Table Three Ten

One of my favorite places in Lexington...make that Kentucky...actually maybe even in this time zone, is an enchantingly cozy place called Table Three Ten. At night, it radiates. Candles, energy, music, food, libations...each element is cued for perfection. And perfection it nurtures each and every night.

From time to time, I end up here~ in the middle of the day. When all is quiet is except for the hum of the Kitchen Aid mixer whipping up another one of Stella's desserts or the muffled chopping sounds from the back kitchen . This is my favorite time. The energy is different, but still present. There are boxes of produce just dropped off by local farmers, shipments of bottles to stock the bar and always a little something unexpected...on this day, heavenly smells of meat being smoked for the dinner crowd ahead.

Meeting someone that was delayed at another appointment, I had a bit of time to myself~ to take a few photos, listen to the rain, sip a cup of coffee and watch as the place slowly gained speed and life for the night ahead.

Free Ad Space for 1 Lucky Female-Owned Business in CAKE&WHISKEY Magazine!

I know many of you, my amazing readers, are women business owners. And if you're not, you probably have a handful or two that you can think of. Over at  CAKE&WHISKEY Magazine  we're running a fantastic contest on Facebook where anyone can nominate their favorite woman-owned business by writing up a little shout-out about them and then getting votes! Anyone who’s tried to advertise in print knows how expensive a full page ad is, so this is a really amazing prize.  If you are a business owner and haven’t been nominated yet, simply nominate yourself and then get your customers and fans voting! Nominate here!

Don’t forget to pin the image and spread the word about this great magazine and the contest! Let’s get those hardworking business women nominated! 
Who will you be nominating??
You can purchase a subscription to CAKE&WHISKEY Magazine here. And don’t forget to like us on Facebook!

Canaan's Yellow Layer Cake with Buttercream

(*Disclaimer from the mom...Canaan's first attempt at true buttercream. No assistance was offered. This chef is legit) 

Canaan: 

Today I made a classic yellow cake for the dessert in my five course meal. The goods part was that it is fairly simple to make and it goes with almost anything you want to top it with. 

It is also better than your usual yellow cake in a box.  The bad part is it dirties up quite a bit of dishes. The buttercream frosting is not necessary. Sifting the flour was quite a pain since I didn’t have a sifter. If you don’t have one either you can use a mesh strainer and hit it against the heel of your hand. I cut the buttercream recipe in half and I still had extra. The cake also goes well with whipped cream and berries.

Buttercream Frosting

Classic Yellow Cake

(makes one 8-9 inche 2-layer cake or one 13 by 9 sheet cake)

3 lg eggs
2cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup soft, butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup milk

1. Prepare to Bake. Arrange the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter the cake pans. Place the unbroken eggs in a bowl of hot tap water.
2. Make the Batter.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then vanilla. Beat about 5 minutes. Spoon the flour mixture in alternating it with the milk, in about 4 batches, starting with the flour. Mix until smooth.
3. Bake the Cake.
Transfer the batter to the pan. Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean (15 minutes). Cool for 5 minutes in pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Frost with your favorite frosting recipe.

My brothers loved it.

Potato Latkes Appetizer

Hi, my name is Canaan. I’m going to be doing my mom’s blog this week with pictures and recipes. I will be making a five course meal with one dish every day. How about we start with the appetizer and go until dessert.

I woke up this morning wanting to make potato latkes. The good part about making them is that it is easy to double the recipe and it is fairly easy to clean up. It’s gluten-free and they go great with sour cream and applesauce.

Here are my notes: 

There is really no better potato, but if you want a crispier exterior use a starchier type of potato such as russet or Yukon gold. The only annoying parts are that grating is quite messy and frying them stinks up the house. Also sometimes you may need to use an extra egg so it holds together. If you use olive oil it will be more flavorful and won’t stink as bad. Also, if you don’t wash the potatoes until the water is clear they will be gummy.  They are a Jewish tradition to have around Hanukah. The oil it is cooked in represents the oil that stayed burning in the temple until they could get more. The word latke has been translated to heart in Hebrew. Hope you have fun making them!

 

Potato Latkes 

Gourmet | December 2000

Yield: Makes 12 to 16 latkes Active Time: 45 min Total Time: 45 min 1 pound potatoes 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 tsp pepper (I like to add pepper to mine) 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil Preheat oven to 250°F. ( I didn’t do this part. But you can if you want.) Peel potatoes and coarsely grate by hand, transferring to a large bowl of cold water as grated. Soak potatoes 1 to 2 minutes after last batch is added to water, then drain well in a colander. Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4 latkes, spoon 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into a flat disk. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn latkes over and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels (I like to use a cookie rack over a plate) to drain and season with salt. Add more oil to skillet as needed. Keep latkes warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven (if you want. Or just eat them)

Trader Joes Healthy 8

Life isn't slowing down anytime soon. But I hear murmurings that my metabolism will someday.
I've never been one to shy away from a great workout, a nutritous meal or a good nights sleep. But with the pace of life with three kids, the discovery of after school sports (yowza), business endeavors, etc...~ sometimes I just want to sink my teeth into a Snickers bar and a cup o' joe and call it breakfast.

I'll be real. I'm not sure I necessarily feel better eating well. But I sure as heck feel worse when I eat poorly. At the beginning of 2012 I did some radical cleaning house of my diet habits. After reoccurring sinus infections and overall sluggishness I kicked most carbs, sugars and fats to the curb. The lifestyle changes have stuck and a year later, I know without a doubt, what I put in my mouth each day (or don't) has contributed a lot to not only how I function throughout the day but my productivity level.

There are certain things I keep in the fridge that make eating great throughout the week a cinch. One of them? This amazing container of Healthy 8 Chopped Veggie Mix from Trader Joes ($2.99). We only recently got our own Lexington Trader Joes. If you don't have one nearby~ mix up a big ol' batch of your own and keep it in the fridge for the week ahead.

The Healthy 8 are:

Broccoli
Carrots
Green Cabbage
Red Cabbage
Jicama
Green Bell Pepper
Radish
Celery

The great thing about this mix (and I'm no dietitian...but I know this much) these cruciferous veggies are not only chock full of amazing goodness but they are really filling and keep you fueled through car line and 2 hour tennis practices.

So here's the deal. I love this stuff. I really do. Its SO versatile. I typically never eat it plain but I use it as a launching pad for some amazing creations. I've even heated it on the stove top and made a great stir fry or taco bowl. Here are some fridge goodies that make it shine:

Chicken
Tuna
Leftover Grilled Salmon (yum)
Blue Cheese
Balsamic Vinegar
Fruits
Sesame Seeds
Almonds
Ground Turkey 
A drizzle of Olive Oil and Honey
Avocado

This afternoon, it was a mixture of:

Papaya
Roasted Beets
Grapefruit segments (the juice drizzled over the whole thing last minute)
Pear
Yellow Pepper
Sea Salt

Really, its like this bowl of culinary genius waiting to happen.

Quintessential Banana Bread

By the age of twenty I was starting into my third year of training to prepare for a life of overseas missions work. I had moved from Ohio to Wisconsin and then to the top of a mountain in eastern Kentucky to spend my days learning and practicing all that I would need to know to survive...and thrive long term in a third world, remote location.
Although I always had a keen interest in cooking (some of my favorite Saturday morning memories are clipping recipes from the food section of the Columbus Dispatch and filing them in my well organized, pink index card holder), it wasn't until my time in the mountains and later in the backwoods of Mississippi, that my skills in the basics were honed. 
Those years, first as a young single woman ready to conquer the world and later as a young married woman ready to tackle the world, were some of the most foundational, growing, impacting years of what would become the life I now live and love today.
I have a handful of recipes I still use repeatably from the worn cookbook journal I kept during that time in the tiny mission house kitchen. This Banana Bread recipe is one of them. I've tried others over the years....many, in fact. But I always come back to this. Its sweet~ but not overly sweet. And what lies beneath that amazingly, thin and crispy shell is a moist, yet sturdy, full flavored, perfectly perfect banana bread.
No bells or whistles. No nuts, cinnamon, swirls of flavor or chocolate chips. Of course, feel free to add any or all of those. Here at The Smith Homestead though, we remain banana bread purists. 

Quintessential Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 lg eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1t vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1t baking soda
1t salt

Move oven rack to the lowest position. Heat to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of one large loaf pan. Sprinkle with sugar. 
Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl. Add eggs until blended. Add bananas, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. 
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir, just until combined, into the banana mixture. 
Pour into bread pan. 
Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. 
Cool 5 minutes in pan and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

Working Backwards....

I have no idea why:
#1 this post has taken so long to actually come together
#2 I've hesitated sitting down to write it

But I think I now know why. Bear with me as I work my way backwards.
I love this blog which means I will never close its doors. Its my true north. It keeps me grounded to everything that is real and true and pure and good in my life. It keeps me in touch with what really matters at the end of the day; home. No...not my house. HOME. The pattering feet, the feel of cold dough between my fingers, the late night chats on the couch with the Mr., the afternoons in the backyard. Which means, I need to get my act together and start sharing some more goodness from the home, shouldn't I?
There's been some long periods of silence in recent months. I know. It isn't that I haven't thought endlessly about sharing the new recipes I'm trying, the crafty little projects I still find time for or the fun dinner parties we still make time to host. Its just that...well, I started a magazine. And boy-oh-boy....if no one has ever told you, those sorts of things are real time suckers!
The magazine is here. In print form. All 100 pages of it. Right next to me as I type this, in fact. Let me officially introduce you to CAKE&WHISKEY; the Sweet & Spirited World of Business.

Most of my longtime readers and dear friends know how much I adore business. Dreaming them up, starting them, launching them, growing them..... its the biggest surge of energy and creative boost for this churning mind of mine. C&W is the culmination of lots of years of business experience, freelance writing, making connections, reaching for goals and taking bigger and bigger leaps.
I really can't believe its here. I can't believe the journey that we have been on to get it here. I can't believe the amazing amount of support and love and work that went into it from around the globe. I can't believe the amount of interest its generated over the course of the past few months and I certainly can't believe the little idea that was sparked literally while baking a cake in my kitchen,  actually came to fruition.
I would love for you to pick up a copy. Easiest way, here in our early days, is through the online shop. If you're local, you can grab one at a bookstore nearby. With each issue the reach will grow and we'll be fully global by fall. Crazy.

I'd love for you to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Also, I'd love to know about any amazing stories of businesswomen (both corporate and entrepreneurial) that you'd want to put on our radar.
And if you'd like to see a sneak peak of the first issue....

So with all of that said, lets go back to the beginning of this post. Art of Homemaking is my truest passion and love and I can't wait to pour into it for years to come. Thank you for hanging in there with me as the cycle of life has pulled me away for a bit. I'm back. xoxo

The Morning Ritual

Life with a three year old is literally like living a line from a Charles Dickens book~ it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Otto, who turned the big 3 over the weekend, isn't one to spare us the extremes in life. He isn't necessarily one for tantrums (thank goodness). But oh-my...lets just say, we have a pint sized teenager on our hands.
But when that little rascal climbs into bed to "get cozy" each morning, putting his clammy toes on my back and sweetly whispers in my ear, "mama, get up. I need pancakes"~ how can I resist.

People always ask me how I am able to keep up with it all...3 boys, a husband, a house to run, friends to nurture, articles to write, a blog to write (poorly lately...I know) and launching a new magazine, I just shrug my shoulders. I really don't know what to say except that in the flurry of it all, I continually root myself in what really matters. More than waking up to answer over a dozen emails that have come in over night and get a publication off to print TODAY...

I need to make pancakes for my three year old.

If you haven't already started sniffing around about CAKE&WHISKEY~ I'd love for you to. I'll be sharing a ton more in the coming days and weeks, but until then~ I'd love for your to poke around our landing page and go "like" us on Facebook.

Life on Fast Forward

The Smith Homestead typically runs on slow-mo time...some might even call it boring. For us, its perfect.
Life recently, though, has taken a turn towards the fast lane and we're trying ever-so-hard to preserve the quietness that we adore and cherish.

That, up there, is a little token of remembrance from my first trip to NYC a few weeks ago. It cost a little over $3 at a kitchy little shop near Times Square. It sits on the cedar shelf by my stove~ next to the cookbook from a friend and our antique shaker. NY was a whirlwind and albeit great in every way...I couldn't wait to get back home.

In a couple of weeks a project that has been in the works for a little over 6 months will officially launch. I've shared a bit about it here and there...but next week I'll share the full scope of the uncharted waters we're heading into. Exciting and equally terrifying.

Although my posts are a bit more infrequent, it won't be so for long. I'm still busy in the kitchen, creating lovely things for family and friends and can't wait to dive back into my first creative love, The Art of Homemaking.

New York City

From about middle school onward, I was an artist. I would stay for hours in my bedroom, painting and drawing~listening to The Beatles on my record player (how about some Paperback Writer!?)~ and thinking about a life in New York City.
Tomorrow I will take my first trip. Its been a long time coming, just ask anyone who knows me well. I'm overly annoying about the topic.
The blog will be quiet this week~ no computer going on the trip...hence no post updates. But you know what I'd love? I'd love hearing your suggestions, your ideas, and your tour guide tips of what to do in the city that never sleeps. I won't have much time shuttling between meetings, but in that little time I do have~ I intend to make the most of it.

Central Park~ Photo can be purchased here

(**Dear Mom...Don't worry. I won't take a jog in Central Park at dusk. And please refrain from watching any crime scene shows next week that take place in NYC. Love~ Your Daughter)