Heart of the Home: October 2017

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

These Will Make You Smile

I love whales but I also love polar bears. I found these wonderful pictures and wanted to share them with you. They make me smile! This post would go on and on if put them all up. I'm starting a nature wall in our family room. It's going to be sketches and pictures of animals as well as interesting rocks and flowers and leaves I have pressed from different places I've been. I'll show you pictures when I get it complete.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Spiced Waffles with Caramelized Apples

I made this for dessert for my hub but these make a great brunch dish. Omit the ice cream and add a dollop of whipped cream.

2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
large pinch of ground cloves
large pinch of ground white pepper
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg, separated
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons, (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Whisk first 12 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, honey, egg yolk, and orange peel in medium bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Stir in melted butter. Beat egg white in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
Spray 8 to 9 inch square waffle iron with nonstick spray and preheat. Pour half of the batter (about 1 cup) onto hot iron. Close top and cook until brown and set, about 3 minutes. Transfer waffle to large rack. Can stand at room temperature up to 3 hours. Or rewarm in oven at 350 for about 5 minutes. When ready to serve plate and top with caramelized apples and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Caramelized Apples

6 tablespoons (3/4) unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 pounds of Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2/3 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat; sprinkle with sugar over. Stir until sugar begins to melt, about 1 minute. Add apples. Saute until apples are brown and tender and juices form, about 10 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly about 2 minutes.

These were a hit and it is a wonderful spiced waffle. You could make these waffles and just served with warm maple syrup. A wonderful fall breakfast!

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower

This turned out to be a wonderful recipe. I teamed this cauliflower with some steamed squash and onion and I'm still getting garden tomatoes from our farmers market. It was a light and satisfying dinner.

11/2 pounds of cauliflower, halved, cored and cut into l inch florets ( 6 heaping cups of cauliflower florets)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of pine nuts or almond silvers
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a small bowl combine the oil, garlic, turmeric, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt.
Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl, drizzle the oil-spice mixture over the cauliflower and toss to coat.
Spread the cauliflower on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Roast, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is lightly browned on the edges and tender, 40-45 minutes.
Meanwhile, roast the pine nuts or almond silvers in a pie plate for about 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Set aside.
Remove the cauliflower from the oven, top with the nuts and cilantro and serve hot.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

The Landing Zone

This is the back of our barn. I met a man who does air brush painting and we bartered out the work. I was excited about exchanging our talents instead of money. I had a hard time choosing which sun and moon I wanted painted on the barn. I found so many cool ones. You can't see it in this picture but on the moon side there are little stars and on the sun side there are floating clouds. This will eventually be a gathering place for family and friends with a fire pit, comfy chairs and eating space. In the evening, it's shaded and there is almost always a nice breeze. It's a wonderful place to star gaze at night and it faces the east so it's a wonderful place to see the sun rise.

When we were on vacation, we had dinner at a restaurant with a beautiful outdoor dining area next to the bay in Seattle. It was so beautiful outside at one point, I ask my husband did he notice anything. He didn't know what I was getting at but there was no wind sweeping down the plains and no bugs (flies or mosquitoes). That is amazing to me, certain parts of the country get all the perks.

My husband affectionately named the area behind the barn " The Landing Zone" after I had a wild dream. In the dream, I was working in flower beds on the north side of our home, I heard a noise and looked up and a ET craft was slowing rising from behind the barn. The craft was a shape that I have never seen. I stood up and started jumping up and down and waving and yelling the craft dipped down to acknowledge me and then in warp speed it was gone. Usually. I don't remember my dreams, or I can only remember parts of a dream, but I remembered every detail of this dream. It was pretty exciting.