SOURDOUGH BLUEBERRY MUFFINS || easy, delicious and a new family fav!

These SOURDOUGH BLUEBERRY MUFFINS have become a family favorite! Easy, delicious and made with WHOLE FOODS….checks all the boxes! If we don’t eat them all the day they are baked, I pop them in the freezer for later…they freeze perfectly!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

WET INGREDIENTS

8 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sourdough starter discard*

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup blueberries

**Grease muffin tin wells or line with paper liners. Pre-heat oven to 425.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.

• In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, vanilla and sourdough starter.

• Incorporate one room temperature egg at a time.

• Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

• Gently fold blueberries into batter.

• Optional: Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour, or over night.

• Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.

• Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.

• Test muffins with a toothpick. Allow to cool.

  recipe adapted from Farmhouse on Boone

FIREPLACE STONE || replaced the fireplace with a wood stove

There are so many wonderful things about old homes….the character, the history, the beauty, and the list goes on. On the flip side, one of the challenges of an old home is heat and cooling efficiency :). If you have lived in an old home, you know this well! A few years ago, we lost power for 5 days and the temps were below freezing. We quickly realized we needed a heat source not dependent on electricity!

BEFORE

We had a lovely fireplace in the living room, but it was just for ambiance. That’s super lovely when you just want to sit in that room and enjoy it….while the heater is running :) We thought through different options and in the end, decided a wood stove was the best fit for how we used the house!

Matt wants to add more built-in detail to the top, but for now we need to be able to use it, and it keeps half of the house warm and cozy!

We went back and fourth on over grouting, or dry stacking the stone.

I love the dry stacked…..Matt wishes he would have over grouted. We want it to look like an original New England style wood stove surround.

One day (maybe :) Matt will have time to finish it out like he would really love to!

I think it’s beautiful….. and when the to-do list is always too long to complete, we have to just finish some things and move on to the next!

If you need me for the next few months…..every evening you can find me cozy by this fire.

xoxo ~ Darci

HEALTHY, DELICIOUS + EASY HOME MADE GRANOLA RECIPE || takes less than 10 minutes to make

My new favorite granola….

I love homemade granola! Perfect for busy mornings, perfect for snacks, and I have even been known to eat it for dinner if I am going to be out late running the girls somewhere :) I think you will love this recipe….this granola is just the right amount of sweet, savory, salty, and crunchy!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped or left whole

• 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped or left whole

• 1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped or left whole

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• 2/3 cup melted coconut oil

• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 packed teaspoon orange zest,

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300°F and grease two rimmed baking sheets lightly with coconut oil, or line with parchment paper.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 cup pumpkin seeds, 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup pecans, 1 cup almonds, and 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes.

1. In a medium-sized bowl, use a whisk to combine ⅔ cup melted coconut oil, ⅔ cup maple syrup, 1 packed teaspoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and½ teaspoon cardamom.

1. Add the melted coconut oil and maple mixture to the large bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine with a rubber spatula. Spread the granola out in an even layer across the two prepared rimmed baking sheets. Transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake, stirring with a spatula every 10 to 15 minutes, until the granola is toasted and golden in color, about 45 minutes total.

2. When it’s finished baking, remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets completely before storing in a jar or container (this allows the granola to get nice and crispy). You can store it up to one month, but it goes pretty fast at our home :)

**recipe adapted from Michelle at Farmbelly.

EASY + DELICIOUS ROAST RECIPE || easy enough for a week night dinner and tasty enough for entertaining!

Happy New Year!!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!! It’s been such a sweet holiday time for our family, I am not quite ready for it to end, but I am looking forward to 2025!

TOP SIRLOIN ROAST ~ I have to share with you the EASIEST and most DELICIOUS roast I recently made! Truly. And we eat a lot of roast! This is delicious and easy for a week night (and the left overs make the most delicious sandwiches) but it’s also delicious and beautiful enough to serve to company!

4-5 lb. TOP SIRLOIN ROAST

Dry brine

4 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

2 garlic cloves

Roasting

2 large carrots, diced

1 medium yellow onion, halved and diced

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Few sprigs fresh parsley

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup beef stock or broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 28 hours before serving, mix the salt, pepper, rosemary and minced garlic and rub this all over the roast and place in a gallon Ziplock bag sealed for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Be sure to dry brine for the full 24 hours to give the roast time to give up liquid, then reabsorb the seasonings.

2. Four hours before serving, take the bag with the roast out of the refrigerator and let sit for two hours at room temperature.

3. Two hours before serving, preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

4. Place cut up carrot, onion, rosemary, and thyme, in the roasting pan and cover with a rack. Remove roast from bag and place on the rack. Rub olive oil all over the roast. Salt the top and pour one cup of broth into the pan. Place a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the roast and set the alarm to 125 degrees F.

5. Roast until it reaches 125 degrees F, about 90 minutes or so, then increase the oven heat to 450 degrees F. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F for medium rare. Remove the roast to a platter and loosely cover with foil. Leave the probe in until after the beef is done resting or juices will leak out of the hole. Remove the resting roast from the pan and to a cutting board, cut against the grain and serve.

6. We enjoyed our roast with cheesy scallop potatoes, roasted brussle sprouts, salad and rolls and the roast was still the star of the meal!

COOKIE RECIPE || browned butter salted caramel snickerdoodles

My cousin shared this recipe with me last year and they are definitely a family favorite!! It takes a little extra time to brown the butter, but that step is so worth it!! I hope you enjoy them!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cream of tarter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 TBSP plain Greek yogurt

12-14 caramels

seal salt (for sprinkling)

For the cinnamon sugar: 1/4 cup granulated sugar + 2 tsp ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

To brown the butter, heat a thick bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add the butter (sliced to help it cook down evenly) whisking frequently. Continue to cook until the butter is melted. The butter will start to foam and browned specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan. The butter should have a nutty aroma. Watch the butter carefully because it can go from brown to burnt quickly! Remove butter from heat and allow to come to room temperature.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine browned butter and sugars. Mix until blended. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and Greek yogurt until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350F. Measure about 3 TBSP of dough and roll into a ball, flatten slightly and place a caramel in the dough, wrap the cookie dough around the caramel.

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the balls in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet, be sure to leave room as they will spread, sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes, don’t over bake! Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. ENJOY!!!!!

HOMEMADE DONUTS || 3 tips to make them at home

Home made donuts are SO GOOD, and are not that time consuming to make at home! My girls have started making donuts and it’s such a fun treat! I thought I would share my top 3 tips for making donuts (easily) at home!

1- Make dough the night/day before you want to bake the donuts! I takes maybe 10 minutes to whip up the dough and then pop it in the refrigerator!

2 - After you have whipped up that delicious dough, pour/spoon it into a large Ziplock bag. Store it in the bag (in the refrigerator) and when you are ready to fill your donut pans, just cut the tip off of one corner of the bag and use it like a pastry bag! It makes filling the donut pan SO EASY and there is no clean up - just toss the bag!

3 - Always double or triple the recipe! Then store that extra dough (in the Ziplock bag of course) in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to defrost your frozen dough in the refrigerator prior to use, but then when the urge for fresh donuts hits, you are all set!

I hope you will whip up a batch of donuts this weekend! I have these donut pans, and I love all of Sally’s Baking Addiction donut recipes!!

Happy baking!

xoxo - Darci

BUSY MORNING BREAKFAST FAV || quick, easy, healthy and delicious!

My go-to quick, easy and delicious breakfast….for those busy mornings when you know you have to rush out the door, but you know you will feel better all morning if you eat something healthy! Trying to get your kiddos to eat something of value in the morning? Let them choose their toppings and they will LOVE their jar of soaked oats!!

OVER NIGHT SOAKED OATS: The base “recipe” for overnight oats is simple! Use a 1:1 ratio of rolled oats to milk, plus half as much yogurt. So for 1/2 cup of oats, I use 1/2 cup of milk + 1/4 cup of yogurt (or an additional 1/4 cup of milk). These proportions seem to give the oats the perfect consistency.

Add oats, milk, yogurt, maple syrup or honey, chia seeds, vanilla and sea salt into a jar, storage container with a lid or a bowl. I use 16 oz mason jars with a lid. If I know we will be on the road, or someplace other than home while eating these, I make them in throw away plastic cups with lids! We ate these every morning during county and state fair! It takes away part of the easy if you have to wash crusted jars that night when you get home :) *Stir ingredients together. Place in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to eat (the next morning,) remove lid and give oats a big stir. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy. You can eat the oats straight from the jar! The sky is the limit for toppings! Peanut butter, crunchy granola, fruit, mini chocolate chips, you name it!

I use raw milk and home made yogurt, but even raw milk and store bought yogurt is going to be great for your gut and give you a fantastic start to the day!!!

PEAR SEASON || easy (and delicious) pear pie recipe

We’ve got lots of pears about to ripen and what we don’t eat, give away or feed to the animals, we turn into pear-sauce (pears instead of apples) and fresh pear pie! If I am feeling extra ambitious I will dry them, too. The problem with dried pears in our house is that we eat them WAY TOO FAST and it’s a lot of work to have the dried pears eaten before fall :)))

Pies are my favorite summer time dessert! Bonus - if you double the pie crust recipe and stick the extra in the freezer, the next pie you make is sooooooo easy and fast! Here is my favorite fresh pear pie recipe (from Sally’s Baking Addiction)…..best garnished with vanilla ice cream…..and there is a surprise ingredient that takes it to another level! Spoiler alert - salted caramel sauce!

FRESH PEAR + SALTED CARAMEL PIE

Ingredients

• Homemade Pie Crust 

• 6 cups (1020g) 1/2-inch chunks of peeled pears (about 5 pears)

• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour 

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice*

• 1 cup salted caramel (full recipe)*

• egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk

• optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust

Instructions

1. The crust: Prepare Sally’s pie crust recipe through step 5.

2. Make the filling: Stir the pears, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Set filling in the refrigerator as the oven preheats.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F.

4. Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9 inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth.

5. Spoon the filling into the crust, leaving any excess liquid in the bowl (you don’t want that in the filling—discard it). Drizzle 1/2 cup of salted caramel evenly on top. Stick the pie in the refrigerator as you work on the top crust.

6. Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches diameter. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut ten 1-inch strips. (I cut four of the strips in half, as you can see above.) Remove the pie from the refrigerator and carefully thread the pie dough strips over and under one another to create the look in the pictures pie, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small knife to trim off excess dough. Flute the edges or crimp with a fork. (Alternatively, you can simply cover the filling with the 12-inch pie dough circle. Cut slits in the top to form steam vents. Trim and crimp the edges.

7. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash mixture and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.

8. Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F (177°C) and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes. After the first 20 minutes of bake time, I place a pie crust shield on top of the pie to prevent the edges from browning too quickly.

9. Allow the pie to cool for 3 full hours at room temperature before serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up. Before serving, drizzle leftover caramel on top of pie or on each slice. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

HOW TO TURN GROCERY STORE FLOWERS INTO CHARMING BOUQUETS || tips for using grocery store flowers

My favorite flower bouquets are usually from local flower farmers that truly have a gift for arranging their beautifully home grown flowers.  I also love making my own bouquets from flowers I grow in the garden and around the property. But, sometimes you just need flowers in a pinch, and you don't have the time to run out to a farm or order a bouquet.  That's when grocery store flowers come in for the WIN!

Last week was fair week and I needed 7 flower bouquets ASAP. No time to pick flowers, or call a local flower farmer friend! My only option was grocery store flowers, and they worked out great!

Here are my top tips for using grocery store flowers to make darling bouquets….

1 - Try to select flowers that are in season, or look like they were just picked locally. (For example, don't pick the dyed blue carnations :)

2 - Come up with your color scheme and try to stick to it!

3 - Select groups of flowers to build your own bouquet, instead of the already made bouquets. If you select an already made bouquet, plan to add to it.

4 - Use pretty ribbon and your own paper!

5 - Find a good spot at home where you can lay out all of the flowers and make a mess. And don’t be too hard on yourself…..have fun!

HOW TO MAKE AN EASY AND BEAUTIFUL SUMMER CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Are you uninspired for making summer time lunches? Want to enjoy a picnic but don’t know what to pack? How about having friends over and don’t know what to make? Summer charcuterie boards are always a win!

Here are my basic guidelines for creating a delicious, easy and pretty charcuterie board!

~ 3-5 cheeses (I like a variety of hard and soft, as well as a variety of flavors!)

~ 3 meats ( I love the variety packs, the picking is already done for you!)

~ 5 fruits and veggies (I like to pick a variety based on the season, my favorites for summer time are berries, cherries, cucumbers, grapes and baby bell peppers.)

~ 3 different types of crackers (This can be pretzels, pita bread, I think anything goes here!)

~ 3-5 “fun things” (Think fun chocolates from TJ or Costco, nuts, dried fruit.)

I like to have a variety of colors when I am shopping for charcuterie items, you don’t want red strawberries, red bell peppers, red Doritos, etc. I like to group things together too…. I don’t scatter grapes everywhere, but I place clumps of grapes together and then have 3 groups of clumped grapes. Make sense? Most importantly…..have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously!

I would love to hear your favorite items to include on a charcuterie board!

EASY AND DELICIOUS HOMEMADE ICE CREAM || your new fav summer treat

Do you love ice cream? It’s one of my FAVORITE treats! It doesn’t matter the season or time of year for me, but we definitely eat a lot more of it come summer time!

I have been making this recipe on REPEAT for months now and I am so excited to share it with you! It will be your new, favorite go-to dessert for when friends come over, or when you are just craving some fresh ice cream on these hot summer nights!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

Start by combining your 2 cups of cold whipping cream and 1 cup of cold milk in a medium size pot. In a separate bowl, whisk together 6 egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar. Once thoroughly mixed, add to your milk/cream mixture and turn the heat on low. I use raw milk and cream and I don’t want to destroy all of the raw goodness by heating this up too much!

With your pot on low, whisk together your ice cream base for about 5 minutes. Pour it into a bowl with a lid and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, the longer the better. Sometimes I put my precious ice cream base in the freezer to cool it down sooner, you don't want your ice cream base warm and taking a long time to get cold again!! Now at this point you can soak Oreos, cookies, brownies, peppermint, the sky is the limit!! Sometimes I soak goodies, and sometimes I just make it “plain” and add salted caramel sauce!

Now, after your ice cream base has been refrigerated for at least 4 hours, just pour it into your ice cream maker and wait for the magic to happen! My latest sugar obsession has been this salted caramel sauce! We top it on our ice cream, and sometimes I mix it in….it’s so good and so easy! Eat it plain or top with with treat, you can’t go wrong!

I hope you enjoy this delicious and easy recipe! I promise it’s so easy and your friends and family will LOVE it!!

xoxo-Darci

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE BARS || a favorite way to enjoy rhubarb

I just have one rhubarb plant, but it always seems to produce more than I can keep up with come late spring. My ultimate favorite is strawberry rhubarb pie, but sometimes, I just don’t want to make a pie crust! These bars are DELICIOUS and super easy!! This recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction, her recipes are my favorite!!

Ingredients

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)

• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup (60ml) milk

• 1/3 cup (28g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*

• Strawberry Rhubarb Filling

  • 2 and 1/2 cups (about 380g) chopped strawberries

  • 2 and 1/2 cups (250g) sliced rhubarb (1/2 inch pieces)

  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon orange zest

  • Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.

    2. Make the crumble mixture for the crust and topping: Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and using a pastry cutter, two forks, or a food processor, cut in the butter until all the flour is coated and resembles pea-sized crumbles. (See photo above for a visual.) This takes at least 5 minutes of cutting in with a pastry cutter.

    3. Whisk the egg, milk, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Pour over the flour/butter mixture and gently mix together until the mixture resembles moist crumbly sand. Use your hands if needed—the mixture comes together easier with your hands than with a spoon. See photo above for a visual.

    4. You will have about 6 cups of the crust/crumble mixture. Set 2 cups aside. Pour the remaining into the prepared pan and flatten down with your hands or a flat spatula to form an even crust. It will be a little crumbly—that’s ok. Set aside. (Oats will be used in the topping in the next step.)

    5. Strawberry Rhubarb Filling: Gently mix all of the filling ingredients together. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture all over the filling. Sprinkle the oats on over top. With the back of a large spoon or flat spatula, lightly press the topping down so it’s a bit snug on the strawberry rhubarb layer.

    6. Bake for about 42-50 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out *mostly* clean (with a few jammy strawberry/rhubarb specks!). Mine take about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. After about 1 hour, I stick the whole pan in the refrigerator to help speed things up.

    7. Lift the cooled bars out using the parchment paper overhang on the sides. Cut into squares. Cover and store leftover strawberry rhubarb bars at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

GUEST HOUSE || fresh paint goes a long way

A fresh coat of paint is my favorite! It instantly cleans up a space, and for the money and time involved, it packs a really big punch! We are gearing up for the busy season at the Guest House and it’s been 5 years since we painted all of the walls. The dining room room got a fresh coat of the same color, but it just feels clean and ready to welcome visitors from near and far!

So, if you are feeling a room could use a little pick-me-up, grab some paint, and your painting tools, and instantly feel like you accomplished something big! :)

Happy painting!

CULTURED BUTTER || my favorite recipe

Have you made homemade butter before? It’s so easy, and such a special treat with bread! I use our raw cream, but you can use whipping cream from the grocery store too. I’ve wanted to try cultured butter for a while….and now that I’ve tried it….it’s my absolute favorite! It’s easy, just plan for the cream to culture 12-24 hours before you want to eat your butter :)

I start by making Creme Fraiche with the fresh cream. To do that you will pour cream into a saucepan and heat on low until slightly warmer than lukewarm, 95-100 degrees. Stir in 1 TBSP of culture per 1 cup of cream. I use plain yogurt, you can use sour cream too. Stir in the culturing agent and then pour cream + mixed culturing agent into a glass jar. Leave it in a warm area of your kitchen for 12-24 hours. Now you have creme fraiche! Stick in in the refrigerator, you will want it cold for making butter!

Poor your chilled Creme Fraiche into your stand mixing bowl and turn to medium low, whipping as if making whipped cream. Stop every now and then to scrape down the bowl. As the cream thickens increase the speed. When it’s just past the stage of whipped cream, it will start to turn yellow and separate into clumps. Decrease the speed (you don’t want buttermilk everywhere :) and watch the butter quickly solidify.

There are a few different ways to rinse the buttermilk from the butter. I like to pour mine into a fine mesh sieve and pour cold water over it as I spread the butter around. The goal is to get out all of the liquid. I also like to gather it into a ball in my hands, and work the liquid out while the faucet is running. This step is a must as your unwashed butter will spoil quickly!!

Pat dry and add salt or flavorings. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It also freezes beautifully!

Enjoy!!

EASY FRENCH YOGURT CAKE || and easy, sweet recipe

The girls have recently started baking on their own….and I am loving it! Savanna first made this recipe last year while studying France, and it has become a family favorite! It’s delicious, easy and we usually have all of the ingredients on hand! If you are craving a simple and delicious treat, or you have a little chef that wants to be more independent in the kitchen, this is the perfect easy, sweet recipe!

F R E N C H Y O G U R T C A K E

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Greek or plain yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup avocado or olive oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

GLAZE: 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a bread pan with nonstick oil.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar and eggs until well blended. Next, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Finally, stir in the oil until smooth.

Pour batter in pan and bake 40-50 minutes. To determine if it’s done, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it is clean when you pull it out, your cake is done.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan. Blend glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle with glaze over the warm cake. Slice and enjoy!

BABY COWS + BAKING || January

Well, we just had baby #2 of 2024. Early Tuesday morning, with temps barely reaching 15 degrees, little Rhodi was born!

Rhodi (short for Rhododendron) is our second little heifer (girl) in 2 weeks! We have two more mamas due next month….I love watching the new calves!!

Last week my dairy cow calved and now we are back to getting our delicious, fresh, raw milk! My life feels complete….a little dramatic I guess, but I was sure missing my fresh cream in my coffee! Raw milk + cream makes THE BEST ice cream….I’ve been missing ice cream too! We’ve been slowly pecking away at the milking barn over the past year and now I can milk in there!!! We still have kinks to work out in the barn, but each day we make progress!

The girls have been baking and I love having recipes that they can make on their own. Sav has been making granola non-stop and I am not mad about it at all! This is our super easy granola recipe….that even a 10 year old can make!

1. 2 cups whole rolled oats

2. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, (or almonds, or a mix of both)

3. 1/2 cup coconut flakes

4. 2 teaspoons cinnamon

5. 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

6. 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

7. 1/4 cup maple syrup

8. 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

9. 1/3 cup dried cherries, optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• In a medium bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, coconut flakes, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle in the coconut oil and maple syrup and add the almond butter. Stir until combined. Scoop the granola onto the baking sheet and press the mixture into a 1-inch-thick oval. This will encourage clumping.

• Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the pan halfway, and use a fork to gently break the granola apart just a bit. Bake for 15 minutes more, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with dried cranberries or cherries, if desired. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

WINTER JOYS || little bits of sweetness

Hello and happy 2024! As another year flies by, I am reminded of how fleeting time is. I am working on intentionally enjoying the sweet little bits of the every day.

I LOVE good food, and I get excited for just about every meal :). I found this gingerbread cake recipe in late November and I have been baking it at least twice a month!! Sally’s Baking Addiction is my go-to for so many recipes!

We’ve also welcomed a handful of new cows to the farm, just within the past couple of months. The newest addition is little Maggie! She was born on Tuesday, and we are having so much fun with her! Her mama is my Jersey milk cow, and her dad is a mini Hereford bull that is the dad to our last 6 calves. With little Maggie now born, soon we will have raw milk to share. I will keep you posted!

I’ve had the privilege of teaching a SEASONAL DESIGN class at our homeschool co-op. My last class is this month, but it has been so fun to spend time with the kiddos! We’ve made Christmas wreaths, flower arrangements, guest bedroom designs and we have learned a lot about color, materials and textures. Such a fun season!!

Happy New Year! I hope you find joy in the little bits through your day!!

WREATH MAKING WORKSHOPS

An annual tradition…..

These wreath making workshops have become a highlight of the holiday season for me! From foraging for fresh evergreens, to planning the food and drink menu, to seeing every smiling face, it’s truly such a sweet time! This year we were in the greenhouse, and thankfully it didn’t rain for any of the classes!! The greenhouse is so sweet and charming….but it gets loud when the rain is coming down ;)

Thank you to everyone who attended this year! I am so appreciative of each and every one of you!!

Guest House || before + after

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 4 1/2 years since we purchased the farm. When we moved here, we knew we wanted to turn the existing 3,300 sf guest house into a short term vacation rental. I have loved managing our various vacation rentals in Carlton, and it seemed like a vacation rental at Westerlook would be the perfect ‘country get-away!”

The original pine paneling in the living room was cozy, but also dark……

Funny enough, Matt remodeled the guest house kitchen almost 10 year prior to us purchasing the farm! He built the cabinets, and at the time was super proud of the paint color scheme on the cabinets :))

The living room received a lot of paint, new flooring and some new light fixtures! It’s a cozy place in the winter when guests want to build a fire in the wood stove, and equally cozy on the hot summer days when guests want to sit inside while the AC runs!

As for the kitchen, we knew the cabinets were solid and well built :). The cabinets got a paint job, and then we replaced everything else in that space. I love that guests have plenty of space and kitchen items to prepare all of their meals, or just make their morning coffee and eat out for the rest of the day!

The guest house has been such a neat way to meet so many fantastic people, and share a little slice of this magical farm!

MOTHER'S DAY FLOWER ARRANGING

I always look forward to our annual Mother’s Day flower arranging workshops! We always seem to have the sweetest ladies, and from all walks and stages of life!

The weather man was saying it was going to be un-seasonally warm for Mother’s Day weekend, so I figured the sweet ladies would not want to roast in the greenhouse:) I decided to set things up under the covered portico and it turns out that is my new favorite place to host workshops! We were close to the kitchen, we had a lovely breeze and we were surrounded by flowers….it was just perfect!

Of course I didn’t get any pictures of everything set up, but I did manage to grab a few photos during the classes. We had arm fulls of tulips, hydrangeas, roses, dogwood, snowballs and more. I kept the colors limited to greens, whites and pinks and it was so fun to see how each arrangement looked so different, but so beautiful!

It is always such a treat to see old friends, and make new ones! Thank you to everyone who came!