Kim Schmidt Photography LLC Princeton, NJ Photographer

Anthony and I are trying our hand at canning. A few weeks ago we got a bunch of tomatoes, peppers (okay we’ve been getting a variety of peppers for 5 or so weeks!), and the like from our farm share at Griggstown Quail Farm. I figured let’s put these fresh ingredients to good use by canning! After our second time at it, it’s kinda fun being in the kitchen with my husband. He blanches, peels, and chops the tomatoes while I do the other prep work (i.e. sterilizing jars, boiling water, etc.). I think I’m going to pickle some of the peppers (we have a two gallon size bags full of peppers in the freezer!) and try my hand at pickled jalapenos (they are Anthony’s favorites!)

This was our kitchen after the first time we canned. It sure is messy!

Second time around, I got the special utensils and all!

The spaghetti sauce I used was a version of this one. From trial and error, we discovered we don’t like celery or bell peppers or as much sugar and salt. Also, I used an immersion blender on the second batch so that it wasn’t chunky. Tastes delicious!

Feel free to click on the recipe cards – you can download them that way!

This salsa recipe came from Tasty Kitchen as well. It can be found here. We did more modifying of this recipe, removing the pickling spice (okay we actually put this in this batch and it made it too sweet – almost like cider! so the next time we won’t be adding it), removing the brown sugar and not adding as much regular sugar. We ended up using one of the jars for dinner, hence why it isn’t full!

Feel free to click on the recipe cards – you can download them that way!

To locate a CSA in your area, check out Local Harvest.

This recipe is a favorite in our household. It’s my brother’s all-time fav (he gets it made every year for his birthday and on other special occasions). This past week we had dinner over at our neighbors and we were asked to bring dessert. I do dessert pretty much any time we have a gathering of sorts (book club, dinners, cookouts, etc.), and I was trying to figure out what I haven’t made yet in our two years in New Jersey. This was the winner! I ended up half-ing the recipe because I didn’t want to have an entire pan in our frig!

Feel free to download the recipe!

I have just a “few” obsessions currently. One is my new Le Creuset dutch oven in red! This was my anniversary present (traditionally Anthony and I don’t exchange gifts, but I felt it was now or never to get one of these beasts!)

I was at Home Goods one day (that place is dangerous!!) and found these awesome glass containers for leftovers. I have stopped microwaving items in plastic and this is a great alternative for times when I take my lunch to work that needs reheating. And I love the semi-curve on the bottom. Just the little things in life!

Now these are revolutionary in my opinion! I also picked these up at Home Goods, but I was in Bed, Bath, & Beyond yesterday and saw they carry them too. We have to make our own ice (since I’ve lived on my own, I’ve had one place that had an ice maker – such a luxury!) and I swear no matter how sturdy the ice trays are I break them immediately. In come these genius plastic ice trays. They are flimsy and square – the ice comes out with no problem. No more breaking trays AND the cubes are actually cube! Gotta say I love seeing them nicely lined in the bin!

Here is YOUR chance to win!

(I wish I had the money to give someone the Le Creust, but it took 5 years before I could even afford one!)

The winner will receive a $15 gift card to Home Goods to purchase whatever suits their fancy!

How to enter:
1. Like Kim Schmidt Photography on Facebook
2. Come back and leave a comment/some love here (comments left on facebook will not count)
3. Get an extra entry for tweeting or facebook-ing about this giveaway. (you can have up to 3 chances to win)
4. You have until Thursday July 15th at noon. At that time, I will use random.org to draw a winner!

Kelly G is the winner! Congrats and thanks to all who entered!

When Anthony’s family came up to New Jersey to visit in July, he and his grandmother got to talking about how amazing their spaghetti was and they want to cook it sometime. The two of them finally got their wish and cooked some amazing spaghetti. Here are a few snapshots of them.

When my mom was in town last weekend, we got some gorgeous flowers at Trader Joe’s. They are Christmas colors and I felt it was appropriate to put them in front of our Christmas tree. I must say that I’m totally in love with the two lenses I purchased while in NYC last Friday. They produce that gorgeous bokeh that you see behind the flowers. Yum-o!

I was adventurous last week and made homemade red velvet cupcakes. The frosting I ended up using was a complete wash, so I gave them another try this week. I did a slight variation on her cream cheese frosting – and I’m proud to say this was my first successful attempt at homemade frosting/icing.

Red Velvet Cupcakes – from Apple A Day – originally from Cake Man Raven – I got 24 cupcakes
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
2 TBSP (1 oz.) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide batter evenly between 3 greased and floured 8″ round cake pans (or a lined cupcake pan).

Bake cakes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25–30 minutes. Let cakes cool 5 minutes, then invert each onto a plate, then invert again onto a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely.

Sugar Cream cheese frosting – adapted from Joy the Baker
3/4 cups butter, softened
4oz cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2-4 cups powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons milk
depending on desired consistency

Cream the cream cheese in an electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and add the butter, beating for 1-2 minutes, or until incorporated. Be sure that the two are at room temperature. Cold cream cheese or butter can make your frosting lumpy.

Add the sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla extract, and beat until incorporated.

Turn off mixer and add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on a low speed so the sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Slowly add more sugar alternately with the milk until you reach your desired consistency.

While making the weekly dinner menu, I came across this recipe in Giada De Laurentiis’ Everday Pasta. Oh my it was delicious!  I highly recommend you try it out.  Its very hearty and perfect on the cold, yucky evening we had last night.

Start out with the olive oil, shallots, carrots and pancetta. Make sure you get the pancetta crispy.

All the ingredients are in (minus the swiss chard) and it is almost done (took 20 minutes at the most from start to finish).

Look at that hearty bowl of soup! It made for great leftovers for lunch today also.

Italian White Bean, Pancetta, and Tortellini Soup
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups of Swiss chard, chopped (1 bunch)
6 cups chicken broth
1 (9 ounce) package cheese tortellini, fresh or frozen
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, shallots, and carrot and cook until the vegetables are soft and the pancetta is crisp, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, beans, chicken broth and bring up to a boil over high heat. Throw in the Swiss chard and let it wilt, about 3 minutes.

Add the tortellini and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the tortellini are tender, about 8 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

I eliminated the swiss chard and added parsley at the end. I made my own white beans the morning of in the crock pot and added the bag spinach & cheese tortellini that is found in the pasta aisle of most grocery stores.  I hope you try this recipe out on a cold day.