A Beautiful Mess

Coffee Shop Oatmeal to Go!

This year has been awesome! It's been a really busy year, full of traveling for both work and fun times. :) I've found myself grabbing breakfast at many a coffee shop, or even the airport. I've come to love, what I call "coffee shop oatmeal." It's fast, delicious and super filling.This also makes a fantastic breakfast for when you need something quick but crave something homemade. This takes minutes to put together and provided that you have a travel mug or bowl, an easy breakfast to take on the go.Coffee Shop Oatmeal, makes one serving.

2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup mixed nuts (I used pecans, sunflower seeds and chia seeds)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar, brown sugar or honey*
2/3 cup milk

*You can adjust the sweetness level to your liking or cut out the sweetner entirely.Combine all the ingredients, besides milk, in a heat proof mug or small bowl. Steam the milk until piping hot. I did this using the steaming wand of my espresso machine, but you can also easily do this on the stove in a small pot. Whisk the milk as it heats up, incorporting air into the milk so you can get that latte foam. Foam makes this oatmeal seem more like a coffee shop. :) Pour the milk into the oatmeal mixture, give it a stir and allow it to soak and soften for 4-5 minutes.For added flavor you could add fresh berries or dried fruit. Enjoy this along side a cup of coffee and you'll feel like you're ready to take on the day. Or, at least, that's how I feel after oatmeal. :)Enjoy this friends! Happy breakfasting. :) xo. Emma

Lemon & Chia Seed Pull-Apart Bread

Trey has been bugging me to make something with chia seeds. He will suggest recipe ideas every now and again. Some are really specific (and urgent/brought up often) while others are as simply stated as something like, "Hey you should make something with chia seeds." To which I was like, "You mean like chia pets? That's more of a DIY idea don't you think." But no, actually he was talking about eating chia seeds. Turns out, they are super healthy for you.So I bought some. And then two months went by without me thinking of them again. And then I started dreaming about pull apart bread. I just love all the layers! I had plans to make something with poppy seeds and lemon. And as I was looking around my cabinets for poppy seeds, I saw my forgotten bag of chia seeds slouched over in the corner. And that my friends is how this bread came to be. A planted idea, a forgotten bag, a dream of bread... it's all very Inception like, no?

No, nothing like Inception? Like at all? Ok cool. Let's just make bread.Lemon & Chia Seed Pull Apart Bread, adapted from here. 

1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
3 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Dissolve 1 teaspoon of the 1/4 cup sugar in the warm water. Stir in the yeast and allow to sit and foam/bubble for 5 minutes. In a bowl combine the flour, the remaining sugar, salt and chia seeds and stir together. Melt the butter with the milk over low heat until just melted and then remove from heat. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir. Pour in the butter mixture and stir. Add in the eggs and vanilla and stir in. Now use your clean hands to lightly knead the dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.In the mean time zest a few lemons. Use your hands to press the zest into the cup of sugar, releasing the oils.

When your dough is ready punch it down and then roll it out on a lightly floured surface You want the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick. Brush the melted butter over all the dough. Sprinkle the lemon sugar over the dough evenly. Cut the dough into long strips, so that the width of the dough could easily fit in a bread pan. place the strips over each other and then cut into squares. Place all the squares in a lightly greased bread pan.Bake at 350°F for 32-35 minutes until the top is golden brown, but the center is no longer raw. Allow to cool for 5-8 minutes before you try removing it from the pan.This bread is best when served warm. Yum! Serve alongside coffee for a breakfast treat or a late afternoon snack. :) Enjoy! xo. Emma

The Apple Flower Cocktail

The Apple Flower is light and fresh with the perfect amount of floral sweetness. Recently, I've been reworking my cocktail cart for Spring, storing away certain items and adding new seasonal flavors. Jeremy and I have been working on a short list of signature cocktails that we can serve to guests for dinners and brunches. This cocktail would work for brunch, which is always a perk! 

The Apple Flower Cocktail, Serves One 

Fresh juice (I used 3 small green apples and two limes) 
Rose Water
Bénédictine Liqueur 

In a medium sized glass, combine 2 ounces of Bénédictine Liqueur and one drop of rose water. Be very careful when adding the rose water because adding too much will make your drink taste like a bottle of perfume. The easiest way to get just one (teeny tiny) drop is to just dip an unused straw into the rose water and then use that straw in your drink, stirring it a little. Add ice and top the glass off with fresh green apple and lime juice. Garnish with a lime or an edible flower.I hope you enjoy this refreshing cocktails! If you don't drink you should still try fresh apple and lime juice with just one drop of rosewater. It's so good and tastes exactly like Spring! 

Happy weekend! Elsie 

Homemade Pop Tart Mixology

If you had to pick one flavor for like, forever what would it be? You know, like you're trapped on a desert island, and you can only grow one herb or have one case of a certain flavoring. It could be something fruity like: strawberry, coconut, blueberry, raspberry, rhubarb or mango. But no matter how much you love coconut I feel like at some point that might get old. For me, I'm leaning toward either lemon or chocolate. Two completely incompatible flavors I just adore.Wait, why am I talking about desert islands? Hmm... I don't know. I think you just have to be prepared for stuff in life. But let's talk about pop tarts. Homemade pop tarts, to be specific. All the pop tarts you see here are filled with all kinds of delicious flavors. And the fun part? I didn't "make" any of them, they are just things found in my refrigerator or pantry! I made six different flavors including: blueberry preserves, strawberry jam, peanut butter and (grape) jelly, lemon curd, honey nut cream cheese and Nutella. Each pop tart needed a heaping spoonful of whatever flavor you choose. I used puff pastry to make these pop tarts. The brand I used came in two sheets. I layed out the first sheet and spooned on the fillings, then covered them with the second puff pastry sheet. Cut into pop tarts. I cut the edges with a ravioli cutter, you could get a similar effect using the prongs of a fork. Brush on a little egg wash and bake at 375°F for 18-22 minutes. Until golden and puffy.Like this. :)Now let's make some flavored glazes! Here's a basic glaze recipe you can customize easily:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Use a fork to whisk the ingredients together. If you want a thicker glaze add another 1/2 cup powered sugar. For vanilla glaze stir in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. For a fruit glaze stir in 1 tablespoon jam or jelly. For a lemon glaze stir in 1 tablespoon lemon curd. And for the chocolate glaze simply stir in 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.Drizzle the glaze over the still warm pop tarts. Try not to mix up the flavors. :) Serve immediately. Enjoy! xo. Emma