where i live

i live in the desert of southern nevada people. not las vegas southern, but its still called southern, even tho we are up the mountains, freezing out tushies off most of the time. there are all sorts of weird things to behold here (things you dont see in texas) and there is no water. yet i have the urge to plant things that require lots of water all the time. its ridiculous really. the town i live in is so small that they actually just started using water meters to bill people. ! it amazes me. of, and the power goes out frequently. last time it was out for 8 hours i think, all because some shithead was using a forklift and knocked down a telephone pole. and knocking down one telephone pole causes the whole town to lose electricity. for eight hours. this is where i live. ridiculous. but it is neat, to have a mountain on the other side of my street. oh, which by the way is cemetery lane. and guess what. my dead neighbors out populate the live ones by like, oh, 5 to 1. but its quiet. and i get a kick out of the dead end sign on my street. but i will leave you with a sunset from my backyard...

delicious blueberry goooooodness!

i made this when my in-laws were here. (don't you know i try to show off my impressive cooking skills to anyone who eats?!?!) this was sooo good, and it was still delicious the next day. but alas, i had to use frozen blueberries because sadly, i have very alkaline soil. poo.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
From Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the crumbs
-5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
-1/4 cup sugar
-1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
-1/3 cup all purpose flour
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (i left theses out, we don't eat nuts in this house, lol)

For the cake
-1 pint (two cups) blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
-2 cups plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon slat
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
-2/3 cup sugar
-Grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/4 orange (i used orange)
-3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-2 large eggs, at room temperature
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

---center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. butter an 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.
---to make the crumbs--- put all the ingredients except the nuts into a food processor and pulse until the micture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed. scrape the topping into a bowl, mix in the nuts, and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface. (covered well, the crumb mix can be refrigerated for up to three days.)
---to make the cake--- using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 teaspoons of the flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside. whisk together the remaining two cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
-working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about three minutes. add the eggs one by one, beating for one minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. dont be concerned if the batter looks curdled- it will soon smooth out. reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in three parts, and the buttermilk in two (begin and end with the dry ingredients). you will have a thick, creamy batter. with a rubber spatula gently stir in the berries. scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the tip gently with the spatula. pull the crumb mix from the refrigerator and, with your fingertips, break it into pieces. there's no need to try to get even pieces- these are crumbs, they are meant to be lumpy. scatter the crumbs over the batter, pressing them down ever so lightly.
-bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. transfer to a rack and cool until it is just warm or until it reaches room temperature.

and this is now.

that mess, is what i call my garden. i will take all the wallo waters down next week, and show you what is actually growing! but i think our last freeze is in two days, so i dont want to mess with it now. oh yeah, and thanks to the DH again for putting up the fence as well lol.

back tracking.

so i wanted to back track today, and show you the by-products of tilling the garden. i love my husband, because if it wasn't for his brute strength i could have never accomplished tilling the garden. well, i can't take any credit really, he did the entire thing himself. but apparently God does have a sense of humor. He thinks rocks, particularly big ones, are funny.

I LOVE my new cookbook!

so i bought Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. i love it with all my heart. and i made creme brulee. and it was delicious. and easy. and it gave me a reason to buy a little blowtorch!!!

Creme Brulee
from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk (i used 1% and it still worked)
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
about 6 tablespoons sugar for topping

---Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
---Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.
---Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla together in a bowl until well blended, but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid (to temper the eggs). Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the dream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble to custard, then strain it into the baking dishes. (I used 4 ramekins, it says to use 6, but we wanted more custard.)
---Bake the custards for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the centers are set. Lift the dishes to a cooling rack and let them sit until they reach room temperature.
---Cover each custard and refrigerate at least three hours. The sugar will not carmelize properly unless the custard is COLD.
---Sprinkle the top of the custard with about 1 tablespoon of sugar, and blowtorch away my dears! Just start off easy until you get the hang of it, you don't want really burnt sugar.

Apologies First

I am so bad. NO posts in a month and a half. but let me explain. first, it was freezin ass cold, and i think i had plenty of pictures of seedlings, and my in-laws were here for a week, and then I had my wisdom teeth out. so i am sorry. but now i can get back to posting. and to start things off, here's a few pictures of my blooming fruit trees!!! i have no idea what they are, lol, they were here when we moved in, and since this is my first spring/ summer here, i guess i will just have to find out. but the bees are having a blast. and i found their hive. its underground! anyways...