Just a Little Taste

My husband's birthday is the first week in January.  

We are usually feeling a little "full" food-wise this time of year.  

We have spent the last few weeks finishing off holiday leftovers

 and eating every last cookie, piece of peppermint bark and bag of 

candy that found their way into our house over the holidays. 

 And now-it's time for cake!  

I thought the traditional log version of an

  old-fashioned ice box cake would be the perfect solution.

It's fun for the kids to make, super tasty, and small enough that there 

wouldn't be any left to tempt us to continue eating the next day.

Ingredients:

• 1 package Nabisco chocolate wafers
• 1 pint heavy whipping crew
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-3 tbsp. powdered sugar

Whip together the heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar 

with an electric mixer to make a heavy whipped cream.  

Cover the top of each chocolate wafer with the 

whipped cream and then stack sideways to form a log.  

Cover the whole log with the remaining whipped cream

 and refrigerate overnight (or at least 5-6 hours).

Truly Local Honey

This Summer I shared a few photos of my favorite farm stand right down the road from where we vacationed in Massachusetts.  Beyond the yummy tomatoes and sweet corn, what captured my heart was the fact that it was an honor stand.  Such a good old fashioned treat to visit each day while on vacation.  We found a handful of honor stands while vacationing this summer and they all charmed me.

But, I must admit, I have a new favorite.  It is this adorable honor stand my husband and son built a few weeks ago to sell their homegrown honey.  They have brought a little of that old fashioned charm we enjoyed so much this summer, back to New Jersey.  Lemonade stands are a common sight on our street, but a honey stand is not something you usually come across in a residential neighborhood!

The neighbors have enjoyed watching our bees this past year 

and have all been anxious to get a taste.

They are my son's best customers.

And I will say, everyone has been "honorable" so far.  Everytime 

a jar or two disappears, my son finds money in the cigar box.  

Needless to say, everyone is quite charmed by his little honor stand. 

  

A Taste of Summer....Part 2

I came across another honor stand down the road from our vacation house

 and couldn't resist stopping.  This adorable wagon looks like it has weathered 

quite a few summers selling homegrown flowers and tomatoes! 

A Taste of Summer

It is back to school time for a number of people around the country, but we don't go back until after Labor Day, so I am trying to keep my head firmly planted in vacation mode.  In case you are trying to do the same, I wanted to share a peek at this local farm stand that says to me summer is still in full swing.  This honor stand is about a mile from our vacation home and we visit it daily.  It's old fashioned charm could be on the pages of Country Living magazine and I think that it is rare to find an "honor stand"

 at the end of a driveway these days.

Having lived in New Jersey for the past ten years, I will always support the argument that Jersey tomatoes are the best, but this local Massachusetts corn is tops.  It is super sweet.

And fresh picked flowers just within reach.  This honor stand is one of my fondest summer memories and one of the many reasons I am happy that my summer is still in full swing.

Also linking with: Potpourri Friday

Wild Blackberry Jam

We are spending the last few weeks of summer on vacation in Massachusetts.  We did bring some modern day necessities like our iphones and laptop, but we are trying to disconnect a bit and enjoy the beauty and simplicity around us.  We went for a walk the other day and discovered this beautiful country road.

Ripe wild blackberries were growing within our reach.

I couldn't resist a photo of my 6 year olds little hand filled with ripe berries.   

We were eating them as fast as we were picking them.  

We did manage to save enough to make some Blackberry Jam when we got home.  A quick google search gave me lots of choices for recipes without pectin and I settled on this one from Alice at Savory Sweet Life.  I tried a little too hard on my first attempt and burnt the whole batch.  I was trying to follow the recipe exactly and let it boil too long.  

I decided to relax (it is vacation after all) on my second try 

and took it off the heat when the jam looked ready.  

I think we have found a new summer tradition!  

I'm linking with:

Sweet Shot Tuesday

The 36th Avenue

knick of time tuesdays

coastal charm

Thursdays Temptation

Good Old Fashioned Food-Ice Box Cake

With no relatives in town this Easter, we decided to keep the meal simple and spent the day focused on the kids activities (Easter baskets, church, an egg hunt, and taking a long walk at a newly discovered park).  We wanted a super easy dessert that could be a group project, so we opted for an ice box cake.  This had been a favorite of my husband's when he was growing up.  I googled "chocolate ice box cake" (even though we were pretty sure of the recipe).  I was amazed at how fancy this simple little cake has become.  I was expecting photos of the traditional log version, but found some beautiful photos of stacked cakes.  People have even made individual cupcake versions!

We opted to try the "new" stacked cake.  The recipe is still the same: 2-3 packages Nabisco chocolate wafers, plus whipped cream (made from 3 cups heavy cream, 3 tbsp, powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla).  The first layer is 7 of the cookies arranged in a circle with one in the middle.

We had the kids help spread the whipped cream and stack the layers of cookies.  It can be refrigerated overnight (or as little as 5-6 hours).  It is so yummy and sweet.  A guaranteed sugar headache from your first bite!

And, in our house, helpers always get to lick the spoon!

Cookie Exchange Home Run-Oreo Truffles

Gracefully handling a Holiday cookie exchange has been one of my December goals for the past few years.  I love being invited, but completely freak out that I am willingly adding more to my "to do" list just a few weeks before Christmas.  I am usually knee deep in mailing out gifts to relatives, decorating the house and trying to make things special for my kids.  The thought of baking 5-7 dozen cookies on top of my usual stuff is a little daunting.  But, I love the chance for a night out with my friends and it always puts me in the Holiday spirit.



I have kept my eyes open for the ideal cookie that would be pretty, easy to make and yummy. I figured that if I could find the veritable home run of cookies for a cookie exchange, I could relax and enjoy myself the next time an invitation or evite arrived.  I had set my sights on peppermint bark (which I convinced myself qualifies as a cookie).  It is festive, easy to make, and friends would happily take it home to serve to guests.  But recently, my friend Linda, told me about Oreo Balls (also known as Oreo Truffles).  They sounded too good to be true.  They fit all my cookie exchange criteria.

I found a recipe for Easy Oreo Truffles  at The TomKat Studio and Kim even includes a free printable recipe card and label.  Three simple ingredients, no baking involved and they look decadent.  I couldn't ask for a better cookie exchange home run.

Perfect Packaging

With the slew of holidays we have ahead of us in the months of October, November and December I wanted to share a web-site chock full of fun products and creative ideas. It is a great resource for good old-fashioned packaging supplies for your holiday baking, entertaining and gift giving. Garnish was started by two women inspired by the creativity that basic packaging allowed them in their party planning and gift giving. As you might guess, they had trouble finding the products they were looking for and a business was born.

Their products provide a "blank canvas", as they put it, just waiting for your personal expression. They have a great selection of containers, serving utensils, bakery twine, labels, bags and more to tempt your creativity. I am a big fan of creative packaging and truly appreciate a gift or meal with an added personal touch. The basic look and blank slate of these good old-fashioned supplies can allow your food, entertaining and creativity to take center stage. They also have a blog full of creative ideas and photos sent in by customers. Enjoy!

Good Old-Fashioned Food

I am always drawn to the success stories of women entrepreneurs who followed their passion or drew from a childhood memory to create something new, unique and fabulous.  I recently came across the story of Katie Camarro, in a beautiful magazine "Where Women Cook".  Katie created an award-winning hot fudge,  Sundaes Best,  based on a family fudge sauce recipe, 5 simple ingredients and fond memories.  Many things came together for Katie to make her dream a reality, including a timely gift from her husband.  He bought her a vintage 1956 truck for her 37th birthday that became a catchy marketing tool and her company logo.