Belle Isle

Tonight I returned from an overnight camping trip to Belle Isle for my friend's bachelorette party. Belle Isle is a peaceful place - beautiful water, good friends, a sunset, a campfire, delicious food, s'mores, birds chirping in the morning, and long hikes. Here's a peek at what we experienced together as we celebrated her marriage.

Banana-Cocoa Snack Cake

My aunt made this delicious banana-cocoa snack cake while we were in New York several weeks ago. We were grateful for a dessert that we could eat, and it's free of all allergens that I can think of except gluten. This cake would be great for breakfast as it isn't overly sweet. I would have taken a picture of the whole thing, but it was eaten too quickly.

Homemade Bouquet

We are back inside after a quick trip around the block for fresh air before the storms hit. We brought a little of the outdoors inside with us for a quick homemade bouquet (picked from our backyard). I am enjoying all the flowers surrounding us this season.

Frozen Baguette Dough

I wanted to mention that I've had success cooking the frozen baguettes. When I'm making the bread fresh, after I finish all the rising and shaping and rising again, I pick which loaves will go into the oven and put them on a pan. I take the remaining loaves, put them on a pan, and place them in the freezer. After they're hard, I wrap them up and stick them in a freezer bag. When I want to bake the frozen loaf, I take it out the night before and put it in a couche on the counter to defrost overnight. In the morning, I heat up the oven normally to cook the baguette. The crust isn't quite as wonderful as being fully fresh, but it's very good and great considering how little work I had to do to get fresh bread in the morning! I'm curious if I could put the frozen baguette directly in the oven. I may try that at some point and report back.

Fried Rice

We have several types of fried rice we make regularly, and here is one of the egg free versions. I thought fried rice always had eggs in it, but I guess most anything can be modified (reminds me of my egg free quiche...). This recipe is another great one for whatever leftover meat is laying around ready to use, or leave the meat out. You can also throw in veggies you have on hand. Though only peas are called for in the recipe, I added shredded carrots I had prepped and frozen over a month ago, as well as fresh chopped mushrooms. Lots of nutrition in every bite, and it's tasty, too! Remember to prep all ingredients before starting to cook, since the process goes quickly.

Fried Rice modified from "Bakin' Without Eggs"

INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP grated ginger root
5 cups cold, cooked rice
2 cup frozen baby peas
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
5 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
6 TBSP chicken stock (use water if none available)
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp white pepper

METHOD

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add onion and garlic; stir-fry 4-5 minutes, until crisp-tender.
2. Add ginger, rice, and peas; stir-fry 3-4 minutes longer.
3. Add chicken; stir-fry until hot, about 3-5 minutes longer.
4. Stir in soy sauce, stock, thyme, and pepper. Stir-fry until rice absorbs the liquid and food is hot, about 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Baby Playmats

It has been a season of babies for the women around me. I feel like I've spent a large part of 2011 either making meals for new moms or working on baby gifts. (For this reason I am behind on wedding gifts! It'll happen eventually.) I loved making two baby playmats for babies born in February and March. The original idea came from Handmade Home, but usually project instructions are more inspiration than a guide to what I end up doing.

I used soft baby blankets for the top's base layer, cut shapes out of patterned fabrics and appliquéd them on top, then added the ribbon fringe to the edges. The top, batting, and backing were sewn together with right sides facing each other, leaving a small opening to pull it all through to show the right sides. Then I stitched up the hole and quilted three concentric rectangles to finish the playmat. The idea is straight forward but all the applique pieces made the project take a bit longer than intended. It was fun, and I hope the babies enjoy the textures, colors, and shapes as they spend time on the floor.

Baby Shower Gift

One of the gifts that made me repeatedly smile while I was a new mom was a set of burp clothes with fun fabric on them. Considering all the messes that bombard you at the beginning of parenthood, it's nice to be able to clean it up with a rag that's a little more fun than normal. I'm headed to a friend's baby shower this Saturday, so I decided to make a set of burp clothes for her. Hopefully these will give my friend as much joy as when I used my set.

Part two of the shower gift is a little newborn hat. I got the pattern from this blog post. I appliquéd a decoration on afterward based on what I hear is the theme of my friend's nursery. Both crafts were quick and easy, and I was able to complete them in two evenings.

BURP CLOTH INSTRUCTIONS
Materials: Cotton cloth diaper, fabric, pins, thread, and sewing machine

1. Prewash fabric and cloth diaper.
2. Measure fabric to fit on the center portion of the cloth diaper (about a third the size of the diaper) and add about a half inch for seam allowances. Check the measurements again, then cut the fabric.
3. Fold the edge of the fabric under as you pin it to the center of the burp cloth. The top of the cloth diaper will be covered, and you'll be looking at the right side of the fabric.
4. Sew along the edge of the fabric, backstitching at the beginning and end. That's it!