Category Archives: Seasonal Activities

I Spy Glitter Pumpkins

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Happy Halloween! Since it is Halloween, I am going to break my edible-blog rule. For people who don’t scan pintrest, there are a lot of fun ideas about glitter pumpkins. Last week I decided to take my own spin on the glitter pumpkin. Folks, this is not a Halloween exclusive project, I am going to keep my pumpkin display up until Thanksgiving!

My seasonal kitchen display

 

How to make Glitter pumpkins:

Supplies!

 

What you will need:

Mod podge (and paint brush)

nice iridescent glitter

small pumpkins

Applying the first layer of mod podge

 

Directions:
1) Paint the pumpkin with a layer of mod podge
2) Sprinkle glitter over pumpkin so it is covered entirely in glitter
3) Wait until the first coat dries and paint an additional coat of mod podge on pumpkin, let dry. I painted the second coat to prevent the pumpkins from glittering my hands.

The end result

I Spy Pumpkin Coffee Cake

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I have so much produce, including some much adored sugar pumpkins. As we know, I’m a fan of the sugar pumpkin (see my pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies). Tonight, I decided to take a stab at my first pumpkin coffee cake.

This recipe has been adapted from the blog,  Not So Humble Pie. I adjusted the recipe primarily so I could use fresh pumpkin and less ginger (I am not a big ginger fan). I realize a lot of people are afraid to mess with a baking recipe, but really it is all about the ratio. Reading the book Ratio has been extremely enlightening when it comes to baking. This book is all about the ratios of cooking and baking. Essentially for baking there is a ratio between liquid, fat and dry. Once you understand the ratio, it allows you to play in the kitchen.  Now, because my pumpkin did not produce 15 whole ounces of pumpkin (that is a lot of pumpkin, by the way!), I substituted some of the pumpkin (liquid) with sour cream.

Cake Batter

1/2 cup butter, softened
1  cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
12-13 oz fresh pumpkin (see my post of how to cook with real pumpkin)
3 large eggs

3 tablespoons sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter/flour a quiche pan (the kind with a removable bottom), set aside.

1) In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in pumpkin puree and eggs and sour cream until blended.
2) In a medium size bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder and spices.
3) Slowly blend the flour mixture into the mixture. If the mixture looks too thick, add a tablespoon of sour cream.
4) Pour mixtures into the pan and make streusel topping (just mix everything together then pour over the cake batter.
5) Bake for about 55 minutes, let cook then add frosting.
6) Add brown butter frosting (optional, but recommended…)

Brown butter frosting:

1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups of powder sugar
whole milk

In small sauce pan, heat the butter over low heat until golden brown. Pour butter into sugar. Add 1 Tbs of whole milk until the icing is pourable.

I Spy Butternut Squash Risotto

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I LOVE FALL PRODUCE. I think it is beautiful with the reds, oranges and yellows, it is so fun to cook because the squashes are so flexible and the shelf life is so much longer than the sensitive berries and peaches of summer.  Anyway, every time fall comes around, I essentially go on a butternut squash/acorn squash/ sugar pumpkin binge.

Pumpkin from the patch

One of my favorite recipes that I actually do cook year-round is butternut squash risotto. For people who are unfamiliar about the glories of risotto, it is a arribo rice, that you cook very slowly by stirring in liquid about 1/2 cup at a time for around 20-30 minutes (depending on your batch). The best part about risotto is that it can include absolutely no dairy but tastes super rich and creamy. Essentially the process of cooking the rice slowly brings out the starches in the rice which creates that creamy taste.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut Squash Risotto
1 butternut squash cubed (or just buy two small packs of chopped squash at trader joes)
1/4 c white wine
2 tbs olive oil
5-6 cups of chicken broth/water (I usually use one large chicken broth and 2 cups water)
Bacon
2 cups arribo rice

Directions:

In a small pot, bring the chicken broth/water and butternut squash to a boil. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend in the squash into the broth. You can also use a food processor (very carefully) or a blender if you do not have an immersion blender.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange the sliced bacon on the sheet and put it in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes. The oven does not have to be pre-heated.

Heat a large pan over medium heat for about a minute. Pour in the rice and let toast for about a minute. Pour a little olive oil over the rice, continue to stir until the grains become very light brown/golden blonde.

Add a splash of wine wine while continuing to stir the rice. Once the wine has been absorbed, 1/2-1 cup at a time, gradually add the liquid until the rice as absorbed almost all of the excess liquid in the pan. Stirring along the way. Once it looks like more liquid is needed, continue to add another 1/2 cup. This process should take about about 20-30 minutes. Make sure to taste the rice along the way as it often looks cooked prior to tasting cooked.

Once the rice is cooked, garnish with bacon. Sometimes I add a little of the bacon grease to the rice for extra flavor… Did I mention I love bacon?

I Spy Fall Cookie Decorating Tips

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I miss the immaculate falls of Spokane. In college, we would venture to Greenbluff to pick apples and take walks through the vibrant leaves. Sadly, the main downside of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is the lack of seasons.

Gonzaga University in the fall

Gonzaga University in the fall

To combat the missing absence of atmospheric changes, I’ve taken to baking and cooking my way through the seasons.

I decorated my favorite sugar cookies using two techniques; combining icing colors and chocolate melted candies.

Making the icing: 

2 1/4 tbs of meringue powder with 1 bag of powered sugar and 1 cup water. You can add flavoring such as vanilla or peppermint if desired. Use an electric mixer and beat for about 4-5 minutes.

Applying the icing: 

Outline the cookie using an icing bag with the tip used to write (it is just a small circle tip, nothing fancy). Then go back and forth horizontally between the outline to fill in the cookie. If you apply enough icing, it should spread out to fill between the cracks. Icing with meringue powder needs to dry overnight.

Fun ideas for mixing colors: 

I discovered by combing the icing (not blending the colors together but leaving them touching but separate in the container) makes a fun and somewhat realistic leaf cookie!

tri-color cookies

Applying the chocolate 

I really like adding chocolate to sugar cookies because it isn’t very common. I find that a little bit of chocolate goes a long way and adds some fun decorations! Use candy melts and follow the directors on the package. Use an icing bag to pipe designs onto your cookies. In the winter, I like to use white chocolate or even the mint/green color to decorate my cookies.

Supplies:

I’ve slowly collected the following supplies  to decorate my cookies (all supplies can be purchased at Michael’s):

1) Meringue Powder is an egg substitute, you can use 2 1/4 tbs of meringue powder for 2lb bag of powder sugar.

2) Food Coloring, I used the professional cake decorating food coloring listed below. However, the food network recently published a brilliant way to create all the colors through the convention food dye that you can buy at Target.

Professional cake decorating food coloring (not that much more expensive than the store bought ones, and lasts longer!)

3) Cupcake decorating kit using the tip to write on cakes.

4) Milk chocolate candy melts

Candy melts come in various flavors and colors

One last comment…  Because sugar cookies are so labor intensive, I always make a double batch, which allows me to send cookies to two small-to-moderate sized work environments and keep some for home. Have fun with your edible art project!

I Spy Tricks to Cooking with Pumpkins and Pumpkin Bread!

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During my year in Santa Fe, New Mexico I discovered the wonders of pumpkin bread. I highly recommend Alton Brown’s Pumpkin Bread Recipe portrayed in the Food Network’s magazine in the fall of 2010.

How to use real pumpkin:

1) Cut the top off the sugar pumpkin and remove seeds.

2)  place a damp paper towel over the top of the pumpkin on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 7 minutes.

After microwaving, the pumpkin should be easy to cut through

3) Remove pumpkin from microwave, let cool and cut the pumpkin in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the filling. You can leave the filling as is OR use an immersion blender to help create a puree with smoother consistency.

Toast the pumpkin seeds either in the oven on on the stove top for about an hour. I used mine in a kale salad and it was delicious, or include in the pumpkin bread recipe below.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted if possible)

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar

  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 sugar pumpkin (about 3 cups)

Directions:

1) Follow the directions for using your own pumpkin or substitue 3 cups canned pumpkin

2) Sift baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and flour into a medium sized bowl.

3) In a larger bowl mix together sugar, eggs, oil, and  vanilla.

4) Blend in flour mixture

5) Fold in pumpkin

6) Bake in a 9x5x3 loaf pan for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees

As always, I forget to take a photo of the final product. Thanks, Cooking Channel!

I Spy Easter Leftovers

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Easter eggs -- soon to be easter egg salad

In my life, Easter marks the hiatus of holiday leftovers and expensive impulsive seasonal purchases at Target. From Halloween I have a Jack-o-lantern sippy cup, from Christmas I have a Santa hat, from Valentine’s day I have a cheesy heart trinket and now from Easter I have too many pastel cookie decorations.  Yes, a break from Target temptations is one of the many things I look forward to during the reprieve of the holidays. Another task I won’t miss, at least for the time being, is eating up all of the holiday leftovers.

So far, I am on day 3 of the ham and I’ve exhausted the variations of the ham sandwich.   I would make a Quiche, but I stupidly hard-boiled all of my eggs… I was really excited to dye eggs this year. In an effort to continue my use of the food that is already purchased, I made egg salad.

Egg Salad

I love egg salad, it is the perfect meat alternative to a sandwich.  I am an egg salad purest — I like it simple.

A dozen eggs
1-2 Tbs Dill (fresh or dry)
9 Tbs Mayo
1 Tbs Yellow Mustard
1/2 tsp dry mustard
dash of salt

Peal and dice the eggs.

Due to my inability to hard boil eggs properly, I discovered that cutting the egg in half makes pealing the shell easier.

In a smaller separate bowl mix together mayo, mustard and spices. Then stir into the diced eggs.

The dressing

Serve over toasted sourdough bread. I recommend lightly buttering (or brush with olive oil) each side of the bread and toasting over medium heat on stove top until golden.

Simple and delicious. Enjoy! Look forward to next weeks post — what to do with your ham hock… Ah life is so exciting sometimes.

I Spy Easter Festivities

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This year, I am super exciting about Easter. Aside from all of the spring-time crafts and food related delicacies that Easter has in-tail, this year Easter also brings a flurry of personal changes — moves, travel, new job, and more.  I am excited to celebrate the change of season, the rebirth of mother nature and individual successes.

One of my biggest blogging struggles is to post holiday related items ahead of time. While many of my recipes will be done on the day of Easter, I’ve decided to compile a post of ideas I’ve come across online or used in the past for this holiday.

The Preschool Easter

Last year, when I worked as a preschool teacher/director at a small preschool in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we celebrated Dusty-Bunny’s birthday around the Easter holiday. This was so much fun, we made carrot cup cakes with the kids, washcloth bunnies and presented Dusty with a giant carrot for his birthday.  By celebrating the school Rabbit, we were able to celebrate spring together.

Washcloth Bunnies:

Auntie Anne’s Crafts has a great link for washcloth bunnies.

To be honest, washcloth bunnies are really above the skill level of most preschoolers. Simply because this project was SO perfect for the occasion, we bent the rules. I really don't recommend this as a true preschool project since many children have not developed the necessary skills to do the project on their own. However, this is a great adult-guided activity and sure to be a huge hit!

You will need:

a wash cloth
rubberband
a 6 inch ribbon
pom-pom 
googly eyes
cotton ball (tail) 
we let the kids use markers and color on the bunny too.

Washcloth Bunny Instructions

Bunny and Carrot Sugar Cookies

Obviously I have a soft spot for rabbits after spending a year with the most gracious bunny, Dusty. When I saw these bunny and carrot cookie cutters at Target, I immediately went home to bake up a storm.

Baking supplies!

I used my usual awesome and dependable sugar cookie recipe.

The frosting needs to dry overnight

In the morning, the frosting will have hardened and makes that perfect bakery purchased sugar cookie that I never thought I could create.

Because I like to try something new every time I bake, I did decide to dye my own sprinkles. I saw some beautiful egg cookies at a Peet’s Coffee in Oakland while apartment hunting last weekend that inspired this idea.

Dye-your-own sprinkles

To dye your own sprinkles:

 1 drop of food dye
 2-3 tbs of sugar

Place a drop of food dye in a small Tupperware container. Add crystals or bag sugar. Seal and shake until dye covers the sugar. This is so much cheaper than purchasing different colors of sprinkles and you can adjust the color intensity simply by adding more dye.

Easter Eggs: 

My easter eggs from 2011

I love dying eggs. I realize that many people outgrow this tradition. I’ve seen some great ideas via pinterest on creative ways to dye eggs.

Here is my favorite: Rubberband easter eggs via the incredible blog “Do it and How”. I am so excited to try this tomorrow when my friends and I dye 48 easter eggs.

I Spy Valentine’s Day Cookies

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Every time I bake, I am amazed by the beauty of the process. Personally, I am trying to improve my presentation of baked goods. I feel as if I have the taste part down, but the presentation needs help.

I don't know why, but I find glass mixing bowls absolutely beautiful

Through trying and failing many times to make the adorable bakery purchased cookies, I’ve finally discovered a few tips. Meringue Powder, a frosting decorating set and simplicity.

My first successful beauty-baking : Valentine's Day Hearts. Simple, but sweet.

My original intent was to create an edible version of conversation hearts. Since I love the thrill of picking a heart with a witty saying, but despise the nasty taste of children’s Motrin in the grape colored candy, I thought sugar cookies would make the perfect vessel. However, through the process of baking and icing, I discovered the cookies looked much prettier without text.

For my Valentine’s Day cookies, I turned to my signature recipe that puts a small twist on Alton Brown’s Sugar Cookies.

Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies with Meringue Frosting:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbs half and half

1/2 tsp vanilla
 Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough and icing

In a large bowl beat butter (room temperature) and sugar together until fluffy (about a minute). Whisk egg, half and half and vanilla together in a small bowl or mug, bled into butter mixture. Set aside

Sifting flour, salt and baking powder into the mixture

Alton Brown’s recipe says to “sift” baking powder, salt, and flour together. If you do not have a sifter, gently combine with a wooden spoon — everything turns out just fine. If you are very worried about the sifting aspect, you can briefly use a food processor to blend the ingredients, emphasis on briefly though as it refines the flour.

About 3/4 a cup at a time, begin to blend in the dry mixture into the large bowl of wet ingredients. Separate into two rolls and refrigerate for about 2 hours, roll out on powder sugar surface (or flour) and cookie-cut your heart out.

When I am in a hurry, I roll the dough into three smaller balls and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Bake for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

1/2 + 2Tbs of Meringue Powder
2 lbs powder sugar (1 bag)
1 C Water

Mix on low speed for 7 minutes.

Color frosting using conventional food dye or gel dye. Place in frosting tubes, use the frosting head that is a small circle (often used for writing) and trace an outline around the shape of the cookie. Then fill in by drawing back-and-forth lines with the frosting tube. There is no need to use a knife. Let the frosting relax and fill in the remainder of the cookie. Let dry over night.

The final product, Valentine's Day Cookies

Questions about Meringue Powder? Me too!

What does it do? Acts as a bind for frosting and some types of cakes
Where is it used? Royal Frosting, meringues, and angel food cake
How much does it cost? About 5 dollars for 1 cup

You can find Meringue powder in cake decorating sections. I purchased mine at Michael’s.  Essentially meringue powder was created as a solution to using raw egg in frosting. As I noticed during my gingerbread party last Christmas, the frosting included 6 raw egg whites, which would send many parents squealing for the doors.  Meringue powder provides a safe way to make royal frosting without the egg whites. In a pinch, you can substitute an egg with meringue powder and a little bit of water.