Friday, July 1, 2011

Pinterest


Perhaps I'm a little behind out in blogland, but I have just created a Pinterest account...can I say "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!" I am having so much fun "pinning" beautiful pictures, recipes, and idea pages, as well as browsing my friend's pinboards, too. If you haven't created an account yet, visit www.pinterest.com and start pinning today! Take a look at my pinboards here: www.pinterest.com/robynka

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Cotton Depot

We've recently visited The Cotton Depot a couple of times over the last few months. If you get a chance, drive over to the little town of Monroe, Georgia and visit this adorable antiques & collectibles shop. Each booth was impeccably decorated, with gorgeous items and reasonable prices. Take a look at a few of my favorite booths and items below.

What a great idea for an old stool: fashion the edge with a wide burlap ribbon and finish it off with tacks:


I loved this old lampshade with chicken coop wire. The ribbon and old brooch really sets it off:


One of the prettiest booths in the mall:

Well, there you have it! So fill up that tank with some high-priced gas and travel on down to The Cotton Depot in Monroe. You won't be sorry you did!


Thursday, June 3, 2010

Monkeyin' Around in the Kitchen



What better way to use over-ripe bananas than to whip up a batch of banana bread?! This is one of my favorite recipes, adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook (Ed. Ruth Reichl, 2004). The original recipe calls for macadamia nuts, but you can easily substitute whatever nuts you prefer. I made mine with chopped walnuts today, since that's all I had on hand. It makes two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaves. The addition of the coconut, nuts, and lemon zest make it a truly unique recipe. Enjoy!

Tropical Banana Nut Bread
(adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, 2004)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbs) salted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of one lemon
3 mashed ripe large bananas
3 tbs light sour cream
3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, macadamia nuts, etc.)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Spray/butter/flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat together butter and sugars in a stand mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, zest, bananas, and sour cream, beating until just combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until ust combined. Stir in nuts and coconut. Divide batter between to pans; smooth tops. Bake on a middle rack in oven until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, approximately 45-50 minutes. Remove bread from pans and cool completely, right side up, on cooling rack.









Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Athens Farmers Market




There are very few reasons I will wake up at 7:00 in the morning on a Saturday, but there is nothing like the Athens Farmers Market to get a girl up and running! The AFM is a group of local farmers, growers, and craftspeople who gather to share their wares every Saturday morning from 8:00 AM - Noon at Bishop Park in Athens, Georgia. The market runs from May to November, so every weekend holds a surprise for what produce will be available. This morning, the hubby and I started the morning off with breakfast (he had a coffee from 1000 Faces and I had a watermelon juice from Righteous Juice; both had scones from Big City Bread) and a quick stroll around the market to see what all was available. Now if you think shopping at Publix is expensive, think again. But what you've got to remember is that you're supporting small, independent farms that are in rare existence today, and I for one am willing to spend $3 a pound for heirloom tomatoes in order to help the little wo/man out. We came home with a couple of beautiful tomatoes, two types of zucchini squash, new potatoes, a braided rosemary & sea salt bread, and an elegant bouquet of wildflowers. What better home for them than a Ball Mason jar? If you're ever in the Athens area on a Saturday morning during the summer, be sure to visit the AFM: http://athensfarmersmarket.net/ When you eat a tomato, basil, and brie sandwich from your finds at lunch, you'll be a repeat customer for sure.



~Robyn








Hello, World!

I'm taking the leap! I've been reading such beautiful blogs about cooking, entertaining, shopping, and decorating for the past couple of years, that now I think I'm ready to write my own. I love to read about other people's projects, recipes, and stories, and perhaps others will now enjoy sharing snippets from my own life. Please join me at The Silver Queen - a haven for southern culture, cuisine, and lifestyles. Enjoy!


Robyn