There are all kinds of aprons....and my new favorite muffin recipe

Recently my Women's Club members and I went to Sun Dust Gallery in Mesa to a class called Bottles and Paint. Intriguing, huh? Your group can bring in your own wine and sip away while having a painting lesson...and you get to wear an apron. If I get to wear an apron, sign me up!

Cathy, one of our club member suggested we bring something with us to the class for inspiration. Having never painted on a canvas before, I found a picture of a pillow that became my inspiration. We started with a blank canvas and our first lesson; pick your background color first and then start painting. It turned out to be lots of fun. Here I am painting away....

Here is my finished painting....

and here are the other members of my group and what they created.

A fun activity to do with a group of friends.

My New Favorite Muffin ~ 

Now that Fall is here - for those of us who live in Arizona Fall is when the temperatures drop below a 100 degrees - I love to start baking again. I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins in my Oprah Magazine Cookbook. I modified the recipe a little but it is super easy and the muffins are moist and tender.

Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins - 12 large muffins (I half the recipe and make mini muffins)

3 1/3 c. flour (I prefer cake flour - but all purpose flour works fine)

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. sugar

4 large eggs

1 c. applesauce

1 c. canned mashed pumpkin (no spices added)

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. apple juice, cider, or orange juice

1 1/2 c. raisins or nuts if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups or use paper liners. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars until creamy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, applesauce, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the juice. Mix until smooth. Fold in raisins/nuts if using. Using an ice cream scoop (or small scoop if making mini muffins) scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3rds full.

Bake on center oven rack until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 - 25 minutes (about 15 minutes for mini muffins). Remove from pan and allow muffins to cool in pans for several minutes; turn muffins out onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: I cut the recipe in half and it makes 24 mini muffins and one mini loaf of bread.

I love to serve warm with pats of butter, yum! They are good for breakfast or in a bread basket for lunch and dinner too.

So what's your favorite fall muffin?

Cherry Tomatoes and Updating my Front Entry Way

Cherry Tomatoes.....A friend recently bought a case of cherry tomatoes and decided to share with me. After adding to salads for over a week and still having six baskets full I wondered what else I could do with these sweet little gems. I have roasted whole Roma tomatoes in the past and thought I would try the same technique with these little gems. Keep in mind that slow roasting tomatoes takes time - actually hours - it is a great recipe to do when you are homed in for the day.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Slice each cherry or grape tomato in half and place on a cookie sheet cut side up (see note below). Drizzle tomato halves with Olive Oil - about 1/3 cup. You want the tomatoes moist but not swimming in the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt (I prefer Sea Salt), pepper, and minced garlic (either fresh or from a jar). If you want to enhance the sweetness of the tomatoes use a small sprinkling of red pepper.

Note ~ I have a Pampered Chef Stone Bar Pan that works great because it is larger than a regular rimmed cookie sheet. If your oven will hold two pans plan to roast two pans at once.

Turn on oven to 225 degrees and add the trays of tomatoes, no need to preheat. Let the roasting begin - will take 3 to 4 HOURS for the tomatoes to slow roast. In the meantime, your home will smell amazing and may even draw in a neighbor to two. Once roasted take from the oven and allow to cool. If you don't have this much time increase oven temp and reduce cooking time. Slow roasting is worth it in my opinion.

Place tomatoes along with the oil in a bowl or jar and use as you like! I keep a jar full in the fridge.

Here are a few serving suggestions.......

~ Serve tomatoes on a plate alongside hummus and toasted pita bread for an appetizer or for lunch or dinner. I love doing this when they are still warm from the oven.

~ Cook penne pasta (or pasta of your choice) as directed on package. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of tomatoes along with some of the oil from the jar, diced fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. Add olive oil, if needed. Toss and enjoy with crusty bread and glass of wine.

~ Do the same as the above but cool the pasta under running water for an amazing salad. Great for potluck event!

~ Use in omelets or over scrambled eggs in place of salsa.

Enjoy!

Updating my front entry

For those of you that know me, you know I LOVE to paint. I recently did a faux finish on my front entry way to match the stone facing I had placed on my home a few years ago. I thought I would share how I tackled this project and when finished what it looks like.

First step was to collect sponges of different sizes, choose 4 colors of paint and pick a "grout" color. The process took several days but I love the result!

First Step - Paint the concrete in the grout color of your choice; I choose gray because it matched the grout of my stone facing. I did two coats and allowed it to dry overnight.

Using sponges I then alternated sizes and colors to recreate the stone facing on the front of my home.



It took about an hour to paint the first slab. Within two hours I was done! Best to let dry overnight. At this point you can seal your walk - but honestly, my walk is covered so doesn't get many of the elements and my last faux painted brick lasted for 15 years with minimal touch-ups. I purchased all my paint supplies at Lowe's and I know they have the sealer there for purchase.

I added a few accessories and feel like it welcomes my guests beautifully, just as I had hoped. Can't wait until fall to "redecorate" with fall colors.

FYI, to make the brown pillows I reused old pillows I had and cloth napkins I found at World Market on clearance for $1.29 each.

Limes, Limes, Limes and a Tribute to Mom

Limes, limes and more limes.....

I love citrus! My lime tree is about three years old and after our severe frost this past Spring I thought for sure my lime crop would be limited...NOT. The photo above is what I picked from just one branch.

So what to do with so many limes? I dug through my cookbooks and found a few recipes for sorbet. When it is 117 degrees outside what could be better than a nice frozen dessert! Most recipes called for white sugar and I wanted to try a version using agave syrup so I created my own recipe. I also added basil; unbelievably it is thriving in my garden right now.  This is a super easy recipe that I hope you will enjoy as much as I do. I love my ice cream/sorbet maker, just be sure your freezer bowl is frozen solid.

Lime Basil Sorbet - makes four servings   

1 and 2/3 cups water

3/4 cup agave syrup

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

5 to 6  fresh basil leaves

Zest of 3 limes

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg (if desired)

Green food coloring (if desired)

In small saucepan combine the water and agave syrup over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and pour into a glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in the fridge to cool for about an hour.

When cool add the syrup/water mixture, lime juice, basil, nutmeg and green food coloring to the blender. Blend for 2-3 minutes. Add the lime zest and immediately pour mixture into frozen base of an ice cream/sorbet maker. Follow ice cream/sorbet maker instructions; mine takes approximately 25 minutes to turn to sorbet consistency. Serve immediately garnished with basil leaves and strawberries. If not enjoying immediately place in a storage container and freeze until firm.

Tribute to Mom......she has been gone 7 years this week

It's hard to believe it has been seven years this week since my Mom passed away. Years before she passed away she and my Dad created a Beneficiary Notebook - it included all their important documents as well as what they each wanted as their final wishes. My Mom was a humble woman and she didn't want a lot of fuss. Her wishes were simple. We included all her favorites in her memorial service; hummingbirds on memorial program, Willie Nelson songs as guests arrived, an Irish Blessing read during her service and at the end, a treat for everyone that came. We placed chocolate Hershey Kisses in baskets and two of her grandson's shared the basket of chocolate treats with all the guests as they left the service.

After her service one of their neighbors hosted a gathering in the back yard of their home. ALL the neighbors had pitched in and provided a lovely, simple luncheon to honor Mom. After all the guests left, we were sitting in the shaded backyard and a handful of hummingbirds fluttered around us. We took it as a sign that Mom was happy and was graciously thanking us for making her day be so special.

Among my Mom's important documents was a list of what she wanted each of her children to receive when she passed. I received a special ring I referred to as "the rock". A week before she passed away I went home for a visit. Mom had many therapists and nurses coming and going and I joked with her that in all the hustle and bustle of activity, she might misplace my "rock". She jokingly asked me to go retrieve the ring from her dresser and said we should hide it somewhere that only she, Dad and I would know where it was. We decided to hide the "rock" in the pocket of an orange shirt in my Dad's closet. The joke being, Dad never got rid of anything and there would be no chance that the shirt and the "rock" would be given away. Little did we know that six days later she would pass away. I now have the "rock" and think of her every time I wear it to special occasions.

When my Dad was finally at the place where he could start going through my Mom's things, I asked if he would save Mom's nightgowns for me. My thought, cut the nightgowns into squares and make a quilt! Well I still have the box of nightgowns and am still cutting the squares a little at a time. I have a long way to go! But then I got to thinking about my blog. I pulled out the nightgowns and a thought came to me - I could make an apron out of her nightgowns! So using four of her nightgowns I started cutting.

I used the top as a halter bodice and the bottom ruffles of each of the nightgowns to create the lower part of the apron. Here is a picture of my niece modeling the finished apron.

So Mom, just to let you know I'm still thinking of you! Now a part of you is in the kitchen with me when I am cooking! Something as simple as her nightgowns has brought me so much joy.

So what unique memento do you cherish from your lost loved one?