Yummy Raspberries!

I was invited to a friend's home to pick raspberries, and I knew exactly how I would use them. I have been using this scone recipe for many years, and it was shared with me when I was a member of a Cooking Forum on the internet. You will not find a better scone recipe, and sometimes I drizzle white chocolate on them. I bet some chocolate would be lovely too. 

Ann T's Scones

==============

(Raspberry, Blueberry, etc..)

2-1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup fresh raspberries

Extra cream and sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into mixture 

with pastry blender until it resembles a course meal. Add cream and 

raspberries to dry ingredients. Mix lightly with fork until mixture 

forms a stiff dough. Knead on floured board just to incorporate all 

flour; try not to damage berries.

Roll into 7-inch round and cut into 6 or 8 wedges. Place 1 inch apart 

on greased baking sheet; brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

IMPORTANT -- FREEZE BERRIES BEFORE USING

Note: When adding fruit to the scone mixture, make sure the raspberries 

or blueberries are frozen. Otherwise you end up with crushed fruit. Still 

tastes as good, but not as pretty. I usually add the cream and when the 

dough has almost come together I then I add the frozen fruit.

Almost Time for MacKenzie-Childs Barn Sale 2017

Let me preface this by saying I am not at Wegman's filling up my grocery cart. In April, we went to MacKenzie-Childs first ever warehouse sale and stocked up with gifts and a few items for our home. 

The MacKenzie-Childs barn sale in Upstate New York is fast approaching and is an event that I LOVE to attend.  I told Joe I only have a few items on my wish list. Once we get to the sale, he will do what he does every barn sale. He takes off on me and starts loading up HIS cart. It's comical to see him that excited, and then he comes looking for me to show me the loot. He takes me to a corner, reviews each item with me (ugh) and I tell him to return about 95% of the items back to their shelves. All this while I am sweating from the heat in the tent. LOL

The 65 acre farm in Aurora is lovely and people camp the week of the sale. They can visit the studio, retail store and farmhouse that offers daily tours. It's an annual 4-day super shopping event for the luxury home & decor brand. Items at the sale are at least 50% off and up to 80% off. Some items get marked down even more on Sunday. 

There is a large barn on the property, and during the sale it's filled with MKC enamelware.  There are also tents with ceramics, furniture,  glassware, rugs, holiday and more. 
 The sale attracts over 15,000 people, some driving hours across the country and others even camping out overnight. 

The whimsical luxury home décor brand that makes our home and guests smile. 


 If you are interested in previous Barn Sale posts on my blog, I have included some links here 2010, 2011 two posts from 2012 and here 2012 and 2013. 

 

 I love this fun ceramic flower pot from one of the barn sales. In the Wallcourt pattern. Did you know that the Mackenzie-Childs story began in a humble studio run out of the basement of a Wells College dorm named Wallcourt? The days of Richard and Victoria.  

The barn sale is July 20-23, 2017 in Aurora, New York. 

xoxo
Debbie

Grilled Pizza

If you have a grill and don't want to heat up your kitchen, give grilled pizza a try. We've been doing pizza this way for at least ten years, and have made hundreds for get togethers. When we went to the New York Botanical Gardens, they were demonstrating how to grill pizza. I've included links to the two pizzas they made. I've made both at home and they were both wonderful. 

I hope you try it!

BBQ Chicken and Red Onion Pizza

Grilled BLT Pizza

I'm In Strawberry Heaven and a Quick Visit to 1802 Beekman Mercantile

The "test" kitchen at 1802 Beekman Mercantile has a wall covered with painted kitchen pans, trays and gadgets, mostly donated by the residents of Sharon Springs. Joe snapped this picture of me as my eyes were glued to the wall. 

My blog has turned into a diary of my week. What I've been up to, so don't mind me as I like to share a glimpse of my life with my friends. When I look back at my blog posts over the last five years, I realize that I dedicated a lot of time to my blog when I wasn't working the long hours that I am now. Some of my previous posts have over 10,000 views. That's crazy.

Over Father's Day weekend, we picked strawberries in the morning (for Joe's annual cheesecake) and visited the 1802 Beekman Mercantile in Sharon Springs before heading to dinner to honor Joe. A very pleasant drive through the countryside on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The day we visited, in honor of our Flower Market collaboration with MacKenzie-Childs, every Neighbor walked out the door from the Mercantile with a Peony blossom from the Beekman 1802 Boys farm. The pale pink peonies were lovely.

For my "local" friends, you must have dinner at The Table at Fort Plain for dinner. We feel very lucky to be living here in the Mohawk Valley. Perhaps it’s all the great food growing all around us or the dedicated folks working hard to raise amazing meat and dairy. All we know is that nothing beats the first maple syrup of spring, grilling corn in August within sight of the field where it was grown, or the smell of apples on a crisp Fall morning.   

 If you are lucky enough to visit the Mercantile when Denise and Serafina are working, you will quickly feel like you have been friendly “neighbors” forever! No stop is complete without a visit to McGillycuddy's Natural Soaps, where the Beekman Boys learned the craft of making goat's milk soap. They have goat milk soap SECONDS that are a great deal that I never pass up. They told me that college students love the deals too.

Love this thought from Susan Branch's blog.....

"I’ve felt the honor of living in this old house every day since we bought it in 1989. I give it things. I give it old lamps and old dishes I find in second-hand stores. And when I come home, it’s arms wrap around me."

She gives her house things :-) I gave our home that sweet garden stake from MKC. The peonies are peeking out from the heart :-)

One of my favorite recipes in the summer can be found here Strawberry Streusel Bars. You can use any fruit that your heart desires. Thank you for stopping by!

Debbie

Farm Share #1

Every other Monday from June through October, I pick up my CSA at a local organic farm. 

Most of the time, I will try the recipe that we are given.

This week the recipe was  Swiss Chard in Light Peanut Butter Sauce served over pasta.

I would say it was a hit although very different. My female co-workers were curious when I microwaved it for lunch and they commented how good it made the office smell :-) I work with eight females and five males.  I don't think Joe would enjoy this recipe. 

The recipe came from a blog that I don't think is around any longer chocolatenspice.blogspot.com.  

The recipe consisted of ginger, garlic, swiss chard, peanut butter, cumin, cayenne pepper, balsamic vinegar and a splash of reduced sodium soy sauce.

Thanks for stopping by! By October you will tire of seeing my veggie posts.

xoxo

Debbie