little knits

I put down my knitting needles for about 3 months. It just got to warm for me here in southern california so I took a a little knitting break. But then my hands grew restless and regardless of the warm weather I picked up a skein of yarn from my stash and made a couple of sweet baby pieces.
The little vest is one of my new favorites. It's so sweet and small. Just perfect for a fall outfit. I want to sew a little smocked top and skirt or bloomers to go with it. Hopefully I can go buy some fabric soon.



This darling baby bonnet knitted up quite quickly. I love the soft cotton yarn. I had forgotten how much I like knitting with cotton. I don't even remember the last time I did. I love how defined the stitches are.


Not sure what I will knit up next by hands sure are itching to start a new project.

xo
-esther

Wild Blackberry Pie

Today was lovely. My day consisted of a wonderful drive up mt. baldy mountain, a hike, a "little" dip in icy cold waters, wild mountain berry picking, and pie making.





There is something truly wonderful about picking or growing your food before you cook/bake with it. Such satisfaction it brings me. I was thrilled to be baking with such delicious juicy blackberries. The pie filling was divine. So very good. As for the crust it was just alright. I had ran out of my regular all purpose flour so I had to use what I had on hand which was whole wheat flour. Often it can be quite tricky to work with. I'm not a big fan but on the + side it is bit healthier. I'll leave you a recipe for the filling. Something I just came up with. That's the wonderful thing about pie fillings you can just throw in whatever spices or flavors you fancy.

Blackberry Pie Filling

3 cups of blackberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of lemon zest
3 Tbsp of cornstarch

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Poor into pie shell. Bake pie according to pie dough directions.

Here is a great pie dough recipe from smitten kitchen.

And here are some phone pictures from the hike.





Happy Baking!
xo

-es

Summer Baking

A couple days ago a friend and I baked a butter cake and peach pie. I hadn't baked anything exciting in months. I have to say I'm not a big fan of baking in the hot summer heat but I needed to put into practice some of the skills I attained in pastry school. I don't want to forget them. When fall comes around and the climate cools I'm positive Ill be baking a lot more. Until then i'll maybe make some mousses or panna cotta.

xo
-esther

Carlsbad

a few photos from a mini vacation to Carlsbad with my second family, the Toziers. I had the most lovely time with them.






xo
-es