s'mores ice cream

This ice cream might just be the epitome of Summer.  All the flavours of our favorite campfire treat come together in a delicious explosion, and we think you'll love it!

(In case you were wondering....no, I

still

haven't been camping yet.  Don't judge me.)

As the days are slowly getting shorter, and the mornings a bit crisper, why not celebrate the last days of Summer with something epic?

S'mores ice cream.  Best of both worlds? I think so!

S'mores Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup chopped dark chocolate

Directions:

1)  Mix together milk, cream, sugar, graham cracker crumbs, salt and vanilla.

2)  Pour mixture into ice cream maker.

3)  Once the mixture just starts to thicken, very slowly add in the mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces.

4)  Pour into a container and allow to harden in the freezer for 12-24 hours before serving.

Optional: Top with a graham cracker, a couple pieces of dark chocolate, and a roasted marshmallow! 

*You can roast your marshmallows on a cookie sheet in the oven on broil if you don't want to go out and start a fire.  Just don't take your eyes off of them or they'll burn!

Also, the pumpkin spice takeover needs to hold on for a second....we're not done with Summer here!

p.s. 

♥ kelsey & jordyn

lemon layer dessert // a guest blog over at sift and whisk

Hello friends!  A couple months ago we were asked to be a guest blogger for Sift and Whisk while she was on maternity leave...and were so excited that she reached out to us!  We chose to make a lemon layer dessert, which we think is so perfect for Summer.

Hop on over to Sift and Whisk for the full recipe!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey

sunrise session // a white dress

Sometimes your sister let's you wake her up at 4:45am on her one day of the week that she can actually sleep in to go trekking out into a park to take some photos at sunrise.  I'd say she's a keeper!

So I (Kelsey), drive past this park every single day on my way to work (at 5:30 in the morning!), and I'm always astonished at how gorgeous it is all the time.  There's always plenty of mist, and the sun is usually just peeking out from behind the mountains to bathe everything in a soft pink glow.  Every day is a little different, but it's always breathtaking.  

Of course on the one day that we're there to take photos it happened to be the thickest pea soup fog you've ever seen.  And the sun didn't even make an appearance until 6!  Not exactly the scenario we were expecting, but it was gorgeous all the same.

Thank you Jordyn for being my partner in crime and my beautiful model!

(Keep an eye out for part two coming soon!)

p.s. 

♥

 kelsey & jordyn

mint chip ice cream

Ever since I was a little girl, mint chip ice cream has always been my favorite.  Call me boring....but it's still the flavour I will get 99% of the time.  My logic is that I know that I love mint chip, so why bother trying other flavours?  Right?

Now this logic only holds true unless there's salted caramel that is!  Then it's anybody's game.

Not only is today special because it involves ice cream, but we also were able to collaborate with the lovely Rosaura from Pigment and Parchment!  I discovered her gorgeous work on instagram, she then followed me back and suggested a food post collab!  I said "heck yes!", and the rest is history.  She painted us the most darling ingredient list, which you can see below.  Love!

artwork by:

pigment and parchment

Mint Chip Ice Cream

by: Kelsey & Jordyn

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon spearmint extract

3-4 drops green food colouring (optional)

1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and spearmint extract, making sure sugar is dissolved.

2) Add food colouring if you wish, until it is as green as you want!

3) Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and follow the directions of your ice cream maker.

4) Once the mixture has started to thicken (about 10 minutes), add the chocolate chips in gradually.

5) When the ice cream has thickened sufficiently (ours took 20 minutes), scoop into a container (we used a loaf pan and it fit perfectly), and freeze until it's ready to serve (around 2 hours).

6) Enjoy!

*If you find mini chocolate chips freeze too hard to eat, you can always substitute chocolate shavings instead!

Ever since Jordyn bought her new fancy schmancy "I can make ice cream in 15 minutes" ice cream maker....it sure is tempting to make a new flavour each week.  I suppose it'll be a good lesson in practicing our self control!

Who are we kidding?  Good-bye bikini body!  Hello delicious ice cream!  

-kelsey & jordyn

rhubarb coffee cake

Rhubarb!  Oh, how I love thee.

This is the part where I talk about living on a farm with (almost) unlimited amounts of rhubarb, berries and apples at my fingertips, and you all hate me.

Well, I hope you can try and not hate me, and maybe just settle for bitter jealousy?  Or let's become friends and you can come visit and I'll give you a cake to make up for it.  But seriously, can I just mention one more time how lucky I am to live on a farm that grows so many incredible fruit and veggies?  I don't ever want to leave!

Although I'm a real chocolate girl....I have to say that this just might be my favorite cake in the world.  It definitely wins best coffee cake, hands down.  It's just so light and fluffy, and the pieces of rhubarb bring such a delightful balance with their tartness.  The minute our rhubarb is long enough to justify picking it...this cake will be baking in our kitchen.  Now that's a fact.

I also love the fact that this recipe comes from my great grandma.  Baking runs in the family!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

recipe from: My Great Grandma Enid!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sour milk (mix 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp vinegar/lemon juice - let stand for 5 minutes before using)

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup rhubarb, chopped

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1)  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.

2)  Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

3)  Mix in sour milk and baking soda.

4)  Add flour and mix until just combined.

5)  Stir in rhubarb pieces.

6)  Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan, and top with cinnamon and sugar.

7)  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is best served the first day, although it rarely lasts longer than that at our house anyway!

Happy Summer!

Now go and find some rhubarb and make this cake asap!

p.s. 

♥

 kelsey

congratulations smartie pants!

So Jordyn graduated last week with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and a diploma in Liberal Arts!  AND she's halfway done her Library Technician diploma already.  What a girl.

I'm so proud, and yet having my little sister graduate university makes me feel old.  Seriously, high school feels like it was yesterday!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey

p.p.s. The second photo is a demonstration of how classy we are.  Am I right?

outfit post: the hampton dress

It feels like Summer here, and I couldn't be happier.  Bright, sunny days and long, warm, relaxing evenings.   It's perfection!

Moving on....we are so so excited to have collaborated with Bootlegger for this post!  We love their new Free Spirited Summer collection, which is full of charm, whimsy, and a wonderfully effortless boho feel.

I'm totally in love with their hampton dress.  It's simple and sweet, and yet full of delicate details.  The tiny buttons running up the back of the dress are my favorite!  And I so appreciate the high-low skirt, and the fact that it has a longer length overall.  I feel completely comfortable to run, jump, and frolic around fields without any fear of my dressing flying up.  It's the best.

I never want to overthink my outfits in Summer, and have a weakness for no fuss dresses.  

I kept things simple here by adding a lace vest, a skinny brown belt, and my favorite brown booties.  Nice and easy!

dress:hampton-bootlegger

// vest: garage // belt: my closet // boots: hand-me-downs // bracelet: hand-made by me // arrow necklace: forever21

The only unfortunate thing about the constant sunshine is the state of my tan lines.  Let's just say that my farmer tan game is strong.  As in, disgustingly strong.  Not to mention the wicked neck tan I got last weekend in Kamloops (where Clara and I shot a wedding together!  More on that soon!).  Seriously, it is horrid.  And I will admit I totally smoothed it out in photoshop.  No shame.  

It honestly looked like I had painted my neck ten shades darker than the rest of my body.  

Gross.  Sorry for the visual.  

#sorrynotsorry

- kelsey

p.p.s. This is the sequel to "Kelsey takes her own photos"!  Ten points to whoever can spot the remote.  Ha!

s'mores cupcakes

Three things that you must know:

1)  I have never actually been camping before.

(Shame on me right?  That's what you get when you live on a berry farm in Summer)

2)  I have made s'mores in Winter by placing a marshmallow on a toothpick, and holding it over a candle.

3)  I definitely borrowed my Dad's blowtorch for these cupcakes since I don't have a proper kitchen one yet....and it just sounded way more exciting.

It's always fun when I get to experiment with something new in the kitchen....and using a blowtorch for these cupcakes was a hoot!  Haha.  Let's say there was quite a bit of squealing and giggling coming from the kitchen as Jordyn and I tested our torching skills!

These cupcakes were inspired by

call me cupcake

's

version

, although I used my own chocolate cake recipe!  You should definitely go check her website out!  Some of it is in Swedish, but she always has her recipes in English as well.  It's just so darling!

I'm in love with all of the textures these cupcakes have going on.  The crunchy/crumbly graham cracker crust (that will inevitably end up all over your lap), the fluffy chocolate cake, and finally the little dollop of toasted heaven on top!  So good.

S'mores Cupcakes

inspired by:

Linda Lomelino

Ingredients:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp butter (melted)

1/2 cups Flour

1 cups Sugar

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/3 cup Cocoa

1/2 TBSP Vanilla

1 TBSP Vinegar

1/3 cup Margarine (melted)

1 cups Warm Water

3 large egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

*thermometer (for measuring marshmallow frosting temperature)

Instructions:

1) Mix together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.  (If crumbs seem too gooey or too dry, you can just add either a bit more crumbs or butter).

2)  Prepare a cupcake tin with paper liners.  Firmly press a couple teaspoons of crumb mixture into the bottom of 12 liners.

3)  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Set aside.

4)  In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients together.

5)  Pour wet ingredients over dry, and mix until combined.

6)  Pour cake batter into the 12 liners.

7)  Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.

8)  Mix together egg whites and sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan with gently boiling water.  Whisk constantly to ensure your eggs don't curdle.  Whisk like crazy!  Keep cooking until the mixture reaches 65 degrees celsius. 

9)  Remove from heat and whip on your highest speed until stiff peaks form.  Add in vanilla.

10)  Frost your cupcakes however you like!  I used my largest star tip and a frosting bag, but a large ziplock with the end simply cut out would also work great.

11)  If you have a kitchen torch, then go to town toasting your marshmallow frosting.  

If not, you can place your cupcakes on a cookie sheet and broil them in the oven.  These do not take long at all, so please do not take your eyes off of them!

Or, you can always borrow a blowtorch and toast them that way...

Oh yeah....and big news of the week?  I learned how to make a gif!!!

It was a bit of an impromptu thing....as I had taken a million shots while Jordyn torched this cupcake, so next time I'll definitely use a tripod!  But, I was pretty stoked with how it turned out, and it's always fun to learn something new.  Even if it did take me an hour and a half to figure it out....

Also....try not to set your cupcake liners on fire.  Ooops!  Our bad.

p.s. 

♥

 kelsey