strawberry picking

we had such a great time when we went strawberry picking last summer so now that it's june (prime strawberry season) i have been itching to go again.  on sunday, we took a drive up to pallman farms and spent some time picking strawberries.  the weather was gorgeous and the smell of the strawberry fields was amazing.  the strawberries were much larger than last year too.  we filled up our bucket and ended up with just under five pounds of strawberries!  now we will have to make some plans for all of our berries.  let the strawberry fest commence at our house!

love, laurie

our recipe for a happy and healthy marriage

today i am guest posting over on lauren's blog choosing joy.  lauren is getting married this week, and she asked me to share a few tips for a happy and healthy marriage.  (you can check out my guest post here.)

i consider myself blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with ryan.  this summer will mark 10 years that we have known each other, 9 years together as a couple, and 3 years of marriage.  over the course of our relationship, we have found just the right ingredients to make our marriage both happy and healthy.  since ryan and i love to cook and bake, we decided to present our tips via a recipe.  so, from our kitchen to yours, here is our recipe for a happy and healthy marriage . . .

recipe: a happy and healthy marriage
yields: one loving couple

ingredients:
1 pound love
1 ounce patience
1 teaspoon honesty
1 tablespoon trust
1 pint encouragement
1 cup teamwork
1 quart gratitude
1 pinch appreciation
1 gallon communication
1 dash laughter
1 handful time

directions:
blend all ingredients together well and bake with love.  season with generous portions of passion.

recipe notes:
the first ingredient in our recipe is love because it is the foundation of our relationship.  our love for one another runs deep, and each day we love like there is no tomorrow.  next we add patience because it is important to stay calm in a marriage without becoming angry or upset at the drop of a hat.  a little ounce of patience certainly goes a long way.  honesty keeps the integrity in our marriage.  no matter what, we have made a vow to always be honest with one another.  we are confident in our relationship, because we trust each other 100%.  encouragement provides support, and we find little ways to encourage each other as often as possible.  teamwork teaches us cooperation and lets us work together in harmony and unity.  no matter what happens, we know that we are a team.  gratitude is necessary because it is so important to remember to say thank you, and to not take each other for granted.  appreciation of the little things, as well as the big things, makes us thankful for one another.  communication is a crucial ingredient because it allows us to be transparent with each other.  we always keep an open mind and an open heart in our communication, and we try to be the best listeners we can be for each other.  laughter connects us.  sometimes we have to remember to not take ourselves so seriously, and we enjoy laughing together.  lastly, time will allows us to work on blending all of these ingredients together.  we always put each other first, and we always make time for each other, no matter what.  we take time to dream together, to explore together, and to be together.

these ingredients help us to have a happy and healthy relationship.  we hope that your relationship is just as delicious as ours!

love, laurie

the weekend.

^a very large batch of brownies (48 brownies to be exact) 

that we made late on friday night for an event on saturday^

^a butterfly release at posie's park on saturday^

^sunday morning buttermilk pancakes 

with fresh raspberries from the farmers' market^

^very serious bird watching (and neighbor spying) on the back porch^

^a new spearmint plant that ryan's mom grew for us^

^freshly picked strawberries from a local farm^

and a few things not photographed . . .

my mom and i kicked off the weekend early with a mother-daughter day on thursday.  we got massages, went out for lunch and ice cream, and walked around historic bethlehem.  it was such a great day.  (we are going to need to schedule mother-daughter days more often!)

ryan's dad had surgery on thursday, and he is doing great!  we were happy to be able to visit ryan's parents on friday night (and again on saturday).

we had a picnic at a local park with my family on saturday after the butterfly release, then we traveled to the allentown farmers' market.

on sunday, we finally got a chance to use a gift certificate that we have had for almost a whole year for a local indian restaurant.  it was such a great lunch date!

after much research and deliberation, on sunday evening we finally decided to take advantage of the buy back promotion that best buy is offering this week.  we each got a brand new iphone 5 for free!  you can't beat that.

the weather sure has been crazy lately!  luckily the weather was gorgeous this weekend.  saturday was nice and warm, but then sunday was unbelievably hot.  ryan, leko, and i were all totally wiped out from the 90+ degree heat  and the ridiculous humidity on sunday.  now the forecast is calling for thunderstorms all this week.  weather, make up your mind already!

this weekend was jam packed and it flew by so fast!  i can't believe that it is monday already.

hope everyone had a great weekend!

love, laurie

slice-and-bake brown butter cookies with chocolate chunks and pecans

for father's day this year, we made cookies as gifts for our parents.  i mean really, who doesn't want to receive a bunch of cookies stacked up on top of each other in a cute bag tied up with string?  (i wish i would have taken a picture of them all wrapped up.  the packages really were cute.)

you simply can't go wrong with classic chocolate chip cookies, in my opinion.  however, it is nice to change things up a bit from time to time.

so, for our father's day gift cookies we incorporated brown butter and pecans into our cookies.  we also replaced traditional chocolate chips with large chocolate chunks.

instead of scooping out the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet like normal, we wrapped the cookie dough up in parchment paper and refrigerated it for a little while.  once it was cool, we pulled our huge cookie dough burrito out of the fridge and sliced it into disks.  voila!  slice-and-bake cookies.

the cookies were tender, delicious, and not too sweet.  the brown butter and the tad of molasses added a great depth to the flavor of the cookies.

there were chocolate chunks and bits of pecans in every bite too.  yum!  

slice-and-bake brown butter cookies with chocolate chunks and pecans
prep time: 1 hour

baking time: 12-14 minutes

yields: approximately 32 cookies
adapted from joy the baker

ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chunks

directions:
to brown the butter: in a sauce pan, melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) of the butter over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  once the butter starts to bubble and foam up, watch in very closely.  as soon as the butter begins to turn a deep golden brown color, remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the browned butter into a glass bowl.  allow the butter to cool (about 15 minutes).  

in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the remaining 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).  add the vanilla and molasses.  beat well to incorporate.  once cooled, pour the browned butter into the batter along with the granulated sugar.  beat for 2-3 minutes.  add the egg and egg yolk.  beat well to incorporate.  sift the flour and baking soda into a bowl to remove any lumps.  gradually add the sifted dry ingredients into the batter.  beat until just incorporated.  stir in the chopped pecans and the chocolate chunks.  scoop the cookie dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and roll the dough into a long log.  wrap the dough in the parchment paper and refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes.

preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest for several minutes before slicing it into disks.  place the sliced cookie dough disks on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown.  once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

enjoy!

love, laurie

individual cornbread squares

cornbread is a traditional favorite, so we decided to make cornbread as a side dish for our father's day cookout over the weekend.

this cornbread recipe has become our go-to recipe for when we want to make cornbread muffins to go alongside a bowl of warm chili during the cooler months . . . but cornbread shouldn't be forgotten in the warmer months.  it's a great addition to any bbq or picnic.

this cornbread is light and moist.  we also love that it's not too sweet.

instead of making cornbread muffins or a loaf of cornbread, we used our brownie pan to make individual cornbread squares.  they turned out so cute!  the individual cornbread squares were the perfect size for our cookout.

individual cornbread squares
prep time: 5-10 minutes
baking time: 18-20 minutes
yields: 24 cornbread squares
adapted from the complete magnolia bakery cookbook

ingredients:
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose four
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, melted

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, and baking powder.  in a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and milk.  add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat to combine.  mix in the cooled melted butter.

spoon the batter (approximately 3 tablespoons of batter for each square) into the wells of a greased brownie pan.  bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cornbread squares comes out clean.  do not over bake.  once baked, allow the cornbread squares to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan and transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

enjoy!

love, laurie

espresso bbq sauce

without a doubt, homemade bbq sauce beats store bought bbq sauce any day.  hands down.

for our father's day cookout this year, we made homemade bbq sauce for the ribs and the chicken that we grilled for lunch.  however, instead of making our traditional homemade bbq sauce, we decided to try a new recipe that included espresso!

the espresso was subtle, but added a depth to the flavor of the sauce.  the cider vinegar and the soy sauce gave the bbq sauce a tang, while the honey and brown sugar sweetened it up a bit.

we marinated the ribs in the sauce for a few hours before cooking them, and then slathered additional bbq sauce on them (and on the chicken) while they cooked on the grill.

this sauce was a great alternative to traditional bbq sauce, and it certainly kicked things up a notch.  what's great is that this recipe makes a ton of bbq sauce, so there will be a bunch left over to either share with family or to save for later.

espresso bbq sauce
prep time: 5-10 minutes
cooking time: 10-15 minutes
yields: approximately 4 cups
adapted from shutterbean

ingredients:
4-5 garlic cloves
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

directions:
mash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife.  finely mince the garlic.  in a large pot, saute the garlic and the olive oil over low heat (about 1-2 minutes).  add the vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, sugar, espresso powder, and pepper.  stir well.  bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.  store remaining sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

enjoy!

love, laurie

chocolate buttermilk cake with chocolate whipped cream and fresh strawberries

while our family was together on sunday celebrating father's day, we also celebrated ryan's dad's birthday.

since june is the month for fresh strawberries, we knew we wanted to incorporate fresh strawberries into dessert somehow.  we originally thought of making traditional strawberry shortcake, but then we decided to change it up a bit.

instead of vanilla pound cake or angel food cake, we made a chocolate buttermilk cake.  the texture of this cake was almost like a chocolate pound cake.  it reminded me a bit of a german chocolate cake.

we topped the cake with chocolate whipped cream, which was a fun alternative to traditional vanilla whipped cream.

we loaded tons of sliced fresh strawberries between the two layers of cake, and additional strawberries on top of the cake.

this cake was so simple to throw together and it was super tasty.  the chocolate whipped cream was such a nice alternative to buttercream frosting, and the fresh strawberries were so delicious!  a perfect summer dessert for sure!

happy birthday today to ryan's dad!

. . .

chocolate buttermilk cake with chocolate whipped cream 
and fresh strawberries
prep time: 10-15 minutes
cooking time: 5-10 minutes
baking time: 40-45 minutes
yields: one double layer 9-inch round cake
cake recipe adapted from the complete magnolia bakery cookbook

cake ingredients:
3 oz. milk chocolate chips
3 oz. dark chocolate chips
1 cup (two sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk

chocolate whipped cream ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 unsweetened cocoa powder

directions:
place the chocolate chips in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat.  stir occasionally until the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth (about 5-10 minutes).  remove from the heat, and set aside to let the chocolate cool.

preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.  set aside.  in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).  add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  add the cooled chocolate, mixing well to incorporate.  stir in the vanilla.  sift the four and the baking soda together.  add half of the dry ingredients to the batter along with half of the buttermilk.  beat well to combine.  gradually add the remaining buttermilk and dry ingredients (ending with the dry ingredients).  beat well.  divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.  bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  once baked, allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before removing them from the pans and transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

combine the whipping cream, vanilla, sugar, and cocoa powder in the bowl of an electric mixer.  whisk on low speed to incorporate the sugar and cocoa powder.  once incorporated, whisk on high speed until whipped cream forms.

once the cakes have cooled completely, spread some of the whipped cream on the top of one of the cakes.  place sliced fresh strawberries on the whipped cream.  cover the strawberries with more whipped cream, and place the second cake on top of the first layer.  spread the remaining whipped cream over the top and the sides of the cake.  top the cake with additional sliced fresh strawberries.  serve immediately.

enjoy!

love, laurie

father's day 2013

yesterday, we got together with our parents to celebrate father's day!

ryan and i made a bunch of food, packed it up, and then headed down to my parents' house to "cater" father's day.  we had bbq ribs, bbq chicken, cornbread, roasted vegetable salad, grilled asparagus, and homemade bread and butter pickles.  (this week we will be sharing some of our father's day recipes.  we previously shared our homemade bread and butter pickles recipe here.)

while we were all together, we also celebrated ryan's dad's birthday.  of course, no birthday celebration is complete without a birthday cake.  so, for dessert we made a chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream and fresh strawberries!

after we ate, we all had a great time playing with my parent's three new kittens.  they sure loved all of the attention that they got from everyone.

we really enjoyed celebrating father's day with our families.  we are so grateful for our wonderful fathers, and we were happy to be able to prepare this lunch for them as a special thank you for all that they do for us.

happy father's day!

love, laurie

. . .

ps: happy 41st anniversary to ryan's parents today!

happy father's day!

happy father's day to our two wonderful dads!
thank you for all that you do, and for always being there for us.
we love you both so very much!