From Scratch: Homeade Lemonade

From Scratch: A new series here on the blog! Ever since I got married and had my own kitchen to cook in, I've been interested in making things from scratch, that I would ordinarily buy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't grow up in an overly processed foods family, in fact, my Mom would refuse to buy certain things I begged for at the grocery store on Saturdays, saying oh I can make that for us. And she did! I've been trying to take that a step or two or three farther over the years and I now have an ever growing arsenal of my favorite recipes for things I would have normally bought before. So I'd like to share some of those here from time to time.

I love fruity drinks! Here is a classic! I got into juicing my own juice when we inherited the one pictured above! I tried my hand at orange and grapefruit juice and of course lemonade! They are so unbelievably fresh, it's worth the extra work to make them from scratch! Of course you can always stir a few extras in like berries, basil, mint or make an adult version. I've been wanting to try this Rosemary St. Germain one from Lesley!

What you need:
1 cup sugar
5 cups water, divided
6 to 8 lemons (about 1 cup of lemon juice)
Ice

How to do it:

1. Make the simple syrup. 
   Combine the sugar and 1 cup of the water in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat to dissolve sugar.  Once the sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat to cool.
2. Squeeze the lemons.  Roll each lemon over your cutting board, pressing down as you do.  This will help them to release their juice.  Cut in half and squeeze.  Repeat until you have one cup.  You may not need all the lemons but try to save at least one half if you want to garnish your glasses.
3. Combine.  Add the cooled syrup to your pitcher, followed by the lemon juice and the remaining 4 cups of water. Stir.  Taste and adjust: add a few tablespoons of sugar if it needs to be sweeter or the juice of 1/2 lemon if it needs more tartness.
4. Add ice.  Add ice to pitcher if you think you will drink the whole pitcher right away.  Otherwise add ice to each glass.

Princess Aurora and a Dollhouse cake!

Here's two cake's I did this spring for two of my neighbor's little girls! Princess Aurora's skirt was made out of cake and butter cream and then I "dressed" her upper body in pink fondant to match. It's been a while since I did a princess cake, so it was a fun challenge. This dollhouse cake is so sweet! It's what my little girl dreams are made of! I can only hope Allegra felt the same way!

 Have a merry weekend all!

Easter weekend festivities 2014

oh the eyes full of wonder...

Off to our very first egg hunt at our neighbors house! The kids hunted the eggs and then got to dye them! Fun was had by all!

Brunch with some dear friends!( and yes our dining room wallpaper is peeling, we LIVE IN a fixer upper after all :)

Egg hunt #2 for the weekend! He was a professional the second time around!

Enjoying our trail together as a family!

The only family photo we got with a boy who just wanted to play ball! We had a great Easter with family and friends! One of the best I do believe!

Lego Cake and Cupcakes

 Here is a incredibly fun cake I did recently for a little boy who LOVES legos. Who doesn't? I remember playing with them for hours and hours. We are looking forward to doing the same with our son. The cupcakes below here were something new I tried for this order. Homemade funfetti cupcakes sans all the artificial flavors! I think they will be a great addition to the cupcake lineup!

Minion Cupcakes

 These minion cupcakes were a lot of fun to make! Underneath their fondant faces are vanilla cupcakes with vanilla butter cream! These little guys were for another little guy who was turning 2! You can't help but love their quirky little faces! It was fun to do them as cupcake toppers this time. You may remember my other minion birthday cake ! Happy Friday and stay tuned for more cake coming up!

 I also share some #snackyfrench #sneakpeaks of my upcoming cakes over on instagram! You can find me here @snackyfrench if your curious what I'm up to! ( Of course there may be a lot of pictures of my son scattered in there too :)

From Scratch: Refrigerator Pickles

 From Scratch: A new series here on the blog! Ever since I got married and had my own kitchen to cook in, I've been interested in making things from scratch, that I would ordinarily buy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't grow up in an overly processed foods family, in fact, my Mom would refuse to buy certain things I begged for at the grocery store on Saturdays, saying oh I can make that for us. And she did! I've been trying to take that a step or two or three farther over the years and I now have an ever growing arsenal of my favorite recipes for things I would have normally bought before. So I'd like to share some of those here from time to time.

I first made these pickles last summer! I made them three or four times, they were so delicious! I even made some for my son's first birthday party! They are the perfect quick an easy pickle. The only down side is you have to eat them more quickly since they are refrigerated and not canned. We didn't seem to have a problem with that part! They were so fresh and crisp that you couldn't even begin to compare them with anything you get at the grocery store. The best! Come on summer!

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3/4 teaspoon dill seeds
2 cups hot water
2 pounds kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1) Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and dill seeds in a heatproof bowl. Add hot water and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. Cool to room temperature.
2) Place cucumbers, garlic and dill in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour brine over all and turn to coat cucumbers. Cover them with a plate to weigh them down and keep them covered in brine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to two weeks. Yield: 1 quart.

Around here: transitioning from winter to spring

If you were to hang out with us right now, our days are filled with trying new recipes for fun and for my baking business. Homemade funfetti cupcakes and homemade crackers (pictured). We've also been enjoying getting outside to play in the yard or take a walk on the trail. Sometimes we're just downright silly and sometimes I'm just trying to relish this time with my toddler who is growing up at an alarming rate!

 wispy, golden baby curls ^^^

Dolphins Cake

This dolphin cake was for a sweet girl, who was turning 13! Her request, dolphins and purple and yellow stripes! Well, there might have been request for a crane too (for her brother, of course, who she was sharing the cake with) but we decided to give this girl her own cake, after all, 13 is quite the special year in a little ladies life! Happy Birthday Kirstyn! 

From Scratch: Salsa Verde

From Scratch: I'm going to start a new series on the blog! Ever since I got married and had my own kitchen to cook in, I've been interested in making things from scratch, that I would ordinarily buy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't grow up in an overly processed foods family, in fact, my Mom would refuse to buy certain things I begged for at the grocery store on Saturdays, saying oh I can make that for us. And she did! I've been trying to take that a step or two or three farther over the years and I now have an ever growing arsenal of my favorite recipes for things I would have normally bought before. So I'd like to share some of those here from time to time.

This week I'd like to share a new favorite of mine! Salsa Verde! I'm pretty sure I had this for the first time when I was living in California, right after I graduated from high school. I decided to commit myself to a year of living in the inner city of Oakland, CA and volunteering there. It was a year that I will never forget and a year that I was introduced to a whole new world of food! Thai, Indian, Cambodian, real Mexican and Vegetarian fare were all new to me. I jumped at the chance to try any new flavors that my small town in PA couldn't offer me at that time. This green salsa was new for me and I loved it!

Fast forward 9 years to last summer when we were getting tomatillos in our weekly CSA share. We would regularly buy salsa verde at Trader Joe's, so I was pretty excited to find this simple recipe to make my own at home. It was delicious! I can't wait to make more this summer!

We enjoy our salsa with tacos, tamales, eggs, chicken and pretty much anything else you think needs a little kick of this awesome sauce!

 Salsa Verde: recipe from pretty simple great

• 1 1/2 quarts water
• 18 tomatillos, washed, husked, and quartered
• 4 serrano chiles, seeded and halved
• 5 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 white onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 jalapeno, seeded (optional) 
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt

 Bring the water to a boil (cover with the lid to decrease the waiting time)

Remove the husk from them tomatillos, and discard. Wash gently under cold running water. Cut in quarters
Rough chop garlic, onion, and chiles
when water reaches a rolling boil add tomatillos, garlic, onion, and chiles. Boil on
high for 30-45 minutes

 Sift out tomatillos, garlic, onion, and chiles and set aside to cool. Reserve water for later

 Once cooled add tomatillos, garlic, onion, cilantro, salt and chiles to a food processor or blender and process. I add water until I reach my desired consistency. I like it to have small chunks of chiles and onions and not to runny. By slowly adding the reserved water, you'll have more control of the end result.

Liam Bakes

This morning we made individual apple baked oatmeals for a friend of mine who recently had a baby! Liam has been using the step stool in the kitchen more and more, so I thought I'd let him help out in the kitchen with me today! This is a first for us. I actually wasn't sure if he'd listen to my directions, but he DID and it was fun to stir, scoop and measure with this little boy by my side. A day that seems to have come faster than I could have anticipated.

He loves to help, and has regular little things he does for me or with me throughout the day, like throwing out a piece of trash or his diaper, washing some area with his rag, dusting, putting the laundry into the dryer. He eagerly waits for there to be something to help out with. I just have to constantly to remind myself to slow down and give him these opportunities!

The recipe for our easy favorite, apple cinnamon baked oatmeal can be found here!