Menu Boards for your Home!

Laurell created this  Menu board on mirror  for a client's home.

Menu board on the mirror behind the sink in the store's kitchen.

Menu boards aren't just for restaurants.  They add a bistro feel to your kitchen and make you feel as though you are dining in a great French restrarant. One of my favorite things that I purchased from Joy on Saturday night was the menu board in the old frame.  I have been looking for the perfect thing for behind my stove and I think I found it! It's the perfect color, size and vibe that I needed.  Joy is making more of these for the store, so we will have them for sale within the next month.  All will be unique as she uses vintage frames for each one.   For a client's  kitchen remodel, Laurell ( a Romancing the Home girl) created a French menu on the reverse side of  mirror and we installed it over a serving buffet with French sconces. It is so pretty and elegant.  She also created one for the kitchen in the store  Laurell can create these mirrors with any words that one desires and in any size.  I get excited when we can offer items that are unique and handcrafted - they give your home it's own distinctive style.  

Savvy City Farmer Delights Guests

THE SHED  aka    "Shop the Shed"   Is this not darling?

Lots of newly finished goodies awaiting our purchase.

Entering Joy's home into the "summer kitchen", a glass of  ice water, chilled by frozen fruit! Oh my goodness!

I just loved this!

Summer kitchen's coffee station

Such a clever idea - freezing the fruit for "ice cubes".  So beautiful.

Our menu for the the evening

The rustic table awaits our enjoyment.

Fresh salsa for the Summer Corn Cakes

Magical!

Goat Cheese with Cranberries and Pine Nuts

My favorite - Roasted Red Grapes with olive oil, thyme and coarse salt on Ricotta and Baguette Slices

Darling efficient kitchen

Love the cabinet door.

Joy's comfy room for watching tv and hanging out.

Office now located in the dining room- so cleverly done.

Dining room now in old living room- love that map as a table topper.

Comfy sofa

Joy's office in former dining room- perfect use of a formerly little used space.

Herbal tussie mussies from Angela's garden ( Joy's daughter aka"the Parisienne Farmgirl") given to us as parting gifts.

The evening was destined to be  magical . After all, after a blazing hot day of 90 degree plus weather, a thunderstorm moved through the area and plunged the temperature to 75 degrees, just as we were driving to Joy's home.   Upon entering the back of the  1800's farmhouse home, in a charming garden sat this little magical shed with a tin roof - we just sighed. We were excited to "shop the shed" with newly acquired  and finished treasures that Joy had gathered for us.  All of  the Romancing the Home girls and friends found several things that they could not live without in the charming little shed. The cooler weather made it possible for us to enjoy our unhurried time browsing Joy's collections.  After gathering our own little stashes into piles, we were invited into Joy's home and entered through her "summer kitchen", an enclosed porch outfitted with coffee and beverage stations and decorated in the charming French Nordic style.  As some of the girls had never seen her home before, little squeals of delight and "OMG" were heard from several mouths.  We were invited to enjoy our choice of grapefruit margaritas, white and red wine or just the simple beautiful water with fruit.  Entering the kitchen with our cocktails,  an amazing table of delectable appetizers lay before us.  My favorite was the Roasted Grapes on the Ricotta and Baguette Slices. (Recipe to follow). An interesting, wonderful meld of olive oil and thyme on the grapes was absolutely divine - a real keeper of a recipe.  While Joy prepared fresh Summer Corn Cakes, we enjoyed wandering her living and dining spaces and were enchanted by her talent of unique and ispired design.   Some of the girls sat on the front porch and enjoying the view of the street filled with homes built in the 1800's in the quaint little midwestern town of East Dundee.   Finishing  with a yummy dessert , Neiman Marcus cake,  a sweet vanilla cake bottom with a crunchy cream cheese topping( another new recipe for me - google it!),  we loaded our cars and headed back home. As we left, Angela (Joy's daughter) handed us little herbal tussie mussies for our own kitchens- we were all touched by the  sweet gesture .  You know you have been inspired by an evening when the entire conversation on the hour's ride back home is about all the treats and inspirational ideas from Joy's home.   Thank you Joy- we loved it!

Roasted Red Grapes on Ricotta and Baguette Slices

Toss red seedless grapes with olive oil, fresh thyme and coarse salt to taste.  Roast in a 450 degree oven until the grapes burst open,  about 12 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice a baguette on the diagonal into slices about 1/2 inch thick.  Brush with olive oil and toast on one side until light brown. ( do not get too crispy as you want the slice a little soft - easier to bite).  Spread with the best quality ricotta cheese you can find. Dollop the grape mixture  on top!  Enjoy this divine little treat.

Finally- We have Roses Again!



Finally we have roses again! After our little insecticide disaster in May, it has taken 2 months to get any roses. And with these  extraordinary hot nights and days we have been experiencing, it is a little miracle.  After replacing all the soil, we re-planted a lot of David Austin roses - truly an old fashioned favorite of many.   Yesterday, I was able to cut the first bouquet of the season.  I am hoping they continue to produce many flowers for the rest of the season- I love having fresh flowers from the garden in the house.

Country Apple Dumplings

Country Apple Dumplings with Burnt Sugar Bourbon Ice Cream

Peel 2 Granny Smith  apples and cut each into 8 slices.  Roll in  crescent roll dough beginning with the small end.
Place in a  greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish.

 Melt 1 cup butter and mix in 1 and  1/2 c. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon.  Pour over dumplings.

Pour 12 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew over the dumplings.

Dumplings with Mountain Dew poured over top

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until browned and crisp on top.

Enjoy!

Sometimes you hear about a crazy recipe and  just have to try it yourself.  Can something so simple really be so good??? Yes it can.  I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com  while searching for something else and was fascinated.  I read the comments - 1651 and it was rated  5 stars with glowing recommendations - so I bought my first bottle of Mountain Dew since probably 1972, 2 packages of cresent rolls, 2 Granny Smith apples  and went home to prepare this crazy concoction.  After reading the reviews, I decided to cut the calories by using diet Mountain Dew and replacing half the sugar with Splenda.  The dumplings were crisp and brown on the top and gooey on the bottom- just like granny's dumplings. I had purchased a pint of High Road's Burnt Sugar Bourbon ice cream for this little experiment and it added the "upscale gourmet" taste to this quirky dish.  It's definitely a keeper if you like family style comfort food. I would even say you could cut back the sugar to 1 cup and it would still be sweet enough.   I'll rate it 5 stars too!  Maybe I'll try peach dumplings next???? We will be joining www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com for Foodie Friday. Join us and find some inspiration for a new dish.

Strawberry Forks

Yesterday, my daughter and I spent most of the day at the Randolph Street Antique Market in downtown Chicago.  It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed ourselves looking at a lot of vintage jewelry and clothing and eating delicious crepes from the food stands.    One of my favorite finds of the day was a set of 1890's sterling silver strawberry forks.  These utensils were one of the very specific dining implements used by Victorians to set a lavish table.  Originally used to eat berries, today I am looking for them to use as appetizer forks.  They are the perfect size for a "one bite" tidbit and add a bit of charm to the plate.  Strawberry forks have only 2 or 3 tins  and are only about 4 inches tall in most patterns.  

Sweet Pea and Herbal Bouquet

mixed bouquet of sweet peas, fennel, old fashioned geranium leaves,lavender  and basil in vintage celery vase.

Sweet Peas

Love the shape of the blossoms and vines

French Lavender- smells so good.

rose scented old fashioned geraniums

lemon scented old fashioned geraniums

Fennel blossoms - smell like liquorice

Pot of basil grown from seeds-

Imagine the scents of lavender, rose, lemon, basil, and fennel all together in one spot- it is truly intoxicating.  Every year I try to find my beloved scented geranium plants  and it is  a very hard mission.  This year I was able to purchase them at Monches Farm, located north west of Milwaukee and I was so happy. I usually  mix them in rose bouquets to complement the scent of the  roses.  But today I have gathered an assortment of herbs  from our garden for our dinner table  and I love all the smells and different textures together.  An old celery vase ( the Victorians actually served celery in them ) is the perfect size vase for these delicate arrangements. 

Note: gardening lesson I learned this year- my basil was much hardier because I grew it from seed.  In previous years, I have  just purchased plants and put them in the ground hoping for enough hot weather to get them growing.  Usually they are very scraggly and I  just enough for flavoring dishes, but not enough to harvest for pesto.  So this year I over seeded a pot with basil seeds  ( learned the trick at Blackberry Farm in May)  and it has grown thick and sturdy- definitely will do this again next year and add a couple more for pesto.