Cardamon, Blueberry and Ground Cherry Tea Loaf

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Prepare the coffee, folks, this is a tea cake that you will want to share with friends and family, and everyone’s tummy will be happy and coming back for seconds! This is adapted from Melissa Clark’s recipe for French Yogurt Cake with Cherries and Cardamom from her Dinner in French book. If you haven’t checked out this book, it is gorgeous, with inspiring photos and stories to boot! I changed up a few things to my personal preferences; the addition of rye flour (the rye/cardamom combo is dreamy), greek yogurt, coconut oil and ground cherries. If ground cherries aren’t something you can find, the original recipe calls for fresh or frozen (traditional) cherries, which you can find more easily. I happen to have A LOT of these beautiful golden ground cherries in my garden right now, and they worked amazingly well here. Ground cherries are a super easy plant to grow and they come back year after year. My kids love searching for the little tomatillo-like pods that fall from the plant (photo below). Then they unwrap them like presents and eat the berries inside. They are a unique and not too sweet, but delicious little gem of a berry! A shout out to my sweet friend Hannah, of Cascade Heritage Gardens, for supplying me with my first ever Ground Cherry plant. That one plant from last summer, spread its joy and created so many new plants for this season. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and very tasty one at that! : ) Recipe: Butter, for coating your loaf pan 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour 2/3 cup (90 grams) rye flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 heaping teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup greek yogurt 1/2 coconut oil 2 large eggs 1 cup mixed ground cherries and blueberries Directions:

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White Bean, Potato and Sausage Soup with Kale

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I don’t know about you, but once September rolls around I am ready for cool mornings and evenings, wearing pants and sweaters (yes, please!) and making soup! I appreciate the changing of the seasons as a reset for so many things and although we are few days away from the official first day of fall, I am embracing the slowing down of a busy summer season and bringing the cooking back inside after lots of outdoor meals. I’m starting with this soup, which definitely leans more towards a winter soup, but is also great on a fall or spring day. We grew our own potatoes this year for the first time, and I have to say there is something so gratifying about watching the kids dig up these lovely little red potatoes. They are tender and delicious and we are using them in this soup today. Here’s to gardening and using what you grow to make a hearty and delicious meal. RECIPE: 1 lb. Mild Italian Sausage (can be links or bulk – you can go spicy instead of mild here, but I make mine less spicy for my kiddos) 1 yellow or white onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 5-6 Red potatoes or 3-4 Yukon Golds 2 cans cannellini beans 1/2 bunch kale, 4 large stems with leaves cut off the stem (I love dinosaur kale here, but curly works great too!) 1/2 tsp black pepper (or more to your taste) 1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon 3 cups of warmed water 3 Tablespoons butter 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour 1 tsp salt (or more to your taste) 1/2 whole milk, cream or half and half (optional, but recommended) Freshly grated Parmesan, for topping (optional but recommended) Directions:

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Summer Zucchini Fritters and Zesty Lemon Aioli

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Summer Zucchini Fritters with Zesty Lemon Aioli

It’s September and zucchini are going nuts (well they are in every garden but my own, but more on that another time). It’s time for a family favorite: Summer Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Garlic Aioli. My sweet friend and gardener extraordinaire, Hannah Dewey, of Cascade Heritage Gardens, has been bringing me nearly 18″ long zucchini’s and one of the best ways to use them? Fritters! Combine them with the following zesty lemon aioli recipe for a dreamy combo! My kids and husband love this as a meal or a side and I’ve been known to nibble a too-hot fritter from just off the pan, because I just cannot wait for the goodness to melt on my tastebuds. The fritter recipe I’ve adapted from probably four different places and I think it’s hit the sweet spot. The main key is to get as much moisture as possible out of your zucchini, or you end up with some serious sogginess. For the aioli I love combining greek yogurt with mayo; you still get the deliciousness of an aioli, but it’s not quite as heavy. Enjoy friends! Recipe: Aioli: Use this as a guide and add more lemon, dill or garlic to your liking! Taste as you go! Combine: 1/2 cup greek yogurt 1/4 cup mayo 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (zest the lemon first and set aside to be used for the fritters, then squeeze it for the aioli) 1 Tablespoon Dill Mustard (see below photo, I love the Inglehoffer brand, from Beaverton Foods, that you should be able to find at your grocery, otherwise, use a fav mustard that you have on hand) 3 finely chopped garlic cloves 2 Tablespoons of fresh dill, or 1 Tablespoon dry dill Pinch of salt Pinch of pepper Fritters: 2-3 medium zucchini, grated. Approximately 4 cups. 1 egg 1 cup crushed crackers (I like plain Triscuits or panko works too) 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill 2-3 cloves chopped garlic 1/2 cup flour 1 Tablespoon lemon zest 1/4 cup scallions, chopped fine 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil of your preference Directions: Thank you for stopping by friends! I hope you enjoy and are able to use up all those giant zucchini! Photos below for Summer Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Garlic Aioli

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Mountain Flower and Vegetable Garden

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mountain garden flowers

Since the snow melted in the Cascades this past April, I’ve been working on installing a veggie and flower garden in our backyard. For years, before we bought the home, this area of the property was a dirt patch that had been used as a parking area. The ground was severely compacted and had also been sprayed for weeds for sometime. I was determined to bring it back to life, and started with a huge dump truck load of garden soil and compost from Curb Appeal. I wanted both raised beds for veggies, as well as an in-ground pumpkin, squash and corn patch and flower garden. Bringing in lots of soil and compost was essential. Since the ground was so compacted I felt with raised beds I could at least count on getting some kind of crop this year. The squash and flower garden was going to be an experiment though for sure, since they were being planted in the existing ground, which was a very sad case indeed. I tilled up this area and added lots of wheelbarrow loads of compost, and while things are growing, it wasn’t as fruitful as I had hoped. I know each year will get better, and I’m trying to be patient as the soil improves. Here are some early photos from April when the snow melted, raised beds were in construction, and the compost was delivered. This is not a tutorial per say, just what I did at my home and what made sense for my space! I hope it helps as you plan or add to your own garden. Below is what came to life this summer: Four raised beds: I purchased 2x12x8 rough cedar boards from my local hardware store, and created four 4×8′ raised beds, for veggies. I used the 8′ pieces for two sides, then cut one in half to get 4′ long sections for the short sides. I screwed them together and used a 1″x4″ rough cedar board to make a trim piece along the top. I filled the bottom 6 or so inches with sticks, pine needles and leaves, following the hugelkulture method, and topped with 18″ or so of garden soil and compost. Below is a photo of the hugelkulture method, before I added the soil and compost. I layered cardboard, then twigs and sticks, leaves, and pine needles. Two corrugated and painted beds: These are…

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Cookie Decorating 101

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Letter shaped royal icing sugar cookies

I’ve been decorating cookies for a loooong time (Hi, Mom and all those gingerbread boys!), but honed my skills in college while working at the amazing Fancy Flours – a direct to consumer baking and decorating supply store, once brick and mortar (gah- miss that store) and now only online. It was started by an incredible baker and entrepreneur, Nancy Quist, for whom I owe much of my love for baking. Since my days at Fancy Flours, it’s been cookie decorating parties with girlfriends, late nights decorating gobs of cookies for friends’ weddings and now sprinkles everywhere while decorating with my two young daughters. There is truly nothing better than a iced sugar cookie, made with love! This style of cookie works great with buttercream icing, but here we will focus on Royal Icing, as that is where some serious magic (and creativity) happens! Note: These cookies are great for gifting, as they hold their shape well and look amazing boxed up the holidays or on a platter for a party as well. Make them for a kids cookie decorating party too – just put a rimmed tray under each childs’ decorating area to catch all of those sprinkles! Here’s what you need: One recipe No Fail Sugar Cookies, from Fancy Flours (also below) One recipe Royal Icing (below) Lemon or Almond Oil (or clear vanilla extract) for flavoring icing Squeeze bottles and tips Gel Food Coloring (or other food coloring, but gel gives great colors) Sprinkles and sugars of your choice Parchment Paper Pan with a rim (like a jelly roll pan) for catching all those sprinkles! Directions: After letting your cookies completely cool, prep your icing. Royal Icing Recipe: To get the best flow out of the squeeze bottles, your royal icing consistency needs to be somewhere between the thickness of heavy cream and ketchup – not too liquid-y, not too thick and globb-y. After you get a consistency you like, separate the icing into bowls or cups with spouts (spouts make for easier pouring into the squeeze bottles). You’ll need as many cups as colors you are making. 3-4 colors (plus white) is typically enough options. Pour into the squeeze bottles and put the lids on. Next grab several heavy drinking glasses (pint glasses work well!) and put a small piece of damp paper towel at the bottom of each. This will prevent the icing in the…

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A little howdy, food love and making use of your “special” pieces

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Howdy! My first post as Davey Handmade! Exciting times. I picked this photo for my first post as it signifies the beginning of my new chapter in Seattle. Here I am unpacking our storage after 9-months of travel. Funny how all of ones worldly-possessions fit into a 6 x 10 storage space. Good thing I found my tennis racket! Here goes… I am finishing up my first product prototypes (post coming soon!), so in the mean time I will write about something else near and dear to my heart…and stomach: local, yummy grub and kitchenwares! As I write this post, the weekly farmers market in Columbia City, Seattle is humming about 30 feet from my door. I’ve been taking advantage of this as much as possible – purchasing fresh flowers, homemade noodles, sauerkraut, tamales, brocollini, apricots and so much more. Here is a photo from the meal I made with my recent purchase of spinach linguini from La Pasta. I had just made a a batch of pesto from my bounty of basil growing in my Zipgrow towers (photo below) and tossed the linguini with fresh sautéed veggies, an onslaught of parmigiano reggiano, and some chunks of spicy sausage. Yum! THE GORGEOUS BOWL THAT HOLDS THIS TOWER OF PASTA WAS HANDMADE FROM A FRIEND OF MY HUSBAND’S AS A GIFT FOR OUR WEDDING. I hadn’t used it much in the seven years since our wedding and when we moved to Seattle I vowed to actually use all the items we had stored away for the year while we traveled (more on that way down below). The one thing I missed from our Tetris-packed storage unit (more cringe-worthy photos below – isn’t that nice? Glad I didn’t get squished!), was my kitchenware…and I have boxes of it. Previously I have saved these items for special occasions or dinner parties, but really, every night at our house is a dinner party! My husband and I eat dinner with each other just about every night, at the table, with cloth napkins to boot! We grew up that way and its something I plan to continue when we have children. We connect over the meal and catch up about our day. We laugh as our dog gives us sad “I am so hungry” eyes and waits to do give the pre-wash duty on our plates. By no means is every meal as pretty as this…

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