Pepper Paints

Spider Web Snacks

We seem to be having an extra busy Halloween season around here this year. We have had to bring something to share to several events already with yet a few more to come. I brought  The Perfect Pumpkin Cake I shared the other day to a potluck but decided to make something more festive for a couple of other Halloween parties we were attending…Spider Web Snacks.

Now as much as I would like to say this was my great idea..I found it on Pinterest. I have said it before, I LOVE PINTEREST!! And I will say it again, I LOVE PINTEREST!!  As a visual person, this site takes the cake!

These were easy to make and called for only a few ingredients. You just need a little time and space.  And having a little helper around really helps!!

First arrange pretzel sticks into a star pattern on a lined cookie sheet or large tray

Next melt some chocolate (white or dark)

Now pour that melted chocolate into a plastic baggie and cut a tiny bit of the tip off. This makes it so much easier to make webs around the pretzels. Be sure to drizzle the points in the middle together really well and make sure to hit each stick on your way around the web!

Next we tried putting 2 raisins into the center of melted chocolate for spider bodies. Then we covered the raisins with more melted chocolate and made some legs.

And after about 4 or 5 of these my helper quit on me! So I was on my own. I decided to simplify– but I must say I like my version better!! I skipped the spider in the center and just shook some Halloween sprinkles into the melted chocolate. Ta da…

Just the right combination of salty and sweet. These were a big hit with both kids and adults alike!

Perfect Pumpkin Cake

This is a perfectly moist, perfectly spiced (not too much) pumpkin cake.Perfect for Halloween or Thanksgiving or breakfast for those who can’t wait until then!

350 degrees

12 x 18 would work  I used a Bundt pan–greased and floured

Beat:

1 1/4 cups oil

2 cups brown sugar

Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups canned pumpkin (or one 15 oz can)

4 eggs–beat in 1 at a time

Gradually beat in:

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Bake 30 minutes or longer for Bundt pan

When cool can be frosted or left as is. I whipped up a cream cheese frosting that I could eat all by itself by the bowl full!! I tinted it orange for a festive touch!

I Am Sharing My Kefir Grains…. Enter My Give-A-Way!!

OK–this is the third time I have tried to write this post. I am out of time and patience so it’s not going to be all that I wanted it to be–which is so hard for the perfectionist Virgo side of me! But here it is………..In a nutshell

I went to a kefir and yogurt making workshop a few weeks ago hosted by Warren Taylor of Snowville Creamery. (I LOVE Snowville…their products as well as all they stand for!!! And after the demo I have a huge crush on Warren too!)

He is a wealth of information and a great speaker. He is a self proclaimed dairy evangelist. Most of the photos I took of him look like this

He never stops moving or talking! His love for yogurt and kefir and all things dairy is infectious! The most exciting part of the demo was all we learned about kifer and kefir grains. (yes I know I spelled them differently)

The grains look like small pieces of cauliflower. He showed us a large  container of fermented milk with the living kefir grains in it. Next he strained out the grains.

The colander held the living grains

And the kefir that was ready to drink was strained out into the bowl (and then into a pitcher)

A small taste of the keifr was passed around for all to try

It was delicious!! I loved it!! all sour, fizzy and unsweetened. From the first taste I was hooked! My friends prefer their kefir made into a smoothie-I like mine straight up! And first thing in the morning, to coat my belly and intestines with all those good bacteria. Mmmmm   Even those that are lactose intolerant find they can tolerate fermented dairy products.

We were each sent home with a small amount of kefir grains to make our own kefir.

About 2 Tablespoons worth. I brought them home and put them in a small amount of Snowville milk and let them sit for a day and then strained and drank the kefir and added more milk to the grains etc.. etc.. over the past few weeks.

Here is a photo of my kefir. The grains are on the top and the whey has settled to the bottom. A good shake after straining mixes it all up .This photo was taken about over a week ago and I have almost double the amount. My kefir grains are healthy and multiplying like crazy!!

Now I have so many grains I can share them with one lucky reader!! Aren’t you so excited!

I will send the winner approximately 2 Tablespoons of my kefir grains and directions for how to take care of them.

If you want to be entered in the Keifr Grain Give-A-Way leave a comment below. If you tweet about this give-a-way leave another comment telling me.The same goes if  you link back to this give-a-way or if you share it on facebook. So you really have four different ways to enter.

I will close comments and announce the winner Tuesday mid-morning.  (2/15/2011)

Good Luck!!!!!

Thursday’s Recipe … Mini Fruited Cheesecake Bites

Last weekend I had a family brunch at our house. The girls and I made these mini frozen fruited cheesecakes. The vanilla wafer crusts were supposed to fit neatly inside a mini muffin liner but that wasn’t the case at all. Maybe it had something to do with the Whole Foods brand vanilla wafers I bought as opposed to the vanilla wafer brand.

Anyways, other than being a little buried in a large paper liner, these little bites were a perfect addition to our brunch.

Place 12 vanilla wafers in the bottom of your muffin liners, flat side up

Whisk together 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt ( Seven Stars Maple YUM!), 1/2 cup  softened cream cheese, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon honey

Plop a spoonful on each wafer

At this point you could top with fruit or put the mini’s straight into the freezer for 1 to 1 1/2  hours then remove and top with fruit. (depending on how cold you want your fruit) Let them sit out about 15-25 minutes before serving–but not longer they need to be a little frozen to stay firm.

We used some very mini chocolate chips on ours too. Any leftovers we popped right back in the freezer for later.

I linked to Seven Stars above. I LOVE this yogurt. If I am not making my own this is what I am eating! Next week I will tell you all about a keifer and yogurt making workshop I attended this week with Warren Taylor of Snowville Creamery—oooh ahhh!! Very exciting stuff!

Cast Iron Handles Too Hot? Felted Handle Covers Are Easy to Make!!

I can’t believe it took me years of handling hot, hot handles before discovering I could easily make a little cover for the handles of my cast iron pans!

I have tons of felted, thrift store sweaters..(I started a blanket years ago that plagues me in my sleep!! I really want to finish it!!) I cut a small piece off the sweater.   I cut from the waistband but I am sure any area would work. I wrapped it around my handle to see if I needed to trim it down.

Next I felted a little picture/design on to the center of my felt.

Again I wrapped it around the handle using  straight pins to make a  tight sleeve. I sewed it up with some colorful embroidery thread–but I won’t show you that part-it is embarrassing how poorly I sew!  And slipped it on to my handle. I tried to make them really tight so they didn’t slip around..and I hear you need to be super careful if you have a gas stove!!

I absolutely love these–they make me happy every time I look at them!!

Thursday’s Recipe Fail = Friday’s Kitchen Gadget Update

My Mom bought me this super shiny, huge pot for Christmas…ahh my love for kitchen gadgets and accessories continues….

I don’t usually just link or post  a recipe on Thursday’s unless I have made it and it is actually worth sharing. This weeks plan was to share a Kale and White Bean soup. I made it but it was nothing worth sharing. So instead I planned to share my new and favorite kitchen gadgets but my poor daughter has been here all week

It is almost 10 am as I write this and she just woke up still sniffling and sneezing. My youngest germ is coughing in bed with her Dad who has been working all week until the wee hours of the morning. It’s been a rough week around here!

So that is why I am just getting around to Thursday’s post…on Friday morning afternoon.

With all the germs flying around the house, this week turned into soup week.  There was the mediocre kale and white bean and the cure all chicken noodle

Everyone has a version of chicken noodle soup. Mine is nothing special but it certainly hits the spot. I added some pea shoots to mine…soup and salad all in one bowl is a favorite of mine! There was also a beef vegetable that I made in my new lead free crock pot.

Yes, you read that correctly. I don’t know how I didn’t know that crock pots typically carry lead in there glaze but apparently they do. I did some googling and found that the Cuisinart brand is lead free as is Vita Clay. Both are expensive. I did a little more digging and found this Supentown Slow Cooker. And even better I found it on the cheap at Home Depot The crock is made of the same zisha, purple clay, that the Vita Clay cookers are made from.  Supentown website writes that it is not only free of chemicals but rich in natural minerals. Someday negative info may come out about this cooker too but I couldn’t find it anywhere for now.

I used my new slow cooker to make beef veg soup and all was good. It is a little bit smaller than my other crock pot but not much. But because the crock is not non stick there was a little sticking. It washed out easily and the soup tasted great. Just be sure when you store any small appliance you do not put the cord inside the pot because the soft pliable coating on the cords do contain lead…so wash your hands after use. I also read that there is lead in the coating of the heating elements in the outer part of slow cookers. I am done researching lead for a while. In other news I hear they are planning to take some of the fluoride out of our drinking water…gee thanks. it’s about time. Don’t breath or drink or eat…chemicals are every where!!! It becomes exhausting. Trying not to get too caught up in all of that!

I do know for sure that this is lead free…it is stainless steel

Also by Supentown and purchased at Home Depot this thermal cooker was way cheaper. I haven’t used it yet but can’t wait!! I have had my eye on these thermal cookers for a while but they are  very expensive and couldn’t really find a difference between the two that warranted the extra cost so we finally went with the cheaper one. I love the idea of making food and taking it with us for later, all the while it is cooking on the move with out being plugged in!!! Can’t get more energy efficient than that!

Take a look inside-a simple design!

I promise to use it soon and let you know how it works.

I love my Olympic juicer…especially for carrot juice

Last but certainly not least one of my favorite kitchen gadgets….I shared my love for this thermos before in my OUT WITH PLASTICS post.  During the winter i fill it it up with hot water so a cup of tea is only minutes away. I LOVE it!! Again no electricity used here!

What is your favorite kitchen gadget?

Thursday’s Recipe – Holy $hit, That’s Hotter Than Hell, Hot Sauce!(aka fermented hot peppers)

I LOVE hot and spicy food.  I saw a recipe for Fermented Hot Chili Sauce at Nourished Kitchen and thought it would make tasty gifts to share.

Holy crap–this is some hot, hot sauce!

I bought just about all the habanaro peppers at our grocery along with a few jalapenos and a couple of pablanos for flavor. I cut the stems off and threw them into the food processor with a few sweet onions, several cloves of garlic and a few handfuls of basil and salt and a little sugar. I mixed up the only living cultures I had-keifer starter-with a little water and threw that in too. I put everything into a mason jar–it took several tries as just inhaling the fumes were tough! I let it sit on my counter for about 12 days. There wasn’t much bubbling and not much liquid so I ended up just bottling it up seeds and all.

The brave decided to try it yesterday………….

I ate some on tortilla chips and yes it was hot but super tasty. I love the taste of habaneros!  I think it will be really good in a bowl of beans and rice topped with some yogurt! Mmmmm

The Nourished Kitchen blog is loaded with really delicious recipes!! Be sure to check them out.