug of strong coffee.

2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat)
1 T baking powder
1/2 c. sucanat (unrefined sugar)
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. coconut oil (or melted butter)
zest of 2 lemons (I skip this if short on time)
about 1 cup of fruit (blackberries, blueberries, peach slices...)
1 T large grain raw sugar
1 t. coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Grease a pie dish.

Combine the flour, baking powder, sucanat and salt in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl whisk together the eggs and the buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture along with coconut oil and zest. Stir together until just combined--do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared dish. Place the berries in a circular pattern across the top of the batter, pushing them down into the batter. Sprinkle with the large grain sugar and then the salt. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Like I said before, serve it with some whipped cream and coffee!

blackberry picking

The kids and I braved the hot sun and picked 12 lbs of blackberries! Maddie, who I can normally count on to help me pick, did not add even one berry to my boxes. She ate every single blackberry she picked! And later on she asked, "Daddy, are blackberries made up of lots of little blueberries all squished together?"

what we did on Daddy's birthday

We bought him a new desk, lamp and such for his study. He loves his new set-up!

our favorite summer salad

Butter lettuce, fresh figs and gorganzola tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette of simply fresh lemon juice, olive oil, honey and salt.

We wait all summer for fresh fig season, and every year this salad never disappoints. (My photo might be lacking, but NOT this salad!)

bobe the musician

Caleb has taken to watching youtube videos.....of the symphony.

Yes, the symphony! He sat there the other day and watched the symphony playing Tchaikovsky again and again and again. Each time it ended, he replayed it. And among all of the instruments, what does he look for? You guessed it, the drums.

peppers

THIS beauty...

is our first of many peppers from our one pepper plant. I had a feeling when I bought just one pepper plant I might regret not buying 2 or 3. I do. But the good news is that our plant is covered with about 20 peppers, all at different stages of ripening. I love summer!

Caleb drew his first person.

I'm not sure which is my favorite part--the wild man hair or the big belly. When I pointed to the belly and asked Caleb what it was, he lifted up his shirt, pointed to his big belly and said, 'Dat' and then pointed to his belly button, 'and dat.' Little kid drawings are the best!

let the festivities begin!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We celebrated early with my parents and La.

Caleb brought 3 bird rubbings with him to hang on the mantel in very specific spots to decorate for Daddy's birthday.

Oh the food, the food!
Pasta with scallops and marsala.

Tomato salad straight from the garden.

Fresh figs, stilton and blue.

Not to mention the mahi mahi, olives, salad or bread!

Maddie took Braden's place as official serenader.

Yeah, so I know, I made it (which as usual is a story in and of itself), and it doesn't look like much, especially with the two candles our children chose.

...but come now, served up doesn't THAT look good?
Chocolate-coconut tart with whipped cream and strawberry sauce.

Yeah, it was pretty good.

pairing off

qotd

I juss wike po-ta-toes and cawwuts. I don't wike any bechtables.

maddie quote

Hey, that's a funny looking guy. He looks like Granny.

(And that's no offense to Granny. She looks great! It's just that guy...)

more summer smiles

This summer I've been having fun presenting parts or all of my kids' lunches and dinners as smiley faces. I'm not sure who's been enjoying it more. I'm telling you, their food disappears much faster!

family band

Maddie cracks us up.

hot summer days

Mercifully, we've had so few this summer. But on a hot summer day there's nothing like playing in the sprinkler all afternoon for some good summer fun!

granny's 97th

In July we celebrated Granny's 97th birthday with birthday pie and a game of Hot Rum. If you've never played Hot Rum with Granny, watch out! She knows her game.

We love you, Granny! We hope your 97th year is especially blessed.

miss maddie's performance

Here's Maddie's first musical performance.

(Read the background here and here.)

remembering...

Funny Quotes From Vacation:

While in the car travelling home...
"I will NOT do it!"
"You may not say 'I will not' to Mommy. That is disobedient and disrespectful."
"I WILL NOT...(a slight pause as if reconsidering his decision)...say dat anymow."

We brought the old Disney 'Robin Hood' with us for the kids to watch. In South Carolina, we passed over Lake Marion. My Mom said, "Look kids, this is Lake Marion." "Dat is NOT Make Mayon. Make Mayon is da wady fox."

While helping us unpack and put things away (and not exactly thrilled to be doing so)...
"Mommy, I have sweaty kneeees."

Caleb also came up with this game. My mom was trying to keep Caleb occupied and at some point started pointing out water to him. Somehow it evolved into: every time we passed over water, my mom would say, "Look, water!" and he'd reply, "Toot!" and he'd laugh. Silly boy!

sunday lunch, friday dinner

One of our favorites: tomato sandwiches.
Tomatoes, basil, blue cheese, fresh homemade bread. Delicious!Where did I get my tomatoes, you ask? My mom has been kindly giving us some of her extra tomatoes. She's got tons of them! Whatever I grow, my mother grows 10 times better. Being able to enjoy some fresh tomatoes has eased the pain of watching ours disappear.

a roma!

THIS......is our very first tomato of the season. I cut it in half and Braden & I shared it. We had 20 or 30 of these covering our plant a few weeks back, but like I mentioned yesterday, I have been providing local critters with their personal supply of fresh, golden heirloom romas. So sad! :(

little garden harvests

We've been enjoying little garden harvests like this once or twice a week. There's been something to pick nearly every day. There would have been a LOT more to pick had 2 animals not been ravaging my gorgeous, prolific heirloom tomato plants! I've seriously lost about 50 tomatoes. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think it's deer eating top down and squirrels or raccoons swiping off the green romas on the ground level. Next year I'll be prepared--deer and critters, beware!

maddie musical follow-up

During the final song of the musical, as Madeleine bounced and sang away, Cathy (the very talented overseer of all our high school's drama productions) turned to her husband Dave and said...she knew she had always said she'd oversee the drama productions until all her children went through highschool, but that little blond girl in the red shirt was making her reconsider. Maybe she should continue to oversee drama until THAT little girl goes through high school.

Maddie sure made an impression.

a boy and a girl

So I have a girl and a boy, and sometimes I'm not thinking so much about it. But other times I'm really reminded that yes, I do indeed have a girl and a boy...like this morning's conversation as we were leaving our house:
"Mommy, I LOVE Mary's car. It's, it's just so RED and shiny." "Mawy aways pawks bad."

more rainbows

It's been a summer of rainbows. Before vacation we had one, this double rainbow appeared one evening a couple weeks ago......and then a few days later Braden and I were at a wedding reception and there was another rainbow there. How fun!

summer smiles

summer chicken

I have just fallen in love with roasting chickens this way, especially in the summer when I have my pots of fresh herbs. It's so easy...rub a bit of butter and a few herbs up under the skin. Stuff a wad of herbs inside the cavity. Throw a little on top of the chicken, salt and pepper it. Cover with foil and roast at 350 for 2.5-3 hours; uncover and roast until the skin is golden. Delicious! This chicken is dressed with sage and lavender, a winning combination.

maddie's first musical

So, Madeleine participated in her first musical.I think we found something right up her alley.

She attended music camp for the past 2 weeks. The music camp culminated in an hour-ish long musical production of Noah and the Flood. Maddie was in the 'little kids' class (k-2), and they participated by being animals. Maddie kept telling everyone: "Look for an elephant with yellow ears, that's me! I colored them yellow!" Sadly at some point during the musical, her mask tore and she became a one-eared elephant. And here are the now mask-less animals coming off the ark.

Maddie's class also participated by singing the final song.And boy, did Maddie ever sing.Maddie had our family laughing so hard.

Maddie had every row behind us laughing so hard.

Maddie made me famous.Afterward, people I don't even know stopped us repeatedly:
"She had us laughing so hard!"

"You just sang your little heart out, didn't you? You were wonderful, sweetie!"

And friends too:
"Okay, so she was like my FAVORITE part of the entire show! Seriously, my favorite part."And quite a few of the parents of former students of mine who don't know my kids spotted us:
"OH! She's YOURS?! She was hilarious!"

"Nooo. SHE isn't yours, is she?!"
"That's YOUR girl! Oh, I didn't know that! Boy was she fun to watch!"
Obviously, they know me. Who'd ever guess she's mine?We're trying to get our hands on some video, and if we get it, I'll post it. As I told all the family...at least it was worth their effort to come! You never know with kiddie events, but Maddie certainly did not disappoint.