 My poor Easter basket fell apart years ago, but that does not mean I will not get my candy. I do not mean candy from the grocery store, but from another hidden gem of a candy store in Saint Louis. Yes, it was time for our Easter bunny visit to @merbscandiesstl. Merb’s has been around since 1921 and is a staple in the Dutchtown neighborhood where Big Guy and I lived when we first got married. The third generation of family members own and operate this specialty store and take pride in creating delicious handmade candies. The variety of chocolate bunnies, marshmallow eggs, jellybeans, and the usual bags of treats you come to expect for Easter were awe inspiring as we took in our surroundings. I know my sugar count will skyrocket, so do not request a blood sugar test, but it is one time of year I get giddy eating my sweet treats with no regrets!
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 Big Guy and I watch gardening shows and constantly get ideas for new things to put into the garden. On a recent episode, the gardener, @alysf, recycled an old tub to use for her strawberries and blueberries. An idea was born to find an old tub, or new. We started by heading out to Buchheit in Herculaneum to check out the shapes and sizes of new tubs. It was an effective way to get our heads wrapped around our goal. As we were already “next door” to Crystal City, we decided to check out their antiques stores as well. When in Rome? As they were all on the same road, we stopped by Clastique, the Rusty Rooster Mercantile, and Myles of Pickins. We loved the outdoor “photo shops” at Clastique drawing us into the store. The stores were all stocked to the brim, but nothing tempted us this time. I can hear my wallet sighing with relief!  I feel like I have been relying on quick meals or going out lately thanks to this streak of glorious weather. The itch to get my fingers into the dirt to prepare the garden with my Big Guy has really been a driving force behind my food choices. Lo and behold, we got a small front of cooler weather, so I was ready to jump back into the kitchen. When not looking at his garden magazines, Big Guy has been reading recipes to me from @foodandwine. He read about French Onion Chicken Pot Pie, and we were both ready to tackle this layered meal. I would not say this recipe was difficult, but it did require time. The part I really liked was the author of the recipe, Jasmine Smith, created the steps in order so there were no moments of stress. As the chicken was baking, she suggested cooking the onions along with baking off the puffed pastry circles at the same time. It was a matter of having the remaining ingredients mise en place to layer in the flavor in the same pan used for cooking the onions. The last step was placing the puff pastry circle on top and baking off cheese on top. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon meal.
 The warmer weather is giving Big Guy and I the itch to work in our garden. While the prep work is being done, we find ourselves holding back as it is too early to do too much planting. What shall we do? I suggested we take advantage of the beautiful weather and head over to @bluescitydeli. What is more perfect than sitting outside with a delicious sandwich. Looking at the crowd, we were not alone in this journey to great food.
 It is definitely not my favorite recipe. It is not my favorite thing to do at all. But I do believe in taking care of yourself. Let's do this!
 My parents loved to buy Toaster Strudels for breakfast as an alternative to running to the bakery every day. I came to appreciate the simplicity of popping one in the toaster followed by the icing for serving. That is until I ran across a recipe in @southernlivingmag for a Strawberry Strudels Recipe. I can tell you right now that I will never buy frozen strudels again. The recipe called for the use of two thawed frozen puff pastry sheets, cut into six squares, filled with preserves or jam, topped, and baked to perfection. Obviously, that is a sweeping overview of the recipe as there are steps involved, but nothing difficult. The best part of this recipe was using fantastic local jam. So, my appreciation to @nataliejhiggins for her apple butter and @larder_cupboard for the bourbon peach jam. They were the perfect filling along with the simple icing of powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and cream. Heaven!   Big Guy recently celebrated another trip around the sun with his usual “no fuss” fashion. “Should we go out to dinner, I asked?” It will be no surprise to our friends that he wanted to stay home and enjoy a steak dinner with a twice baked potato and green beans.
Perfect. We already had a filet mignon in the freezer and a quick trip to the store produced our needed potatoes and green beans. I wish I could say that I was ready to prepare dinner, but this combination is Big Guy’s specialty. I felt momentarily guilty for not making his birthday dinner, until I realized I said I would do the clean-up of the meal prep and the dishes. I can tell you right now, two passes later with the dishwasher, I contributed to the event in a BIG way!  You do not have to live in Saint Louis long to appreciate its changing weather. I have known snow in the morning and seventy degrees by the afternoon. It is because of this weather, and our new temperate zone, which got Big Guy and I excited to begin planting.
I can hear you screaming…NO! I can assure you we are not crazy as we have a cold frame in our garden. The beauty of this gem is we can grow our starters in our basement, aka our city greenhouse, and then move the plants into the cold frame to harden them off. If the weather goes crazy like the year we had snow in April, we can simply move the plants back to safety. Our experiment this year is to grow lettuce in the cold frame now to get a kick start on fresh produce for the Spring. I will have to report back to let you know if we were successful. Fingers crossed!  My appreciation to Big Guy for getting my recipe started by braising beef. I was now ready to begin making…Mushroom and Barley Soup! We have been starting some new traditions in this time of Lent and one of the options we added to our list was to enjoy “souper” Sundays.
It seemed like a logical add to our time of simplicity as we observed a forty-day period of self-examination and fasting. This recipe is pure joy as its richness comes from the beef, bacon, mushrooms, barley, onions, carrots, celery, red peppers, butter beans, pasta, and beef broth. We added a lovely crusty bread with a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from @seanminorwines. It was a lovely way to enjoy our Sunday.  I am grateful my Big Guy loves to oversee protein in our cottage. I admit handling raw meat makes me queasy. He, on the other hand, loves to break it down and cook it. I think the last time I asked him to braise beef was when we decided to make Julia Child’s beef bourguignon. I again watched in awe as he butchered the meat into cubes, patted it dry, coated it in flour, and began the process of braising the beef. Big Guy called me into the kitchen to begin making my recipe once he finished cooking the beef to perfection. Now, you just must wait until tomorrow to know what I made for dinner. Any guesses?
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AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
October 2024
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