February 25, 2015
by Ashley
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Lemon Curd

Recently I decided I would like to try out canning like my grandmother who always made wonderful jams and jellies. So when I came across this lemon curd recipe, I just had to try it out. This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Dyno-Mom’s blog. It is great, yet I did change it a little. I like a creamy lemon curd without zest, but feel free to add lemon zest from the four lemons if you want to.

Lemon Curd

4 Lemons or 3/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick of butter, room temperature
4 eggs

Process sugar and stick of butter in the food processor. Add juice of lemons and blend. Then add the four whole eggs, one at a time with the machine running. Pour the mixutre into a sauce pan and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens. This will happen just before it simmers. Remove from heat and pour into sanitized canning jars. I usually get 3 1/2 jars worth of curd. Since lemon curd can’t be jarred safely from regular lemons (something about acid levels) I freeze mine that I am not planning on using for a while. Refridgerate what you plan on using in 3 weeks and the frozen jars will be ok for up to a year….if it even lasts that long. This stuff is delicious!

February 24, 2015
by Ashley
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Crepes

Crepes are a favorite in this house. My kids beg for crepes every morning. Not only are they delicious, they are really easy to make. All you need is a blender and crepe pan, and you are in business. I was afraid to make them for a long time, and then decided one day I would try them. They are so much easier to make then pancakes. I can start a batch and have the kids eating in less then 10 minutes.

We love different toppings, but the kids favorite is Nutella, or chocolate as they call it. We also use fresh fruit, lemon curd and homemade jams.

This is my recipe…evolved from an Alton Brown recipe.

Crepes

2 Eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour (could also try different flours like buckwheat or oat)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup 2% milk

Put all ingredients into blender. Blend. Heat up crepe pan on medium high, spray with cooking spray or butter before pouring 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to cover the bottom. Let cook for about 1 minute. Flip and cook 30 seconds on the other side. Turn out crepe onto a plate and continue. Super easy!

There are some additives and alternatives you can make to this recipe. You can add butter as my recipe originally requested. I just found that I really didn’t need it since some of the fillings were fattening enough. If you wanted to add a fat to this, add 3 tbsp melted butter before you blend. Vanilla and sugar can also be added, but as I just stated, we fill these and don’t miss the flour. Plus, if you have leftovers without sugar added, you can add in savory fillings instead.

February 23, 2015
by Ashley
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My Everyday Bread

Bread seems to be perfect for one of our first blog posts. Bread is the basis of many cultures and lives, especially our own.

I decided a couple of years ago that I would start making our everyday bread. This is an easy recipe from a cookbook we received as a wedding present. I made it as a mistake to begin with, as I thought I was making a boule. When I finally read in the recipe while the dough rising, I realized that I needed bread pans to bake it. I knew I had made a mistake, yet the mistake was wonderful one. I have tried other recipes, but keep coming back to this one.

Traditional White Bread

6 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp butter
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water (120° to 130° F)

Mix 4 cups flour, sugar, salt, butter, and yeast in stand mixer with bread hook attached. Turn on the mixer on level 2 and slowly add the warm water. Once flour is incorprated some, add in each additional cup slowly. Let the mixer knead the bread for 10 minutes until th dough is smooth and springy. Place in a large greased bowl with olive oil and clover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour until doubled.

Grease two loaf pans. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough and roll out into a 18 x 9 inch rectangle. Roll dough up tightly from the short end. Seal edges by pinching and put seal side down in the pan. Roll out second ball of dough in the same way. Cover and let rise for 35 to 50 minutes.

Bake at 425° F for 25 minutes on the lowest rack.

Adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook Bridal Edition

I have used this as the base for many recipes and will share those in time.

February 22, 2015
by Ashley
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Come on Up to the House

We have decided to embark on a new adventure. I have realized that I have found many hours of entertainment reading other peoples opinions, ideas and recipes on many different blogs. I mentioned to Paul that we should share some of our recipes and projects with others.

Coming up with the name to a blog is harder than I thought. We thought about what things we liked to do as a family from projects to outings. Our hobbies anywhere from knitting to brewing beer to building or painting things. Then Paul mentioned a song title that encompases everything. The name “Come On Up to the House” comes from a Tom Waits song, sang in Tom’s raspy voice. Paul loves the song and I love the name. We want to use this little project to not only share our love for food, but also for the many projects that interest us (and our kids) and anything else that we deem blogable.

Come on up to our house and enjoy!