Kuchen with Aunt Elizabeth

For as long as I can remember, I have been searching for a recipe for Kuchen (pronounced "cookin" or "cuca" in my family). Not only was it the most delicious pastry from my childhood, but it came from the sweetest lady, my Great-Great Aunt Elizabeth, who I also called Memom. This wonderful lady could cook up anything without a recipe, donuts, noodle soup and various German dishes - comfort food at it's best. Memom was like a Grandma to me and I will always remember her kind, easy personality and gentle soul. She smiled with her eyes, loved with all her heart and taught with the patience of a saint. 

Memom would often visit us and come into the kitchen, cook up a cherry kuchen and fill the house with her warmth. She passed away when I was 12 years old and was the first person I was close to that died. Her spirit lives on though through the cross stitch pictures she left behind that grace my home, the impressions she made on me as a young girl and her name lives on in one of my daughters. I can still feel her spirit when I cook something she would have cooked while in the kitchen. That is probably why I have always wanted to find the recipe she used to make kuchen. 

Here's Memom playfully holding me as a baby. 

I was delighted to find a couple recipes for kuchen in the new bread book I bought recently. One used a yeast dough and the other did not - I went with the non-yeast recipe first. Here is my attempt at kuchen this weekend. I used the fruit I had on hand, peaches and cherries and I have to say there were many similarities, but this still was not the recipe my Memom used. This recipe had a crust to it, which hers did not, making me wonder if she used the yeast dough. Don't worry - I'll try that one next! But this one did have a custard top and her recipe definitely had that. While it was cooking. a very similar aroma, filled the house and it smelled so good! I knew I was on the right track! Memom used lots more cherries in her kuchen so next time I will have to make sure we have at least a couple cans of cherries on hand (I use the ones canned in fruit juice). This one was very yummy though and Jeff thought the crust was his favorite part. 

Lots of sewing going on here as well - a few things for mama (yay! I rarely sew for me) and some for others (Mother's Day gifts) as well!

~Lisa

Splish, Splash

Nightly bath-time is my favorite time of the day. Just a few reasons why - 

Warm water, winding down, washing away the day's ups or downs.

Giggling girls, splishes and splashes, cuddling in a terry cloth towel. 

Let's read a story, snuggle in bed, kisses good night, nursing to sleep. 

Angels watch over you as you dream until those tip toes bring you to my bedside later on. 

Kitchen Monday

I found the cutest plate with all the colors of my kitchen and soon designated it the "honey plate" so it is out all the time for me to see. Is it corny to get happy looking at a plate? Probably. It's probably strange just to use the word "corny". 

We love fresh honey and use it for cooking (replacing sugar in many recipes), in tea or on toast. Yum! 

Around here we have a nice routine of cooking big on Mondays which helps tame the dinner time madness which ensues each weeknight. Many Mondays I cook a chicken for stock then use the meat and stock during the week for soups and casseroles. Frugal living at it's best I tell you! So good for us and tasty too. Store bought stock just doesn't have the same taste. When you make it yourself, the flavor and nutrition are robust. 

Yep - I'm making that bread again too. This is the same bread recipe that won Grace the prize ribbon at the fair last year and has become my go to recipe for quick fresh bread. I make the dough up on Sunday night, then cook a couple of loaves on Monday then maybe one later in the week to go with dinner. It always disappears quickly! 

I love this apron - it is hands down my favorite and you'll find me wearing it every Monday. The little pocket is a keeper.... a keeper of something I never thought I'd like to use. But now I love my ipod! Plug it in, turn it up and get cooking! 

Happy Monday!

~Lisa

Earth Day Weekend

Our local Earth Day Celebration was held this weekend in Landa Park - one of the nicest city parks located right on the spring fed Comal River. This is our third year participating in the event with a Full Circle Baby booth and each year the event grows bigger & bigger! I find so much inspiration from gardening to how our community grows greener every year. 

Perfect weather (alright - it was windy!) brought out lots of families and local businesses like Sarah's Soaps (she is about so much more than soap though! Check out those plants.) and Two Rivers Yoga (awesome  yoga studio and another Sara!). 

Our Full Circle Baby booth was buzzing with activity! We talked to lots and lots of parents about cloth diapering, wearing their baby comfortably, using natural baby products with herbal ingredients and these diaper bags we found made from Re-Run fabric (recycled water bottles!).  Klean Kanteens are always a hit - as long as you can keep your car from eating them. I know my own car is feeding on them - it couldn't be the kids leaving them under their seats, right?? Seriously, we love our Klean Kanteens and take them everywhere with us. The last time I purchased water bottles from the store was almost 2 years ago!  note to self - reorder KKs for the store this week - in colors pink, orange, stainless and maybe black with the new chug-a-lug sports caps that came out this month.

Jeff brought the girls over to see us (Lissy stayed with me after she helped set up the booth - homeschooling girl learning business!) and they walked around learning about frogs, worm composting, recycling, gardening. They picked up lots of information and goodies! 

We enjoyed seeing our friends at Earth Day and hope to be back next year!

~Lisa

What will my garden grow?

I have actually learned A LOT of things about gardening in general over the past year, but most importantly, I've learned when to start planning a garden here in South Texas. Right after Christmas!! We waited too long once again this year. It is so hard to think about planting a garden when my mind is stuck in winter mode. That comes from living in Virginia for so long. Since we've lived here in South Texas for the past 6 years, one would think that said person would finally be used to how things work here. 

We have a tiny backyard that really isn't good for much besides being home to our big, crazy lab. This guy is Marley (from Marley and Me) - but he is chocolate colored and 10 times crazier. He steals strawberries from the garden and helps himself to broccoli straight off the plant.  I guess he needs his veggies too.... 

Our backyard project has turned into one that Manly Man and I enjoy together - gardening. The first year in our very first house, we tried to till up the land and plant our garden blind. I'm pretty sure nothing grew that year worthwhile. We've learned a few things along the way and now we have a cute backyard garden that will hopefully supplement our food this summer. Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes! We went with raised gardens since our soil here is extremely rocky. Manly Man made the planter boxes to surround our patio last year and added two more bigger boxes around the yard this year. We filled the boxes with organic garden compost mix from our local organic gardening store (Gardenville). 

Miss Allie knows what makes the garden grow!

Here's one of the new planter boxes waiting for the tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and crenshaw melons to be planted. Manly Man made that great little green house/gardening table for me - isn't it fantastic!? I love it. It made planting all those little seeds much easier and the little ones love to stand on the bottom rails to peek at what is growing inside. We don't need to use the cover anymore to protect the little plants from frost. It's been a crazy Spring here though and just a week or so ago we actually had freeze warnings. Way past the usual freeze date. 
Here's our babies! It's so exciting to see a new plant sprout and grow. The girls help by watering them each morning and have transplanted the ones that grew more than one seed. We bought all heirloom seeds from Baker Seed company this year to avoid planting any genetically modified seeds. These are almost ready to transplant into the new garden area. I've saved the older planters around our patio for herbs and hot peppers - the things we use in the kitchen most often while cooking each day. I have basil (two kinds), dill, chives, parsley, mint, orange mint, sage and cilantro. 

One of our new favorite things to do is to make homemade ranch dressing. It's really easy! I mix up a garlic clove with some salt (to make a paste). Add to that some mayo (about 1 cup), some sour cream (I like Daisy brand as it's only ingredient is cream - about 1/2 cup), buttermilk to make the dressing thinner to whatever consistency you like, herbs (dill and chives  - but you could anything you like) and salt. Give it a stir and voila! I store it in an covered glass container in the fridge and use it up within two weeks - but it usually doesn't last that long.  The kids love it as a dip for carrots or celery for a snack. It's great over a slices of tomato and avocado too.  So yummy! Avocados are a plenty here in South Texas and I have grown to love them as do my girls. 

Happy Weekend!

~Lisa

The Napping House

rain. thunder. finally.

The garden swallows and sings while inside, we nap.

The backyard garden (literally - my backyard is a garden), is coming along nicely. I'll post pics this weekend! In the meantime, if you haven't read this - it's amazing. 

~Lisa

Happy Easter

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Wishing everyone a very blessed Easter as you enjoy Springtime with family and friends.

~Lisa