fall oatmeal cookies

oatmeal cookie + whipped cream + pumpkin pie spice

yum!

(our fave is the quaker oats recipe)

coconut cream pie

mom made a pie almost everyday during her 2-week stay at folly.

banana cream, chocolate and coconut.

they were all sooo good, but the coconut won. (of course!)

for the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup crisco

4-5 T cold water

preheat oven to 425.

in a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt, and cut the crisco in with 2 knives until it is pea sized. sprinkle the water over and mix until it comes together. form it into a ball and dump it out on a floured surface. roll it out and place in ungreased pie pan. with a fork, poke lots of holes all over the crust and bake it for 10-15 minutes. let it cool.

for the filling:

2 cups milk

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 t salt

1 t vanilla

3 egg yolks

1 cup shredded coconut

mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

in a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the milk.

heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk in a medium pot on the stove.

meanwhile, combine the yolk mixture with the dry ingredients, then add to the warm milk.

cook over medium heat and stir often until it thickens.

remove from heat, then mix in the coconut and vanilla.

pour into cooled pie shell.

serve chilled, warm or room temp with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

enjoy!

june re-cap

disclaimer!!: this is a very unorganized, poorly documented summary of our june - partly because we've been hopping around states so i don't always have my computer/camera with me, partly because there's too much to capture i don't even try but mainly because i am probably just lazy. regardless, it's been a super fun month but i'm kinda glad it's over :)

Houston:

esther turned 7 months! crawling everywhere, happy as can be, and has a little sibling coming this christmas! big congrats to gen & prav!!!

ivy had TONS of cousin time! there was an occasional push or cry of jealousy but overall, they are best friends :) this is at discovery pad in downtown houston.

sunday suppers: i hated missing these when we were abroad and i know i'll hate it again when we're in cambridge.

mexican ice cream sundaes:

vanilla ice cream

toasted peanuts

toasted coconut

chocolate chips

homemade cinnamon chocolate sauce

CHARLESTON

we spent a week with kevin's family at folly beach.

kevin and ivy picked up summer aquarium passes.

it's hard to say who's more excited...

kevin and i left ivy at the beach with nana to take a weekend trip to boston/cambridge to scope things out. first things first, i found my new bakery: flour. i remembered it from a food network show a long time ago. yum. we loved the town and our new neighborhood and got to walk through our next little home. it's an old red brick 4-story building built in the 1890's in harvard square. unfortunately, it was hard to see past the hundreds of books this professor couple had piled in each room. they had an insane amount of stuff packed in that little place - but we really loved it and i can't wait to get my own things settled in (including a new nursery)!

HOUSTON:

kevin made his grilling debut.

nancy taught him a few tricks while we were at the beach.

i'm loving it.

grilled chicken with mango salsa, rice and grilled corn

Brock fam trip to Cabo!

staples (11 months!) and esther

back in Houston...

Going Away Crawfish Boil for Logan!

He'll be leaving July 10th for Romania, and spending the next 11 months in 11 different countries through The World Race. Follow him at loganbrock.theworldrace.org

the end. whew

farmer's market

i recently heard about the little bitty farmer's market in st. andrews that happens once a month, so ivy and i checked it out this morning. there wasn't much to it, as i was warned, but it was fun to walk around, let ivy pet strangers' dogs, and browse all the goodies. i was pleasantly surprised! there was a variety of meats and cheeses, homemade chocolates, fresh breads and jams, etc. we scooped up some homemade cinnamon fudge, sausages, a beautiful "white cob" bread loaf (never heard that name but can't wait to try it!) and a chocolate krispy bar. i brought my camera but the batteries died after one picture. bummer! maybe i'll get some more next month.

fyi:

Cob, the name used in reference to a round bread roll, often crusty, in parts of the Midlands and North West, England.^[1] A cob more usually refers to a loaf^[2] of bread so called due to the shape, from the Anglo Saxon for "head". An alternative source of the term cob in reference to a bread roll is the similarity in shape and size to a cobblestone.

there you have it!

homemade breadsticks

I've never successfully baked with yeast in the past, but I've been trying to lately and realized it's really not that hard. (I'm convinced my pack of yeast was expired or something in SA.) Anyway, you just need the right recipes and a little time. This is a great beginner recipe to try because you don't even have to let the yeast rise. Hope you like it!

RECIPE:

1-½ cup Warm Water

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Dry Active Yeast

3-½ cups Flour

½ cups Melted Butter

1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Allow yeast to activate (about 10 minutes). Add flour and stir in with a fork until dough holds together. Turn out onto floured board.

Knead lightly into a ball. Pinch off a small handful. On floured board, roll out into bread stick (like a snake!). Brush with melted butter and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (or whatever you want). Place onto greased cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. This gives the bread sticks about 10 minutes to begin to rise. Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Try not to over-bake or they get a little tough (not that I would know.)

May be made in the morning and kept in the refrigerator unbaked. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 – 45 minutes (depending on how warm your house is) before baking.

ENJOY!

Next I want to master pizza dough and cinnamon rolls!!!!!!!!!!! sorry I just got real excited. (Does anyone have a good cinnamon roll recipe??)

PS. Sorry this has kinda become a food blog. It's kinda cold outside and I'm kinda fat and lazy these days. I'm going to give a better effort to make it more about St. Andrews, especially since our time here is running out!

happy 4 months e!

homemade naan

joy hosted this month's dinner club and chose indian for our theme. we were all a little nervous for this one but it turned out to be one of the best ones! the food was soooooo good- can't wait to get everyone's recipes, which i'll try to share on here. (the host for each month chooses the theme, and afterwards, collects all the recipes to send out to each participant. so fun.) anyway, i made naan. so yummy and very simple. honestly.

RECIPE:

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 large egg

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.

Stir in the flour, salt, oil, yogurt and egg and stir, then knead until you have a soft, pliable dough. (1-2 minutes). Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size; about an hour.

Pinch off a handful and on a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a thin circle or oval.

Cook each naan in a nice hot skillet drizzled with oil (just a teeny tiny bit) until blistered and cooked, flipping as necessary. (When the surface has big blisters and is golden on the bottom, flip it over and cook until golden on the other side.)

Makes about 8-12 naan.

happy birthday jenny!!

valentine's day

hope it's a SWEET one!

chunky monkey cookies

I named these after the Ben & Jerry's ice cream because we recently had some (for the first time) and it was so good!!! I know I'm at least a decade behind on this, but I think it's a new favorite. Having a craving for all things banana this time around might have something to do with it. Anyway, while we were eating it, I told Kevin I wanted to make a cookie version because we were loving it so much! I was going to just make one up, but then found the perfect one online. It is from a cute food blog called 101 cookbooks, and they are known there as Banana Chip Cookies.

Also, this recipe is a really good basic dough if you want to swap out the banana chips or nuts for your favorite things.... pecans, coconut, peanut butter chips, etc. or just keep it simple with chocolate chips.

Recipe: click HERE.

(note: I only used plain white flour + brown sugar.)

Hope you enjoy!

the joys of baking in the UK

i like baking... i do. it's one of the little things that makes a house a home. but i was intimidated after the big move to start up again in my little kitchen because everything is so different here! for instance...

1. there are so many different types of sugars, and they go by different names such as royal icing sugar (instead of confectioner's sugar).

2. the eggs just sit out on the shelf -room temp. is that weird/sanitary?

3. baking soda = bicarbonate of soda. that's not a big deal, but still different!

4. ok. this is the hardest thing to get used to... butter does not come in sticks!! and it is not measured in tablespoons! it is marked off every 50 grams (if you're lucky). so when a recipe calls for "2 sticks of butter" you have to translate that to grams. 1 stick = 1/2 cup = 113 grams. so 113 x 2 = 226 and one block is 250 grams. i finally got it down (thanks to kendall)! woohoo!

muffin tray vs bun tray. i accidentally bought a bun tray (i was ordering from a catalogue so it was hard to see the difference) - i started laughing when i received my purchase! it is so shallow, there's no way you could make muffins or cupcakes in it. i'd never heard of a bun tray (have you??) so i was easily thrown off. it sits, very lonely, in my bottom cabinet, totally untouched. what on earth would i make in it? buns? what does that even mean?

the itty bitty oven. well, it's really not that bad. it's actually a double oven but i'm pretty sure the bottom one doesn't work. anyway, it's in celcius! that's a problem! i've learned that 350 = 180c so i can kinda judge everything else from there.

there are so many other little things that make me laugh (and cry) like no chocolate chips, hershey kisses, peppermints... however, the local store does have betty crocker cake mixes that taste exactly the same so that's nice to have on hand!

ok well for some reason i thought this post would be interesting but now i'm thinking maybe it's only interesting to me... haha. oh well, i'll post it for record-keeping's sake...

the end!

and now... please join me in singing:

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear craaaaig

happy birthday to you!!!

vidalia honey vinaigrette

salad dressings are practically non-existent over here, so you're kinda left to your own creativity in that department. my friend stocks up on starter packets when she's in the states which i'd never heard of but her salads always turn out so good! i'll have to bring some back after christmas. until then... i've made this one a few times and we've really liked it. making your own vinaigrette is something i probably would've never thought to do, but i've enjoyed it. let me know if you've ever made your own or have a good recipe! i'd love to try it!

click here for recipe.

note: there aren't vidalia onions in this region, so i just use a plain white one, and add a pinch of sugar.

recipe & image from southern living october 2010

ps. sorry for this healthy post in december. how disappointing! i'll make up for it with a chocolate one very soon. i think you'll like it!

sweet potato soup

i love soup!
y'all may already know that by now.
this one is brought to us from my friend joy again and it's fantastic. all the different ingredients combine to make such an interesting flavor. it's autumn in a bowl. i think this would be better as a starter rather than a main, but that's just a personal preference. there's a lot of peelin' and choppin' going on here, but don't be intimidated. it's really not that bad, and it's worth it!

1. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large pot over med-high heat.
2. Stir in: 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add: 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
5. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low. Cover and simmer about 15-20 minutes, until veggies are tender.
6. Puree in a blender and garnish with parsley & paprika.

ENJOY!

brock family chex mix

this is a family FAVORITE - we love making it, smelling it, and eating it til every last bite is gone. sooo addicting!

combine in a large bowl:

3 cups rice chex

3 cups corn chex

3 cups wheat chex

+ a few handfuls of:

pretzel sticks

peanuts

cheese crackers

garlic bagel chips

seasoning:

butter

worchestshire

tony chachere's original creole seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

preheat to 250.

1. in two baking trays, melt 4-6 T of butter (per tray) in the oven.

2. remove trays and add a few tablespoons of worchestshire and creole seasoning. stir together.

3. pour all the chex mix on the baking trays, and stir well so the butter coats everything evenly.

4. bake for 1 hour, mixing it well every 15 minutes.

5. remove from trays onto paper towels and let cool. store in airtight container.

enjoy!

banana nut muffins

i've been meaning to post this recipe since forever ago. they are so good and i make them all the time. i want to try grilling a slice (from a loaf) and serving it with ice cream for dessert. mmm!

makes a dozen (ivy ate one) and one small loaf.

recipe from tyler florence: here

{this post and picture are terribly plain, but really do try them - it's a great thing to have around the kitchen for breakfast, snack and on-the-go. our dozen is gone by the end of the day.}

cindy's pumpkin bread

our dear family friend cindy jones gave me a little red binder full of her own hand-written recipes as a wedding gift a few years ago. this is one of them, and probably my favorite! it's fall in a loaf pan.

cindy's pumpkin bread:

2 cups pumpkin puree (1 1/2 cans)

1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

dry ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (my little addition!)

directions:

1. mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. in a standing mixer, combine the pumpkin, oil, water and sugar. mix well.

3. add the eggs one at a time and mix well.

4. slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

5. fold in the chocolate chips and pecans (optional).

pour into loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour. you could also pour into muffin trays. let cool in pans, then move onto serving platter.

serve with cinnamon whipped cream.

good for breakfast too :)

makes 3 loaves.

y'all enjoy!

pecan chicken

Here's my husband's favorite thing I make for dinner.

It's simple & quick but something a little different - isn't that what we're all looking for?

Well look no further folks - this one's a keeper.

for the chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 Tb or so butter, melted

1 cup crushed pecan pieces

1/2 cup grated (not shredded) parmesan

s&p

1. Put a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken and pound slightly(I use a rolling pin) so it is a bit thinner and even thickness, and season well with salt & pepper.

2. Melt butter in bowl. Combine the pecans and parmesan in a separate shallow bowl.

3. Dip the chicken in the melted butter and then in the pecan mixture. Coat well.

4. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake in 375 oven until chicken is cooked through. I never time how long this takes - I just keep an eye on it. Tip: The way I tell when chicken is cooked is just by pressing gently on it. If it is almost firm to the touch then it's ready. If it gives too much, it needs longer.

for the strawberry sauce:

{adapted from Junior League of Tampa's Savor the Seasons, which was given to me by Kevin's Aunt Heather in Tampa as a wedding gift - thank you!}

1 Tb minced green onions

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup strawberry jam

1 Tb balsamic

1 Tb chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried

1. Saute the green onions in a drop of olive oil over medium heat in a small pan for 2 minutes.

2. Add the broth, jam, balsamic and rosemary. Stir together.

3. Turn up the heat, then simmer for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened.

4. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes.

Spoon sauce over the cooked chicken and serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.

over the weekend...

we baked muffins...

took an evening stroll to martyr's monument

put on our sunday best...

and walked (not strolled) to church...

made homemade biscuits & gravy...

and lots of other things!

let the 1 week countdown to texas begin!!

pound cake

I made this a few days ago for a dinner club I recently joined. The theme was "Colors of the Rainbow" and we were each assigned a color. Mine was blue. Hmm... blueberries? I decided to make this pound cake that I remember being soooo good -with a blueberry compote on top.

for the cake:

3 sticks (339 grams) softened butter

8 ounces softened cream cheese

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 Tb vanilla

1 tsp almond

3 cups flour

Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. Mix in the vanilla and almond. Slowly pour in the flour and mix until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Pour batter into greased or buttered angel food pan (or Bundt pan or loaf pans 2/3 full). Put in a cold oven and bake at 275 for 1 1/2 hours. Ovens vary, so check for doneness with a toothpick or knife. (My oven took almost 2 hours.) Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan and gently turn over onto serving plate.

for the blueberry compote:

(from peacemeals junior league of houston cookbook)

3 Tb water

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 cups blueberries

In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, lemon juice and 1 cup of the blueberries. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup of blueberries and simmer for an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and serve warm or at room temperature.

*This recipe also called for 1 Tb of fresh chopped basil when removed from the heat. I didn't use any, but I'm sure it would be good.

Slice the pound cake and spoon sauce on top. But the cake is perfect by itself, too!

Thanks Mrs. Goth for the recipe :)

enjoy!