In the Months Gone By

I feel as though the last couple months have been a whirlwind, and yet I look back and wonder what makes it feel so. There hasn't been any one thing particularly exciting, but maybe it's all the little things that makes time fly.

 

We love having our friends over for a formal party around Valentines Day. It's a night of scrumptious food, laughing and dancing.

Back in December, I chopped my hair short! Well, it's short for me. I cut off a braid that measured 15" and then cut about 4 more inches off so it came just above my shoulders. I do this every couple years so I can donate it to Locks Of Love which makes great wigs for kids going through chemo.

 

Last year I helped the local florist make boutonnieres for the prom, which was lots of fun (I got to see my corsage ahead of time too) and this year I was asked to come back and help again with the corsages which are more complex and time consuming. We had a little refresher course a couple weeks ago and I made one that was lighter and smaller than most of them. They really are rather bulky and heavy sometimes, it makes it awkward to wear them when they are slipping and sliding all over your wrist. I do like the combination of the spray roses, carnations and daisies though.

Ohhh my! Have I discovered the most wonderful chocolate meringue recipe! I shall have to share it with you all once it is perfected! (yes, these are the things I get excited over!)

 

I woke up on the first day of spring to several inches of fresh snow on the world. While everyone at work was complaining that it should be warm by now I couldn't help but love how beautiful it looked sparkling in the sun that afternoon.

 

Have you ever chased the sunset?

 

It makes for such a beautiful past time.

 

Last night we celebrated Seder with some good friends.

It is amazing to think of how this tradition has been carefully carried out over so many hundreds of years.

 

Maybe you've heard of the Jane Austen stamps that are being made in the UK to honor the 200th birthday of Pride & Prejudice. I couldn't resist ordering some because while I obviously can't use them here, I love stamps and keep my favorites in a stamp collectors book my Opa gave me years ago.

 

Now since I bought my stamps, The Royal Mail service is mailing fliers to advertise new collections. The newest one coming it Doctor Who stamps. I don't know if my bank would like me to keep ordering them though, I accidentally froze my account trying to order the Jane Austen stamps!

 

Speaking of the UK and whatnot, look at my new tea tin! I know its terribly cliche, but I do love it!

 

I've been reading a textbook from the Culinary Institute of America. It's quite fascinating too. Though it makes me rather hungry.

Oh look, I've officially been accepted into a small college about an hour away. I'm now getting the paper work taken care of, dreading the placement test, lost in the mess of financial aid, and so excited to be enrolled in the Culinary Arts program!

 

 

I recently did my own taxes too, but there is nothing exciting to say about that, nor a picture that adequately describes my feelings on the subject. So I shall close this post.

 

Have a happy day!



Writing this made me hungry...

What do you do when you desperately want to bake something yummy but the kitchen is nearly stripped of the baking staples? I thought looking at pictures from previous baking experiments would help, but nope, it brought me to the point of needing to blog about it! Oh well, hopefully you all aren't sitting there with bare cupboards.

Dark Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

They were surprisingly not sweet...at all, actually

I LOVE making home made soft pretzels.

Super chewy oatmeal raisin cookies

Butter cookies with raspberry jam.

I still haven't found a recipe for butter cookies that I am in love with. If you have any favorite recipes that you would like to share with me, I'd love it. I'm always looking for new ones.

Goodies Galore!

First off, I know this is such a terribly long over due post and I don't even have the excuse of being busy...only lazy!
Anyhow, there has been ever so much baking in the house lately resulting in an overabundance of tasty things to snack on during the day. So here are some of the best or most interesting things.

Banana muffins with a crumb topping

I love muffins. I went a little nuts and made four different kinds one day; banana with crumb topping, almond cranberry, blueberry with a lemon sugar topping and blueberry with crumb topping. Good thing my family love muffins too or else I would have been eating them for a month!

I wanted to experiment with making a version of strawberry shortcake but in cupcake form. I made pound cake cupcakes and then made a glossy/silky/almost marshmallow-ish kind of icing. It was very interesting. I then mixed in some frozen strawberries which completely changed the consistency and made it a bit too thin for what I was looking for (it also tasted mush too sweet). I topped them with a chocolate glaze, coating some and drizzling others. Needless to say, they need a bit more work.

An up close shot of my creation.

My mom made a new cookie, and I think every baking ingredient is in it! But it is SO very tasty!

My sister found a recipe for a Sweet Potato cake! We were so intrigued by it so she made it...it took a whopping 26 tablespoons of butter too! The walnuts on the top were sauteed in butter, sugar and rum...yummmm!

And finally, today I made chocolate cupcakes today, but the recipe was not the regular kind. There was no butter, milk or eggs in the batter. Instead there was coffee, vinegar and olive oil. Apparently this type of recipe was common during the Great Depression and the 40's. They turned out quiet tasty too!

Arctic Buddies

Last week my youngest brother turned 7. He is a whole seven years old now! No one here can believe it, or rather, we don't want to believe it. Never the less, we had a party to celebrate and the house was invaded by many little bodies with heads only reaching up to my waist or hips. Since the birthday boy loves snow, it is common for him to pick and arctic theme, last year he had polar bear cupcakes, and this year he asked my sister and I to make penguin cupcakes. We were up for the challenge!

All of the items needed, ready for construction!

The night before the party, we began to assemble the cupcakes, working on piling the "supports" onto the cupcake its self. We had to stop when we realized we didn't buy the right frosting to coat them with and that we didn't have the right items to make it at home either. The next day I went into town and bought the frosting that was required and proceeded to make the cupcakes with my little brother watching over my shoulder and talking the entire time.

The first one ready for decorations to go on!

Making some friends so they don't get lonely.

The first one of complete! He is rather round though :)

After a few experiments and accidents, I got the penguin making down to a system, (which my brother approved of because I was 1. making them faster so that meant that 2. there were more little leftovers he could eat!) and made about 10 of the little guys.

There is some of the colony! (sorry, not a great picture)

Of course I was seeing everything that I would have like to perfect or change and my sister would just say "they are going to be eaten by a bunch of 7 year olds...I don't think they'll notice the little things!" I guess she was right because they were gone within minutes of being handed out!

Now after writing this, I'm in the mood for more baking and decorating...hmm, what shall I make next?

Mom's Christmas Gift

Ever since we moved into this house we've been using the same stove/oven. In the oven there was a "hot spot" in one corner so we had to make sure to keep rotating whatever we were making. Another quirk was that we had to set it 25 degrees lower than what the recipe called for. To add even more personality to the mix, several months ago a burner on the stove broke, leaving us with 3 burners. At times it was frustrating to try and coordinate large dinners with this contraption. Then, this Christmas, my Dad did his research and bought my Mom a brand new oven! After it was back-ordered twice, we finally were able to pick it up yesterday and installed it last night.

The stove that served us the best it could for nearly 11 years (and who knows how long before that!) is now out of the kitchen. I can't say I'll miss very much though!

And in it's place is this shiny new stainless steel one. Complete with not just 4, but 5 working burners, a fantastic oven (with even heating...no hot spots! and it's also a convection oven)  and a warming drawer

I don't know who is more excited about it, me or my Mom! I cannot wait to bake something yummy like a cheese cake or meringues, both of which I wasn't able to make with our other oven. Normally I'd be planning what I could make starting the moment I got up in the morning, however, tomorrow I start my spring semester. (Pro: I get to take lots of fun classes like acting, pottery, high ropes, etc. Con: I can't stay home to  bake, play piano, sew, and read all day in my comfy pants and hoodie.) Oh well, I'm looking on the bright side, which is that this is my last semester! Hurrah for only 16 (or so)more weeks!

Blueberry Cinnamon Muffins

This evening was one of those rare nights when I was the only in the house...and it was quiet! Having a totally silent house hardly ever happens considering there are generally 5 or 6 other siblings and 2 parents around here. So, I took advantage of the empty kitchen to try a new muffin recipe.

The batter looked so yummy with all the cinnamon in it!

Blueberries are added and all ready to be baked!

They make a tasty tea snack.

I'm off to enjoy my muffins and tea while I work on a mock-up of my first regency spencer!