What summer feels like

I think summer is my favorite season.  Christmas is most definitely my favorite holiday, but summer is by far my favorite time of year.

I vividly remember childhood summers spent in Ocean City, Maryland.  My parents reserved the same apartment each year and we spent 2 glorious weeks renting rafts, playing games in the nickel (yes, five cents!) arcades and walking on the boardwalk in bare feet.  Just thinking of the beach conjures up the very real taste of freshly popped Fisher's caramel popcorn and salty Thrasher's french fries sprinkled with malt vinegar.  I can smell Coppertone and ocean breezes.  I can hear the waves and the sound of the seagulls.  I can see the "footprints" left behind by sandpipers and sand crabs.

When my brother and I were still in elementary school, we took thick cotton thread and braided it to make "shark strings".   The idea was to tie the shark string around your ankle and when you went swimming in the ocean, it would protect you from harm (i.e. sharks!).  We put a towel on the boardwalk and sold shark strings to the tourists for a dollar.  That's how we made money to play in the arcade.

Later, my Dad owned a building in O.C. and we spent entire summers there.  I worked in an ice cream stand and got paid to sing in the church choir each Sunday (I got more if I attended both services!).   As a teenager, I put Sun-In on my hair and baby oil on my skin.  My friends and I baked to a deep, golden brown...something I'm sure I'll pay for later when my skin turns to leather.  There wasn't a worry about SPF then.  We learned how to skim board and body surf and play putt-putt golf.  We walked on the beach with our dog and my Dad would fish in the surf.

I love thinking of those times.  I am blessed that my memories fill all the senses.

Now the lake is closer than the ocean and my husband (who spent his childhood on a beach in Florida) actually prefers the lake.  So when we get the chance, we rent a place that has a dock, pontoon boat and a beautiful view.  Our summers aren't complete without taking in a Braves game or two, eating cold, crisp watermelon and baking fresh peach cobbler.  Good books are mandatory as are card games and dominoes. I  play tennis and Mike plays golf.  Summer flies by.

There's so much more I could say about what summer feels like to me, but here's a picture that says it all.

This year perhaps summer will slow down a bit.  That's my wish anyway.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is barbecue day.  Not the kind of barbecue where you fire up the grill and have Dad (or the "man" of the house") sit in a folding chair outside in the 90plus degree heat with a beer in his hand turning meat from one side to the other.  Around here, Father's Day does not equal something cooking on the grill.

Barbecue day in my house is far less taxing.  I am getting ready to "fire up" the crock pot and start the process for pulled pork sandwiches, Mike's favorite.  In the ever constant debate about barbecue, we stand on the side of pork over beef and mustard/vinegar over ketchup/brown sugar.

The recipe I use is no secret, so I'll tell you where to look.  It's the Williams-Sonoma recipe for Easy Pulled Pork Sandwiches.  And the name doesn't lie...it is easy...pork, spice blend, water & onion.  After you pull the pork, add your favorite sauce (we use Sticky Fingers brand) and you're done.  All you have to decide is the kind of sandwich bun, pickles or no, and your personal assortment of sides.

The next item on our plate is another Williams-Sonoma favorite,  Corn Fritters.  They are amazing!  You can used canned or fresh corn.  They are sweet and salty and a great change up from corn on the cob! There are two downsides to this recipe.  One, they are best when eaten right away and two, you can never make too many...they won't sit on the plate, but will disappear immediately.  You've been warned!

Since I'm the only vegetarian in the house, I always add a fresh salad to the menu.  Today I'm going to make a classic Greek Salad, minus the olives.  Sorry, I just can't make myself like olives...I've tried.  I'm going to use a salad dressing developed by my friend, Nancy.  Without question, it's my go-to salad dressing for every occasion.  It's delicious and in Nancy's own words "not a home-made recipe, but a simple adaptation to a store bought packet"!

Nancy's Balsamic Salad Dressing

Buy the Italian Good Seasons packet and cruet from the grocery store.  Not the Zesty Italian, but the original.

Pour balsamic vinegar into the cruet half way up to the water (W) line.

Add red wine vinegar up to the water (W) line.

Add whatever salad oil you prefer up to 1/4 inch below the oil (O) line.  (Nancy remarks that she doesn't typically use olive oil as it gives the dressing a heavy flavor...I agree!)

Add water up to the oil (O) line.

Add the Good Seasons Italian packet, shake and enjoy!

Now, all you need is dessert.  We will probably have key lime pie (again Mike's favorite) or homemade vanilla ice cream.  What??  No cupcakes!!  We have cupcakes in my house almost every day.  This is all about the things he loves...family, good food and today, the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.  It's going to be a good day.

So, if you haven't completed your Father's Day menu, try mine!  Pulled pork sandwiches, corn fritters, fresh salad, definitely watermelon (can't believe I forgot to mention the watermelon!), key lime pie and just for fun, homemade vanilla ice cream.  Visit www. Williams-Sonoma.com and search their recipe file for Easy Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Corn Fritters.  You won't be disappointed.

Before I sign off, I'm going to dial it back a few years to Father's Day when I was growing up.  Our meal would've been fried shrimp, succotash, sliced tomatoes and onions, steamed Chesapeake Bay blue crabs coated in a spicy blend of Old Bay Seasoning, saltine crackers and cold beer or 7-up!  Our dining table would've been covered in newspaper and decorated with rolls of paper towels, crab crackers and mallets and small dishes of melted butter.  The Baltimore Orioles would be on TV if they were playing.  My Dad would've done all the cooking (he was a great cook) and our gifts of Old Spice soap and after shave and homemade cards would've been lovingly accepted.  I can close my eyes and smell the Old Bay Seasoning and Old Spice.  I love you Dad and miss you every day.

Today is about making memories.  I hope you have a great Father's Day!

Inspiration

I had a great blog entry planned for today having to do with summer and our first give-away winner.  But like my blog title says, "a sweet blend of baking and life", life happened today and it wins out over some adorable photos of my dog taken last year at the lake.  The pictures are really cute and I'll post them later this week, I just thought sharing today's experience was more important.

This morning I attended my first "spin" class.  For those of you who have not tried spinning, it's an exercise class based on rides and climbs taken on a stationary bike.  Friends who had encouraged me to join the class said things like, "You'll hate it at first, but don't give up" and "It takes some getting used to, usually 3 or 4 classes, but don't give up".

My instructor was absolutely darling...of course she would be...she's in her 30's, wears her blond hair in a pixie cut and is in the kind of shape you are already imagining...amazing, enviable.  She welcomed me warmly,  "fit" my bike to my body (I have long arms and long legs) with a series of adjustments, told me how to work the tension dial, and got right down to business.  In roughly 2 minutes, the obligatory niceness was over.

Now before I go much further, I have to say that I thought I was in fairly good shape.  I could lose a few pounds, no argument there, but I play tennis 2 or 3 days a week, work in a job (until the cupcake biz catches fire...watch out DC Cupcakes) where I'm on my feet the entire time and hit my treadmill once or twice a week.  I'm not a marathon runner but not a marshmallow either.  I need to also say that I'm a pretty competitive person...no one-wheeled bike was going to get the best of me.  That being said, I am loathe to admit that none of my previous athletic endeavors prepared me for the next 55 minutes.

The first five minutes were fairly uneventful.  I was keeping pace and actually enjoying myself.  Not long thereafter, I had sweat dripping in my eyes and burning forearms.   That was at approximately the 20 minute mark.  I was ecstatic when Miss Pixie Haircut announced that we were half way done with our workout at 30 minutes.  I focused on the "don't give up" part of my friends' warnings.

I needed to focus in the worst way.  Part of my challenge was that I had parked my bike near a TV monitor that was tuned into "The Doctors".  We were listening to the driving sounds of workout music while the sissies on the treadmills plugged into the TV program.  Once, as I raised my eyes to check the clock and gauge my progress,  I saw the Doctors answering questions about constipation.  They had props for demonstration purposes...dear heaven.  I had to look away later when they were lancing something that required stitches.  Yuck!  My burning quads were torture enough!!

45 minutes in, my legs felt like jelly, my clothing was soaked and my quart bottle of water almost drained.  I was thinking that I had never worked so hard, perspired so much, drank so much water and prayed for time travel simultaneously.  In spite of myself, I finished the class and realized I learned something in addition to spinning.

Oddly, somewhere in the middle of the session (you see I really wasn't watching TV) I had a kind of epiphany that I need to mention because it is the real subject of today's entry.  During a water break, where you sit up, drink and keep pedaling,  I looked around and found that I was truly impressed with every single woman in the class.  They were every shape and size, every age and ethnic background and were all there, "not giving up".  Every one had a reason to be there.  Every one had a goal, a dream, a story.

And I don't think it was the oxygen deprivation that made my thoughts drift.  I began thinking of some women I know who are true inspirations to me:

My sister-in-law who just posted on FB that she has dropped 2 dress sizes!

My niece who is training to run a half-marathon in October, is working full-time AND in school!

My cousin who is a public school teacher!

My daughter who serves coffee in the morning and chases her dream of being a professional actor at night!

and

My sweet friends, true "Steel Magnolias", who go through each ordinary day and then each crisis that presents itself with the same amazing grace.

These are a few.  There are many more.

Part of a journey through life is about striving to be the best person you can be.  Be the healthiest, strongest, most fit.  Be the friendliest, happiest, most generous.  Be the kindest, smartest, most honest.  Be the sweetest, funniest, most dependable.  As your friend, I am going to encourage you to grab your personal goal, dream or story with both hands and "don't give up".  You may hate it at first, but don't give up.  It may take a while to get used to, but don't give up.

There's another class on Friday and I plan to be in it.  I hope the darling blond girl with the beautiful smile, who spins along with the class, is my instructor.  I will fit my own bike, warm up by spinning at my own pace, and I'll take a good look around.   Who knows what else I'll discover??

* * * * * * 

Last but not least, here's the fun part.

I wrote all your names on pink paper, folded them neatly and stirred them up.  With my precious dog, Kasey, watching the proceedings for authenticity, I turned my head away, reached into the bowl and picked our first winner!

Paulette, I'll be in touch!

Stay tuned for our next give-away announcement!  And have a eye-opening day tomorrow.

2 days!!

Hi friends.  Just a quick reminder.  There are two days left until the drawing for our first give-away.  In order to win our prize you need to:  register as an official follower of the blog and add a comment.  That's it!

The next prize is a little more than a month (2 days more to be exact!) away.  So stay tuned!!

Have a happy Monday.

So much to celebrate!!

Late Spring and Summer bring the beginning of back-to-back-to-back-and-more celebrations in my family.  The string of special days goes something like this:  Mother's Day, my birthday, our anniversary, Father's Day, Mike's birthday, the 4th of July and our daughter's birthday.  This year will add a special wedding to the mix in July and we're still trying to fit a short vacation into our crazy summer days.

For our anniversary, Mike took me to a place you have to see for yourself.  Nestled in the Chattahoochee Hill Country is a community called Serenbe (named for the combination of words "serenity" and "be").   This community is home to The Inn at Serenbe, The Farmhouse Restaurant, organic farms, equestrian centers and so much more!!  You can take a look by starting at www.serenbeinn.com.

We had a delightful dinner at the Farmhouse Restaurant which is part of the Inn.  The meal was simple and rustic...delicious for me because I got to enjoy vegetables (I'm a vegetarian) from the organic farms along with spoon bread and rough cut grits.  My mixed garden salad (fresh from their garden!) was topped with fried green tomatoes...fantastic!!  That's an idea I'm going to use soon.

After dinner, we went to a play at the Serenbe Playhouse.  The night was perfect...not too hot with a little breeze.  Why is this worth mentioning??  Because the theatre experience is "al fresco"!!  Ordinary Days is a musical that "tells the story of four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect" staged in the beautiful setting of the Serenbe Courtyard.  Funny and completely entertaining, Ordinary Days makes the trip to Serenbe even more special.

Upon returning to the Inn, we were greeted by a mother and daughter who were on a "hunt" in the bushes with flashlights and giggles.  Two eight-week-old baby pigs had gotten out of their pen on the farm.  They were found, very easily, rooting around and seemed to enjoy the attention and extra petting.  The daughter remarked, "Go ahead and pet them.  They're just like puppies!"   Mike loved the piglets.

The next morning we walked the grounds getting to see the cottages, special event outbuildings, lake, pools & cabana, labyrinth, and croquet lawn.  We found the piglets in their pen, sheep, chickens and down the country road, some very large bulls!!  Less than a mile down this same road is the Serenbe community and the Saturday morning farmers' market.  I bought green garlic, crazy organic radishes, onions and beautiful zinnias.  Sadly, the tomatoes were sold out when we got there...you know what I wanted to do with them.

All in all, it was a wonderful getaway...too short as they always are, but a place where I hope to return.  I can picture myself on one of the covered porches, relaxing in a chaise, reading a good book and unwinding!!

I hope your summer is filled with special reasons to celebrate!

Good morning!  It's Sunday and I couldn't think of a better start for your day than this delicious blueberry crumb cake.

Obviously, I have a serious sweet tooth.  city girl cupcakes was born out of my obsession with baking, particularly things that are made, in large part, of sugar and sweet cream butter.  Sorry, Dr. Oz.

I have to say that it's more than the taste that lures me into the kitchen.  I love the whir of my kitchenaid mixer, the exact measuring that is the science of baking and the way the fresh aromas fill my house!  It would be impossible to eat all the things that I bake, so the last bit of enjoyment (and perhaps the best bit) comes from giving my baked goods away.  Nothing is prettier than a cellophane package tied with grosgrain ribbon holding something yummy inside!!  Baking is fulfilling on so many levels!

Speaking of give-aways, there are 10 days left to register for the "Something Borrowed" contest.  Remember to tell your friends to visit the blog and enter.  Each time they do, your name is entered an additional time into the drawing.  Our next contest is ready to go, so stay in touch!!

Back to breakfast...

Here is the recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake.  You could use other berries as they sit on top of the cake batter, but blueberry is my favorite.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter one 8"x 8" pan.

Mix the topping first.  Pulse all these ingredients in a food processor:

1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons cold, unsalted (sweet cream!) butter

Pulse until crumbly.  Set aside in a bowl and wipe out the container for the food processor to mix the cake batter.

In the food processor bowl, pulse the following:

1 stick cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pour milk into a measuring cup.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Stir.  Pour dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and add the milk mixture.  Stir with a wooden spoon until blended.

2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Wash and dry berries.  Remove any stems you see!

Approx. 3 cups fresh blueberries

Pour cake batter into the prepared pan.  Add berries on top until the batter is covered...don't press the berries into the batter.

Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the berries.  Bake in the oven for 55 to 60 minutes.  I start "testing" around 45 minutes as I like the cake to be very moist, not dry from over-baking.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool before serving if you can wait that long!!

So today I say, "Let them eat crumb cake!"  I'm off now to watch the French Open Tennis Final.

Have a fantastic day.