A Road Less Traveled - Exploring Your Own Backyard

I have had the picture of the sunset over my backyard and the words ‘A Road Less Traveled’ on the back page since I set up the website.  I have always thought I would create a section to be more of a tribute to where I have traveled, where I want to travel, and thoughts on traveling in general.  And there is still time for all of that too. But as I sit here and think about what I want to write and say, it strikes me that many are exploring their own backyards, more than they ever have before.  It is right there for the taking. All the time. And yet we often pass it by in our daily hustle and bustle. I am guilty of that too and just look at this lovely place! I always want to go out and explore, walk and enjoy, but don’t seem to find the time.

View from my new home office

Now that we are ‘homebound’ time exists for us to really look around and take stock.  Even those of us that are still working, seem to have more time because the rest of life is on pause.  Enjoying the first buds on the trees, flowers poking through the spring earth, watching the birds come and go looking for seed and nest material, and watching the light play across the grass as the minutes pass throughout the day, have all become ripe for the taking, ready to enjoy.  Ready to be seen. 

And some would argue, isn’t travel all about taking the time to see your surroundings?  So often we expect that ‘travel’ is the exploration of a new location, but for many it is the same location with new eyes.  Traveling to your home town, to a family member, to visit a friend or even your favorite location is often more about seeing the same things as before but with a new perspective.  Fresh eyes simply because you have grown another year, got the new job, connected with someone you didn’t know before – all creates a new view into your world. And thus new eyes to see what has been seen before.

Bird’s Nest in White Pine Tree

While traveling for me will still also be the exploration of new to me locations, part nature and history, art and cuisine, so too is traveling to my own backyard.  And maybe traveling to your own backyard, especially in this time, with your fresh eyes, is just what we all need right now, exploring our world in our own backyard.

Foggy morning overlooking the Baby Trees

Dinner Party Love

I love impromptu dinner parties with the neighbors, family and friends but sometimes a little extra planning makes a wonderful dinner go into ‘over the top’ and truly memorable. The differences are all in the details and having the time set aside to make sure they come together. My suggestion is always to have a theme! And no it doesn’t have to be pirates or unicorns, although that is fun too! Sometimes your napkin selection, a favorite dress or clipping out of a magazine can the the inspiration that ties is all together. In this case, it was love. So I choose a few pinks, and then grounded it with some clean black and white. (And I maybe love me some Kate Spade :)

Above is the table all set and ready for guests to walk in the door. I took the time to add Menu and Place Cards to each setting so guests would feel they had a carefully selected spot and knew what to expect for the evening. Since dinner was the event I kept everything central to the dining room.

Creating the setup and look was easy because I spent some time outlining what I planned to do and focused on what I needed to make that happen. Since dinner was the event I wanted the table to express the extras that are often neglected in a more casual setting. So beyond the menu and place cards were the additional little details like salt cellars at each seat and the more impactful fresh flowers.

Printed Menus Cards up their game with some easy to add ribbon and floral detail. I found all the accouterments in the scrap book aisle at the local craft store.

Spending a few minutes to lay out the cards and then the table make creating and setup a breeze when it comes time to production. After I laid this one out I decided the card needed something more so I added the paper flowers to each menu.

Laying out the table also helps to make sure you have enough space for everyone and everything. As well as it allows you to know things like how many flowers to buy the morning of the party.

And voila! Ready for guests!

Now it time to show off some of the food we enjoyed that night (I know you read the menu already!) :)

The Menu was a combination of things I thought the Guest of Honor would enjoy and some recipes I wanted to try out. Nonetheless, nothing was an experiment that day! I had tried everything fully or at least the individual components the week or so before. It is no fun to being trying to figure something out for the first time with the added pressure of guests on their way (that is pressure enough!).

Simple but refreshing salad to open up your taste buds for the meal! Spring Mix with Yellow and Red Cherry Tomatoes and Crumbled Feta. Dressing was a Balsamic Vinaigrette.

This was a modification of a full tart to make them individually for each person. Puffed Pastry with a ricotta lemon base and squash and zucchini florets on top. Baked and thoroughly enjoyed!

Here is the complete plate with the pork, blood orange glaze and fresh blood orange slice on the plate, fingerling potatoes and the vegetable floret tart.

And then of course there is dessert! I mean it is a Birthday Party for crying out loud! I could not decide between cake and another amazing dessert and since the GOH loves to eat on the lighter and fresh side, I decided it was worth doing both!

I know this really doesn’t look like much here. It seems to be on the boring side from the outside but trust me it is an explosion of flavor and fun in your mouth! This is a Black Russian Bundt Cake complete with a liqueur glaze soaked into the cake :)

Now this… this was the start of the show! This is a traditional Pavlova. (I am not sure why I was so Russian influenced when it came to dessert for the party but here we are!) This is delicately baked meringue that is stacked with fresh berries and whipped cream right before devouring.

The highlight reel.

That’s a wrap!

April Showers bring... indoor Delight

So, when Ohio could not decide if it is really spring or not, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a planter style centerpiece for my dining room table.  Here is my step-by-step guide to the super easy and beautiful result that only takes a few minutes to create a spring designer look to your table! 

The orchids I have had in my window and surprisingly been unable to kill (I do not have a green thumb!) and the other I grabbed from my grocery store's floral department.  Add in large vase, floral foam (for filler) and moss and voila! The perfect Spring Centerpiece to enjoy while mother nature attempts to figure it out :)

Supplies for Project: moss, floral foam, large vase and a few potted flowers

Foam Base Filler: cut and fill to create the correct height for your plants

Foam blocks: for spacing and moss sheets - this allows the moss to seemlessly be the same height at the top of your potted plants

Plant placement: insert and make sure everything fits well!

Cover foam with moss (not shown cover the block spacers with moss first), place the plants and then start filling in. This will ensure the added texture and layers to make this a polished look.

Add details: I added a different variety of moss to create some color and texture interest

More details: I added some wood chips (it came with my moss) as additional texture

Finished! And watering will be easy because they are still independent from each other! Just move the moss, remove container to water then replace.

Epic Fall Brunch Sandwich

I love breakfast… and lunch… and dinner… really, I love all meals. So when the opportunity to make Brunch comes around (which I also love) it can be an overwhelming decision.  I mean the sweet and the savory options are immense! And then, because you are replacing two meals with one, the responsibility is huge and cannot be taken lightly : ) 

As fall rolls around, the weather turns cooler (downright cold yesterday!), Brunch somehow becomes more appealing too. My thoughts of the amazing meal my family and I will be preparing are also on the forefront of my mind, as Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  (And I am sure all the holiday commercials of turkey dinner have nothing to do with these thoughts either – ha!) So here I am on my Sunday:  I slept in, enjoyed my coffee and musings and eventually found myself hungry… what to eat, what to make, what to do?

So, I grab some eggs and the skillet, then a bagel – I have no idea what direction I am going here at this point but I start them both with some faith (really just blind hope) that it will come together.  As I shuffle through the frig draw, I grab my cream cheese (favorite bagel topping), some turkey lunch meat (not sure why) and as a last minute addition my Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (also great with bagels and cream cheese).  Undecidedly, I spread the cream cheese on ½ the bagel and check that my eggs are over medium.  For good measure I throw some turkey in the skillet to warm up a bit and stare at my plate of odds and ends.  Then it happens… with excitement and trepidation, I decide I am not eating these separately but in fact am making what I will now name as the Epic Fall Brunch Sandwich.  I place the egg over the cream cheesed bagel and top with the turkey.  Then comes the key to the Epic success – I add the Jam over top! 

It was warm and gooey, savory and sweet, tart and quite simply, epic.  I hope you take the extra few minutes to grab all of these to create your version of this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whenever.

Epic#deliciousinmymouth

Epic Fall Brunch Sandwich

Caramelized Pear Dessert

So I recently had an impromptu dinner party and with only a few minutes to spare at the grocery store grabbed two pears and some butter pecan ice cream for what would become a deliciously easy and mouth watering dessert!  I already had the oven on for some of our savory items so with great ease created this simple dish...

I cut the pears in half and scooped the cores out.  Forked them and prepared the glaze.  I melted 4 T of butter and added about 2T of brown sugar, some Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Stirred it all together and then evenly poured over the pears cut side up (I keep a small amount back for the skin side).  Left these to 'soak' for a bit while I placed parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Once that was ready, I placed the pears cut side down on the paper and drizzled the remainder of the glaze over the skin side.  Popped them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30-40 min.  I knew they were done when they were tender in the center with a fork.

Once I pulled them out of the oven I left them on the baking sheet face down while I prepared a little chocolate drizzle and softened the Ice Cream - that is totally optional and up to you!  I took some chocolate chips and a little more butter and melted to create a little garnish drizzle for the whole lot.  Once everything was ready, I took each of the halves in their own bowl with a little chocolate drizzle over top, a scoop of Butter Pecan Ice Cream over the pear and then finished with more chocolate garnish.  The warmth of the Pear and the cool of the ice cream is the perfect fall treat!

Caramelized Pear with Butter Pecan Ice Cream and Chocolate Drizzle