Yellow Squash Roses & Ice Cube Misadventures: Easter 2017

It stormed here both while I was cooking and while we were eating dinner, so all the more reason to enjoy a colorful and sunny Easter table today.  I forgot to make the mashed cauliflower, my Daffodils from the grocery store barely opened before dying, the Dandelions wilted, the edible-flower-filled ice cubes melted almost instantly and became a loose-flower mess inside our water glasses, and in the last-minute rush to finish, I forgot both to season the quinoa and to add the leftover edible flowers to the salads, but--!--the meal came together, everything tasted good--even the quinoa once I'd seasoned it after our first couple bites--and the table was pretty enough to make me happy even if not quite as flower-filled as I'd intended. 

I was originally going to make tomato roses as garnish but then saw online on various sites that stripes of squash work too, and since the yellow of squash seemed more springy than the red of tomatoes, I went with the squash.  One yellow squash made four of these roses.  I just sliced the squash into thin strips of various lengths, microwaved the strips for about a minute to soften them enough to make them pliable, then patted them dry and rolled them up into the wells of a muffin pan, the shortest strip in the center of each soon-to-be-rose, and the other strips around it until the well was filled with the rolled-up strips.  I wanted to be sure to keep a nice golden color on each squash-rose so mixed some turmeric into a beaten egg and drizzled that mixture over each one too.  For the last few minutes of maybe a thirty-minute-total bake-time, I sprinkled some cheddar shreds between the squash strip-petals.  They kept their shape even after being transferred to the plates, which delighted me.  (It's the little things.  :)   )  I shaped spinach patties into leaves, although I see now that raw spinach leaves likely would have given me more of the look I was envisioning for these.  I have to think this would work with carrot-strips and any other vegetable or fruit that would soften enough to be rolled.  For a first attempt, I'm quite pleased.  ♥

I also made the balsamic carrots that I first posted here last year, ultimately-seasoned quinoa, a mushroom stuffing dish that seems to grace all our holiday tables and deserves its own post one of these days, although it's not remotely photogenic, green beans sauteed in garlic and olive oil, side salads, and our usual Easter dessert of robin's-egg-blue-colored peanut M&M candy "eggs" inside peanut butter/marshmallow/pretzel "nests." I dye my hard-boiled eggs inside too but left one uncolored to slice for our salads and added the blue and pink ones to our plates.  After years of eating my deviled eggs at Easter, Mike finally told me he prefers hard-boiled ones, and I don't have a preference, so I skipped the filling this time around and just left them plain.  Since I color the egg-white part regardless, they add a pop of color either way. 

I found the two red potatoes closest to being egg-shaped and fried slices of them to add to our salads, along with yellow, orange, and red grape tomatoes.  

The edible flowers that were supposed to dot the tops of the salads were forgotten and remain in the fridge to be used elsewhere this week.  Alas.  The last few minutes of holiday meal-preparations are always so chaotic, even with all the planning and list-making. 

The edible-flower-filled ice cubes looked gorgeous in the trays but melted almost as soon as water hit them.  'Not impressive.  Maybe if the water had been ice water kept in the fridge, the cubes would have lasted a bit longer, but I doubt they'd have lasted long enough even then to make me want to try this again.  With mint leaves or lemon bits frozen into the cubes intended for iced tea, sure.  With flowers specifically chosen to complement the flavor of the drink they'll be going into, yes.  Flower-filled ice cubes for bowls just to chill bottled drinks, of course.  But not like this again.  

I added oats to the recipe--such as it is--to the nests this year to make them more like healthy no-bakes than candy.  Two microwaved marshmallows, a few broken pretzels sticks, about two tablespoons of peanut butter, and maybe a fourth-cup of rolled oats were enough to make these three nests come together.  The bags of pastel-colored/Easter peanut-filled M&Ms always include a few gorgeous aqua ones that already look like little  eggs, so they're my go-to for this dessert. 

'A sweet end to a sweet weekend, and a colorful Easter after a rather dreary and depression-filled start to this year.  Here's to flowers and faith and life's many other lovely blessings.  

♥

Thanksgiving Cornucopia Rice Krispie Treats

After getting home from work this morning, I made a quick dessert for Mike to take to his mom's Thanksgiving dinner.  He thought the "Bugle" chip cornucopias on top of the Rice Krispie treats looked more like ice cream cones, but I think the idea has potential.  If nothing else, maybe they gave his family a needed laugh during a difficult holiday today.  ♥

I thought about using the tiny "Runts" candies that are shaped and colored to look like different fruits, and maybe the little fruits would have given me the look I was going for here.  Anyway, for a quick dessert, these worked and are still cute enough to make me happy.  I added a bit of pumpkin pie spice and a few melted pumpkin spice chips (new to me--they're like chocolate chips but taste exactly like pumpkin pie filling [Ah, strange food science!]) to the Rice Krispies, but the finished squares only taste vaguely of cinnamon.  That's fine too. 

And now, off to work.  Happy Thanksgiving, and a happy day to you all.  ♥

A Sweet Easter (and Lovely Family and Salad and Bark Candy)

This Easter weekend was sweet, just the bit of fun and family-time we've been needing here. Our  dinner at my in-laws' home was Saturday evening.  I had worked Friday night so was going on no sleep by the time Mike and I arrived at his parents' house Saturday afternoon, but his mom had a bed ready for me--(Is there anything more inviting to a weary traveler than a cozy bed with a soft old comforter prettily folded across the foot of it?!  Saturday afternoon, at least, I thought not.  "Close the window blinds if you want to," my mother-in-law said as I headed upstairs, and ohhh, bliss!  It felt like The Best Nap Ever)--and even those two hours of sleep in it were enough to revive me for the day ahead.  By the time I got up, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend had already arrived, and soon, we were all visiting and cooking. 

I had volunteered to make macaroni and cheese and a couple desserts, Mike arrived with snack mix and pink beet-pickled eggs, my brother-in-law's girlfriend made green bean casserole (love!  ♥) and brought a giant chocolate fruit/nut egg and graham crackers to go with a dessert dip, and my mother-in-law baked the ham, a beef roast, potatoes and gravy, rolls, and this amazing tossed salad (minus the curry powder that's called for in the recipe).  Oh my goodness, I finished my first serving of salad and refilled my bowl twice more, and I would have happily eaten even more of it.  The recipe sounds so simple, and the dressing sounds like it would be too sweet or just not flavorful enough--just mayonnaise with sugar?!--but all the salad ingredients go so well with that simple dressing, this has become one of my new favorite foods.  ♥  I ate another bowl of it for lunch yesterday afternoon after Mike and I helped sort and clean his parents' basement.  Love, love, love. 

Since I'd known I'd be going on almost no sleep Saturday, I just made a couple quick and easy desserts:  Chocolate-covered jumbo bunny-shaped marshmallows topped with mini chocolate chips, Easter sugar pearls, and chopped nuts, and Easter bark-type candies/layered bars.  The jumbo bunny marshmallow had no discernible shape by the time the melted chocolate and toppings covered them, so I'll probably just neatly pipe chocolate onto them next time, then add the toppings, but everyone seemed to love the Easter bark, and for something that only took about five minutes to make, that was especially sweet.  There are countless photos of Easter bark online, and they're all gorgeous.  The layers of pastels and the textures of all the different ingredients people use:  Just gorgeous.  For these, I mixed a bag's worth of melted white chocolate chips with about three cups of mini Easter bunny marshmallows, some broken-up pretzel sticks, more of the Easter pearl candies, some chopped-up pastel chocolate-covered egg candies, a splash of vanilla, and a sprinkle of salt, spooned it all into a 13" x 9" pan, added a bunch of mini marshmallow bunnies to the top, chilled it in the freezer for about twenty minutes, then cut/broke it into pieces right before we got on the road Saturday morning.  The pretzels and salt cut the sweetness just enough, the milk chocolate candy eggs cut some of the strength of the white chocolate chips, and it was just textured enough to be interesting and was certainly pretty enough to satisfy me.  It would likely look neater spooned into pretty cupcake papers, and I have seen photos of the bark cut out with cookie cutters, as well, but the rougher cuts suited me, and doing it this way was so fast and easy Saturday morning.  Mike's mom made Rice Krispie treats with Easter egg and grass sprinkles on top too, so there was no shortage of charming desserts. And charming desserts always tickle me, so seeing everyone make up little paper plates of pastel bars and candies and marshmallows and crackers and dip made me happy.  

Sometimes a holiday is just what you need, with all its inherent family silliness and childlike fun, and indeed, this weekend with all its pastel prettiness did our hearts good.  There was a shared crying jag over my father-in-law's absence at the table while we said grace Saturday, but as I pointed out, he would have loved it that we had all gotten together instead of skipping or ignoring the holiday this year.  Life goes on, and we will continue to show up for it, indulging in naps and tears when needed and sharing Rice Krispie treats and chocolate-covered eggs along the way, as well.  ♥

This Year's Christmas Baking

These pseudo Christmas pudding cakes are my favorite things that I've made this holiday.  They're simply inverted chocolate cupcakes topped with buttercream, cinnamon candies, and mint leaves, but oh!  ♥  They're so darling, I'll likely make them every year now.  Last year at this time, I was lamenting that I spent so much time baking every Christmas and never made anything that I liked:  Everything was sugar cookies and peanut butter-filled treats for Mike.  I don't like either, really,  although I love making and decorating the sugar cookies, and I really don't like all that slaving away with no treats around for myself, so this year, I wised up and baked a few of these tiny chocolate cakes. 

I also bought myself a couple Russell Stover-brand chocolate marshmallow snowmen.  I'd never had them before this month but treated myself to one a few weeks ago and have treated myself to a few more since.  ;)  The marshmallow inside is a chocolate-flavored marshmallow, thank you very much.  There are a couple "Val desserts" in our home this year, then, and I'm a happy camper. 

The chocolate Rice Krispie balls above were a (gluten-free) treat I made for Mom while home last week.  Jessica at Such Pretty Things (a gorgeous blog if ever there was one) posted a similar recipe awhile back, and I adjusted it to suit Mom more by using chocolate cereal and drizzling them with melted chocolate chips. 

She loved them, which is always a great feeling for a cook or baker, and they looked cute in their gingham loaf pan packaging too.  If these would survive being mailed--and it seems like they would--they would be cute in care packages.  ♥ 

I made my brothers the now-traditional gift of our grandmother's fudge.  A seller on etsy created these adorable A Christmas Story-themed ornaments, and since the movie is also part of our family holiday, they worked perfectly as the fudge's package decorations.  :)

Sugar cookies have been baked--

and now decorated, as well.  

Dish-washing, gift-wrapping, and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas-watching are next.  The night is young.  My favorite night!  ♥  

It is currently a balmy 58° here--almost unheard of in this region at this time of year--and all our windows are open.  There is no worrying over family driving on icy roads as they travel to my parents' house tonight for Christmas Eve dinner, at least, and maybe this odd weather will ultimately make this winter feel shorter.  And it will make it easier for me to get out and walk off all the marshmallow snowmen and Christmas pudding cakes in the days ahead, yes?  Yes.  :)  As I do every Christmas Eve, I have been happily imagining what you all are up to today, much like the hostess of the old "Romper Room" show looking into her magic mirror and seeing what all the children were up to at that moment.  "I see Lisa:  She's listening to Christmas carols with her cat!  I see Lorraine now!  Look, she's taking a stroll through her Florida garden!  There's Alyssa!  She's keeping an eye on the Elf on a Shelf!"  I have been like this all day, with all my loved ones coming to mind.  I hope my "magic mirror" is correct and that you are each as happy and safe and cozy as I'm envisioning you.  Happiest of holidays to you all.  ♥ 

Thanksgiving Fudge and Frogs

The sore throat I dodged a few weeks ago has returned, so the Thanksgiving mail I'd hoped to send out this week remains a stack of blank cards and unaddressed envelopes while I laze about trying to nurse myself back to better health.  We'll see how tomorrow looks.  Tonight I'm remembering this package of maple-walnut fudge I mailed to Aunt Laurie a few Thanksgivings ago.  (I think this was the recipe I used.  The fudge was quite rich, but good.)   My sweet aunt is not really a frog-collector, or to be more accurate, she is not really a frog-collector of her own volition.  As a kid, I told my mom that since her older sister's favorite color was green, we should start her a collection of something that color, and frogs were what I came up with--!?--so for about thirty years now, long-suffering Aunt Laurie has received frog-themed nonsense from me.  ♥  In 2011, I taped this Kermit inside the turquoise pencil case I filled with the fudge, and one Thanksgiving, a magazine clipping of a photo of Kermit-as-a-Macy's-Parade-Float adorned her card's envelope.  Fudge-making likely won't be happening here this week, but I hope to mail out a Thanksgiving sticker-ed card or two--and at least one bit of mail with some smiling green silliness for my dear aunt.  

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

These were for Mike this Christmas, and here I digress to note that I should make at least one dessert at Christmas that I myself am excited about--sugar cookies, gingerbread, and peanut butter cups are fun to make, but they don't thrill me--because just five days after the holiday, I had nothing sweet to eat around here until tonight when Mike bought me a box of Swiss cake rolls.  And one, especially one who has a sweet tooth and enjoys baking, should have something homemade to her liking on-hand less than a week after Christmas, I say.  And that reminds me that about seven years ago when I worked in a bakery, a little old lady asked me a question about the pies, so I walked with her over to the display case to show her what we had.  She mentioned lemon meringue, and I told her that we had one but that it was sugar-free.  "Oh no," she said.  "I've got to have sugar.  I love my sweets."  And then she poked me in the belly and added, "I guesss you do too!"  She was so pleasant and good-intentioned, I couldn't help but laugh--although:  WOW!--and I've remembered that belly-poke every time I've referred to my sweet tooth since then.  Ahhh, people!  Ya gotta love 'em. 

These peanut butter cups turned out quite cute, if I may say so.  These are the cupcake liners Aunt Laurie sent in our Christmas tin this year, and I love them so much.  She had filled the tin with kitchen-related things in this (my favorite) shade of green, and after I trimmed a little off the tops of these papers, they were the perfect depth for peanut butter cups.  If I were giving these as a gift, I'd double the liners/papers so the chocolate and no-stick spray wouldn't shine through and discolor them the way they did in places here, but this is the first time I'd used wrappers/made them as cups instead of just shaping them into chocolate-covered peanut butter items (Easter eggs, Valentine hearts, etc.), so live and learn.  

The first time I made these, I used a slightly different recipe and shaped them into footballs for a Super Bowl party, piping lacing onto their tops.  

It was more fun this time with the cupcake wrappers since it's the papers' folds that give them the brand-name peanut butter cup look.  The recipe I used for these is based on this "Top Secret" one.  I made a few changes based on the comments and past experience:  I used the all-natural (oil-on-the-top) reduced-fat peanut butter, I added an extra pinch of salt, I used close to a cup of powdered sugar, I sprayed the cupcake liners, and I only waited maybe ten minutes after the chocolate base/side layer had cooled before adding the flattened-out ball of the peanut butter mixture to it (and maybe another ten after spooning the chocolate top layer over the peanut butter ball/middle).  These set up really fast.  It was cold the night I made this batch, so I just let the cups chill beside an open window instead of bothering with the fridge or freezer.  This will probably be another Christmas tradition for us now, so it's nice that it's an easy and inexpensive (only four ingredients) recipe. 

Mike's the peanut butter-lover in this household, and he thinks these are just like the brand name peanut butter cups--"or better"--so there you go.  I promise not to poke your belly if you eat too many.  ;)  

Grandma's Fudge

If my brothers are reading, they should act surprised Tuesday night when they receive these little boxes.  ♥  Grandma's fudge was one of our favorite things she made.  She would mix up a pan of it for Christmas and other special occasions and "just because," as well, and keep it in a box on top of her dining room buffet.  One summer week as a kid while I was staying with her and Papa, I told her I wanted to learn how to make it, and she went along with it, showing me how quickly I needed to stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallow cream and reminding me to make sure my pan was at-the-ready when the time came, even though it was really too humid out that week to be cooking fudge at all.  That first batch, despite Grandma's patience and tips and tricks, didn't turn out, and I didn't try it again until after she died in 2001.  Someone needed to keep the fudge tradition alive, and at least a few pounds of the weight I gained during grad school in the next few years can be attributed to my determination to figure out the recipe.  (And the bread recipe.  And the meatball recipe. . . .)  

It isn't difficult--no candy thermometer involved--but took me a few tries to get just right.  The original recipe is here, but I go by the rewritten version in my little cookbook.  I need to update my little cookbook a little bit, though, because I've learned more since adding Grandma's recipe to it.

I knew I really had it down when I arrived home for my younger brother's wedding in July of 2011 and was greeted by my mom with a bemused "Brian's asked you to make some of Grandma's fudge for the reception."  That turned into another humid summer day of fudge-making, but by then, I knew enough fudge secrets to be successful.  I use butter not margarine.  Butter.  As soon as the 1.5-sticks-of-butter/3-cups-of-sugar/exactly-2/3-cups-evaporated milk mixture begins to boil, set your timer for five minutes and stir it all five minutes while it bubbles and makes your kitchen smell like Grandma's.  Five minutes.  All five minutes.  Have your ingredients open and your 13" x 9" pan greased/prepared ahead of time.  And begin washing your Fudge-Cooking Pot immediately after you're done with it.  

One of the things I wish I'd thought to save from Papa and Grandma's house was the deep saucepan Grandma used for this recipe.  This pot's another one of theirs, but I wish I'd had the foresight to take the other one too.  Dad made me the sturdy wooden spoon below.  It's extra-tall and perfect for stirring thick fudge with its big billy club handle. 

Not realizing when to begin the five-minute countdown for the boiling stage was my mistake with my first however-many batches of this fudge.  Set your timer when you first see bubbles at least as big as the ones below.  Stir constantly, and I mean it.  The sugar can get scorched if you don't, and the more you stir, the smoother the fudge will be.  Gritty fudge still tastes good but doesn't do Grandma proud.  Off-subject, Aunt Laurie sent me that sweet pot holder last Christmas, and I treasure it.  Grandma's recipe and pot, Dad's handmade spoon, and Aunt Laurie's pot holder.  This fudge recipe was brought to you by love, thank you.  ♥

And you will need to feel the love after you add the bag of chocolate chips, and then, most especially, after you add the marsmallow cream, because the fudge will already have the consistency of fudge at this point and will be hard to stir. I use the smaller (7 oz.) jar of marshmallow cream, but the fudge turns out with the large jar too.  It's just a bit softer in both color and consistency when the extra's added.

That my grandmother, even in her early nineties, made this fudge for us as often as she did--and voluntarily, and without complaint--is a testament to her love for us, truly, because the incorporating-chocolate-and-marshmallow stage makes the arms ache.  I marvel at her strength every time I cook this.  ♥ 

Quickly pour it into the pan, begin washing the pot, and let the fudge cool.  I've just opened the kitchen window and let the pan chill on the stove-top under it the past few times I've made it.  By the time I've finished all the boiling and stirring and am starting dishes and kitchen clean-up, a wide-open window feels like heaven anyway. 

Target had the little treat boxes in the top picture in their dollar section, so I picked up two and packaged some fudge in them to add to my brothers' Christmas presents.  Walnuts omitted for Brian.  Christmas sprinkles added to the top of the entire batch, although I'm sure Grandma would shake her head at this newfangled addition to her recipe and murmur, "Well, I suppose that's okay. . . ."  :)  Best Fudge Ever.  ♥  Love to you all this Christmas.  December's been a blur this year.  I see my family--and meet Bianca--Tuesday!  Life is sweet.  

Peanut Butter Bird Nests & A Nap Before Bedtime

Utterly wiped out by work today, I got home at 8 pm to find Mike waiting on the front porch for Chinese food to be delivered for our supper. We ate and caught up on our day and then found ourselves waking up from opposite sides of our tiny studio apartment: Mike had fallen asleep on the bed watching sports news after supper and I had fallen asleep in my chair while trying to read. "A nap before bedtime," he murmured a second ago in explanation and then fell back to sleep. I should be asleep too but stubbornly refuse to let my entire day be just work and sleep, so I will stay up a little longer to read. I'm glad I made the traditional peanut butter bird nests yesterday, as I certainly don't have it in me tonight. 

Peanut Butter Bird Nests:

~ 7 oz. marshmallow fluff 
~ 1/2 cup peanut butter 
~ 3 TBSP. butter 
~ pretzel sticks (or chow mein noodles or potato sticks)
~ peanut M&Ms (The Robin egg-blue Easter M&Ms are my favorite color, so I always go with them.) :)

~ Combine the first three ingredients in a saucepan over low heat.
~ Add the pretzel sticks, coating them well.
~ On wax paper, form the mixture into nests and arrange the M&M "eggs."