Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I think I have discovered the aroma that will have everyone stopping in their tracks and exclaiming ” Oh my, what is that cooking ?”. That was just my reaction when my Daughter-In-Law, Kristen cooked dinner for us last week. The aroma in question was caused by leeks sweating in white wine and butter. It actually topped my all time favorite scent of apple pie with cinnamon baking in the oven. She was making us a simple meal of goat cheese and leek galette with a strawberry poppy seed salad. It took her only one half hour to put together, but the anticipation created by the homey smells in the kitchen made it one of the most delicious meals I have eaten in a while.

I made the galette again last night. It was just as I remembered it. The original recipe came from Epicurious. Kristen and I both made changes to the recipe. Instead of flavoring it with marjoram, I used dried basil and thyme. I substitued the unflavored goat cheese with a tomato and basil goat cheese. Kristen and I both used the Pillsbury thin pizza crust.

The salad that Kristen put together was colorful and full of “good for you” tasty ingredients. The strawberries, avocado and baby spinach were accented with green onions, cashews and a good bottled poppy seed dressing. Kristen is a busy working Mother and these are the kinds of meals she cooks on a regular basis. I would say that she is on the right track. I will have her share more of her meal ideas in the future.

Printable recipe Goat Cheese and Leek Galette

Printable recipe Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

What do you do when you are faced with time alone? Sometimes I like to curl up with a good book and do nothing all day; no one to cook for, no extra laundry, no renovation projects to deal with. It is nice for a few days, but I can take only so much of it. David is on a two week motocycle ride with his buddies. I spent the first few days visiting my Son, Daughter-In-Law and Granddaughter. Since I have been home I have been somewhat slothful, cooking my favorite comfort foods like hamburgers, macaroni and cheese and an actually yummy quiche lorraine from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The week has been rainy and cool – the kind of weather that begs for warming, bubbling soup. So yesterday I donned my sweats, pulled out one of my easiest soup recipes and puttered in the kitchen while the soup simmered.

I have been making this escarole, white bean and sausage soup for years. It is easy and quick and very satisfying. I always have cannellini beans and chicken broth in my pantry so it requires few things from the grocery store.

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We returned to Richlands, Virginia this past weekend. You may remember that our good friends Barbara and Jim live there. I posted about one of Barbara’s recipes here. The reason for the visit was a surprise birthday party for Barbara. It was a milestone birthday and one not to be missed. Unfortunately our husbands had planned a two week mototcycle trip that was to begin on the day of her birthday. But Jim could not bring himself to leave on her birthday, so a month of deception began. Barbara was convinced that the guys were leaving on Saturday morning. Jim packed his boots and jackets, loaded the bike, gave Barbara a token birthday present, apologized for leaving on her birthday and left. She was a good sport about it, but was depressed. While her Mother and Sister took her to a ficticious birthday lunch, Jim doubled back and everyone descended on her house and waited for her return. Her sister came up with a crazy excuse to turn around and go home and the surprise was a complete success. Here is Barbara’s real present.

They live on a mountain for heaven’s sakes, so what better present than an ATV. It is what every 60 year old biker babe should have. She is looking forward to riding the trails and visiting their log cabin on the old Kentucky Turnpike. What beautiful country this is. This is the view from their house.

After our last visit, in which I posted about Barbara’s beautiful new kitchen, Girlichef commented that I should have posted a picture of the kitchen – so here it is Girlichef.

Sunday morning the guys really prepared to leave on their trip. Barbara fixed a hardy breakfast of skillet biscuits, country ham, milk gravy and eggs. Skillet biscuits are a wonderful alternative to the biscuit challenged. According to Barbara you just follow the biscuit recipe on the self-rising flour bag, but add a little more buttermilk to make the batter of pouring consistancy and bake in a greased iron skillet until brown and cooked through. She inverted the biscuits on a plate and cut them into wedges. Breakfast was delicious and it was a fitting send off to the thoughtful men in our lives.

I love decorating almost as much as I love cooking, so today I have decided to give you an update on the cottage renovation. We started with a 600 Sq. ft. space and added a second story to the existing cottage. The second story with the new kitchen, master bedroom, and living room as shown above have been livable for a while. We had our contractor friend Don texture the walls to give them a stucco effect. I then painted them a soft yellow and went over that with a burnt umber glaze.

The dining area leading into the kitchen has a reproduction French cupboard with chicken wire in the doors instead of glass. I store many of my blog dishes here.

We have gotten the walls up and the furniture out of storage. I do want to replace the rug, but this makes a nice sitting area for the downstairs bedrooms.

David made the headboard out of laurel branches for this bedroom.

I had fun making this a bedroom for Rachel and her cousins. I still have a lot of accessorizing to do, but Rachel loves her bedroom.

This is a picture of the lower screened porch. David made the swinging twin beds. There is another one on the other side. We are calling this the sleeping porch, but it is also a wonderful place to curl up with a good book and take an afternoon nap.

There is another budding designer in the family. Rachel discovered my design magazines while she was here and was totally fascinated. That’s a picture of her and her Dad below.

We are taking a break from working on the house for the next few weeks. It has been a labor of love and I can’t think of a better place to live.

I will be posting my Barefoot Blogger recipe a little late this month. Stay tuned.

Labor Day weekend was a time for our family to relax together and reconnect. I am very lucky to have a DIL, Kristen who loves to cook and her Mother, Darla who loves to garden. Darla is a Master Gardener and although she lives in the suburbs of DC, she keeps an urban garden in a community park. She grows the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes.

Pictured above are Cherokee purples, lemon boys, Arkansas travelers and rutgers. Kristen found a wonderful recipe on Epicurious and put together this beautiful salad that also utilized Darla’s cherry tomatoes, sungold yellow and sweet 100 reds. The only thing Kristen changed in the recipe was to substitute goat cheese for the blue and eliminate the celery since we had none.

We couldn’t have had a better holiday, with the exception of missing the family members who could not be here. We ate too much, swam, hiked, went for boat rides, played cards, and stayed up late each night sipping wine on the porch and enjoying the beautiful mountain air. It was the perfect farewell to Summer.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE

8 1/2 one inch thick slices crusty bread
4 large garlic cloves, halved
3 Tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup currant or grape tomatoes or halved cherry or pear tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped green onions

10 medium heirloom tomatoes of assorted colors, cored, thinly sliced ( we cut them in wedges)
1 small red onion, sliced paper thin
3 celery stalks, sliced thin on diagonal
1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled blue cheese

Prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Rub bread with cut garlic cloves; brush bread with 3 tablespoons oil. Combine remaining 1/3 cup oil, currant tomatoes, and green onions in medium bowl; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Overlap tomato slices in concentric circles on platter, alternating colors. Scatter onion and celery slices over tomatoes, Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon tomato and green onion mixture over. Sprinkle with crumbled cheese.

Grill bread until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Cut each slice diagonally in half; serve with salad.

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