bell & basket

cooking. baking. home.

We Bought a Country House!

Almost a month ago now, we closed on a house! It’s not just any house, it’s a beautiful 1848 farmhouse in the town of Gallatin, New York, with old hardwood floors, a big kitchen, a clawfoot bathtub, and a barn in the backyard.

Buying a country house has always been a dream of mine and throughout the entire process, I didn’t think it would actually come true. But it did. And along with the innate charm and sweet country details, this house needs a lot of work. We are taking it one project at a time (or at least I’m trying to) as the road ahead is going to be long and expensive. The larger plan is to be able to rent our house on Airbnb a few weekends a month in one year (hello rental income).

For now, I’m excited to start exploring the home portion of Bell & Basket. So this post doesn’t have a recipe because I haven’t been doing much cooking or baking lately (besides salad from the local farm and steak on the grill) but I am going to share a few highlights from the past month. The next few posts will be more focused on individual projects like the downstairs bathroom, kitchen remodel, garden, and more!

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Lemon Poppyseed Chess Pie

I took a break from Bell & Basket for a few months after I experienced a great loss in my life. Myself and so many others, lost a great love and friend, Scott Beigel, in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14, 2018.

This experience rocked me to my core. I’m extremely grateful to the Camp Starlight community who provided a safe place to mourn this tragic loss. At his memorial, I felt held by all of the love in the room, wrapped up in hugs, singing and memories from camp that Scott cherished so much.

After the memorial though, grief would strike unexpectedly (and still does, although less frequently). I couldn’t get away from news coverage, whether on my daily news podcast, the TV at my doctor’s office or Facebook. I began asking myself questions like, “what’s the point of getting out of bed,” “who cares?” or “why write about food when there are much more important things to focus on in life?” I was angry, sad, resentful and flailing. The last thing I wanted to do was post photos of cake on Instagram. It felt futile.

But even though I wasn’t blogging, I kept cooking and baking. I started reading more and spent less time on my phone. I was talking about Scott’s death–a lot. I talked to my therapist, my husband, my friends, and anyone who would listen. Even though I felt selfish and guilty for dominating conversation at times, it helped.

I’ve also since come to terms with the importance of doing what brings me joy. I love being in the kitchen. I love writing and creating. I love a good project. I love my husband and family. I’ve learned that what matters most to me is prioritizing those I love and who love me. This is the silver lining.

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Layered Orange Scones

I’ve never layered butter into anything before. There’s just something about croissants, puff pastry, and anything else laminated that scares the crap out of me. But guess what? It’s not that scary with only eight layers (thankfully not eighty). And I’m pretty sure these layered orange scones are the gateway drug into laminating…

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, the process of laminating dough involves folding dough and butter onto itself multiple times, to create the most flaky, buttery confections.

When I found Epicurious’s Ultra-Buttery Irish Scone recipe, with its layers of fluff while scouring the internet, I thought “this is my moment.” Luckily I read the recipe wrong and used twice the amount of butter it called for during the laminating portion. The good news is, the moment these scones came out of the oven they confirmed what I’ve always thought to be true. More butter = more better.

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