Sparkling White Peach & Basil Sangria {Recipe}

Nothing says summer to me like fresh peaches! We used to spend summers with the family in South Carolina and my grandmother would make homemade peach ice cream and peach cobbler; we would grill some, freeze some, and enjoy some fresh!

☀️ There is nothing better than biting into a Carolina peach, fresh off the orchard, and tasting the sun! ☀️

My grandparents still bring an entire bushel of peaches to my parents’ in VA every summer. Last summer we had to freeze some of the peaches and I’ve been saving them to make this peach and basil sangria - cold, refreshing, and tastes like the season!

 

Sparkling White Peach & Basil Sangria

*makes 6 - 8 drinks*

• 1 liter of peach nectar
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup of basil leaves, muddled 
• 2 bottles sparkling white wine or prosecco
• 2 cups of sliced peaches
• optional: lime wedges and basil leaves for serving

In a saucepan, bring the peach nectar, cane sugar, and lime juice to a boil. Simmer for two minutes and remove from heat. Add muddled basil leaves and allow the mixture to come to room temperature. Store in a jar in the fridge for at least 12 hours. The longer the mixture sits, the more basil flavor the drink will take on! 

Once ready to serve, fill 6-8 glasses with ice and fresh peach slices. Fill glasses with half sangria mixture and half wine. Garnish with a lime sliced or wedged or fresh piece of basil. Enjoy! 

Roasted Winter Salad Bowl

Post: Alexis

I love the all-in-one-bowl kinds of meals. It feels like a cozy winter night on the couch, snuggled under a blanket after the baby goes to sleep. I have always been a morning person, but with a warm bowl in my hands and a book in my lap, the evening is just as enjoyable! 

My husband and I enjoyed this warm and roasted salad bowl on a night just like that. I had prepped the vegetables and made the salad dressing during Sonia's afternoon nap, so come dinnertime, everything was done but the roasting! I put the vegetables in the oven, said our nighttime prayers together, and as soon as the baby was asleep, the vegetables were ready to be tossed with lettuce, vinaigrette, and toppings! Yum!

Roasted Winter Salad Bowl

The Salad: 

Two medium-sized sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 1/2 cups)
One cup of brussels sprouts, cut in halves
One Tbsp. of olive oil
1 cup cooked quinoa
Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning
Baby Spring Mix
1/2 cup walnuts halves, roughly chopped
Feta cheese

The Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of dijon mustard
2 tsp honey
2 shallots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp pink himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

First Things First. Preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare a baking sheet. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, everyday seasoning, and olive oil. Once the vegetables are well coated with oil and seasoning, spread them onto a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and vegetables are golden. (I like my brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes to have darker, almost charred edges!) 

For the Quinoa. Put one cup of quinoa in a mesh strainer and rinse under cold water for one minute. Combine the quinoa and two cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and let stand for 5 more minutes before uncovering. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. This can be added to the salad warm or cold!

For the Vinaigrette. In a food processor, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper, and blend together. Store in jar in the fridge until ready to use. 

Assemble the Salad. In a large bowl, toss the baby spring mix, roasted vegetables, quinoa, and vinaigrette. Crumble feta cheese over the salad and top with the chopped walnuts.

Note: For juicier, more authentic-tasting feta, buy the feta cheese block in the brine. Feta cheese that comes in crumbles is drier with a much more mild flavor.

Joyful Feasting!

Cinnamon-Eggnog Scones

Post & Photos: Alexis

Hello there! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 2017 was a [positively] challenging and blessed year in more ways than one. The publishing of the cookbook was especially monumental and I am still feeling so grateful for all of our friends and family that supported us throughout the making of the book! I am also thoroughly enjoying Erin's sweet stories and having her yummy collection of recipes at hand. I have been craving her caramelized onion, ricotta, and pesto pizza since we photographed it last Spring and decided to make it as part our New Year's Eve dinner. It was a serious hit - no leftovers. None. (For those of you with the H&J cookbook, flip to page 75 - you won't regret it.)

My husband and I have also been enjoying a new-ish scone recipe this week! My Koumbara (a Greek term that we use to reference a godparent—Sonia’s godmother in this instance) and I stopped into Dean & Deluca a couple of weeks ago and had the most delicious eggnog scone, which inspired me to do a Google search for a recipe when I got home. I made my first batch of these scones on Christmas Eve using vanilla extract, and they tasted more cinnamon than eggnog. I made them a second time this morning to use up our extra eggnog, and used eggnog flavoring instead of vanilla extract, which made all the difference! For eggnog lovers, this is a recipe worth sharing that makes your home smell like Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and Joyful Feasting always!

- Alexis

Cinnamon-Eggnog Scones

(my spin on a King Arthur recipe)

Dough:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup cinnamon chips
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon eggnog flavor
3/4 cup cold eggnog

Topping:

1 tablespoon eggnog
2 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar

Instructions:

Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Add in the cubed butter and mix until crumbly, followed by the cinnamon chips. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla or eggnog flavor, and eggnog. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir using a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. 

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface (I used a silicone baking sheet) and split the dough into two parts. With each half of the dough, shape into a circle and cut into six triangles. Pull the six triangles apart and spread on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush each scone with some eggnog, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.

After 30 minutes in the freezer, bake the scones in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Serve the scones warm, or wrap each scone in plastic wrap and enjoy them throughout the week.

Hello there; it's been a while!

Post & Photo: Alexis

The past eleven months have been quite busy for my husband and me, so I feel like I could easily write a blog post rambling on a myriad of topics. To give you a short run down, we moved twice - first from Boston to New York, then from New York to Northern New Jersey. My husband started a new job and was ordained a Deacon in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church. In the midst of all of these changes, Erin and I have squeezed in some intensive, week-long cooking, shooting, and editing marathons to keep the ball rolling on the cookbook. (We're almost there!) Although I am still booking photography sessions and weddings in New England, I've also begun to book in the Greater NYC and NJ areas as well. Also, for those of you who haven't heard the news, my husband and I welcomed our first baby, Sonia Noor, into the world seven magical weeks ago! 

As I'm sure you can imagine - or know from your own experience with a little one - Bet L'mssih looks a little different than the last time you heard about it here. Instead of the bed-and-breakfast-of-a-home that I dreamt up as a newlywed, our second floor, metropolitan apartment feels much more like a slightly organized mess most days. Rather than the sound of chickens outside of our dreamy, imaginary, New England farmhouse, Bet L'mssih sounds a little more like the vacuum cleaner I left running to calm our sleepy newborn. It smells like a freshly percolated pot of coffee and also like someone needs another diaper change. It looks more like unpacked boxes in one corner and an overflowing basket of laundry in the other. Breakfast is eggs that were boiled three hours before and a cup of coffee that went cold quicker than I could actually drink it. Dinner is a freezer stocked with crockpot meals (thanks, Mom!) or a thrown together pot of pasta carbonara to use up the leftovers. So although our home is not what I imagined or expected, I wouldn't trade what we have for the world; I never want this short, savory part of my life to end.

It is true what they say, that "a house doesn't make a home."  All of the clutter and unfinished tasks for this Type A Momma seem to disappear when I'm awakened at 2:30am - when the world is still asleep except for the two of us; when the ten-pound weight in my arms is piercing into my soul with her deep blue eyes and intentionally smiling at me for the very first time; when her cooing fills the air with the sweetest sounds the world has ever heard... 

Is this what they mean when they talk about Heaven on Earth? I've always imagined that Heaven is Earth, but that maybe our hearts are transformed when we finally meet our Heavenly King. Maybe in Heaven, we still do the everyday tasks of tending to our homes and working within our communities, but instead we do our work with a new understanding, a new togetherness, participating in the choir of angels all together, singing praises to God with our voices and with our working hands. Maybe our work is not work at all, but simply our whole selves in active prayer, giving and using our unique gifts to participate in and give glory to God's awesome creation.

I think of this as I hold in my arms the precious gift of life. Thank you, God for the challenging, yet beautiful and immense responsibility of motherhood! Help my husband and I to exemplify a marriage that is Christ-centered; one that is self-sacrificial and forgiving.  Help us to raise our daughter and future children to value hard work, to have grateful hearts, a love of service, and unwavering faith. Bless our home - in whatever state, shape, or form that may be - as a little church, filling it with love, prayer, and a place of true hospitality and joy. Thank you for this season, and for every season that has brought me to this day and allotted me this sweet taste of Heaven. 

Cowboy Cookies

Post & Photos: Alexis

Last August, I spent a week in Florida visiting my Koumbari, Erin and Eric, and met my Goddaughter, Emma. This was the first time since college that Erin and I got to spend time together that didn't revolve around a wedding or big life event that we were helping to put together. (Not that we don't love those special get togethers, too!) This time we were able to drink tea, peruse bookstores, and catch up like old times. Of course we also spent a significant portion of the time snuggling with little E! 

While I was visiting, Erin made these coconut and chocolate-filled, buttery cookies that are to die for! I'm pretty sure I ate at least five of them right out of the oven! She gave me the recipe and it's become a staple at Bet L'mssih! I like to make a large batch and freeze balls of dough that are ready-to-bake should we have last minute guests or just decide we would like a couple for ourselves without eating a whole jar of cookies in one sitting. They are delectable! 

Cowboy Cookies

1 cup softened butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar (I used light)
3/4 cup cane sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup milk chocolate chips
½ cup nuts (optional - I like to use walnuts or pecans)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, cane sugar, eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then add flour mixture to wet mixture and combine. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. 

While dough is cooling in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. After 30 minutes, roll the dough into balls and place 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 12-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy with a glass of milk :)

Warning: These cookies are seriously addicting!

P.S. Aren't they the sweetest? :)