Paris Letters

I find it intriguing the way some people creatively make a living. Imagine having an unfulfilling job only to leave it (after careful planning) and going to Paris? That is exactly what Janice MacLeod did and as a result, she wrote her first book and memoir, Paris Letters.

This is a book you continue to ponder long after the last page is read. Without giving too much of the story away, the author decides to change the course of her life. In doing so, many unexpected gifts occur along the way.

Her journey leads the author to establishing her own business~~creating and writing “Paris Letters”~~yes, the snail mail kind. You can sign up to receive your very own Paris letter from the author~~either just one letter or a 6 to 12 month subscription.

In the day and age of social media and the internet, it is such a gift to receive a letter in the mail. Excitedly, I signed up to receive a year of Janice MacLeod’s monthly Paris letters. This can be done through Paris Letters Press on Etsy here.

If I didn’t read this book, I would have never known that a monthly subscription like this even existed!

I must admit I was waiting for the mail to come every day since I signed up…..and my painted letter arrived yesterday!

The envelope felt very Parisian, with lovely stamps.

Of course, how can one read a letter from Paris without having some French wine? It’s been so hot in Phoenix that only a very chilled bottle of rosé will do. Not the sweet one, but the dry version from Provence.

Isn’t this just beautiful?

Janice does the illustration in watercolor that accompanies the letter.

Wouldn’t this be a lovely gift for a relative or friend? If you know of someone who would appreciate getting a beautifully illustrated letter in the mail, this is perfect!

Since I enjoyed her first book so much, I just completed her second book, A Paris Year.

Unfortunately I read it on my Kindle while on vacation, therefore didn’t get to appreciate all the color pictures and illustrations in the book. If I were ever to go to Paris, I would bring this book as my guide. Janice goes through each day of the year detailing the sights, activities, and the nuances of Paris.

I received 3 things from this experience. 1) Found great books to read and lessons to contemplate; 2) Discovered Paris Letters and subscribed; 3) In my own way, I am helping a small, creative, business owner.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Weekend!

I am writing this from the deck of our vacation destination in gorgeous Newport Beach, California. As I stare at the Pacific Ocean, I am feeling such gratitude for being here-out of the triple digit heat and high monsoon humidity of Phoenix.

The best part of being here is having this cherished time with my children. It’s funny how when they all get together they fall into childish ways~~teasing each other, and of course, teasing me more.

I know it is vacation time because I actually have fingernails. It’s the only time of the year that occurs. Even though I am washing dishes, doing laundry and all the normal household chores but in a different location, I must be less hard on my hands.

We’ve been coming to the same place every year, during the last two weeks in July. This may be our last year all together since our son will soon be moving to Washington, D.C. to start his new after college job. Though I’ve already made reservations for next year, I’m not sure who will be joining us. Bittersweet.

The mornings here are overcast and cool~~referred to as June Gloom. But by late morning or mid-day, the sun is out and the skies are blue.

I love the landscaping here as it has a very Italian, Tuscan feel. The buildings have terra cotta roofs and our room is called a villa. .

There are many fountains and koi ponds. I am quite amazed at how well-maintained this property is~~~it must take a cast of thousands to keep it so beautiful.

We are located directly on the Pacific Coast Highway with one of our favorite beaches across the street, Crystal Cove State Beach. This stretch of coastline was filmed in the movies, Beaches. Whether is is cloudy or sunny, it’s the perfect place to be.

I have been doing a great deal of reading. My daughter bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I cannot believe how visible the page is in the sun.

And, of course, we have been eating lots of tasty food. One of our favorite restaurants is actually located right on the beach, the Beachcomber Cafe. It makes the most delicious beignets. While on vacation, one must indulge!

There is something about being near the ocean. It’s the smell of the sea, the sound of the waves, the sand between my toes~~~I can feel the stress just melt away. Unfortunately, living near the water in California is cost prohibitive to most of us ~~unless you have several million dollars to spend on a very small home. So I am joyous to have our 2 weeks a year here.

I hope your summer is filled with relaxation time. We all need it. I’m not very good at taking time to chill out and when I finally do it, I wonder what has taken me so long. Ah, the lazy days of summer…

Peach Pie

What is summer without a peach pie? This year our tree didn’t produce enough peaches. My husband bought these beauties at Costco. Unfortunately, they weren’t ripe and too hard. I needed to make the pie the next day so I threw them into a paper bag, added a banana, and viola! In just one overnight, they were ripe-not too much so-but perfect for pie making!

I have made many peach pies before, but because they are SO juicy, the bottom crust often suffers from the wet and soggy syndrome. Since this pie was to be dessert at a friend’s house, I was determined to resolve that.

I googled a recipe from Serious Eats, as I have had good luck with them in the past.

Using my very easy pie crust recipe (see recipe here), I made the dough using my food processor. While the dough was refrigerating, I prepared the peaches for peeling. I typically don’t peel my peaches so this was a first for me. Note: Peeling is optional.

Drop the fresh peaches into a large pot of boiling water. Do not crowd the peaches. Boil for 30-40 seconds.

Remove the peaches and immediately place in an ice bath. Cool for 1 minute.

The skins will easily separate from the fruit.

The recipe calls for each peach to be cut into 8 pieces, but these were exceptionally large peaches so I cut them into chunks.

Add the cornstarch, sugar and lime zest and mix. I’ve not used lime zest before so I was interested to see how it would impact the flavor.

Fill bottom crust with peach filling.

I made an extra effort to keep the pie crust chilled as much as possible. I cut the top crust into strips for a basket weave pattern.

Apply the strips one at a time.

Alternate lifting up and laying down each strip until you have successfully completed a basket weave pattern for the top crust.

Trim off the excess pie crust edges.

Using a fork, crimp the outer edge of the pie to seal in the filling.

Brush the crust with a beaten egg and salt.

Sprinkle with sugar and then chill the entire pie for at least 20 minutes. I did 40 minutes.

Place in the preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then drop the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and the filling is bubbling over.

I added a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from browning too quickly. I wasn’t as wide as the pie dish but I believed it helped.

Here it is! The juices were bubbling and dripping out of the pie. Note to self: while pie is baking, put a pan beneath it or a piece of foil as the sweet drippings were stuck all over the bottom of my oven.

We brought the pie with some homemade vanilla ice cream to friend’s house so I do not have any pictures of a cut piece.

However, it was DELICIOUS! Lots of peach pie juice, but the crust was NOT wet or soggy. I believe keeping the crust chilled and then chilling the pie before baking was the key. Also, there wasn’t any noticeable lime zest flavoring~~I will assume it just enhanced the peaches.

Couple of points:

I used a 9″ deep dish pie dish. The recipe calls for a 9″ pie pan.
I didn’t weigh my peaches so it’s highly possible I had over 4 lbs.
The recipe instructs you to turn the pie dish while baking. I did do this and the pie appeared to brown evenly.
You can do any top crust you would like.
Usually I add pieces of butter to a peach pie but didn’t do so this time. I didn’t impact the flavor at all.
The pie had quite a bit of juice. However, the bottom crust was not soggy. Yippee!
The homemade ice cream was done in a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. It took 20 minutes to make and a few hours to freeze. Was really worth it.

Classic Peach Pie Recipe from Serious Eats

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:23]

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

I first tasted these delicious lemon ricotta pancakes at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, California many years ago. These pancakes are so light and lemony that I can literally still taste them in my memory. My desire to make them at home is impetus for purchasing the restaurant’s cookbook, The Summertime Anytime Cookbook by Dana Slatkin.

With our hot summer weather, the last thing you want is a filling meal in a hot kitchen. We search for light, tasty, and healthy recipes. Not so sure how healthy these are but they do pass the light and tasty test.

This recipe is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The batter can be made the day before and refrigerated~~allowing for preparation flexibility. Ingredients are pretty straight forward~cake or all purpose flour, butter, eggs, lemons and lemon extract or oil. Of course, I love using this microplane as a zester, making for quick and easy fresh lemon zest.

One key to making these light and fluffy is beating the egg whites and then carefully folding them into the batter. Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto a griddle or pan.

Cook until bubbles begin to form on the tops of the pancakes and the bottoms are golden. Be careful flipping them, as they are delicate.

Continue cooking until the pancakes are golden on the other side and dry in the middle.

The recipe says to sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar~~oops, I forgot to do that. However, they were still amazing when served with warm maple syrup and fresh berries.

The recipe states it makes 6 large pancakes, but we made 10 smaller ones with the batter.

I really hope you try this recipe~~it’s one of my favorites!

Lemon Ricotta Pancake Recipe from The Summertime Anytime Cookbook by Dana Slatkin

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

This is the most requested recipe from Shutters on the Beach restaurant.

4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp lemon extract or lemon oil
1/4 cup cake or all-purpose flour
pinch kosher salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 Tbs unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly)
4 large egg whites
Canola oil or nonstick spray, for cooking
Confections' sugar, for serving
Maple syrup, for serving
Mixed berries, optional

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon extract; whisk until light in color and aerated, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour and salt, then whisk in the ricotta cheese and melted butter until just incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter, being careful not to overmix. The batter can be prepared the night before and refrigerated.
Heat a griddle or a large sauté pan over medium heat and coat it lightly with oil. Pour 1/2 cup circles of batter and cook until bubbles begin to form on the tops of the pancakes and the bottoms are golden, about 2 minutes. Then flip carefully and continue cooking until the pancades are golden on the other side and dry in the middle.
Transfer the pancakes to serving plates and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, or keep them warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve. Serve with syrup and berries on the side.

Makes 6 large pancakes; serves two to three

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Life away from Bella Terra

It has been a busy few weeks away from home with limited internet coverage (how nice!). Since I don’t have a staff to write blog posts for me, I am finally back home and now able to share my adventures.

The only glitch in the trip was the plane had to do an emergency medical landing in Memphis. Unfortunately one of the passengers died after valiant efforts by the crew and volunteers to resuscitate her. We missed our connection but the airline was very accommodating in getting us a later flight. After witnessing a crisis like that, you just count your blessings.

First stop: Connecticut. My sister has a lovely home in Old Saybrook right on the water…..such a treat for me as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the water.

Here is where I had my morning coffee. Lucky me. There is something about looking at the ocean-I can actually feel my stress melt away.

Each morning included brisk beach walks. I enjoyed the abundance of flowers and lush landscaping.

Here’s my future beach house. Here is my future beach house. Here is my future beach house. If I keep saying it over and over again, won’t it come true?

In Connecticut, I cannot resist the fresh, local seafood. Lobster, lobster and more lobster. Here we are having lunch at the marina at Saybrook Point Inn.

After a glorious trip to the beautiful shores of Connecticut and reconnecting with my siblings, we then flew into Philadelphia for my goddaughter’s wedding weekend.

We arrived in Collegeville (about an hour north of Philly). This town has an incredible public park called the Perkiomen Trail, which has 20 miles of walking, biking and hiking paths. The trail goes along the Schuylkill River and we completed a 4 mile walk on the morning of the wedding.

In spite of the high temperatures and high humidity, we all survived the late afternoon outdoor ceremony. The wedding reception was held indoors (thank goodness for air conditioning) in an old barn.

Back to Phoenix and less than 24 hours later, we were headed up to our mountain cabin for the 4th of July.

This PARADISE metal step, from an amusement park slide, greets us at the front door of the cabin. The weather was perfect with cool mornings and 75 degree temperatures during the day~~a significant change from the sweltering Phoenix heat.

When we were here in May, I discovered a bird’s nest in my geranium basket that hangs by the entrance. It was filled with these gorgeous blue eggs.

Now, the nest is empty with tiny pieces of blue egg shell in the bottom, so the baby birds have hatched and left the nest.

We had a full house for the July 4th holiday. What a joy to have all my children and their friends with us! Our neighborhood has a fun, homespun parade…the Bullfrog Loop parade, which celebrates our patriotism and freedom.

We are now back in Phoenix. Monsoon season is upon us so we are praying for much needed rain in Arizona. My daughter LOVES the rain!

I hope you are having a relaxing and fun summer! In a few weeks, all my children will be going their separate ways so I am cherishing each and every moment. I may not be blogging as much during this time but I will pick up the pace at the end of August.

Sending big summer hugs to all of you!

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My First Key Lime Pie

I have never made a key lime pie….ever. I did try my hand at Lemon Meringue once and it was a total disaster. We were at Ranch Market this the weekend. They had key limes for $0.99 a lb. and I couldn’t resist buying a big bag of them.

There are quite a few different recipes for key lime pie~~with and without eggs. The recipe I chose was from Allrecipe because it was customer rated with 5 stars. There are so few ingredients required for this pie.

You can use either a store-bought graham cracker crust or it’s very easy to make your own from scratch.

Here’s how to make the crust. To get 1 1/2 cups of finely ground graham crackers, I used approximately 1.5 packages of graham crackers. Using the Cuisinart, it took a few seconds to pulverize the crackers into crumbs. You can also put the crackers into a Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.

Has anyone else noticed how small graham crackers have become? I actually googled it and there have been numerous complaints on the reduction in size and diminished taste. Graham crackers were a favorite childhood treat, but now they seem so skimpy. I digress…

Back to the pie. Add sugar and melted butter. Cinnamon is optional but I included it in this recipe. Mix well.

Press the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate~~I used a measuring cup to tap the crumbs down.

Bake it at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. Cool before adding the filling.

To make the key lime filling, squeeze this little tiny fellas until you get 3/4 cup of key lime juice. It took approximately 19 limes (14 or so limes = 1 lb.) and fortunately my strong son did all the squeezing.

This is the BEST hand-held juicer from Zulay that works for both lemons and limes.

Mix sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and lime zest together. By the way, I LOVE this zester by Microplane.

Pour the filling into a COOL crust and bake for ONLY A FEW MINUTES. I was so surprised that this didn’t require more time in the oven (5-8 minutes). DO NOT BROWN!

Here is what it looked like after I took it out of the oven. Not too dissimilar from the picture above but there are tiny pinhole bubbles just on the surface. Chill pie thoroughly before serving.

Top with whipped cream and lime slices. This is the perfect dessert for the summer!

Bon Appetit!

Here is the recipe for Key Lime Pie by Allrecipe:SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Key Lime Pie

1 9" prepared graham cracker crust
3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice
1 TBSP grated lime zest

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers
1/3 cup white sugar
6 TBSP butter (melted)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

To Make a Graham Cracker Crust

Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.