Monthly Archives: April 2016

Blackberry Gin Lemonade

Blackberry Gin Lemonade

It’s been a really strange spring.  We started out normal and then wham, two late frosts/freezes.  It wasn’t good for my garden.  All the pepper plants died and several of the tomato plants too.  Luckily the hydrangeas are all right.  I’ve seeded more tomato and pepper plants and hopefully we will still have a great garden, just harvesting a few things later than normal.

The true spring weather came a couple weeks ago and in our house that means weekend cocktails on the porch.  Josh is usually working in his garage on some project or another and I’m either in the garden or doing something in the house most of the day.  Come five o’clock  we’re ready to kick back and relax.

The boys also enjoy cocktails on the porch.  I fix them a pitcher of cocktails, some kind of bubbly juice and seltzer, add a skewer of fruit in a glass and they are as happy as can be.  A plate of cheese and crackers and everyone is loving the weekend!

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Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnuts

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnuts

You might be questioning me already…just looking at the photo they don’t look like chocolate chip cookies.  Chocolate chocolate chip maybe, but not regular chocolate chip cookies.  There’s an easy explanation for that, these cookies are made with spelt flour.  The problem was the name of the cookie was already long, adding the word spelt just didn’t sound right!

So what is spelt anyway?  Simply put it is an ancient non wheat grain.  Spelt flour does still have some gluten but is easier to digest than wheat flour.  It also has a little more protein than wheat flour.  It has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor, thus making it perfect for cookies with nuts.

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Naan

Naan

Let me just start by saying the boys are carb lovers. Especially homemade breads. With that knowledge you can imagine how popular naan is in this house. Add in a love of curry and other Indian foods and naan is a family favorite.

On this particular day I made it the carb lovers were very hungry. Ignore the fact that they had two snacks as soon as they got home from school and started homework. I’m in the kitchen trying to get the breads rolled and shaped. Jack is standing at the counter, begging for another snack.

Normally he would be offering to help. He was nearly in tears because I wouldn’t let him have another snack. I wanted him to actually eat dinner, not snack all afternoon. He has a hard time grasping this concept sometimes. When his tummy talks it isn’t pretty!

After the first naan came out of the oven and was on the cooling rack I was so over his begging for food. Yes, I caved. You have to pick your battles and this one wasn’t worth it. I let the boys all share one naan and that finally quieted things. That and I kicked them out of the house to play outside while I finished the curry for dinner!

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In My Kitchen – April 2016

It’s April already and that means spring!  Bring on the fresh spring produce, asparagus, strawberries, lettuces…  I’m so excited.  Our garden is finally planted and as I write we are getting lots of rain.  I’m hoping to see some lettuce coming up soon.

A new month means it’s time for another In My Kitchen post. Thanks to the lovely Maureen at Orgasmic Chef for hosting this monthly roundup.  March was a busy month and yet I seem to have forgotten most of what happened in the kitchen!

In my kitchen I have some new purchases from an Etsy shop.  Let me just say Etsy is dangerous!  I justify it by saying I was spending my “play” money.  Every now and then I cash out my Ibotta account and spend the money on something I wouldn’t normally get.  This time it was a coconut shell salad serving spoon and fork.  I also got a set of 5 coconut shell dessert spoons.

Coconut Shell Salad Servers

Coconut Shell Spoons

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