Sugar & Spice by Celeste

Happiness comes in many forms.  Maybe its warm sun on your face and your toes in the sand, or maybe its sharing a laughter-filled conversation with your loved ones.  Maybe its the good news you've been waiting to hear. It can be found in the smallest, simplest moments...like biting into a fresh peach that's so incredibly juicy that you have to strategically stand over the sink to eat it, while juice unavoidably runs down your arms.  And you know what?  That darn peach is so delicious that it's okay to get a little messy! After all, it's the little moments that make life so fun. This Buttermilk Peach Ice Cream certainly put a smile on my family's faces recently.  It's the height of peach season around here, and I couldn't help but want to break out the ice cream maker after buying these peachy beauties.  I started searching for recipe inspiration online, and I stumbled upon a recipe by one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Homesick Tex...

Blueberries... "How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways..." So maybe Elizabeth Barrett Browning wasn't talking about blueberries when she wrote her famous poem, but she could have been.  Especially with fabulously sweet, perfectly round and beautifully blue little berries like these. Every year, Brad and I look forward to the day when these huge buckets of blueberries are available at the farmer's market.  It's the best $20 you'll spend at the market...hands down.  Each year, we scoop up one of these buckets, and I get to work figuring out how to put them to good use.  And let me just tell you...The berries mysteriously  start disappearing handful by handful, thanks to my sneaky husband.  During blueberry season he can be found sneaking handfuls right and left, making a little game out of it. Oh, that husband...  :) One of our very favorite things to do on the weekend is indulge in Sunday morning pancakes.  The Sunday afte...

Even though tomorrow is the first "official" day of summer, it sure has seemed like summer for weeks here in Alabama!  The highs have been in the 90s, and the days are filled with the hot, humid heat that the south is known for.   But you know what?  All the humidity-filled bad hair days are totally worth it when you take a big bite of one of the first ripe, juicy tomatoes of the season.  Growing up, I wouldn't touch a tomato with a 10-foot pole.  I wouldn't even hear of having a tomato slice on my cheeseburger, and you could just forget about cherry tomatoes.  These days, I definitely appreciate the wonderfulness that is a summer tomato, though.   I saw this particular recipe in the June 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine (by The Neelys) , and the photo starting calling my name the second I turned the page.  There was a big bowl of red and yellow cherry tomatoes, tossed in a lovely dressing and topped with thin slices of...

Oh, the joys of a big bowl of homemade ice cream on a hot summer day!  Is it possible to resist such a wonderful treat?  I think not! Last year, Brad surprised me with a homemade ice cream maker, and I've had so much fun making the smile-inducing wonderfully delicious frozen goodness ever since.  A good recipe for classic vanilla ice cream is something that everyone should have in their ice cream repertoire.  You can add extra deliciousness like fresh peaches, blackberries or strawberries...or just about anything else your little heart desires.  The possibilities are endless.  I made this particular batch to go atop Bubba's Peach Pie that I recently made.  They were a match made in heaven, of course.  This ice cream was also incredible served on top of a Blackberry Peach Cobbler that will be posted here on the blog soon. So, go break out the ice cream maker and cool off with a bowl of frozen happiness .  With the first d...

The best food has the ability to tell a story, bring people together, feed our souls, and maybe most importantly, it can be the source of memories that put a smile on our face for years and years.  Food that's accompanied by a cherished story or memory is the best kind, don't you think?  And this special recipe for a beloved peach pie is one such story. The story begins with a friend of mine from high school - Jana.  Jana recently shared this family recipe with me, along with a story about her grandfather, Jim Champion (aka "Bubba").  At the peak of peach season every year, Bubba would travel to his mountain house near Helen, GA where he would make lots and lots of these peach pies.  He would then freeze the precious collection of delicious pies and save them to eat throughout the year, simply pulling them out of the freezer when their lucky friends or family would visit.   This idea alone is enough to make me want to run out and buy ...

On a recent trip to the farmer's market, we luckily got there early enough to pick up some beautiful handfuls of crisp, peppery arugula from Jones Valley Urban Farm , which is an awesome "teaching farm" here in Birmingham, AL.  There, they teach folks about the value of agriculture and the benefits of eating fresh, healthy ingredients.  It's awesome because they've transformed over 3 acres of vacant downtown property into a lush garden.  Pretty cool, huh? Now, this particular arugula wasn't just peppery, it was flat-out spicy.  I topped it with thick-cut bacon, fresh cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and a quick and simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette.  It was the perfect light lunch after a morning at the market.   A few slices of whole wheat bread on the side would make a great accompaniment to this easy-peasy salad.   Bon Appetit, my friends! BLT Salad with Arugula, Feta & Balsamic Vinaigrette ...

When it comes to mother-in-laws, I consider myself incredibly lucky.  Brad's mom, Carol, is a pretty fantastic woman.  She is the sweetest, most caring person, and I feel so lucky to have her in my life.  In fact, we don't like the term "in-law" around here...She's Mom 2.  :-) Every year on her birthday, she gives me a "birthday cake challenge."  See, she comes up with an interesting  flavor combination, and lets me run with the idea.  This year, she wanted a layer cake with both coconut and lemon flavors.  I immediately pictured a scrumptious coconut cake with homemade lemon curd between the layers.  With that idea in mind, I got to work trying to find the perfect recipe and found just what I was looking for over at joyofbaking.com.  This is a spectacular recipe, which incorporates buttermilk in the cake batter.  This lends a perfect crumb and texture to the cake, which turns out moist and delicious. The lemon curd comes togeth...