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My weekly, highly anticipated, excursion to the farmers market turns up different surprises each time I go. This morning I bought four heirloom sweet peppers because of their fun colors.
I arranged them in an old wooden candle mold, then added a wood carved farmer that was a gift from my friend Deb, and a pot of herbs for an autumn centerpiece on my dining room table. Did I say that I am anxious for the fall season??!!!
I strolled through my gardens today to snip a bouquet of summer flowers before the autumn hues slowly... effortlessly... subtly transform our world into a different, but just as magnificent, landscape.
Dick made the wire and button flowers for me fashioned after a vase I had seen when we were traveling in Pennsylvania several years ago. He first made the loops to simulate flower petals, next he threaded the wire through the holes of two buttons that I had selected from my vintage collection, then he wound the wire around the vase a few times, and finally formed a loop on the back side to be able to hang the vase from a nail instead of setting it on a table.
The cold spring, with a snowstorm at the end of April, delayed planting my garden two weeks later than normal and the rabbits or deer continually chomping off the tender tops of my zucchini caused me to think that fall's first frost might arrive before I was gifted with any zucchini. However, the plants have begun producing and we all know very well that, once the plants bear their first fruit , one must pull out every zucchini recipe we have to try to keep up with production. Today I picked my very first zucchini of the season from my garden... just enough to make a pan of zucchini crisp. I sprinkled a few sunnies and green pumpkin seeds on top before serving. It added a wonderful crunch and pumped up the nutrition.
Zucchini Crisp
5 cups zucchini peeled, seeded, and cut into slices to resemble apples
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp minute tapioca (Instead I used 1/8 tsp agar agar powder that I purchased online from MaryJane Butters Farm in Moscow, Idaho. Agar agar (a thickener) is normally flakes, but MaryJane’s is a powder… nice. MaryJane calls her product "Chillover Powder".)
¼ cup lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sliced zucchini in pan with just a little water for 10 minutes or so until the zucchini is translucent. Drain. (There won’t be much liquid to drain.) Mix sugar, cinnamon, agar agar (or tapioca), and lemon juice together then toss zucchini in to coat. Arrange the zucchini mixture evenly in an 8x8 pan.
Mix the following until crumbly:
2 ½ tbsp butter
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ cup oatmeal
Sprinkle over zucchini slices. Bake 45 minutes until bubbly and topping is a beautiful caramel color... like the autumn hues just around the corner. Hooray!
I love mailboxes and the old-fashioned handwritten letters that they hold. There are no letters delivered to this mailbox, however its stately presence marks the beginning of a stone walkway leading to my side porch.
Irene, a guest from North Dakota who stayed recently with her husband Bruce for a five-day stretch, secretly painted this amazing replica of my mailbox then presented it to me as a gift upon her departure. She put it under glass in a rustic wood frame with a mat... all ready to be hung in a special spot to remind me of her visit until she returns again next year. Yes, innkeeping is quite a life...
I picked my first zucchini of the season today from my garden. I would be happy growing zucchini just for the huge beautiful green leaves. The fruit of the vine is a bonus.
In the past, I have made the mistake of planting cuke and zucchini seeds too early... before the soil has warmed enough. The seeds rot in the ground and I must replant. This spring I think I overcompensated, so my zucchini and cukes are bearing fruit later than normal. Therefore, until my crop is plentiful, I will support the growers at our local farmers market. I look forward to each Tuesday morning to discover what new fruit, veggies, flowers, jams, and homemade bread and rolls will be displayed so temptingly at each farmers stand. The veggies are so crisp having just been harvested that morning. This is what I came home with this morning.
Sweet corn, leaf lettuce, heirloom cherry tomatoes, cuke, rutabaga, green pepper, zucchini, and blueberries...
I just returned from Elk River where I attended a bridal shower for my sister Rita's daughter, Jenni. My youngest sister, Marlene, baked and decorated the absolute cutest bride cookies. She cut the cookie using a dress-shaped cookie cutter, spread it with icing, fashioned the skirt overlay from rolled fondant to give it dimension, tucked tulle underneath the overlay to make it look even more like a bride's attire, then embellished it with several "dragee" (pronounced dra-ZHAY) to simulate pearl buttons. She packaged each dress in a little cardboard box with a see-through window... similar to what dry cleaners do to preserve a bride's dress so it doesn't turn yellow over time. Each shower guest received a bride cookie as a memento of the occasion. Don't you agree it is just the cutest, most clever cookie you have ever set your eyes upon??!!
A guest requested this recipe... so simple because the topping bakes in the oven at the same time as the cake. Just a quick sprinkle of chocolate chips while still warm from the oven and you're done. It was a $400.00 prize winner in a Better Homes and Gardens April 2000 Recipe Contest.
Chocolate Chip Upside-Down Cake
3 tbsp butter
½ c packed brown sugar
4 tsp water
½ c coconut
½ c coarsely chopped pecans
1 c all-purpose flour (I use w.w. pastry flour.)
2/3 c sugar
½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ c packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ c milk
¼ c butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ c semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the 3 tbsp butter in a small pan. Stir in the ½ c brown sugar and the water. Spread in bottom of 9 x 1-1/2 inch springform pan. (I found it helpful to line the pan with unbleached parchment paper then spread the brown sugar/butter mixture on top of the paper. It makes removal of the cake from the pan so easy. Cut it large enough so that the paper comes up along the sides just a bit to prevent the topping mixture from leaking out and dripping onto the bottom of your oven.) Sprinkle coconut and pecans in the pan. Set pan aside.
In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, the ¼ c brown sugar, and the baking powder. Add milk, the ¼ c butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. By hand, stir in ½ c of the chocolate chips. (I don’t mix the chips in by hand. I toss them in to let the mixer do a fast job of it.) Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen sides of springform pan then invert onto a plate. Immediately sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the topping. Let stand about ½ hour before slicing. Serve warm.
This is the brand of marshmallows that I used in the brownie cookies that I made the day before yesterday. They come in both regular-size and miniature... perfect for a cup of hot chocolate on the cool autumn days that are ever-so-subtly beginning their entrance.
My hens have made friends with the birds and chipmunks that come to dine at... and underneath...our feeders. Judd Brink, owner of Minnesota Backyard Birds, captured this photo of one of my leghorns named Greta when she flew onto the rim of the birdbath to quench her thirst. An old metal pail, with a tiny hole to allow a slow drip of water to splash into the birdbath, hangs on a branch overhead. Judd comes out twice a week during our May through October bed and breakfast season to clean and refill all of my feeders with seed, fruit, suet, and mealworms. He varies the food depending upon the season and the types of birds in the area at a particular time. I have also purchased feeders from him based upon his recommendations. He provides an extremely valuable service. My bird population has dramatically increased because of the proper food being served in clean feeders that are kept consistently filled.
I couldn't resist taking a nibble... allright a bite... out of this oh-so-yummy brownie cookie with a marshmallow layer topped with chocolate icing. It looks so doggone cute that it must be time-consuming to make. Not at all... so simple. The recipe came from a 2004 issue of Martha Stewart Kids Magazine.
Marshmallow Brownie Cookie Makes about 2 dozen. Ingredients: 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour ¾ cup cocoa powder ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 large egg ½ cup milk 1 tsp vanilla 12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally (I used natural marshmallows that I found at a local health food store… so yummy! They taste like homemade ones.) Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture; mix on low speed just until combined. Using a tablespoon or 1 ¾ inch ice cream scoop, drop dough about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until cookies begin to spread and become firm. Remove baking sheets from oven and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie pressing down slightly. Return to oven and continue baking 2 to 2½ minutes until marshmallows begin to melt. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled ¼ cup cocoa powder ¼ cup milk ¼ tsp vanilla Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla and whisk until combined. Spread about 1 tbsp frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered. (I left a little marshmallow peeking out.)
