ice cream in a jar.

last wednesday, on the fourth, i figured i'd do my part for my country and at least dress in some sort of red, white and blue fashion. i then realized that i was at my grandparents's house, and that i hadn't packed anything of the sort {i don't have much clothing that falls into that category at home, either}, so i did the next best thing. and i got a little bit carried away.

gather: a mason jar or any empty, clean jar of some sort; vanilla ice cream; some red and blue berries {i used strawberries and blueberries, but raspberries and blackberries are perfectly acceptable as well}; whipped cream {optional}; a hefty spoon.

method: with a spoon, put a small amount of ice cream in the jar. top with a few {or so} berries and repeat the process, then add a dollop of whipped cream to the middle. continue with adding ice cream and berries until the jar is full, and perhaps put an extra dollop of whipped cream on top for good measure. eat quickly, savoring each bite, with no intentions of sharing unless you made some for others.

best thing since cupcakes? i think it's a tie.

-kiss kiss kiss, voila-

britishly

i have this friend named peter. not peter pevensie, in which case he would be my husband, not my friend. but, coincidentally, both peter's are british. i don't get very much chance to talk to a british person, so last night i pounced on the opportunity. and as a result, i know all of his favorite british foods to eat. which is lovely, because i'm going to convince my parents to buy them now and Lord knows i need an advocate. 
source
breakfast: English-style pancakes. apparently, they're like crepes, and he squeezes lemon juice onto them and sprinkles them with sugar, then rolls them up. interesting. 

source
lunch: a chicken sandwich. this part, i must say, seems very American.

source
dinner: roast beef, yorkshire pudding, carrot + broccoli, bisto gravy. if that's not British then i'm a time lord from the planet gallifrey.

source
dessert: English custard, which is more creamy and gooey like banana pudding, English smarties {candy}, rhubarb + blackberry crumble. i didn't know rhubarbs existed until today. but whatever the case, everything looks delicious.

so, this is what happens when you decide to talk to a person who says "pea-u-mas" instead of "pumas", and who thinks that football is sophisticated. i'm not exactly sure which football he's talking about. however, today seemed like the sort of day to write about something completely and utterly broken from the natural chain of events, no? besides, it's tuesday. and d'artangnan is always there on tuesdays.

so, -kiss kiss kiss, quater quell must die-
{pea ess: and president snow. i don't like him either.}

apple crisp

"There is something beautiful about the baking process. The way flour feels in your hands or the sound of eggs cracking on the edge of a bowl. Baking is a gathering of interesting materials, a mixed medium art piece of sorts, that ends in a cake instead of a canvas." from tiger in a jar

today is one of those days, that starts off with eggs, bacon, and potatoes {equaling breakfast tacos}, the psat's, seeing one of your piano friends for the first time in months, and realizing the math section wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. and so, in celebration, after stopping by chick-fil-a to have a filling lunch and piano practice promptly following, before swim practice and before church, the making of apple crisp seems to be in order. 

ingredients

{for the apples}

4 to 6 apples {you can use any kind you like, we used honeycrisp}

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice 

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

optional: 1 teaspoon of orange & lemon zest

{for the crumble}

1 stick very cold, unsalted butter

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oats 

directions

preheat the oven to 350. 

cut the apples into 1/2 inch slices {be sure to core them}. put them in a bowl and add the flour, sugar, lemon & orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. add the zest if you like. toss it until it is just combined. place the apples in a baking dish, layering them on top of each other, set aside. 

dice the butter and put it into a mixing bowl. add the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and oats, and mix until the butter looks like little peas. crumble on top of the apples, distributing it evenly. put the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30-35min, or until the crumble turns a golden brown. 

this is a key step, please pay attention: after the crisp is cooled, put a hearty serving onto a plate, put on your favorite wool sweater, go outside and sit on the porch, and eat it with a good book on the side. i chose the help. 

today is one of those days, that when after the crisp has been devoured and enjoyed, and you finish a book with satisfaction, you sit and watch the sunset, wrap your arms around yourself, and just smile. 

and what better way to end this with a quote:

"A meal, according to my understanding anyhow, is a communal event, bringing together family members, neighbors, even strangers. At its most ordinary, it involves hospitality, giving, receiving and gratitude.”
– Wendell Berry

-kiss kiss kiss, hug jelly doughnut-

{pee ess: this post was written yesterday, but due to slight laziness and mesmerization from the crisp, it is being posted today.}

{pee pee ess: photo challenge soon. all things autumn, anyone?}

lady of miscellany & yogurt parfaits

as i sit here, perfectly content in my lowercase letter obsession, browsing through photos of my california trip, i cannot help but wonder why it is that my dad never buys the things i happen to put on the grocery list.

but that isn't really the point, here. half of the point, though, would be my miscellaneous musings.
Autumn. daylight savings. waking up at the same time, only to realize you woke up an hour earlier. almost like magic, don't you think?
Titanic. to be perfectly honest i haven't seen it. well, not all of it. i turned it on at the part where rose was telling jack that there was a boat nearby. and i started crying even though i didn't really know what was going on. forget the fact that i'm an over-emotional love story addict {and i haven't seen the whole movie, anyways}, that was just so beautiful and yet so heart shattering that i went into my room and had a good two-hour cry. but then again, if you think about it, jack was resurrected as cobb in inception. so, technically he didn't die at all. but i still cried for two hours. 
Writing. my brain won't seem to stop functioning for a few minutes! of course, that's a good thing. but when it comes to writing...i don't know. i can hear a fragment of a sentence and in less that five minutes have a whole book idea planned out in my head, characters and all. that's how the keys was born. 

Shia Lebouf. i could hear him scream all day. seriously. 

Oxfords. dear beautiful vintage havens, why must thouest be so scarce in size 11?

Moccasins. ditto. 

Phrases. i have some new ones. "oh my beet cake". "oh portobello mushrooms". "oh sunrise smoothies". yes, yes i am good. 
-insert me doing a whole separate post for the yogurt parfaits-
one of the best things about waking up on a sunday morning is breakfast. the sun is shining {hence sunday} the tank is clean, you have a whole world waiting for you to make your entrance, and a special breakfast is a great way to start it off. 

tri-berry yogurt parfaits

ingridients

about a pint of vanilla yogurt

some golden raspberries, yellow raspberries, and blackberries {you can use whatever berry combination you want, this is what i used. you can probably find the raspberries at your local farmer's market.}

granola

optional: a sprig of mint, for garnish

directions

take a tablespoon of the yogurt and put it in the bottom of a clear glass. add some granola, and berries, and then repeat the process until your glass is filled. {you can do this is any order you like.} sprinkle some extra granola on top, and if you wish, add the sprig of mint. 

photograph to your heart's content. 

take an industrial size spoon, and eat it. 

and this is key: share with no one. 

it's really fairly simple! 

if you know me, i horked it down. 

and i'm not ashamed.

-kiss kiss kiss, hug hug m'cheetos-

{pee ess: you can die of suspense over my news. i won't mind :P just kidding. stay alive! and BE. EXCITED.}

{pee pee ess: i joined a writing blog! the starlit castle. hop on over and if your interested, sign up! i'm sure lady elisabeth would be delighted to have you as a fellow author.}

tomato caprese salad

so i *finally* get around to posting the recipe. i made this is california with my aunt mary and uncle Q and paria came over for dinner. and lemme tell you: it was amazing!! which is why i'm sharing it with all of you. 

tomato caprese salad 

ingredients

three to four heirloom tomatoes 
a few tablespoons of fresh basil
fresh mozzarella cheese {you can use smoked mozzarella, too}
good olive oil
salt & pepper

directions

on a cutting board, slice the heirloom tomatoes into 1/2 to 1 inch slices {or to your own personal         standards}. set them aside. slice the mozzarella cheese into 1/2 inch slices, and set those aside as well. finely chop some of the basil {I Julienne it, or Chiffonade it, which means to roll a few leaves of the basil, and chop them, which is much easier} and set it into a bowl. leave some whole leaves of basil for later. 

on a platter, assemble the tomatoes, cheese and basil. i alternated with a slice of tomato, a slice of cheese, and a whole basil leaf, but you can do whatever you like. sprinkle the chopped basil on top of the tomatoes and cheese. 
sprinkle some salt and pepper on top to taste, about a half tablespoon of salt, and a half tablespoon of pepper. then, drizzle some olive oil on top, and ey voila! 

hope you like! there will be more recipes {as well as photos and videos of my trip to california} to come soon! also, i have some lovely-happy-oh-my-cupcake-bubble-bomb news to tell you. oh. yes. 

-kiss kiss kiss, hug hug kiss-

day 25: a recipe

Before I go on any further, let me say: Father, have mercy on them, they have NO IDEA what they're doing. 

A recipe? Really? Yes, I cook/bake. Alot. I mean, alot alot. But, the bummer is, my camera is very evil, so I can't post pictures of what I made. Bummer. I say that too much. Seriously, I said that every five seconds a few days ago. Okay, moving along, that was wayyy off subject. 

So, what I chose...(thank you God for helping be) is my baked honeycrisp apples. You know, those really huge, gorgeous, yummy (expensive) apples you get at the grocery store. 

Since I don't really have pictures for you, I'm going to post a picture of what looks most like my apples:

Yep. That's what they look like. Okay, so here we go!!

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 Honeycrisp apples (you can't get them all year round, so any apple will do)
• 1/4 cup of flour 
• 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of Nutmeg
• About 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice
• About 2 tablespoons of sugar

Instructions: (bear with me, y'all)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Cut the honeycrisp apples into slices and set them into a bowl. 
3. Put two tablespoons of the orange juice onto it (so the apples won't turn brown). 
4. Sift the flour lightly into the apples and orange juice to thicken it. 
5. Spread the cinnamon and nutmeg evenly onto the apples, and do the same for the sugar. 
6. Pour the last tablespoon of orange juice into the bowl, and stir it around with a light spoon. 
7. Take out a cookie sheet, and spread some aluminum foil on the top. (Parchment Paper works, too)
8. Lay the apple slices onto the cookie sheet and put it into the oven.
9. Bake for 6-10min, or until browned. 
10. Take it out, and enjoy!!

I haven't made these in awhile, so hopefully I did it right. *phew* When I made this, I estimated...it tasted really good. I need to learn how to write things down.

Anyway, I hope you like it!!

While the apples are baking, drool over these:

I love the ring on top!! Don't you? Good, we all love it!


P.S. I survived this post! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!! *dance party*