Valerie's Workshop

For weeks and weeks now I've been wanting to make cupcakes. With all the commotion at our house lately, setting aside enough time to make dinner, let alone cupcakes, has been challenging. Well, that all changed on Wednesday! Wednesday was the first of two food-focused days for me, filled with making comfort food and necessity baking. I made two loaves of whole wheat bread and a batch of English muffins to restock our pantry, and for dinner I made a batch of fried chicken and cast iron skillet corn bread (with salads on the side for a bit of green). Thursday's baking, however, was all about pleasure. And what is more pleasurable then a pretty pink cupcake with a flower on top? (Answer: a cupcake with a cup of coffee, a sunny spot in the house and the sound of the radio, Bodie laughing, and Harper chewing on a bone drifting through the background!) Even though our general mood has been sad at home, lately, I've been trying to cheer everyone up the best way I know how ... ...

As I finally sign back into my account, I come to the realization that my last post was in regards to Koa, our beloved golden retriever. How sadly ironic it is that I am posting tonight ... our first night without him. Koa spent the last three weeks being pampered and loved. He recovered well from the surgery, but unfortunately the cancer was already very advanced. His mind and spirit were high as always, offering smiles and tail wags as often as possible, but his body was rapidly deteriorating. At 11am today, March 21, 2011, Koa's life with us on this earth ended. Even though his body is no longer with us, his positive spirit and years of happy memories will remain with us always. Needless to say, the last three weeks have been overwhelming. I felt, today, as though a cloud of grief has drifted over our house. And as sad, scared, anxious and gloomy as we were, the past few weeks have brought us so much closer as a family. We dedicated multiple days to family time ... hiking...

This past weekend was supposed to be our weekend away. To Clinton, Iowa for a wedding, or so we thought.  Our bags were packed, my hair was curled but we weren't going anywhere. Oh, but as that old saying goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray." Koa, our 10 year old golden retriever was sick. Not just sick, but bleeding internally; the tumor on his spleen had ruptured and needed to be removed, STAT! My heart sank, my stomach flipped and my head raced. What do we do? Where do go? Will he live? Oh, hell! Well, the what we do and where we go involved surgery at the local animal hospital. Will he live, well he is right now and that is all that matters.   After a day or so of having him home, and a day or so of processing what happened, here's what I need to share. My only hope is that you can relate to it, find comfort in it, or just read it! 

As I mentioned in mt last post I made a to-die-for pork roast last week. Scott picked up the roast but left it up to me to decide what to do with it. Having never prepared this cut of meat before I scoured my cookbooks, looking for a recipe that I had all of the ingredients for in the pantry. What I landed on was the recipe for "Father Tim's Mother's Pork Roast" from Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook. One thing I didn't have at home was bourbon but I was able to find a half full bottle of brandy hiding in the liquor cabinet. The original recipe also called for a boneless Boston butt pork roast, but I much prefer cooking meat yet remaining on the bone (much richer flavors result from meat cooked on the bone) and I didn't have a boneless but roast at home! The roast was a cinch to prepare, took hardly any effort at all, and literally fell off the bone when we attempted to slice it. We each enjoyed a serving of pork with baked potatoes, all smothered in the hea...

  This past week I had the pleasure of spending a day at home with my 3 year old. We completed puzzles, worked on crafts and played with Legos. He took a nap, the dogs ran circles round the yard enjoying a warm February day, and I got lost in food, again!  The item that consumed the most oven hours was the pork rib roast; a dish I winged with some inspiration from a recipe for pork roast I found in  Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook . (Super yummy ... maybe if I get a free moment tomorrow I will post the recipe. No photos, though, it didn't last!) The item that brought the most smiles to my families faces and assembled in a cinch was the scrumptious little heart cookies that Bodie and I made. Below you'll find their recipe, found in the Cookie and Biscuit Bible which I received a couple years back as a gift. Next time you're wanting to make cookie cutter cookies, try these, and share the joy! Rolled Almond Cookies Makes 24 Ingredients: ½ cup butter, softened ¼ cup ...

  For the past two years now I've been lucky enough to have the ability to bake my own bread each week. At first it was out of necessity; it's a lot cheaper to bake amazing, healthy bread then it is to buy healthy, high-quality bread. Now it's out of the love of baking; the rewarding feeling that comes from sharing my hand-made, home-baked loaves and the joy of baking with others (especially my son) is unmatched. I take one (or two) days each week and dedicate their theme to baking two to six loaves of bread for my family. Some weeks  are busy and I revert to my impossible-to-fail " Amish white bread " recipe. Other weeks are more relaxed and I put a bit more time and love into my loaves and bake the amazing Rustic Italian Loaf from Cooks Illustrated (worth every moment of it's creation!). This past week was one of my busier weeks; my boss was out of town for 9 days, leaving myself and a couple of gracious part-timers to run the store. *My one day a...