Little House Blog Has Moved!

To make things simple, the blog is now on on the LHE website. You can still come here to see older posts, but from now on to check out new posts, visit the blog page on the website.

LHE website is up!!!

I took a long blog break, I've been busy working on the website and it's finally up! Hopefully now, I will have time to get back to blogging.

Also, I promised final photos of Allison and Ryan's arch, so here they are!

The Flower Exchange-DIY Flowers

I meant to write this immediately after Mike and Megan's wedding, but forgot. I had written a while back about DIY flowers. I had never done the flowers for a wedding entirely from an online order before, but since we were in North Carolina, it seemed like the easiest and cheapest option. We ordered from The Flower Exchange and I felt comfortable because they had pretty good reviews and I have a relationship with wholesalers in New York and knew I could get a last minute overnight shipment from them.

But there were no worries! The flowers came in better than I had expected. The only issue was the the ornithogalum didn't open before the wedding, but since we had so many other elements, it didn't matter. Plus it was nice to have them (and all the other flowers) throughout the entire week at the beach house.

They had a great selection and a pretty good price, and I would definitely recommend them. I'm debating if next time I should try a new place, or just stick with these guys. Just please remember to order in advance, allowing enough time for the flowers to take up water and fully open before the wedding. These were delivered first thing Friday morning for the evening ceremony on Sunday. Some flowers though, might need up to a week, so make sure you research what you're using before you try this option.

Super Simple Pie Filling

I went to the farmers market yesterday and picked up some cherries and berries for pie. Since my last recipe was for pie crust, I thought it would be great to share this too. Again, this more of a how-to rather than a recipe.

First, wash, pit, stem, wedge, dice, or whatever is needed to the fruit. Today I did two batches-one, just cherries and the other blackberries, blueberries, and currants.

Second, add sugar and lemon juice-about one cup sugar and one lemon (reserve the zest before juicing) for about 2 pints of fruit, but it's not an exact science. Then let it sit. This can last anywhere between 30 minutes and a few hours.Pour the fruit and juices into a large saucepan and add lemon zest and two tablespoons of corn starch. You can vary this by adding cinnamon, extracts, liquors, etc. Mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is thickened and long enough so that you can't taste the cornstarch.Pour out the mixture and cool without stirring. Store until you're ready to use it.

I was cooking these for hand pies. To make them, roll out circles of pie crust (you can make them any size, but make the circles bigger than you think you need). Spoon out the filling. Seal with an egg wash (egg whites and the tiniest bit of salt to loosen them) and freeze. When you're ready to cook them, cut slits in the top to let the steam out, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 325˚ until they're golden brown.

TIP: If you're working on a few things at the same time, make sure to label them. For these I was leaving the cherries to sit for six hours and the mixed berries for only one, so after I saran wrapped them, I put stickies on top with what time I wanted to go to the next step. This works especially well with items like bread that have many steps with a lot of time in between.

ANOTHER TIP: Make sure to taste the fruit you're using. If it's sour or rotten tasting, you're pie's not going to be very good either. Also make sure to taste the filling at various steps so you can add more lemon, sugar, etc.

DIY-Wedding Arch

Nothing is more meaningful or romantic than creating something unique for the ceremony with your own hands. Not only that, making your own arch as a backdrop can save hundreds of dollars and after the wedding can be used in your garden as a permanent keepsake.

My friends Allison and Ryan are getting married in Iowa next month, and Ryan made the wedding arch for his bride. He went to a workshop there where provided the tools and the plans and took him to find the appropriate twigs and branches. Although, there aren’t any classes similar in the Portland area, it is easy to put together with a little creativity and some simple woodworking skills. You can find plans online or in books from simple to complex. Or if you're really handy, you can follow Ryan's progress in the photos below.

Woodworking-News

Rockler.com

Swingplans.com

Gardenweb.com

Making Twig Garden Furniture, by Abby Ruoff

leslieland.com

I'm not a woodworking expert by any means, but I have decorated hundreds of wedding arches and chuppahs. The easiest way to decorate your arch is to buy some floral wire or ribbons and attach whatever you wish. Allison and Ryan are using flowers and faux birds (they’ve promised photos after the wedding). In the past I’ve used fruit, paper and floral garlands, paper cutouts, sheer fabric (tuille is inexpensive and works great), vines (honeysuckle is my favorite, and all you need to do is wrap the vines around the boughs), flowering branches, floral clusters, or arrangements in Iglus.

Mike and Megan's Wedding

I just got back from North Carolina and wanted to post pictures as soon as I got home--everything was so amazing! Here are some pictures from the setup and the event itself. I'll post new ones once I get some of the professional photos.

Perfect, Easy Pie Crust!

I've been asked to post some recipes. I thought I would start with the most basic, and pie crust is probably one of the things I use the most (this one is going to be for one pie crust, so double if you're doing a crust on the top and the bottom).  The trick is keeping the water and butter as cold as possible. What I do is cut a stick of butter in a few pieces and keep in the freezer along with 1/4 cup of water.

In the meantime I throw 1 1/4 cup AP flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (you can add the same amount of sugar if you're using this for something sweet) into the food processor with the dough blade. Pulse a couple of times to combine. 

Throw the butter in and pulse until the butter is in small chunks. The key is to work quickly and do not over mix. Pour the water in slowly (you might not need it all) until it forms a ball. If there are dry pieces, it's OK, just pat them together. It's better to under mix a little bit than over do it.

Wrap it up in saran wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until you want to use it. 

I use this for quiches, pot pies, tarts, pies, tartlets, crostatas, etc. It's great to have on hand for a quick dinner or dessert.