Blogspot - Recipe Scratch Rusia

It is important for us to be as gracious of a guests as you are when you’re the one hosting the party.   When you’re invited to someone’s home for dinner or a party, it is always appropriate to bring a hostess gift - the obvious choices being flowers and wine. When I’m hosting a party, while I appreciate these sort of gifts, I’ve already arranged my flowers and have selected wine to serve.  So when I’m the one giving the hostess gift, I like to think about what the host would really appreciate- something she can look forward to enjoying after the party is over.  Because your host has likely spent a great deal of time and energy preparing for the party, breakfast the next day is probably the last thing from her mind.  Wouldn’t it be so nice for her to wake up tomorrow morning after an evening of entertaining to a special treat waiting for her in the kitchen?  Create a breakfast basket filled with homemade (or home-packaged!) goodies like moist and dense bana...

I'm not a huge walnut fan... except when they are coated in caramelized goodness or in banana bread.  I am a firm believer in not limiting yourself to the norm- so, I once made this bread with peanuts.  On Mike's morning drive to work he called me (having left the house with a slice to have on the way to work...) : Mike, 'are there peanuts in this?' Me, 'Yes.' Mike, 'In banana bread?  Peanuts in banana bread?' Me, 'Yes.  I don't like walnuts, I didn't have any pecans, so I used peanuts.' Mike, 'um... ok.  it's good.  i guess.  just strange to have peanuts in banana bread.  right?' Here's the recipe with 'nuts' as an ingredient... go ahead, use whatever kind you want! Loaf Pan & Parchment Paper (and my favorite baking supplies) available here > Banana Nut Bread with whipped honey butter 4 overripe bananas 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups flour 1 1...

  I love this system for weeknight dinners.  This dinner took me 5 minutes to prepare - I sliced the potatoes and radishes in half, then I put some goat cheese under the skin of the chicken.  I drizzled everything with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt.  It went in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes (except for the asparagus, I actually took it out after the first 10 minutes so it didn't get burnt to a crisp).  While it cooked, I cleaned up the cutting board, unloaded the dishwasher, put the groceries away and set the table.  All of this started at 5:30 immediately after we'd gone to the grocery store.  By 6:00 dinner was ready, the kitchen had already been cleaned up (during the 30 min cook time) and Mike walked in the door for dinner. I used two Large Baking Sheets ($10) with Parchment Paper ($10) you can find in my store, here > This isn't the dinner anyone would request for their birthday, and it is definitely on the list of "ligh...

I can't help myself but make plans.  The instant we bought The School House, I made big plans in my head for it.  It is so fun to dream.  This is my current vision for the next phase of The School House... that's right, a Barn! Before we get to that, I'll review what we already have going on on the School House Property.  I planted lots and lots of daffodils last fall, so we're anxious to see them come up in the next few weeks on "daffodil hill" as we've dubbed it.  I also planted about 36 peony tubes last spring.  We had the hottest and driest summer, so I'm not sure how they faired.  Again, I'll be anxious to see if they come up... or not.  We planted a line of lilac bushes along our fence, along with a wisteria I'm hoping will take hold and grow down the line.  We planted 6 Limelight Hydrangea (sun friendly) in the front, and 6 Nantucket Blue Hydrangeas along the side of the school house that faces the gravel road.  Hoping our neighbo...

Country Living Magazine recently shared my Bunny Cake on their site.  Granny would've been "tickled pink" - as I'm sure she would've said : )   ..... We could always depend on what was going to come out of Granny's kitchen - spaghetti and meatballs any day of the week, shrimp dip on Christmas Eve, fried mushrooms during mushroom season, fried donuts on Saturday mornings and the infamous Bunny Cake on Easter.  Easter wasn't Easter without the Bunny Cake.  As I look back on the Bunny Cake, I can remember thinking it was amazing when I was really young.  We were fascinated by anything in the "cake decorating" realm and I loved seeing it come together in person.   W e never really ate the cake - none of the kids liked coconut and my Mom's cream pies piled with meringue tended to distract us.  None-the-less, the Bunny Cake always showed up and we always got a kick out of it.  She presented hers similarly, in a basket with fake green Easter "...