Saint Lucy's Day and Lucia Buns

So, after the whole Saint Nicholas visit, the next tradition we have is the visit of Saint Lucy. No, we're not Swedish, but it's still so much fun. The youngest girl in our house dresses in a white gown, and wears a wreath of greenery in her hair. Maggie is old enough to carry the tray now, so it's her turn^^

And I have my recipe for my special breakfast rolls. Don't they look tasty?

Christmas Lucia Buns Recipe

2/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup dry milk
1/2 stick butter, cubed for melting (little pieces)

1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast

1 egg + egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
3 cups all purpose flour

oil
1 egg white
raisins

First combine water, butter and dry milk.
When the mixture has cooled to bathwater-warm, add the sugar and the yeast. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes (it's a good time to seperate that egg)

Add egg and egg yolk, cardamom, and a cup of flour.
Mix well, then add the salt and the rest of the flour a bit at a time. Knead (play-dough time^^) for about five minutes, then oil the surface and cover with a towel.

Wait 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled.

Punch the dough down, then divide the dough into 20 equal parts. Form each part into ropes about 6 inches long.

Put two ropes in an x shape on a greased cookie or baking sheet, then curl/roll the ends up towards the middle. Repeat for all the remaining bits. Allow the buns to rise for about 30 minutes.

Remember the egg white? Mix that with a tablespoon or so of water. Put a raisin at the center of each arm/curl of the bun (4 for each bun), then brush the buns with the egg white mixture.

Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes. They are done when they are golden brown. The picture has a couple that are a bit too brown, but that's what I get for spending too much time gathering greens. Best eaten warm; and they keep well in the fridge.

Spiced Tea and Shawls

It's that time of year when hot drinks and warm clothes aren't just luxuries; they're necessities. So I have this nice recipe for my spiced tea and added this new shawl made by a technique that I invented/taught myself. After all, there's nothing new under the sun, so maybe I just re-invented it.^^ It's kind of a cross between crochet and weaving, so I have no idea what to call it. Suggestions?

Makes about a pint of spiced tea mix

18 oz Tang (or other sweetened orange drink mix)
1 dry unsweetened lemonade packet
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
3/4 cup instant tea


Mix. That's it; just put it in a bowl and  mix. To brew you just add a heaping spoonful to a coffee cup with some hot water.

All Souls Day and Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

My family celebrates? All Souls day. Not sure celebrate is the word I'm looking for, but it'll do. Much like Obon in Japan, All Souls day is a way to remember everyone who has died, and to pray for both their happiness in the after life and that we might see them again after our death. Most people don't believe that the dead come back on this day as ghosts to visit like Obon, but I'm sure there's some who do out there somewhere. It's a pretty quiet, but international, festival; unless you celebrate it in Mexico. There they call it 'the Day of the Dead' and it's like a funeral, Halloween, and Mardi Gras all rolled into one. I have never heard the more widespread All Souls day be brought up on the news, but I think the world has heard of Day of the Dead. Crazy, right?

Many cultures have a fondness for round themes when it comes to the departed. Both Buddhists and a variety of Celtic folk stories say ghosts like round foods like rice balls and cakes. What else would I make then, but my baked pumpkin doughnuts? Here's my recipe, which is oil and butter free and full of spiced pumpkin goodness^^



Doughnuts
1 small can pumpkin
1/2 cup honey (or 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed, and 2 TBSP extra milk)
1&1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
2&1/2 cups self rising four
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk


Glaze
6 tablespoons or so cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered or confectioners sugar

Mix the pumpkin, spices, and honey together in a bowl. Add the flour, milk and eggs and mix some more. Dough should be thick, slightly thinner than peanut butter. Spoon into greased doughnut pans (I got mine from Wilson's Cake decorating supplies. The pan is like a muffin pan, but doughnut shaped!)You can also use muffin liners and make muffins instead.

Bake at 350 F until a toothpick comes out clean, about 8-10 minutes for the doughnuts. DON'T overcook them; if the bottoms get more than slightly brown you'll end up with dry doughnuts, and that's bad^^

Mix the sugar and cream cheese in a micro wave safe bowl. Then, nuke it for about 30 seconds. Drizzle over slightly cooled doughnuts. Best eaten warm of course, but you can microwav the about 30 seconds and they'll taste fresh baked. Keep them in the fridge for over a week; they freeze well too as long as you don't glaze them before you freeze them. Makes about 18

Shepherd's Pie, ala Monster

Here's a twist on a classic shepherd's pie. Normally one just spoons/smears mashed potatoes over the top. These spooky little monsters/ghosts are made with a mixture of mashed potatoes, eggs, cheese, and spices; then shaped and decorated. You could even tint the little guys colors to match your party!



Robert was my helper today. Aren't his ghosts spooky?


Pie mixture;
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, etc)
1 pound ground beef
1&1/2 beef gravy
Whatever other veggies you want, like half an onion, a can of tomatoes, etc.

Potato mixture;
2 cups water
2&1/4 cups potato flakes
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
2 eggs


First you want to cook the ground beef in a skillet until you can't see any pink. If you're going to add onions, which I do, cook them with the beef.

Drain it well, then dump it into your pan. I use a 9x13 inch Pyrex, but you can use any baking pan that holds about 2 quarts. Drain and add any canned veggies now.

About this point you need to put the two cups of water on to boil for the potatoes.

Put the frozen veggies (minus some peas or something for eyes) in the skillet with a dash of water, and heat until all visible ice is gone and they are warm to the touch. You could cook them all the way, but you'll cook them in the oven so why bother?

Dump the veggies in the pan and add the gravy. Mix it all up and smooth it down a bit so it's nice and flat for the monsters.

Now that your potato water is boiling, pull it off the stove and add all but the eggs. It should be rather stiff. Give it about five minutes (time to wash that skillet^^) and add the eggs. Once you've done mixing it should be cool enough to touch and work with.

Shape those monsters with your hands (and your little kitchen helpers, as long as they don't try and eat it. Raw eggs, yuck). Decorate with reserved veggies. (I just used peas for the picture. Lima bean eyes, carrot spikes, or corn bumps would be fun.) Any leftover veggies from decorating can just be dumped into the baking pan. Put your monstrous potatoes on top and bake until potatoes are slightly brown (about 20 minutes)

Maggie's Birthday

Maggie's now nine years old. One sleepover and a birthday cake later and shes good to go




Just in case you are curious, the cake is made of a pink lemonade round cut into sixths. Five for the petals, and the last cut into leave shapes^^

Fences and Cakes

So, me and William (who keeps sneaking in and out of the house with out me reporting it; he got here right before my birthday, and will be leaving the 21st)finally got around to taking down the fence. You know, the one that got completely smashed by the tree branches during that mongo storm May 29th. So, we unscrewed, clipped, and chainsawed our way to victory. And firewood for the winter^^

I also was commissioned to bake this cake for one of Rosie's friends. Three boxes of cake mix, three frosting tubs, two things of fondant, and three hours of decorating...

Happy Birthday to Me....

Today was my birthday. Odd things happen on my birthday; odd smells from the kitchen, getting trapped in my room for a couple hours so the littles can 'decorate', bizarrely creative presents such as tissue paper dolls. I got a lemon layer/caramel frosting/fudge layer cake. Kind of an odd combo, but it's cake....so I ate it!


Maggie and I also made pie. A tiny, one person pie, out of a single apple.
Basically;
1) cut off top of apple, then hollow it out. I used a grapefruit spoon^^
2, cut up apple bits, leaving shell and top intact.Put apple shell in muffin liner.
3, mix bits in a cereal bowl with a teaspoon of honey and some apple pie spice
4, stuff the hollowed apple shell with the bits, put top back on, and rinse the bowl
5, add a quarter cup of flour and about a tablespoon of butter to the bowl, mixing until crumbly. Add a bit of water, until it becomes a ball. Flatten it out and plop it on top. Put the whole thing on a pan. bake at 350 F until brown. Cool and eat warm^^

The apple pie shell.feel free to trash any seeds and stems. Yuck!

The finished mini pie. Not the prettiest, but hey, it's just going to get eaten. And how did it taste, you ask? I have no idea; Maggie ate it all before I could get any. She claims it tasted like pie, so I'm going to go with that.

Chinese food, the easy way^^

Today I made sweet and sour pork. You might think it would be hard, but the rice takes longer than anything else^^ Want to know how to make your own? Here's the recipe, according to me...


Pork, chicken, turkey, whatever you want. 1-1 1/2 pounds
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch

1 can pineapple
1 bell pepper
a couple carrots

Sauce
juice from can of pineapple
1/2 cup rice vinegar
several dashes soy sauce
a couple good squirts of ketchup (the secret ingredient ^^)
a couple tablespoons cornstarch

First up, cut the meat into 1 inch cubes. Dump the egg and the cornstarch into a bowl with the meat. Stir

Then, cut up the pineapple, carrots, and bell pepper. You are trying for pieces about half the size of the meat. Do not throw away the pineapple juice; you are using it later! Double the veggies, or add something else like broccoli, if you are feeling like being healthy^^ I've seen people substitute the meat with tofu, but I wouldn't suggest it. I like my meat to be meat, and my tofu to be tofu^^

Dump meat into cooking pan on high with a little oil. Stir every minute or so; don't want it to burn! While you are doing that, make the sauce. Just dump everything together, and mix.

When the meat is done (cut open a piece and inspect for pink. No pink? It's done)dump the veggies in and stir. Cook for a minute or two, then add the sauce. Once the sauce is thick and coating everything, it's done. Serve the whole mess over rice, and people will start telling you to open your own restaurant! Makes about eight servings, and it freezes well too^^

Saint Patrick's day/twin's birthday.

Today was not only the twin's birthday party, but Saint Patrick's day as well. Mmm corned beef and cabbage!

This was the quietest birthday party this year. No screaming, no crying, just playing video games. It was almost scary.^^

Minecraft cupcakes by me. Creepers, gravel, dirt, and minecraft style cakes. The new square cupcake pan made them easy.

Four leaf clover Tsumami Kanzashi. The big one is a lapel pin. Gold at the end of the rainbow anyone?

Hina Matsuri (Girl's Day)

Today was hina matsuri, or girl's day, in Japan. It is also known as momo-no-sekku, which means peach festival, because this is when Japanese peaches begin to bloom. Girls all over Japan set out their hina ningyo (dolls) several days or weeks before the actual day. The most important dolls are the Emperor and Empress. Every little girl is supposed to have a set of them. There are ministers and servants, soldiers and attendants, and even house wares that are also part of the display. These are not always there; I only have an emperor and empress mayself. They are often passed down from mother to daughter; some of these dolls are two hundred years old! Many snacks are served, and prayers are said for the girl's growth and happiness. Usually one eats oyster soup, sweet sake, and scattered sushi for girl's day: we had udon noodles with veggies, chicken, and seafood instead. Yum!



Hina matsuri dolls. I made them myself. The hardest part was the the outer kimono; my bunnies were a bit chubby around the middle, so they aren't quite right. It's very hard to get the right silks here in the US, so I used brocades instead.


A pink flower tsumami kanzashi I made for my mother. I can't decide if it is a peach (momo) blossom or a cherry (sakura). Maybe it's neither!


This is a doll yukata I sewed for Maggie's doll. It's made out of scraps from her yukata, so they match. I had to put in a few weird seams though... it's almost like patchwork!


Dango. Traditionally sakura cakes and tricolored mochi are eaten, but I had no pickled sakura leaves and Maggie doesn't like mochi without beanpaste. So I just made tricolored dango instead. Maggie helped make them. She's getting to be a pretty good cook for an eight year old!

Holly's Birthday

It's seems like all I blog about are birthdays. This time it's Holly's 16th. Her party was held at the local skating rink, and the theme was a Chinese water garden. The cakes turned out ok, but I'm not sure Mom and I will ever try to make our own fondant again.

Holly's present.

Sushi cakes.
Also paper plum blossoms. 

Chinese take out cakes 

Mom's Birthday

So, my mother's birthday, 'nough said.

Mom's cake; chocolate peanut butter.
Of course the boys put the cake too close to the stove when they were helping with dinner, so it's saggy on one side.

Mom's present from me.
She wanted a sea shell set.

The other present from me.
Fall kanzashi have such pretty colours.