Green Waffles??

We take every opportunity to celebrate holidays around here (see Super Bear's version of a leprechaun catcher). St Patrick's Day is no except. The kids love having green waffles with their green milk. Such silliness is pretty easy to come by with some food coloring. What will you have for St. Patties Day?

A talented friend of mine is from Ireland and she taught me how to make an authentic Irish meal (with beef cooked in Guinness no less). Judith taught how to make her yummy dinner at the Whole Foods Cooking School, where I volunteer. I am lucky to have this privilege as it means I get to learn directly from the chefs who are teaching. I love my nights there learning to cook as I always learn something new. The school's knife skills class changed the way I use my knives completely. Now I can chop (sort of) like the pros on TV which comes in handy when I'm chopping up strawberries that are in season right now. We eat them by the bushel and then make strawberry freezer jam with them - delicious!

Why I Love Martha Stewart - Meringue Cookies

From the time I was in high school and my Mom got Martha's Entertaining cookbook, I have loved Martha. Back then it was just Martha and her talents. These days I know it's an empire of creative and talented people, but I am still in love. I think my love affair comes from the fact that Martha pushes me to be better, try harder and venture just a little out of my comfort zone. I know I can make the recipes in BHG, Taste of Home, or Southern Living (my go to cookbook) without much straining of the mass between my ears. I have family cookbooks, and hand written recipe cards that I know so well, I don't really have to do more than glance at them. Then there is Martha.

I subscribe to Living, the MS magazine. I open the pages and read each magazine from cover to cover (I am NOT a jump around kind of gal). I devour this magazine in my spare time. Usually that means I'm reading it in the bathroom until I hear children calling my name. Or maybe I sneak in a few minutes of reading while I'm cooking one of those no-brainer meals. I dream of all of the crafts, entertaining, and recipes I will create straight from the pages of Living. I envision the matching decor with twelve specially prepared dishes all served in the perfect dishes from my vast collections of vintage enamelware and milk glass. We eat out on my veranda or somewhere in the yard with lanterns I made from Ball jars. The children are all dressed in perfect outfits that show off their summer tans catching fireflies....ok the fantasies get a little carried away - I don't have the veranda (or even the rest of it). This does not deter me from making a few of the crafts and recipes out of my fantasy life. I like tackling the ones presented in Living because they are a little challenging, often something I have never made before.

These lovely meringues I just made for Valentine's Day came straight off the front cover of the February Living issue. They are not something I would ordinarily make. Meringues, while not hard, take time. I have never made meringue as cookies, only as pie topping. The magazine showed them atop an amazing chocolate torte, but I wanted to make something for my kids and their friends. I did have the ingredients so I decided why not? I whipped up the eggs, sugar and cream of tarter the night before Valentine's. I added a little striping for the purple ones by painting the inside of my piping bags with food coloring. Then I tinted the rest of the batch pink. I put them in my fancy oven for a timed bake and it automatically shut off that night several hours later while the house was asleep. The next morning, I came downstairs to these cute hearts just perfect for little hands. Each of my kids got a box filled with them to take to Sunday school to celebrate Valentine's Day with their friends

Having Martha in my home, makes me a little better and more adventurous, broadening my horizons. Thanks Martha, you will always have a special place in my heart.

Flower Cake & Cupcakes

This cute cupcake and matching cake were for a one year old birthday party. The small cake is just perfect for the baby to enjoy all herself. The rest of the party attenders each got a strawberry cupcake. These were very simple to make and just took a little time. Each flower is a marshmallow cut with kitchen shears. You hold the marshmallow on it's side and snip almost all the way through four times. This makes five petals when you fan it out. Then you dip the cut sides into colored sugar which sticks perfectly to the marshmallow. The dot in the middle is piped icing to finish off the look. I used colors from the napkin (she got them at the dollar store) I was given for a guide to the party colors- very bright and fun. Apparently the birthday girl loved her cake.