skull sugar cubes.

i lthink these sugar cubes are pretty awesome. they’re fun and easy–and they add a little bit of spunk to your tea and/or coffee.
here are the steps i took to make mine :

i love skulls so i chose a skull shaped silicone ice cube tray – if you look on amazon they have all kinds of shapes and forms.
making the sugar cubes are pretty easy. the two things you need (besides the ice cube tray) are sugar and water.
use one cup of sugar and one tbsp of water and mix together!
scoop the sugar into the tray using as much or little sugar as desired. i usually fill mine up 1/3 of they way.
let them sit a minute and then put them onto a plate (like the top image) to really dry- about an hour or so.
be careful not to touch them because they will fall apart. the easiest way i’ve found to do this is get a big plate and then flip the tray over on top of the plate.

and viola! next time you have friends over for coffee you’re sure to have the best sugar cubes in town!

xx- adair

savory soups from pinterest!

here are my top favourite picks from soups that i’ve tried on pinterest lately! of course with a few tweaks of my own!

number 1- thai chicken soup!

my friends- grab a pen and paper and write this recipe down! when i first pinned it on pinterest the comment on it was “so good you will eat it for every meal until its gone” uh, true story. IT’S SO GOOD. i substituted red curry for green curry (because our grocery store didn’t carry it!) and it was fantastic. -and not to mention easy to make! the second time i made it- i added extra chicken and extra red peppers and it made it perfection!

number two –chicken pesto minestrone

this soup is so easy to make and is a good soup to carry over with you into the summer. it has an easy to make pesto that makes the soup extra creamy. you top it off with rotisserie chicken, asparagus, and roma tomatoes. nothing could be better.

number three –white chicken chili

this was so good that my cheese and sour cream hating husband loved it. i think that is enough said! haha. i added extra beans to make it less soupy and more like chili. and extra bacon- of course extra bacon.

so grab your bowls and spoons and get cooking!

xo- M+A

ps- all of these can be made in a vegetarian version and would be awesome. sometimes the meat helps make the soup, but in these soups they’d be great either way!

Recipe: Daddy J’s Famous Fudge

We asked Jeremy (Mary’s husband) to do a guest post about his Christmas fudge- a Christmas tradition. Jeremy is known within our friend group for his yummy fudge. We hope that you enjoy it!

xo- Adair and Mary 

———————————————————

Every family has that one thing they look forward to every Christmas…. decorating the tree together, watching Rudolph, caroling, [insert your family’s favorite here]. For me, it was my Daddy J’s famous fudge (contrary to popular belief, I am not referring to myself as “Daddy J”, that’s what we called my grandad).

Every Christmas, Daddy J would make countless batches of fudge, giving tin-fulls to family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. It was his thing. After he passed away in 2009, I wanted to make sure the tradition continued. So for the past two Christmases, I’ve taken on the duty of making (and giving away) as much fudge as possible.

Me & Daddy J (circa 1993)

Memaw - Making Fudge last Christmas

This Christmas, I wanted to share my Daddy’s Famous Fudge recipe for you to enjoy (and maybe pass along to your family for generations to come):

Daddy J’s Famous Fudge: 

Ingredients: 3 Cups Sugar .. 2/3 Cup Evaporated Milk .. 1 1/2 Sticks Parkay Margarine .. 12 oz Package of Milk Chocolate Chips** .. 7 oz Marshmallow Creme .. 1 Cup Pecan Pieces (optional).. 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Recipe: 

Combine margarine & milk in 1 gallon heavy pot. Place over low heat until margarine melts.

Add sugar & stir until mixed.

Increase Heat. Add marshmallow creme & mix well. 

Increase heat until boiling & stir constantly (or as Daddy J would always say “stir. stir. stir”). Boil for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips** & “stir. stir. stir” until mixed.

Add Vanilla & stir again.

Add pecan pieces (optional) & stir.

Pour into 9×13 greased insulated pan. Spread evenly. Let cool. Mark lightly for later cutting. When cool finish cutting into pices.

 

**You can also use Peanut Butter Chips or White Chocolate Chips to make your own type of fudge.

One final lesson I learned from Daddy J…. You can give as much fudge away as you want, but make sure to keep at least one tin for yourself.

recipe: biscotti.

One of my favorite things in all the world is biscotti. It is a yummy, crunchy cookie.

I have a week spot for almonds and citrus. That is why this recipe is my absolute favorite. Your house will be engulfed in the smell of almond, lemon, and cookies. It goes perfectly with coffee or tea. Or, it’s so dang good you can eat it all by itself.

 So go ahead and bake a batch up. Put your tea kettle on, go grab those comfy sweat pants that you throw to the back of your closet, and put on a classic movie (any Harry Potter will do).  You won’t regret it.

 (photo taken via instagram)

Recipe: Scones.

For breakfast or even a snack, there is nothing better than a scone and a hot cup of coffee or tea. A few weeks ago, I tried my hand at making these sweet treats. I have to say, Jeremy and I were pretty pleased with the results.

My favorite thing about scones is that they aren’t overly sweet. Have no fear- if you do have a sweet tooth, you can always add an icing glaze or some chocolate. Yum! You can pretty much add any flavors and create your perfect scone. My scones are almond, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Sadly, I could not find the exact recipe that I used for these scones, but if you go here (this recipe is the closest to the one I made- but don’t forget to toast your almonds, it adds so much more flavor!) and here (Cranberry Orange Scones by Ina Garten- my culinary hero) you will find some yummy recipes that are exactly alike.

Instead of the glaze, I added some of the homemade jam that my mom makes every May after out trip (or several trips) to the Strawberry Patch! And then add the perfect cup of hot tea and you are set!

Enjoy,

Mary