08.22.10

Rainbow Cupcakes

Posted in Look, Make at 8:09 pm by Erin

It’s no secret that I love rainbows, and I love baking. I’ve been wanting to make these rainbow cupcakes for a while now, and found the perfect excuse when we had guests stop by on their way to San Francisco.

I used the recipe found at Baking Bites, but I modified a few things:

1. I only used 2-3 drops of food coloring per color instead of the 1/2 teaspoon.

2. I added 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to the batter (in addition to the vanilla).

3. Instead of buttermilk, which I didn’t have on hand, I combined 1/2 cup of milk and a tablespoon of vinegar in a glass cup and let it curdle for a few minutes.

4. I only got 9 cupcakes, instead of the stated 10. But the baking time remained 15 minutes.

I almost always halve frosting amounts; I just find giant towers of buttercream to be rather excessive (that’s not fat-conscientiousness talking–I ate a large slab of brie yesterday without remorse). So in lieu of their frosting recipe, I used:

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon milk

few drops of vanilla extract

approximately 1 cup of powdered sugar

Mix all together to a consistency and taste that you like.

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11.30.09

Displaced People of Wyoming Thanksgiving Extravaganza!

Posted in Look, Make at 9:12 pm by Erin

For Thanksgiving this year, I tried tofurkey for the first time. I used, with a few modifications, this recipe. I did not attempt to shape it into a turkey, because, come on, no one’s gonna fall for that. Overall, I was pretty satisfied. No one would mistake it for turkey, but it was turkey-ish. And our lovely hosts took some of the leftovers. Another first was Yorkshire pudding, which is not pudding at all. No, it is a delicious eggy biscuit sort of thing, and I’ve already made another batch in the few intervening days.

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11.08.09

Pacman

Posted in Look, Make at 9:01 pm by Erin

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10.28.09

DIY Tarot Deck

Posted in Look, Make at 10:23 pm by Erin

Learning how to read Tarot cards has been an intention of mine for a few years. It just seems like a fun thing to be able to do. I decided to start by making my own deck, beginning with the 22 cards of the Major Arcana. Now, here is where knowing the symbolism in each traditional card would help. I started with a base image for each concept, and can add symbols as I learn about each card.

I cut 2.5″ x 3.5″ cards out of cardstock, sifted through my substantial collection of magazines for appropriate images, and rubber cemented those suckers on.

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08.18.09

Maple Butter Crispies!

Posted in Make at 6:43 pm by Erin

Living at high altitude, one of the modifications that I’ve been instructed to make is to reduce the amount of sugar in baked goods–it keeps the structure more rigid that way. What I’ve come to realize is that there’s way too much sugar in everything. I’m a lady who loves her sugar, so believe me when I tell you that reducing each cup of sugar by 1/4 cup has not had any negative impact on my treats. I devised this recipe for a delicious, light-tasting cookie one night:

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

1. In a medium bowl, combine the first five ingredients (through the salt). Everyone says to sift dry ingredients. I almost never do this, and nothing horrible has ever happened. But if it makes you feel like more of a pro, knock yourself out.
2. In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Toss in the rest of the wet ingredients, and mix.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two batches, mixing after each addition.
4. Cover dough with plastic or glass, and refrigerate for an hour or so.
5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, about 1/8-1/4 inch. Cut out with awesome cookie cutters, and transfer to cookie sheets. Leave an inch of space between cookies.

Bake until lightly browned at edges, approximately 10 minutes.

After allowing to cool, you could decorate with icing. I ate them plain, and loved them.

Om nom nom

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08.14.09

I Say This Frequently

Posted in Look, Make at 1:36 pm by Erin

I love the juxtapositioning of the rose fabric with the (jokingly) violent sentiment. Particularly when one considers the historical domain of embroidery as “women’s work.”

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06.23.09

More Kitty!

Posted in Look, Make at 7:36 pm by Erin

The people have spoken, and they want 50% more furry feline content. Thus, I give you a few of the many moods of Juliet:

Playful Juliet

Relaxed Juliet

Contemplative Juliet

Immodest Juliet

I think I’m going to make her my spokescat for Paper Rose Designs, since she has captured the adoration of the masses. Hee hee.

I made her bed myself; if you’re interested, the instructions are here. The original instructions aren’t very clear–there are more elaborate instructions on page three of that thread. It makes sense when you’re sewing (assuming that you’ve sewn before). And, hey, if it doesn’t come out perfectly, your cat won’t know the difference.

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06.17.09

Raspberry-Orange Pancakes with Banana-Pear Topping

Posted in Make at 1:41 pm by Erin

When I think of the weekends I spent as a child, what comes to mind are pancakes, cartoons, and PBS. It was a common occurrence on Sundays to be treated to a mighty stack of delectable flapjacks, then settle in for an afternoon of The Woodwright’s Shop. While my abilities to use a lathe remain untested, I’ve definitely inherited a love for pancakes. This is a recipe I invented last Saturday morning.

Begin the topping first, so that the simmering allows it to thicken while you’re making the pancakes.

Banana-Pear Topping

2 firm but ripe pears, diced

1 banana, sliced

1/2 cup orange juice or so (could be more–I didn’t measure)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Mix all liquid ingredients and spices in a medium bowl, until the maple syrup is well-incorporated. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the diced pears, then pour the liquid mixture over them. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is thickened (right before serving, add the sliced banana). Meanwhile, start making the pancakes:

Pancakes

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, you can mix milk with a few tablespoons of yogurt together, or 1 cup milk and a teaspoon or so of vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes to coagulate).

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 cup raspberries

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir just until moistened. Add in the raspberries, and fold gently.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon or so of oil to the pan to coat the bottom. I used about 1/2 cup of batter per pancake, but you can make them as big or as small as you dare. You’ll want to flip them when the outer edges start to look a bit cooked, and the batter is bubbling.

When golden-colored, remove and add the banana-pear topping, which should be thickened by now.

Yields: 6 large-ish pancakes.

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03.27.09

Make Your Own Stationary

Posted in Make at 4:50 pm by Erin

My friends and I were discussing local places to buy statioary, when Sean asked, “Why not make your own stationary?” But of course! What has transpired has been a frenzy of cutting, pasting, and drawing, such that I’ll never need to rely on outside sources again. It’s an easy, quick little project that allows for lots of substitution.

skill level: beginner

time: roughly 15-20 minutes

materials: lame envelope and card, 1 piece of cardboard (something like a cereal box will work fine), paper to transform into your stationary (junk mail, catalog pages…I used an out-of-date atlas), X-acto knife, cutting mat or a large-ish old magazine that you don’t care about, ruler, pen, rubber cement or glue stick, scissors or butter knife, double-sided tape, adhesive labels.

For the envelope:

1. Make the template for your envelope by carefully prying apart the glued edges of your mass-produced envelope. Flatten. Place the envelope on top of your cardboard, which should be on top of your cutting mat or old magazine. Carefully trace around the envelope, and cut out your template from the cardboard.

2. On the cutting mat, place the paper that will be your new and improved envelope (outside of the envelope down). Lay the template on top of that, and either cut around it with the X-acto knife, or trace with pen and cut out with scissors.

3. Using the back of the blade on your scissors (or the non-cerated side of a knife) and a ruler as your guide, lightly score each side of your envelope to form flaps. See the red lines as a guideline:

Fold along the scored lines.

4. Glue the bottom and side flaps together, using a glue stick. Or just tape them. See your old envelope for guidelines of where to glue.

5. Now, you can either place double-sided tape along the edges of the top flap, or make your own self-lick adhesive. I haven’t tried the self-lick stuff, so I’m not going to endorse it here.

6. Slap on those adhesive stickers where the address and return address go.

For the card:

1. Lay your lame card, open and flattened, on top of your exciting new stationary paper (I used cardstock–handmade paper would be lovely). Trace with pen and cut with scissors, or break out the X-acto again.

2. Score and fold.

3. I rubber cemented some details from my atlas onto the cardstock for a handsome accompaniment to the envelope.

Presto!

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02.22.09

Green Tea Cupcakes

Posted in Make at 7:41 pm by Erin

Every time I make these, at least three people ask me for the recipe. They’re my favorite cupcake recipe, with a moist crumb, and a delightful medley of almond and  green tea flavors. As cupcakes go, this is a fairly innocuous recipe, health-wise. You could even substitute half of the oil with applesauce, although that creates a slightly rubbery texture. This is the original vegan recipe, although you can substitute non-vegan ingredients and everything works out just fine.

Matcha powder  is simply green tea, ground to a silky consistency. It can be found in any pan-Asian grocery store (such as Lotus in the Strip district here in Pittsburgh). It is a little pricey, but it goes a really long way.

Green Tea Cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line muffin tins (or grease them with a tiny bit of oil).

The Cupcakes

In a large bowl, whisk together:

Beat well to blend in yogurt.
In a separate large bowl, sift together:

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two batches, mixing after each addition. Beat a little longer to break up any large lumps.
Fill liners 2/3 full and bake 20 min.

Green Tea Glaze

With a fork, beat butter or margarine to a fluff. Mix in confectioners’ sugar and matcha powder to form a crumbly texture. Slowly beat in 1 tablespoon rice milk, almond extract, and vanilla extract. If icing is too thick, pour in an additional teaspoon of rice milk.

Marzipan Flowers (optional)

I tend to skip this step, unless I’m making these for special occasions, simply because it’s a bit time-consuming. They are quite pretty, though. This recipe does not come from the cookbook, but from my head:

Toss the almonds and confectioners’ sugar into a food processor and process away! The goal is to grind those almonds into a fine powder–or as close to a powder as you can get them. Otherwise, your marzipan will be grainy. Toss in the wet ingredients, except for the water, and process again. You’ll want a dough-like substance to form–something resembling cookie dough, except maybe a bit dryer. If a dough is not forming, add a few drops of water at a time.

When you get the right consistency, spread out your marzipan on a countertop that has been lightly dusted with confectioners’ sugar. You can use either a small cookie cutter (1-2 inches in diameter), or a knife to create your flowers. You might want to try cutting out individual petals, then pressing five petals together to form a flower.

To Assemble

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, use a tablespoon to pour green tea glaze into the center of each cupcake. Spread out a bit with the back of the spoon. Gently place marzipan flowers on top of the glaze. Let glaze set before serving.

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