Damsel in Distress

A few weeks ago while driving home from Target with my 8 month old baby the dreaded check engine light came on and started flashing. Oh the horror! I could just imagine being stranded on the road waiting for the police to come and pick us up and take us home. Then I would have to worry about a tow truck and a rental car. Thankfully, my guardian angel was not going to let that happen.  I was able to safely drive my car to Herbert Automotive in Cumming. The mechanics there recognized a scared mom and sought to sooth my ruffled feathers. After taking my car into the garage, one of the mechanics, who was a daddy himself  drove me and my baby home. In case you are wondering, yes I had my car seat and base with me. Before he left me at my house, he helped me get my groceries and car seat out of the car.

Trouble with cars has always terrified me, maybe because I had an engine that blew on me on GA 400 in the middle of winter no less. With all of my car incidents over the years, my experience with Herbert Automotive was by far the most pleasant. All of the mechanics there were indeed gentleman that treated me like a lady.

Salted Caramel Apple Bread Disaster

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog regarding my medieval garlic bread. I was so happy that my first attempt at baking bread turned out so well that I decided to mix it up a bit and make salted caramel apple bread. I used the same recipe only tweaked it a little. I put the flour, water and honey in a bowl and added pieces of apple, Werthers' soft caramel chews and sprinkled pink Himalayan salt in the mix thinking this would be magic. I put the dough on the counter and began to knead. Twas not a pretty sight. Apple and caramel pieces kept falling out of the dough. To keep it together I had to use an extra cup of white flour. After an hour of rising it was time to put it in the oven. I said a prayer over the dough in the pan before the baking. My prayers were not answered. Out of the oven came a slightly burned loaf that barely tasted like salted caramel apple bread. Instead it tasted like dry bread with flavorless fruit. Oh the disappointment as I took the bread and threw it in the trash.

Lesson-if you are new to baking bread don't get too fancy on your second try.

Medieval Garlic Bread

Medieval Garlic Bread

When I picture myself in the kitchen whipping up something yummy to eat, it usually involves baking Toll House cookies or Ghiridelli brownies. So why garlic bread? Up to a few weeks ago I would have never thought of it had it not been for my husband's apple bread pudding failure.  Klaus had this idea to make a sugar free apple bread pudding with only ingredients a  medieval person would have. The bread was divine, but the bread pudding was very bland and dry. To Klaus' surprise, I fell in love with the whole wheat bread and demanded he make it again the following week, which he did only this time he told me to bake with him and write the recipe down. I did just that and after going through the whole process I decided to venture out on my own and add garlic into the mix. They came out wonderfully with a rich garlic taste. 


Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1/3 cup of tepid water
1 package of yeast
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of honey

-add yeast and pinch of sugar to warm water, mix and allow to stand until foaming
-add flour to water mixture
-add in salt, olive oil, honey and mix
-knead the dough for 10 minutes
-place dough in a bowl that has been splashed with olive oil and cover for an hour or longer
-grease pan
-preheat oven to 450
- remove the dough and cut into pieces
-form dough into little rolls
-bake for 10 minutes, drop down to 350 for 5 minutes
- take out of the oven and enjoy

UT Girl

My little girl loving UT

School is officially in session and my 7 month little girl has already decided where she is going to college. I guess she has no room in her heart for UGA. 

Giant Butterflies

My husband and Carter

A week ago, my husband took a few days off and instead of going to the beach we decided to have a more economical stay-cation. Our big activity for the week was to go to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, a trip that definitely did not disappoint. We were fortunate enough to go there during a major exhibit, Imaginary Worlds. As you can see from the picture, Imaginary Worlds consist of giant animals made from plants. Our favorite was the butterfly, but there were also gorillas, rabbits, cobras and a beautiful enchanting mother nature. I highly recommend seeing this exhibit before it leaves Atlanta.

Sorbet Cocktails

Ah, the love of frozen treats. I wish I could share most people's love and affection for ice cream, sherbets, klondike bars, ice cream cake, and all other forms of ice cream and, the sweet lady of frozen desserts, the sorbet. Alas, I can not. Part of it is due to a mild form of lactose intolerance that I inherited from my mother and the other part of it rests on the fact that most desserts that live in the freezer just aren't very good. Too many ingredients, flavors that should have long time been retired, and enough sugar to cause diabetes make up the majority of ice cream selections one finds in the supermarket frozen food aisle.

Years ago, my husband and I bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker that quickly became the best specialty kitchen item we have. Over the years we have made real vanilla bean ice cream, green tea ice cream, espresso ice cream, and Aztec-style spicy chocolate ice cream, all of them with the simple ingredients and half the sugar. Recently, I have gotten more into sorbet. I love the delicate taste of frozen fruit. For someone watching their weight, like me, this is delightful treat because a little goes a long way. With the birth of my daughter,  I have started experimenting with alcohol mixed in with the sorbet. Ooh la la, is it good. Ladies this is great for a special treat for mommy or a dessert that will impress your friends on that much needed girls night out.

My husband, who was born on the big island of Hawaii, had a birthday last Sunday, so this week I made pineapple sorbet with rum. It tasted vaguely like the pineapple drink Disney World sells in adventure land. Yummy!

I Lost My Bikini Top on Kealalekua Beach Pineapple Sorbet

Ingredients

- 1 can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice (I like Dole, it has pineapple and pineapple juice with  no added sugar)

- 1/4 cup of rum (I like Bacardi white label rum)

Directions

-puree the contents of the can (pineapple chunks and juice) using a food processor

-pour the rum into the ice cream maker

-pour the pineapple puree into an ice cream maker

-start the ice cream maker; it should take about twenty minutes to freeze

You Can't Dig Up All Gold

gold mine shaft

Typically July 4th at my house consists of grilling a few steaks before heading over to the lake to watch the fireworks. Since we have a 5 month old we thought that waking a sleeping baby up so the we can "ooh and aah" at fireworks was probably not a good idea. This year we drove about 30 miles north to the old gold mining town of Dahlonega for some independence day fun. With the 88 degree sun beaming down on baby we were not able to do much on the square except listen to a few pickers play a couple of tunes and eat some lunch.

We chose to eat at the Smith House, famous for its family style Southern dining and more recently the gold shaft. The Smith House Historic Inn and Restaurant has quite a history. It was originally built as a home and office by Captain Frank Hall, a Dahlonega businessman 1895. Legend has it that while Captain Hall was building his home,  he struck gold. Over 100 years later  in 2006, while a worker was preparing a concrete floor, a hole was punched into a 20 ft mine shaft.

Leaving the dining room, people with full bellies make their way to the small dark alcove that houses the gold mine shaft. I did the same. With a child's delight, I looked down the shaft hoping to see a glimmer of gold. It is true that a vein of gold runs through town and under the square proving you can't dig up all gold.