Archive for 2010

Honey I’m Home: Part II

“I hadn’t been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called ‘bee yard etiquette’. She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don’t be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don’t be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don’t swat. Don’t even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee’s temper. Act like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved.” – Susan Monk Kid (The Secret Life of Bees)

Excited to try out my new wooden honey stick, I decided to take a dip into some interesting honeys from both near and far. All the way from South America, this 100% pure Chilean Honey is harvested from the Ulmo tree. This tree is native to the southern Araucania region of Chile, with unique camellia-like flowers that bloom in the late summer and early fall, producing an amazing aroma, perfect creamy texture and light cream color. It smells like flowers and has a buttery smooth sweetness.

“Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.” – Proverbs 24:13

Located in the heart of the South, Atlanta Bee Factory honey is processed using chemical-free techniques to maintain honey’s natural, health-giving nutrients and flavor. All of their honey is produced by free-range bee keeping. Honey flows in the Greater Atlanta region include Tulip, Poplar, Blackberry, Kudzu and numerous wildflowers. ABF blend these different honeys together to maximize the honey’s benefits to allergy sufferers in a city with one of the highest pollen counts in the Southeastern United States.

Beautiful sugar crystals have started to form in the neck of this bottle, however when the you’re ready to use the honey simply remove the cork and place in a 125 degree oven until the honey becomes liquid. This particular honey had a unique beeswax seal which I thought was sweet.

Photos by: KHJ

As you can see I just love my new utensils, they add just another dash of fun into cooking! I’ll leave you tonight with a funny little Irish saying:

“Though honey is sweet, do not lick it off the briar.”

Pretty good advice if you ask me. Sweet dreams.

Posted 3/18/10, Topic: Blog

Honey I’m Home: Part I

That’s what my sweet husband heard after I returned from an afternoon spent with my dear friend, Shea. Being two crafty divas, we decided to check out the American Craft Council Show held at the Cobb Galleria this past weekend. While I must admit much of the art was a little (err… a lot) out of our price range, we happened to find a couple of vendors that were more our style and definitely sized more for our pockets.

I bought an adorable scarf (which I will share soon) from Miss Fitts and Shea introduced me to another great seller, Jonathan’s Wild Cherry Spoons.

Little bit about Jonathan…

“It was time for lunch but I had no spoon for my soup. I worked in a custom furniture shop and there was plenty of wood around so I made my first spoon and ate my soup. Wooden spoons have served me ever since, as I continue to create from a serendipity of need.”

This man has hand carved a utensil for every possible need you can imagine: ladles, serving spoons, tongs, pickle forks, spaghetti fork, spatulas, spreaders, whisks, coffee scoop, honey stick, jelly spoon, sugar spoon, marmalade spoon, spoodle, mixing paddle, oven rack puller, pot strainer, chop sticks and toaster tongs (just to name a few). The only problem was deciding which one was coming home with me!

The first one was obvious because it was just so darn cute – the honey stick.
The second one was more out of necessity – the spaghetti fork/salad set combo.

So last night, when Mr. Blue Eyed Yonder walked in the door with “Honey I’m Home”, I had a delicious Italian meal prepared with none other than my Jonathan’s Wild Cherry utensils. (Loving them.)

Buttery saute of a variety of fresh mushrooms for a creamy mushroom dressing.

Oil base for the mushroom dressing: olive oil and course ground salt & pepper.

Tender leaves of butter lettuce tossed with shaved sarvecchio parmesan cheese.

Of course it wouldn’t be Italian without the wine – Redtree Pinot Nior

Here’s “Frida” the spaghetti fork in action.

Photos by KHJ + CMJ

Stay tuned for more lovely photos featuring my adorable new wooden honey stick. Until then…arrivederci!

Posted 3/16/10, Topic: Blog

hello world

3…2…1…0

Countdowns,

hee-hee hoooo

the building anticipation,

hee-hee hoooo

the waiting,

hee-hee hoooo

the energy,

hee-hee hoooo

the pain,

hee-hee hoooo

the tears,

hee-hee hoooo

the cheers…

hee-hee hoooo

the cry.

{KHJ}

3.2.10 It’s more than just a countdown, it’s an amazingly cool date and happens to be the day my precious friends, Julie and Danny White, welcomed their newborn daughter into the world.

Elle Alexis White

Time: 6:41 pm PST

Weight: 8 lbs. 10 oz.

Length: 21 inches

A couple of months back, with Julie’s due date sneaking up on us, I planned a very special surprise for her and the new baby…a beautiful handmade handkerchief bonnet. Attempting to make this new Mama-to-be swoon, I incorporated some special pieces into the bonnet: lace from her wedding gown, fabric from my maid of honor dress, and ribbon from her mother’s wedding bouquet. Swooning yet?

With some help from my mom and grandmother, I was able to craft my very first bonnet. I just fell in love with its sweet simplicity.

Dearest Peanut,

This handkerchief bonnet was handmade especially for you! It carries with it many special pieces of the past:

1. The lace flower was taken from the material used to create your Mommy’s wedding gown bodice. This special wedding gown was hand sewn by your sweet Great-Grandmother, Jo Nix.

2. The ivory satin ribbon was taken from the wedding bouquet of your beautiful Grandmother, Phyllis Johnson.

3. The pale blue flower was made from a piece of the dress that Aunt Krista wore in your Mommy and Daddy’s wedding.

On your special day, many years from now, simply snip a few stitches and can carry with you this very special heirloom. Know that we all love you so much… even before you were born.

All my love,
Aunt Krista

Photos by KHJ

Before I got married, my mom presented me with my very own handkerchief bonnet. This bonnet was given to me by her best friend, Julie Brandaeu, when I was born. Sadly, Julie was murdered in a court house shooting several years ago and I cannot express the new meaning that this little handkerchief now holds and with what honor I had carrying it on my wedding day. Having already been given a vintage hanky from my grandmother, I pinned this handkerchief bonnet under my dress and wore it as my ‘something blue’, as it had a little blue ribbon sewn on it.

Knowing the love and sentiment that accompanied my bonnet, I wanted to give my best friend a special keepsake for her new baby to one day cherish, perhaps a family heirloom in the making.

Jules – sending all my love to you on this very special day.

Posted 3/3/10, Topic: Blog

reunited

…and it tastes so good.

This past Saturday was the T.J. “Bose” Tanner Reunion. As promised, I slaved away to deliver several late-night, back-breaking, made-from-scratch dishes. I was not alone in this home-cooked effort. I was pleasantly surprised to see tons of home cooked dishes and only a few store bought selections. Way to go Tanner Family! To give you all a little giggle, I took some pictures of Saturday’s culprits. (You know who you are, but we love you anyway.)

In true Southern fashion I made hand-rolled chicken and dumplins’. I have to say the broth turned out excellent this time around and I was even able to pick up a few extra dumplin’ makin’ tips from Mema. She taught me to roll the dumplins’ super thin. (I mean SUPER thin, they were almost transparent.) She told me Papa’s Aunt Ola Maude use to make them super thin and always placed them in the refrigerator to dry out even more. This yields a tougher dumplin’ that will hold together in the boiling broth.

The real taste test for these dumplins’ came when they were placed on the serving table of the reunion. Those people have seen some serious eatin’ and have tasted the best of the best. While eating, I heard Uncle Ralph, the eldest of Mema’s six siblings, ask “Who made the dumplins’?” I think he was quite surprised to find that such a young family cook packed so much flavor in one pot! (blush) He is married to one of best cooks in the family, so to have his nod of approval meant so much to me.

Another amazing young cook in our family is my 11-year-old sister, Kameryn. She made an adorable strawberry dessert that is sure to make anyone “smile”.

Of course we couldn’t bring something savory to the reunion with out dabbling in something sweet. Mr. Blue Eyed Yonder and I made two delicious desserts using somewhat unexpected ingredients. Stay tuned for more details…

Posted 2/23/10, Topic: Blog

reunion

re-un-ion [ree-yoon–yuh n]

-noun

1. a gathering of relatives, friends, or associates at regular intervals or after searation: a family reunion.

Stokesville Baptist Church, circa 1908

It’s that time of year again, the annual T.J. “Bose” Tanner Reunion. Each year the descendants of Bose Tanner gather at the Social Hall of the beautiful and quaint Stokesville Baptist Church in Axson, Georgia. I have many fond memories of attending these reunions as a child, but if one memory has to stand out it is the FOOD! There is one thing the Tanners love to do – eat! Bearing vegetables, casseroles, cakes, pies and fried chicken, the lovely Southern ladies would fill the center 30-foot long table with all kinds of delicious home-cooked dishes. There is no other place that has played host to that kind of serious cookin’.

Sadly, as many of these sweet ladies passed away, so did the depth of home cooked dishes. One year, dare I say, a bucket of KFC made its way in. Oh lawdy, bring out the smelling spices I think I’m gonna faint!

So many things have changed since the days of yesteryear. We are all far too busy and barely have time to slow down and eat, yet alone cook a homemade meal from scratch. I admit I am guilty of the occasional drive thru, so convenient, so quick. However, I am a strong believer that for at least one day of the year the modern ladies of the family should bring it back to the basics; honor the slow-paced, hard-boiled, hand-rolled, gently-seasoned, cooked-to-perfection lady roots of our family. In a way, a nod to their tremendous efforts.

I am sure I will still see cakes in plastic grocery store containers, frozen biscuits and even the occasional KFC bucket, but I am committed to delivering traditional, made with love, home cooked dishes. So push up your sleeves and bust out the aprons, it’s gonna be a long night!

Who’s with me?

Posted 2/18/10, Topic: Blog