Chai Coconut Ice Cream

I recently mentioned how I had ice cream on the brain, so to get my fix I made a batch of chai coconut ice cream from one of my favorite food blogs, Cookie + Kate. This recipe first caught my eye last year because the base is coconut milk, not dairy milk. I don't digest dairy very well, but I still love ice cream, so I just make my own with coconut milk since it's easier on my tummy.  

Kate's recipe calls for mixing spices with black tea, but since I already had chai tea bags in my pantry, I just used those so I didn't have to mess with all the spices. Honey is added to sweeten up the ice cream, another reason why I really like this recipe. I try to use natural sweeteners whenever I can and honey is a favorite. Hopefully this year we will be able to harvest some of our own honey from our bee hives to use in future batches of this ice cream!

The ice cream is perfectly delicious as is, but this time I decided to add some mini chocolate chips and walnuts on top and found that it was such a good combination. I like different textures in my food, so the chocolate chips and walnuts added a satisfying crunch to the luscious, smooth ice cream base.

Have you ever made your own ice cream?

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Random 5

As I've done in the past, today I thought I'd join my friend, Nancy, for a random 5 post about my feathered friends. Today's random 5 is all about eggs!

1. This week two of our hens started laying again after their winter break. Isis (Easter Egger) lays green eggs and Summer (Welsummer) lays dark brown eggs dotted with speckles. It's so thrilling to find the first mint green egg of the season in the nesting box!

2. We sell our eggs for $2 per dozen. For interested potential customers, we like to provide a colorful half-dozen starter pack to try and get them hooked. How could you not love these pretty eggs?

3. Collecting eggs from the nests at the end of the day, bringing them inside and writing the date in pencil on the end of each egg, and arranging them in cartons is one of my favorite things ever.

4. Since we always have access to delicious fresh eggs, you might expect that we eat them at just about every meal. In reality, we don't eat eggs very often. I do bake with them, but we only eat egg dishes every couple months or so.

5. Right now we collect up to seven eggs each day, and I usually put them in my coat pocket for safe keeping until I get back in the house. Several times over the past couple weeks I have accidentally crunched eggs in my pocket. It makes for a pretty gooey mess. Yuck!

~Tammy

Chickpea Curry

You know those recipes that you try once and keep making year after year? This chickpea curry is one of those recipes for me. I recently came across it in the very back of my recipe folder and couldn't believe that I had totally forgotten about it! I hadn't made this curry in forever, so I quickly remedied that by cooking up a batch over the weekend.

Chickpea Curry
Slightly adapted from The Kitchn
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 clove of garlic
1/2 t peppercorns
1/2 t whole coriander seeds
2 T vegetable oil
1 T red curry powder
2 cups sliced potatoes (sweet potatoes work also)
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups water (or stock)
2 cups cauliflower florets
14 oz can fire roasted chopped tomatoes
14 oz can full-fat coconut milk
14 oz can chickpeas
2 T tamari (or soy sauce)
1 T fish sauce (optional)
1 T honey or agave
2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions:
1) With a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic, peppercorns, and coriander seeds into a paste. Heat the oil in a dutch oven on medium high to high heat (you want the oil very hot when you add in the paste). Fry the garlic mixture and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add curry powder and fry another 30 seconds.
2) Add the potatoes and carrots and stir to combine with the spices. Pour in the water and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, tomatoes, coconut milk, chickpeas, tamari, fish sauce, and honey.
3) Bring mixture to a simmer and continue cooking until the vegetables are done, about 15 minutes. Serve the curry over brown rice with a good bit of Sriracha on top for added heat.

The balance of sweet and heat in this dish is what makes it so delicious and interesting. If you can handle it, I suggest adding plenty of Sriracha on top for even more heat! Even more than the flavor, what I love best about this curry is that there are plenty of leftovers to eat for lunch the rest of the week. The mixture gets even better as it sits, so the curry tastes great for up to five days after it is cooked. I haven't frozen it before, but I think it would freeze well. Such a versatile dish!

And a side note - do you have a rice cooker? I have always botched rice when cooking it on the stovetop (too sticky and gummy - yuck!) so I decided to get a rice cooker and I love it! The brown rice for this dish was cooked perfectly and I didn't have to mess with another pot on the stove. I'm hooked!

~Tammy

The Perfect Chocolate Birthday Cake

Someone around here has a milestone birthday this week (it's me!) so over the weekend we had some of our best friends over to celebrate. It was my kind of celebration - yummy snacks, good friends, delicious cake, and some awesome gifts. I even got a happy birthday serenade accompanied by David on the ukulele.

The centerpiece of any good birthday celebration is the cake, and I knew exactly which cake I wanted for my birthday. We've always celebrated birthdays in my family with chocolate cake, and this is the absolute best recipe I've found for the perfect chocolate birthday cake.

Perfectly Chocolate Birthday Cake
Recipe slightly adapted from Hershey's

Ingredients:
For the cake -
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 1/2 t instant espresso powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I use soy or almond milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the frosting -
1 stick of butter
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk (I use soy or almond milk here as well)
1 t vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour your baking pan of choice (I used a 13x9x2" glass cake pan).
2) Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
3) Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.
4) For the frosting, melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add vanilla and additional milk if needed.
5) Spread frosting over cake evenly and top with rainbow sprinkles.

The amazing thing about this cake is that it actually gets better the longer it sits. The chocolate flavor intensifies and the cake gets even more moist as time goes on. I think I've eaten this cake up to a week after it was baked and it was still delicious. Keeping it tightly covered at room temperature does the trick.

What is your favorite birthday cake?

~Tammy

Black Bean & Quinoa Soup

With this never-ending winter, the only thing I want to eat lately is soup. A big bowl of warm, hearty soup really hits the spot when it's cold and icy outside.

We are very fond of Mexican style soups, especially ones with plenty of lime and avocado that are best when eaten with a giant pile of tortilla chips. I've made this black bean & quinoa soup several times since finding the original recipe here, and it's quickly becoming a favorite.

Black Bean & Quinoa Soup
Adapted from The Post Punk Kitchen
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes with their juice
1/2 cup quinoa (I used red quinoa)
2 carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 cups vegetable broth or water, divided
14.5 oz can black beans with their liquid
1 cup corn
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Additional toppings:
Avocado
Radish
Cilantro
Lime juice

Directions:
Preheat a 4 qt soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion in olive oil with salt & pepper for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and red pepper flakes and saute for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, quinoa, carrots, bay leaves, and 2 cups of the broth. Cover and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add the other 2 cups of broth, black beans with their liquid, and corn. Cover and bring to a boil, then remove lid and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Add the nutritional yeast and let sit for about 10 minutes so the flavors can blend. Remove the bay leaves and ladle into bowls. Top with lime juice, cilantro, avocado, and radish and dig in.

The additional toppings are optional of course, but what really makes this soup shine is the creamy avocado and lime. The nutritional yeast is optional as well, but I find it adds a nice depth to the soup with a hint of cheesy flavor that makes it even more delicious (you could use Parmesan cheese in place of the nutritional yeast). And you have to scoop up the soup with some tortilla chips! The salty, crispy chips add another layer of texture that takes this soup over the top.

Do you eat a lot of soup in the winter?

~Tammy

Orange Danish

David got back home late Saturday night after being at a music education conference for a few days, so I wanted to make him a special welcome home breakfast on Sunday morning. Ever since he was little, one of his favorite things to eat for breakfast is orange flavored cinnamon rolls (he calls them "orange danish"). I hate to buy the prepackaged kind at the store because they have so many preservatives and chemicals in them, so this time I thought I'd make him some homemade orange danish.

Orange Danish
Adapted from GRIT Magazine
Makes 9 rolls

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 t orange zest
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
4 T butter, cold and cut into cubes
3/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
Additional melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450 F. Heat 1/4 cup butter, orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and orange zest in a small saucepan until boiling. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Pour into greased 9-cup muffin tin.
2) Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the cold cubed butter. Add milk and stir until dough follows fork. Knead together and roll dough out into 1/4" thickness.
3) Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll as for jelly roll, then cut into 1" slices. Place cut side down on top of orange mixture in muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden.

The best part about these rolls is how the bottoms get so gooey, sticky, and delicious. The rolls cook on top of the orange syrup mixture in the muffin tin so the wonderful orange taste permeates throughout. It's not too strong of a flavor, but just a nice hint of orange so it's a little different from a typical cinnamon roll.

Have you ever tried orange flavored cinnamon rolls?

~Tammy

Spaghetti Squash With Creamy Marinara

David and I are huge lovers of pasta, and since I don't cook meat, we do eat pasta rather frequently. With the start of the new year, I've been trying to cook healthier and lighter foods in an attempt to get my diet back on track. I'm not giving up pasta altogether (that would be crazy!) but I am trying to cook less of it and more of the vegetables we enjoy.

A great way to get our pasta fix without all the calories, carbs, and guilt is spaghetti squash. After roasting, the flesh of this squash is scraped away from the skin and it separates into strands that resemble spaghetti, hence the name spaghetti squash. It can be used just like spaghetti and topped with anything you can dream up. For dinner one night last week, I made spaghetti squash with creamy marinara and it was a big hit! It even reheated well for lunch the next day, which is perfect because we had plenty of leftovers.

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Marinara
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
3-4 lb spaghetti squash
26 oz jar of marinara sauce (this is my current favorite)
4 oz goat cheese, softened
Pinch of dried oregano

Directions: 
Cook the spaghetti squash and remove the flesh using a fork (great tutorial here). While the squash is cooking, heat the marinara in a saucepan. Stir in the goat cheese and warm through until melted and incorporated into the marinara sauce (cream cheese or this dairy-free cream cheese also work well).

Place the spaghetti squash onto a pretty plate and top with lots of the creamy marinara. Add dried oregano to taste and enjoy while warm.

I often make this creamy marinara when I have a small knob of goat cheese leftover after using some in a previous dish, so the amount isn't too specific. Of course the spaghetti squash would be good with just the marinara sauce, but I've found adding in a bit of cheese just takes it over the top and turns a good dish into a great one. Nothing beats the depth of flavor and creaminess that a little goat cheese adds to the marinara.

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash?

~Tammy

Shared with Down Home Blog Hop 

Honey Sweetened Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Since the start of the new year, David and I have been making a serious effort to be healthier. We indulged a little bit too much during the holidays, so now we are attempting to make up for that by getting active, drinking green juice, cutting out processed sugar, and making all of our meals at home.

We both love sweet treats so I still want to incorporate those into our diet, but make them a bit healthier. Recently I came across a recipe online from Recipe Girl for honey sweetened low fat banana chocolate chip muffins and I knew I had to try them out.

The recipe uses ingredients like applesauce, yogurt, whole wheat flour, and oat flour to lighten up the muffins and make them low fat. Each muffin only has 164 calories and 2.2g of fat, so I don't feel guilty after enjoying one of them.

I've already made these twice, and put some of my latest batch in the freezer to pull out and enjoy for a quick breakfast or snack. I love that the recipe uses honey because since we are expanding our apiary this year, hopefully we can use our own honey soon!

If you are looking for a healthier muffin that doesn't taste healthy and is still sweet and delicious, check out the recipe here.

~Tammy

Lavender Infused Ponderosa Lemonade

Last Monday I wrote a post on the Ponderosa lemons our cousin from Alabama gifted us with this Christmas, and today I'd like to share a delicious drink I mixed up using these gems.

Lavender Infused Ponderosa Lemonade
Adapted from A CUP OF JO
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup local raw honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1T dried lavender
1 cup fresh Ponderosa lemon juice
2 cups water for diluting

Directions:
For the syrup - in a small saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add dried lavender and steep for 3-4 minutes (or longer for stronger lavender flavor). Pour the syrup through a sieve to strain out the lavender then chill in the fridge.

When the syrup is chilled, combine it with the lemon juice in a pitcher. Mix in 2 cups of water (or more if it's too strong for your taste). Add ice and enjoy!

I wasn't sure how this would turn out since Ponderosa lemons aren't actually true lemons, but I was really happy with the end result. And even though this is definitely more of a summertime drink, it goes great with winter meals, especially the more heavy, rich dishes. We have already polished off the entire first batch of lemonade, so I guess I'll be making some more soon!

~Tammy

Ponderosa Lemons

Have you ever heard of Ponderosa lemons? I hadn't up until just this past week. One of our cousins lives in Alabama and he brought a big cooler full of these lemons with him to Christmas this year. I love discovering new vegetables and fruits, so I was happy to take some off of his hands.

I was really surprised at the size of the fruit. They are similar in size to grapefruits and have a thick, bumpy rind. They actually aren't true lemons at all, but a hybrid fruit that is part lemon and part citron.

They are very seedy inside and taste a little more bitter than a lemon. They aren't quite as tart as lemons, but their juice can be used in place of lemon juice in any recipe in the same quantity.

I'm excited to try them out in a "lemonade" since I have tons of them to use before they go bad. I'd also like to try lemon bars, lemon cookies, lemon curd...the list goes on! I really love lemons so I can think of plenty of uses for these Ponderosa lemons. And heck, if I have any left over the roosters will be happy to take them off my hands.

Do you live in a climate warm enough to grow citrus fruit? If so, do you grow Ponderosa lemons?

~Tammy

Shared with Clever Chicks Blog Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop  

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Earlier this month I posted my first recipe in the Christmas cookie tag series, and today I'm happy to share another recipe that is a favorite of mine. I first had white chocolate macadamia nut cookies when I was in high school. There was a cookie store in the mall that I would frequent whenever I went shopping, and I first tried these cookies there. It was actually David who got me to try them because they were his favorite cookies. One bite and I was hooked!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Recipe from Mauna Loa
Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
6 T butter, softened
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 cups (12 oz pkg) white chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nut pieces

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2) Beat butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar; beat thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla, beating until well blended. Gradually beat in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheet.
3) Bake 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies are so soft and chewy with the perfect amount of sweetness from the chocolate chips and a great crunch from the macadamia nuts. If you've never tried these before, you should bake up a batch right now! I think you'll be hooked from the first bite.

If you'll remember, the fun of this series is that each blogger gets to tag the next person to post her recipe. So my job is to tag Sue from The Little Acre That Could for her cookie recipe tomorrow. Sue, you're it!

~Tammy

Shared with Down Home Blog Hop 

Christmas Cookie Tag: Hershey Kiss Peanut Butter Blossoms

I'm so excited to share with you my first post in the Christmas Cookie Tag series! These peanut butter blossoms are definitely my all-time favorite cookies to bake during the holidays for several reasons, the main one being nostalgia. Growing up, I would bake these cookies with my mom each year and I always looked forward to it. The whole process was fun, from unwrapping each kiss to rolling the dough and covering it with sugar and finally topping each cookie fresh from the oven with a single kiss.

Hershey Kiss Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
Recipe from Hershey's
Makes up to 48 cookies

Ingredients:
24-48 Hershey kiss chocolates (I made my cookies big so I only used about 24 kisses)
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 T milk
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Additional granulated sugar in a bowl

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar, beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
2) Roll dough between your hands to shape into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, then place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (do not flatten the cookies).
3) Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss candy into the center of each cookie (the cookies will crack around the edges). Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies cool, the kisses are still a bit melted so when you get to the center of each cookie it is heaven. The combination of slightly melted chocolate with the warm crinkly peanut butter cookie is just out of this world. If you've never tried these and you like peanut butter and chocolate, do yourself a favor and bake up a batch tonight. You won't be disappointed!

If you'll remember, the fun of this series is that each blogger gets to tag the next person to post her recipe. So my job is to tag Daisy from Maple Hill 101 for her cookie recipe on Thursday. Daisy, you're it!

~Tammy

Shared with Holiday Cookie Hop, Fill the Cookie Jar, Down Home Blog Hop 

Homemade Living: Best Ever Pumpkin Bread

With fall in full swing, I have been craving everything pumpkin lately. I know a lot of people don't wait until fall to get their pumpkin on, but I like to wait until the season has a good head start. While waiting in line at Starbucks recently, I spotted some pumpkin bread and decided it was time to embrace everything pumpkin. I was inspired to make my own pumpkin bread at home, and let me tell you - it was one of my favorite things I've ever made.

Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups (or one 15-ounce can) pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
2 T pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two loaf pans.
2) In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and water.
3) Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice, stirring to combine.
4) Divide batter evenly between loaf pans and bake 60-70 minutes or until cake tester inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean.
5) Cool bread completely on a wire rack, then wrap well in plastic wrap.

This bread totally surpassed my expectations. I honestly couldn't believe how good it was! Maybe after my last baking session resulted in an epic fail I was just thrilled that something turned out right, but really this bread is so delicious. The recipe recommends you wait overnight to eat the bread because when it rests for a while in the plastic wrap, it gets so moist and flavorful.

Since the recipe bakes up two loaves, I sliced one and put it in the freezer for longer storage (I made sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap covered in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn). This morning I took one slice out and brought it to work with me for a mid-morning snack, and it tasted just as good as when it was freshly baked. I love that the bread isn't too sweet, but just sweet enough and the spicy pumpkin flavor really shines through. I think baking this bread will become a fall tradition for me!

~Tammy

This week in the Homemade Living series, I am joined by Mary and Jackie in posting about how we incorporate homemade items into our lives. Next week Daisy, Staci, and Sue will be up. If you have some free time, please check out the other posts in this weekly series!

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, Thankful Hop   

Homemade Living: Failed Cake Turned Into Cake Pops

My brother recently had a birthday, and David and I made plans to hang out at his house to watch a movie and celebrate. I thought it would be nice to make him a cake to bring along, so I got to work on the cake I always make for birthdays (recipe here).

I've made this cake many times before with great success, but this time, something went horribly wrong. The cakes came out of the oven just fine, but when I went to frost the cake, it totally fell apart on me. As I tried to fix it, things only got worse.

Just in case you aren't grasping the colossal level of failure from my words, I thought I'd share the embarrassing photographic proof.



I mean really, what the heck is that?! (I finally figured out that my frosting was too thick so it wouldn't spread evenly.) I was feeling pretty defeated but didn't want to waste the cake. It still tasted really good, but it was clearly a big mess.

I remembered a while back one of my friends made some cake pops and she was telling me about the process. You start with a baked and cooled cake, then crumble it all up. Mix in enough frosting to make a "dough" out of the cake and form into balls, then dip into melted candy coating and let harden. I figured it was worth a shot to try and I had nothing to lose, so I made cake pops out of my failed cake.

Sorry about the scratches - we do have a kitten after all!

They didn't turn out perfect, but hey, I was proud of myself for thinking outside the box and trying to salvage my epic cake fail. Next time I'll just make my frosting a little thinner!

Have you ever managed to save a baking fail?

~Tammy

This week in the Homemade Living series, I am joined by Mary and Jackie in posting about how we incorporate homemade items into our lives. Next week Daisy, Staci, and Sue will be up. If you have some free time, please check out the other posts in this weekly series!

Clearing The Camera

Here are some recent photos I've taken that I wanted to share. Go here if you'd like to see more photo posts.

Our marigolds have done so well this year! We're saving the flowers after deadheading so we can plant the seeds in our garden next year.

On Saturday I took my grandma to a local parade to see David's marching band. It was so cute to see her enjoying herself so much, waving at all the floats and clapping along to the music. She forgot her sunglasses, so I let her borrow some of mine. She thought she looked silly but I think she looked adorable.

90 years young!

I posted this photo on the blog's Facebook page over the weekend with the title "The Homesteader's Entourage." It was one of our most popular photos ever posted. If you aren't following along yet on Facebook, click here to like our page!

I've really been enjoying my play time in the woods lately. It brings out the kid in me!

We've been harvesting and using so much butternut squash lately (go here for a good soup recipe). I love the vivid orange color that greets me when I slice the squash in half.

Sylvester photobomb level: expert.

Our sweet little Emma kitty is getting fixed tomorrow morning. It makes me so sad when I have to drop off animals for surgery, but of course I know it's for the best. She has to stay overnight, so I'll be counting the minutes until I can pick her up on Wednesday evening.

Hope you've enjoyed a slice of our homestead.

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse