Some Birthday Weekend Sweetness

Hello, friends ... and thanks so much for stopping by. I hope it's sunny wherever you are because it seems that our sunshine has gone missing. Again.

Thankfully, the sun did make an appearance on Saturday. Which meant only one thing: Strawberry Picking! As you can see, a good time was had by all and Brendan ate his fill of berries in the field. It was a sight to behold. We picked enough for snacking, baking, and jam-making. Yum! Truly a summertime treat ... even amid our sopping wet and cool June days.

Sunday was my birthday ... and it sure was a sweet one. Mostly because Todd and the kids joined forces to bake a cake and plan a special day for me. It was a day whose highlights included: sleeping in, a few kid-selected presents, a solo lunch date with my husband, and sharing this delicious summertime cake with my Mom, Dad, Todd, and the kids. Simple and sweet.

::: Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosted Angel Food Cake :::

One angel food cake
1 to 2 pounds of strawberries, cleaned and hulled
1/4 cup of confectioners sugar
1 (8oz.) pkg. of cream cheese, softened
12oz. container of cool whip
1 tsp. of vanilla

Slice 1 cup of strawberries and add confectioners sugar. Mix well. Let stand at least a half hour to let berries "juice." Mash well after that time.

Cream softened cream cheese with mixer and add vanilla. Add strawberry mixture and mix well on low speed. Last, fold in cool whip and mix well.

Frost Angel food cake putting excess frosting in the center hole of the cake. Slice remaining strawberries and cover cake with the slices. If strawberries are small to medium in size they can be halved to cover the cake. Chill for at least 1 hour.






And last, but not least, Kindra sent me some of her wonderful wooden hand mades last week ... just in time to surprise me for my birthday. I love them all and I look forward to finding just the right spots for them soon. Thank you, my sweet and thoughtful friend! You made the sun shine for sure.

Have a fabulous day, my friends. And if you're lucky enough to see the sun today, send it our way! Pretty please.

Homemade Whole Wheat English Muffins

I've been searching for a simple and straightforward English Muffin recipe for quite some time now. Well, the wait is over! I baked up a batch of these Whole Wheat English Muffins this week (during our endless rainy spell), and we are loving them. Just in time for homemade jam season.

Don't be shy. These muffins are surprisingly simple to prepare -- if you have a little time and a small measure of patience. The best part is that you'll be rewarded with roughly two dozen muffins. And they freeze very well for later use.

::: Traditional English Muffins :::

(based on a recipe from Allrecipes)

2 (.25 oz.) packages yeast
1 T sugar
3 cups warm water, divided
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp salt
5 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in two cups water. Beat in eggs, honey, salt, 2 cups flour and remaining water. Add remaining flour by hand to form a soft dough. Turn on floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for one hour. Punch down dough and roll out to 1/2" thickness on floured surface. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into 4" circles (I used a large glass) and place 2" apart on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Bake at 375º for 8 minutes. Flip over and return to oven for 7-8 more minutes. Allow to cool before toasting or storing in freezer. Makes about 2 dozen.

And for those of you (like me) who appreciate a visual when attempting a new recipe:

Knead dough until its well combined and supple





Allow dough to rise for about an hour





Roll out dough to about 1/2" thickness





Cut out 4" dough circles -- a large glass works well





Set dough circles aside while preparing baking pans





Bake and allow to cool before eating or storing



Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! I hope it's a sunny one!

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

Hello, friends!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by for some Whatcha Working on Wednesday goodness -- rainy day(s) style.

As may be true for many of you fellow New Englanders, we're currently (still!) in the middle of an unbearably long rainy stretch here in Midcoast Maine. Everything outside is beginning to look soggy and sad and, I have to say, our patience for all things indoor is beginning to wear very thin as a result. Especially now that summer vacation is officially underway and the gang is getting itchy for some outdoor fun and adventure. Or, at the very least, some sunshine. Even just a peek. Oh my! Everyone is so restless. Including me.

Fortunately the kids and I have had fun arranging and rearranging some things for summertime. We've even dashed outside between showers/downpours now and then to play, snap a few exterior photos, and burn off some energy too. After all, there are only so many games, indoor fort adventures, and movies to be played. And we've almost burned out our retinas with the copious (and very enjoyable) amounts of reading we've been doing.

So here's our summertime scene -- such as it is -- with a few touches of Americana and a few almost-blossoming flowers: Welcome!











And here are some indoor hallmarks of summertime, some of which were made over from these goodwill finds:

Our outdoor summertime essentials tote -- after a little prim makeover

Michaela helped with this summertime basket that's on display in the playroom

Another touch of summer for the living room -- made over, stenciled, and ready for some goodies

I love this Goodwill makeover -- so much better than the original shiny star covered paper

And it finally found a home atop my dining room hutch ... along with a few other items

And now back to the rain gear and running! We've got errands to take care of this morning. Stay dry and come back soon, my friends! I've been baking in between indoor activity brainstorming and reading sessions. And I'll be sharing some new treats and eats with you all soon.

A little something for Mrs. Y

As most of you know, the last day of school is almost upon us here in Midcoast Maine. And with that day looming ever closer, Connor and I have been discussing gift possibilities for Mrs. Y, his amazingly wonderful and very deserving second grade teacher.

Mrs Y is especially fond of hedgehogs (and all animals, actually). She even has a special permit so that she can have a pet hedgehog in her home and classroom. His name is Lewis and her second graders are over the moon about him. Naturally. Especially since he thinks he's a dog. I kid you not. Just ask Connor.

And so, this weekend, Connor asked if I could please make Mrs. Y a hedgehog stitchery to tuck in with her Borders gift card on Monday. I was only too happy to oblige -- especially since this little fellow is so darn cute. It was fun to sift through clip art and other designs with my oldest ... waiting ever-so-patiently for the right one to strike us. Connor is thrilled and my heart is full knowing that such a simple gesture on my part made him so very happy. And excited. And proud of his crafty mama. That's the good stuff right there, my friends. That and his huge, beaming, infectious smile.

I'll be back with more craftiness soon, my friends. Thanks, as always, for visiting! We're off to enjoy some sunshine ... at last!

Smiling Hill Sunday

Sunday was simply gorgeous here in Midcoast Maine! So we ventured down to the Greater Portland area and visited Smiling Hill Farm. What a neat little place!

Smiling Hill Farm is primarily a dairy that still bottles and sells its milk in glass bottles. They produce a wide variety of delicious flavors and their products are available throughout Southern Maine. It was an especially welcome treat to visit with the new baby animals and play a bit before enjoying a long awaited snack and drink right there at the farm, outside in the sunshine. All those rays we soaked up have had to sustain us this week. We are currently on our third straight day of rain ... and tomorrow isn't looking good either. Uh-oh!

Enjoy the photographic highlights and stay dry, my friends! Thanks, as always for stopping by...

Rustic Rhubarb

::: Rustic Rhubarb Tart :::
(inspired by a recipe from Recipezaar)

Crust:
1 1/3 cups flour (I used roughly half white and half wheat, but all white is fine too.)
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 T unsalted butter, cold and in pieces
3-4 T ice water


Filling:
3 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into one inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 T
2-3 T cornstarch
3/4 tsp grated orange zest
6 ounces raspberries (or strawberries)
1/4 tsp ginger
1 T unsalted butter, cold and in pieces



To make crust:
In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Pour 3 T water into food processor and pulse until dough comes together. If it seems dry, add remaining water. Gather dough into a ball and press into a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

To make filling:
In a large bowl, toss rhubarb (and strawberries if you're using them), 1/2 cup sugar, ginger, cornstarch, and 1/2 tsp zest until well combined. Let stand 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a small cup, combine the remaining 2 T sugar and 1/4 tsp zest. Set aside.


Heat oven to 425º. Line a large baking sheet or pizza stone with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-12 inch circle, pressing any cracks together at edges. Drape over floured rolling pin and transfer to baking sheet. If you're using raspberries, gently fold them into the rhubarb mixture now.

Spoon filling onto dough circle, leaving a 2 inch border of dough uncovered. Fold edge of dough up onto filling, pleating dough and pressing together any cracks. Dot filling with butter. Brush dough with water and sprinkle filling and crust with reserved sugar/zest mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 375º. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes until crust is lightly browned and filling is bubbly. Let tart cool on the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

::: Michaela says that this tart is even better than her all-time summer favorite: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie! My other taste testers agree. :::

Enjoy, my friends ... and come back soon!

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

Welcome Back and Happy Whatcha Working on Wednesday, my friends!

My contributions this week are all about summertime salt dough bowl fillers and stitcheries -- thanks, in large part, to all of the indoor time provided by last week's rain. (Four days of rain, I might add. Four days.) So while Michaela dove into play doh and Brendan napped, I mixed up the following:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water

Just mix these three ingredients together and add a bit more flour or water if necessary. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface and break out the cookie cutters and creativity. Bake ornaments at 325º for 35 minutes to an hour and allow to further harden overnight. Paint and seal as desired. (I dipped these bowl fillers in melted wax.)

::: Mini watermelons and sunflowers :::




::: A little something patriotic :::

::: Large sunflowers and watermelons :::

If you're looking for easy bowl fillers, give some summertime salt dough a try! It's inexpensive, simple, versatile, and fun ...

And speaking of fun, I stumbled across a neat little website this week and got inspired to get back into stitching. Reneé Mullins is an extremely talented tole painter, but her designs can easily be adapted to stitcheries, especially those offered here for free.

The watermelon and crow design is something I drew myself after seeing something very similar on her website. The pumpkin and crow is one of her complimentary designs, though I changed the banner to read "Harvest." I'll just tuck this one away until fall...

As always, I primmed up some cheapy frames too. And now the stitching bug has resurfaced in earnest. Something I'm rather excited about, actually. It's been awhile.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and spending a few minutes of your day with me. I so enjoy knowing that you were here and I hope you've been inspired to do a little creating too. Don't forget to check in with Leslie to see what everyone else is up to this week... and have a lovely day.