Good Food Friday: Herb Yogurt Cheese from Homemade Yogurt

Hi neighbors! Welcome to Good Food Friday at Two Blue Houses!

I've been living in the country for about 6 years now. Food I prepare has always been on the wholesome and healthy side but it wasn't until the move that I truly started cooking and baking from scratch. The switch was gradual. First I started shopping only the perimeter of a grocery store. Then I started buying the essentials like flour, sugar, beans and rice in 25 lb brown paper bags to make my own basic foods like breads, cookies and simple suppers. Today the list of my kitchen accomplishments is respectable but I still feel I can go farther. To date I have learned to:

• bake yeast breads and flat breads
• make soy milk
• soak and cook dried beans
• make and cook fresh pasta
• raise and preserve a garden
• prepare a cream sauce (couldn't survive without this one for sure!)
• fix granola bars
• raise and butcher chickens (sorry guys but I like knowing my meat had a great life)
• dehydrate fruit and make fruit leathers
• make applesauce
• whip cream
• make all desserts (even doughnuts)
• can jellies and jams
• ferment wine
• cook and process ice cream
• culture yogurt

As I re-read that list I am dizzy with responsibility. These are all part of a regular cycle. When the kids want brownies, I head to the pantry. On taco night, they know that they are going to get homemade beans and wraps. Bread gets made on Fridays so I can also make them fresh pizza. Soy milk is made as needed, about twice a week. I add something new every couple months. As soon as things settle down in the kitchen, I am looking for something new again. Yes, I am crazy. My latest addition has been homemade Greek style yogurt. That blue cooler has become a permanent fixture on top of my freezer. As I mentioned at the bottom of that post that this creamy stuff can be taken a step further and made into a soft spreadable fresh cheese that tastes excellent. I can not make this fast enough for my house but it is so easy I don't mind making it often. This recipe is based on one I found in my Mediterranean cookbooks. The major difference is they use sheep's milk. Yeah, I know.

I couple weeks ago, I posted the how to for homemade Greek style yogurt. Hope you are loving it! So, follow the steps here until the yogurt is hanging. At this point you want it to be suspended over a bowl until it stops dripping, maybe 2 full days. When you open it up it will look like this.

If not, tie it up again and wait. I would just give mine a little squeeze now and then when I walked passed to check the consistency. I used a pillowcase and it works great. I think I even like it better for cheesecloth because it was easier to pour the yogurt into.

You can tell the cheese is nice and thick, not runny at all. About the consistency of cream cheese.

Sprinkle with garlic, herbs and salt. On this batch I went with garlic, oregano and hot pepper flakes (only in between layers, unless you like things really really spicy). My last batch was garlic and rosemary and thyme. You really can't go wrong. Another option is to sprinkle the seasonings in the jar between layers. I prefer to mix it in because the flavor is more intense.

Mix in the seasonings and then refrigerate for about half an hour, or longer. You want the cheese to be cold and solid enough to be handled.

Using a teaspoon, measure out a small amount of cheese and roll it in your palms to form a ball. Layer the cheese in a sterilized glass mason jar.

Your original two quarts of yogurt makes about a pint of herb cheese. After all the cheese is rolled and in the jar, fill the jar with oil. I used half olio beato and half chipotle olive oil. Try to really pack in the cheese, keeping their shape but allowing little space in between to use less oil. This is definitely the expensive and elegant part of the recipe.

Oh isn't it beautiful. If cheese could be breathtaking... sigh.

Serve with crackers, fruit, anything.

The longer the prepared cheese sits in the fridge, the louder the flavor will get. The recipe recommend it be eaten in three weeks, but when you make this, I doubt it will be around that long. Trust me. And keep the oil when the cheese is gone. It has great flavor so cook with it or keep it around for your next batch of herb yogurt cheese.

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To all those who are interested in kitchen stuff...

I'm up for a challenge. Is there a recipe that you can't quite perfect or a favorite dish that you wish were a bit lighter or made with better ingredients, let me know. I'd love to take a shot at a Two Blue Houses version of it. Leave a comment below and we'll pick one to work out and post it on a Good Food Friday! Thanks for stopping by Two Blue Houses.

Good Food Friday: Chocolate Truffles

Welcome to Good Food Friday. Today's recipe...

Truffles.

Do I really need to say anything else?

Maybe I could tell you these are possibly the easiest and most impressive treat ever...

I could tempt you with the way they simply melt in your mouth...

Or maybe I could mention the tons of variations there are with swapping one ingredient...

How about I ask you to trust me and make a batch yourself.

Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons kahlua (or amaretto, or rum, or cherry, or any flavored liquor) *optional*
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

• Place chocolate (and liquor) in a bowl. Set aside.
• Combine butter and cream in a saucepan set over medium heat. Watch closely because you don't want it to boil over.
• When the cream mixture begins to bubble around the edges pour it over the chocolate. Stir until all chocolate is completely melted and very smooth. Lumps would ruin the texture of the final product.
• Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight. (I prefer overnight because my chocolate cravings are easier to resist in the A.M. hours.)
• With a melon baller or small teaspoon and clean fingers, scoop and roll the semi-solid chocolate mixture into mis-shaped bite sized rounds. (If you don't work fast enough the mixture will warm up and get very sticky. When this happens, place your bowl back in the fridge for a bit to cool again.)
• Roll in cocoa powder (or powdered sugar, or chopped nuts, or coconut flakes, or instant espresso powder...)
• Refrigerate (or freeze) until firm but bring to room temperature before enjoying.

Makes 30, give or take. My latest batch made almost 40.

Remember that Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so share the love. I sent a couple of these in for each of the boy's teachers today because I'm all for consumable gifts.

Recipe modified from Joy of Baking

Vegan Gluten Free Kani Salad

Remember Good Food Friday?

Well I am happy to say we have still been eating plenty of good food just not posting our recipes.  This has to change.  Not only so we can share our inventive eats but so we can have a record of them too.  Oh how many times I have searched my own blog for my own recipe!

This one is new to me.  Kani salad.  Ever heard of it?  Introduced to me this past weekend by some food adventurous friends.  It's basically cucumber and crab with spicy mayo. But it is never real crab at these places.  No.  That fake stuff. Made with random pulverized fish, weird food starches, poor quality vegetable oils and probably MSG? Definitely not on the gluten free or real food list.  So here is a cleaned up version.

(Excuse the terrible phone photo.  Next time I promise to snap a shot with my real camera

 before I devour.  But trust me, it's beautiful...)

Spicy Kani Salad

Ingredients:

• cucumber, julienne (I use this handy tool)
• vermicelli rice noodles, cooked and cooled  (I tend to keep this on hand soaking in the fridge.)
• vegan mayo - I used Vegenaise (or my Creamy Garlic Tofu Dressing, to follow)
• sriracha
• brown rice vinegar
• sesame seeds

Directions:

• Toss cucumber and noodles. I tend to always use more veggies than noodles.
• Top with a dollop of mayo, a squirt of sriracha and a splash of vinegar and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Toss to coat evenly.   Adjust to taste!

I think the noddles basically nail the texture of fake crab, if fake crab could be considered desirable, if only for texture. This is pretty basic but I think it would be fun to add shredded carrot for more color, or tuna for protein, all on a bed of lettuce for a meal.  Some versions add mango for a slightly sweet yet spicy side dish.


And it always tastes better when eaten with chopsticks!

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Creamy Tofu Garlic Dressing

Ingredients:

• 8 oz organic tofu
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp Braggs liquid aminos
• 1 squirt mustard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup organic olive oil 
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

• Blend first 7 ingredients in a blender.  I used my Vitamix but I'm sure this would work in any decent blender. With blender running, slowly add oil in a thin stream.  Then add water the same way until you reach desired consistency.  It will look questionable a few times but it will come together in a beautiful creamy sort of way.

Use this as a dip base or as a mayo replacement.

Good Food Friday: The Ups and Downs of Gluten Free

No actual recipe today friends.  Just a story about food... 


I love a challenge, in the kitchen that is.  There is such a feeling of accomplishment when I can convert a conventional recipe to a healthier version.  It started with changing simple ingredients like sour cream to homemade yogurt or butter for applesauce.  Then I ventured into adding some extra things like nuts or seeds.  I was feeling good, making things from scratch with almost 100% success, cutting out all the fillers and extra processed components of recipes.

About 4 years ago our family physician suggested we try our second son on a gluten free diet.   My first thought was I am totally up for this; he will miss out on nothing.  I read and studied and experimented and tested, learning the properties of the various flours and the ratio of butter to eggs.  I was really proud of my accomplishments.  I even found a decent recipe for bread.  (The store bought stuff while gluten free had a TON of extra processed garbage in them!)  So basically the entire family went gluten free.  It was not a difficult decision to make, it was simply easier than making two different meals. Minus the bread.  There will always be two kinds of bread in my fridge, both homemade, one spelt the other gluten free.

A year ago, in another challenging attempt to save a few bucks, I bought a pasta machine.  Not one of those you can see in the late night infomercials that blend and extrude but the shiny old fashioned metal kind with the clamp and the crank.  Oh it is beautiful.  Once a week, usually Thursdays, I bring the machine down from the top shelf in the pantry, pour myself a glass of red wine (what is a good pasta dinner without one!) and crank out the good stuff.

Honestly, it's  okay.  This is the one thing that is killing me about gluten free.  I have done so much reading and testing that I feel by now I should have struck gold, but I'm still not happy.  So much of pasta making is in the ingredients.  I have used only farm eggs and fresh ground rice flour.  But the one thing I absolutely do not want in my pasta are the very ingredients that determine its success... fillers.   Starches.  Empty calories.  Corn based binders.  Really?  I have come all the way to run into this.

Yesterday all I could think about was making ravioli.  At two, I assembled the fillings.  At three I had finished researching a new pasta recipe.  By four, I was making a second batch of dough, with my standard and somewhat disappointing recipe.  Big sigh.  Huge sigh.  Here is what the four hour project/finished ravioli looked like...

and you can see by my kids plates they had no complaints.

Neither did my husband...

But by my fourth square, I was done.  It did not taste like I wanted it to.  Like I dreamed about all afternoon.  Like I remember before going gluten free.

So why?  Why keep on trying?  Keep falling short...

Because the chance of success, a total complete success, is just so close. This entire post may see kind of negative but I promise you I never see it that way.  In my experience, all of the best things I have achieved were difficult.   Having kids young.  Getting through school.  Learning to cook and bake.  Being involved.  Having more kids.  Building a home.  Making time to be me.  Having one more kid.   Soon I will have this under my belt too.   I have learned so much.  I'm sure I take most of it for granted now, I know the kids do, in a good way.  They know that I can make anything and never doubt my experiments.  So I'll keep going and failing and succeeding because in the end I believe it is the journey that counts.

How about you? C'mon, share your success/failure stories...

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Gluten Free Inspiration -- some sites I visit often for all their yummy recipes and super ideas!

Elena's Pantry :  A very clean and simple site with awesomely nutritious foods

Making Love in the Kitchen :  Meghan is an inspiration!  All her foods are insanely creative and yummy!


Know of any others???  Share the love... We gluten free people need to stick together!

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Also, don't forget to let us know you are out there and reading!

Good Food Friday: Broccoli Cheese Soup

I have been on the hunt for a respectable broccoli cheese soup for a couple years now. Specifically one that did not call for processed cheese food, you know, Velveta. I go through all the trouble of making darn near everything from scratch but I was getting so desperate for that creamy cheesy soup that I was tempted almost enough to cheat. This was to be my final attempt before I shamelessly caved and I must say it was a huge success.

The super rich texture of this soup comes from beginning with a roux (pronounced roo), which is a mixture of fat and flour. That is combined with milk, broth and a bunch of vegetables and sprinkled with cheese at the end. It made its first public appearance at a girls night in and is sure to be a comfort food favorite.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken/vegetable broth (or bouillon equivalent)
• 2 cups half and half (or milk)
• 1/2 pound broccoli, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

• Saute onion until translucent. Set aside.
• In a medium pot over medium - low heat, melt butter. Add flour. Whisk together. Let it cook and bubble but not burn, about 1-3 minutes. Add milk and whisk. Then add broth. Whisk and simmer until soup begins to thicken, about 5 - 10 minutes.
• Add vegetables and simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetable are very tender. Do not allow to boil. Whisk every now and then. Hope your arm isn't tired from all this whisking.
• This step is optional. Transfer half of soup to a blender and puree for a couple seconds. Put blended soup back into the pot.
• Add cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg and .... you got it, whisk. Enjoy it hot.

Recipe modified from food.com

I will tell you that the worst part of making this soup is the chopping of veggies. I was totally done before I realized I could have put my Pampered Chef chopper to good use on this one. Either way, this meal is completely worth it. Try to stay true to the vegetable measurements because adding too much broccoli will give you a greenish soup.

And in case you were wondering, girls night was topped off with a movie, pedicure...

and this indulgence.

The dessert was so decadent that not one of us girls could even get through half of it. Yes, this was a splurge evening and I look forward to it every month.

Repurposed Skirt Into Toddler Dress

Time spent in front of my sewing machine is one of my rewards for having other mundane household tasks done. I usually can't be creative if I know my closet is disorganized or towels need to be folded. ( You too?) Yesterday was just the opposite. My house was chaos and I retreated to a small safe spot to spend some time crafting with needle and thread. I had been dreaming of refashioning a couple of my skirts into dresses for the girls. They came together in minutes with no measuring and imperfect stitching so I thought I would share it with you.

For the dress, I chose a skirt that zipped on the side so with no elastic it's still easy to slip on and off over her head. It is a great light fabric, perfect for summer days on the farm. Bonus: it may be the one thing she has that isn't sickeningly pink!

I turned the skirt inside out and slipped it up under her arms, pinched it so it fit snug but not too tight and marked the fit with a pin.

Remember you want the zipper to be on the final dress! With one long crooked stitch, I sewed from the pin at the top diagonal to the bottom.

Then I cut off the other portion and turned it right side out. The straps were made by cutting some of the left over skirt into strips. I folded and pressed each edge into the middle and then folded the strip in half and top stitched. So simple, no measuring!

(Sigh. Photo upside down. Oh blogger, why do you hate me?)

The two front straps are stitched to the dress about 2 inches from each side seam. Erica suggested that I have it come to a V in the back in the middle so the straps wouldn't slip off her tiny shoulders. Great idea!

I love the final! She couldn't wait to model it for me.

And I'm happy to say it survived all the typical country life activities of the day too: trampolining, picking "roses" (dead weeds from last fall), and carving letters into the mud. That's my girl!

It also looks darling with her mud boots!

Of course I had to make a similar one for her younger sister...

I ripped the skirt to get the length for the new dress but didn't hem. I like the unfinished edge. Torn strips of fabric became basic double straps tied at the shoulder. Incredibly simple but still so sweet!

They are going to look lovely wandering the garden this summer.

And so will I. Remember this skirt I made myself...

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It's Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and much thanks to Dandelion House for getting us all together. Be sure to check here for more farm girls doing their stuff.

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We like to think we are pretty amazing in the kitchen. Give us a challenge to prove it.

We are still looking for more suggestions for Two Blue House recipe make-overs. Tell us a dish that you always wished was a bit healthier or made with wholesome ingredients. We will do the experimenting (and all the dishes that generates) and you just get a great recipe with perfect results the first time! Sound good? We think so! Leave a comment with your suggestion and we will pick one to feature on our "Good Food Friday" post. Good luck!

Good Food Friday: Chocolate Apricot Bars

I love the idea of unprocessed food.  Real food.  Whole food.  Foods that heal.  That benefit my body.  I would say I eat this way about 80% of the time. The 20% of the time that I don't is normally for dessert.  But why?  Because healthy desserts have a nasty reputation for being boring, tasteless or just plain weird. As I have been reading more and more, learning about how individual ingredients function in a recipe it is getting so much easier to discover satisfying sweets that fit in the whole unprocessed category.  

Like this.  

Almost completely nuts and fruit this is just about the healthiest treat I can imagine.  And with the addition of dark chocolate chips, it tastes indulgent.  Almost like a granola bar I'm betting this will be great in the morning with a piece of fruit and mug of hot tea for breakfast!

Chocolate Apricot Bars (Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground almonds (I did mine in a coffee grinder, but a food processor would work too)
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 eggs, beaten
• a few tablespoons water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*.  Lightly grease an 8X8 baking dish.  
• Combine dry ingredients besides chocolate.  
• Add beaten eggs and mix with a fork until ingredients are no longer dry.  If the dough is not sticking together, add water a tablespoon at a time. 
• Add chocolate chips.  
• Lightly press dough into the pan.  Bake for 25 minute.  Allow to cool or if you can't wait, go ahead and sneak a square.  They hold up well (if you eat gluten free and avoid synthetic binders you know what I mean) and are quite filling.

Inspired by Elana's Pantry


P.S. I was right... they do make an excellent breakfast!

Good Food Friday: Homemade Mushroom Soup

There was a time, not to long ago, where I would never have thought to make any soup from scratch. If I wanted soup... I bought it in a can (or box). Why?!? Isn't that how everyone had soup? Making anything from scratch when it was already made for me just never entered my mind. Really. I would have considered the act of opening the can and reheating the soup "cooking". Maybe I would have been adventurous and added some fresh items to the soup. Like more mushrooms if I bought a can of mushroom soup. 

Typical "cooking" for me usually involved a meat, potato, and veggie (steamed) but that was as far as I would go. I didn't believe I could cook or really see a point to try. I felt like I ate a well rounded, fairly healthy diet. Not full of junk food. I had no idea that I could be healthier, eat better, and enjoy food more when I began to cook for real.

My point is that I did learned to cook and surprisingly I enjoy it. As I have expanded my ability, cooking from scratch continues to get easier. It took practice and a bit of work, a definite change in my thinking, but cooking doesn't have to be hard or time consuming. Don't think that I don't have a lot of work to do yet. I mean I have goals to replace all processed boxed foods in my pantry and cook entirely from ingredients from my yard or bought in bulk but one small step at a time. 

I wouldn't dream of buying good old canned mushroom soup now just for a bowl of it. I make it instead with ingredients that I almost always have on hand. All those who eat mushrooms in my house are a huge fan. Is it more work than opening a can of soup and heating up on the stove top? Yes, but not by much. In twenty minutes, you can be enjoying a steaming bowl of homemade mushroom soup.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 8 oz package of mushrooms
• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 green onions (tonight I substituted a small yellow onion)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced (I use more if the cloves are small)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme (in the summer use fresh thyme to taste and lemon thyme is better)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon corn starch (to thicken more but you could substitute more flour)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh herbs for garnish such as chives but not necessary

Directions:

• Chop up mushrooms, onions, and garlic (or mince it).
• Melt butter in a heavy bottom pot and cook the onions, garlic and thyme. Until onions soft and garlic "golden". Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until mushrooms soften and their juices fill the pot about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon of flour and stir for 1 minute.
• While mushrooms are cooking prepare broth. I usually use a bouillon for my broth so I have two cups of warm water with the necessary bouillon and one cup of room temp water in which I add a second tablespoon of flour stirred until dissolved. 
• After the mushrooms and flour have been combined and cooked for about a minute until thickened, add stock and flour water to pot and stir continuously. Bring to boil while stirring then reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
• Add corn starch to heavy cream and dissolve. 
• Whisk the cream into the soup, keep heat low, and stir to combine. Don't boil your soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
• Garnish as desired.

The chopping process.  The longest part of preparing the soup.

Onions, garlic, and mushrooms cooked and 1 tablespoon flour added.

Corn starch added to heavy cream.

Stock added to mushrooms and simmering for 2 minutes.

Cream added to soup with final seasoning. Soups done!

I am ready for another bowl! Enjoy.

Good Food Friday: Tacos!

I really wanted to post about my newest favorite soup...

... but I'm sure you are getting tired of all my recipes needing a bowl and spoon. So I'm doing my next favorite super quick supper: tacos! I can feed my entire family (husband with bottomless stomach, 3 boys with a hollow leg, 2 itty bitty girls and myself) on one pound of ground meat. Seriously! Want to know my secret? Beans. They are amazing are they not? Inexpensive but when combined with meat and spices, well, it is darn close to magic what they can accomplish. And instead of prepackaged taco seasoning, I throw together my own, thank you very much. The funny thing is, this is also my recipe for chili, just add onions, fresh peppers and a couple cans of chopped tomatoes and let it sit in a crock pot for an afternoon.

Meat and Bean Tacos

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat ( I use turkey or beef)
• 4 cups of great northern beans, soaked overnight and cooked for two hours (or canned)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika (or chili powder)
• 2 huge cloves garlic
• a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes

Directions:

• Saute meat until no longer pink. Add beans.
• Combine spices in a bowl and add a bit of water and stir.

spices without water

spices with water

• Add spices to meat and bean mixture. Serve when heated through. Serve with brown rice, spinach, salsa, sour cream, cheese, shredded carrots... really any vegetable!

Yesterday's supper? Burrito bowl!

Okay, on second thought, that does require a bowl and spoon. So since I already broke my own rule for this post I might as well give you the recipe for my new favorite soup, too. Coincidently, this is what I had for lunch yesterday. Oh so good!

Chinese Lettuce Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 mushrooms (very thinly sliced)
• 1 carrot (very thinly sliced)
• 1 handful spinach (don't you love my precise measurements?)
• bunch of chives (or scallions)
• Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

the chives are from my garden

Directions:

• In a wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, carrot, and chives. Cook, stirring constantly until mushroom are slightly brown and carrots begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add 3-4 cups of water. Add Braggs Liquid Aminos, about 3 turns around the wok, or to taste. Simmer until heated through. Sometimes I add a few drops of sesame seed oil for that truly authentic Asian flavor. You can also serve it with cubed tofu or chicken.

I enjoyed it with a few shrimp. Such a treat!

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Besides all the cooking taking place in my kitchen, there is TONS happening outside of my kitchen window. Can't wait to share some finished projects with you.

See you next week with photos of the amazing progress taking place in the backyard, despite the soggy ground and gray skies. It looks like spring is coming after all!

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Joining up again with all our lovely neighbors over at Farm Friend and Farm Girl Friday. Welcome back to all our friends and perhaps new visitors! If you like us and have a Facebook account won't you take a moment to "Like us" on Facebook? On our Two Blue Houses Facebook page we often share pictures and other things we don't post on the blog. You can also follow us via Newtworked Blogs and get just the quick up to the minute post updates.  Not into all that crazy social networking? If you scroll to the bottom of our blog you can submit your email address for daily or weekly blog updates. This week we also had a cultured (fermented) vegetable recipe. Look around we are so glad you stopped by!

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You have to check out this amazing T-shirt by Jackie. She updated a simple black T-shirt in the simplest way, but it is so beautiful. It is so adorable; I think I am in love! - Lauren

Twine Wrapped Wreath

Let me start with an apology. Here I am for the past month celebrating each and every possible sign of the coming spring and pouting whenever we take a step back and get snow when I am the one to blame. I have seeds started and herbs growing in the raised beds but apparently I was the reason spring had not truly sprung. It occurred to me the other afternoon when I opened my front door and I was staring at my Christmas wreath.

Ugh, this picture is terrible but is there really a way

to make a Christmas wreath look good in April?

My actions have been begging for warmer weather but my decor had not. I vowed then and there to not only remove the guilty party but replace it with something worthy of sunny days and higher temperatures.

Just the other day I found some great deals while shopping in town. This "Welcome" mat and stamped metal pots were inspiring my front porch. I wanted a wreath to echo the color and texture of my latest purchases. With my hermit personality, I scavenged the garage and fabric closet. Versions of wrapped wreaths can be found everywhere so this is by no means an original and I would have never thought to make it had I not found a broken Styrofoam form in my salvaged pile. However, I do think using baler twine to wrap, as opposed to ribbon or pretty yarns makes it very "me." Let me tell you it is amazing what girl can accomplish with a glue gun.

Baler twine and a broken Styrofoam form

I cut the twine into managable lengths (did you see the size of that roll?). The twine was tied to the form and wrapped, no fancy tricks there. And the wrapping was just that, no right or wrong way, just making sure the form was covered. After the first layer was tight and complete, I did wrap around a couple more times, so it wouldn't look so perfect and finished.

When the wreath was about half wrapped I put it aside to worry about what to accent it with. I remembered these and decided to go with it. I made a bunch of flowers, roses and such, all different fabrics... muslin, t-shirts, lace, wool, felt. I could not decide which I liked, if any. When they were lying on the counter like this, it clicked.

Like me, a little bit of everything... and in my opinion, it worked. So I glued them on, stuck in a few dried flowers here and there and was done.

What do you think? A little bit "farm" but still pretty. I'm allowed to do that right?

I think the door deserves a fresh coat of paint to go with this pretty wrapped wreath. I can't wait to see it gracing the front door of this blue house in the near future.

Just another way "something" can be made of seemingly "nothing."

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A HUGE thanks to Verde Farm and Dandelion House for hosting such a great blog hop. I know I met a bunch of cool people, read tons of neat ideas and got some encouragement last week so be sure to visit today and look at all they have going on!

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Remember our post a couple weeks ago about how you can make thick and creamy Greek style yogurt at home? At the bottom I alluded to yet another yummy thing to craft from homemade yogurt. Well, I have been enjoying this something all week and I'm finally ready to share a gourmet food secret with you from my kitchen. Come back Good Food Friday for a super recipe and a challenge!