Wednesday, June 11, 2008, by Leigh Anne
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You know that I love lemon and have shared lots of Lovely Lemon recipes with you. Well, it only stands to reason that if I love lemon that I would also love lime! And I do!
Today’s recipe is a yummy, easy dessert for lime fans! It is moist and tart. We had it, along with that yummy Almond Cake, for Cali’s graduation party last week. Our neighbor Rod was invited and anytime Rod is invited to a party at our house you will find Key Lime Cake - he loves it and we love him! (Actually my mom made it for me because I was running out of time!)
I have also served this for dessert at a church dinner. We just added a raspberry sauce - it was yummy and it looked pretty too!
Key Lime Cake
10″ bundt pan, greased and floured
1 package lemon cake mix
1 4 oz. pkg. lemon instant pudding
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup key lime juice (I used Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice)
Combine the cake mix and pudding mix, add the eggs, vegetable oil, water and key lime juice and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until pick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 25 minutes. Then invert onto a wire rack. Return the cake to the pan and pierce with a wooden pick.
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup key lime juice
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. melted butter
Powdered sugar to dust cake
Combine powdered sugar, key lime juice, water and melted butter and beat until smooth. Drizzle over the warm pierced cake and let stand until completely cool. Invert onto a serving plate and dust with additional powdered sugar. garnish with raspberries or strawberries.
Note: The cake in the picture actually has a powdered sugar icing drizzle that my mom added instead of powdered sugar
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
Monday, June 9, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I am not really sure if addiction is the right word but I admit I really love aprons.
I have always been an apron wearer - even before it was the “in” thing to do! (If you didn’t know, aprons are really “in” right now!)
Thanks to my 4-H sewing teacher in the 3rd grade the first thing I ever learned to sew was an apron.
I wear an apron a lot - anytime I am in the kitchen (I am a very messy cook), when I am cleaning the house (I am a very messy cleaner) and when I am in the garden (yes, I am a messy gardener too).
And much to my two teenage daughter’s horror I have even been known to go out in public with my apron on!
I have quite a collection of aprons. A friend jokingly (or maybe she wasn’t joking) said that I had an apron to match every outfit! I have aprons I have bought, ones that have been made by friends and lately I have gotten into making my own aprons.
I even joined an apron swap I found on a blog I visit. Here is the apron I made for Tracy in Alabama - hope she likes it.
While I was at it I had to make another new one for myself too!
And in case you are wondering - those are not my slim little hips. My hips have birthed four babies! That is my slim hipped 14 year old dancer daughter. Thanks for being my model Tessa.
Since we are on the topic of aprons I thought I’d share with you the story of one of my favorite aprons.
Fourteen years ago I was on a “girl’s weekend away” with my Beach Babe group. On the way to the beach I was reading aloud excerpts from the book Living a Beautiful Life.
When I read the following section all 5 of us burst out laughing…
“When I return from the office I put on an attractive apron and unwind by freshening up the house. Somehow this simple act - putting on an apron - sets the stage for my tidying up ritual and I go about the apartment attending to little things.”
We got a huge kick out of it and have joked about it over the years. The idea of each of us getting home from work and putting on an attractive apron to “tidy up” was just too funny.
Well, the next time we got together, April, one of the group had a gift for each of us - yep, you guessed it - an “attractive apron”.
Here they are! (Yes, the top part of the apron is detachable and also doubles as hot pot holders!)
I don’t think this is what Alexandra Stoddard, author of Living a Beautiful Life, had in mind but we sure have gotten a lot of enjoyment and laughs out of them! They have managed to show up at various events, parties, BBQ’s, holiday gatherings, even the wedding reception of one of the Beach Babe’s daughters!
So next time you have some “freshening” up to do - don’t forget the attractive apron!
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Categories: Friends, Humor, Nest
Friday, June 6, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Before I share this week’s Friday Favorite I wanted to show you a few fun ideas I used at the graduation party for Cali and Hannah we hosted last Saturday.
My friend Sherra shared these ideas with me after she attended a graduation party of a neighbor. They are so cute and they got rave reviews at our party.
Aren’t these the cutest little graduation caps? They are made from chocolate covered graham crackers and mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. For directions visit Sherra’s blog. I used red and blue M & M’s since those are our school colors. I also used red and blue Fruit by the Foot for the tassels.
Here is the other fun idea we used. I cut the school’s initials out of Styrofoam, frosted them and then covered them with coconut. We then used the letters to hold the fruit kabobs we made. Caution: The frosted Styrofoam may be mistaken for actual cake and people may attempt to eat it!
Everyone loved it and several of the parents asked to borrow the letters for their grad parties so they are making the rounds!
The Friday Favorite recipe is one of the cakes I served at the Grad Party. This recipe was given to me by one of my direct sales team members - Cathy. Every time I have made this cake it has gotten great reviews -and I’ve made it lots! So thank you Cathy!! At the party on Saturday I must have had 10 people comment on how delicious it was.
It is so simple and easy to make and it is a great alternative to the traditional chocolate Texas Sheet Cake and of course I love the almond flavor! It is made in a large jelly roll pan so it makes a lot. There are actually no nuts in the cake - the nuts in the picture were just for decoration.
Texas Almond Sheet Cake
1 cup butter
1 cup water
Place above ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Let cool a bit. In another bowl combine:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
In another bowl add together:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract - not imitation
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Spray jelly roll pan with cooking spray, bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes just until lightly brown. Let cool 30 minutes.
Frosting;
Combine and bring to boil:
1 cup butter
1/4 cup milk (heaviest)
Then add 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp. almond extract. Frost cake and eat!
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
Thursday, June 5, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Fourteen years ago when we moved into our current house the first person we met in our new neighborhood was three year old Hannah. We met her as she was riding her bike with training wheels out in our cul de sac. With a pacifier in her mouth she introduced her self as “Hannah Banana.”
My three year old daughter Cali and Hannah became fast friends and soon were inseperable. They did everything together!
They played for hours together…
They celebrated holidays together…Halloween, Easter, Christmas ……
They started the first day of Kindergarten and every other first day of school for the next 12 years together…..
They lost teeth together….
They made music together….
and they competed together….
They vacationed together…
and then the scary day when they even learned to drive together…..
This past weekend they graduated from high school together….
…and we celebrated their success and achievement with a joint graduation party. The highlight of the party was a special DVD my sweet friend Lorri put together for us. It was a compilation of the many, many photographs we have of Cali and Hannah together over the years. Accompanied by music we watched these two beautiful girls grow up before our eyes. As neighbors, friends and family watched there were many tears!
Tears of happiness, tears of gratitude for the opportunity we have had to watch these two sweet girls grow into such beautiful young woman and tears of sadness that the time went so quickly.
Both girls are ready to start a new journey and adventure in their life as they leave for college in the fall. Hannah is off to Oregon State and Cali to Brigham Young University in Utah. Although they will be miles apart they will also be connected, their lives have been changed because they have known each other - changed for good.
I chose the song “For Good” from Wicked to accompany the pictures on the DVD because I love the message of that song. Here are the words….
‘I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason
bringing something we must learn
and we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them
and we help them in return
now I don’t know if I believe that that is true
but I know I’m who I am today because I knew you…
like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun,
like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood…
who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you I have been changed for good.
It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime
so let me say before we part
so much of me is what I have learned from you
you’ll be with me,
like a handprint on my heart
now whatever way our stories may end
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend…
Like a ship blown from it’s mooring by a wind off the sea
like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood
who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you… I have been changed for good.
We love you Cali and Hannah!! Happy graduation!
Our lives have been changed for good because we knew you!
The journey begins……
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Categories: Connect
Tuesday, June 3, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I am a little late with my posting this week. We are in the middle of high school graduation and there are 25 graduation related activities on our calendar so I am doing my best to keep up!
Since I have a gardening theme going on Mondays the last couple of weeks I thought I’d share with you one of my containers I put together this past week. (even though it is Tuesday today!)
I am really late in getting my flower pots planted this year. Mother’s Day is usually my target date but this year it just didn’t happen.
Since I seem to work well under pressure I decided that the graduation party we hosted in our garden this past Saturday would be my deadline!
The past year I have had fun trying some new plants in my pots - trying to get away from the typical geraniums, marigolds, lobelia, pansies, petunias etc. I have tried to use more perennials. Not only does it save me money in the long run because these plants come back up year after year, but I found them to be lower maintenance too. Not as much deadheading!
Last year I read an article in Fine Gardening about “Thrillers, Fillers & Spillers…a surefire recipe for planting success.” The concept is that in each of your flower pots you should have at least one of each - a thriller, a filler, and a spiller.
A thriller is an anchor plant, a centerpiece plant. They are attention getters, usually tall, upright plants. They tend to have more structure to them and become the backbone or framework for the other plants in the pot.
I select my thriller plant first. The color and texture of the thriller helps me as I choose the filler and spiller.
My thriller in this pot was a fun new grass I found - Electric Pink Cordyline Banksii. The great magenta pink color of the this plant became the theme for the pot.
Next, the Filler. A Filler is a plant that will fill in and surround the Thriller. They tend to mound and fill up the pot. I usually put 2-3 fillers in a pot. I like my pots to look full fast so I tend to cram in as many as I can - remember I’m an impatient person!
My Fillers in this pot are a great new geranium I found Crystal Palace Gem. It has a great bright lime leaf. It gets a red flower but I will cut the flower off as the red just won’t go with the colors of the pot!
I also used one of my favorite annuals - Coleus. This particular one is Peter’s Wonder and the green and magenta colors go perfect with the rest of the plants. I use to think you could only use coleus in the shade but I was wrong! Mine thrive in full sun too.
The third filler is a Purple Shamrock Hebe. It has a great lime green variegation with purple stems.
Finally - my Spiller. I only had room for one Spiller in this pot but will sometimes use a couple. The Spillers are placed toward the edge of the pot and they will drape and flow over the edge of the pot as they grow. The Spiller I used is a diascia, one of my favorite Spillers. I love the colorful, dainty little flower.
Do you have a favorite plant you like to use in your containers that is different or “not the norm”? I’d love to hear.
Happy Planting!
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Categories: Nest
Friday, May 30, 2008, by Leigh Anne
This week’s Friday Favorite is by popular request. This is my mother’s recipe and I have actually never made it - only eaten it!
I attended a luncheon yesterday hosted by my friend Daurie who recently built and moved into her beautiful new home. She treated a group of us to a delicious lunch at her new home. She served my mother’s Pasta e Fagioli. The request at lunch was for me to “put in on the blog”.
I told them I couldn’t because I didn’t have my camera and needed to take a picture of it - my ever ready, camera toting friend Jeanette had her camera and happily took a photo for me. I had already eaten my soup so I borrowed someone’s bowl - took it right off the table from them - and took a quick photo!
Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian soup and actually means “pasta and beans”. It is traditionally made with a white or cannellini bean but I think Daurie used a red bean. She also tweaked the recipe slightly by adding 1 cup of grated carrot instead of chopped and a 16 oz. can of marinara sauce to make it a little thicker. She also found this totally darling teeny, tiny bowtie pasta!
We have been having some cool, rainy days here in Portland so a bowl of homemade soup really hit the spot yesterday! Thanks Daurie!
Pasta e Fagioli
Mary Anne Best (my mom)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 cups (1 can) chopped whole tomatoes, with juices
3 cups low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 can northern white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup tiny pasta (ditalini)
1/2 pound browned ground beef (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Daurie served cheddar)
In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in onion and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, celery and carrots and cook for 3 minutes. Add basil and oregano and toss to coat. Stir in tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. If necessary add an additional cup of stock or water and stir in beans, meat and tiny pasta. Simmer for 6-8 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in parsley and serve hot with grated parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
Wednesday, May 28, 2008, by Leigh Anne
The last few months I have been on the hunt for the perfect sugar cookie. The perfect sugar cookie would be one that did not need to be rolled out or refrigerated, would have an almond flavor and a yummy almond frosting on top.
You see, I found the perfect sugar cookie at a small little deli in Kalama, Washington. Kalama is about an hour north of Portland, too far away to visit on a regular basis to satisfy my sugar cookie cravings! I love their almond sugar cookies - and I wanted to find a way to create them at home.
I tried numerous recipes - some close but not quite right. I shared my quest with my blogger friend Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe. Melanie sent me several almond sugar cookie recipes and I tried them all and guess what?! One of them was a winner! Another food blogger had shared it with Melanie and then she shared it with me and now I’m sharing it with you! Thank you Melanie.
So today’s recipe is for what I think is the perfect sugar cookie! They don’t need to be refrigerated or rolled out - they have a lovely almond flavor and a yummy almond frosting. They are slightly crisp around the edges and soft in the middle. They are even better the second day!
Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix butter, sugar and extract in a large bowl. Beat until cream, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Beat 1 to 2 more minutes. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a buttered glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Move to a wire rack. Stir together glaze ingredients with a wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze and sliced almonds (optional)
Glaze: 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp. almond extract, 4-5 tsp. milk (I used whipping cream)
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Categories: Cookie Jar, Nourish, Recipes
Tuesday, May 27, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Fourteen years ago we built the house that we currently live in. We moved from our small, one bathroom bungalow in the city to our 5 bedroom home in the suburbs. With the birth of our fourth child - we had definitely outgrown that house!
Not only did we buy a lot more house - we bought a lot more yard. We went from a small city lot to a 17,000 square foot yard - or rather 17,000 square feet of clay dirt. That’s all there was - dirt - there was not one tree, flower, bush or stick!
As I mentioned yesterday, the extent of my gardening experience was 3 pots of geraniums on my front porch. So what were we going to do with 17,000 square feet of dirt?? I decided that I wanted a garden, I wanted a garden like the ones you see in magazines. The only problem was I knew nothing about gardening or where to even start.
I was in the same situation 17 years ago when I started my homebased business - I knew nothing about running a business or sales. I had never sold anything before. Let’s face it I had a degree in Clothing and Textiles - I had spent four years in college learning how to construct a blazer - not selling anything!
But I had a desire - I had a desire to have a beautiful garden and I also had a desire to have a successful, income producing business. That is the first step in achieving anything - desire.
Step One: Start with a Desire
Step Two: Develop a Plan! Start small and start now. Don’t allow your fears, lack of knowledge or information keep you from moving forward. My first step in creating the beautiful garden I wanted was to take a class on landscape design from the local community education program. There I learned that I needed a plan. I knew I couldn’t tackle all 17,000 square feet at once. I learned that the first thing I needed to do was amend my soil - we brought in truck loads of good dirt. I then decided to focus on one area of the yard a time.
Have a plan for your goal or desire. Start small and start now! Don’t allow fear to hold you back, be willing to take the first steps.
The beginning of our plan - good dirt and an irrigation system.
Step Three: Get resources, books, tapes, advice from the experts - I consider these things to be “Shortcuts to Success”. Get on the Internet and ‘google’ your area of focus. Go to Amazon.com or the public library and check out books. I spent a lot of time reading gardening magazines and books I had checked out from the library in addition to the information I learned at the class I was taking. I would also go for walks and look at yards, look for plants/flowers I liked. I would even go up to people’s doors to ask them names of ones I didn’t know. I spent a lot of time wandering around nurseries, asking questions and making lists of flowers and plants I liked and taking pictures of plants.
Step Four: Find a Mentor. One day when I was at a nursery purchasing some plants, the cashier mentioned that I was buying plants similar to ones a garden designer, who had just been in, was also purchasing. I asked what their name was and the cashier gave me the garden designer’s card. I went home and immediately called her. She invited me to come visit her garden - and could I come right now? I was expecting dinner guests within an hour but didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity so I quickly explained to my husband what he needed to do to finish up dinner and I headed out to tour her garden. I was in love! Her garden was amazing (it’s been featured in many national gardening magazines, Fred Meyer commercials etc.) and I wanted a garden just like hers!! I took Jim back a few days later and he was in love too.
We hired Margaret to help us with our plan. She helped us define our space and pick plants that were appropriate to the areas. She taught us as we went along and we learned so much from her.
Jim and Margaret looking over the plan
Find a mentor, an expert in the field, someone who has done what you want to do and is willing to teach you. I have used this step many times. When I’ve wanted to get more organized I’ve asked a friend who is incredibly organized to come over and help me. Find someone who models the trait you want to possess.
Step Five: Set aside time for growth daily. Gardens take time. We couldn’t turn our large piece of dirt into a beautiful garden over night. It is an ongoing process and still is today. Building a successful business takes time. It takes consistent effort and focus. Using time techniques such as Fifteen Minute Focus and Power Hour have helped me in my garden and in my business. I use the Fifteen Minute Focus to keep the garden weeded!
So here are some pictures of what my garden looks like today - the next picture was taken from the same window that the first picture above was …quite a change!
Our woodland path.
Next week I’ll share with you a few more gardening lessons I learned along the way that also apply to achieving our goals and dreams.
Happy Gardening!
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Categories: Goals, Home Based Business, Inspire
Monday, May 26, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I hope you are all enjoying your holiday weekend. We are spending some time in the garden.
Today I thought I’d share with you what’s blooming in the Wilkes’ family garden. Tomorrow I’ll share with you my how I went from being a “pot of geraniums on the porch” kind of non-gardener to a having a garden that has been featured in the newspaper and in magazines!
But for right now - enjoy a peek into my garden.
A yellow ‘Happy Returns’ daylilly and one of my favorite hardy geraniums ‘Johnson’s Blue’. I love hardy geraniums and have quite a collection of different varieties. I love them because they bloom and bloom and bloom!
Here’s another variety of hardy geraniums - Psilostemon
Isn’t this Princess Victoria Louise Poppy gorgeous in combination with the ‘Johnson’s Blue’ and ‘Wargrave Pink’ hardy geranium?
Our 37 rose bushes are just beginning to flower and the peonies are ready to burst.
I love how the rain drops form on the leaves of the Alchemilla Mollis ‘Lady’s Mantle’ and the combination of it with the Centhranthus Ruber ‘Red Valerian’
Here is a Tiarella ‘Crow’s Feather’, a Heuchera “Purple Petticoat” and a variegated hosta.
A variegated variety of columbine.
A “Lime Rickey” heuchera in combination with a variegated hosta.
A purple Japanese Iris collects raindrops
Happy Gardening
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Categories: Inspire
Friday, May 23, 2008, by Leigh Anne
This week was Senior Quilt Night at church. It is an evening where all the girl’s graduating from high school are honored and the women from church and young woman come together to tie quilts for each of the graduating girls. I was in charge of the dinner for the evening - yes, that is the second large group meal I have been in charge of this week - will someone please slap me!!!
Here is a cute picture of Cali and I wrapped up in her soft, fuzzy green quilt we made using ‘Minky’ fabric.
We served the yummy Penne Rustica, another Friday Favorite, along with roasted garlic bread and a spinach/strawberry salad. We served a fun, easy summer time dessert. The couple of warm days we enjoyed earlier in the week got me in the mood for summer so I decided to make Lemonade Pie.
It doesn’t get much easier than Lemonade Pie - it only has three ingredients.
Can of frozen lemonade (I used pink)
A graham cracker crust (since we were making 7 of these pies we used store bought)
1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream (I used Breyer’s)
My wonderful, helpful mother came over and put all the pies together for me. Just put the somewhat, softened ice cream along with the can of frozen lemonade (no water added) into the Kitchen Aid and blend it up. Pour into graham cracker crust and refreeze. I like to add the whole can of lemonade but if you want it a bit “less lemony” just don’t add as much lemonade.
Enjoy a taste of summer!
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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