Bayou Woman Syrup and Biscuits - a blog about Southern food, culture and traditions The Southern Bite | Stacey Little's Southern Food Blog Urban Comfort If I were brainstorming gifts for my son it's unlikely that a pencil holder would come to mind, but that's exactly what he's getting from me this Valentine's Day and I think he's going to love it. It all started with pottery classes, which I've been taking since September. My son has enjoyed watching my progress, taking particular delight in my mishaps since I am always reminding him that we get better at just about everything through practice. He mentioned recently that if I ever got past being able to make something other than bowls, I should make something for him. At any rate, I had purchased a wood grain texture mat and made a vase to use for the holidays, which I liked a lot and was continuing to experiment with, working to create a more organic, slumping profile that felt treelike. To continue this very long story, the pencil holder pictured here is not the one I'm giving him. Here's how: Step 1: Create a base. Step 2: Make slip. Step 6: Scoring. Resources
Angel in the Kitchen Agua Fresca Recipes: 10 Refreshing Drink Ideas Agua fresca, Spanish for fresh water, is all we want to drink during the hot months of summer. In Mexico and all over Latin America, agua frescas are sold by street vendors throughout the cities and towns during the spring and summer months. And we'd like to see that custom at home too. Typically made with fruits, grains and seeds, agua frescas also include water, sugar and sometimes herbs or spices -- but that's pretty much it. They're simple to make at home. Blackberry Cobbler - Urban Comfort The blackberries are already showing up in the market, perhaps due to the early spring this year. But with strawberry season virtually over, here, I welcome their arrival. I usually make blackberry crisp, but I stumbled onto a cobbler recipe in one of my cookbooks, Bon Appetit, Y'all by Virginia Willis, which brought back memories of the cobblers I used to prepare when I was growing up. You see, cobblers are so simple to throw together that as an 11-year-old (for a brief time living in the country), I would run out the back door after supper, pick the berries I needed, and make a cobbler right then and there. We usually served it with vanilla ice cream, though I find I'm just as happy with freshly whipped cream as an adult. The one difference is that I'd never baked cobbler in a cast iron skillet before. Have a great weekend! Blackberry Cobbler(adapted from Bon Appetit, Y'all)(Serves 6 to 8) 1. 2. 3. 4. ShareThis
Pink Grapefruit Cake (Part II) - Urban Comfort I sort of gave up on blogging last week. I took a look at the the state of my house, the length of my to-do list, and the amount of coffee in my pantry and psychologically went on strike. After all, it's not like anything terrible happens if you don't blog for a week. But I can never ignore the call of the Internet for very long and after experimenting with grapefruit cake again this weekend, I couldn't wait to share my discovery. And that's why I'm a blogger - the compulsion to share is always greater than the desire to keep it to myself (something my teachers may have complained about during my early school years). At any rate, I've been thinking about grapefruit buttercream ever since I pinned this recipe from The Pastry Affair. I had an instinct that my favorite birthday cake, the Simply Delicious Yellow Cake from Amy's Bread in New York, would stand up nicely to grapefruit buttercream. It's exactly the cake I'd hoped for. Pink Grapefruit Layer Cake Ingredients 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 1. 2.