At the Fair!

One of my very favorite days of the summer is the day we head to the Minnesota State Fair. My family has been going since I was really little. My mom even has a story that comes up every year of me throwing up on my shoes when I was a wee child. (Is that right, Mom?) The summer my little brother was born, my parents packed up the four of us and headed to the big ol' Minnesota get-together, never mind the fact that Jake was only three weeks old. I never appreciated that story until I had my own little ones. Mom & Dad, I hope you had leashes! Yikes.

Mama Bex & I loaded up the Jeep with strollers and kids and drove the three hours to the fair. Now that there are four car seats and two big strollers, this is not an easy task, but we did it.

By the time we made it to the fair grounds, we were a little frazzled. Ella didn't sleep a wink in the car. Instead, she sang and sang. Not quietly. We were ready for the outside fair air, but there wasn't a parking spot to be found! Fortunately, our friend Eli's parents live just half a mile from the fair grounds. They graciously let us park in their driveway for the day. Thank you, Mr & Mrs Horn!

playing at the Horn's while the mama's got everything ready

This was Sammy just about all day during his first trip to the fair. A cozy little bug.

Getting all hydrated to take on the festivities. Almost there...

We made it! The FAIR! After passing through the main gates, we searched for Nana & Papa Scott, Uncle Mike, and Great Grandma Scott. We were ready for adventure!

Ella & mascots. Doesn't matter what they are, she'll chase them down to say hello, even with this mama weaving in and out of a crowd of craziness to try to keep up with her. This State Fair gopher gave her some love. (I can't even imagine how hot it was inside that costume. Bless you, Gopher. You made my child's day and didn't pass out doing it.)

What can I say? The girl's got style! She wore her glasses like this ALL DAY, insisting that was the way it was done. We got some cute comments from people. Maybe she'll be a trend setter.

I'm a huge fan of cheese curds, but check this out. Cheese curds and gravy over fries. Whoa. I didn't try it, but my parents did earlier in the day and said they were actually good. Hmm. Is this a Canadian thing? Shauna? I'm just thinking it's a good thing State Fair calories don't count. *wink, wink*

The crazy cheese curds were right next to our booth of choice, a first stop destination every visit to the fair. All-you-can-drink milk for a buck. Yes, please. It was crazy hot the day we were there, so milk tasted amazing. I alternated between white & chocolate each cup since I can't commit to one or the other.

While visiting the animal barns, we were stopped to allow these enormous wagons and teams of horses into the Colosseum. Ella was in awe. So was I! The horses were in teams of 6 or 8 and the drivers were looking sharp in pressed suits and cowboy hats. I had a sense of pride watching them. Maybe it's my Western roots. Just kidding; I have no Western roots. It must just be all that country music I listened to growing up. And the fact that I grew up out in the country where we all had horses.

Ella wanted to be anywhere she could reach out and touch the animals.

Sam met a horse! I have a feeling he'll be a little more interested next year.

After a crazy hot day of walking around in the sunshine, it was time to find a picnic table in the shade. That gave Sammy a chance to soak in some Great Grandma lovin'.

And because the picnic table was near one of the open band shells, Ella got in some dancing.

Papa & his Sammy. I think they're going to be pretty good buddies.

Of course I had to get this photo. Look at Uncle Mike's shirt! It's a preview of Sammy's Superheroes! It was also at this point that we freed Sammy from his onsie and let him bare it the rest of the day.

those cheeks are for kissin'

four generations at the fair

one of my fave fair treats: honey ice cream

he always smiles when he flies

we all shared a deep fried Twinkie. Ella was thrilled.

We were all sweaty, dirty, and a little on the crabby side, but Mama Bex & I decided to make one last stop on our way out of the fair. As we passed through the global market, I found this amazing little shop, Global Mamas. After reading about who they are and talking with one of their designers, I fell in love with the company and will definitely be making more purchases in the future. (Christmas presents!) Everything is hand made by women in Ghana (that's in Western Africa) and sold through a place in Minneapolis. I didn't get to spend nearly as much time looking through their booth as I would have liked since Miss Ella was on the verge of meltdown, but I did manage to buy a wrap dress, a pair of glass bead earrings, and slippers for Sam. On the back of each tag is written the name of the woman who made the product. Love.

Another year, another fabulous visit to the fair. We had a great time, but I do have to say it was a lot more work with two kiddos, even if one was just sleeping in his stroller. Bex & I joked that next year we're taking the little ones to the zoo in Duluth to get their animal fix and then getting a sitter so we can go to the fair on our own. There's a whole world of things a mama doesn't get to do while trying to keep the babes happy! We'll see. I have so much fun seeing the fair from their perspective that I'd probably miss having them there. We just might have to make two trips. :)

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A couple weeks ago I crossed paths with a recipe on Pinterest that I ended up making four times in about five days. It makes a perfect meal to deliver to friends when a new baby arrives or they need a little something special. The recipe is Crock Pot Italian Chicken from the blog Crock-a-doodle-do. Super, super simple. Chicken, veggies, and dressing all go into the crock pot and cook all day. I don't recommend making it with light dressing, though, because it just won't turn out as tasty. Yes, that is from personal experience. After cooking, I carefully take it all out of the pot with a slotted spoon (so it doesn't take all the dressing and juices) and put it in a disposable aluminum container with a lid. Then I add rolls or bread and something for dessert, and a deliverable dinner is complete!

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Does your family go to the fair? What's something you can't miss when you go?

Happy Thursday!

Recipe: Upside-Down Coffee Cake

Looking for a last minute piece of deliciousness to add to your Easter brunch menu? This lovely coffee cake recipe is by far the best I've found. It's incredibly moist, unlike many coffee cakes I've sampled, and gets rave reviews anywhere it's served. And the left overs are just as scrumptious. Yum!

image found here

Ingredients you'll need:

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

 Then here's what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of a 9 inch springform pan with aluminum foil to prevent leaking. (It's important to wrap it well all across the bottom. You might also want to put a cookie sheet on an oven rack under the cake pan to catch any drips.) Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar and 1/3 cup butter. Bring to a boil, then pour into bottom of springform pan. Sprinkle with cranberries and pecans. (I make mine without the pecans.)
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto serving platter and carefully remove pan. Serve warm. 

You can certainly use other fruit besides cranberries, but I've found it to have the best flavor. I use whole cranberries that I bought in Bayfield and froze, which wouldn't be all that different than using the whole ones found in the frozen fruit section at your grocery store. I haven't tried using dried cranberries, but if you do want to go that direction, make sure you let them soak in a bowl of really hot water for about 15 minutes first so they get nice and plump.

Not sure what a springform pan is? The first time I came across one for a recipe back in college, I had to call my grandma to get an explanation, so don't feel bad. It's a round pan with a latch on the side that makes it easy to release a cake. (Available at Target or Michaels or anywhere else you can buy regular cake pans.) They are often used when making cheese cakes. If you don't have one, experiment with something else. Even if it falls apart while you're getting it ready to serve, it will still taste amazing. Yes, I know such things from experience.

a springform pan

And that is that! Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Recipe originally found here.

Recipe: Lemon Cookies

I love lemon. It's so light and fresh. Even in cleaning products. Mmm. But maybe I shouldn't be mentioning cleaning products. I'm leaning more in the direction of lemony edible goodness.

I found this recipe last week as I searched for a simple cookie recipe to bake and take to the State Fair. It's not that I don't like fair food, but holy moly, it gets spendy. This was a nice, light treat to have in the stroller for the fam as we put the miles on walking through the fair grounds.

Here's what you need:

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cups lemon juice

1 lemon, zested*

1/2 tsp vanilla

*For zested lemon: Wash a lemon. Using a zester or fine grater, grate the peel of the lemon. For this recipe, use the peel of the entire lemon.

Whisk together flour, soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creaming (about 5 mins). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. For even more lemon flavor, cut the lemon and squeeze the juice into the cookie dough. Gently mix in flour mixture.

Chill dough for about 30 minutes. Scoop onto a cookie sheet using a spoon or small cookie scoop. Sprinkle white sugar over the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 until edges brown, about 9-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

perfect with a cup of coffee

Tomorrow I'll have pics from our trip to the Minnesota State Fair!

Recipe: Royal Wedding Scones

Yes, I am absolutely counting the days until the royal wedding. (It's the day after tomorrow - Friday morning - if you're out of the loop.) I'm not at all ashamed to admit it. In fact, we're planning a lovely Royal Wedding Tea Party to celebrate the grand occasion. Mama Bex, her girls, Ella, and I will be driving to Pequot to join my mom, her sister Bue, and Bue's friend Maureen for a sleep over on the eve of the wedding. It's practically a requirement since the wedding is scheduled to begin at 11am London time, which equals 5am Minnesota time.

What does a Royal Wedding Tea Party entail? Tea, of course, in the very English tradition. I've also been working on hats and a fascinator (not meant to be particularly pretty, mind you), decorating royal cupcakes, and baking scones. Last night I made a lovely recipe fit for an early morning tea party and wanted to share the it, just in case you'd like to make them for your own wedding watching party or just for fun.


The scones can be made in a variety of flavors. A few of my favorite are apricot, cranberry white chocolate, and raspberry. You can easily experiment with different ingredients by changing the cranberries and white chocolate in the recipe below with whatever you would like.

So here is what you'll need:

1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 large egg
6 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter and cut in with a fork or pastry blender until mixture looks like a coarse meal. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.

apricot mix

3. In a small bowl, beat together egg and cream. Add this to the flour mixture. Stir it all together gently with a fork until the mixture come together. Try not to mix it much more than that. If the dough is too dry, add a splash of heavy cream until it sticks together but isn't too sticky.

4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into a circle about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into equal wedges.

cranberry chocolate

5. Place scones on prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle the tops with sugar.

6. Bake until golden brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool.

apricot

Perfect for watching the Royal Wedding!

cranberry white chocolate

Enjoy!

Recipe: Perfectly Sweet Vanilla Whipped Cream

My little helper has helped me discover a perfect whipped cream recipe. And even better than discovering the recipe? I wrote it down! Amazing concept, isn't it? I had been working with a Martha recipe for a while that wasn't sweet enough for my liking, so I changed it every time I made it. The thing was, I had to keep re-inventing it because I kept forgetting to write it down. So now that I practically have it etched into stone so I don't forget it again, I want to pass it on to you.

The recipe makes a pretty good amount. (I just wrote it down for the first time. Please don't expect that I've also measured how much it produces.) I do know that half of the recipe is plenty to cover a pie. So if you don't want to have extra because you think you just might eat all the leftovers with a spoon right after promising yourself you'll save the extra, I'd recommend going with the half recipe.

Here's the full recipe:

1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar

Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and mix just until stiff peaks form. This can be done by hand with a whisk or using a mixer on medium-high. If you use a stand mixer, though, don't walk away. It can reach a ready point pretty fast and ruin the batch if the mixer isn't turned off right away. (Yes, I tell you this from experience. If this does happen, add more cream one tablespoon at a time and mix until it gets back to the right consistency.) Feel free to add more or less vanilla and powdered sugar to your liking. A lot of vanilla can be really good on some desserts. I've done it with French silk pie and hot chocolate. Mmmm.

It's a simple recipe, but whipped cream is kind of a dessert staple, so it's nice to have a good recipe on hand. And it's always memorable to tell people it's homemade.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Irish Soda Bread

It's nearly St Patrick's Day, so what could be more fun than making something Irish? I love that it doesn't really matter if a person is Irish or not, we all get to celebrate together. Good thing for me, since I'm pretty sure I don't have an ounce of Irish in me. Pete spent a month in Ireland during college, so he's told me that someday he'll take me trekking there as well. Tomorrow maybe? To celebrate the memorable saint? I'll dream of it.

Okay, the bread. This stuff if delish and super easy. Basically, it's mixing everything together in a bowl, plopping it on a cookie sheet, and baking it. Simple! And then you can say you've eaten something Irish. Actually, soda bread comes from lots of countries. I did a little reading (I'm on spring break so I've got the time!) and found a few things about the Irish version. One, it doesn't use yeast because the weather in Ireland doesn't allow for the kind of wheat to grow that mixes well with yeast. Therefore, soda bread uses soda, which we know as baking soda. Second, Irish soda bread doesn't contain fruit. They call it something different when it has fruit. I'm not sure why Martha's recipe (below) has raisins, but it does make it pretty tasty, so I left them in. Third, the cross is cut into the top to allow the bread to stretch while it's baking. If you want to learn more, this soda bread site is a good one to start with.

As I mentioned, this is a recipe from Martha. I found it in her baking handbook, but it can also be found here on her website.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
2 cups golden or dark raisins
1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 scant cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, caraway seeds, baking powder and salt until well combined. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining Fold in the raisins.

In a bowl, whisk together the whole egg, buttermilk, and baking soda until combined. Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture; using a rubber spatula, fold in, working in all directions and incorporating crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, until the dough just comes together. With your hands, form dough into a round, domed loaf, about 8 inches in diameter. Gently lift dough from the bowl, and place on the prepared sheet.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolk with the cream; brush over the loaf. With a sharp knife, cut a cross, about 3/4 inch deep, in the center of the top of the loaf. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until deep golden brown and a cake tester (toothpick) inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely. Irish Soda Bread is best eaten the day it is baked, but it can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Berry Custard Pie

Feel like sneaking a taste of summer in the middle of a bitterly cold winter? This yummy pie is a perfect way to do just that. I discovered this berry custard pie recipe on Martha Stewart's website a couple weeks ago and have fallen in love with it.
The original recipe called for fresh raspberries, but fresh raspberries are expensive around here this time of year. The first time I made it, I used a pound of frozen blackberries. On Thursday this week I made four more to serve at a class at church and used a lovely triple berry mix of frozen blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Experiment with what you like! In my book, it's hard to go wrong with berries. Yum.

Start with a regular crust. You can use my no-fail crust recipe (follow the complete baking instructions on the bottom of the post) or buy a pre-made crust. I've done it both ways. If you buy your crust, go for the frozen, deep-dish variety and bake it on your own. This was actually the first time I've used a store bought crust, and I was fairly happy with the end result. I definitely recommend making your own when possible, but don't feel bad if you prefer to buy yours. You'll still end up with a pie!

If you use frozen berries, it's best to thaw them first and drain the extra juice. Then follow the recipe below.

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound (3 1/2 cups) berries
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Add egg and cream and whisk to combine. Toss berries, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Spoon berries into crust, then pour in cream mixture, filling to just below the rim.


Bake until custard is set but still a bit wobbly in the center, about 45 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with fresh berries and serve cold.

I can't wait until I can swing in to the farmers' market this summer for fresh berries. In the meantime, this is the perfect taste of summer.

Enjoy!

Recipe: French Silk Pie

Last week I was asked to bake a few things for our residency retreat over the weekend. I know that it's not usually the greatest idea to try out brand new recipes for such occasions, but I felt I'd be forgiven if something didn't turn out. Besides, when you're staying in a cabin in the woods surrounded by gorgeous trees and lakes, the snow is falling, you've got a glass of wine or a really good cup of coffee, doesn't everything just seem okay? Add that to the fact that there were six kids in the cabin all under the age of 2 1/2 and I'm pretty sure anyone would have eaten anything with a half-way sophisticated flavor.

So after a little searching, I narrowed my choices to two pies and a batch of fudge brownies. I had wanted to make biscotti, too, but I was already a little behind on class work, so I dropped that one. (Thanks to those of you who helped me come to that conclusion.) The first pie was a lovely, simple French silk that I found on allrecipes.com.

This recipe requires very few ingredients and not a lot of time. The only thing you'll have to know is that the filling needs to be chilled for a while before serving it, so plan ahead. It's completely up to you whether you want to buy a crust or make one. If you decide to make one, my mom's no-fail pie crust works beautifully.

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted & cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 prepared 8 inch pastry shell

Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar with an electric mixer until light colored and well blended. Stir in the thoroughly cooled chocolate and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating five minutes on medium speed after each addition. (The filling may not set well if you rush this.) Spoon the chocolate filling into a cooled, baked pie shell. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

I also recommend covering the top in fresh or store bought whipped cream and sprinkling bits of chocolate across the top. You can't see that in my picture because I actually made the pie four days before serving it. And guess what? It still tasted amazing. (Mind you I only had one bite. I'm just starting phase two of this round of P90X and I'm trying to be really good.) I'm thankful for cold weather in such a situation because I never once had to put it in a refrigerator. It stayed perfectly cool in the back of the Jeep. So if you need to bake something ahead of time, this is the one to pick. I thought the brownies would fare better. I was wrong. They were dry. Blah.

Let me know if you end up trying this fairly simple recipe. It's delish!

Enjoy!

Recipe: No-Fail Pie Crust

I give all the credit of this recipe to my mom and her junior high home economics class. As the story goes, she was in a group with three boys who were awesome in small motors class but couldn't do a whole lot in the kitchen. This recipe was given to them so they could successfully complete their pie assignment. Years later, it's still working its magic!

Here's what you'll need:

3 cups flour
1 1/4 cups shortening
1 large egg, beaten
5 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt

Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut together the flour and shortening. (You can use butter instead of shortening, but I recommend the shortening.) Add the egg, water, and salt and continue to cut the ingredients together.

And that's it! You'll have enough dough to make two crusts, which is perfect for an apple pie or something with a top layer of crust. Divide the dough in two, shape them into discs, wrap them in plastic, and place them in the fridge or freezer until you decide to use them.

Once you're ready to use your dough, let it thaw if it's been in the freezer. If it's only been in the fridge, you'll be good to go. It actually helps if it's just a little cold. Unwrap a disc and place it between two big pieces of plastic wrap to roll it out. This way nothing will stick to the counter or the rolling pin. You may have to press your belly up to the counter to hold down the plastic wrap. It'll slide a lot.

Once your pie dough is at least as big as your pie pan, uncover just the top of your dough. Set your pan upside down on top of the dough.

Slide your hand underneath the dough and flip the whole thing over. With the plastic still on, press the dough into the pie pan. Then peel the plastic off.

Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess crust around the edges. You can now make pretty sides around your pie crust if you want.


And you're finished! I recommend filling the pie crust with something truly delish. This crust goes well with lots of fillings, so fill to your heart's content.

If it's apple pie you desire, check in tomorrow when I'll be posting my Mama's Apple Pie recipe. Yum.

Enjoy!


Here's an update (Feb 1, 2011) in case you want to bake your crust without filling it first. This will be the case if you make a cold pie filling like French silk or Blackberry Custard.

Once the crust is in the pie pan, poke holes in it with a fork and freeze it for 15 minutes. Then cover it with parchment paper or foil and fill at least half of the pan (on top of the foil) with pie weights or dried beans. Bake it at 375 for 25-30 minutes until the edges start to turn golden. Then remove the foil and beans or weights and bake the crust another 10-15 minutes. Let the crust cool completely before pouring in your filling.