Color Chic

A Slow Start and Strawberry Jam...

Some days I really don't feel like being at the house at 8 AM... and today is one of those days. Finding balance is important and I'm still up early, but instead of rushing around getting ready for the day I will make Strawberry Jam.

Strawberries are abundant in our garden and if they spend much more time out there the slugs will discover them.

There's always a simple recipe on a packet of pectin and the food processor makes it that much easier.

The extra strawberries made a simple fruit compote (strawberries, a little sugar and lemon). Yummm... That will go on vanilla ice-cream later in the day!

Bag of Meyer Lemons...

Bag of Sweet and Tart Meyer Lemon... $3.49 @ Roths!  I see a lemon cake in my Future!

I'm taking Amber's Challenge to Blog with minimal words this month...
Are you up to the challenge?

Cheddar / Pear Pizza...

Thanks Pat!

I'm taking Amber's Challenge to Blog with minimal words this month...
Are you up to the challenge?

Breakfast Brioche...

This time of year gets pretty hectic trying to fit everything in, there are things that just don't get done... this blog for one and a descent breakfast for another!

So this morning after doing a few chores around the house I was determined to make a nice "sit down and enjoy the morning with my sweetie" breakfast. 

I came up with these Breakfast Brioche muffin kind of thing... OK so you know I like to improvise so here is my recipe:

Brioche Bread Dough (from Bread in 5 Minute a day), this was already in the fridge

     I made 6" rounds to fit inside a jumbo muffin tin and topped with:

Hash Brown Potatoes cooked with sausage and hot peppers

Spinach, Eggs and Cheese.

Then I baked for awhile in hot 425 degree oven until the crust turned brown.

Sorry I know this is very vague and seriously very sorry about the lack of photos... I'm just glad I had a couple of extra minutes to get this post done!

Now... Onto a very busy Saturday! and tonight is Arlene's Christmas Party and I'll have lots more to share tomorrow!!!

Honey...

Last summer when Erin and Aaron asked me to help them select colors for their new home I was delighted! Even better than that was they were going to share their eggs and honey in return... Score!


One full quart of slightly carmalized honey that tastes like a soft, melt in your mouth caramel.

Now I love my honey, but this honey is the sweetest! Thank you Erin & Aaron!!!

Apple Pie Filling

It tried sewing all seven days of the KCWC Challenge but Friday came and life just got crazy! Too many things going on!

We have an apple tree out back loaded with five varieties of apples. Begging to be picked!

I decided to make some Apple Pie Filling for later in the year. While some apples have a few blemishes and protein, they are easily cut out!

Keeping a bucket nearby for the peels was handy, they would later go into the compost!

After treating the sliced apples I moved on to the recipe...

I didn't have apple cider so just used additional water and it was plenty sweet!

Lots of smaller jars were made for those evenings when we just need "a little" sweet treat!

What's keeping you busy this season?

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls...

A funny thing happened today when I went looking for a recipe for Pumpkin Soup... I turned to one of my favorite bloggers Smitten Kitchen and she was featuring Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!

After roasting one of these I had plenty of pumpkin to do both; Soup and Cinnamon Rolls!

The recipe I use for bread / pizza dough is very simple and since it's what I'm used to making I simplified Deb's recipe a bit... No browning the butter for me; in fact I put it in the milk that I over-heated a bit too much to cool it down before putting in the yeast!

This recipe filled two pie plates so I covered one and placed it in the fridge for later; after all they are so much better fresh out of the oven! And if my kids want to come over for breakfast... I'll have something yummy for them!

Note: Deb says to use a serrated knife to cut cinnamon rolls, but my Grandma taught me to use a string! Place the string under the roll, take one end in each hand and cross them over the top. Keep pulling the ends of the string away from each other cutting the rolls perfectly!

And that Pumpkin Soup Recipe I was looking for... Well this time I just added chicken broth, curry, fresh ginger, roasted red onions and garlic to the roasted pumpkin and pureed the soup. Then I added an ear of cooked corn left over from the night before.

Topped with a dollop of plain yogurt and freshly roasted spicy tomato paste this Pumpkin Curry Soup went perfectly with the Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls! 

Strawberry Rocket Pizza...

Now that summer's here (well they say it's summer) there's nothing quite like making dinner out of what you find in the garden! Tonight I found arugula and strawberries; spicey and sweet. At the very least these colors are fabulous! I used our olive oil pizza dough, spread on a little olive oil and topped with chopped arugula, strawberries and goat cheese.  Placed it on a pizza stone in a really hot oven, 475 degrees and baked for about 12 minutes (the crust is very thin, yours might take longer).

While the strawberries are at there peak, they are a little bit tart (they must need a little more sunshine). If I had this to do over again I would toss the strawberries with a bit of honey before I laid it on the pizza.

What are you topping your pizza with this season?

Fresh Eggs and Breakfast Tacos...

Let me just say there's nothing quite like farm fresh eggs! I was delighted to say the least when Amber called and said Erin had a dozen eggs for me. I knew the color and size of eggs would be varied, giving me a nice sampling from her girls.

I know I didn't  fully appreciate the flavor coming from these eggs after adding fresh spinach and salsa; but weekend breakfasts tend to be more like this.

I scrambled the mixture together and placed over a warmed corn tortilla. While this was delicious, next time I'll simply have a poached egg and toast to fully enjoy the flavor in a farm fresh egg.

I should probably share my Oatmeal Scones with Erin, and perhaps I'll get more fresh eggs; )?

A Summer Drink... Mojito!

With the weather a balmy 64 degrees I decided it was time to make a summer drink!  I can pretend I'm sitting out by the pool with the umbrella up enjoying a warmer day can't I?

Since we have a beautiful crop of mint in the garden I decided to try my hand at Mojito's..

Whenever I want to try something new I bring out "Hollywood" favorites...

First you muddle 50ml of Rum with four mint leaves...

Add a splash of lime, simple syrup, and soda.

Next... add shaved ice; I seriously knew I was saving this for something, I just never knew it was for making a summer drink. And with the amount of work it took to just get this much ice, I decided this drink was best served on the rocks...

The recipe....

We'll definitely be making this again! Perhaps the next time we will be sitting by the pool!

What's your favorite summertime drink?