A cake for Thanksgiving (early)

We had a little Thanksgving gathering at work and I volunteered to bring a dessert. Since the usual suspects were covered, I ended up signing up to bring a cake, which is not really something that screams Thanksgiving!

I gave the cake a lot of thought (OK, I procrastinated until the last possible minute) and finally went with a yellow cake with fruit filling and buttercream icing. I must say that the taste was pretty good.

I doctored up a plain yellow cake mix (from Aldi) with this recipe, which was given to me by Cake Diva, over at twopeasinabucket. You just add the stuff to the cake mix and bake as directed on the package. I used half a recipe and it made two good 8" round layers:

2 pkg boxes white cake mix
2 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 2/3 cup water
4 Tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp real vanilla
2 tsp pure almond extract (I omitted this)
2 cup (16 oz carton) sour cream
8 large egg whites (or 4 whole eggs)

I made the buttercream icing with this recipe, which I don't know where it came from, but it is the best buttercream ever!

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)
• 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

I mix it all by hand. It takes about 5 minutes, and the consistency is very creamy and delicious.

Once the layers were cool and the frosting was made I put the first layer onto a plate and spread a thick layer of fig jam. On the other layer of the cake I spread a thick layer of buttercream frosting and I stacked them, with the frosting directly on top of the jam. I then frosted the cake and piped the little green border.

At that point the cake was looking cute yet very boring. I got out the Wilton gumpaste and my Wilton flower cutters and made some sad-looking autumm leaves. You have no idea how sad the leaves were! So sad that I ran to ACMoore and got some pearl dust to cheer them up. This did the trick. Once the leaves were dry, I put the leaves on the cake and things started to look better, but we were still missing a focal point. I then decided to go out on a limb and make some pumpkins out of gumpaste. To make the pumpkins, I colored a lump of gumpaste orange, divided it into a big ball and two smaller balls, and rolled the balls until they were smooth. I then pressed with my thumb on the top of each ball, which gave them a nice pumpkiny shape, and made the indentations along the sides with the side of a fork. Stems were made with just a little green gumpaste stuck to the top of each pumpkin. Pearl dust made them glistened and covered all the imperfections! (I love that stuff!).

Since all this running and feverish decorating took place at the last minute, the pumpkins were still wet when I placed them on the cake. It would have been much better to let them dry, but I simply had no time for it.

The cake was a big success, tasty and so pretty!

Marvin, the socially awkward bird

Hurricane Irene caused a lot of damage to the Carolina Coast. In our area we had a stormy day with high winds, but were very fortunate, considering that we're only two hours from the coast.

The high winds didn't bother us, but they must have displaced a little bird from his nest. Nicholas and his friends were playing in the front yard when they found him and brought him inside. The poor little bird was wet and terrified. His beak had a crack, his right wing bent down, no tail, and only one of his eyes was open. We put him in an empty fish tank, gave him water and a couple of worms (never leave good fishing bait go to waste!), and didn't really dare to hope for much. He looked like a goner at that point.

As it turns out, the little bird had a lot of fight in him! By the next day he had both eyes opened. He groomed himself and shed some broken feathers, and greeted us with tweets whenever we came around the tank. We did come around a lot, he was visited at least 10 times a day by the kids and their friends.

We looked around the Internet to find what kind of bird he is and we think that he is a warbler, but we may still have to revise that idea. He is small, the size of a skinny canary, or a finch, and has spindly legs with long nails. He is as sweet as can be. He sits on our shoulders and is very curious. He loves the computer!

We got him a cage and some finch food and vitamins. He eats like a champ, and is looking great, but his tail feathers keep falling off. I am afraid that the base of his tail might have been damaged by the fall, because he has grown feathers on his tail twice, and twice the feathers have fallen off. He might have to live with us from now on, there is no way he could fend for himself if he can't fly.

If you know what kind of bird he is or how to help his tail grow, please do share :)

Marvin on the computer:


Close-up of Marvin's beak, which is fully functional:

My first real quilt is getting quilted!

I am so happy it's not even funny! I've been making rag quilts for a while (and promise to post some very soon), but I have always wanted to piece a real quilt. I finally took the plunge, found a simple pattern, and made a quilt for Daniel's bed. Although it is only a twin bed, it is really really big to me (compared to the tiny rag throws that I had been making) and I think it is fair to say that it was a bit overwhelming. The piecing was fun, the sewing together of all the little blocks was kind of scary, and the idea of quilting this big old thing had me paralyzed!

One night two weeks ago I was tossing and turning in bed, trying to decide what to do, and I figured that I would google and come up with something. Well, it turns out that there are people that can quilt things for you. I knew that, but thought it was really expensive and that it took a long time. I inquired in a couple of different places, and finally called a lady in the NC mountains that sounded promising. Well, her name is Linda, and she is a doll, and she has a wonderful quilting machine that makes the whole process quite affordable. My quilt is at her house and may even be quilted this week! I could just squeal!

In case you want to see a picture of the quilt top, I stole one for you from Linda's blog (she has the most beautiful blog, and you can find it at: www.longarming.com/blog). Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Yes, I know some blocks are wonky :) I will keep you posted!

Nothing like a pregnant woman learning how to knit!

So...like any other pregnant woman worth her salt, I felt the deep and urgent need to made something by hand for my little blessing. With the first two I had felt the same urge, but my mom was around to take over and do all the knitting and crocheting required (my mom was fantastic!). With mom gone, I had no choice but to do it myself. By hand, all by myself, the hard way. Well, the youtube way. I started by making hats, and I probably picked the most difficult crochet baby hats out there. After weeks of practice, cussing like a sailor, and more frustration than I could possibly cram in this post, I made two hats for my little baby. Who turned out to be a big baby. With a big head. Yes, bigger than the hats. I still have them, untouched, unworn, so I can bestow them on a future daughter in law and fill her with awe :) Just as it should be.




On the practical front, I did complete a blanket. Blue yarn, a very simple design, and a forgiving border. I went as far as to taking pictures of it. For your viewing pleasure, and also because this is the only crochet blanket I will ever make. It lasted all of 8 weeks, and we managed to lose it after that. One less thing for the future daughters in law to worry about. Well, I'll think of something...

MIA

I have been gone from this little blog for a very, very long time. So long that I had even forgotten my password! So long that I even had a baby in that time, and the baby is almost two now! (I know!). But I am back now, and got lots to share, so hopefully I can just pick it up and post the things we grow and the things we make.

Starting with the most important thing we've made lately, here is the baby in question! He was only three weeks in that picture, but time doesn't stand still, and he will be turning 2 in January. His name is Daniel, and he has turned our house upside down. He is bossy, demanding, and the cutest thing you ever did see. His big sister and big brother love him to pieces, and his parents...what can I say? We're just so lucky that we got to experience being parents one more time. Most people our age are thinking of retirement and grandchildren. We will probably have to work until we're 108, like our friend Bonnie likes to say, but we'll stay young chasing after this guy!



So, that's my story to explain why I've been missing in action for so long. Between a difficult pregnancy, work, and the demands of a baby in addition to our two older kids, I haven't really had the time to post about it. I barely found time to grow our garden or to do a few crafts. But I promise to share all about the time I've been away and then some in the days to come!

The year that peas grew (finally!)

Living in our tiny little farm, I think about gardening a great deal. During our (usually) short and mild winters I peruse seed catalogs and long for the day of tomatoes and peppers. Last year was the first time that we grew things all the way through the winter months, which made me consider planting things that would be edible in the Spring.

I started it with a pack of seeds last year. We read all about planting peas, soaked them and prepared 4 large containers, and planted them on a nice day in March. Soon after a plaque of squirrels descended over our garden and unearthed all our peas. It took longer to plant them than for the little beasts to dig them up.

The following weekend, undeterred, we did it all over again. After carefully planting the seeds we asked Craig for some help and managed to cover our containers with chicken wire. We squealed with delight when the little plants poked their tendrils out of the earth. We built a nice trellis for them. And, soon after, we watched them wilt in the sun of one of the warmest Aprils ever. So much for peas.

This year we decided to be more aggresive. We had the peas in the ground by February 2, 2009. Two nights after planting the peas we had a hard frost. Since we didn't see any peas come up from that first planting, we assumed that the seedlings were killed by the frost. We replanted our pea beds on February 14th. We seeded Alaska peas from Ferry Morse that had been soaked overnight with a tablet of Vitamin C. The peas took a whole week to germinate, but they ended up coming up nicely. Since this year we had more rain and cold weather than ever I covered the pea beds with plastic everytime that there was frost in the forecast. Soon after planting the beds were filling up with plants and we built them a trellis from twigs, fashioned after a trellis that we saw at Colonial Williamsburg.

By May 14th we harvested our first peas. Our first day we picked up 6 oz of peas, which we proudly shelled and prepared with wilted lettuce. We have picked about 2 pounds of peas and served them as a side dish 4 times. Our peas are very sweet and very tender, and taste as good raw as they do when cooked.

The hot weather is getting to our pea plants, and the harvest may be coming to an end by next weekend. We will replant those beds with beans to have them growing this summer. I think the long, rainy spring had a lot to do with our success with the peas. It really has been fun to have them growing in the garden!

Here is a couple of ways that we prepared our peas this year:

My Mom's Peas and Potatoes

6-8 oz of peas, shelled
4 potatoes
4 strips of bacon
1/2 of a small onion
2 large cloves of garlic
olive oil, salt, and pepper

Peel the potatoes, cut them in quarters, and boil them in salted water for 10 min. Add the shelled peas to the boiling water and cook until the potatoes are done. Drain the water and put the peas and potatoes back in the pan.
Cut the bacon in small pieces, and fry it in a little olive oil with the chopped onion. When the onion gets lightly browned and the bacon is almost done, add the chopped garlic. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, season the peas and potatoes with salt and pepper and pour the bacon/onion/garlic mixture with the oil over them. Serve right away.

Sherry Castle's Tiny Green Peas
(I got this recipe at a cooking class with Sherry and changed it a bit to our taste)

2 cups shelled peas
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp butter
1 cup finely chopped lettuce
Salt and pepper

Blanch the peas in boiling water for 5 min. Drain. Cook the chicken stock in a saucepan until reduced by half. Add the peas and the butter. When the butter is melted, add the lettuce and stir until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper.

Victoria's Lemon Zest French toast

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
about 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
a lemon
either French bread or day old sandwich bread, either one works.

Instructions:
beat the eggs together in a large bowl
add the milk to the eggs and mix them together untill its blended evenly
add the sugar and the vanilla

heat up a nonstick pan or skillet on the stove and add the butter or a nonstick spray to keep the toast from sticking to the pan. when the butter has melted, lower the heat to medium.

once the pan is nice and hot, put a slice of the bread into the egg mixture. flip it over so that the bread soaks it up. place the bread on the skillet and cook for two minutes on both sides,or untill the toast is nicely browned, flipping with a large spatula. repeat this step with as many slices as you'd like.

once you have cooked a slice, place it on a large plate. sprinkle confectioners sugar over the top. take the zest from a lemon and zest it over the toast, this adds a really bright flavor to the toast so it doesnt taste so heavy.
enjoy! :)