My New Logo for" Late Night Boutique"

My son Timmy created this cute little owl for my Late Night Boutique blog and business. He is so talented and creative. I have to confess, without the help of my older children, I would not have this blog. They have taught  me so much in the last year. My oldest son Tommy is a computer genius; he can do anything it is truly amazing. And, my daughter Melanie is following in his footsteps.
This little late night owl is just in the making. Here you see her as a rough draft. She is already so cute. We will see in the weeks to come how she will develop.

Let me know what you think.  

Spelt Sour Dough Bread

 Just recently we confirmed what my husband suspected all along, he is allergic to wheat, dairy and yeast. We have been baking wheat bread for the last 12 years in our family, but thats about to change. :)
I had to re-educate myself, and learn something new - how to make a loaf of bread that A) has no gluten, B) has no yeast, and C) taste wonderful. With the help of Breadtopia  I started my own sour dough instead of using yeast and then baked this wonderful Spelt Sour Dough Bread. I didn't think that my first attempt would turn out a success, but it did and it was delicious.

 It takes a little time to make this bread, but if you mix your dough and let it sit over night you can bake it in the morning. It is just a routine I have to get into.

5 cups spelt flour (530g)

1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tbs honey or 2 Tbs agave
1/4 cup sourdough starter

Here is the website so you can follow the video instructions to make this bread.
http://www.breadtopia.com/spelt-bread-recipe/

I changed a few things like the temperature and how often I stretched and folded.  I stretched and folded 3 times every 15-20 minutes.

Bake at 450 for 45 minutes. 

Comments from the first taster on the scene (my husband):
"Gabriele had to run out while the bread was still baking so she gave me instructions on what to do when the timer beeped.  She was still out when lunch time rolled around so I was faced with making myself a sandwich.  I stared at this strange looking loaf and decided to slice it open.  My daughter Melanie said to me, 'Dad, you don't have to eat if if you don't want to.'  But I said to her, Mommy went through a lot to make this bread, the least I can do is try it.  How surprised I was when I did.  It was awesome.  What I enjoyed was a very European tasting, extremely flavorful, sour-dough bread with a surprisingly fluffy texture.  It reminded me of the breads we used to get at the little corner bakery in Germany - only much better.  Hopefully, you will have as much success as Gabriele had making this bread.  Take note of this tip, we learned that's it's better to measure your ingredients by weight, rather than by volume.  This is more precise and you'll have better success.  At any rate, this is a huge win for a person that has been in denial for his wheat allergy for so many years!"

Late Night Boutique

Mother, Daughter Meatloaf

 My daughter Stephanie and I decided to make a meatloaf for dinner. We found a basic recipe in a McCormick cookbook but I know that most meatloaf recipes are somewhat dry and not very flavorful. So I started to write my own version. And our whole family and friends agreed it was the best, most flavorful, and moist meatloaf we have ever eaten.

 I used 1 pound of venison and one pound of ground turkey, but you can use regular ground beef or turkey if you like.


1 tablespoon olive oil, coconut oil or butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
8oz. tomato sauce or leftover spaghetti sauce of any kind
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
2 pounds ground turkey, beef or venison
2 slices of bread, soaked in 1 cup of water
1/2 cup unsweetened almond, coconut, rice or regular milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons sea salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper


In a small pot heat olive oil or butter with onions, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 8 oz of tomato sauce. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Cool.
Mix, ground turkey, bread (squeeze the water out of the bread and discharge the water) milk, eggs, sea salt, pepper, remaining Italian seasoning and cooled tomato mix. Shape into a loaf (this meatloaf will be very soft, I shaped it inside the baking pan)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cooking with a Römertopf

 If you have one of these wonderful Römertopf's and never used it, now is the time. This wonderful clay pot cooks and bakes everything evenly and never loses any nutritional value. You can also bake your bread in it for fantastic flavor and crust. The Römertopf is well known and commonly used in Europe. Before you place your food in it, soak your Römertopf' in a bath of cold water for about 20 to 30 minutes. Now you are ready to go.

 Just place your desired dinner into your Römertopf, place the lid on top and put it in your cold oven. I chose a large roast chicken and seasoned it with sea salt, pepper, Hungarian paprika, garlic, and onion. I also sprinkled it with olive oil and lemon juice. And put carrots, peppers, 1 cup of water and springs of rosemary in for added flavor. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 2 hours. And here is the amazing part, your chicken will be done in one hour, but even if you cook it longer, say 2 or 2 1/2 hours your food will not burn, it will stay moist and flavorful, not dry and chewy.

 I baked this chicken for 2 hours, because I had to run an errand and when I came back home it was perfect.

 The meat of this chicken literally fell off the bones and was tender and full of flavor. I was left with four cups of chicken broth. Some of the broth I used for making a gravy with this chicken and the rest I refrigerated for a later use.

If you don't have a Römertopf, you can purchase them online or do what I do, look for them in yard sales or thrift stores. The cost of a new Römertopf is between $70 to $120, depending on the size. I have purchased so far nine Römertopfs in varies sizes at thrift stores and have never spent more then $5 to $10.
And don't let the darkness of a Römertopf turn you away from a purchase; the more it is used the better it gets. Cleaning is easy.  Rinse out with hot water and a brush.  Never use soap of any kind unless you like the taste of soap in your food. ;)

Most Amazing Lemon Cookies with a Twist

 My husband loves cookies! Not cake, not pies, but cookies. Not chewy ones but sandy, crunchy ones.
I like chewy ones, not sandy, crunchy ones. I thought if I could come up with a cookie recipe that would have both then everybody would be happy and satisfied. :) Most cookies don't have a lot of flavor and I like flavor. :) I remember my grandmother baking every week, and the aroma filled the house. She used a lot of herbs and spices. Especially cloves and nutmeg. See, when you find out about spices and how they complement each other, then creating a flavor is not very difficult. Cloves and lemon flavor are in love with each other and wonderful in baked goods.

 I used fresh whole wheat flour and organic cane sugar.

These cookies are loved by everyone in our family as of today. :)

 Amazing  Lemon Cookies

2 cups whole wheat flour (I used fresh ground from my mill)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I used organic whole cloves in a coffee grinder to have fresh ground cloves)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup cane sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup butter (fresh homemade butter if you can)
3/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract or lemon juice


Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cup powder sugar (I used a organic powder sugar made from cane sugar)
7 teaspoons water
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract or lemon juice

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add egg and lemon extract; beat until smooth. Mix flour, sea salt, ground cloves together and add to the lemon mixture. Mix well. Divide dough in half. Shape into 10 inch log and wrap in wax paper.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Cut dough into 1/2 inch thickness. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before drizzling with Lemon Glaze.  EAT!

Snack, Lunch and Bowl

 Now that I have a sewing room it is much easier to sew on the run. :)  Before I had to clean up and put away everything.  But, now I just have to shut the door and come back later to finish what I started. These wonderful snack bags and bowl covers are so practical and Eco-friendly. I use them for lunches, snacks and to put away leftovers. Even my college kids love to take there lunches in them. I already have several orders  to make for there college friends. :) I guess these bags are just too cool.

All of these Items will be for sale in my Etsy Shop soon

Visit my shop soon!

My favorite!

                         My college guys favorite!!

His and Her's

Yesterday I spent the afternoon making these soft and cuddly robes for my Lilybeth and Tristan. I used a very simple and easy pattern by See&Sew B4635. My son Tristan likes dinosaurs and Lilybeth likes anything in pink, so I went to Joann's and found just the perfect prints of fabric for them.
This morning it was a little bit chilly and I found them on the sofa cuddled up in there robes watching cartoons.

Even in the summer time, these robes will be used to warm them when they come shivering out of the pool.