Vanilla Icing

Corn Husk Dolls

Tristyn & I have been wanting to make Corn Husk Dolls ever since we checked out an old-fashioned crafts book from the library.  Unfortunately we weren't able to renew the book as it had a waiting list of other people who wanted it but with a little look around the Internet and our memories we were sort of able to remember how to do it.

This is a great project if you have been taking advantage of all the late summer corn!!

There are a few preparation steps before you can begin your doll:

1.  Husk (and eat!) corn, being careful to keep the leaves whole.  Lay the husks and the silk in the sun to dry for 1-3 days.  I'm not really sure if this step is necessary since you are going to soak them in the next step but we did it anyway since so many instructions indicate that you should.

2.  Prior to making your doll, soak the husks in water for ten minutes.  Gather up scissors and some sort of string or yarn.  We used brown wool yarn which might not be the best choice as it it a little too dark.

Making the doll

1.  Select 6-7 large leaves and lay them in a stack with the corn silk on top of them. 

2.  Gather the leaves around the corn silk and tie it shut with a bit of yarn or string.  Tie tightly!

3.  Holding the short end of the tied leaves in one hand, carefully peel back the leaves sort of like peeling a banana.  Smooth the leaves out and use another length of string to tie the head at about where my thumb is in the picture.  Tie tightly and set aside.

4.  Take another leaf and cut it into three long strips.  Tie the three strips together and braid them together to make a braid about 6 inches long.  Tie the other end to hold the braid toether.  If you wish to make legs, repeat this two more times for a total of 3 6 inch long braids.

5.  Insert one of the braids under a few of the leaves to form the two arms.  Tie a length of yarn a little below the arms to make the waist.   Trim the excess leaves to make the length of skirt you want or to simply 'straighten the hem.'   If you are making legs, before you tie the waist, place the legs under the leaves as well and then tie the waist.  To neaten up the appearance, tie the long leaves to the front and back of the legs between the legs (think almost like you are diapering the doll) and trim the excess.

6.  If desired, use other pieces of leaves to form clothing.  I made a little apron out of one of the greener pieces and also a little dark green headband to hold back her hair.   You can make pants and shirts as well.

You might want to give the doll a haircut as well.  Tristyn cut most of his doll's hair off.

      Tristyn & Michelle as Corn Husk Dolls

Little Pasta Maker

"It's almost like playing with Play-Doh but better because then you get to eat it!"   answered Maia when asked why she likes to make fresh pasta.

Remembering Boston

Every year that I've gone to visit Boston, Rick and I can't help but notice how many donut shops there are.   Sometimes you can find them scarcely a block apart!   And don't believe for a minute that we don't take advantage of that.  We eat a donut--sometimes two!--every morning for breakfast when we are in Boston.  Glazed & Chocolate Iced with sprinkles.  

The last two years Tristyn and Maia have accompanied us for our yearly visit to Boston and they are willing companions for the donut breakfast everyday.  Unfortunately--or fortunately for our waistlines!--the last two years the nearest donut shop is 1-1.5 miles of a walk away (there and back) from the new hotel Rick's business meetings have been moved to.   Maia and Tristyn are just like Rick and I--Glazed and Chocolate Iced with sprinkles.  The girls like the glazed and the boys like the chocolate iced.  

Then this year, a terrible thing happened.

The donut shop we visit did not have a single Chocolate Iced Donut with Sprinkles.  Only the kind without sprinkles.   Sprinkles are very important.

Very important.  And guess what else unsprinkling Bostonian donut shop?  I use Ghirardelli Chocolate in MY icing.  Take that.  Ha!

Back to School

Savoring Summer...

       It may not be a campfire but it roasts giant marshmallows just fine.

Saturdays in Summer

...are for pie and more pie!

            Lattice top Peach Pie with crystallized ginger

                   Hide-A-Squash Vegetarian Quiche

Hide A Squash Vegetarian Quiche
                       by Michelle

1 pastry crust (use your favorite recipe)
1 summer squash, shredded
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
2 tablespoons of flour
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup whole milk
salt & pepper to taste
powdered garlic to taste

1.  Preheat the oven to 450.  Prepare your favorite single layer pie crust recipe in a 8 or 9 inch platter.  Do not prick the pastry.  Line it with a double lining of foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans to prevent the pastry from puffing up.  Bake for 8 minutes, remove the foil or paper and the weights and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.  Set aside.  Turn oven to 325.

2.  In a bowl, combine the shredded summer squash (I like to use the large holes on a box grater) and cheeses.  Toss together with the 2 tablespoons of flour.  Pour into the pie shell.

3.  In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and powdered garlic.  I like to give a few good twists of the pepper and salt grinders and a couple hard shakes of the powdered garlic.  Beat until combined and pour over squash-cheese mixture.

4.  Bake at 325 for 35-45 minutes or until a clean knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Be careful not to over bake--let's keep this a creamy textured quiche instead of a dry one.  =)

Beignets.

Or something like it.  I think.  Maybe.  Perhaps?  Who knows??!!   I am quite convinced that it is impossible to find two beignet recipes on the Internet that are alike.  When I consulted with Wikipedia to see what was going on, they informed me that beignet is an umbrella term for a large variety of pastries resulting from deep fried doughs. 

I never really trust recipes from random sites anyhow.  They are more for deriving a general consensus as to which recipe I already have on hand seems to be the 'better one.'    This time I didn't even look up beignet recipes; I did that last time I made them and wasn't entirely satisfied with the results.

This time I am.  It may be ugly and not at all the little rectangular pillow shape that a search of Google Images spits at you but I don't care.  When given the choice between agonizing over getting the perfect shape and simply dropping in heaping spoonfuls of dough I'll take the dropping in!  As a side bonus, you get them on the table faster for a hungry family AND your children will have fun picking out the wonkiest ball or the smoothest ball as their own nature demands of them.

Personally, I like to pick out the one that was fried last.  It's the hottest. The whole thing just melts in your mouth like an sweet, airy dream leaving only sugar dusted fingers behind.

Black & White

Half & Half.  Whatever you call 'em, I don't want to see them for 6 months or longer!   Maybe not until the next Edgewood 5k a year from now!

I made 135 125 of these for our community's 5k race that Rick organizes and I help him.  This is only our second year of being in charge of it and things went even smoother this year than last!   Granted, between pre-stuffing race packets and baking 5 inch diameter cookies with two flavors of icing the day before the race things got a little hectic but always stayed under control.

If I was one of those Super Bloggers (meaning those with far better camera skills and the foresight that they ARE going to take a certain picture) you'd have been rewarded with a much nicer picture.  I promise that I will not be foisting awful pictures off you on much longer!

...And All I Got..

...were some blurry photos from a cell phone camera!  Not really--it's just that I've given everyone lots of photos last year to look at when we went to Boston and this year we were too busy (and maybe a little hot) to lug around the camera.  Here's a few Rick snapped with his cell phone:

You'll remember my welcoming parade from last year when I 'returned home' to the North End.  Well, the parade was waiting for me again.  =)

The children begged to play in this fountain last year and this year we finally let them.  The lights and water together were too much for the cell phone camera and we lost a few wonderful photo opportunities.

Are you wondering about what I am looking at?  It's at the socks I made for Tristyn stretching to epic proportions.  I must say it was quite alarming!

I love how the absence of other distractions brings about sibling love.

See pictures from Boston trips here , here, here , here!, here , here, here, here, here, here,  , and of course, here.  Now do you see why I wasn't too upset about not taking many pictures this year?  I've got a lot of pictures and these are only the ones I took during this blog's existence.  I have plenty more from years before!

How to Cut a Cake

Maia decided that we HAD to have cake for dessert and nothing would do except we stop everything so she could make one.  All by herself.  Except the part where it goes into the oven and out of the oven because "I might burn myself and that wouldn't be good.  Mama you are used to burning yourself so YOU do it."  Gee, thanks, Maia!  

We got to pictures as she was decorating it.  Blue on the sides, Purple on top and grey in between the layers.  Little candy peace symbols are from King Arthur Flour.  They were one of the free 'treats' that came in my happiness in a box a few weeks ago.  It pays to splurge!  Ha.

I think she tried to match the icing to her shorts.   She insisted it was an accident that she matched her cake but I don't know if I believe her.  After all, her mother wears her white apron sprinkled with cherries every time she bakes a cherry pie and doesn't care who thinks it's silly.

Peace, man.

And finally.....how to cut a cake!  IF you are a seven year old.  =)