Sugar drunk

Sugar drunk, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Sometimes I thoroughly enjoy my job. "Staying home to bake for appreciative children" is definitely one of my favorite job description line items of this stay-at-home mama gig. Here is Bean, chowing down with gusto on a post-nap slice of Battenberg cake. Before this, I could literally never get Bean to smile for a photo unless I asked her to think of her Papa and how much she loves him. Apparently, marzipan-wrapped cake loaves will also work!

My friend, Kat, showed me her copy of The Gentle Art of Domesticity, and I knew right away that I needed my own copy. The recipe came from this wonderful book, as have many other inspiring (and beautifully photographed) ideas for creative home life.

I wonder if "Queen of Hearts Jam Tarts" will result in an equally smiley photograph?

Easter begins early

Bean and Sister very much enjoy doing seasonal baking projects with me. We make decorated sugar cookies for nearly every holiday. (My collection of colored sprinkles takes up an entire cabinet shelf.) We make pumpkin cupcakes for Halloween, blueberry muffins in the early summer, candy cane ice cream after I undecorate the Christmas tree--you get the drift. So when I saw this idea on Angry Chicken I knew it was perfect for my girls.

Easter baking project, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Aren't these adorable? They're super easy, too, even for toddlers. Just watch out for little girls who like to lick their fingers while doing the nest shaping. 'Cause you don't want a spitty nest.

Happy Easter! Happy spring!

Tasty at home

In my weekly quest for domestic coziness, I've begun making my own bread. I say that as if it were a permanent decision to always bake my own bread, but it's not really. In fact, I've only made two batches so far but it was so gratifying, I thought to myself, "I really should do this more often." So I'm going to try.

I've never been much of a bread baker because I just naturally lack the proper temperament to do it well. Which is to say that I'm impatient as hell, want to get things done NOW, and bread just doesn't work that way. The other day I used a whole wheat loaf bread recipe that explained the first rise would take about an hour and a half. Actually, it took six and that was just the first rise. But I just tried to forget about it and let it do its thing and everything came out well. See?

Two beautiful loaves, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

But my original motivation--lest you begin believing that I'm motivated by just sweet domestic coziness and a back-to-the-land, homemade whole grain thing--was a trip to a local chocolate shop with Bean while Sister was having her piano class. The adorable European owner informed me that the big bag of real, dark chocolate sprinkles on the shelf next to me were what European children have sprinkled on their toast in the mornings to get them to eat their bread. He himself, he said, had this for breakfast til he was 15 years old, after which he was presumably too old for such a childish breakfast and switched to espresso and cigarettes, I guess. I'm a sucker. I bought the sprinkles. And needed to make fresh bread to put them on.

Bean with toast, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Nice morning

I was grocery shopping a couple days ago and saw rhubarb and strawberries, both on the shelves looking all luscious and ruby-like. I bought enough of both to make a large pie and, while the strawberries weren't as good as they'll likely be in another couple of weeks, they made a beautiful mama and baby pie. Not to mention that it was a lovely way for Bean and I to while away the morning hours today. Sweet P lay contentedly in her bouncy chair, watching us and listening to us chat.

Mixing the fruit, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Preparing her crust, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

More fruit, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Proud Bean, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Mama pie and baby pie, ready for the oven, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Beautiful finished pies, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

Now, this is what I thought being a stay-at-home mama would be all about for me!

Things to do besides gardening

Stay inside where there's air-conditioning, put my feet up, and watch back-to-back episodes of "What Not to Wear" and "10 Years Younger."

Contemplate culling closet and dresser of old clothes for the thrift shop...but don't.

Make tiny peanut butter cookies with M&M's pressed into the tops with Bean to be served on her new tin toy tea set.

Not mind when the neighbor kids come over to play with Sister and Bean and eat hot cookies.

Read blogs.

Make chicken-fried steak with gravy for dinner. (Yee-haw!)

Enjoy the break from the 90 degree heat and only a couple of times peek out the window to see if the 7 potted plants still left are wilting yet.

Does this blog post make me look fat?

I've been neglecting my blog lately in favor of working in the yard, celebrating the glorious 40 degree weather. Glorious relative to the 18 degrees I woke up to the other day, of course. I know, I know, some of you have it far worse with temps in the negatives and wind chill blah blah blah, but I chose never to move farther north than where I am right now 'cause I like to sweat, dammit. It's good for you.

I have been sweating in the yard lately, lugging around 50# flagstones left in a pile by the landscaper to a new spot as stepping stones from the front door to a side gate. I had to grade the path by hand, too, shovelling great piles of soggy, rich clay to what will be new beds on either side of the path. All that, plus hauling broken chunks of concrete driveway that were left on our property as the first course of "stone" in a stone path border. The chunks are all about 6 inches thick and damn heavy but at least we don't have to landfill them, and they read visually as stone once you put real stones on top of them. I love to work like this. I don't know about the rest of you, but hard labor is always good for what ails me.

Today, though, it's just a bit too cold and windy to feel comfortable outside even doing heavy lifting work. I've got some baking projects going instead to make things cozy here. I'm trying a recipe for no-knead whole wheat bread, and no-knead yeast breads were not even something I knew existed. I'm too lazy and have too much of a sweet tooth to have ever devoted much time to really learn how to bake good bread, but something about the weather inspires a longing in me to perfume the house with fresh baking. I also pulled some custard cup-sized apple crisps out of the oven a little while ago. I feel all virtuous about it because I used up 4 apples just beginning to wrinkle, half a cup of some homemade mincemeat filling, and some pecan streusel I had frozen some time ago to be able to make quick fruit desserts. Apples and mincemeat plus some sugar, cinnamon, and a big dollop of sour cream were the filling, the streusel I sprinkled on top, and that was it. Sooooo rich and yummy and belly-warming.

And now to go with my theme for the day of self-indulgence, I'm off for a little nap. Hope you're all finding ways to relax out of the cold today!