Teenager Food!

COOKBOOK CHALLENGE - TEENAGER FOOD!

My daughter is a senior in high school and applying to college.  Not just any college but an art school that has a fashion design programThis is adds another layer of stress to the entire process because she needs to add a portfolio of her work to each application.

For more information on all of that please visit my first blog Buttoning Up a Fashion School with Mimi.  This is why I have an old picture of me and Mimi - no one will recognize her as a 17 year old!  I didn't know the picture would follow me to this blog!

Back to the here and now - she came out of her room feeling very defeated at the mountain of work in front of her - time for some teen fuel!  I made her Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola!

I was on my Pinterest board working out some ideas for what I was going to put through the Cookbook Challenge - my recipe board to overstuffed too!

Granola is fuel!  The problem with store bought granola is that it almost always has almonds in it and Mimi has a tree nut allergy.  This recipe has only peanut butter, olive oil, maple syrup.  I added a tablespoon of ground flax seeds which is high in omega 3's - brain boost!

First you toss 3 cups of rolled oats with 2 Tbsp sugar and set aside.  In a saucepan melt together 

1/4 cup olive oil, or grape seed oil, or coconut oil, 1/4 creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup maple syrup stirring until smooth.  Pour over the rolled oats and stir to combine.  

spread out on a foil lined and bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-22 minutes, tossing after 10 - 15 minutes.  

Add the 1/3 cup of chocolate chips when the granola is cooled.

She loved it!  Her brother loved it!  What's not to love!

Carry on teenager, carry on!

Pam

Halloween Witch in My Bush!

A Witch Crashed into My Bushes!

This was a fun "decoration" for Halloween!  And the best part - super simple!

I bought a pool noodle toy - so lucky we have a toy store that carry's these all year!  

Cut it in half to start the legs

Add a striped pair of socks to each leg

I then put a piece of wire into each one

Actually what I used was a squashed up wire hanger!  Up-cycle for the bend!

I then stuffed a pair of black socks to look like shoes.  At first I didn't want to use my black suede boots

But as you can see - I didn't like the way it turned out, almost alien squid looking!

Those are buckles I made from cardboard and aluminum foil in an attempt to look more witchy shoes

I don't think it worked so I swapped it out for my boots

Oh my goodness - so much better!  I can always bring the legs inside if it rains!   I put a mop handle up the tube to act like a stake

Which you can see in this photo before I covered it up better.

Happy Halloween!

Pam

Autumn Quilt DONE! and one more for the recipe book!

AUTUMN QUILT IS DONE 

thankfully before Thanksgiving!

I have switched out the decor of the living room to reflect the Fall season

The vase from by the front door went from flowers to more fall colors

I love the dried orange Chinese Lanterns!

and

all the pillows get a Fall makeover

I made the blue one with left over half square triangles and the yellow and orange fabrics re in the quilt top too.

But my favorite pillow is a foundation pieced leaf and framed out with brown batik fabric

It's so sweet!

 From a trip to the Grand Canyon I collected "fabric postcards" from a gift shop.  I sewed them into a pillow as a thank you for my husband who planned the whole amazing trip.  Normally it lives in the playroom,  I moved it to the living room, it looks Fall and the trip was in the Fall.

Why do I swap out my living room to reflect the season?

My first quilt, that's why!

My first big quilt!  It was a block of the month kit - every month a package with fabric and pattern came in the mail.  It started off easy, progressing to hard in the end.

Here are a couple of easy ones

I hand quilted each block!  My daughter was getting weekly bee sting allergy shots, and you need to sit and wait for thirty minutes to ensure you don't leave and then have a reaction - so I hand quilted each block while we waited.  I was also a part of a knitting group.  I called myself the black sheep because I don't knit! 

Man - we are a cute group!

I had quilted instead of knitting!

Anyway, I was very proud of this quilt.  My husband's passion is gardening - so I knew he wouldn't mind my request to hang it up in the living room for a while.

What I wasn't expecting was my husband to hang a huge wooden curtain rod! So spring passed, then fall, and Christmas came and went - all with a spring/summer quilt in the living room!  So now I switch the quilt out each season - with pillows and decor!

Now that Autumn is in the house - time to try one more recipe!

COOKBOOK CHALLENGE!

I tried a Martha Stewart Living Magazine recipe for Thanksgiving 2007!  It is a Pressed Pear Tart

I am glad I finally tried it - it's delicious!

My one problem with this recipe is that the dough is super sticky!  It was almost impossible to get it from my fingers 

I advise taking your rings off before you start!

The recipe says to use a 14 inch rectangle baking pan.  I don't own one - does anyone?  I just used a deep dish 10 inch pie plate.

And it turned out just fine.  Everyone loved it so in the new book it goes!

Pressed Pear Tart from Martha Stewart's Living Magazine - November 2007

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan, at room temperature

1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for your fingers (I'll say!)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 Tbsp

1 large egg 

2 - 3 Bosc pears -- peeled, halved, cored

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 cup apricot jam

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Whipped Cream (optional - I don't think we needed it for a weeknight treat)

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a 14 inch rectangular tart pan and set aside

Combine the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside

Cream the butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed.  Lower the speed to low or medium and add the egg - mix until well incorporated.  Gradually add the flour mixture until fully incorporated.  The dough will be very soft (and sticky. very sticky!)

Push the dough into the pan with floured fingers to form an even crust.  Arrange the pear halves, tip to bottom (or round and round in a pie plate!) cut side down.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon and remaining sugar.

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes; let cool.

Heat the apricot jam and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, mixing well.   Remove from heat and bruch gently over the entire tart.  

Really fluffy and tasty!

Not bad for breakfast too!

Pam

Halloween Project for my Preschool Class!

BOO!

Here is a super simple craft for my 2 1/2 year old nursery school class!

I found plaster of paris on a cloth roll!  

Let's make a ghost!

I got a small round juice bottle as a "dress form" held steady by inverting it into an empty container

measured two strips cover the upside down bottle end.  The I moistened the strips in a bowl of water

and draped the strips over the bottle end.  Don't forget the newspaper - this was messy!  The two strips were longer than the bottle, but this ended up making it stand up on it's own when it dried.

Once it was dried almost completely, I used a long needle with some red quilting thread (it's thicker and stronger than regular thread) I made a hanging loop through the "head".  

Add a ghostly face with a black sharpie - and voila!  A ghost!

It dries a soft stiff, meaning I don't think anything will snap off if the kids hit it into a wall while making the ghost fly.  Stiff enough for it to stand on it's own if not hung up at home.

A perfect ghost!

Pam