Hounds In The Kitchen » Drink

Rhubarb Infused Vodka

Rachel — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:40:00 +0000

It’s rhubarb season in central Ohio! I like rhubarb in jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my grandmother’s rhubarb crunch. But my favorite way to enjoy this slightly sweet, floral, first “fruit” of spring is in a vodka infusion.

You might think I’m a lush but hear me out. Rhubarb is tongue-searingly sour and requires a lot of sugar or another strong flavor to temper the tart. Until I infused vodka with rhubarb, I had never truly appreciated the subtlty of the rhubarb flavor.

Making an infusion, with rhubarb or any other fruit, is dead simple. Chop or mascerate fruit in a clean glass container. Fill with vodka to cover all the fruit. Age in a dark place, tasting regularly, until the infusion matches your desired flavor. Strain out the fruit and enjoy the infusion as a mixer or on its own with fizzy water, a delightfully low-cal, high-zest drink.

In the case of rhubarb, I like to leave the infusion for up to two weeks. The clear vodka will turn a dusty red color and keep its piquancy for up to a year. The picture above shows the last of our 2011 rhubarb infusion, in one of my favorite jars made in Columbus Ohio, surrounded by the fresh rhubarb from the Greener Grocer that will make this year’s batch.

I am reserving some rhubarb to make into a shrub, a sweetened vinegar infusion. I suspect that the shrub method will show off the many characteristics of rhubarb much like the vodka infusion I hold so dear.

Do you like rhubarb? How do you prepare it?

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Rhubarb Infused Vodka is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

So Tired, So Simple – A New Pour-Over Coffee Ritual

Rachel — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:46:50 +0000

This whole house-selling business is exhausting. I get up early to work on house projects and stay up late wondering how we will manage showings and what house we will buy. Like the addict I am, I’m making coffee a lot more regularly now.

As recently as six months ago, I was grinding beans by hand and futzing with a French Press. To be honest, I couldn’t tell that the finished product was much better than what my parents make with a drip machine but I liked the routine.

Jason from Thunderkiss Coffee introduced me to a better way: the pour-over method. The pour-over eliminates grounds in the mug, bulky appliances on the counter, and about 60 seconds from pour to sip.

The Way I Pour

I fill and start the electric hot water kettle. As that’s warming, I pull out my mug, paper filter and $3 plastic filter cone. Someday I’ll spring for a vintage ceramic cone and reusable gold filter but for now I’m hanging tight with the cheap ones.

I scoop a heaping tablespoon of ground coffee (that’s right, I buy pre-ground coffee now because our hand-grinder was a mess and I realized I needed to upgrade to an expensive burr grinder or give in) into the filter. Typically by this time the water comes to a boil. I allow it to cool for just a second (Coffee Geek says coffee brews best at 192-204F) and fill the filter.

As the water drips down, I add more until my cup is filled. I usually unload or load the dishwasher in the 1-2 minutes I’m waiting for the coffee to finish.

Toss the grounds into the compost collector, rinse the cone, and I’m ready to face the day.

How do you brew?

PS. I’m sorry that I didn’t take a picture of the final product. I was, you know, tired.

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So Tired, So Simple – A New Pour-Over Coffee Ritual is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Bincho-tan at Freshstreet Yakitori

Rachel Tayse — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:48:09 +0000

Freshstreet Yakitori (previously Section 8 Yakitorium) has received a good bit of press lately. The reviews are universally great but no one has picked up on exactly what makes the Yakitorium so tasty and authentic.

It’s the bincho.

Bincho-tan is a special hardwood charcoal produced and imported from Japan. So far as I can find, no one else in Columbus (and possibly the state) is using this cooking fuel.

Bincho-tan is produced from oak by steaming the wood at high temperatures. The resulting charcoal burns at a lower temperature but for longer periods of time than traditional coals. More importantly to cooks, bincho-tan does not smoke.

Yakitori stands prefer bincho-tan, therefore, because it allows the true taste of the meat to come through the flames. The charcoal also powers a grill for many hours, allowing the chef to cook through a meal shift.

Yakitori the Freshstreet Way

Kenny Kim and Misako Ohba first brought Japanese street food to Columbus with their Foodie Cart crepes. They later added takoyaki (pancake-batter like savory balls filled with octopus or corn) and moved into a shack in the Short North. Yakitori is their latest endeavor, served late nights at the Double Happiness bar in the Brewery District.

Kenny and Misako import their bincho-tan from Japan through a Chicago importer. Several other ingredients including ramen noodles are obtained in this way. They invest great cost in importing these authentic goods because they are not satisfied with lesser replacements.

The pair skillfully skewer small bits of meat, some of it local, on wooden spikes so the meat rests evenly across the yakitori grill bricks. Traditional Japanese chicken thigh and skin are offered, as are more adventerous cuts like beef cheek, pork belly, tongue, and tuna. At least one vegetable is always available. Skewers run between $2-4.

Yakitori are grilled over hot bincho-tan to order. Some are served simply with lemon and salt; others are dipped in a soy-based sauce. The resulting meat has the crisp texture of a grilled product without excessive smokiness.

Wise visitors order a variety; I was surprised at how much I loved the unctuous beef cheek and also that I enjoyed okra cooked yakitori-style, as I don’t like it in any other preparation.

Other Japanese specialities compliment the yakitori, including an excellent take on okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancakes) for $4. Diners can eat at the Double Happiness bar or in their comfy lounge. The bar makes notable soju (barley spirit) and sake cocktails, well matched to the Freshstreet food.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the Japanese street food authenticity, Freshstreet Yakitori is widely appealing to many palates. Kids will enjoy meat on a stick as much as adults. There is something for every diet and adventure-level.

If you go:

Freshstreet Yakitori at Double Happiness is a bit hard to find. It is just over the 70/71 split from downtown at Front and Brewer streets. Look for the slender building on the east side of the street across from Wasserstrom and Via Vecchia.
Current hours are Thursday – Saturday 6:30 – 11:59 pm.
Find parking on the street or nearby garages.
Prepare to wait 5-10 minutes for your food. Every dish is made to order.
Freshstreet crafts their menu to have options for gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, and low-carb diets. Be sure to specify if you are gluten free, especially, so that there is no contamination on the grill.

Freshstreet Yakitori at Double Happiness
482 S Front St
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 220-5558

http://www.facebook.com/freshstreet
www.doublehappinessohio.com

NB. I will be cooking yakitori with the Freshstreet folks in Cleveland at a Brick & Mortar pop-up Japanese Festival this Thursday, February 2, at 6:30 pm. Tickets are still available for the event. Columbus Food Adventures has a few spots left for their road-trip adventure that includes the festival dinner, ride from Columbus and back, and a meet and greet with Chef Jonathon Sawyer.

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Bincho-tan at Freshstreet Yakitori is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Fizzy Water with SodaStream

Rachel Tayse — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:27:41 +0000

Remember when I had a SodaStream on my holiday wish list? I put it on there because when I have sinus pain and pressure, nothing is more delightful to drink than some sparkling water. But I have always hated the packaging waste of bottles of water.

My friend Faith saw my list and said “Why don’t you just ask Soda Stream for one? They are promoting them with bloggers.” Duh.

I asked and amazingly the company quickly sent out a SodaStream unit and a selection of their SodaMix flavor syrups.

I spent five minutes setting it up and then had my first drink. I giggled. Fizzy water from a machine right in my kitchen!

How It Works

Lil doesn’t care for sparkling water or sodas but she loves to use the SodaStream. Here’s a quick video of how it works:

Flavorings

SodaStream produces an array of flavoring syrups called SodaMix including common soda knock-offs, a line of all natural (i.e. sweetened with cane sugar) selections, and no-cal flavored water. We found the taste of the flavors to be satisfying when we were looking for a shot of sugar.

The carbonation unit can only handle plain water, so to use the SodaMix syrups you have to pour it in after adding the bubbles. Each package comes with a measuring unit to fill the entire 1 liter bottle.

We found that we prefer to measure a bit of syrup into a glass and then pour soda water on top. We just don’t drink enough sweet drinks to go through a whole liter before it de-carbonates.

Other Uses

Honestly, I prefer the un-flavored fizzy water. Sometimes I enjoy a glass with a twist of citrus or splash of lime juice. Sparkling water makes for a great no-calorie drink.

And of course we also use the sparkle to make cocktails. Limoncello over ice topped with soda water is the most refreshing thing in the world. We top whiskey sours with soda water and mix cranberry liqueur with bubbles. Once our store bought tonic water runs out, I will experiment with making my own tonic syrup so that summer gin and tonics will have a lower environmental footprint.

Is It For You?

The basic SodaStream costs around $100. CO2 cartridges cost $30 for a new cartridge or $20 for a refill. As each cartridge lasts for about 60 liters, the cost of bubbles per 12-ounce glass is $0.12.

It’s hard to adjust for the amortization of the initial $100 investment for the machine because I don’t know how long it will last. The unit is simple with few moving parts so I expect it to withstand many refills.

We typically pay about 60 cents for a 12-ounce can or bottle of club soda. Even if the unit only lasts through two refills, the SodaStream will beat the price of store-bought club soda AND eliminate recycling or reusing the cans/bottles. Plus, there’s no denying that pressing the button and buzzing the water full of air bubbles is fun!

Disclosure: SodaStream provided me with a Genesis Soda Maker, Sodamix Variety 12-Pack, and a half dozen bottles of SodaMix syrups. My opinions remain my own.

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Fizzy Water with SodaStream is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Meyer Limoncello {Recipe}

Rachel Tayse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:28:55 +0000

Seasonal foods are hot and heavy in the spring, summer, and fall as we eat our way through herbs and asparagus to peas and beans to tomatoes and squash.

What about winter? Hot houses do produce fresh food in Ohio but there are only so many ways to eat greenhouse-grown lettuces and greens. Even homegrown squashes and potatoes are starting to scream “get me out of storage and eat me now!”

I expand my local circle a little south and look for seasonal foods elsewhere. 500 miles to the south are pecan farms sending up buttery fabulous-fresh nuts. Travel a little further and citrus orchards are ripe with fruit.

While one can buy an orange any day of the year in a grocery store, fresh seasonal citrus has a flavor of its own. Oranges are floral and grapefruits more sweet during the winter when they are shipped fresh from the orchard.

The gem of the citrus season crown is the Meyer Lemon. These small, thin fleshed lemons were originally brought to America from China by an agricultural explorer in 1908. They grow on dwarf trees and are available as indoor plants for those who live in Northern climates. One of my very first Hounds in the Kitchen entries tells about our Meyer Lemon tree. It produced beautifully last winter but we have no fruits ripening yet this year.

Fortunately, Green B.E.A.N. delivery currently offers organic Meyer lemons for subscribers. I nabbed a half dozen to enjoy two weeks ago and ordered another batch this week. I spied them today while shopping at Whole Foods and Andersons for $2.99/pound. Though I have never bought them directly from a farmer, a quick internet search reveals that Naples Orchard and Four Winds offer Meyers for purchase. The Meyer lemon season ends in early February, so shop soon.

Meyer lemons have an enchanting floral scent and mild lemon flavor. With little bitter pith, whole slices of Meyers can be incorporated into baked goods. They are excellent candied and I imagine they would make a very fine marmalade. Our favorite way to preserve Meyer lemons is by transforming them into limoncello.

Homemade limoncello takes little more than half an hour of preparation and the patience to wait three or more weeks as the limoncello ages. Those who wait are justly rewarded with a tart but mellow, bright and fresh liqueur. Keep it in the freezer and nip it directly from there or mix with club soda for a refreshing drink.

Spring Chimichurri With Boiled Eggs On Grilled Asparagus {Recipe}

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 2 lunch or 4 side servings

An appetizer, side dish, or lunch that screams spring.

Ingredients

for the asparagus:

1 pound asparagus, cleaned and ends snapped off
drizzle olive oil
pinch of salt

for the chimichurri:

1 packed cup fresh leafy herbs (parsley, oregano, cilantro, tarragon, and/or mustard greens)
2-4 cloves fresh garlic
1 tablespoon white, red or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper
pinch red chili flakes (optional)
1 boiled egg, peeled and chopped finely

Instructions

Heat grill or cast iron grill pan.
Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle pinch of salt over asparagus.
Arrange asparagus crossing the very hot grill grate and cook for 5 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile, combine chimichurri ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until herbs and garlic are in tiny pieces. Add a little water or olive oil if needed to create the rough puree. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
When asparagus is grilled, transfer to a warmed plate. Top with generous drizzle of chimichurri and scatter boiled egg pieces on top.
If any chimicurri is leftover, store in the fridge for up to one week or freezer for up to six months with a top layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation (browning).

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Meyer Limoncello {Recipe} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Make Your Own Stainless Steel Straws

Rachel Tayse — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I rarely use a drinking straw. In the entirety of my nearly 11 year marriage to Alex, we have only purchased one box of 100 plastic straws, many of which were used for crafting, not drinking, purposes.

Along came Lil and our family’s straw consumption sky rocketed. Straws are fun for kids and easier to use than a drinking glass. Lil is more likely to finish a drink, especially a smoothie, if she uses a straw.

As the straw waste and news reports about the dangers of BPA began to pile up, we found ourselves looking for a safe and reusable alternative.

Glass Dharma and other companies make beautiful glass straws. At $7 each, even with a lifetime guarantee against breakage, we just couldn’t see investing in this option.

Alex, a materials scientist by education, thought he might be able to make straws at home from a safe, easily attainable material. Stainless steel is free of potentially dangerous chemicals like BPA, unbreakable, and easy to clean. With just a few simple tools, most of which we have around the house for plumbing, Alex created a set of stainless steel straws.

Here’s how:

1) Buy tube stock from McMaster-Carr hardware supply. A shipped 6-foot length of 5/16-inch diameter round tube 304 stainless steel costs around $40. Other diameters are available.

2) Use a pipe cutter (available for around $10 at hardware stores) for to cut the steel into usable lengths. We like 8- and 6-inch lengths. The 6-foot length of tube makes 5 long and 5 short straws.

3) Optionally, bend one end at a 45 degree angle with a pipe bender (available for $20 at hardware stores).

4) Sand edges and outside with fine (220) grit sanding sponge and/or Dremel tool with a sanding point.

5) Wash well with soap and water or in the dishwasher.

Our home made straws have been in heavy use for over two years now. We rinse them immediately after use and wash in the dishwasher.

Unlike when we first made them, stainless straws are now offered on Etsy and at green living stores like Columbus’ Generation Green. The most basic straws are cheaper to purchase than make from scratch.

When you create the straws yourself, you can play with bends, diameters, and lengths. They are a fun project to make as a family. Create a bunch and package sets in beautiful fabric carrying cases for unique, eco-friendly gifts.

Have you ever used a stainless steel straw? Would you consider making them yourself?

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Make Your Own Stainless Steel Straws is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Momo Sake {Recipe for Peach Week}

Rachel Tayse — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:20:45 +0000

Welcome to Peach Week! I declare it so because peaches are in season in Ohio and I love them!

Before I get to the fruit of today’s post, let me introduce the creator of the recipe, Anna. Anna is a 20 year old Japanese college student staying with us for two weeks. She is a chaperone to a group of 100 Japanese youth staying with host families throughout the state of Ohio. Anna was matched with our family because she like gardening, agriculture, and cooking.

When Anna arrived at our home Thursday evening, I showed her the peach (momo in Japanese) juice leftovers from Wednesday’s peach canning extravaganza. With two other ingredients from the fridge, Anna showed me how to make Momo Sake, a delightfully refreshing summer drink.

Her pairing of peach nectar and sake is something I never would have arrived at myself. Cross cultural tastes are one of the things I love about hosting exchange students – they introduce us to the most delicious ideas.

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Momo Sake

2 ounces seishu sake or shochu (Anna prefers shochu, I like sake)

2 ounces peach nectar

4 ounces club soda, or to taste

one half cup ice cubes

1. Fill a high ball glass with a half cup of ice cubes.

2. Pour sake, peach nectar, and club soda over ice. Stir vigorously with a spoon for 5-10 seconds.

3. Enjoy!

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Stay tuned for sweet and juicy stories during Peach Week, including a review of Branstool orchard, peach cobbler recipe, and tips for canning.

PS. The pork giveaway ends tonight, Monday, at 8 pm. Leave a quick comment for a chance to win a cool piggy cutting board, $25 gift card, and more!

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Momo Sake {Recipe for Peach Week} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Sour Boozy Cocktail Cherries {Recipe}

Rachel Tayse — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:32:55 +0000

I love a good cocktail but I despise maraschino cherries. The rubbery red-flavored spheres resemble the natural fruit in name alone.

I decided to tackle creating cocktail cherries at home when faced with an extra quart of fresh local sour cherries after making sour cherry preserves.

While searching for a recipe, I discovered a bit of history. Apparently cocktail cherries used to be pitted cherries soaked in maraschino liqueur, hence the name.

During prohibition, one of America’s cultural mistakes, cocktail cherries had to be remade without the alcohol. The sickeningly sweet, artificial maraschino cherry was born.

Most recipes for DIY cocktail cherries either fall in the camp of the traditional (soak in maraschino liqueur) or modern (can in sweet, flavored syrup).

All recipes recommended pitting the cherries but I came across a suggestion that the pits themselves could make a liqueur.

I combined all these ideas into my sour boozy cocktail cherries. They are boiled in vanilla syrup and canned with pits and bourbon. The result is a flavorful hybrid with balanced sweetness that begs to be made into an old fashioned.

My hope is that the pits will age and flavor the syrup so that when the cherries are gone, the syrup will be an enticing liqueur of its own.

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Sour Boozy Cocktail Cherries

makes 4 half pints

1 1/2 cups demara sugar

1 cup water

4 allspice berries, crushed

1 vanilla pod, sliced open

4 cups fresh sour cherries, pitted with pits reserved (approximately 1 quart)

2 cups bourbon (we like Bulleit)

1. Mix sugar, water, allspice, and vanilla in a heavy bottomed pan. Heat over medium high until boiling.

2. Add the sour cherries and pits. Boil for 5 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Pour in bourbon.

4. Ladle cherries into sterilized jars. Cover with some of the steeping liquid and pits to quarter inch head space.

5. Top with a new lid and finger tighten a ring. At this point, cherries may be stored in the fridge for up to one month. If you desire to preserve them longer, can using the following directions.

6. Boil in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove to a level surface and allow to cool completely. Remove rings and wipe off jars.

7. If excess syrup remains, strain and use for cocktails or dessert topping. Store in refrigerator.

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Added to Hearth and Soul 55.

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Sour Boozy Cocktail Cherries {Recipe} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Are You 21?

Rachel Tayse — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:29:39 +0000

Today’s guest post comes from the man of the homestead, Alex. This isn’t a sexist classification, it’s the truth: Alex lives with two female humans, two female dogs, and four female hens. He’s the only guy around to take on demanding issues like horse racing and distillery websites.

Alex, his brother, and a bottle of Tennessee's finest.

Apparently there is a race-inside-the-race held prior to the running of the Kentucky Derby. It is called the “Turf Classic” and is on grass inside the main dirt race course at Churchill Downs. I was excited to see this event sponsored by Woodford Reserve, one of my favorite bourbon distilleries. In fact, Rachel and I visited there last year on our trip to Bourbon country.

So, I decided to hop over to their website to see if they had any interesting Derby information. Upon arriving at their front page, I was confronted by the ubiquitous “must enter age” to view this website. The rationale they give is that alcohol should be responsibly enjoyed by those of a legal age.

Now I can understand wanting people to drink responsibly, I can even understand the desire to see age limits enforced (although I could write for hours on the stupidity of liquor laws in our country). However, what is the point of restricting access to a website?

I mean, I can’t get drunk from accessing a website, can I? Believe me, I would be exceeding AT&T’s bandwidth caps if this were the case. I can’t order liquor for delivery from their website. I don’t think there is anything I can do on their website that is legally restricted for those under the age of 21.

It seems to me that the main purpose of this exercise is to promote an image of corporate responsibility on the part of liquor companies. This is all well and good, but what is to keep a minor from entering a false birth date? For myself, I usually claim to be a 108 year old male from Afghanistan when asked upon entry. And what will actually happen if the underage gain illicit entry to one of these websites? Not a damn thing.

The image of corporate responsibility cultivated costs a liquor company almost nothing and only serves to piss off their customers. If these companies really cared about alcohol abuse among the younger generation there are lots of concrete actions they could take. However, to actually do good in these areas of social concern costs money. By putting up an age restriction on a website, a company has spent nothing, but taken “real action.” It’s the best of both worlds for the corporation concerned.

Now I realize I may be coming off as some sort of a teetotaler. Nothing could be further from the truth as I enjoy my alcohol immensely. I would simply like to see companies think about what they are doing, and if they really want to support a cause, do so in a truly meaningful way.

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Are You 21? is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Happy Handmade Wedding

Rachel Tayse — Mon, 02 May 2011 03:40:02 +0000

Alex’s brother Ben married Kim this weekend. It was a happy handmade affair featuring:

home-brewed beer by Alex,

a home-sewn flower girl dress for Lil by Grandma Cindy (Thanks Mom!!),

home-cooked food by Kim’s brother-in-law and a Taysetee cake by my sister Heather,

origami flowers folded by the bride and groom for centerpieces and bouquets,

and, the piece de resistance, one thousand gently folded paper cranes arranged as a background for the ceremony.

Ben and Kim, congratulations! May your marriage reflect the patience, love, and beauty of your handmade wedding details.

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Happy Handmade Wedding is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!