Category Archives: domesticity


domestic goddess pizza

every time i make this pizza dough, i fall more and more in love with myself. i kiss myself on the lips, and promise myself sweet things.. i won't go into more detail, but let's just say it's really really good. and perfect. and you will look like an even more amazing woman/man if you whip this up one night when the cupboards and fridge are bare and you call your love to dinner- and they're blown away and sweep you up off the floor and twirl you and later give you a foot rub. (none of which has happened yet. i'm still doing all of that to myself i guess…) but i'm sure YOUR love will do that.

i want to be able to say i discovered it myself. that one day i was messing about in the kitchen and just accidentally poured all the right ingredients together and voilà! i'm a genius. but i didn't… it doesn't keep me from acting like one though. tra la laa

the recipe was found here: jay's signature pizza crust

i add dried herbs into the dough when i'm kneading it- because it tastes divine, and makes my kitchen smell like heaven…

the only thing i suggest is to cut your dough in half- or cut off 1/4th to save for either bread sticks or some desserty pizza concoction. (i'd make cinnamon rolls out of it) but since last night i already added my garlic and herbs to the dough, i saved the 1/4th for bread sticks to make today- and last night i was sorely craving something sweet and delicious and doughy. d'oh!

–

i didn't even stop there. i made this fantastic pizza… and i even cleaned up while in the middle of making it all. doing the dishes and sweeping the floors and and and… being all around amazing.

until i was too hot, and my legs were in major need of a shave, and i didn't want my belly to touch my legs- or anything to touch me for all that mattered. my awesomeness went down hill quickly. but my belly was full of delicioso that i am sharing with you. tra laa

so today i shaved my legs. and then i made bread sticks to lure steven out of bed. i was awesome…. until a big fecking spider crawled out from under the couch. i was just glad that my feet were curled up under me on the couch, or else i would have cried…

it scared me, and so i yelped/eeked/madesomedumbdistressednoise which freaked steven out. rightly so. because oh his pregnant wife just happens to be making some distress call which turns out to be a fecking spider. my hero in shoes… but then that just prompted me to need to move all the furniture and sweep and vacuum and dust and get rid of all of it! right now! i argued with him while furiously sweeping dust bunnies and dusting baseboards- all the while he stood there… looking at me… some crazy pregnant woman replaced his crazy wife. and this pregnant woman needed it to be clean. now. right now. this second.

i forgot to mention that this morning i went downstairs to make myself oatmeal. it bubbled away happily on the stove- but i just knew there was no way i was going to be able to eat it if the inside of the freezer wasn't scrubbed clean….

and so i scrubbed. while my oatmeal cooled into some thick science project. and then i made the mistake of opening the microwave…

maybe tomorrow morning i'll think about the microwave before i put the oats on to boil… because this is getting crazy in here.

By edarcy | Also posted in pregnancy | Comments (5)

sweet sinful sunday

i seriously had one of the best birthdays… there was nothing fancy about it- it just was… comfortable. down to earth. cozy. loving. it was so yummy to feel all the well wishes for me, from this tribe of people that i love- that are stretched far around the globe. people that are my friends, admirers, people i consider family. and then of course my own sweet little family. hearing happy birthday sung in sweet little voices, over the phone.

but i made cake-and there was no one here to eat it besides myself and steven… hmph. come over and eat this, please. because i have been eating it for breakfast for the past two days- and i don't have any self restraint. ;-p

it is so absolutely delicious. chocolatey. yum. make it for someone special.

erin darcy photography

my cake didn't turn out to be very pretty-because well… because i was lazy and didn't really care about how it looked. but it tasted fabulous.

cake recipe

after the cakes are cool, cut them in half- level the tops. you know…

now, i didn't have tons of great ingredients to make a really fluffy frosting to decorate the entire cake with. i could have run to the store.. but meh. so instead i made up a small batch of a simple frosting- which was super sweet, but in the end- turned out perfect. just the right ratio of cake to frosting.

frosting

whip it up and spread it through the layers. you might need to make more, since you split your cake into more than just two layers. look at you, all fancy.

taaa da.

let it sit for a while and mellow in it's own sin. and then enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk.

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rainy day comforts

the house filled up with a divine smell this morning.. a concoction so simple, creating so much warmth and comfort in the air.

erin darcy photography

mmm… if that isn't a dish full of comfort food, i don't know what is.

i love a good chicken pot pie, but have never attempted to make one myself, until i watched nigella lawson make a simple one with puff pastry. laaaaa. thank you curvy goddess.

erin darcy photography

erin darcy photography

it started with my own vegetable broth, which was later kissed with some chicken bouillon. and instead of what nigella does with the flour on the chicken, i just made the roux myself. not really that big of a deal.

erin darcy photography

erin darcy photography

i am rather proud of myself.

it was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

the puff pastry was so yummy and flaky and… mmmm… and the thick chickeny/vegetable gravy…

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the best part was…

it was so easy. i didn't follow any recipe. i added what sounded good. no measurements… just a dash here.. taste. add a bit more.

perfect for a rainy, grey autumn/winter's day.

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simplicity

erin darcy photography

you know how i mentioned that i am cutting out eating junky sweets, and just savouring the delicious home-made treats (that i am trying not to make too often)

but last night i just needed to bake. wanted to mix.. and smell the house fill with the comforting warmth of a cake.

so, i made a simple white cake.

erin darcy photography

cream butter and sugar. beat eggs, add one at a time. stir in vanilla. combine flour and baking powder, mix well. finally, stir in milk until batter is smooth.  bake for around 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

oh, and then i sprinkled a daaaasshhh of cinnamon. but shhh… don't tell steven that. he isn't crazy about cinnamon.

it is delicious on it's own, although not pretty (it browns fairly well on the top)

would be wonderful with cream and fruit, or a fluffy frosting.

i had neither, so spread some strawberry jam ontop.

it was delicious…

now please come and eat it for me.

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domestic.

this morning i woke up excited to figure out a way to use the left over dough from the calzones.

last night i had ideas of making them into salty pretzels, and cinnamon sugar pretzels. perhaps another time-i found a recipe that i'd like to try for those though…

maybe powdered sugar doughnuts… nao.. i don't think this dough was up for it. i've a recipe for those stashed away for another day as well. : )

sunday morning, so cinnamon rolls it is.

erin darcy photography

i let the dough sit for a while, it had chilled and rose a bit in the fridge last night.

after it warmed up a bit it let me roll it out without pulling back into place.

i melted a bit of butter and spread over the rectangle, sprinkled with sugar and dusted with cinnamon. i had a bit of brown sugar left so i used some of that to sprinkle in too.

i rolled it up, sliced, and put them in a cake tin to set for a few minutes.

popped them into the oven for around 10 minutes, and made a glaze out of melted butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and a splash of milk.

once out of the oven i drizzled them with goodness and served them to the boys for breakfast. (steven's friend stayed the night)

they were scrumptious and lovely.

the cinnamon rolls, not the boys.

and then i got this wild hair to clean the house… three loads of laundry, vacuumed stairs, swept sitting room… scrubbed toilet. organized closet, made bed. whew!

i was finally able to work in a few sketches and settle in with a cup of tea..

erin darcy photography

and now.. even after all of that cleaning, i still have so much more cleaning and organizing to do before one of my best friends comes to ireland for a visit.

i'm so excited to see her, and it'll be so weird to see her over here. (but she has a super cute house. haha and mine isn't so.)

safe travels for angel and martha!

By edarcy | Comments (2)

yawn and stretch

i stretched a bit this morning… not wanting to crawl out from under the warm blankets and cozy bed…

it was the phone ringing that finally pulled my feet out of bed and into some clothes.  rushing to get down stairs and make sure that the living room wasn't a disaster and bag up the recycling  before the landlady came by to collect her rent.

come and gone.

steven still snuggled in bed… i figured i better start making the dough if it has to rise for a few hours. wanting to make sure to give myself plenty of room for error in case it turned into a disaster.

but it was perfect. there was no need to worry.

so satisfying and delicious… my hands are still smooth from working in the olive oil and flour.

while waiting for the dough to rise again, trying to be patient and leave it alone-i decided to warm the kitchen up a bit by baking some cookies. steven's friend due over tonight- i figured it might be nice of me to bake something that they could snack on if they wanted something nice with their tea.

erin darcy photography

i used this recipe from last time, only i made them smaller, more two-bite size..which only means that there are more to share! : )

and it turns out, it was the perfect day for all of this heavy, warm comfort food.

cool rain and winds blowing in open windows.

this certainly isn't doing any favours for my hips…

erin darcy photography

but it's too good to pass up. : )

By edarcy | Comments (2)

mama mia

it's so rewarding putting together simple ingredients, and coming out with something real…wonderful. delicious.

something that i made with my own hands. something that might not be perfect the first time around, that i have to make adjustments until it is just right.

growing up, mom and dad both shared the kitchen. a lot dishes included mom's secret touches, while others were only perfect if dad made them. it was well balanced and wonderful.

the past month i have finally felt comfortable and confident enough to let loose and try my hand at baking.

i've been collecting recipes for a few years now. and i've been in love with food photography for a lot longer.

today's recipe: pizza dough.

erin darcy photography

i made calzones. what is it about them that tastes SO different from a regular pizza? it's the same ingredients… just. folded up.

like i said, simple ingredients…

erin darcy photography

it was my first time ever making anything like this, without the help and wise hands of someone else to make sure it was all coming together well.

wondering if the yeast would come out right… if i would knead the dough too little, or too much.

if it would rise….

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(my kitchen wasn't particularly warm today, so i aided it along a bit…)

erin darcy photographyerin darcy photography

erin darcy photography

there was no reason to worry, because the dough was absolutely beautiful.

so perfect… the second rise it puffed up quite large, so i was glad that i let it sit for as long as i could. (meanwhile, the kitchen warmed up since i baked some cookies)

i don't have a rolling pin, so i used a jar of tomato sauce.

erin darcy photography

the dough was so easy to roll, and didn't need much extra flour. it was super smooth..

(i separated it into four equal parts, but instead, combined them again-into half dough. i should have gone with my first instinct on the size needed… but i ended up just making one massive calzone, and left the other half of the dough in the fridge to make into something later on)

erin darcy photography

erin darcy photography

the monster calzone included minced steak, chorizo slices, onion, and mushroom with some grated mozzarella cheese.

erin darcy photography

fold it over and make sure to fold the dough-and make a tight seal.

poke a few holes in the top to let it breathe.

erin darcy photography

cut in half, or fourths… depending on who you are feeding and how hungry you are. : )

erin darcy photography

yumlish. perfect… but so filling…

the 'toppings' are endless. i was thinking of making a chicken one. oy vey… typing that out after eating this… the idea of that is just too much!

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apron strings

i think this baker is going to have to put away her apron before it gets any more flour and sugar on it.

too many sweets… i've got to limit it to one sweet bake a month or something like that. because having all of this in the house is not good.

especially after having a heavy sweet, and today's delicious ultimate comfort food- potato soup…

erin darcy photography

accompanied with a delicious roasted garlic sunflower seed bread…

erin darcy photography

and it was delicious. i moaned through every spoonful.

sigh.

and then i put in a workout dvd, mel b's totally fit.

i only made it through ten minutes before i was completely spent. sweaty and breathless.

it's pathetic… i feel terrible about it.

it has to stop.

so i turned the dvd off.

haha!

but really. enough is enough. going to buckle down and try to shift a few pounds i think, or at least stop with this crazy bake fest.

By edarcy | Also posted in {daily} | Comments (2)

the joys of baking*trial and error

i've been wanting to make something with lemon in it for a while.

steven's a chocoholic… so i have to decide to do these things without telling him… i'll just get discouraged hearing him say 'i don't really like lemon' HMPH!

but i found this recipe a while back, and after reading it, i couldn't stop thinking about it. it sounded perfect… lemony. fresh. sweet. perfect.

erin darcy photography

i had a few things that i had to collect before i could begin…

sigh. what have i told you about substituting things? please remind me next time i feel that i can't do something-when i just need to find a different way.

bought a cheese grater yesterday, one of those big fat ugly fancy ones. it has two sides that are 'zesters' or…whatever they want to call them.

they're really just shitty little teeth…

erin darcy photography

after a few tries and ruining my lemons and wasting their peel, steven suggested i use a serrated knife. PERFECT!

i 'peeled' it with the serrated knife- a regular knife will cut too deep and get yucky white pip. is that what it's called? i don't really care. we just don't want it.

after i had my pieces, i chopped them up as finely as i could.

erin darcy photography

next, get your carton of blueberries…

erin darcy photography

oogle at them because they are so pretty…

erin darcy photography

roll them around, eat one, oooh ahhh mother nature is a fine thing…

erin darcy photography

now stop that. get a hold of  yourself, they're only berries.

now,  put them in a bowl of water to wash.

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ooooh but they're still so pretty.

drain them, leave them on a towel to dry and begin mixing your other ingredients.

in one bowl, 'sift' together flour, baking powder, and salt.

i say 'sift' because i don't have a sifter, and just use a whisk to add some air to it.

in another bowl- mix eggs, sugar, oil, yoghurt, vanilla extract and lemon zest.

once your pretty blueberries are dry, toss them in 1 tablespoon of flour.

mix the dry ingredients into the wet and gently combine. fold in the blueberries.

pour mixture into your prepared (greased and lined) 8 inch cake pan. (also. your oven should be preheated to 180C. i don't know what that is in F right now. look it up. oh sorry.. was that incredibly rude? here, i'll go find it for you… okay, it's about 355F.)

erin darcy photography

put in the oven to bake for around 45 minutes. (check it at 30 minutes just to see how things are going. my oven likes to cook hotter on one side. so i had to turn my pan-and bring it down one shelf after about 30 minutes of cooking)

meanwhile, cut one lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl, we'll use this later.

while you're waiting and have those lemon halves there-that are already juiced, you could soften your elbows.

go ahead. just stick your elbows in them and sit there for 5 minutes.

i won't judge.

erin darcy photography

and time's up. take her out.

erin darcy photography

did i mention that i only used two eggs?

hahaha… i know. i did-because i only had two eggs, and didn't happen to have any other egg substitutes (bananas, apple sauce etc.)  so you can see that my cake probably didn't get the amount of lift it should have–or maybe it didn't hold… i don't know. but it fell just a tiny bit, i will blame that on the lack of egg.

let it sit and cool…

i'm impatient.

erin darcy photography

oooh look! purple stuff.

or blueberries if you want to get fancy about it.

i peeled off the wax paper on the bottom…

erin darcy photography

isn't it pretty?!

too bad it's trash.

at this point, i put it in the fridge because… i'm impatient. i want to make the icing!

now, that bowl of lemon juice you set aside- combine 1 cup of powdered sugar into it.

once the cake has cooled, pour over the top and spread around

erin darcy photography

cut into cake and….

ARGH! WHAT IS THIS?! why are all of my blueberries at the bottom? hmph! that is not what it looked like in the recipe.

okay, so it isn't as pretty. but it DOES taste delicious.

one thing i would change? i probably wouldn't put the icing on the top-it was just a bit too sweet. i think the cake would have been perfect without it.

next time, i'll use three eggs.. and i might get smaller blueberries-and probably set them on top instead of folding them in, letting them work their way to the bottom.

but guess what?!

the chocoholic even liked it.

i'd call that a win.

By edarcy | Also posted in {daily} | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

yadda yadda

waking up to thunder rolling in the distance.

that kind of electric energy doesn't fill the air often here… but when it does-i get butterflies in my stomach.

i love a good storm…

erin darcy photography

i'm supposed to be working on a commission piece. (i also have a post written about commission pieces blah blah yadda yadda that i am supposed to publish but haven't yet.) but i'm finding the silence taking over me. drowning in it… i'm sitting at the bottom and i'm okay there.

i tried picking up something else yesterday, to keep my hands busy to help pass the emptiness that creators befriend… meh.

erin darcy photography

sitting. and waiting seems to be it.

listening to emilíana torrini… she's good for the soul.

i could take pictures of my kitchen window every day… every hour. it always changes, but yet…stays the same. captures the silence and beauty of just… normal. dull life.

erin darcy photography

plateful of yummy comfort food…

erin darcy photography

roast chicken, peas and a creamy pesto pasta.  i didn't expect it to be all so green…. but that's alright.

oooh! did you notice all the green in ALL of the photos. : )

i'll stop blabbing on and perhaps i'll bake you something pretty and yummy tomorrow.

xox

By edarcy | Also posted in {daily} | Comments (1)