Friday, May 28, 2010

Fairy Tales can come true ...

It can happen to you .. but only if you're at K&F today at noon est!

We have been busy creating a set of fairy tale designs for you this week: Rapunzel (any size), The Princess & the Pea (M/L), Alice in Wonderland (Toddler), Hansel & Gretel (Medium), Jack & the Beanstalk (M/L) and Little Red Riding Hood (M/L) - all are your choice of fitted or DreamScape!



www.flickr.com



www.flickr.com

There are lots of other fairy tale inspired goodies today as well - I am stalking Clear Hills Honey's new fairy shimmer and red velvet cake lip balms!



www.flickr.com

Be sure to be there at noon!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Together Tuesday: Paper Crafts

Looking for a fun and quick craft for older kids? Check out Paper Toys! This website is full of paper cut out models to print and put together - everything from a paper airplane to the globe Theater! You are sure to find something to interest everyone in the family - or to supplement whatever your child might be studying!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Monday Mmunchies: Summer Sauce

When the weather warms up, I like a lighter sauce on my pasta. Filled with yummy veggies from the farmer's market or CSA! Here is my basic recipe for "Summer Sauce"

Photobucket


Summer Sauce
In a saucepan, heat up 2T olive oil. Toss in 2T minced garlic and half a chopped onion. Saute until onion has become translucent. Add (amount will depend on how many you are feeding) chopped fresh plum tomatoes, and any fresh veggies you choose, also chopped. This particular sauce shown has 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash and mushrooms. Simmer until tomatoes begin to break down and veggies are to the desired tenderness. Serve with your favorite type of pasta. And some yummy bread!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Together Tuesday: May Flowers

It's May and all those April showers should be bringing some beautiful May flowers right about now! And with Mother's Day right around the corner, create some paper flowers with your little ones that will last forever!

You will need:

construction paper in bright colors and green
your child
a pencil
thin dowel rods or chopsticks
green paint
florists tape (or you can use regular tape)
scissors

Start off by having your child paint the chopsticks or dowel rods green for stems. Set aside to dry.
Next, trace your child's hand multiple times on brightly colored paper and cut out the hand shapes. Have your child arrange the hand shapes together to form a flower (bottoms of palms touching, fingers out for the petals). Once the stems are dry, use florists or regular tape to attach the flower to the stem. You can tape the petals together, then tape the stem to the underside of the flower, or you can tape the petals together, punch a hole and stick the stem through the hole and secure with tape.
Cut some leaf shapes from green paper and secure those to the sides of the stems.
Make lots and give a bouquet to grandma or to put in a vase for your dining room table!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Monday Munchies: Pretzels

I ♥ pretzels. The kids ♥ pretzels. I have tried a bunch of recipes and have one that I use all the time, but a friend posted a link to this recipe for Auntie Anne's pretzels last week, so I had to try it out. I don't know who Auntie Annie is (must be a regional thing in some region other than Connecticut) but her pretzels are pretty darn good. I didn't manage to snap a picture because they were all gone in the blink of an eye.

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels

1 1/2 C. warm water
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (1 1/2 pkg.)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/8 tsp salt
1 C. bread flour
3 C. regular flour
2 C. warm water
2 Tbsp baking soda
To taste, coarse salt
2 – 4 Tbsp butter (melted)

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often.

After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

* Ok, I found this dough to be very hard to roll out to shape into pretzels, so I pinched off small balls and rolled them and made pretzel bites. I dunked them in the baking soda bath for about a minute a piece, and used a larger pot, more water and baking soda, so that I could dunk about 8 at a time. I made three different types - regular with sea salt, cinnamon and sugar and asiago cheese (the asiago cheese were the biggest hit with everyone). I brushed all the pretzels with melted butter before cooking, and salted the regular ones prior to cooking as well. For the cinnamon/sugar and asiago pretzels, I brushed them with melted butter before cooking and in the last 5 minutes of cooking i brushed them again and sprinkled them with a cinnamon sugar mixture or placed a slice of asiago cheese on top. Next time, I will be making stuffed pretzels - spinach and feta topped with asiago for A and me; mozzarella and sauce topped with cheddar for the kids.