Heather Bullard

Field Trip: Jimtown Store

Jimtown Store is an old fashion country store and cafe located in the vineyards of Alexander Valley in Sonoma County. They have delicious soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts all created in house from scratch. It's the perfect pit stop while road tripping through California wine country. We love stopping here for a little rest, relaxation and refueling. I especially love their small outdoor patio.

Their iconic 1955 Ford pickup is always parked out front. And their chalkboard menu greets you at the front door announcing their specials for the day.

Along with the full service cafe and deli you can shop their selection of Jimtown Goods, pick up fresh local produce, fun nostalgic toys or a few great cookbooks.



There's plenty for everyone in the family! You can read about the story of Jimtown Store or even better, stop by the next time you're in the area!

Jimtown Store
6706 State Highway 128
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707-433-1212

 

How To Use A French Press

This post may seem silly to some of you. But I remember when I thought the French Press was a little intimidating. I thought I might ruin the coffee by using the wrong measurements, wrong size of grind, or length of steeping time. So this is for those of you who have always wanted to try using one but haven't. And maybe a reminder to those who have them tucked away in the deepest, darkest corners of your cupboards to pull it out and make yourself the best cup of coffee ever! 

1. You will need: French Press, freshly ground coffee, tea kettle to boil water, wooden spoon or skewer, mug and your favorite coffee accoutrements.
Notes on coffee: Freshly ground beans will give you a more flavorful brew. I prefer a dark roast with medium acidity but use your favorite, it will be delicious too. The coffee should be coarsely ground and not finely ground (as in espresso). This will keep it from going through the mesh filter. 

2. Begin by heating the water amount needed to almost boiling. (8oz per serving)
3. Use 1-2 tablespoons of freshly ground coffee per serving. I like 2 but this would depend on how strong you like your coffee. Try making it both ways to see which you prefer.

4. Slowly add hot water making sure you saturate all the coffee grounds.
5. Stir a few times with a wooden spoon. Never use metal, it will break the glass.

 
6. Set the filter lid onto the pot but don't push down.
7. Steep 2-4 minutes depending on the size of pot. Steep 2 minutes for smaller pots and up to 4 for larger ones.
8. Begin plunging the filter straight down. Go slow so coffee doesn't spurt out. 

9. Pour yourself a hot steamy cup.

10. Add a little half & half, sugar...whatever makes your coffee sing. 

And for you, would that be one lump or two?

 

Blackberry Vanilla Crisp

I have a seriously delicious recipe for you today. I've been experimenting in the kitchen and came up with this recipe for Blackberry Vanilla Crisp. It's gotten rave reviews from everyone so I thought I'd share it with you.

The star of the recipe is of course, fresh picked blackberries. I haven't tried it with frozen berries. If you do, send me a note and let me know how it worked for you. The full recipe is at the end of the post. Here's the lineup of ingredients...

First you take 1 cup of blackberries and crush them. {Tip: I use a Ziploc bag to do this. It keeps my hands, counters and clothing clean.} Then you add the sugar and cornstarch to a saucepan and heat to a boil while stirring for 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat, stir in the vanilla and the rest of the blackberries. Let cool.

Then you make the crumbly crisp mixture and fill the bottoms of your ramekins with a few tablespoons to create a bottom crust. 

And next spoon in the blackberry goodness. Fill them 3/4 of the way full.

Add a generous (heaping mound) of the crumbly crisp mixture.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Blackberry Vanilla Crisp
by Heather Bullard 

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh blackberries, divided
1/2 to 3/4 c sugar, depending on berry tartness
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups quick oats 
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

Instructions:

Crush blackberries to measure 1 cup.
In a saucepan, add crushed blackberries, water, sugar and cornstarch. 
Heat to a boil, cook 2 minutes while stirring.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and remaining blackberries. Let cool.

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar and baking soda.
Cut in cubed butter to make crumb mixture.
Add a few tablespoons to the bottom of buttered 8oz ramekins.
Spoon blackberry mixture over crust.
Top with remaining crumb mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
It's delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
Approx 6 servings. Enjoy! ~ Heather

Downtown Farmers Market

Early Saturday morning, The Man and I headed to the Downtown Farmers Market to stock up for the week. The location of this market couldn't be better, with the gorgeous Mission Inn in the background. You could easily make a day of it and take a tour of the inn or hit the antique shops.

We had a busy day planned so we just hurried about gathering some great produce. Here's a peek at what caught our eye and what we brought home...

I am very excited about the San Marzano Tomato plant I bought! I sure hope it does well. I'll have to hide it from the chickens. If it's a success, I'm going to buy more plants so I can make tomato sauce this summer.

When we got home, the veggies went into the sink for a fresh water bath.

And the radish tops were removed so the chickens could have a treat.

The brussel sprouts are already gone. Roasted and eaten on Sunday afternoon during our al fresco lunch on the patio. It was a beautiful, beautiful weekend.

PS. I wanted to say thank you for such sweet comments on my kitchen corner. I'll try and take some photos of the rest of it for you as soon as I can. xo, H

Breakfast

Normally, I don't take photos of my breakfast. Mostly because they are incredibly boring, like toast with peanut butter or my current favorite, sourdough toast with avocado and a sprinkle of sea salt. But I was at Fresh & Easy the other day and noticed they had some beautiful freshly baked Granola Scones and decided to try one with my morning milky coffee.

It was very wholesome...made with buttermilk, whole wheat and oat flour, orange peel, whole almonds and sunflower seeds. Very extravagant in terms of my breakfast routine.

I added a little of my favorite Fig Jam to the plate, but it really wasn't needed because it was so flavorful and delicious. Such a nice change from my normal morning of blandness. 
Tell me, how was your weekend? Any big plans for the week? Are you glad it's Monday or do you want to crawl back into bed and pretend it's Sunday? 

Let's Recycle Ikea Stuff

I enjoy recycling. Paper goods, cardboard boxes, aluminum cans...I do my part to save the planet one piece of rubbish at a time. Sometimes I come across a product I LOVE to recycle. In this case, it's Ikea Tindra Candles. I buy them 6 at a time in the apple green color/scent (because the white smells like cookies or frosting, yuck). They're $1.99 each. I know what you're thinking. This blog has turned completely thrifty. First the dollar store, now this.

Stay with me here for just a minute. After I burn them, I put them in the freezer for a day or more if I forget. When I take them out, the wax residue easily pops out.
Then I scrub the stuck on bits and put them in the dishwasher.

They're a nice heavy weight glass tumbler and are perfect for morning lattes because they keep your coffee nice and warm. I also use them for ice cream, fruit & yogurt breakfast parfaits and the occasional glass of wine. And because I have plenty of them, I can use them for parties without worrying about someone breaking them....or the bank!  

Raspberry & Almond Oatmeal Bars

I've been baking and freezing lots of holiday goodies in anticipation of the "Great Cookie Box Assembly Day". Most cookies and bars freeze quite well and its helpful for me to bake ahead (when time allows) and then box and wrap them right before delivering to friends and family.

Here's one of my recipes that shows up in every Christmas cookie box. It's an easy to make bar cookie that's packed with delicious raspberry jam and hearty oats. Over the years I've noticed that the quality of jam really makes a huge difference in the flavor. I only use Bon Maman Raspberry Preserves or homemade if I have it on hand. And please feel free to adjust the amount of almond extract to your taste.

Raspberry & Almond Oatmeal Bars

1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 to 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 jar (13oz) best quality raspberry jam 
1/2 c. sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 baking pan.
Mix together flour, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add vanilla and almond extract and mix until blended into dry ingredients. Cut butter into small pieces and using a pastry cutter or fork, mix in with the dry ingredients. Mixture will be very crumbly. 
Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture and add in 1/2 c. coconut. Set aside.

Press remaining mix into the bottom of the pan. Spread jam evenly over the crust. Then top with remaining coconut crumb mix.
Bake for 23-27 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool. Cut into bars.
Makes 18-24 bars. Enjoy!

Country Living Shoot

Hello friends! I just returned from spending a few days up the coast doing a shoot for Country Living. Thought I'd share a few highlights with you. I ran out of flower buckets so made due with various watering cans. These are the flowers that didn't make the cut but aren't they pretty all lined up? Pretend you don't see the trash can and floating debris in the background.

The homeowner has a beautiful apple orchard and I couldn't help picking a few branches. Now I want an apple orchard. In a real bad way.

When I'm on location, my favorite source for produce would be local farmstands. For this shoot, I was able to get fresh homegrown organic vegetables at this honor system stand. I picked up what I needed and left my money in a barrel (which happened to be heavily guarded by a sleeping cat).

You're going to LOVE this story! It will be in the upcoming March issue and I'll be sure to let you know when it hits newsstands.

For now, I'm off to let Santa Baby know I'd like an apple orchard for Christmas.

A Visit to E. Dehillerin

First off, this image has absolutely nothing to do with the French culinary mecca, E. Dehillerin. But I thought you might get a kick out of seeing Recycling Day in Paris. The big green recycling bins were overflowing and curb sides were spilling over with wine bottles. Can you imagine this in the states? We'd think someone had a HUGE party.

Many of you are probably already aware of this famous shop. They've been in business since 1820 so I'm in a very long line of devote customers. Their copper pots were amazing. And they had them in every shape and size you could imagine. While we were there a young American chef was purchasing a large assortment to take back to his new restaurant. I imagined he was going to use the small ones to serve Lobster Pot Pie. I would.

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful despite the fact that the shop was packed. English and French verbs and nouns were being flung around as if they were one language. Everyone understood each other as if their true mutual language was Culinary.

Pastry chefs must adore this place. Every imaginable tool was available for them from minature tart pans, ring molds, brioche molds...and expert advice on anything they might need.

At the sales counter (which is probably the original from 1820) they carefully wrap your purchases up in brown parchment paper. And for the heavy items (like all the copper pots you buy) they will pack and ship them right to your US doorstep.
See? They're very helpful. :-)

Cafes, Crepes, Croissants & Confections

With this being our first trip to Paris, we felt obliged to visit the famous Laudree for a box or two..or three of their macarons and confections. I must admit, I loved their packaging and gorgeous shop more than the macarons. Except for the Caramel Sea Salt. That macaron is in a league all it's own. 

Since this was a suprise to me, I feel I owe you a heads up...Laudree is packed. Jam packed every single minute they are open. And we went to several locations. Bodies are squished together like tight uncomfortable sardines. So be prepared to get comfy with strangers who are also waiting for their sugar fix. Oh, and they don't allow photos so you'll have to be very, very sneaky. ;-)

We were probably in Paris for 7 or 8 days before we finally had a crepe. I know! The creperie located in the Tuileries seemed to have the best variety of both sweet and savory crepes. We tried the Chocolate Banana and the Nutella with Chantilly Cream. Both were delish!
And the little beignets in the photo below were from a vendor at the Rue Cler market...also very yummy!

It was so charming that many of the cafe waiters were dressed in black tuxedo pants, crisp white shirts with vests or long aprons. Sure wish they did this here in the US. Makes your ham sandwich seem more refined...and expensive.

The famous Eric Kayser bakery was only a short walk from our apartment and we found it to be a great place for our morning Petit Dejuener. This consists mainly of a croissant or tartine, fresh pressed orange juice and hot coffee or tea. Occasionally, we would splurge and have an herb omlette with fresh greens.



And the afternoons often included slipping into a boulangerie for more cafe cremes or hot chocolates followed by a pain et chocolate or eclair. This is how we powered through all the walking we did. Caffeine and chocolate.

My absolute favorite spot for afternoon tea was at the Musee d'Orsay. The museum is in an old train station (amazing!!!) and houses paintings from the most famous artists in the world. I loved this place. If you are only going to visit one museum in Paris...this should be it. They also have a gorgeous restaurant that serves the most delicious lemon tarts.

 All in all, Paris was delicious. Including the japanese noodle house we popped into for hot bowls of udon noodles and dumplings. And the friendly Italians with their tiny little pizza shops and incredible tiramisu. Heavenly.

Still to come...flea markets, shopping, my finds and a giveaway! You know I would never forget to share the flea markets with you!