our weekend, only late.

things around here are moving much to fast.  everything is seemingly flying by, & try as i might, hours are not dragging by.  and i won't lie, i've been pouting quite a bit about it.  but we don't roll over easily and are still doing what we can to make the most of our last days around here.  fall's definitely here, so it's making the bittersweet, so much more enjoyable.

things have been exceptionally busy.  the big move sort has begun and the piles in our basement are mounting.  we accepted an offer on our home on monday, signed the paperwork this morning and as of yesterday afternoon, a. is officially on terminal leave (basically a three month vacation) from the army! there's so much yet to do, but as they say...one day at a time.

over the weekend, we double dated and mini golfed with some sweet friends.  we watched football, i started a new project (i'm now picking road-friendly hobbies) and spent most of sunday flying (i flew the plane!) and double-dating once again.  we baked and cooked and gardened and packed.  as they all tend to do in these parts, the weekend rocked. 

i can't help but get overly emotional lately.  we have so many huge changes happening in our life.  new jobs, a move across country, a new city, finding a home, making friends and building a new and wonderful life somewhere else.  it's a lot for two people & i won't lie, it's stressful.  then add on the emotion of saying goodbye to a city you deeply love & goodbye to a home that holds some of your most precious memories.  throw in the see ya later's to some of your favorite people in the whole world and you now have an emotional roller coaster.

so consider yourself warned- as happy and wonderful things are around here, know there's also a lot of emotion floating around.  so these next two weeks might be much like today, a little random, a whole bunch of reminiscing and probably a few tears.  thanks for bearing with me, and letting me keep it real.

how to: prune a basil bush

when i first started gardening, i was terrified to touch my bushy basil plants.  i knew i didn't want them to flower, but other than that, knew nothing more.  after a few seasons of gardening, i finally think i have a handle on this awesome herb & want to share how to prune back (this is not for the meek) a basil bush.

did you know that basil bushes like to be trimmed?  like roses, the more often they're pruned back, the better the harvest.  for years, i'd let my basil plant grow big and tall only taking care to remove any flowers (these stunt the basils growth and turn the leaves sour) & harvesting leaves as i needed them.  then, at the end of the season, i'd tear apart the plant for my annual tomato basil soup harvest, knowing the cold would kill the basil before i had a chance.

this year however, was different.  when initially picking out our starter plants from a local garden center, i overheard a woman telling her presumably granddaughter, to cut back her basil regularly once the plant was large enough to harvest.  she then proceeded to say how this method, in the long run, would produce more basil.  i was in awe & decided to try that technique in our garden.

& now, here i am, sharing that overheard knowledge (& godsend) with you.

1. find young leaves just above the bottom 2-3 sets of leaves.  most likely, these young thangs are growing with some older leaves as well.  feel free to use your discretion.  in some cases, i cut a bit further up since the stalk was a little wonky.

2. using scissors or pruning shears, make the first cut.  don't be nervous.  the stalk is going to look short and pathetic (but they thrive under those conditions).  instead, focus on the massive amount of leaves you're holding in your hands & think of all the yummy things you can make with them.

3. repeat throughout the entire plant.  by now you're nerves should be gone and the plant should be looking mighty stumpy (as your pile of cut basil continues to grow).

that's it!  super easy once you get the hang of it & over your initial i'm a plant killer guilt.  as mentioned above, they actually really like it.  and don't be surprised if your basil starts growing larger leaves at a quicker pace than it did before.

depending on your gardens conditions (sunlight, critters, water, etc.), try to prune back your basil every 4 weeks.  trust me, you'll be at a loss with what to do with all your basil!

bake 20: grapefruit pound cake.

this past february, one of my beloved co-workers came into the office raving about a fantastic grapefruit cake she found in the most recent cooking light magazine.  since i tend to lean towards all things citrus, i knew this was the perfect recipe for me. the only problem, and as mentioned before 400 thousand times, i'm not much of a baker.  so the recipe sat, tucked away in one of my favorite cookbooks, waiting to be found. 

last weekend, we had a small dinner party with a couple of our neighbors.  i made our famous fish tacos complete with spanish rice and beans.  but for dessert, i was struggling to find something that would compliment this baja menu.  & then i remembered the grapefruit pound cake.

recipe: grapefruit pound cake

adjustments: i didn't make any changes to the batter, but did decide to cook it in a bundt pan.  for the glaze, i doubled the juice and only once i was in the glaze-making process, did i realize i didn't have enough powdered sugar.  so i used what i had for a juicier glaze.

review: wow.  this cake is rockin'.  it's moist and light and perfectly satisfying.  everyone loved the first bite and later, helped themselves to more.  this cake will be made again.  probably in the very near future.

this is #5 of the bake 20 challenge.

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over the next five months i'm going to try my hand at 20 different baked goods.  there's no specific order and no plan.  just making things that look good and hopefully in the process, finding a new appreciation of baking.  feel free to join me in the Bake 20 Challenge.

our ridiculously short trip to the cape.

on monday i mentioned our spontaneous trek to cape cod for a.'s interview.  well, we're home now, making the total trip of 747 miles in the car, an hour and a half interview, a few hours spent walking on the beach, exploring as much as we possibly could, indulging in local fare & spending some precious time with our friends in boston (and their new little addition) in a grand total of 36 hours.  whew.  now that's a whirlwind.

but know what?  i'd do it all over again.  we had so much fun in the cape and since it was both during the week and off season, the towns were settling back into their sleepy modes.  we found a stellar hotel overlooking the beach (thanks to yelp!) with plenty of availability, ate at some notoriously busy restaurants (with very little, if any, wait), enjoyed quiet strips of beach and the most beautiful sunny weather.

while a. was at his interview, i spent a couple hours exploring some local shops & enjoying the fantastic weather.  we enjoyed our last lunch seaside and headed to boston for a quick little reunion.  we only had a few hours, but we chatted and reminisced and i held on tightly to the sweetest smelling little munchkin.  we didn't want to leave & we all know traveling home is the hardest part of any voyage.  but a. and i have a system- we listened to a few podcasts, jammed to our favorite tunes, chatted about the trip and the possibilities of another job offer coming through and daydreamed of our future. 

we're good at daydreaming.  it always gives us direction and something new to get excited about; like another (longer) trip to cape cod perhaps?

homemade basil vodka.

what one earth does one do with an abundance of basil?  pesto? check.  caprese salad? check.  give it to friends? check.  how about basil vodka?  sure, why not? 

and so this idea was born.  or at least the idea to give this recipe a try.  Putting everything together was super simple.  i cut a ton of basil (way more than one cup) from our bush & washed it thoroughly just to make sure the crop was bug-free.

i used an old pickle jar, put my massive amount of basil inside (no measuring necessary), and added the vodka to the top.  I’m not partial to any vodka in particular, but the svedka was on sale and it’s what i used when making the homemade amaretto.  the amaretto turned out so well I figured it wouldn’t hurt to use the same base. 

review: other than the brown tint from the basil, this vodka is very good- especially if you like basil.  it's perfect with a lemon simple syrup and a dash of club soda or in a vodka take on a strawberry-basil mojito.  i'll definitely be making this again.

adjustments: i added a ton more basil than the recipe required.  mostly because i had no idea what else to do with it.  in hindsight, while i love the super intense basil infusion, i should have divided the crop into two batches...but like i said above, i really like how it turned out...so it's all about preferences people.

note: i decided to gift a bottle of the "sauce" to a good friend.  i up-cycled a old (but clean) dressing bottle using one of the kraft labels from the avery/martha stewart line and added a recipe for a basil vodka gimlet that i modified a bit.  it was a fun little project to pull together, although i wish avery offered templates for photoshop elements as well as photoshop.  all in good time.

p.s. i used the following {free!} fonts: lavanderia delicate for both titles & derivia for the ingredients & directions.