Stupendous Sunday: 9/30/12

Well hello friends!

You know that vacation I took last week?  I am FINALLY sharing some pics.  I discovered going through pics that I am obsessed with food, drink, and miss Tootie.  LOTS of pics of those.  I'll spare you my random pics of fruit and dinner. :)  Here are some highlights:

I am in total shock that September is over!  I'm going to miss the sunshine, and the warm deck outside, but I adore October.  My fave month of the year! 

Goodbye summer, hello autumn!

Trish

Adventures in poptails: peach and sweet tea with bourbon

BOOYAH!

I've done it friends!  I have finally found a delicious and amazing poptail that freezes!  And if you've been following, you know how excited I am about this.  Let the happy dance commence!

Enjoying the leaning tower of poptail?

Sweet tea and bourbon are two of my fave fave things for summer!  This juicy boozy tea was SO delicious before freezing, that I knew it was going to be fantastic.  I actually ended up making these fab cocktails my whole vacation long.  Seriously, pretty sure I drank my weight in bourbon.

Here's the recipe:

Makes 10 popsicles
12 oz peach nectar (I used Kern's)
24 oz sweet tea
1/2 cup bourbon

Stir together and pour into popsicle molds.  Place molds in freezer for one hour.  When the liquid is frozen enough to hold a stick, insert popsicle sticks.  Freeze overnight.  Enjoy!

OK, so I now have one option for my wedding poptails next August.  YAY!  I'm a bit hooked on making these now (if you couldn't tell already. ha!), and I'm thinking whiskey cherry coke for next endeavor. 

Until then folks...........

Trish

Happy thoughts: 9/27/12

Could there be a better view than this?

I love the way she tucks her toes into his palms.  My two faves.

Sugar, spice, and everything nice

I am SO digging this blog trend that's been floating around about "PAY IT FORWARD."  I luckily snagged a spot with the colorfully adorable Karen over at thequietowl.  I can't wait to see what I get!  It's like Christmas!

Snag a spot below to get a sweet little surprise gifty from me.  Yes?  Here are the deets:

The rules:

+The first three people to comment on this post will receive

a little gift - something personal from me to you.

+Within a year (I'll do it in two months) I'll create something

unique to share with the first three people to

comment on this post.

+But in order to receive your present you have to play along.

Spread the love on your own blog promising to send a

little special something to the first three people

who comment on your post.

+You get 72 hours to re-post, or I'll have to move on to

the next person.

+Please only comment if you're willing to pay it forward.

If you want to receive something unique and self-made from me in the mail and if you are willing to do the same for others, leave a comment below! Please leave your email address so that I can contact you directly! And blog URL so that I and others can visit your blog!  If you are one of the first three, you can post this on your blog anyways!

Look forward to seeing who snags the 3 spots!

 

Trish

Weeknight supper delight: September 2012

IT'S A SHRIMP BOIL!  Aka, total hot mess of delicious food boiled and piled on newspaper for us pigs to dig in and eat.  I had never heard of such a thing before, but, oh man, SO cool.

Okay, so this isn't technically a week'night' supper delight, it's definitely more a weekend thang.  But, I wanted to share some pics from my week on the water, and this dinner was SO fun and festive!  Jared's dad actually owns the house that we stayed in (how did this girl get so lucky huh?) and came down to stay the last weekend we were there.  We trekked to the neighbors for a bday bash, where freshly caught seafood and veggies were to be had! 

Basically, you throw any fish, meats, and veggies in a big pot to boil, spread them out on a large table when cooked, and sprinkle with seasoning.  That's it!

 

Here's Jared and I and miss Tootie basking in some good wine and the remainder of the sunset.

Ah........ twas a good day.

Trish

September tradition: The Fair!

I'm back from vacation friends!  Oh it was such a grand time.  Many many pics to sort through and share.

But first........ YEEHAW!  Every single year I attend the Puyallup Fair here in Washington State.  I remember my uncle taking me when I was a kid, and, well, it just grew on me.  I can't imagine a September without it.  It's like mullets and smelly animals are the only way I can truly feel like summer is over!  I can't really put my finger on what exactly I love about it SO much.  Maybe it's the taste of freshly baked scones, maybe it's the awesomely huge carved pumpkins, maybe it's the smell of fresh dung in the air, maybe it's the rides that make me feel like I'm a kid again.  Whatever it is, I will always always love the fair.

If it looks like a ridiculously crowded, stinky place to be, well, it most definitely is.  I love it anyways.

I hope y'all got to enjoy yourselves some scones this September!

Trish

A song for Saturday: Keep my skillet good and greasy

These chicks are pretty much the coolest.  I love the ho-down country feel meets super bad-assness.  Also, SO appropriate for a Saturday during my week making house in a small town with nothing to do but cook! 

Anyways...... all I got for now.  I'm going to enjoy my last 2 days of vacay before going back to the city and my real life (where I still keep my skillet good and greasy.) :) 

Plummy crumble.

So..... I thought that I was getting 5 plums in my CSA bin last week.  Turns out, I got 5 LBS of plums!  Whoa.  Whoa.

What takes a ton of fruit, is super easy to make, and always turns out divine????

fruit crumble.  In this case, a very plummy crumble.

One of my favorite things to do to fruit is bake it with some butter and rolled oats on top!  You don't even really need a recipe once you've made a handful of these.  Just mix some of your favorite spices in and bake!

Here's the recipe, give or take, that I used for this delish dish.

Makes an entire 9x13 baking dish.  Takes about 1.5 hours, mostly bake time.

Ingredients:
About 2-3 pounds of plums, pitted and wedged.  No need to be exact here.  The more fruit, the more fruity.
2/3 cup sugar, divided
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup oats
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick softened butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.
Toss plums, 1/3 cup sugar, and a small squeeze of lemon juice in a bowl.  Let sit for about 5 minutes
While that sits, toss together remaining ingredients in a bowl with your hands.
Strain about 3/4 of the juice out of the plum bowl and transfer to a 9x13 baking dish
Spread the topping evenly over the plums and place in the oven.
Bake for one hour.
Cool and enjoy!

Use your imagination with this if you want!  Add some ginger or some nutmeg to the crumble.  Or, you could add some brandy to the plum mixture.  This works beautifully with pretty much any kind of berry or stone fruit. 

Enjoy your last rays of sunshine friends!

Trish