I finally figure out how to do mitered corners thanks to the website Sew to Speak. I seriously love the tutorials on the web. I even made my own bias tape!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Baby Quilt
Soccer Cookies
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Beck's Halloween Costume
This is the character that Beck wanted to be for Halloween. This is Silver the Hedgehog. He is a lesser known character in a Sonic game that he likes. Of course, they do not sell this costume at Target...so I had to make one.
This is the costume that I made!!! I used a pattern for a cat costume and then customized it to be a cartoon hedgehog. This is the first time I have ever made anything from a pattern....it even has a zipper! Beck liked the costume fine until we went trick or treating and someone asked him if he was a Goat!!! I thought it turned out pretty decent and all the kids that play the Sonic games at his school knew who he was supposed to be.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Raspberry Chocolate Sundae
Summer is almost here so we're practicing...Ice Cream Sundaes seemed like a good idea. This is a really good recipe using fresh raspberries...another great thing about summer, the fruit!
Beck really loves these and I can use them to bribe him. A win-win!
Ingredients:
- 6 oz Fresh Raspberries
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 4 tbs butter or margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
Directions:
- Puree raspberries and strain through fine mesh strainer (Puree will be thick and it may be necessary to push it through using a flexible spoon or spatula)
- Add raspberries, condensed milk, cream, sugar and syrup to sauce pan and bring to a boil
- Add cocoa and butter and whisk to combine ( I used my hand blender)
Let sauce cool slightly and spoon over ice cream. I found the best vanilla ice cream, Marianne's Ice Cream made in Santa Cruz. Garnish with whole raspberries and mint. Rinse and repeat!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Blueberry Peach Cobbler
We went a little overboard on fruit from the farmer's market, just could not help it...everything is in season! So I found a nice little recipe using two fruits. I must admit, I had a bit of trouble making this pastry dough. Next time I'm just going to use the cream cheese pastry dough recipe. When I finally got the dough to the right consistency, it turned out flakey, but a little dense. (That could describe a lot of people!) I still really liked this dessert and it's even better a la mode. But isn't everything?
Ingredients:
Cobbler Filling
- 4 peaches, pitted and cut into eighths
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp corn starch
Pastry
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbs heavy cream
- 2 tbs melted and cooled butter
- 1 large egg
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. In separate bowl, whisk egg, cream and melted cooled butter. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Fill 4 ramekins with filling and place a disk of dough on top. Brush top with egg or butter.
Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes in 350 degree oven. Broil the top for 1 -2 minutes until golden brown.
I garnished with a scoop of ice cream and glazed walnuts. Yum yum.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Chicken Pot Pie Pocket
These are the best things ever. The whole house smells like chicken pot pie, image how wonderful that is. It is almost as good as it tastes! Yummy and portable! Perfect.
Ingredients for amazing pastry dough:
- 8 tbs or 1 stick butter at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 large egg + 1 tbs water for egg wash
Form into two balls and wrap each with plastic film.
Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out each ball of dough to about 12" diameter. Find a bowl about 6" diameter to use as cookie-cutter. Make about three circles from each ball of dough and use remaining dough from both to make two more circles, for eight total. Chicken Pot Pie Filling:
- 2 tbs butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup celery
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 tbs fresh minced oregano
- 1 tbs fresh minced sage
- 1 heaping cup shredded chicken cooked
- 2 tbs flour
- 1/2 coarse salt
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tbs corn starch
Heat the butter and saute the onion, celery and carrot for about 2-3 minutes.
Add salt and flour and cook one more minute to thicken.
Add stock, peas, chicken, oregano, sage, cheese, corn starch and cream and heat for about 1-2 minutes.
Cool in fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Fill each circle with about 1/4 cup filling.
Wet edge of pocket, close and secure edge with fork.
Poke pocket with fork twice and brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbs water whisked together).
Cook in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Juice and more juice
I got a juicer! I love that this house has so much counter space. Now I will fill it with random kitchen appliances! I actually really like the juicer, Breville Compact Fountain Juicer, and I have made some pretty tasty juices. The boys are my guinea pigs, but Beck is not too happy with that since I started making vegetable juices. I have been disguising the veggies with fruit juice. This is fresh orange juice. I had to make it out of satsumas because that's all I had. So it took about a dozen and a half of those little oranges to make this glass of orange juice, but it is super concentrated, so a little goes a long way.
This is oranges, strawberries, lemons, apples, celery, carrots and parsley. I poured in a little sparkling water and made one refreshing juice spritzer!
This is oranges, strawberries, lemons, apples, celery, carrots and parsley. I poured in a little sparkling water and made one refreshing juice spritzer!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Apple Cinnamon Granola Muffins
I really like muffins as a good "on the go" breakfast for weekday mornings. These muffins are really light on fat and taste very much like a handful of granola...you take that to mean what you want. I happen to like the granola I used, it is Cinnamon Apple Granola from Bear Naked so I find these muffins tasty. As Beck commented "these are good, but they are not donuts."
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup granola ground up in food processor (roughly about 1/2 cup whole granola)
3/4 cup whole granola
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground fennel
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbs almond oil (sub veg oil)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup fresh or canned pears pureed
1/4 cup applesauce
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spray liners with cooking spray.
- Puree 1/2 can pears or 1 small pear to yield 1/4 cup pear puree. Add pear puree and applesauce and mix in 3/4 cup whole granola. Allow granola to soak for 20 minutes.
- In food processor, grind about 1/2 cup granola to equal about 1/4 cup finely chopped granola. Should have a slightly chunky, flour like consistency. Whisk together ground granola, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and fennel.
- In a stand mixer, whisk together eggs and sugar to a creamy, thick paste. Add oil and yogurt and mix on high for about 1 minute.
- Pour liquid into dry ingredients and add pear, applesauce and granola mixture. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Fill muffin tin 3/4 full and sprinkle some granola on top of batter.
- Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Ginger Blondies
The full name for these cookies is Browned Butter, Pear, Pistachio, and Ginger Blondies. I've long been a fan of the brownie, but I had no idea that there was such a thing as a "blondie!" I have to say that these are nothing short of fantastical. Believe me, I only make words up when I really like something. These cookies have the wonderful flavor of biscotti, but are soft and chewy like a brownie.
Ingredients (makes about a dozen):
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup canned pears (pulsed 3-4 x in processor and moisture removed by pressing in fine mesh strainer)
- 1/2 cup shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 coarsely chopped crystallized ginger
Directions:
- Brown the butter in s sauce pan and set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 325. Prepare a 9" springform pan with parchment paper and cooking spray.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In food processor with paddle attachment, cream the cooled browned butter and sugar on medium speed. Mix until paste forms, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, and pears and continue to mix on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and in two additions, add flour mixture until combined. Mix in pistachios and ginger.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes, rotate pan halfway through baking.
- Let pan cool for 10 minutes and then release pan and paper from blondies. Let cool completely on wire rack and slice into squares to serve.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash
This is a really easy way to make a side dish. Chop, marinate and grill. I prefer grilled veggies to steamed stuff. The squash stays much crisper and tastes like summer! It was absolutely beautiful today and I heard the barbeque a'calling. We had the grilled veggies with carmelized carrots and brown rice, served along side blackened halibut. I'm always happy when a recipe is healthy and tastes good too.
Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini
2 small yellow squash
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbs grape seed oil
1 tbs almond oil (sub. both oils for 2 tbs olive oil)
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp mix garlic and ginger
1 tsp savory seasonings
1 tsp herb de provence
2 tsp "Roast Vegetable and Fries Seasonings" (basically season salt with a pinch of cayenne)
Recipe:
- Cut veggies into 1/2 inch rounds
- Place veggies in bag and add above marinade. Marinate for at least 1 hours, more is better.
- Roast veggies on hot grill. Flip when there are grill marks, about 3 minutes on each side.
Saute some shredded carrots until crispy and mix with grilled veggies. Pretty and yummy!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Curry Chicken Salad Pita Sandwich
I have a fondness for chicken salad...mostly because I love it when leftovers can be used to make something I really like. It's like twice as good! I really like the curry flavor and I'm a sucker for apples in salad. This is one of my favorite picnic recipes because you can assemble the sandwich on site and the pita doesn't get soggy. Number one complaint about picnic food!
Ingredients:
5-6 grilled chicken tenders (marinated with soy sauce and ground ginger) or 1 lb of chicken breast
1 Granny Smith apple cubed
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
6 tablespoons plain Greek yorgurt
1 tablespoon mayo
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon rough chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons sliced green onion
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Ground pepper to taste
pitas
bibb lettuce
Directions:
- Chicken should be baked or grilled and refrigerated until cool. Cube chicken into 1 inch pieces. Mix chicken with apples, almonds, curry, cilantro, onion, salt and pepper. Add yogurt, mayo and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
- To assemble sandwich: halve the pita, line with lettuce and fill with chicken salad.
Tahini Potato Salad
Every time I try a new potato salad recipe, I swear "it is the best potato salad ever." I've just figured out that I just like potato salad. This recipe is no exception! Best. Potato. Salad. Ever. It is nice and spicy and I love tahini sauce. It is even better the next day...My kind of leftovers! Using all these herbs for this recipe made be really want to plant an herb garden. Gonna get on that real soon. Anyway, super good potato salad.
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs red creamer potatoes
1 cup fresh peas (I used thawed frozen peas)
4 green onions minced
1 tbs fresh mint
1 tbs cilantro
1 tbs fresh oregano
Dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbs almond oil (sub EVOO)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon tabasco
1 1/2 tbs tahini sauce
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/2 cup sour cream
Recipe:
Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes. Drain and let cool.
When cool, mix potatoes with peas, green onion, mint, cilantro and oregano.
In blender or with immersion blender, mix garlic, lemon juice, white pepper, tabasco, tahini, mustard, sour cream and while mixing, drizzle in oil.
Gently toss potato mixture with dressing and served chilled.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Banana Sour Cream Waffles
I made these for Beck for his first day of testing to get him off to a good start. He ate so much that he made himself sick and had to stay home!! Murphy's Law in full effect...anywho, these are good, just be sure to stop when you are full.
Recipe:
I added chocolate chips to Beck's and glazed walnuts for the adults. These are so delicious, just be warned that they are dangerous!
Ingredients for 4-5 waffles:
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 ripe banana
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 ts coarse salt
- 1/2 ts ground cinnamon
- 1/2 ts ground ginger
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tb (1/4 stick) melted butter, cooled
- 1/8 cup chocolate chips
- 1/8 cup glazed chopped walnuts
- Beat the eggs and sugar for 5-8 minutes. When the beater is lifted, the batter should trail off like a ribbon.
- Beat in mashed, ripe banana.
- Sift flour, salt and spices together. Alternately fold in half of the flour mixture, all the sour cream, and the rest of the flour mixture. Lightly stir in the melted butter. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
- Pour about 1/2 cup batter on heated waffle maker and add either the chips or the walnuts. cook until golden brown.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Cedar Plank Mint Salmon
This is my favorite salmon recipe and I wanted to have one more BBQ night before it's starts raining again. I'm also trying to make food high in protein because Beck is doing the second grade standardized testing that all California schools require. I really want Beck to preform well as a reflection of his excellent teacher and his school! He has been going to bed early (7:30) and I've even been making Saturday style breakfast (pancakes, waffles, the like) in the morning before school. Tomorrow we are having chocolate chip sour cream waffles...if I can get up early enough, we'll see!
- Soak cedar plank for at least 3 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 lb salmon filet
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 cup flat parsley leaves
- 1 small shallot
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 ts salt
- 1 ts black pepper
- 1/4 ts grated ginger
- 1/2 cup juice of fresh lemons
- 4 tbs evoo
- 2 tbs honey
- 4 tbs minced tarragon
In food processor, mix garlic and shallot with lemon juice and evoo.
Pulse until a fine paste.
Add honey, mint and parsley, along with salt and pepper and continue to pulse until incorporated into watery pesto like consistency.
Marinate salmon for about three hours.
Remove fish from marinate and dispose of marinate. Rub filet with evoo and top with salt, pepper and minced tarragon.
Place salmon on plank, skin side down. BBQ for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Salmon is done when flakes easily.
I served the salmon with green bean almondine and a yummy salad. Even made glazed walnut for the salad! But that is another recipe..maybe later...I'm tired. Cheers!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are super good! Beck even ate one! He says that he hates bananas, but I guess chocolate chips trump banana.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Recipe makes about 1 dozen muffins.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Recipe makes about 1 dozen muffins.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter
- 1/3 cup buttermilk (sub regular milk and add 2 drops lemon juice, stir)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ripe banana
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Recipe:
- sift all dry ingredients together (flour, sugars, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and soda, and salt)
- Add melted butter, buttermilk, egg and extracts. Beat for 1 minute
- mix in ripe banana
- fold in chocolate chips
Bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes
Check for doneness with toothpick
Almost Summer
It's almost summer, even in Northern California!! Of course, the day after this picture was taken it, rained cats and dogs (actually the next two days)! Just try to get used to the weather..."I dare you."
Anywho, it was almost in the seventies and Beck took full advantage by playing in the fountains downtown. He had a really good time, but the walk to the car was a little cold!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Thai Coconut Curry Wonton Soup
This is my answer for dinner on a super lazy Sunday evening. I just love it when I have all the ingredients to make dinner in my cupboards. It really is a buzz kill to have to drive down the hill because I'm missing something. I gathered up all my fixings and basically my soup was done.Ingredients:
- 32 ozs Thai coconut curry broth (sub. chicken or veggie broth)
- 2 cups (about two handfuls) shredded carrots
- 4 green onions (white part cooked in soup and green part for garnish)
- 1 cup peas
- 1/2 package frozen chicken wontons (more if you like)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (if you like spicy add more to taste)
- 2 splashes soy sauce
Add peas, carrots, and wontons and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add pepper to taste.
Garnish soup with green onion and enjoy.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Zucchini Walnut Bread
This is my attempt to use all the zucchini I bought. It was on sale so I bought more than a family of three can comfortably eat! We had so much that Beck would finish the descriptions of dinner with "and zucchini!" As in, we are going to have chicken, rice and Beck would add "let me guess, ... and zucchini."
So anywho, found a good recipe for zucchini nut bread. It uses two zucchinis and it makes two loaves. We usually eat about 1/2 a loaf and Aaron takes the rest to work to stock the lunchroom. I love any chance I get to bake and use my new stand mixer! I really like using my mixer, but it is dangerous to have baked goods about the house, so this is a good arrangement for all involved!
Zucchini Walnut Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 cups finely grated zucchini (about 2 zucchinis)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground anise
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans and line with parchment paper and grease paper
- Mix sugars, oil and eggs together
- Add extracts and mix
- Sift all dry ingredients together and add to mix in 3 increments
- Fold in zucchini and walnuts
- Divide batter between loaf pans
- Bake for approximately 1 hour 10 minutes.
- Check for doneness via a toothpick or other tester
- Cool ten minutes, then invert on wire rack and remove parchment paper
This is yummy bread and yet another way to get Beck to eat vegetables. Small victories!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Cedar Plank Blackened Halibut
This is the best fish recipe ever!! I especially like the way the cedar plank smells while the fish is cooking. The halibut is so yummy even Beck will eat fish. Of course, Beck's is plain because he doesn't like spicy food, but he still is eating fish (he said this is better than fish sticks, a ringing endorsement from an eight-year-old.)
Here is the spice roundup:
Spices all mixed together.
Most important, super fresh fish. Daddy gets the big piece!!
Spices all mixed together.
Most important, super fresh fish. Daddy gets the big piece!!
Ingredients:
- Cedar plank, soaked in water for at least an hour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
- 1 teaspoon cajun blackened spice (Cajun's Choice)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 1 pound halibut
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Rub halibut with 1 tablespoon oil.
Top halibut with spice mixture.
Sear halibut in hot pan or skillet with remaining oil. Cook seasoned side down for about 1 minute, until very brown on bottom.
Transfer halibut to cedar plank with seasoned side up.
Barbeque at 400 degrees until fish flakes easily, about 8 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges.
I call this recipe "Fantastic Fish." Enjoy!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter Eggs
Beck and I dyed Easter eggs using food coloring and paper towels. Started out by dipping them, but they were kind of boring.
Took wet paper towels, put a few drops of different food colors on the towels and then wrapped the egg in the towel. The eggs came out kind of swirled. I think they are neato!
Spicy Ginger Butternut Squash Soup
I've had this large butternut squash on my kitchen counter for about a month now and was getting tired of dusting around it! So I decided to make some soup out of it. Turned out pretty good.
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven 400 degrees
Cut squash in half lengthwise. Rub olive oil and salt squash halves. Roast squash 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Let squash cool and scoop out the meat of the squash into a bowl.
In stock pot, saute onions, garlic and fresh ginger in 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add squash and spices, mix throughly.
Add 4 cups chicken stock.
Gently simmer for 25 minutes.
Mix with immersion hand blender until smooth.
Garnish with plain yogurt and chives.
Bon Appetit!
Costanoa Camping
The boys went on a long hike along the ocean. I stayed behind and read in the sauna. I swear I'm going to get one of those one of these days. I really wish I had one today...brrrrrrrrr. Last time I checked it was 38 degrees outside.
Quilt for baby Zachary
I made this quilt for my cousin Amber and her husband Mark. Happy Birthday Zachary!!!
I like madras for baby quilts because the colors are good for a boy or girl.
Beck saw the quilt I was making and he said that he wanted one too. So I made one for Beck and he chose the boarder. I really liked the way it turned out. His quilt is the one on the right. The one on the left was made for me for my Great Grandma Scott.
In fact, Beck had a project at school where he had to give a presentation about a "family artifact" and he used Grandma Scott's quilt. Of course, he told the class that it was my baby quilt and it was really old, "like 100 years old." Thanks Beck!! I suppose age has no real meaning to an eight-year-old; if you're not a kid, you're old!
Easter 2010
Happy Easter!!!!
Happy Easter Everyone! Beck got a HUGE Easter basket this year. Beck ranks holidays in descending order of amounts of candy given. He proclaimed that this year, Easter is almost better than Halloween. ("Mostly because you don't have to work so hard to get the candy.") Also after much debate Beck decided that the Easter Bunny is real because Santa Claus is real. Can't argue with that logic!We discovered that Lemon and Abbie have a penchant for Bunny Peeps. Lemon was trying to chew through the packaging so I figured if I gave him one he would leave Beck's candy alone. Boy was I wrong. Lemon began by licking it, then picked it up in his mouth and ran off to devour it elsewhere. After watching the cat eat the peep as he would a mouse, body first and leaving the head, I don't think that I will ever eat another peep. Aaron found it quite bizarre to find a disembodied peep bunny on the stairs!
It is too cold to have the Easter egg hunt outside (gotta love NorCal....I swear Northern California should not be called California at all, it gives a false sense of the climate. I'm going to call it Oregonia or Caligon.) It snowed here last week and you can see your breath in the downstairs bathroom. So we found some creative hiding places inside the house.
Happy Hunting!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)