Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival 2014

Each October, my family goes wild about our annual family trip to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. For days leading up to it, my husband and older boys are busy packing up their motorcycles and gear, while my girl and I happily bake and cook our meals ahead to freeze to have in the RV.  For breakfasts, we had Banana-Pumpkin Muffins a few mornings, and other times we had bacon (yes, this can be baked ahead and frozen) and fried eggs. For our dinners we had fried rice, chili, and for our youngest son's 11th birthday dinner, we had Cheese Ravioli and marinara sauce with grilled sausages.  

If you are motorcycle enthusiasts, this trip is a must.  The grounds are immaculate and beautiful, and the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum is quite spectacular.  For our family, it is a wonderful time not only watching the exciting races but to savor beautiful sunrises, shared meals, and late night talks in the RV with our children.  Looking forward to our next year's trip!  

Food Photos featured on Savannah Morning News 

Banana-Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 2 dozen 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (15 oz)  2 cups granulated sugar (14 oz)  1 teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon baking soda  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 3 eggs  1 1/4 cups vegetable or canola oil  2 teaspoons vanilla extract  1 (8 ounce) canned pumpkin puree 2 cups mashed ripe banana, about 3 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)  Sugar to sprinkle 1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon, set aside.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until creamy; stir in pumpkin and bananas.  With a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients just until moistened.   2. Spoon batter in muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with chopped walnuts and sugar. 3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Simple Marinara Sauce  1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, grated 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes 1 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 dried bay leaf 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, dried oregano, basil and pepper flakes, and sauté the garlic and herbs until they just begin to sizzle and heat. Add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf and grated Parmesan cheese, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 45 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve with good quality store-bought ravioli.

Pizza Making Party with the Girl Scouts and Recipes

A few weeks ago, a fellow homeschooling mom and leader of the Savannah Girl Scouts troop (#30273) contacted me to see if I would be willing to give a tour of my church's kitchen to the girls. I was delighted for the opportunity!

Independent Presbyterian Church is located just across from the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scout USA. It is a common sight on Bull Street to see troops paying a visit to their beloved founder's home year around.

Since it wouldn't take but several minutes to tour the IPC kitchen, I thought it would be fun to make some homemade pizzas and surprise the girls with a special dessert using their famous cookies.

Choose your favorite topping! (I told the girls the most interesting pizza I've eaten was topped with squid and garlic!) From plain cheese to pepperoni, roasted peppers and onions, we all had a great time talking and assembling our own personalized pizzas.

It's just something about cooking and sharing food together...memories are made and friendships forged. I've made more friendships through cooking in the kitchen than anywhere else!

After devouring our pizzas, we had our Girl Scout Cookie Cake Bars! Girl Scout Samosas and Tagalongs can be used as toppings for this recipe. Many thanks to Kevin and Amanda for this super easy and yummy recipe!

Girl Scout Tagalong (or Samosa) Cookie Cake Bar by Kevin and Amanda

For Recipe and beautiful step-by-step photos, Click Here

Homemade Pizzas

*I usually triple this recipe for my family of 6 so we have left overs. These pizzas are great re-heated in toaster oven!

Print This Recipe!

Simple Pizza Crust

Makes 1 large or 4-6" personalized pizza crusts

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups bread flour, more for dusting
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, lower the oven rack to bottom third

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, using your hand.

Stir in flour and salt and knead until smooth, 4-5 minutes. Dough should be supple and not sticky. Form it to a smooth ball, place it in a bowl greased with 2 tablespoon of olive oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch or roll into a round. If the dough is hard to stretch or roll, let rest for a minute. Resume stretching to the size to fit your pan or make personalized pizzas.

Place a sheet of parchment paper over a baking pan. Lay stretched dough discs on paper.

Spoon on marinara sauce (recipe below), spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (longer if making a large pizza) , or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Simple Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 teaspoon dried organo
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 dried bay leaves

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic, dried oregano, basil, pepper flakes and sauté garlic and herbs until just beginning to sizzle and heat. Add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf and grated parmesan cheese, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 45 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe can be doubled. Portion the sauce and freeze in quart-size bags for future use.