Happy Birthday, Alex!

On Wednesday my sweet girl, Alex turned six years old. She had a lovely birthday with about 18 of her closest friends. HA! Here are a few images from the day.



   

These little suckers are NOT easy to make. It was a challenge trying to get those marshmallow petals to stick to the lollipop so I finally gave up. Instead I just stuck the remaining lollipops in the cupcakes with a few marshmallows strewn about the platter. I never frosted cupcakes so fast in my life. It got a bit messy, but in the end it all turned out great.  



Lemon Yogurt Cake

There's something so fun about getting ready to attend a dinner party at a friend's house. I love searching through cookbooks and websites to find just the right side dish, salad, pasta... or in this case, a dessert.

I've made this cake twice in two weeks for two separate events. Both times the cake came out moist and flavorful. I strayed from the recipe choosing to dollop fresh made whipped cream and sliced strawberries on top rather than going with the suggested lemon glaze.

Yet again, Ina Garten did not disappoint. This recipe comes from Barefoot Contessa at Home. Please find the recipe {here}.



Oven-Puffed Pancakes with Berries

This morning I awoke with Oven-Puffed Pancakes with Berries on my mind. I whipped up a batch speedy quick and then I was out the door for a little Sunday morning yoga.  

This morning yoga was hard. The entire class appeared exhausted only after the first 20 minutes, and this was a 90 minute class. The instructor challenged us to push ourselves and to repeat the same sequence over and over again for like a zillion times. The sweat poured off my brow, my nose and my chin. My arms quaked under my own weight, and to add insult to injury, I think balance all but abandoned me. I wobbled in Revolve Crescent and barely held on to Half Moon Pose. Many of these poses I've done with ease many a times, but not this morning. No way. That first 20 minutes had wiped me out. 

I took solace in knowing that once the 90 minutes was up, I would return home to a plate of puffy pancakes. Plus, today Jon and I celebrated our 11-year wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? 11-years.

And even though I came home looking haggard as hells, the beautiful Daffodils that Jon presented me with this morning put a smile on my face. I think I blushed a little -- or maybe that was just the sweat burning my cheeks. I'm not sure -- at this point it was all a blur.

I finally showered, dressed and dabbed a bit of make-up on my face and sat down to a sliver of puffed pancake. The little bit that I got was delicious.  

Cookie Trouble

Yesterday was not a good day for baking. Normally my chocolate chip cookies come out of the oven, round and fluffy, and with just the right amount of texture. Yesterday my cookies puddled into these flat pools of chewy, buttery, crunchy pancakes. They taste fine -- sorta like a butter cookie with chocolate chips in them. I'm pretty sure this happened because when I put the butter in the microwave to soften it, I over nuked them and the butter melted. I thought if I put the dough in the refrigerator for a bit it would solve the problem, but it didn't. And even though they look silly, they're still edible and satisfying... I'm not too disappointed. 

Basic British Scones

We had a lazy Sunday (see Sammy laying there with her DS?). We had planned to head outdoors but Sammy came down with a stomach bug and our plans changed.

 I made good use of our time at home -- I baked scones.

On Saturday, the rascals and I attended a belated Valentine's Day Tea at a friend's house {later this week, I'll share with you pictures from the event}. It was entirely lovely complete with fanciful decorations and scrumptious bite sized portioned foods. The most delicious of all were the scones -- I was still craving them the next day.

 I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com called Basic British Scones. Having never been to England I had to accept the authenticity of the recipe.

 This recipe calls for very few ingredients and yet the scones were flavorful.

Serve with your favorite jam and/or clotted cream. Click {here} for the recipe. The only change I made was that I used heavy whipping cream and 1% milk as opposed to just whole milk. I also used butter instead of margarine. Enjoy!

Cookies, Cookies and More Cookies

Last week I baked cookies for three nights in a row, and on the fourth night, I made the frosting and icing. It's all a blur to me now, but during the flurry of festive baking I found that I was quite content in doing the work. So much so that I sit here this afternoon wondering about what to bake next. Granted I didn't bake anything spectacular, just a few dozen sugar cookies {recipe below}, Gingerbread cookies and  a new favorite -- Lofthouse cookies {see image above}.

Watkins Vanilla Sugar Cookie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons colored sugar for topping

In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour and baking powder; set aside. In another large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well blended and fluffy. beat in the egg yolks, then the salt and vanilla, until evenly incorporated. Gradually beat or stir in the flour mixture to form a smooth dough.

 

Divide dough and half and place each half between layers of wax paper. Roll to about 1/4 inch thick and place in refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes. (see below for my suggestion)

 

Cut dough with cookie cutters- make sure you use cookie cutters that are of similar size so they bake at the same rate. The recipe calls for 8-11 minutes or until just barely brown around the edges. Allow to settle before transferring to cooling rack.

 

To ensure that the cookies keep their shape, place cookies on baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the baking pan directly from the freezer and in to the preheated oven. This will prevent cookies from spreading.

 

At first I thought that the Gingerbread recipe would make a soft cookie, but what I found is that after the cookie completely cools, it firms up making it great for decorating. This cookie will hold up nicely for making a gingerbread house too.

The icing is just your basic Royal Icing.

Royal Icing

3 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

pinch of salt

Liquid or paste food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed (use a whisk-shaped beater, if available), beat together the egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon juice, and the salt until frothy and opaque. Increase speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until evenly incorporated and smooth. Increase the speed to high, and beat in the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice until the mixture stands in stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes. If the icing is too stiff to pipe or spread easily, beat in water, 1 teaspoon at a time; if too runny, beat in a little more powdered sugar. If the icing stiffens upon standing, thin it with a few more drops water. Keep plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel over the bowl to prevent the icing from drying out as you work.

At first I thought that I didn't bake enough cookies, but I did. I had well over enough. I still have cookies leftover and plenty of cookie decorating sprinkles and icing to boot. Looks like I'll be decorating cookies well into the new year.

Pebernodder

Jack Frost made an appearance this morning, crystallizing flora underneath a sparkling sheath of crunchy white ice. Diffused Christmas lights strewn along the roof lines of neighboring houses twinkled quietly behind the murky fog. My hands have reunited with cashmere lined leather gloves as if it were many years ago since they last met. Winter is nearing.

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This week Sammy had to bring to school a food representing her culture. We brought, Pebernodder.

According to Allrecipes, Pebernodder is a traditional Danish Christmas cookie. I didn't think my rascals would like this cookie because it contains Cardamom. I'm only vaguely familiar Cardamom so I had no idea what to expect, but I can tell you that the dough formed nicely, not heavy but perfectly airy and light. Once baked, the cookies puffed out  into these flavorful 1/2 inch pillowy bites. Pebernodders are delicious -- not too sweet with just a hint of pepper from the Cardamom.

And because we wanted to keep to tradition we stuck to the recipe as it was written, only adding in a dash of vanilla to taste.

We plan to make this cookie again and again, possibly updating it by rolling it in sugar and/or sprinkles to pretty them up. Or, Pebernodders dipped in chocolate and then sprinkled with finely chopped nuts for added flavor and texture. What a versatile and easy to make cookie. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cardamom and cinnamon; stir into the sugar mixture just until blended.
3. Separate the dough into 6 balls, and roll each ball into a rope about as big around as your finger on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and place them on an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.               

Thankful

Today is the last day of Thanksgiving break. It's been a soggy seven days with wind stripping away what leaves remained on sagging branches. Without the benefit of bushy shrubs to the east, our new neighbor's windows have full view of our bedrooms leaving us with very little, if any, privacy. On this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for window treatments.

This year, both of my rascals helped make Thanksgiving dinner! Hurray! Together, we made the stuffing. It was such a thrill to have my girls working by my side cutting, chopping, squeezing, mixing, and stirring -- they really did a fantastic job. Alex practically made the cranberry sauce all by herself.

I had planned to tell you a story about why I put orange slices in the water pitcher, but considering how uneventful the story really is, I decided against it. Perhaps another time.

This year, Thanksgiving fell on Jon's birthday.

Every year we celebrate Jon's birthday, and his sister's birthday, on Thanksgiving because they both have November birthdays. But this year it was extra special and so I made a Chocolate Mocha Cake. You can find the recipe {here}. I also made the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting which you can find, {here}.

My sister-in-law brought homemade mini donuts sprinkled with all kinds of goodness. And to balance out the sweets, she made this amazing salad to go along with dinner.

Now. Let's talk turkey.

Each year I make the same thing. Roasted turkey breasts, corn bread stuffing, Bourbon yams, etc. etc. I have the menu down to a science -- it always comes out pretty well. Only this year, my meat thermometer failed me. It stayed stuck at 155 degrees and would not go beyond that. After we realized the thermometer wasn't working, Jon tested the turkey with his high-tech digital thermometer that he uses for grilling and discovered that the turkey was more than done -- it was overcooked. Blargh!

By this time, my guests were hungry. They ate the dry turkey smothered in gravy and didn't complain once. They were super sweet to me despite the mishap. I am so incredibly thankful for their unconditional love.

City Mice

Before reading this post, sit down because you might be here for a while. You might even want to grab a cup of coffee to keep awake. This is going to be a long post covering events of yesterday evening and today.

Yesterday Sammy was sick, again, so we had to cancel a long awaited sleepover she was having with a friend. We intended to let the girls camp in the backyard for an extra special slumber party, but it was not to be. After much consideration, and a little bit of a spring in Sammy's step, by late afternoon we'd decided the slumber party was back on, this time with just our family. We cracked open the brand new six person, octagonal tent, Jon had bought a few days ago and started assembling it with a great deal of enthusiasm... at first. After an hour or so, it became all too clear that the tent was a lot smarter than us. We gave up. As much as I hate to admit it, it was just too damn hard and we were tired of wrestling with it. After all, we are, City Mice, and know not the ways of erecting tents and such, instead we are much better at erecting a suitcase in which to place our travel clothes for hotel stays.

Despite our pathetic attempts at outdoorsy fun, we settled on a simple backyard fire complete with Nutella S'mores.

The girls camped out in the family room instead of under the stars.

By morning, we were all hungry for a big breakfast {fighting with a tent will make you ravenous) so I made these Pikelets from Donna Hay. I'll have to provide the recipe later as I am too tired to type out the recipe now.

After breakfast it was off to explore our sunny city. As you probably know by now, it just isn't a family outing without a trip to a long board store. And yes, Jon did manage to buy another one -- with our encouragement of course.

Then it was off to downtown Seattle where we explored the open market and cavernous stores and eateries.

 

After the girls had ice-cream at Pike Place Market, we stopped in at the Chocolate Box - a cruel thing to do after the girls had already eaten their ice cream. Their hungry eyes wanted more treats but we just couldn't bring ourselves to give them more, so we left with having only a few samples.

Then it was off to Tune, a high-end audio store where we checked out a few turntables. And yes, I did explain to the children what the big black discs were and why they were going around and around on the flat plate.

We walked to the Olympic Sculpture Park where we rested and also played.

We listened to the gurgle of Seattle's underbelly through the large orifice in the center of this installment. Okay, maybe it wasn't Seattle's underbelly, but if you had to imagine it, it would probably sound like the glurp whoosh bubble bubble coming out of this contraption.

The City Mice showing off their sharp teeth and claws.

After taking the photos we saw the sign that read, "Do Not Touch." Oops.

I call the above image: Man, Red Chair and Striped Handbag. HA!!

It was such a beautiful day and this bride picked the perfect day to start her new life. I apologized to her for taking her picture but told her that I thought she looked gorgeous. I don't think she minded what with that radiant smile of hers.

This orange bike is fabulous.

Finally we arrived home after a long day walking the hard pavement of downtown Seattle. Jon made possibly the best ever iced coffee drink I've ever wrapped my lips around. But because it contains: condensed and evaporated milk along with concentrated coffee, I don't know how many more I'll be having -- it was extremely decadent. My husband knows me too well. I suppose I was supposed to sip it... I didn't. I chugged it. Yummy.

We City Mice were wiped out by the end of the evening -- well, except for me. After having that coffee I'll be up all night, hence the long post.