Oil Infusion - Part 1

A few weeks ago while vacationing in Panama City Beach, we came across this delightfully tasty store called Emerald Coast Olive Oil Co., specializing in high quality flavored and unflavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Everything was available for taste testing, and boy were they good! All flavors can be found and purchased on their website:

Me being the adventurer of creativity that I am started wondering "Could I make some of these at home?" Some, yes. Others should be left to the professionals (no clue how to infuse butter into the oil). But in the mean time, here's what I've done and what I've learned.

I started with a trip to Hobby Lobby and purchased some bottles perfect for oils. I also found a great variety on specialtybottle.com that I may try the next time around. This obviously isn't  necessary, but they sure do look cute with a little ribbon around the neck for homemade Christmas gifts (wink, wink).

I looked up a few general recipes and found there are two schools of thought for oil infusion: the slow, week-long process or the short, heat-the-oil-and-bada-bing-bada-boom-you're-done method. Both seem to work, but I liked the idea of a gradual approach better.

I decided on three flavors to try first: lime (our favorite at the store), rosemary, and chipotle. I've never been a stickler for measurements, so I just went to town and "eyeballed" my ingredient ratios. For the lime, I used long slivers of lime zest from two small limes for about 7 ounces of olive oil. Two big sprigs of rosemary were used in the next. After a little over a week, I strained and re-bottled both infusions and they came out GREAT, especially the rosemary. The lime flavor was definitely there, but I may play around with it to get a little more kick.

The chipotle was disappointing, but from my own doing. I didn't use fresh ingredients. I just used dried chipotle seasoning (quite a bit of it, might I add), but little to no flavor has been added so far. I'll play around with this one, since this was another one the husband and I both enjoyed.

More info to come! I have more flavor ideas and I'm excited to tackle other infusible ingredients, especially white balsamic vinegar and some liquors such as bourbon (Southern Living Magazine had some great ideas in one of their issues last fall).

Personalized Touches

We're currently renting a house, which of course has its ups and downs. If something breaks, we don't have to pay to fix it. But our hands are relatively tied when it comes to decorating and revamping an area, which drives me nuts!! However, this does require creative improv and thinking outside the box. One easy way of making this space our own? Wall hangings! My daughter was given her name in nice wooden letters when she was born (Hobby Lobby), but the color combination didn't match well with the new drapes in her room. So I pulled out my big book of craft/scrapbooking paper (again, Hobby Lobby), a big vat of Mod Podge and went to town. This is going to look great in her room, especially since the high ceilings and plain off white walls are in dire need of a personal touch (not to mention a fresh coat of paint... But I'll take what I can get). Cheers!

Salt Block Watermelon

Seriously, why did I take me this long to realize this? During the summer, we constantly have watermelon in the fridge, and the hubby always salts his watermelon. Well, tonight I was looking around for salt block cooking recipes when it hit me: chop the watermelon on the salt block! So I pulled the block out of the freezer, got to chopping, and holymotherofgod it was good. I need to be using this salt block much more often than I am.

Butter Inspiration

Man, oh man do I love Pinterest! I could stay on it all day! One of my favorite things to pin are recipes, but they tend to be hit or miss in reality. No big deal to me because I enjoy taking a recipe and making it my own (ask my mom or hubby - I rarely follow the recipe anyway). So when a friend pinned Make Your Own Flavored Butters from YourHomebasedMom, my imagination ran wild! (By the way, I checked out this website and found the creator, Leigh Ann, on Pinterest. I swear, we could be best friends...)

A little bit about me: I'm a born and raised Oklahoma girl with a Florida dad and Texas/Mississippi mom. I grew up Southern. And what do southerners love more than sweet tea? Jesus. After that, butter. Before I got married and moved to Phoenix, I remember a sweet little tea room, Alicia's, that had the BEST little muffins with orange marmalade butter. To this day the thought of that butter makes me salivate. Sadly, the tea room closed its doors several years ago and I never got the recipe for those fabulous little muffins.

Thanks to these recipes, I'm craving muffins and flavored butter. Sweet, savory... all of them. Maybe a smoked gouda muffin with her roasted red pepper butter? Or what about a vanilla lavender muffin with a creamy lemon butter? And don't get me started on corn bread muffins with honey butter! What other flavor combinations are out of the ordinary but would make an out of this world breakfast? Oooh, the possibilities are endless. I'll start playing around with the idea and post the recipes that are a big hit with the family.

Patriotic Summer Dessert

Summertime is always my favorite time of year. Hot weather, vacations, bikinis, and lots of outdoor fun. And what better way to celebrate summer than an easy, light, fairly healthy dessert that is reminiscent of our country's birthday!

Grab freshly washed blueberries and strawberries (diced) and homemade whipped cream. I use heavy whipping cream and either sugar or maple syrup (trust me on this, it's divine). Beat it until it holds its shape. Then layer the berries and cream in a clear glass and eat up! Have a happy 4th!

Where's your inspiration?

  So successful people write out their goals, 5-year-plan etc. I haven’t written out something like that since college. Maybe that would help the flailing, or maybe not… But it couldn’t hurt. The only problem is you have to have goals in order to write them down. I’m stuck. Where do you start?

  An article came out indicating there is a renewed interest in typewriters. Some coffee shops have now set aside a typewriter day when laptops aren’t allowed. I have to say, I like this throwback. To me, renewing an old idea tends to jump start creativity. Memories can be so powerful, especially for someone in the fine arts. Typewriters remind me of my childhood, watching my dad type away on one of his papers. Maybe I should invest in an old typewriter and keep it prominently displayed, ready to be used when the urge strikes.

2013

Man, am I bad, or am I bad? I continually have the desire to write and share, yet I get so friggin lazy. And every time I pick it back up, I claim "This time, it's for real!"

In theory, I am a writer. It’s what I like to do and enjoy doing. It’s why I went to college. But life can get in the way, and kids can make it difficult to concentrate and form an idea. So this is where I will collect my inspiration and ideas for writing. I may not have hours a day to commit to it right now, but I can save my inspiration and topic ideas. While trying to inspire myself, maybe I’ll inspire a few others in the process. So let's see how it goes. I love being able to look back at the writings of my life and remember those moments. It's just about taking time out of my day to make it work. So let's make it work!!