Monday Morning Coffee Update

Spring is finally here! We moved the clocks forward this weekend which means MORE SUNSHINE! I feel like when there's sun, people are motivated to get things done. Whether is cleaning out your car, going for a run or finally painting your bedroom, the combination of warmer weather and longer days brings that push to start.

In my business, the combination of weather and sunlight also brings out the home buyers. Yesterday I held an Open House and it was crowded with people hoping to find a new home. New homes are popping up for sale and even more are going under contract each day.

Market News:
According to RealEstateEconomyWatch.com

...The housing recovery is expected to grow at an annualized rate 0.6 percent through the third quarter of this year, then gain momentum and prices are projected to grow 3.7 percent between the third quarters of 2013 and 2014 until settling down to 3.3 percent annual increases over the next three years according to Fiserv, a financial services technology provider using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Both home prices and home sales volumes increased steadily last year, making 2012 the first positive year for both prices and sales since the housing market crash, excluding gains induced by the home buyer tax credits in 2009 and 2010....
The recovery in home prices has been solid and broad-based. At the end of the 2012 third quarter, prices were rising in approximately 62 percent of all U.S. metro areas, compared to 12.5 percent in the same period a year ago. Average U.S. home prices increased 3.6 percent from the third quarter of 2011 to the comparable period of 2012. Many of the metro areas that suffered the most severe declines during the housing market crash enjoyed the highest price increases in that period....

Recipes:
This weekend is Saint Patricks Day. My celebrating is much different than it was in my early 20's, but I do still love the holiday! Are you having people over or heading to a friends house for a party? Here are two easy, fun, Irish themed recipes you could bring:

Soda Bread Biscuits:
Directions
Mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons sugar and 3/4 teaspoon each baking soda and kosher salt in a bowl. Work in 2 tablespoons diced cold butter by hand. Add 1/2 cup raisins and 1 tablespoon caraway seeds. Mix in 3/4 cup buttermilk. Pat out the dough until 1 inch thick; cut into four to six 2 1/2-inch rounds. Bake at 375 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes.

Guinness Float:
Ingredients
For the ice cream:
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
1 ounce Baileys Irish Cream
1 ounce Irish whiskey
For the float:
Dash of chocolate bitters
2 ounces Guinness stout
Directions
Make the ice cream: Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale. Bring the milk, heavy cream, and vanilla pod and seeds to a simmer in a small saucepan. Slowly whisk the hot liquid into the egg mixture; strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, then set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Add the Irish cream and whiskey and stir until cool. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 3 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

For each float, put a scoop of the ice cream in a glass. Add the chocolate bitters and top with the Guinness.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, fold Baileys Irish Cream and whiskey into softened vanilla ice cream and freeze until firm.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens