Strawberries :: Homegrown Edition

A backyard full of strawberries is a heart full of summer! 

And our hearts are bursting 

as we discovered our strawberries this year 

have started out strong.

Between wet weather, our busy schedules and our master bathroom project we had not noticed how many strawberries we have this year. We couldn't be happier.

Nature’s candy, no wrapper needed.

When life gives you strawberries, don’t make jam

—eat them straight from the vine!

Happy Saturday!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

Just popping in to share some cupcakes I made last night.

I had some leftover strawberries from Easter so decided to put them in some cupcakes. I made pulp with half of the strawberries. I cooked the pulp with some sugar, chilled it and then added it to the frosting which tasted wonderful and made the frosting a pretty pink.

And, as you can see, I used the rest of the strawberries for a 

surprise in the middle!

I also made a batch of lemon bars which are always a favorite. 

I tried some new recipes for Easter and hope to share some of those photos soon. April is going to be a busy month so I should have a lot of fun things to post. 

Happy Friday!!

Just Married! ~ Honeymoon Suite Surprise

There is a first for everything 

and this was the first time we have ever decorated a

Honeymoon Suite.

The Bride's parents were planning on decorating their daughter and soon~to~be son in law's Honeymoon Suite at the Nines Hotel downtown until their schedule had become so full on the day of the wedding that they decided they needed some help. 

So the day before the big event they asked what we thought about doing it for them and of course we were very excited to help. After the rehearsal dinner they gave us a box of items they were planning on putting in the room and left the rest of the decorating up to us. The next morning we decided to pick up a few more things such as more silk rose petals, two dozen fresh roses, fresh strawberries, a little silver tray and two dozen battery operated votive candles to add to our supplies.

Once we returned home from shopping I only had 30 minutes to 

decorate the strawberries with chocolate. 

It was just enough time to make 

{ what else?... }

Bride & Groom 

strawberries!

{ of course! }

Moonstruck chocolates for the pillows.

Roses for the table.

Roses in the bathroom.

We had so much fun and would definitely do this again if we had a chance!

Congratulations

B & C !

DIY Strawberry Thank~you Card

It's strawberry season and the farms around here are open for U-Pick. Plenty of room in the fields for social distancing while picking berries I would imagine.

Our kids have already been out and picked a few flats and even stopped by and shared some hallocks with us. Farm fresh strawberries. What a treat! It was more than enough for a batch of jam plus some strawberry shortcake. This little heap of deliciousness plus fresh homemade jam inspired a little strawberry thank you note from the heart.

 So don't let the intermittent clouds and rain fool you because the strawberries are on,

which means,

Summer has { almost } arrived!

 Click here for more strawberry inspiration.

Happy Tuesday!

The Secret Garden Tea Party ~ treats

Tea parties are all about the tea and the dainty treats. A fun part of the preparations is coming up with a menu that coordinates with the theme however the hard part is narrowing down all the ideas. And, if you're like me and can't narrow them down, then you just keeping adding! This years menu included a couple of new additions: Soup & Sorbet.

We served the soup in miniature mismatched tea cups and saucers. There were 2 choices of soup: Pear Potato & Tomato Basil, however, after taking requests we ended up serving both. The Pear Potato was topped with homemade creme fraiche, a sprinkle of chinese 5 spice, a few red pepper flakes and a sprig of thyme. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the Tomato Basil soup however it can be found here.

Next we served Raspberry Sorbet followed by Lemon Scones with homemade Devonshire Cream. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the scones either. There are so many things to photograph I occasionally miss a few. Thankfully I have posted the scones before so you can find them here.

Once our palates were cleansed we were ready for the savories.

Our Savories included:

Apple Chicken Sandwiches {GF}, Cucumber Flower Bites {GF}, Egg Salad Finger Sandwiches, Deviled Eggs {GF}, Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Tomato Pesto Herb Sandwiches.

The gluten free choices were very popular.

Below the Cream Horns are the Tomato Pesto Herb Sandwiches.

The tea party sweets included Mini Snickers Cupcakes, Cream Cones, Pavlova{GF} and Chocolate Covered Strawberries {GF}.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries are a favorite.

The Pavlova reminded me of little bird nests which I thought went well with our theme. 

I made the Snickers Cupcakes for a baby shower a few weeks ago. They got such good reviews I decided to add them to the menu but made them tea party size instead.

Our guests chose Earl Grey Tea and we served Grapefruit Sparkling Water as well. 

On Monday I will share the fun Secret Garden Tea Party game we played. 

Have a wonderful Saturday!

meringue FLAG cake ~ original & gluten free

This was our Sunday Supper dessert last weekend.

Since it was Memorial Weekend I decided to make a full size meringue cake but instead of  using all strawberries like I usually do I used blueberries and strawberries to make a festive little flag on top. I also wanted to try making a gluten free version of my meringue cake so I made one the standard size with no changes to my recipe as well as a small one using the same recipe cut in half and using gluten free ingredients instead. 

Once both cakes were finished there was really no noticeable difference and both cakes tasted nearly the same.

Have a great day!

Pasta & Angel Food Cake: Round 2 ~ Day 19 THYCA LID

This is the week of appointments for Miss E's 2nd round of RAI scans and we are now on day three although she has actually been on the Low Iodine Diet 19 days. Preparing for the scans requires a trip to the hospital each morning this week so oatmeal, fruit smoothies, and egg white omelets {if there is time} with some coffee and/or tea made with distilled water are the best options for breakfast except for the day{s} that require fasting.

For our 3rd dinner since she has been home we decided on pasta. Some chunky Tomato sauce over some veggie spaghetti sounded good and we happened to have plenty of fresh vegetables to use. 

Once the veggies were chopped and ready this tomato sauce went together fairly fast however it needed to simmer about an hour to enhance the flavor and thicken a bit. 

While the sauce was cooking I made Angel Food mini bundt cakes. 

It does not take as long as you might think to make Angel Food Cake from scratch. And it tastes great! So light and fluffy and meets the LID requirements.

 I did have leftover batter which I put into a loaf pan and baked since that was easier than washing the bundtlette pan for another batch. 

The strawberries in the store are getting better as the season gets closer so I bought some for the cake. I just sliced them up in a bowl and sprinkled a little sugar on top. Then I let them sit at room temperature while I finished preparing dinner. 

Once we were finished with dinner and the kitchen was cleaned up I served the Angel Food Mini Bundt Cakes on top of sugared strawberries and drizzled the strawberry juice over the top. YUM!

print recipe
LID Angel Food Mini Bundt Cakes

http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com 

by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients

• 1  1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature *
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/8 teaspoon **NON IODIZED SALT**
• 1 teaspoon vanilla  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat standard oven to 350 degrees or convection bake oven to 325 degrees. Spray mini bundt pan with oil.
2. Separate large eggs and place whites in the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl. Let sit   30 minutes or until room temperature. 
3. In a separate bowl whisk together flour and powdered sugar. Set aside.
4. Add cream of tartar, plain salt, and vanilla to egg whites. With whisk attachment beat egg white mixture on high for 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Gradually add sugar and combine.
5. Switch to paddle attachment and with mixer on low add flour mixture to egg white mixture 1/2 cup at a time.
6. Fill mini bun wells to the rim. Bake 15 - 20 minutes until light golden brown.

Optional: Sift powdered sugar over top of cool mini bundt cakes. Top with fresh berries.
* It will take approximately 10 - 12 egg whites.

print recipe
Low Iodine Diet PASTA PRIMAVERA

http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com

by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients

• 8 fresh Roma Tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
•  1 red pepper, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 basil chopped or minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon **NON IODIZED** salt
•  1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 package of **LID approved** pasta
•  **DISTILLED** water
•  Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Wash and prepare vegetables.
2. In a large skillet add approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil, onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until translucent. 
3. Add tomatoes, red pepper, basil, thyme, salt, red pepper flakes and 1-2 cups distilled water. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer until sauce thickens. Add more distilled water if needed. 
4. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with distilled water and bring to a boil. Add Pasta and cook according to package directions. 
5. Cover Pasta with Primavera Sauce and serve. 

Makes 4 servings

Happy Friday!

Royal Wedding Viewing Parties

Miss E and I were up early today to watch the Royal Wedding live

so I prepared a Tea for Two!

I got a little behind on my baking schedule so did not get the Royal Sugar Cookies all frosted in time for the wedding but they were still cute and tasted great.

This is the little tea table I set up for our

Royal Wedding Viewing Party ~ Tea for Two. 

Since Harry and Meghan chose an Elderflower Wedding Cake I decided to make some festive Elderflower Royal Wedding Cupcakes for the occasion.

I was a little nervous to try a flavor I was not familiar with especially since I was taking some of the cupcakes to another Royal Wedding Viewing Party later in the morning.

I am happy to report the cupcakes got great reviews. I can only imagine how amazing Harry and Meghan's Wedding Cake must have been. 

I also made some mascarpone filled strawberries. I thought they looked like little crowns.

Her Majesty The Queen stopped by our second Royal Wedding viewing party!

It was a Royally fun day!

Happy Saturday!