find a recipe!

A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Just press pause.

/ By / 4 Comments

Anyone else have the feeling of summer slipping away from them? The endless array of bbqs and birthdays and travels and events and sun, while fun, is zipping by you so quickly that you can barely take a moment to enjoy them for what they are individually. Suddenly you have the urge to just sit down and yell ‘STOP.’

That’s where I’m at today. STOP.

Or at least can I just press pause?

It feels silly and quite trite to complain about having fun. I tend to get off kilter when I don’t log in enough home time and that time has been missing lately. Even though I’ve been home, I miss my home. It’s an odd feeling to explain. Like when I miss L even though he is right in front of me. He’s just not close enough and if I could crawl inside him I would.

So, that’s my goal for the next few days. Pause things a bit and get back to what makes summer summer. And I want to hold on so tight that I won’t forget, not even on January 19th. I want to catch a firefly and spend more time barefoot in the grass and wander through farmers markets to see what inspires me. Like a fresh summer salad tossed with grilled peaches and purple onions. And cornbread made with honey straight from our South Carolina trip.

I can’t explain the feeling of finally coming home in the 97 degree heat armed with ripe peaches and corn from the farm stand. I ran to put on as little clothing as deemed appropriate, got Jack Johnson’s ‘At or With Me’ (look it up) playing in the kitchen, and began to bake away. I was home and utterly happy. Tonight I will be doing nothing aside from sitting on the patio and enjoying all that summer has to offer me.

Including this:

Grilled Peaches & Purple Onion Summer Salad
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 bag mixed greens
  2. 2 peaches, halved, and sliced into large chunks
  3. 1 purple onion, peeled, and sliced into large chunks
  4. handful of freshly crumbled goat cheese
  5. this vinaigrette: a-life-from-scratch.com/happiness-in-a-jar-a-summer-frog
Instructions
  1. Heat grill to medium heat.
  2. Brush the peaches and purple onions lightly with olive oil. Grill roughly 3 minutes per side. You are just looking for nice char marks on both sides.
  3. Toss the peaches and onions with the remaining ingredients.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

The honey corn bread was delicious and can be found here.

OK. Ready to press play, but, in a slower motion.
Courtney

Summer in a bowl.

/ By / 4 Comments

Corn. Come summer – it’s everywhere. It’s at the Jewel, the market, your neighbors bbq, the bottom drawer of your fridge sitting in a bag and yet no matter how many times you eat it, some how it keeps showing up again and again even when you don’t want it to. Like an ex – except much tastier (right?) and less panic inducing.

I used to keep things real simple when it came to corn – grill it, rub the butter and salt on and bite right in. Sometimes, I would even skip the grilling part. Yep, i’d eat raw corn. Is that weird? I promise you in the dead of summer when it’s the freshest it tastes awesome – try it.

Well fast forward to meeting M I can no longer serve corn raw and/or on the cob. Remember when you were 8 and you had those super cool colored braces? Well, what did your mom or dad always do for you with your corn…cut it off the cob, right? M got so accustomed to that luxury that we still have to do that in our household even at 32 (his age not mine), so that’s when I came up with grilled corn salad.

This recipe is suuuuuuper flexible. I throw in different options based on what I have and what’s freshest. I’m showing my favorite combination, but feel free to play with it. Add some black beans or use thinly sliced scallions…really, the sky is the limit with this one.

Grilled Corn Salad
Serves 2
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 2 ears of corn, husked and peeled
  2. olive oil
  3. salt & pepper
  4. dab of butter
  5. 1/4 cup red onion, minced
  6. cherry tomatoes, halved
  7. haas avocado, diced
  8. palmful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
  1. Heat grill to medium heat.
  2. Brush the ears of corn with olive oil. Rotate on the grill until lightly charred all over.
  3. Cut corn off the cob and season with salt & pepper. Mix in butter until melted. Toss with remaining ingredients.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Ok, this is way better than raw corn. But if you’re in a pinch I promise it’s good.
Courtney

‘If you can’t grill it – we’re not eating it’

/ By / 7 Comments

Signs of summer are popping up everywhere you turn and boy are they more than welcome. I always claim that fall is my favorite season (soups! chilis! pies!) but right as the weather hits that summer mark I fall in love and any deep rooted memories at the apple orchard are quickly replaced by watching L run through the yard barefoot with popsicle dripping down his face. He looks like he is in heaven and therefore, at that moment, I am the happiest person alive.

This past weekend was as ‘summer’ as you can get: my first peony opened, L was in the pool for a total of 13 hours and officially looks like he is a different race, a mosquito woke me up this am, water was consumed in unimaginable amounts, the mentality ‘early to bed late to rise’ has been in full force, the hunt begins for the aloe vera you just know is in the back shelf of the bathroom, Kid Rock’s ‘All Summer Long’ blasts on our patio while we plant hydrangas, breezy cotton dresses and sandals are a refreshing wardrobe change, surprise pool toys make an appearance on our front door step (thank you Heidi!) and, the oven is officially shut down for business.

Well, not permanently – don’t worry.

But, I do find my cooking style shift to ‘if you can’t grill it – we’re not eating it.’ Take this recipe for example. It calls for the the use of the oven to roast the veggies. The thought of setting my oven to 450 degrees made my sun kissed (well, more like ‘made out with’) skin ache so I shifted things around in my head and came up with a super easy and colorful side that can be almost completely fixed on the grill. The only indoor cooking to be done is boiling a pot of water. Somehow I’m OK with that.

Chilled Green Beans with Grilled Veggies
Serves 4
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 lbs french green beans, trimmed
  2. 1 yellow pepper, cut in large slices
  3. 1 red pepper, cut in large slices
  4. 1 purple onion, cut in large chunks
  5. olive oil
  6. salt & pepper
  7. toasted almonds, optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat grill to medium heat and boil large pot of water.
  2. Brush the veggies with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Grill until lightly charred, roughly 3 minutes per side. Bring inside and cut into chunks, set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the green beans for just a few minutes, drain, and submerge in a large bowl of ice cold water (use ice cubes to make it super cold). This will stop the green beans from cooking and will leave you with a nice, crisp, texture.
  4. At this point it's up to you - you can warm the green beans and the grilled veggies all together in a saute pan, or, just transfer the chilled green beans to a platter and top with the warm grilled veggies. I chose the latter and it was delicious. You can also get creative here - top with toasted almonds...blue cheese, or, leave it simple
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

This might be the easiest recipe on ‘A Life From Scratch!’
Courtney

P.S. This is the life, right?

Summer sides update: Part 1

/ By / 7 Comments

The next few posts on ‘A Life From Scratch’ are going to be all about updating your summer sides. I find, more often than not, when asking the hostess the question ‘what can I bring’ you are often answered with ‘a side.’ Hmmm. You don’t want to be the person to bring over another bowl of mayo filled potato salad or cole slaw and obviously you’re beyond the basic fruit salad or baked beans. So, these next few posts will be a shot of life to your summer sides repertoire.

I have a new ‘cook’ crush in my life. Her name is Sara Foster and she is the founder of Foster’s Market in North Carolina and the author of a few beautiful cookbooks. Her fresh and seasonal inspired cooking, seasoned with a southern twang, is just what I need for inspiration this summer.

So, that brings us to the recipe. Skillet Cornbread Panzanella Salad. Panzanella salad is typically an Italian bread salad made up of juicy tomatoes, basil, garlic and other flavors that sit on top of day old rustic bread. Sara Foster gives this concept a southern twist and puts it on top of skillet cornbread. Genius.

Now, there is a pretty big short cut here if you want to go that route – buy corn bread from the store. (Unwrap it first and no one will know). If you’re feeling up for it and have a trusty oven proof skillet I suggest you make it from scratch. It was easy as mix the dry ingredients and add the wet ones. And baking with a skillet is just plain cool. Right y’all?

Skillet Cornbread Panzanella Salad
Yields 4
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients for Panzanella Salad
  1. 4 cups cornbread in 1/2 inch cubes (bought or 'skillet cornbread' (recipe follows))
  2. 1/2 cup olive oil
  3. 2 large heirloom tomatoes, the freshest you can find
  4. 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
  5. 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  6. salt & pepper
  7. 8 basil leaves, julienned
  8. smoked mozzarella, cut into small chunks
  9. 1 avocado, 1/2 inch cubes
Ingredients for Skillet Cornbread
  1. 2 TBS olive oil
  2. 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
  3. 1/2 cup flour
  4. 3 TBS sugar
  5. 2 tsp baking powder
  6. 1/2 tsp baking soda
  7. 2 tsp salt
  8. 2 cups buttermilk, well shaken
  9. 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  10. 2 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Toss the cornbread cubes with 3 TBS olive oil, salt, and pepper and toast in the oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Let the cornbread cool slightly.
  3. Combine the tomatoes, onion, salt & pepper, mozzarella, and toasted corn bread in a large bowl and toss. Whisk together the remaining olive oil with the red wine vinegar and drizzle over the salad. Add the basil and avocado and toss gently together. Serve immediately.
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Pour the olive oil in a large cast iron (or other ovenproof) skillet and coat the bottom and sides. Place in the oven to warm.
  3. Mix together all of the dry ingredients. Add in the buttermilk, eggs, and butter and mix until just combined.
  4. Remove the hot skillet from the over, pour the batter in, and bake for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
Adapted from Sara Foster - Fresh Every Day
Adapted from Sara Foster - Fresh Every Day
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

South Carolina is calling my name…
Courtney

Farm potatoes.

/ By / 13 Comments

Farm Potatoes

Well, we’re back from the farm! L and I went on a little adventure to nana and papa’s farm in Ohio for nana’s 90th birthday! (The brown bag apple pie smelling temptingly good from the trunk – it made it in one piece though). We had a BLAST there. I had been before, but had stayed at the hotel near the interstate so was never able to truly appreciate it all for what it was. This time was different.

If your family is anything like my family, and M’s family for that matter, big celebrations revolve around food, so I thought it was more than applicable to write about my adventure. The day seemed to be about plan the meal, make the meal, clean up the meal and repeat. I think I had barely finished my cup of coffee when I began chopping vegetables on nana’s butcher block for lunch – and I loved it! With guests dropping by from far away places you never really knew who was going to need to eat what when, so we had to be prepared.

My favorite quote from the trip had to be from Aunt Jan. We had spent Friday morning on breakfast, then lunch and then we were off to nana’s tea from 3-5. It was beautiful – both Ginger and Jan worked so hard on it! And the food (in abundant amounts of course) was amazing. I’m still thinking about the little tea sandwiches with asparagus and herbed cream cheese. Needless to say none of us were even remotely hungry yet as it was wrapping up I hear Aunt Jan on the phone in a very urgent tone ‘make SURE you preheat the oven for the homemade blue cheese and walnut crackers that need to bake for cocktail hour.’ There was literally no more room in my stomach!

Aunt Jan also inspired the potato recipe listed in this post. I can’t recall the exact recipe she had shown me – so, I kind of went with it and ended up with an amazing side dish. Panko crumbs on roasted herbed potatoes – gives it that perfect little crunch, who knew?

So enjoy the potatoes if you make them and some of my favorite snap shots from the farm – the beautiful scenery, the dinner bell, tea time, L’s much needed nap with papa, coloring on the side porch, and more.

Farm Potatoes
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
  2. heaping TBS of dijon or grainy mustard
  3. TBS of freshly chopped rosemary
  4. salt & pepper
  5. good drizzle of olive oil
  6. 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Toss all of the above together aside from the breadcrumbs. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, toss potatoes with panko bread crumbs, and then roast for an additional 10 - 15 minutes.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Happy 90th Nana!


P.S. With 6 trips scheduled over the next few months I’ve created a ‘travel’ area on the right hand side. Stay tuned for pictures, recipes, and inspiration from across the country!

Top