5 Dollar Check-In

So how are you doing?  I hope your 5-dollar bill collection is growing and growing!

I had made some progress this week, but my husband raided the jar this morning on his way out the door.  He was running late for an appointment and didn't have time to stop at the ATM.  I wanted to give you an update on my progress, but now I don't know my total!  I'll just add it all up on the 31st when I award the prize for the challenge!  I have to admit that I've "spent" (in my mind) my collection over and over.

Three more days until our give-away!  Add up your $5 bills and remember to comment on the 31st and let all our followers know what you're saving for!  If you win the prize, you'll have a great place to continue to store your $5 bills!!

You will love, love, love the next give-away, so tell your friends to become followers too.  The next one is all about friends...things that go well together.  I can't wait to tell you all about it!

The 5 Dollar Challenge Prize

Everyone needs a pretty cookie jar or box or piggy bank to store their 5 dollar bills for the challenge.  Here are the details for our new contest:

From July 21 to July 31, save all the $5 bills you can.  On the 31st, comment on your total dollars saved and the reason you're saving.  I won't judge based on the total or the reason, I just thought everyone would like to hear your success and your story!  Your comment will be your entry, and once again, there will be a blind drawing for the prize.

This beautiful blue jar was a gift from a dear friend.  Over the years it has held everything from cotton balls to candy bars.  I decided to use it as my container for the $5 challenge.  Each time I see it and drop money inside I think of my friend and my ultimate goal!

Over the next 10 days I will be saving right along with you.  But I will also be on the lookout for a special container that will be the prize on the 31st.  I'm not sure exactly what it will be, but it will be functional and pretty.  This gives me a good reason to duck into antique shops along with other favorite stores...maybe HomeGoods or Pottery Barn...I'm going to have a great time looking for something wonderful just for you!!

So, keep saving and let me know how you're doing!  The prize will be awarded on July 31st.

By the way, I put another $5 in the jar today!

The 5 Dollar Challenge

A friend of mine has dreams of traveling to Australia.  She is a world traveler and is adding Australia to her long list of places to see.  In order to "pad" her wallet for the journey, she invented a little game to help her save...not pennies...but five dollar bills!!

Here's how it goes...

Each time you have a five dollar bill, remove it from your purse or pocket.  Find a place to keep the money, one you will not be tempted to raid, and tuck the money away.  It's that simple!  I've been playing the game for 2 weeks and have banked $45 so far.  I never ask for five dollar bills when I get change back from a purchase, but it's kinda' fun now when I get one because I know where it's going!

Last week I was eating dinner out with friends and got THREE five dollar bills back with my change.  (I think my server was looking for a big tip!  Sorry random waiter-guy, my check was less than twelve bucks!)  Even though I could have used an extra ten dollars in my wallet, I stuck with the challenge and saved all three fives.  I guess I never really paid that much attention to five dollar bills, but when you're saving them, the money adds up quickly!!

Your goal might not be to go to Australia but I'll bet there's something else you're saving for.  I'm going to use mine to finance my Christmas shopping this year.  I've already told you how much I love Christmas and since I have a tendency to go a little overboard, my five dollar stash will be a big help.

You probably have something planned that's far more glamorous and I can't wait to hear about it.  So, why not play The 5 Dollar Challenge with me?  Who knows?  There might be a PRIZE (hint, hint) involved in accepting the challenge.  Think about it today and check back with me tomorrow!

Favorites

Although I love cupcakes and have started a cupcake business, city girl cupcakes, I truly love to bake.  Anything with a combination of sugar, butter and flour is fair game.  Add coconut, chocolate chips, nuts and fruit and watch out...I'm probably in the kitchen with my mixer whirring!!

I also enjoy writing, so this blog is a great opportunity for me to share my favorite things with you.  Today's entry is about chocolate chip cookies!

Over my lifetime of baking, I have tried many, many chocolate chip cookie recipes.  The cookies that get the highest "rating" for me must have a mix of sweet and salt, crunch and chew.  My daughter and I judge our cupcakes on guessing how many glasses of milk you would need with each one.  I believe a good chocolate chip cookie needs at least one glass of cold, cold milk by its side.

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  She is a wonderful cook and an equally wonderful baker and I am totally in love with her chocolate chip cookies.

Two basic differences in her recipes over others are the following.  One, she always uses extra large eggs.  On a recent Barefoot Contessa TV episode (you can catch her on the Food Network), I heard her say that she became a better baker when she started using extra large eggs.  Mmmm...I may have to try that one!  And two, she uses kosher salt.  This one little change adds the hit of salt that I look for in something sweet.  It's fantastic.

So, here is her recipe and at the bottom is a link for her cookbook containing the original.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 36 to 40 Cookies

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter with the mixer on low speed, mixing only until combined.  Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chunks.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch-diameter ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon.  Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly.  Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone).  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This recipe comes from Ina Garten's book, Barefoot Contessa Parties!  Be sure to try the chocolate batter version.  I use chocolate chunks instead of white chocolate and add walnuts.  It tastes just like a brownie...so yummy.

I hope you find things in your life that make you happy and are easy to accomplish.  Making chocolate chip cookies is one of those things for me.  It fills my kitchen with activity and my house with wonderful, warm aromas.  What could be better?

Have a great Sunday!  I'm off to have coffee with family visiting me from Florida.  Because Ina loves all things French, I think I'm going to indulge in a chocolate croissant.  I'll have to channel her energy and bake something later this afternoon!

Not exactly apple pie

Tomorrow is the 4th of July.  What a wonderful day to be thankful and celebrate all things American!!

If you're having a picnic or firing up the grill (again), here's a dessert suggestion that you will LOVE if you're a fan of peach cobbler...I know, not the all-American apple pie, but it's super easy to make, foolproof in fact, and is absolutely delicious!!

While the origin of the apple is unknown, some scholars believe the first cultivated apple trees were in Rome.  The peach is believed to have its origin in China or Persia.  There are hundreds of types of apples and only 2 types of peaches.  Cobbler, however, quite possibly began in the British American colonies.  Stewed fruit was covered with scone or biscuit dough and once cooked, reminded the colonists of cobbled streets.  Ahhhh...so this is an American dessert!!

We are supposed to have the most delicious peaches in the world here in Georgia, so I am making peach cobbler for the holiday.  I have used this recipe for more than 25 years and haven't changed a single step or ingredient.  A friend brought dinner over for Mike and me after our daughter was born and she was gracious enough to share her "secret" to the perfect cobbler.

Peach Cobbler

Sift together 3/4 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and a pinch of salt.

Whisk in 1 cup sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Put one stick of butter in a baking dish (almost any size will do...I use an oval dish that's about 8" x 12") and put it in the oven so the butter will melt.

While the butter is melting, peel and slice 2 cups of peaches.  Set aside.  Mix 3/4 cup milk into the flour mixture.  When the butter has melted, take the baking dish out of the oven and pour the batter over the melted butter...do not stir!  The edges of the batter will start to curl...it's already baking!

Add the 2 cups of sliced peaches on top of the
batter...do not stir!!  Put the dish back into the oven.  Bake for an hour or until the crust is golden brown.

I like my crust to get brown so that it's a little crunchy.  The photo below shows the inside of the cobbler where it's warm and buttery.  Though there is rarely any leftover, it is yummy when it's cold too.  I promise, it won't stay in the fridge for long!

Add vanilla ice cream if you dare!!

While I was in the kitchen making cobbler, my curious cat joined in the festivities.  He kept jumping up on the table, trying to get in on the photo shoot.  I thought you might like seeing a picture of him.  Simon is the friendliest, sweetest cat I know.  He doesn't particularly like peach cobbler (good, that's more for me!) but he is all about attention.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!  Thanks to all those who serve our country.  God bless!!

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!