Foodie Friday--Giveaway!

Have you ever been way behind on a project, and you can't see your way to the finish line? I have not left my house this week, not even to check on the progress at Rattlebridge. We lost our internet connection, and I didn't even know--that's how crazy it's been around here. Oh, what's the cause? I'm overdue on a new book, and I'm in lock up. My family just slides candy bars under the door.

But I wouldn't miss Foodie Friday for anything. That said, I sure got a surprise tonight when I logged onto Blogger. The whole format has changed, and I feel very lucky that I was able to post tonight. My friend Becky had warned me in an email that changes were underfoot (but I thought they were optional).


I'm hosting another garden basket giveaway this Foodie Friday (see the above photo), and if you'd like to enter, leave a note, explaining what you would do with a gardening basket.

The winner of last week's basket is Yvonne at Stone Gable--her comment just touched me. Congratulations to Yvonne and thanks to everyone who entered. 

Thank you for stopping by Foodie Friday today. If you are contributing a recipe to this week's linky party, locate the blue Inlinkz frog (below, left) and follow the instructions. You might notice a red "X" on your submission--only you can see the "X." It allows you to delete your link if you'd like to edit or change your photo. 

                                   Look on the sidebar
                            for the Foodie Friday Button:

If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, or if you aren't sure how to add a permalink, a short tutorial is available. If you are linking a recipe to Foodie Friday, a FF button can be found on the sidebar. If you'd like to add it, simply copy-and-paste the code beneath the button (located on the right-hand sidebar).

Please Read:

I'm happy for you to "pin" my original photos to Pinterest. However, the photographs in Foodie Friday's thumbnails belong to the bloggers who posted them. To visit these blogs, click on the Foodie Friday inlinkz icons and read their policy on Pinterest. Please pin from the source blog, not the blog that's hosting a linky party. Thanks!

Happy Recipe Hunting!

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Foodie Friday: Cooking With Teeny and a Giveaway

Welcome to Foodie Friday, where great recipes are always on the menu. I'm giving away a gorgeous garden basket--the winner will be announced next Foodie Friday. Today, some of my friends will be cooking recipes from A Teeny Bit of Trouble. I invite you to share a link to your blog post to my Facebook page--my publisher and literary agency have already Tweeted and shared Mary's fabulous post at Home Is Where the Boat Is. I can't wait to see what you all have been cooking, whether the recipes are "Teenified" or not.

Things have been a little wild at the farm. An injured goat is living in my foyer, and my husband brought home an orphaned baby duck--never a dull moment on a farm.

I wanted to thank everyone for helping me celebrate the publication of my new novel and for taking the time to share your favorite foodie memory. I enjoyed reading them so much.

Are you ready to hear about last week's contest? Six people won a copy of A Teeny Bit of Trouble.

Really Rainey
Jennifer Watkins-Jones
Lynn at Happier Than a Pig in Mud
Meredith at Mere Thoughts from a Mommy of Boys
Sue (Someone's Mom)
Whimsical Wonders Nursery

The winner of the KitchenAid mixer (and a copy of the novel) is...
Cathy at Wives With Knives.

Congratulations to all! Please email your address, and in the email header please put CONTEST. Thanks!

If you'd like to enter this week's contest, leave a note, explaining what you would do with a gardening basket.

Thank you for stopping by Foodie Friday today. If you are contributing a recipe to this week's linky party, locate the blue Inlinkz frog (below, left) and follow the instructions. You might notice a red "X" on your submission--only you can see the "X." It allows you to delete your link if you'd like to edit or change your photo. 

                                  The Foodie Friday Button:

If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, or if you aren't sure how to add a permalink, a short tutorial is available. If you are linking a recipe to Foodie Friday, a FF button can be found on the sidebar. If you'd like to add it, simply copy-and-paste the code beneath the button (located on the right-hand sidebar).

Please Read:

I'm happy for you to "pin" my original photos to Pinterest. However, the photographs in Foodie Friday's thumbnails belong to the bloggers who posted them. To visit these blogs, click on the Foodie Friday inlinkz icons and read their policy on Pinterest. Please pin from the source blog, not the blog that's hosting a linky party. Thanks!

Happy Recipe Hunting!

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Foodie Friday: Book Launch Party & KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway

Welcome to Foodie Friday. I'm giving away a Kitchenaid mixer to celebrate the publication of A Teeny Bit of Trouble, my ninth book (and 8th novel). It's the second installment of a mainstream mystery series, which was kicked off by last year's Gone With a Handsomer Man. The books feature the adventures of a cook named Teeny, and they're set in Charleston, South Carolina and in the fictional town of Bonaventure, Georgia (a little Savannah). The books involve bulldogs, comic situations, a mystery, a little romance, food galore, Rainbow Row, and lots of red velvet cake.


The winner of the mixer will receive a copy of the book. But I'm also giving away 6 copies of A Teeny Bit of Trouble. If you've already bought the book and would like a copy of either Gone With a Handsomer Man or one of my previous novels/cookbook, just email me. I'll send you a complimentary book, your choice.

To enter the contest, be a follower of Rattlebridge Farm and leave a comment about your favorite food memory. The contest ends Wednesday, April 18th, and the winners will be announced next Foodie Friday (more about that later).Be sure to stop by Between Naps on the Porch for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift certificate and a copy of A Teeny Bit of Trouble. My friend Susan, of BNOTP, has created a gorgeous tablescape, complete with red velvet cupcakes and an adorable vignette with a bride and groom. It's one of the most charming tablescapes I've seen, and I know you'll love it, too.

Upcoming Event:

Read about the THE TEENY TEMPLETON COOK OFF

next week for the April 20th Foodie Friday. 
You can cook one of Teeny's recipes or your favorite Southern dish--or put your party hat on and invent a wacky name for a favorite recipe (such as I'll Get You My Pretty Pralines, And Your Little Dog biscuits, too, or Butt out of my Life BBQ. The list is endless!
Of course, normal recipes are welcome, too.
Look for a second great giveaway next week!

Thank you for stopping by Foodie Friday today. If you are contributing a recipe to this week's linky party, locate the blue Inlinkz frog (below, left) and follow the instructions. You might notice a red "X" on your submission--only you can see the "X." It allows you to delete your link if you'd like to edit or change your photo. 

                                  The Foodie Friday Button:

If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, or if you aren't sure how to add a permalink, a short tutorial is available. If you are linking a recipe to Foodie Friday, a FF button can be found on the sidebar. If you'd like to add it, simply copy-and-paste the code beneath the button (located on the right-hand sidebar).

Please Read:

I'm happy for you to "pin" my original photos to Pinterest. However, the photographs in Foodie Friday's thumbnails belong to the bloggers who posted them. To visit these blogs, click on the Foodie Friday inlinkz icons and read their policy on Pinterest. Please pin from the source blog, not the blog that's hosting a linky party. Thanks!

Happy Recipe Hunting!

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Foodie Friday: Herb Gardens and Herbed Vinegars

traditional landscape design courtesy of Houzz

Imagine a warm, breezy April morning. You open the gate and step into the herb garden.  The air churns with spicy, tart aromas. Bees circle the lavender. Tarragon grows in a patch of sun, giving off the poignant scent of anise, Rosemary (for remembrance) grows in spiky heaps.  The basil is blooming. You brush your hands over the mint and imagine making sweet tea and jelly. You pinch a sprig of oregano--it will be perfect for flatbread pizza tonight. Don't forget a handful of dill for the potato salad.

Courtesy of Houzz: Traditional landscape design by New York landscape architect, Deborah Cerbone Associates, Inc.

Herb gardens can be lush and formal, sprawling and weedy, or contained in pots. As my grandmother used to say, "The herbs taste the same."

Courtesy of Houzz: traditional landscape design by minneapolis general contractor John Kraemer & Sons.

courtesy of Houzz

Photo: Rattlebridge's herb garden.
No matter if you grow your own herbs or buy them at the market, you can make flavored vinegars. This is an inexpensive, easy way to enhance flavor. Imagine spiking potato salad with chive-dill vinegar. Delicious!

How to Make Herbed Vinegar

1. Place herbs in a sterilized glass jar. Use a bamboo skewer to arrange herbs in the bottle.

2. Pour vinegar into a saucepan and heat gently to 80 degrees. Do not boil.

3. Place a funnel in the top of the jar and add vinegar. Don't be afraid to mix flavors.

4. Cap bottles. Steep in a sunlit window for two weeks. Gently turn bottles every day

5. Uncap bottles, remove herbs, and strain. Return vinegar to clean bottles.

6. Add a fresh herbal sprig and recap bottles.

Ideas:

Dill vinegar--add lemon zest

Tarragon--add chives and basil

Rosemary--add garlic (spear garlic with a bamboo skewer for easy removal).

 

Upcoming Event:

Read about the THE TEENY TEMPLETON COOK OFF

on the April 20th Foodie Friday.  A great giveaway!

Thank you for stopping by Foodie Friday today. If you are contributing a recipe to this week's linky party, locate the blue Inlinkz frog (below, left) and follow the instructions. You might notice a red "X" on your submission--only you can see the "X." It allows you to delete your link if you'd like to edit or change your photo. 

                                  The Foodie Friday Button:

If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, or if you aren't sure how to add a permalink, a short tutorial is available. If you are linking a recipe to Foodie Friday, a FF button can be found on the sidebar. If you'd like to add it, simply copy-and-paste the code beneath the button (located on the right-hand sidebar).

Please Read:

I'm happy for you to "pin" my original photos to Pinterest. However, the photographs in Foodie Friday's thumbnails belong to the bloggers who posted them. To visit these blogs, click on the Foodie Friday inlinkz icons and read their policy on Pinterest. Please pin from the source blog, not the blog that's hosting a linky party. Thanks!

Happy Recipe Hunting!

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A Tartan Picnic

A Tartan Picnic

“Ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low road,

And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;

But me and my true love

Will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.”

                                                                    --Old Scottish song, "Loch Lomand"
...

My love for all things plaid began when I was a small girl, and my Mississippi grandmother told stories about our Scottish roots. “We’re members of Clan Kennedy,” my Mimi said. “Not to be confused with the Irish Kennedys, though we’ve got the luck of the Irish in our family tree.”

She was right about being lucky, because I married a plaid-loving fellow from Clan Maitland. My sweetheart, Will, needed special permission to wear the Maitland tartan.

Photo Credit: Tartanregistry.gov.uk

 Every April 1^st, we celebrate Tartan Day with a picnic, and the clipped lawn serves as a backdrop for our beloved wool blankets that we bought many years ago in Edinburgh.

I’ve said enough about plaid. The picnic is ready. Won’t you join us?

The Menu

Farmhouse Salad

Roasted Chicken

Rustic Flatbread Pizza

Fruit and Cheese

Scottish Scones and Highland Shortbread (recipe below)

Harder-Than-Hard, Incredibly Light Lemonade

A tartan picnic calls for savory and sweet dishes, such as tea sandwiches, Scottish pancakes, smoked salmon, scones and double cream; but our menu is lighter this year (because we're heavier!)

At our house, a picnic can be casual, formal, or smack in between. I think of my yard as an outdoor dining room, and I love to use crystal, porcelain, and cloth napkins.

  I always remember what my Mimi used to say:

"Don’t let a table or picnic be too uppity. 

Mix your china patterns. If things clash, it's a lucky sign."

I inherited Mimi's vintage tomato salt and pepper shakers. 

My semi-Scottish sweetheart contributed a knock-out rose.

Faux ants are always welcome to a picnic,

whether they're on the food screens or the tartan dinner plates.

Even the tulips are doing their best to be tartan-like.

Tartan (tärtn): Noun.

1. Wool fabric with a plaid pattern against a solid background;

2. a garment worn by Scottish clansmen;

3. a sure-fire, smile maker.

A tartan picnic wouldn't be the same without our much-loved picnic basket.

I'm not kidding. We are tartan crazy.

If I find a dish or bowl with plaid, chances are it's going home with me.

Highland Shortbread

Printable Recipe

What You Need:

•         1 cup butter, softened

•         ½ cup white granulated sugar

•         2 cups cake flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Pat dough into a baking dish. Bake 25 minutes or until brown. Cool.

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3 teaspoons cream

Organic pansies

Beat ingredients until smooth. Ice cooled shortbread squares. Garnish each square with an edible pansy.

Tips for Outdoor Dining

*Use a plastic tub or basket to organize tableware.

*Transport baskets/tubs in a child’s wagon.

*Make your picnic a special event--don’t be afraid to use china and crystal.

*Dish towels make inexpensive napkins.

*Serve easily transportable food. To prevent spoilage and melty-messes, avoid frozen concoctions.

Happy Tartan Day

from Mlee and Will at...

I'm thrilled to participate in the Tartan Parade at The Polo House, Hyacinths for the Soul, Vignette Design, and Upstairs Downstairs.

I'm happy to participate in On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

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