Summer produce

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when my garden starts producing yummy fruits & veggies. I've been chopping rhubarb & getting ready to make my annual batch of rhubarb jam. This year's batch will be HUGE! I'm pretty sure I'll need some more jars... I'll post the recipe & photos once the deed is done. :)

I'm starting to get apples from our apple trees so I'll have to figure out something to do with those. Maybe I'll try my hand at apple juice as a couple of people have suggested. I've also harvested a large quantity of raspberries from my next door neighbour's raspberry batch (with permission of course). I've made a chocolate raspberry torte & a raspberry crisp already with plenty of additional raspberries tucked away in the freezer for future use.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte. Not picture perfect, but it sure tasted yummy!

Last night & tonight I've been able to include veggies from our garden in our supper menu. The lettuce, cherry tomatoes, & peppers are all doing well. I'm quite enjoying my little "salad garden" as I like to call it. Of course, I'd enjoy it more if it was weed free, but that's another story.

Maybe I'll have to try making Fried Green Tomatoes... have you ever made them? I found a good recipe (well, it looked good anyway) last year, but never got up the courage to try making them. 

What's growing in your garden this year? Any tips or ideas to share?

Fruit Pizza

Summer desserts are among my favourite recipes... actually, any dessert recipe is likely among my favourites. :) Most summer desserts involve either fruit or something frozen. This one involves fruit - and lots of it! I hope you'll give it a try. It will likely become one of your favourites too. And be ready to hand out the recipe because you're sure to be asked!

Fruit Pizza
Crust:
1 1/4 cups   All-purpose flour
1/3 cup       Brown sugar
3 tbsp.        Icing sugar
2/3 cup       Butter, softened


Topping:
12 oz.         Cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup      Granulated (white) sugar
1 tsp.          Vanilla


Variety of fruit - you can use pretty much whatever you want. Think berries, kiwi, peaches (canned ones work very well), bananas, etc. 
Tip: For best results, don't use frozen or previously frozen fruit. Fresh or canned work the best. 


Glaze:
1/2 cup       Apricot jam 
2 tbsp.        Water


Crust: Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix all crust ingredients together in a bowl until it forms a ball. Press on bottom of a pizza pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Topping: Beat cheese, sugar, & vanilla together until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange fruit in pattern of your choice over top.

Glaze: Mix the 2 glaze ingredients. Rub through a sieve. Carefully pour/brush over the arranged fruit.

Congratulations cards

To my friends, it's no secret that I love to papercaft. I enjoy both card making & scrapbooking. To those of you who are not into papercafting, bear with me. Not all my posts with be on this subject. :)

As I said above, I like to scrapbook. But when you are finished a scrapbook layout, you inevitably end up with a pile of... you guessed it - SCRAPS! This is where card making fits in perfectly. I enjoy gathering a pile of scraps & challenging myself to make some cards with my leftovers. The result varies. Let's face it, not every work is a work of genius. There are those that after I'm done, end up in the garbage... they're just that bad. But more often than not, the result is something I'm proud of.

Here are two such cards.

These were super easy. They are just two strips of papers layered on each other (the narrower strip over one wider strip - just breakin' it down for those of you who may not know the papercrafting lingo. Trust me, it's extensive.) with a pretty stamped image in the bottom corner. Easy & pretty, right? And, let's face it. We don't always have a whole afternoon to dedicate to making one super-detailed-use-every-trick-in-the-book card. Most times, we have little bits of time to create. And it's very rewarding to get something finished in said time frame. :)

Products used:
Cardstock, Stamp, & Ink - Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye

Cupboard Makover

This spring I took this little cupboard from my childhood that my dad had made for me. It was well "loved," shall we say, after years of being used by me & then for years in my mom's day care. My daughter, Audrey, is now at the age where she's full fledged into playing pretend. What could be cuter than a little cupboard to play kitchen or restaurant with? Especially if you've seen the prices of those plastic sets you can purchase at toy stores, etc. 

Before

After

It's amazing what a couple coats of paint & some new hardware will do!

Paint: Beur Interior Satin Enamel in Ultra Pure White from Home Depot

Hinges: Canadian Tire

Knobs: Ikea

First post: It's official - I'm blogging!

I'm so happy you've joined me on my documented journey of all things homemaking. I try to keep blessing my family, friends, & church as my goal in my homemaking duties. I'll be posting household tips, crafts, DIY projects, recipes, gardening ideas, decorating ideas, etc. here. Thanks for coming along for the ride!