Summer Ice Cream!

This time of year everyone is enjoying their favorite ice cream and favorite toppings. The variety of ice cream and toppings is endless. Everyone loves chocolate, what is your favorite? What’s your favorite topping, brownies, marshmallows, nuts, chocolate syrup, caramel, cookie dough, etc.?

Months ago on Instagram I met a wonderful person and an amazing artist, her name is Deb. We both had been following,  liking, commenting and admiring each others work. Through many emails we got to know each other and decided to arrange a trade. 

Deb decided that she like black walnut and wanted a nice size cutting board. She told me that she was in the middle of a kitchen remodel and I was envisioning how beautiful her kitchen was going to be.

My wife, also a Debbie and I love pottery. I had been looking for a couple of ice cream bowls to match our kitchen. Before I knew it we had worked out a trade.

Deb made me the most beautiful ice cream bowls, I love them and they do match our kitchen colors. The are on display in our kitchen, only when they are not being used!

Check out Deb’s post on the black walnut cutting board, Honey Lavender Lightly Frozen with Fruit. Deb is a very talented artist, check out her pottery on her blog and/or her Instagram!

I love my ice cream bowls and I am so glad I met Deb, maybe someday we will meet in person!

So, what is your favorite ice cream and toppings?

 

 

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Spring Flowers

I snapped a few pictures while walking the garden today and thought I would share a few spring flowers! In this post you will also find Hosta Guacamole.

The above picture is Hosta Guacamole, this is after the hail storm we had on Tuesday morning and Tuesday afternoon. We had a thunder-storm that lasted 40 minutes that brought nickel size hail. Then again that afternoon we had another thunder-storm that lasted 35 minutes that also brought hail but was ping-pong ball size. All of my hosta look like this, it made me sick because hosta do not re-grow their leaves but once a year in the spring.

Enjoy your evening!

 

Check out the beautiful photo of my Walnut board that was taken by Aubrey Jenkins!

Handcrafted Walnut Cutting Boards

The above photo was taken by Aubrey Jenkins, check out her website, Drum Beets

 

 

 

Dining Out San Diego Magazine

You might remember my post in early March about Carolyn Himes photographing Chef Rob Ruiz food for the Dining Out San Diego magazine, my post was San Diego Magazine. I am excited to write this post and grateful to Carolyn, Chef Rob Ruiz and all those at the Dining Out magazine that was involved in the process of the shoot and selecting this photograph, thank you! Carolyn emailed me late this evening to let me know that the Dining Out magazine is published as of this afternoon,  her photograph, chef Rob Ruiz food and my Walnut cutting board is on the front cover!!  Love it, Love it, Love it!!

Beautiful photos!

If you are interested in reading more, below are links to the story! 

Dining Out San Diego Instagram

Dining Out San Diego magazine digital issue, great article on Chef Ruiz!

Land and Water Company Instagram

Chef Rob Ruiz also posted on his Instagram as well, Chef Rob Ruiz Instagram

Carolyn Himes website; Carolyn Himes Imagery. Be sure to check out Carolyn’s website!

Thank you Carolyn!!

 

 

 

San Diego Magazine

Above picture taken in my shop: 12 inch Walnut cutting boards just taken out of the food grade mineral oil and beeswax bath for drying.

An Orange County, CA food photographer Carolyn  Himes saw my work on Instagram and purchased the above Walnut board from me several weeks ago. She told me that she was going to use the board in a photo shoot for a popular local Carlsbad, CA restaurant Land & Water Co. with chef Rob Ruiz. The pictures would be used in the popular magazine Dinning Out the Great Restaurants of San Diego. Here is the link to the Land & water Co restaurant. This Is very exciting 🙂 to know that my work had a chance to be published, other than my website! The photo shoot finished a week ago.

Carolyn email me on Friday to say that the pictures were approved and a picture was selected to be printed on the cover of the magazine, March issue slated for the stands on March 24th. Very exciting!!! Doing the Happy dance! In Carolyn’s email she gave me pictures of the magazine cover and the picture that was selected, it looks great!! Sorry but I can not publish any of these pictures until after the March 24th date. The pictures will also be posted on Chef Rob Ruiz website around March 24th.

Carolyn posted two photographs from the shoot on her Instagram, here is the link: Carolyn Himes Instagram

Carolyn’s web site: Carolyn Himes Imagery

Chef Rob Ruiz also post a picture on his Instagram as well, Chef Rob Ruiz Instagram

See more; Dining Out San Diego

Dining Out San Diego Instagram

Look for another blog post from me the week of March 24th with more pictures and the magazine cover picture too! 🙂 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

It’s been weeks since I have been able to post! This year more I have been covered up with orders for my boards, ice cream scoops, birdhouses and honey sticks. Most all of the orders have been shipped with a few that were ordered late that will ship this week. If you ordered from me I want to thank you very much and hope you loved everything. If you are giving as gifts, I hope everyone enjoys them. I sure would love to see pictures from your kitchen!

My wife and I spent the afternoon yesterday making Chocolate Chip Cookies, 6 dozen! 🙂 In just a while we are planning to make 4 dozen our Heath Candy bar cookies.

This chocolate chip recipe was given to me many years ago from a friend. It is not the traditional Hershey chocolate chip recipe, these cookies are a chewy chocolate chip cookie. Everyone has their preference but I really like a chewy cookies with medium thickness and a ratio of 50/50 chocolate to dough.

Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
2-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds of chocolate, chips, chunks mixed plus a little chopped

I use King Arthur pastry and bread flour. f you have not been to their web site and you like to bake, you need to visit their site! 🙂

To get started, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line all of your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift all of your dry ingredients into a separate bowl.

In a large mixing bowl of your electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.

Reduce speed to low and add your dry ingredients and vanilla. Stop mixer, remove and clean off paddle. Now addd your chocolate and mix using spatula or by hand.

I like to use a scoop to keep all the cookies about the same size. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft about 12-14 minutes depending on your pan and oven.

Walnut cutting board, click picture to see more!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

 

Cheese boards, cutting boards and charcuterie platters