Sparkling Green Tea

Sparkling Green Tea

A refreshing and easy to make warm weather beverage. Plus it has all the benefits of green tea!

Brewed and cooled Green Tea 

honey or simple syrup or sugar

Plain or Lemon flavored Seltzer water

If using sugar or honey, it's best to add them while the tea is still hot. I make a batch of simple syrup and keep it in my fridge for using in my iced coffees and for iced tea. Simple syrup is just equal parts sugar and water, brought to a boil and simmered for 3 minutes, then cooled down and stored in a covered container in the fridge.

To make the sparkling tea, pour equal parts cooled, sweetened tea and seltzer water in an iced filled glass. Add a teaspoon or however much you'd like of the simple syrup to sweeten. 

Enjoy! 

 recipe from Angela of Windy City Knits

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Pizza Tonight!

One of my favorite things to make is homemade pizza. I love a classic thin crust with some fresh mozzerella,  garden tomatoes, and fresh basil. I also love to try new and adventurous pizza toppings. Here are a few yummy recipes for you to try.

Pizza Margherita from Martha Stewart

Fresh Ricotta and Red Onion pizza from Smitten Kitchen

Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza from  AllRecipes

A very useful tip I've learned from making homemade pizza is to bake the pizza until just about done and then take it off the pan and cook a few minutes more directly on the oven rack. This extra step allows the middle of your crust to crisp up a little more.

Enjoy!

Angela from Windy City Knits

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Luscious Lemon Bars

Luscious Lemon Bars 

recipe by Angela from Windy City Knits

Delectable, fresh, vibrant lemons are the star in these yummy bars. 

I make these all the time in the spring and summer and they are fabulous. 

These have slightly less fat then traditional Lemon Bars as I have cut down 

on the butter and only use 1 whole egg.  

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup quick oats

5 Tablespoons butter, softened

Topping:

1 whole egg 

1 egg white

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

juice and zest of 1 lemon

powdered sugar for dusting 

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan. Mix flour, oats and sugar in medium bowl. 

Cut in butter until crumbly. Press crumbs into baking pan. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg and egg white. Add sugar and beat until creamy and light in color. Add flour, baking powder, salt, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk until smooth. Pour lemon mix over hot crust. Bake 20-25 minutes until center is set. Cool 15 minutes in pan and then remove from pan to cool completely. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and cut into squares to serve. 

Tip: Limes can also be substituted for the lemon in these bars.

Enjoy!

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Pinterest Recipes

Pinterest Recipes
written by Angela from Windy City Knits

I have a Pinterest problem! I absolutely love it and I am not the only one...Pinterest grew from 1.4 million users in 2010 to over 4 million users today and has roughly 11 million visits per week. Wow!

I have an entire day of meals pinned for you this week...breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack and dessert!

Sausage-Kale Breakfast Strata

Cucumber Cream Cheese Turkey Roll Up

Eggplant and Mozzerella Melt

Watermelon Hedgehog

Salted Caramel Pudding

Hope you enjoy some of these yummy "pins" soon and don't forget to follow 

Indie Style Guide to Handmade and Vintage on Pinterest

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Jam Cake Recipe

Jam Cake Recipe 
Recipe by Rhonda from Shadow Jewels, Edited by Angela from Windy City Knits
 

Rhonda here from Shadow Jewels, with a simple and delicious recipe. I found this recipe in a falling apart old cookbook that belonged to my Grandma Haas.  What a wonderful book! Tattered and stained, missing it's cover...I don't know how old it is, but it comes from a simpler time.  No flashy, trendy recipes in here, these are the tried and true staples from a lost generation of frugal housewives. 

 

There are three recipes for Jam Cake, so it must have been quite popular in old timey Ohio.  I picked the simplest one.  The recipe calls for strawberry jam, but I used blackberry since that is what I had. I substituted butter for the shortening, and used raw sugar. 

This cake is rich and scrumptious, spicy and fruity, and it makes your house smell like autumn is here to stay. The other two recipes call for the addition of 1/2 cup each raisins and walnuts.  This cake definitely has enough character to support that, so I think I'll try it next time. Cream cheese frosting is a must for this one!

Enjoy!

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Lampwork Glass Bracelet

 

In Rhonda's shop you will find vintage rhinestone earrings and charm bracelets, vintage glass beads, lampwork glass, swarovski crystals, vintage brass filigree. Genuine gemstone briolettes, wire wrapped, gemstone encrusted earrings, sterling silver, gold filled, all hand forged treasures. Shabby chic, victorian style, steampunk., fantasy. 

                                   

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Almond Biscotti Recipe

Almond Biscotti Recipe 

Angela from Windy City Knits here with my recipe for Almond Biscotti. I make this twice baked cookie all the time and I get so many people asking me for my recipe. I am Italian and I have always loved my grandmother's Anise Raisin soft style biscotti, but I wanted to adapt it for a harder cookie to dunk in coffee. I make these in double batches and wrap in pretty packages for holiday gifts too.

Angela's Almond Biscotti 

2-3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix together.

Now determine whether you need to add more flour. If your mixture is very sticky, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup more flour. If your mixture is just barely sticky or not sticky at all, go to the next step.

Flour a counter or board and turn out the dough. Pat the dough into a circle and then divide into two pieces. Work with one piece at a time and roll into a long thin baguette log shape approximately 14-16 inches long and lay onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until very light golden in color. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 300 degrees F.

Slice each log on the diagonal into 1 inch pieces. Lay the slices on their sides and bake another 8 minutes. Then flip them to their other side and bake another 5 minutes. Let them cool and serve with coffee or tea.

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Angela from Windy City Knits enjoys creating beautiful and cozy stylish hand knits. Her  inspiration comes from nature! She loves earth tones, sandy beach beige, ocean blues, meadow greens, city shades of grey, summer sky spectrum. In her store you can find gorgeous cozy scarfs, beautiful gloves, and stylish hats. .

In her store you will find beautiful winter accessories check it out!

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Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup recipe
Written by WindyCityKnits, Recommended by Shadow Jewels

Hi, Rhonda here from ShadowJewels, with a wonderfully delicious cold weather recipe to warm you up! My husband has requested that I make a pot of his favorite soup, potato leek (and how can I say no to someone so cute?). This is another one that I don't use a recipe for, so I'll write it down for you all as I go along.

Potato leek soup

Ingredients
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 leeks
• 3 medium carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 12 cups water
• "Better than Bouillon" vegetable base
• rosemary
• sage
• herbs de provence
• 12 cups diced potatoes



Preparation
• First prepare the leeks. Cut off the very bottom, and a couple of inches from the tops.
• Now remove the white part in one chunk, rinsing well, and dice into small cubes. Start to peel the leek apart one layer at a time, discard the tough outer layer of greens. Rinse thoroughly as you work, saving all of the lighter green parts. Dice into small pieces.
• Rinse and chop the carrots and celery.
• Melt the butter in a large soup pot and add the chopped vegetables.
• Cook over medium heat until the vegetables start to turn translucent and the flavors are well blended, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the water, salt and pepper to taste, 2 spoons of the better than bouillon, 1 tsp dried sage leaves, 1 tsp herbs de provence, and 1 tsp dried rosemary (or a few sprigs of fresh rosemary if you have it).
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
• Add the potatoes, bring back to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender.
• At this point, you can leave the soup as is and serve chunky style; or you can make a cream soup by blending  it with a hand held mixer, or in your blender.
• Then stir in  a small carton of cream or half and half. Reheat if necessary, but do not boil once the cream is added.
• Serve with grated cheese.

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Featured here on the left is one of ShadowJewel's beautiful designs, a bracelet with vintage Swarovski Medeira topaz crystals. Check out ShadowJewel's shop for more wonderful shabby chic and Victorian style jewelry using vintage rhinestones, lampwork glass, crystal beads, and genuine gemstones. 

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