Angelic Grandmother and Pastel Deviled Eggs

A garden of love grows in a great-grandmother’s heart.

A garden of love also springs forth in this great-granddaughter’s kitchen.

Have you ever watched Willard Scott announce the centenarians’ birthdays on the Today Show, compliments of Smuckers? If not, you really haven’t lived. 

Birthday Girl

It is always exciting to hear about the activities and accomplishments of those turning 100+ years old. Can you just imagine the things they have seen and done within a century of living? It is even more exciting to celebrate when one of your own family members turns 100! This past weekend, my great grandma celebrated this incredible milestone.

Of course I wanted to create something special for the festivities. The cake was already ordered, so an artistic, alluring appetizer was instead calling my name. I wanted to create something beautiful and clever, just like my grandma. So I decided to put a twist on the traditional deviled eggs…and make them pastel.

You might make these for someone sweet in your life, or create them for an Easter treat. Either way, they will disappear as quickly as a rainbow in the sky…or a can of Pringles…or a dog chasing a squirrel…or a $100 bill on the ground…anyway, you get the idea. They are delish!

Pastel Deviled Eggs Recipe

Recipe makes 30 deviled eggs

Ingredients:

15 eggs

4 tablespoons of cider vinegar

Food coloring

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp mustard

¼ cup chives

Paprika

Directions: 

First, put the eggs into a cold pot of water. Then, heat them to a boil. 

Simmer for 15 minutes.

Next, cool them quickly in ice water. The faster you cool them, the easier they will be to peel.

Peel the eggs and cut them in half.

Remove the yolks and set them aside.

In each container, add boiling water, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, and 3 drops of food coloring.

Add eggs to colored water. Let sit until desired color is achieved.

Dry eggs on a paper towel.

Now, it’s time to make the creamy center, mmm.

Put the egg yolks into a food processor. 

Add the mayonnaise, mustard, and chives. 

Mix until creamy.

Put mixture into a piping bag and pipe into the middle of each dried egg.

Put a pinch of paprika onto the top of each egg.

Serve and enjoy!

Traveling Tip:

I transferred these eggs in the car on a 4 hour drive. I’m sure you must be wondering, how did they stay fresh and intact? Here’s the trick. Put a couple layers of paper towels down in a Tupperware container. This will give the slippery eggs a nice foundation on which to rest. Then, pack them as closely as possible to each other. Finally, put them in a cooler on a bed of ice and hit the road!

Teacher Treats

Piles of papers to grade, germy hands and bodies, twenty-six 9-year-olds without any notion of how loud they are talking, space cadets, criers, complainers, and whiners…ahh, the life of a teacher. :)

Don’t get me wrong, for all of the above grumbling, there are a million reasons why I absolutely love teaching; however, this crafty composition is not going into all of that sappy prose. On the contrary, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. How do we teachers deal with all of the whining? The answer, young Padawan, is in the question itself.

Wine.

Now, I’m not going to reveal all of the awesomeness that was part of Mount Vernon Wine Tasting Night (aka – “Teachers Gone Wild”), but I will tell you that we did not think about our students once during that eventful evening! We started out the night with some delicious treats at a coworker’s house…a home that rivals the design capabilities of Martha Stewart and Nate Berkus combined! Within her immaculately designed apartment, we feasted on cheese and crackers, hummus, chips, dip, perogies, and raspberry lemon cupcakes. Of course, the recipe for this sweet treat is listed below. 

The taste test

Throughout the rest of the night, we focused on ourselves, each other, the wine pourers, gigantic crunchy baguettes, and laughing until we had an abdominal workout that rivaled Shawn T’s Cardio Abs! 

Love these ladies!

I am truly thankful for my friends, the wine we drink, and the food we eat, because without that winning combo I would be an eternal ball of stress! 

Big heart, tiny kitchen

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

Adapted from http://erinheschwell.com/2011/03/lemon-bliss-cupcakes-with-raspberry-cream-cheese-frosting/

Lemon Cupcake Ingredients

• 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Zest from 1 lemon

Cupcake Directions

Wisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in vanilla and lemon juice. Add eggs, one at a time. Add lemon zest.

Alternate dry ingredients with sour cream, as you add them to the butter mixture. Careful not to overmix. Spoon into lined cupcake tin.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups (16 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup raspberry preserves
• 4-5 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
• ½ tablespoon lemon juice

Raspberry Frosting Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and cream cheese. Add raspberry preserves, a little at a time to taste, and beat until well-incorporated. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar. Add lemon juice.

 Frost cupcake and top with a fresh raspberry!

Berry Picking, Berry Pie, Berry Fun!

With autumn approaching, many of us are looking forward to the adventure of apple picking, so that we can make the perfect homemade apple pie. In the summer, however, what does one pick to make something scrumptious in the kitchen? Blackberries!

This summer, three sweet-seeking girls rode up to Homestead Farm in “Booberry” (my car) to pick blackberries. The farm was well worth the drive, as it had acres of blackberries, a store with fresh jars of jam and pies, fresh peaches, and even fresh vegetables for our enjoyment.

Having never been blackberry picking before, we didn’t really know what to expect. Luckily, my friend Amanda is an expert planner and informed us we needed the following:

• Tupperware for the berries
• A large bag to carry the tupperware
• Sunscreen
• Dark clothing, in case of berry stains

It’s so nice to have prepared friends! So we picked our way through the prickly vines, making sure to only choose the completely black ones (again, thanks Amanda for the tip!). If you pick the berries that are all black, you are almost guaranteed to get a very sweet bunch! The ones with bits of lighter coloring may be a little on the sour side. So we chose carefully!

After about an hour of picking, we had bags full of blackberries and clothes drenched with sweat! 

Even though it was a sweat-a-licious task, it is well worth it in the end!

Benefits of Blackberries

Not only are blackberries delicious, but they are also nutritious! 

Here are some facts about this healthy treat:

• High in antioxidants
• High in polyphenols and anthocyanins, which prevent cancer and heart disease
• High in vitamin C, which boosts your immune system
• When combined with other berries, the health benefits will be even greater

Sources:

http://www.whole-food-supplements-guide.com/blackberry-fruit.html

http://www.antioxidants-guide.com/health_benefit_of_blackberries.html)

Blackberry Pie

Adapted from Mario Batali’s recipe

Ingredients

·  6 cups fresh blackberries

·  3/4 cup sugar

·  4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·  1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

·  1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Put the blackberries in a bowl and gently toss with sugar, flour, and lemon juice.

Put in fridge, while you prepare your crust.

Place prepared dough in a 9-in pie pan. Fill with berry mixture.

Top berries with butter. Cover with lattice and crimp edges.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling.

 Enjoy!

S’mores…they’re not just for camping!

What are your staples in your kitchen? In other words, what are those items you HAVE to have on a consistent basis in your cupboard? The necessities?

I’m assuming you are thinking of flour, sugar, salt, butter, maybe a certain spice, or a favorite snack. My staples can be a little different from the average bird.

Having a colossal sweet tooth, I always have the items to make chocolate chip cookies and…yes…s’mores.

Traditionally, s’mores are a piece of chocolate and marshmallow melted and pressed together between a graham cracker. There is not a single inventor of the s’more, which is unfortunate because I’m not able to give thanks to this genius! Rather, the s’more came about in the early 1900’s through word of mouth by campers discovering this remarkable find. The first official recorded s’more recipe was published in the Tramping and Trailing Girl Scout Handbook of 1929 (PRWeb.com). So perhaps we can thank the Girl Scouts of America for unearthing this sweet breakthrough. Thanks girls! I’ll make sure and buy lots of cookies from you this year ;)

Now think about it…the gooey sweet marshmallow pressed up against a melted chunk of dark chocolate, all sandwiched together by a sugary, crunchy graham cracker. 

 How could I NOT have this on hand at all times?!

If you weren’t aware, August 10^th was National S’more Day! Did you celebrate? Well, if you didn’t, you don’t have to shed any tears in your unaccompanied glass of milk because whether it’s the middle of summer, or the dead of winter, anytime is a good time for some more s’mores! And you don't even need a campfire to create them. All you need is a toaster oven (or regular oven if you don’t have the pint-sized version). Pop your chocolate square and marshmallow on top of a graham cracker and broil it for about 5 minutes, until the marshmallow is puffy and golden brown. Then, take it out, put its matching graham cracker partner on top, and squish!

I’d recommend making more than one because you are guaranteed to ask for s’more!

Yorkie Cakes

Meet Cooper, the newest member of my family! 

 He’s a 9-week-old Yorkie and is full of energy!

He’s spunky, sweet, and very curious. In honor of his homecoming, I created some Yorkie Cakes! 

They are banana chip cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. The ears are chocolate frosting.

I found Cooper on the website www.dcdogfinders.com. They are great breeders in the DC area, who absolutely LOVE their puppies. They are knowledgeable, informative, and good-hearted. They were so thoughtful, I made a batch of Yorkie Cakes just for them! In addition to Yorkies, they breed YorkiePoos, BishonPoos, Maltese, Cavachons, Morkies, Shorkies, MaltiChons, MalitPoos, and ShihChons. I’m sure you will see more cupcakes with these breeds soon!

For now, here’s the recipe for the Yorkie Cakes (for human enjoyment only). Bon appetit!

Banana Chip Cupcakes

Adapted from the recipe “Gina’s Banana Cupcakes” from Down Home with the Neelys

Ingredients (yields 12-15 cupcakes)

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 stick softened butter

½ cup sugar

¼ cup sour cream

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large bananas, ripened

½ package of chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare muffin pan.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a bowl, mash bananas. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together.

Add sour cream and vanilla extract

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add 1/3 of the dry mixture. Add 1/3 of banana. Continue alternating until everything is mixed together.

Mix in chocolate chips.

Fill cupcakes and bake 15-20 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

½ cup softenedbutter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2-4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup cream

Directions

Beat butter and peanut butter together until light and fluffy.

Slowly beat in 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, followed by ¼ cup cream. Continue alternately adding both until desired consistency.

Now for the fun - Frost your cupcakes!