Under a Red Roof

Sofa, Scones, and Flowers

June 11, 2025 in Cooking + Baking, Decorating, Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Nature abhors a vacuum…

Thankfully, it wasn’t long (two hours) before our vacuum was filled with this spectacularly studded sofa! Only eleven months in the making, but them’s the breaks when you order a custom, made in the USA, couch from Roger & Chris. It is called Howdy (in case you are both looking and patient), quite firm and equally comfortable, with, super bonus, leather not viciously subject to Juniper claws. I love it. We love it. It complements the room and has since acquired a nice wool blanket to prevent drool stains, Juniper’s not ours. Picking the battles.

Now is the time we dance…well, not really, but feel free. I was simply in need of a segue way to the food portion of our program.

I shared some rhubarb with our neighbor, Nancy, and she shared two slices of delicious custard pie made with it. I, in turn, made scones (dried blueberry and gouda & green onion) in order to avoid returning an empty plate. A marvelously tasty circle, dear reader.

We bought a couple of ridiculously sour grapefruits and decided they would be better served in margaritas. I substituted the lime juice in my recipe for 1.5 grapefruits – membranes, seeds, and pith removed, 1/2 cup tequila, 1/4 cup Grand Gala, 2 tablespoons agave nectar, and a generous pinch of salt, whirred in the Vitamix, before adding one 12 oz can of bubbly water, which just so happened to be pink grapefruit. So very good.

Finally, this is a tiny teaser for a future blog post. We went to New Mexico, mostly lazing about in a house overlooking the Pecos River. Anyhoo, if you’ve ever driven south on I-25 from Colorado Springs over the past decade, you’ve probably spied the white panel van on the side of the road advertising Ringo’s Grocery. My Grandma Esquipula Maes (1827-1905) is buried in Aguilar, so we first popped in for a hello at her grave before ambling to Ringo’s. It is a surprise of a market for such a small town, with a very nice deli and house made sausage. We bought a green chile and spicy Italian links. You’ll never guess which I used here, LOL. Since I had no hankering for pasta, I made a quickety-quick flatbread. Boy, was it tasty!

Teeny tiny wild rose: blossoms 1.5 inches across with crazy fragrant flowers. So cute!

iris

serviceberry

ladybug interlude

orange horned poppy after the rain

snowball

Teeny tiny mushroom – can you tell the rain has been abundant, as of late?

Juniper interlude

coral charm peony

sage

sculpit

evening primrose

ninebark

Oregon grape

pavement rose

callirhoe

Jupiter’s beard

orange horned poppy

bartzella peony

And that, my friends is everything currently blooming in the garden! Oh, wait, I just glanced out the window to marvel and realized I missed a purple penstemon. Picture it in your beautiful brain. I’m off…

Almond Pulp Recipe: Cinnamon Rolls

May 9, 2025 in Cooking + Baking by Colleen | Permalink

These are so lovely and very tender. If there are only two of you, I recommend making a half batch, unless you are gunning for a little over indulgence, tee-hee.

Dough:

1 T active dry yeast

1 T sugar, divided

3/4 cup almond pulp

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup (4T) butter

2 eggs, at room temperature

4 1/2 – 6 cups flour (675 – 900 grams, if you’re weighing)

Filling:

2 T melted butter

1 C brown sugar

1/2 cup almond pulp

1 T cinnamon

1/4 C golden syrup – Lyle’s is what I use, but you could substitute corn syrup for a less tasty result

Dough: Put one cup of warm water into a large bowl, and add the yeast and a big pinch of the sugar. Let sit until it gets foamy. If it doesn’t get foamy, your water may have been too hot, or your yeast is dead.

Meanwhile, put the almond pulp, milk, and butter into a small pot, and heat until everything is warm but not hot (no killing the yeast!), and the butter is melted. Add the eggs, and mix until combined. Add to the yeast mixture, along with three cups (450g) of flour, and stir until combined. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover with a tea towel or loose fitting lid, and let rest for about an hour, until doubled in size.

Filling: With the exception of the butter, combine the ingredients in a bowl, stir until well mixed. Set aside.

Divide dough in half, and roll each piece on a lightly floured counter. Depending on how you like your rolls, go really long and thin, which is what I do, or a 14″ square for a more typical style. Brush half of the melted butter on the rolled dough. Spread half of the filling over top. Roll up jelly-roll style. Repeat with second half of dough and filling.

Using a very sharp knife, cut each roll into six-ten even slices. Place in greased 13×9″ pan(s). Cover loosely, and let rise for 30 minutes. Or, you can do this entire process in the evening, and put your sliced rolls in the fridge to rise overnight. If you do this, let them get to room temperature for about an hour before putting them into the preheated oven in the morning.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until golden. If you like, drizzle with a powdered sugar and whipping cream/milk glaze once cool enough to touch. Enjoy!

Almond Pulp Recipes II: Gluten-Free Cauliflower Crust

January 24, 2025 in Cooking + Baking by Colleen | Permalink

Hello freezing January! We are in an unfortunate slump of bitter cold and very few dog walks, wah. What better means of consolation than a little pizza? As I am very much invested in using the almond pulp, I scoured books, the interwebs, and my own memory to create my take on a cauliflower crust. Ages ago, I made one with zucchini (the memory), and not gonna lie, it tasted great but required so much zucchini and sweat equity that I only did it once. This gives the same feel for a lot less effort!

Thankfully, there aren’t many ingredients, either: Cauliflower, almond pulp, parmesan cheese, and eggs (guess how many?!).

Unlike most crusts, you must parbake! This is the first crust, I let the second one brown a bit more.

The final product! It was really, really good. It definitely isn’t the same as wheat, but when you’re off gluten, it definitely makes for a best of both worlds situation.

One large head of cauliflower, in chunks (1 lb 5 oz, 600g)

3/4 cup almond pulp (3 oz, 90g)

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (3/4 ounce, 21g)

3 eggs

parchment paper

Preheat oven to 400. Whiz your cauliflower to oblivion, in batches, if need be. If it is really wet, squeeze out some of the moisture by wrapping in a clean dish towel, or, perhaps, your nut milk bag! Put in a large bowl, and add the almond pulp, parmesan,and eggs. Beat until well incorporated.

Cover a large baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Take half of dough mixture, and with clean hands, spread evenly over the surface. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or so, until the bottom is nicely browned.

Top however you like! Bake until the cheese is super melty. Repeat with the second half of the cauliflower mixture. Enjoy!

Almond Pulp Recipes I: Quick Almond Loaf

January 13, 2025 in Cooking + Baking by Colleen | Permalink

Hi there! Since Greg and I make almond milk on the regular and prefer not to waste anything, I have been slowly modifying recipes to use the pulp. I thought I’d share, since you may be in the same predicament. I hope you enjoy!

Quick Almond Loaf

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup almond pulp, at room temperature
4 tablespoons avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon almond extract
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/butter a 9×5 loaf pan. Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl. In a separate, large bowl, add sugar, almond pulp, and oil. Beat at medium speed until combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Add almond extract. On low speed, add half of the milk, then half of the flour mixture. Repeat, and mix only until combined.

Spoon into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Mix powdered sugar and the tablespoon of milk together in a small bowl, drizzle over the top of the loaf while still warm. Slice and eat at your leisure.

Last Look at 2024

January 10, 2025 in Celebrating, Cooking + Baking by Colleen | Permalink

Hey, hi, and Happy New Year! I hope you are off to the races! Also, all kinds of hugs and prayers to anyone in peril of fire at the moment. Jeepers.

I thought I’d start with the cutest end and beginning with dear Juniper. We did some math and realized she may be a year older than previously thought, so happy, happy to your tenth year in the universe!

Despite achieving elder pooch status, she is still quite the puppy, eager to walk, spinning three times for breakfast, cuddling on the couch , bolting about the back garden, chasing wild creatures, and always, always wanting a nibble, from whomever will offer.

We got another round of vaccines (so many jabs!), Hepatitis B and Pneumonia 20, in mid-December, and the following day, I was down for the count. Tired and achy, Greg went to the store for provisions and bought me flowers! They lasted weeks, which was pure delight.

Jeff came for a visit, and we made burritos. Delicious as, usual. Since it was also Christmas treat season, I also made starlight mint sugar cookies, peanut butter fudge, walnut fudge, and Dutch letter bars, for more deliciousness. This is Jeff’s take home tin.

For Christmas dinner, I made Beef Wellington, with steaks that looked normal, but once layered with mushrooms and encased in puff pastry (store bought!) were HUGE. We ate them over a few days and weren’t in the least disappointed.

The little plate at the top was made with all of the scraps and a delicate sprinkle of sugar. The shapes on the Wellingtons are acorns, but dang, from certain angles really look like fish. Ha!

Our post-Christmas adventure was a trip to my parents’ house, and this was my Basque cheesecake contribution. It was basking in a homemade orange caramel with cute mandarin slices. The tops!

New Year’s Day homemade pizza and sparkling pear cider. We have zero complaints in the food department, my friends.

Isn’t this the ultimate 80’s look? Also, made in Colorado! The man is a dead ringer for Keith Hernandez (hello, Mets fans!) or Eric, my uncle’s kindly ex. I am going to make a propolis throat spray with the contents.

My parents’ house – the Christmas tree has been put in the same location since 1976!

Our holiday lights and a new minimalist Christmas tree. I made the wonky little trees out of stacks of buttons and find them rather adorable. My friend Mary made the tiny mitten, which I wish you could see better.

Happy 2025 to one and all! May you be safe, healthy, and happy the whole year long…