Limoncello Cake : Yum!

I needed a break after all the work to get my house ready for the market.  A former neighbor, who lives on the coast, invited me to spend the weekend.  We had a blast. It was such a wonderful diversion from my life of late. We slept in both days, ate plenty of {fresh} seafood . . . . mmmm, had pedicures {I chose the reddest nail polish I've ever had!}, walked on the beach, visited South Port, a quaint seaside community complete with many antique stores, talked way into the nights and also did some smocking on a christening gown she's making. It was all so good.

My friend is an expert at making limoncello, the Italian lemon liqueur.  OMG!  It's like liquid gold!  Served icy cold, you've never tasted anything so smooth, and one feels it warming your throat as it trickles down.  We not only imbibed some one night {2 glasses each, but teeny glasses}, but she GAVE me a bottle to bring home.

As an aside, my first introduction to limoncello was a restaurant so named, in my home town of Cape Town - it stands out with its bright yellow exterior. Shannon lived up the hill from there for a while, and we had a memorable dinner there one night, but we drank cinzano and vermouth instead!

Needing to make a work colleague a birthday cake when I got in last night, I got this bee in my bonnet wondering what a limoncello cake would taste like.  So I added limoncello instead of vanilla, and lemon rind and lemon juice too.  Confession here: I used a bought cake mix and doctored it up.  Then I made a buttercream frosting with butter, flavored with, yes, limoncello, and swirled it onto the layers...Mwah!  It was good, and a hit at work today too!

Blessed

Shannon
2 weeks from tomorrow til I see your lovely face and drink tea in my favourite kitchen (no matter how it looks)! I foresee a madeline baking in my near future... X!


5 hours ago ·  ·  · See Friendship



This is a Facebook message from Shannon who, as you can surmise, is coming from South Africa to visit in 2 weeks.  I can hardly wait to hug her, hold her, bake madeleines and do what she pleases in the 3 days I'll have her home!

What is less endearing about this time is that, due to circumstances out of my control, I'm having to sell my house and eventually move.  It is one of those times in my life when I get out of bed in the morning and do what I have to do to get through what feels like is another crisis.

Only, I have the most stellar friends in the whole wide world helping me, again, and I don't know what I'd do without their counsel, help {physical and emotional}, support and love.  You should have seen my house bustling with my friends and Susannah pitching in this past week, and they all have such busy lives. I am humbled beyond words.  And I am so blessed.  I was describing this pure Grace to my mother who then said :: "I hope you're thanking God!"  To which my answer was :: "Oh, yes I am!"

I am on my knees.

As far as my blog and my creativity....it's slowing down out of necessity for now.  It's impossible to get creative juices going to sew, craft, cook, or whatever when you have the responsibility of a move from a home you've lived in for 29 years, raised 3 children in, truly lived very busy lives to the fullest in and have accumulated too much stuff to sort through and pack.  Period.  I hope that in a few weeks, when the dust settles, I can devote the time again.

'til then... XO

Pizza on the grill

Yep, you heard right – pizza cooked outside, directly on the gas grill grids, no stone or cookie sheet.  Let me tell you, it’s fabulous, delicious and a different social thing to do with family or when you have friends over.  By some miracle, the crust doesn't stick!  Last night was the 6^th time I’ve done it; the crust was perfectly crisp and the toppings gooey and melty and flavourful and simply the yummiest!

I’ve discovered Fleishmann’s Pizza Crust Fast and Easy yeast.   I’ve been using the recipe on the pouch at the back, starting with one cup of all purpose flour, and then adding the yeast, salt, sugar, oil and warm water.  I mix it up quickly and add enough flour so that it’s not sticky.  Then I knead it for a couple of minutes.  This is where I detour from the pouch recipe {which is not necessary, but I'm having better results doing this the last 2 times.}  I divide the dough into 2 balls per recipe, and let them rise for an hour in a floured mixing bowl with plastic wrap over and a towel to keep it draft free.  Then it goes in a warm place until it’s time to have the fun.

The toppings take a while to assemble.  Decide on a base sauce – a tomato base or a pesto base…last night my friend just brushed olive oil on hers, which was simple but looked really good too. Caramelized onions are something that hands down, simply make a yummy pizza, and lots of garlic too – so I definitely have those as a topping.  Sometimes I lightly cook mushrooms, other times I have them sliced and raw.  Gosh – really it’s whatever floats your boat.  I’m not much of a meat eater, so shrimp or prosciutto or chicken - that would be up to you.  Here are some ideas:  olives, buffalo mozzarella, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, torn fresh basil leaves, shredded cheese.

When you’re almost ready to cook, it's time to take the dough and flatten it out into personal pizzas.  I get 2 out of each pouch of yeast/recipe.  They are bigger than a dinner plate, so about 12 inches I’d say.  You’ll know how big to make them as you can’t make holes in the dough by stretching it too much {or else you’ll have a difficult time – that’s why!}  Place each ‘pizza’ on a plate or cookie sheet, and brush the top with oil.  This will be the side that you put face down towards the flame on the grill.

When the grill is ready {last night it was set on low, said 500°F and was perfect}, carefully turn the blank pizzas over onto the grill.  They may lose their shape. Yep, that’s just the way it goes.  With grilled pizza, they aren’t all round, and you just gotta get over it!  Close the top of the grill but don’t go away!  Peek in after 5 mins and lift up a corner.  You definitely don’t want to char your pizza at this point.  When it’s nicely browned, use a spatula – a nice big one really does help  – transfer to a plate and you’re ready to put the toppings on.  If you’re making more than 2, go ahead and start the other pizza’s on the grill.

Sauce goes on the cooked side, then cheeses and then toppings.  When the grill is  ready for these to cook, using your spatula, transfer them, close the lid and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes.  It varies, but do watch like a hawk.  

Your family and guests will have their own ideas of how to do it, and how much they like to pile on, and this is definitely the fun for them.  I love watching them enjoy the novelty of making their dinner....and then eating the results. 

I just remembered this!
                                 - have yeast will travel!


Last year I took some pizza yeast with me to South Africa when I knew I'd be staying in a self catering B&B with Shannon, my daughter.  We were in the gorgeous Golden Gate National Park's traditional Basotho village, staying in a little mud hut, and having a blast waking up to a host of zebra grazing down below us on a verdant pasture.  One night we had delicious pizzas, cooked over the coals that Shannon artfully prepared from firewood on a very windy night.  We waited for what seemed like utter ages for the coals to "cool down", and even so, the crust got a bit charred.  {Okay, it was bloody black on the bottom waiting for the cheese to melt!}  We enjoyed them and it was memorable mother-daughter evening with a daughter who lives very far away!

Quilts and tea

Some of the most superb ladies in town have invited me to join them at their weekly quilter's meeting.  I feel both honored and humbled.

New to the States and a new bride with not much social outlet living in Miami, and completely self-taught, I made my first quilt in the seventies, entered it into a national magazine contest and won as finalist.  I have never again attempted such a large quilting undertaking, but over the years, I've dabbled in a few baby quilts, some crazy quilt vests, pieced duvet covers, and more, including a class here and there.  I would not, however, classify myself as an expert quilter by any stretch of the imagination and even calling myself a quilter is probably stretching it.  So that is part of why I feel humbled by this group.

Yet, it's their sheer generosity of time and spirit that is really moving and humbling.  They make quilts - yes, great big quilts with hours and hours of love stitched into them - for so many needy causes.  For friends who have babies and grandbabies, for friends who have trials and tribulations and for sheer acquaintances who have sickness and sadness in their lives.

The evening progresses with laughter, sharing, caring, helping each other pin and piece, "show and share", talk about fabrics, quilting techniques and art styles.  And get this...there are lashings of hot tea and warm Irish soda bread.  Yum!  It's such an honor to spend time with them.