Fall Retreat Menu

Early bird pricing for the September retreat ended today. I'm pumped for the guests who have already signed up and are ready to catch up on their crafting!

If you're still thinking of joining me, I have room for you and even a coupon code for the rest of this week! Use almostEARLYBIRD for 10% off the Fall retreat! Valid until August 21.

Perhaps you need to see a menu before committing to the weekend?

As usual, the Fall retreat is my favourite not only because of the colourful foliage and crisp morning air, but because Ontario has so much to offer for delicious, local produce. I'm serving some of my favourites this retreat, but mixing it up with a savoury zucchini and potato pancake for breakfast. 

I'm also going to build a towering taco salad for guests to munch on for lunch. 

Dinner will be a braised beef short rib that I'll finish on the bbq. I usually love to eat braised beef over a bowl of creamy polenta, but since it's not a chilly winter weekend, I've decided to crisp up the polenta and serve them as fries. 

These weekends are all about providing you with everything you need so you can focus on your craft! That creative project that is sitting at home waiting to be completed and all you need is a little motivation. Let me host you this September! 

Complete At Retreat

I baked my first sourdough bread today. I was in complete shock that it was edible. More than edible, it was actually quite good! I'm not talking about a modest form of shock: that Chinese kind where you expect the worst because you're never good enough and then come out pleasantly surprised that it was actually fantastic. My mind was actually blown that I could make a loaf of bread using water, flour, and wild yeast that I trapped in my goopy starter. Oh, it was not nearly as simple as it sounds. The process was labourious, and this loaf could be so much better, but I started this adventure and I really, really want to finish it.

After weeks of figuring out the starter, I finally made a ball of dough before bed, said a short prayer, and hoped that the next morning I would have something that i could put in the oven. This ball of dough looked flat and sad, but it went in the oven, and came out not too bad!

Sometimes I go through phases of starting too many projects without any plans for how to complete them. Oh, you too? Figures. There are so many fun creative things in this world!!! 

After hosting the winter retreat in February, I've had some extra time to tackle some new things. 

Besides learning all about wild yeast starters and attempting my first sourdough bread, I also joined the superstar quilt class (amazing), decided to work on my Purple Workbench website (still going), started planning some sewing workshops for kids (hoping to share about this project soon!), and then bought more fabric (yup, got me some Liberty Fleece) and new patterns (Morris Blazer, here I come!) and dreamed of a new spring and summer wardrobe (Boundless Style has been my inspiration lately).

I love starting new projects, I just need to focus on getting some of them done.

A primary driver for my Purple Workbench Retreats is to provide a time and place for people to focus on their creative projects. Sometimes it's to get the creative juices going, but more often than not, guests attend the retreat to finish neglected items on the creative to-do list.

To promote the June retreat, I'm going to dedicate some Instagram posts to capturing projects that are need of some attention. It's a common misconception that my retreats are for sewers only. The retreat environment is great for painters, knitters, bloggers, scrapbookers, and almost any other creative occupation you can think of. (Food related activities are probably the only exception: the kitchen is fully occupied!) Follow along with my #CompleteAtRetreat hashtag and maybe even join along! What's on your creative to-do list that could benefit from some dedicated time at a creative retreat? Post a picture on Instagram and use the #CompleteAtRetreat hashtag!

Blueberry bran muffins to save the day

Life is such a roller coaster these days, and my kids are steering the ride. (Wait. You can't steer a roller coaster. Ugh. They even have me saying stupid things.) It is always about the kids. Because if they are happy, I am happy. (You should know that this logic hardly applies to my husband. He is a robot. Our kids don't dictate his emotions. What emotions?)

My girls, especially the three-nager, are just so demanding. And I've explained to Lily that I can be a total pushover if she could just put a smile on her face and ask me nicely. But both girls are screamers. I try to tell people they get it from their dad, but even strangers can tell by looking at him that my husband has never screamed in his life (remember that emotionless robot thing?).

So if the key to a happy day is to make sure the kids are happy so that I'm happy, I decided to bake a batch of delicious blueberry bran muffins -- tasty enough to satisfy my constant craving for baked goods, healthy enough to just let Lily go nuts. And she did. She ate 4 mini muffins. FOUR. I ate 3. Rory demolished 2 (literally demolished... I'm not sure how much of it actually went in her mouth...)

Happy tummy, happy mummy?

Blueberry Bran Muffins

Adapted from Ina Garten. The best thing about this recipe is that it is a "make ahead" batter. True to Ina's book title, you can make-ahead and refrigerate the muffin batter, then just scoop and bake in the morning. This version uses coconut oil in place of veg oil, and I used oat bran since that's what I had in the kitchen; the original recipe calls for wheat bran.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil (in cooler weather you may find you need a quick zap in the microwave)
2 1/2 cups oat bran
1 1/2 cups blueberries (if you don't mind some colour smear, frozen blueberries work fine)

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Pour in the coconut oil and whisk quickly to combine before the oil hardens.

Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. 

Gently stir in the oat bran and blueberries until combined.

Scoop the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper liners. You can fill a regular 12-muffin pan to get 12 quite-large muffins, or I like to save a little batter for 12 mini muffins and keep the larger pan not-quite-full: 12 grown up size, 12 kids size. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until a poked skewer comes out clean. 

Serve warm or at room temperature. With the coconut oil, I find cold-out-of-the-fridge temperature to be a little dry and crumbly.

Last lonely slice

My husband and I are one of those weird couples that actually prefer to do everything together. Even when we don't agree on the activity, we often remain in each other's company. There's no reason I can't bring Heartland into the kitchen where he is doing the dishes. And while I bring zero knowledge to Gotham city, I will chat his ear off while he unlocks the secrets to Batman's quest. 

So it gets kinda lonely when he has to travel for work. I occupy myself with the usual suspects: sewing, baking, Netflix, oh, and watching the kids.

But this time I even cleared out the fridge: a task I traditionally supervise only. 

As if to reward me, I found a lonely piece of carrot cake that Dustin had not yet eaten. This is a big deal. It could not have been a mistake. He declared aloud how awesome this cake is (he is not a vocal man).

He loves this cake.

Clearly, he loves me more. 

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Adapted from Alton Brown's "18 carrot cake", this recipe makes the perfect not-too-dense carrot cake that has a lovely added scent from the coconut oil. As with all of Alton's recipes, some ingredients are measured in weight rather than volume -- it's actually easier this way! Go get a scale. You'll agree, too.

3/4 cup whole yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
284g (10oz) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
57g (2oz) coconut oil (if solid, melt in microwave before using)
3-4 carrots, grated (preferably by hand)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9" round cake pans with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together yogurt, vanilla, sugar and eggs.

With the mixer on medium, slowly pour in the coconut oil and mix until well combined. Unless your wet ingredients were at a warm room temperature, the coconut oil will harden. Ensure the mixture is well beaten before stopping the mixer.

In another large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add grated carrots and roughly mix with a spatula until the carrots don't stick together.

Combine the carrot mixture into the wet mixture in three batches, mixing well between each addition.

Pour the batter into the pans and spread evenly. It will appear to be quite thin, but will rise nicely in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a poked skewer comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Turn the cakes out onto a rack to cool completely before icing (recipe below). If you are not icing until later, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and store in the fridge or freezer.
 

Cream cheese frosting

Recipe from Alton Brown's "I'm just here for more food"

113g (4oz or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
2 8oz bricks of cream cheese, also room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
255g (9oz) icing sugar

Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

With the mixer on low, add the icing sugar in four batches, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula after each addition.

Refrigerate the frosting for 10 minutes before icing the cake. There should be plenty of frosting for a two-layer 9" cake.

Throw it in the cake

Who's liking the new webpage? Pretty, huh. But more importantly, smart. (I try to say that to my daughter when she visits family and they can't stop telling her how pretty she is.)  

I'm no web design expert, but some of these changes will hopefully help me keep in touch a little more! Blogging should be easier. My husband can't seem to figure out why it takes days to write a post. With fewer tech struggles and less pressure to be witty (oh how I've grown up) you can read my ramblings more frequently now. 

Perhaps you will tire of me. 

Let's start with an oldie but a goodie.  

Here I go again, raving about pound cake. It is definitely on the lineup for an Open Kitchen  session when I start in the fall. 

I made another pound cake revelation. You know when you hastily cut into fruit that you know isn't quite ripe but hope that maybe you are wrong so that your toddler will choose it over the cookie? I did it to a mango the other day. So tart. It needed at least three more days hanging out with the bananas. 

Revelation: throw it in a pound cake. I find that tart fruit is a wonderful partner to a sweet and heavy pound cake. I actually chopped the mango and threw it in the freezer until I had time to make the pound cake.

I had just over a cup of chopped mango and decided to add a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Sweet, sour, slight bitter. It was perfect.  

I imagine underripe pineapple would do just as well.  Now cantaloupe is where I'm undecided...

Sour mango and chocolate chip pound cake

Adapted from Molly Wizenberg's recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
5 large eggs
1 cup chopped underripe mango
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 small loaf pans with parchment paper. 

Beat the butter in an electric mixer on medium speed; add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 mins. In the meantime, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

To the butter sugar mixture, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low until just incorporated.

Add the chopped mango and chocolate chips and mix on low again until mostly incorporated.

Give it one final scrape with the spatula to make sure everything's well blended. (Check that tricky spot on the bottom of the kitchen aid mixer.)

Fill loaf pans and bake for 60 mins or until a poked skewer comes out clean.

Variations on a Pound Cake

I once asked my coworker what his favourite cake was. He told me it was pound cake. I think I may have scoffed at his answer. "Pound cake? Really. A dense, crumby, old-lady cake?"

I think I've always dismissed pound cake because I remembered it as a dry, dense cake, usually lacking in flavour. But I went ahead and made it anyway. And then made another for my parents. And then made it again for my birthday picnic.

I've changed my mind. Pound cake is my favourite, too. I'm addicted.

Chocolate pecan pound cake

I think it's a sign of growing up. I don't need my cake to be covered in icing. I don't need it to be fluffy to be moist. I love a cake that can stand up to coffee. And I love a cake that is so simple to make, you can play around with the flavours and have it turn out perfectly every time.

Now, if only it could be healthier... I did commit to more healthful options at the Farmhouse Retreat, but this pound cake may have to sneak into the weekend feast.

Strawberry jam marbled pound cake

A new jar of jam and a crunchy crust on the loaf

Variations on a Basic Poundcake

Adapted from Molly Wizenberg's recipe

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 small loaf pans with parchment paper. I always prefer to make 2 loaves from one recipe. You can always use one larger loaf pan and bake the cake for about 15 minutes longer.

Beat the butter in an electric mixer on medium speed; add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 mins. In the meantime, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

To the butter sugar mixture, add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low until just incorporated. Give it one final scrape with the spatula to make sure everything's well blended. (Check that bottom tricky spot on the bottom of the kitchen aid mixer.)

Fill loaf pans and bake for 50 mins or until a poked skewer comes out clean.

Variation 1 Citrus

I've tried lime (2-3), lemons (1-2), and grapefruit (1/2). Anything goes!

For a vibrant citrus flavour, grate the zest of the citrus fruit and add to the sugar butter mixture at the beginning. Add the juice of the fruit (about 1/4 cup) after the addition of eggs. Don't worry if it appears a little curdled. Continue with above directions. I usually omit the vanilla if I'm adding citrus.

Variation 2 Nuts or chocolate

When adding nuts or chocolate, add them at the end. Just before all the flour is incorporated, add about 1 cup to 1.5 cups of chocolate chips or nuts. You can also crumble nuts on top of the cake, but you might want to bake at 325 to prevent any charring of the nuts. At 325, you will likely need an extra 10 to 15 minutes of bake time. Always test with a skewer.

Variation 3 Marbled Jam

You can swirl your choice of jam into the batter after filling the loaf pans. It's up to you how much you want to mix it in. I've used homemade strawberry jam (a little runnier and less sweet) and swirled in about 1/4 cup to each loaf pan.

If you try any other variations, please share! I'm always looking for new ideas!