Samiches. Mm.

Pressed sandwiches!




Fun and perfect for pickanicking.





The longer they sit, the yummier they git. (groan.)




There are a couple of different ways to make this sandwich. I've made it three different ways but only have pics of one, so I'll post all three and you'll just have to use your imagination. :)




Pressed Salami Sandwiches (my preference)

1 round loaf sourdough bread
1/3 cup olive oil, heated with 1 crushed clove of garlic (discard garlic afterward)
Salt and pepper
1 lb. sliced salami
1/4 lb. sliced provolone
2 medium roasted red peppers (or equivalent from a jar)
3 cups baby (or regular) arugula


Slice bread in half and scoop most of the white part out of the bottom half. Brush the insides of the top and bottom halves of bread with garlic oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay salami in bottom half, top with cheese, then with red pepper, then with arugula, then with top half of the bread. Wrap tightly with plastic and lay on a cookie sheet. Top with another cookie sheet, then lay something heavy on top (I use a cast-iron skillet with a big can of tomatoes or whatever). Allow to press overnight before cutting and eating.


Pressed Turkey Sandwiches (pictured)

1 loaf focaccia bread, sliced in half lengthwise
About 1/3 cup vinaigrette (recipe follows) or bottled oil-based salad dressing
1 lb. sliced turkey (I used cracked black pepper turkey)
1/4 lb. sliced swiss cheese
3 cups fresh spinach

Brush the insides of the bread with the vinaigrette (do not scoop out the inside of the focaccia; it's small enough to accommodate the fillings). Layer the turkey, swiss, and spinach, then top with bread; proceed with wrapping and pressing. (Vinaigrette recipe: 1 tbsp. each balsamic and red wine vinegars, 1 tsp. honey, 1/2 tbsp. minced shallot, salt and pepper, with 1/4 cup olive oil whisked in)


Pressed Roast Beef Sandwiches (my other preference, haha)
1 round loaf firm white bread, sliced in half lengthwise and hollowed as previously directed
1/2 cup peach or apricot preserves
2 1/2 tbsp. Dijonnaise, or dijon mustard
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, cooled and chopped roughly
1 lb. sliced roast beef
1/4 lb. sliced swiss
3 cups spinach

Combine the preserves and mustard, then brush insides of the bread with the mixture. You know the rest of the drill by now.

Peanut Butter - Banana Cupcakes

Recipe from Bon Apetit
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/04/banana_cupcakes_with_peanut_butter_frosting

It makes a lot of frosting and needs a little more powdered sugar than called for. You're probably safe using only half a recipe of the frosting.

Piiiiiiiiiizza. Me want.

We have been on a major homemade pizza kick lately. This is the latest.

We hunted through the fridge and pantry looking for random toppings, so I honestly can't remember what we ended up with. Sausage, red and green pepper, onion, artichoke hearts, fresh thyme, basil... maybe that was it? And, of course, ridiculous amounts of cheese.

I have yet to bother making my own crust from scratch. I usually buy dough from a local pizzeria. For this pizza, though, I'm not (much) ashamed to admit that our dough came from one (okay, two) of those little crappy envelopes of floury stuff to which you just add hot water. It's not the best pizza dough, but it has its own charms, and sometimes I actually crave it - toasted crisp with a good amount of olive oil. For real, I'm drooling.

It was so freakishly good.

Spring Flowers

These are some of the flowers that have been popping up in my garden: purple hellbore, daffodils, forsythia, hyacinth, lillies of the valley, and cherry blossoms!



purple hellbore, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

Spring flowers from my garden, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

lilly of the valley, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

cherry blossom, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

forsythia and mail box, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

Cupcake Boxes

For the Irish Car Bombs

Templates (be sure to print at 100dpi)







You can order a blank template here for $1.60 and customize away.

Insulator candles and Greenman

Insulator candles and Greenman, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

I used floral wire and glass insulators from my grandmother house to make tea light candles. My grandfather helped put in the first telephone lines in Pennsylvania and when they threw them out they let him take a bunch.

I hung some on the porch and some on the giant magnolia next to our green man.

Glass insulator tea light holder, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.