Vanilla Icing

Triple Photobomb!

One of my favorite ways to relax after a long day is to grab whatever I'm currently reading and slip into a bathtub filled with bubbles.  I've recently gotten in the habit of setting my iPad on the counter and streaming my Omnia Pandora station in the background while I let the hot water work its magic and relax my bad hip. 

Holly, my youngest dog, is simply fascinated any time I take a bubble bath and desperately wants to join me in the water.   She's only six months old and is as brave as brave can be.  On more than one occasion  she has jumped up onto the ledge and splashed into the water.   Once in awhile, I'll let her in for just a moment but it's not very relaxing and I try to remember to always shut the door.  All the way. But sometimes it doesn't latch properly and she pushes her way into the bathroom and I spend the entire time defending my bath water.  

I snapped this picture to show Rick how ridiculous Holly gets in her attempts to get in the water with me and was quite surprised when I loaded it onto my computer later that I had been photo bombed.  Not once, but thrice!

Tiger Eye Scarf

 

 

A scarf is a tedious thing.  It just goes on and on and on and ON.  This makes it excellent for practicing lace knitting because by the end of the project you've only done the lace pattern repeat ten dozen times (or more!) and you've realized you are slowly learning how to 'read' lace.   Or at least so shall I tell myself.

This scarf is the Tiger Eye Scarf found here on Ravelry.   After knitting it at a much longer than recommended length as it was a birthday gift for a very tall friend, I still don't understand why it's called tiger eye.  I think it looks like Owl Eyes.  Everyone I showed it to thinks the same thing as well. The scarf is knit in two pieces that are then grafted together so when it's worn, the pattern shows correctly as it drapes down.  I like this effect but I must say I experienced a bit of second sock syndrome when it came to knitting the second half!

They yarn is 'Good for Ewe Sultry Steps' in the Sugar Plum Colorway.  The yarn is a blend of merino, nylon, and baby llama and despite having a bit of a haze it still allows the pattern to show.  I chose this yarn mainly because of the baby llama because my friend I gave it to has a thing for llamas.   When I went into my local yarn shop, I was a little concerned with my pariticular request of needing a yarn that was 'fingering weight, had baby llama fiber but not too fuzzy, AND it must be purple' but the employee only paused for a moment, blinked once or twice, and said:

'I've got the perfect thing.'

First Flower of Spring

Just as my grandmother and I always see who can spot the first robin of Spring, my daughter and I always try to be the first one to find the first flower of Spring.  Last year, I found the first one while jogging one bright, early Saturday morning but this year Maia found the first one.  She triumphantly plucked it from some poor unsuspecting neighbor (so sorry!) on her walk home from school and burst in the door to show me.  We floated it in a tiny bowl of water.

The first flower of Spring is such a lovely thing!

Homemade is Love

Over the weekend, I hosted a Girls' Brunch for a few friends and something one of my friends said got me thinking.

The few days before my friends were to come over, I began to think of what I would serve for brunch.   I wanted to keep it simple but delicious and also something everyone was sure to like.  I settled on homemade croissants, coffee, and clementines.  The day before the brunch, I made the dough and the butter block for the croissants and throughout the day took the dough back out of the refrigerator again and again to roll and fold until I had completed the necessary six turns to make croissants that were flakey and shattered properly with the first bite.  There's nothing quite like after a lifetime of eating chewy grocery store bakery croissants, that a proper made croissant shatters in a embarrassingly messy spray of crumbs and the whole thing nearly melts in your mouth, is there?

One of my friends came a little early, just as I was sauteeing onions and green peppers for a fritatta.  She helped with the vegetables while I quickly drove across town to pick up another friend.  When we returned, I continued making the frittata while we all chattted.   The friend from across town set down her supplies for a craft project we were doing after brunch and noticed my dining room table.

There wasn't anything special about it but I had tried to arrange the necessary things--plates, butter, jam-- attractively and the I had made little piles of clementines of three on the bottom and one on top to make a simple, informal  centerpiece of sorts.   It wasn't much and had there been any lick of green thing outside you can be sure I'd have run out and snipped it to add to the meager display.   My friend remarked upon the table and its clementines-as-decoration--and referenced my table from the last Girl's Night I hosted.   I felt a little sheepish because I felt she was gently making fun of me but then I thought about it a moment and tried to explain.  It's not complicated.

I like things that give me pleasure.   There is no need for them to be elaborate,because the simple pile of bright, cheery clementines on a dark wood table makes me smile and so does a single flower stuck in a mason jar full of water.   I want to share their simple beauty.

Forks fanned out in a semicircle around a stack of plates,  napkins folded in pinwheels, rows of shining wineglasses on the sideboard.  These sorts of things can make ordinary things look pleasant to the eye as they serve their purpose.

All of these things are a small gesture from me to those I've invited into my house that says 'You, my friend, are important to me.   I want to share my humble home and things with you and make you smile and feel welcome.'

It is the same when I cook and bake from scratch except this time I am saying....  'You, my friend--my family member--My Loved One, are important to me.  I want to share this thing I've made with thought and love with you and fill your tummy with delicious things that will nourish you body and soul for days to come.''

Chocolate Coconut Candies

 

Any excuse to use Ghiradelli chocolate....I'm in. 

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I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Hullabaloo Homestead, one day and saw that Lisa had posted a recipe for homemade Mounds and Almond Joy candies.   The recipe was simple and I decided I must try it right away....as soon as I went out and fetched the coconut oil.  Unfortunately, when I found it, I was dismayed the by the price.  It wasn't terribly expensive if it was a product I used all the time (like extra virgin olive oil!), but since it was an ingredient that I needed only for this recipe I decided not to purchase it.

The idea of making homemade mounds bars stuck in my head and I couldn't let it go.  Finally, I decided I would try a few substitutions with what I already had on hand at home.  I had a large bag of sweetened coconut and a few baking bars of Ghiradelli 70% cacao which is a fairly higher percentage of cacao than semi-sweet chocolate chips which are usually in the mid 40% range.  Crossing my fingers, I hoped the dark chocolate would cancel out some of the sweetness of the coconut....and it did.   The candies turned out delicious and next time I plan on loading each one up with a couple of almonds.  

 I think my substitutions worked well and they are a great option for someone who wishes to try the recipe out with what they already have at home.  Of course, I'm sure for many of you coconut oil IS a staple and in that case, I would recommend staying true to the original recipe.

Here were my subsitutions:

Butter for coconut oil                                                                                                                                                                     Sweetened coconut for unsweetened coconut                                                                                                                     Ghiradelli 70% baking bar for semi-sweet chocolate chips                                                                                              

*Also note--I used half the honey and it was more to stay close the intended consistency of the coconut mixture in the original recipe than it was to add sweetness.

Find Hullaballo Homestead's recipe for Coconut Almond Joy bites here.

 

Procrastibake My Way to Cake Pops

 

 

 

I don't procrastinate very much.  I procrastibake.

Sometimes the never ending task of laundry simply must be put aside for the day.  Okay, several days. A week?  We've all got enough underwear to last that long, right?  I find the taller my launder pile is, the more inclined I am to bake....especially things that I never would have considered before. 

Like the oh-so-trendy cake pop.  

I don't know why I resist baking the trendy things--remember the macarons?-- but I do.  I'll bake all sorts of things before I'll turn to the trendy baked good.  Sometimes it will take bloggers by the dozen bemoaning the difficulty of an item before the desire to challenge myself and give it a try will kick in.  Other times, it's as simple as the guilt that comes from a heap of dirty clothes.

Yesterday, when I contemplated doing the laundry I decided bread for sandwiches was more important and I baked that instead.  Then, I made some cookies, and popped some popcorn for school lunches.  I began experimenting with a recipe I'm working on and baked the first attempt.  I considered bagels or English muffins but two loaves of fresh baked bread on the countertop advised me against that.    My mind rapidly searched for something-anything!-I could bake in lieu of doing laundry and pretty soon a memory drifted to the surface.

Cake pops.  Maia asked me a few weeks ago if we could try making them.  Perrrrrrfect.  I hastily straightened up the kitchen and ran out to find the necessary supplies.  We baked the cake last night and shaped it into balls and put them in the freezer overnight.  This afternoon, we dipped and decorated the cake pops and before we were halfway through had already decided that we would be making more of them in the future.   Not only were they tastier (those ones you can get at the coffee shop or those weird vegan ones someone once brought to a party simply do not compare to fresh, homemade cake pops), they were a lot of fun to make.   I see many colors of candy melts, sprinkles, sugars, and edible decorations in our future.  

And?  It gave me an excuse not to do laundry for two days!

Robin of Spring

My grandmother and I have a friendly game of 'Who Can Spot the First Robin of Spring?' and most years I have lost this game.  When I was little, I wasn't very observant because there were too many games of Pretend to play with my friends.  I had fields to romp through and woods to crash through as I pretended to ride a horse or pretended to be a deer.  Or I was busy insisting to my friends that now was the time to create the framework for a perfect shack under the trees before the undergrowth came in.  All of that made an awful lot of noise and startled any robins for potential first spottings.  I'm sure ALL the birds took wing and kept a safe distance from the racket my friends and I created when we were young!

A few times in my teen years and young adult years I spotted the first robin and triumphantly announced it to my grandmother. (I wonder now how many times she graciously let me win?)  In more recent years, I've lived in a more urban setting and while there are plenty of birds year round, by the time I spot the first robin, I know my grandmother has probably already observed dozens in her quieter town.

This year I cheated.

Ravelry helped me complete my nefarious deed.   Despite my initial intimidation at knitting my first stuffed toy, the pattern was easy to understand and not difficult.  I chose a cotton yarn to prevent my robin from becoming fuzzy and it came together in only a couple hours.  A more experienced knitter could complete the robin in an even shorter time.

The next day, I tucked the robin into a small box and wrote a few words on a notecard I made a couple of years ago:  'Spring is nearly here....and I've found the first robin! Love, Michelle.'   I'm not confident that 'cheating' this year will make me the winner; my grandmother probably spotted the first one two weeks ago!   It should arrive in todaay's mail and I do hope that it brings a smile to her face on this snowy March morning.

 

Wine & Pizza Girls' Night

I enjoy playing hostess and coming up with new ideas for get togethers.  My friend Cristy and I were talking one day about making homemade pizzas and within a few minutes of chatting decided to combine it with a Girls' Night and were convinced that it must happen and soon.   Girls' Night is something I try to have every month or two and it always involves delicious adult beverages.  For awhile, we were on a flavored vodka kick but in the colder months, my friends and I have seemed to gravitate towards wine.  (But I've already got other ideas in the works!!)

A few of the women attending have never made homemade pizza before and I thought it would be fun to make recipe cards for everyone to take home in case they wanted to try it again at home....or simply wanted a little reminder of our night.   After I cut all of my paper, I wanted to continue the vintage look of my patterned paper and tore the edges of all of the pieces by hand.  I'm pretty certain my coworkers at my family's business where I answer the phones a few mornings a week thought I was a little nuts.

Maybe I am....but I think the cards turned out really cute!

Once everyone was gathered around the table, I felt a little silly explaining how to do everything because I was worried about coming across as a know it all and I'm far from knowing everything there is to know about making pizza dough.   The little I do know comes from repeated trial and error with my family as willing taste testers.   However, my passion for good, homemade food and wanting to share with others how easy it really can be is what drives me and I hope I was able to share even just a little of my enthusiasm.

I made a large batch of pizza sauce the day before for those a little intimidated by making pizza margherita style.  A few chose the ease of the sauce but I was pleasantly surprised by how many chose to try using fresh tomatoes for their pizzas.  I provided all of the dough ingredients, sauce or the makings for it, and the cheese and everyone else was asked to bring the toppings for their favorite pizza and some wine to share.  I was thrilled to see such variety!

...

Cristy made a bacon, mushroom, and spinach pizza and I still am not sure how we didn't eat all the bacon when she was frying it up before she could get it on her pizza.  Cathy chose sausage and spinach for hers.   Carla went with classic pepperoni (and we nearly did eat all of it before it went on her pizza!) but added onions and green peppers.  I don't know why I haven't added green peppers to any of my pepperoni pizzas before but you can be sure I will in the future!   I topped mine with prosciutto and arugula because it is a combination I adore ever since I had it at Piccolo Forno.

Often, I've looked askance at Hawaiian pizza as an insult to pizza but Jen proved me wrong with a slight Italian twist.  She used pineapple and pancetta and the salty sweet taste had me swooning.   I will never scoff at Hawaiian pizza again.   Angie showed me that feta can have a place in my heart by combining spinach, mushrooms, and feta on her pizza.    Earlier in the day, Amber texted me with a dilemma; she couldn't decide which type of pizza she wanted to make and would it be okay if she made two?  Of course!    She deftly combined gorgonzola and sliced pear and drizzled the whole thing with trufle oil for a very intense pizza.   Then, she brought us all to our knees with a dessert pizza that had all of the naughty things on it:  peanut butter, nutella, marshamallows and bananas!  I suppose bananas are good for you but when you dress them up with those other things, bananas become very decadent.

A slice from every pizza shows such creativity!

Aftermath.