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I just finished posting my FIRST EVER how-to on Cut Out & Keep. I did a tute of my embroidered and felt covered barrette. I’ve wanted to do this for some time, but being my own worst critic, I didn’t believe that any of my projects were good or original enough to post to the world to scrutinize. Ah well… I’m satisfied just knowing there will be, at least, ONE who will be inspired from my contribution. Just like I am by so many others! :) This was oodles of fun and a great experience so it won’t be my last. I already have another one in mind.
Joie reserves what I call “the fairy wishes” for the EXTRA SPECIAL. It’s adorable to watch. She’ll take out one, a few, or all 12 – we guess, depending on how large the request – from a pink tin box, gives a kiss on each, leaves them on her bedside table to do their fairy magic, and then she’s tucked into her bed for the evening.
She’s wished and wished for a violin. Done.
Lately, her biggest and strongest wish is for a baby brother or sister.(sigh)
Joie, we’ll need more than ALL the fairies for that one… still working on it. :)
Tah-rah! Joie and I made homemade marshmallows this afternoon and they turned out fluffy and sweet. We followed The French Laundry’s recipe. I don’t think we’ll be going back to store bought marshmallows from now on. These are too good and so easy to make!
This evening’s dessert
Joie enjoying her hot chocolate and homemade marshmallow cloud she helped mommy make!
I had a flashback of my years in grade school after eating a Starbucks Snickerdoodle cookie! These tasted just like the ones baked by the sweet cafeteria ladies. They’re SO good. Forever I believed them to be Sugar cookies and have been searching for a THE recipe. Sadly all along, I’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places!
Now the search is on for the Snickerdoodle recipe to keep those happy memories alive!
Here’s the first one to try – it received raves on recipezaar
Snickerdoodle cookie
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.
3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5. Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
6. Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
7. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture.
8. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.
9. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.
10. Remove from pan immediatley.
I’m feeling blah today. Ho-hum…(yawn) I bribed Joie to take a nap, “… after, we’ll walk to Draegers for the gelatin packets to make marshmallows tonight.” She happily obliged. Yay, quite time for mommy to, well, do nothing :) I really should catch up on my reading – May issue of Yoga Journal that just came in the mail yesterday, A New Earth, and oh, then webcasts to watch. Okay, that’s what I’ll do. But after my nap (yawn).
My Joie loves the homemade marshmallows from the Monterey Farmer’s Market. In just a few minutes the cloud goodies are gone. She would love it if I made some for her. I found this recipe from The French Laundry, Yountville, CA.
So it’s gotta be good!
Oooooh… for smores! Yay, another reason to get more chocolate.
Ingredients:
3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.
Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into 12 equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar.
Chocolate…I love, love, love. Did I say love? Yes, love. I’m not referring to the everyday variety, although they certainly help with the quick fixes. For me, chocolate bliss is Artisan Chocolates. A little goes a long way – savored and so satisfying.
My first love of handmade chocolates is Joseph Schmidt Confections. Because of my obsession I insisted on “something special & chocolate” for our wedding favors. Jose and I discovered Joseph Schmidt at 3489 16th Street, San Francisco where we sampled to my heart’s content. We ordered 300 of the large egg-shaped Signature Line Truffles in Champagne, Grand Marneir, Irish Cream, Kahlua, and All Dark – the chosen to leave a lasting mark of our special day! 11 years later, an anniversary is extra special with a bowed box of these truffles!
I’ve found my newest love of artisanal chocolates in Scharffen Berger. A once co-worker, now great friend, Lisa, introduced Scharffen Berger to me. We share the amour of chocolate, “the way we like our men: dark, smooth and rich” (our inside joke) I was like, “whoa, what’s this? It’s orgasmic!” LOL
This is on my wish list. The Essence of Chocolate, Recipes of Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate. OMG, I could almost lick the pages! Next to-do is the factory tour in Berkeley. (I’m hoping it’s NOT anything like the Willy Wonka and Oompa Loompa experience. Just the happy, chocolate for a lifetime kind)
Okay, a walk over to Draeger’s Market with Joie now to get a truffle or two, a bar, or three. This goddess needs some food!
Here’s my collection of vintage sewing books. One of my favorites is the My Learn to Sew Book by Golden Books! Plenty of great project ideas to do with Joie. Many of the popular indie crafts I’ve discovered these days seem to be inspired by the ones found in here, from the 60’s and 70’s. Just add a modern twist and “old is new again.”
The Sewing Made Easy is my favorite – a fun, simple, practical and easy-to-follow how-to guide from the 1960’s! The step-by-step pictures are so cute and indispensable for a visual learner that I am. I found myself laughing out loud at the “how to select the most becoming pattern for your figure … there are 5 different types of figures. Before you go out to buy your pattern, looking into your full-length mirror, study your own figure and appraise it frankly. You will not fit every standard measurement it can be classified under one of these five general types: average, short, tall, top-heavy, & pear-shaped.”
Then there is the “what are your figure faults? No shape up there? Thick through the middle? Want your arms to look more beautiful? Long neck? Short neck? Broad shoulders? Narrow shoulders?”
Me: “…no, yes, no, no, no, no, yes, yes, no, yes, yes, no. Okay, this doesn’t look encouraging. Maybe something is wrong with the mirror?”
Next page
Book: “A consoling thought when you buy your pattern, and when you try to adjust it to your own body, is that hardly anyone has a perfect figure for the pattern – there is usually some adjustment which has to be made…”
Me: There should be 6 general body types instead of 5. NORMAL should be one of them!
This is Jose carrying Joie’s boots. Finally free of them, she went absolutely giddy and ran circles around him with ease on the sand. As I’m taking this picture I’m thinking about how much she adores her daddy and how much he adores his little girl….”these boots were made for walking” but I’ll carry them for you. Simply,because that’s what great daddies do.
