Easter Chicks and Friday Night!

My Friday nights with my granddaughter have been sporadic lately. Late appointments on Friday, combined with early Saturday morning appointments, aren't conducive to quality time spent with a 4-year old. In fact, it's been a few weeks and we were both missing each other. Last night we made it happen and we had a wonderful evening!

We went for a long neighborhood walk, she with her doll stroller piled to the top with babies and accessories, and me with Harley on his leash. We chatted, we laughed, we watched birds play in the sprinklers. Once home we headed to the kitchen to bake cookies.  I first spotted these cookies on Pinterest and knew they would be an easy and fun baking adventure for us. Her Papa came home when we were almost done with the cookies so she ran off with him while I finished decorating them. I guess she missed both of us!

After eating a few cookies for dessert, we got her bathed and settled in bed for a movie and popcorn. Then she wanted to be read to. After two Disney Princess stories she told me she wanted to go to sleep.  She rolled over and was instantly out! I looked at the clock and it was 9:30! The night just flew by!

I needed to be in the office early this morning and she was a little groggy, but she reminded me that she was going to take the cookies to her Mommy & Daddy. Due to my schedule it will be a few more Fridays before we have another sleepover.  In the meantime, we made lots of memories to cherish and remember last night!


I found the cookie recipe here. They only use a few ingredients and are quick to put together.

Easter Chicks Lemon Cookies

9 orange candy slices
1 box lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
Yellow food coloring (optional)
1-2 tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
small amount of orange frosting (I used a tube found in baking section of store)

The edges of the orange slices sort of form a triangle, which makes for a perfect beak.  Cut off about 1/4 inch of the edge of each orange slice, and set aside to use as beaks.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, eggs, and shortening until well-blended.

Add several drops of yellow food coloring if you want the yellow color of the chicks to be brighter. (I forgot this step but they were still quite yellow!)

For each chick, roll two balls of dough.  One ball should be about 1 1/2 inches, and the other should be about 3/4 inches.  Just make sure that one ball is a good bit larger than the other.

Place on a lightly greased or parchment-covered cookies sheet with the smaller ball just touching the larger ball.

Bake at 350 degrees, for 10-12 minutes, or until edges of cookies are golden brown.

Remove from heat, and while the cookies are still warm, press in two mini chocolate chips for the eyes.

Remove cookies from cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool completely, being careful not to break the chicks apart.

Once cookies are completely cool, pipe ** orange frosting onto the bottom of each chick for the feet.

Using a dot of orange frosting, "glue" an orange slice beak onto each cookie.

** I squeezed the tube frosting into a small Ziploc bag, snipping the end, making for an easy piping bag.

Curls, bow and scraped elbow.  That's my girl!

Patience

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you do any sort of gardening you know that patience is a must.  Seeds planted today take time to sprout.  Trees and bushes die in the winter, then slowly come back to life in the spring, bursting forth with new greenery and blooms. Gardening slows us down, requires us to have patience, to believe in the wonder of tomorrow.

I've been working at a feverish seven-days-a-week pace, my only day off since February 1 was earlier this week when I had an unexpected stay in the hospital. I worked seven hours today then came home and puttered in the backyard. Playing in the dirt is so calming to me, it's mindless work, I can feel myself unwind as I weed, clean and prune. I've not had time to spend in the garden lately and I was pleasantly surprised at all the changes.  The rose bushes are full of new buds just waiting to open. The clematis is about to bloom. Raspberries are forming on the bush and the apple tree is beginning to blossom.  Bulbs planted last winter are now in full bloom. The fragrance of flowers is everywhere. Spring has arrived once more! My brief respite in the garden made me want to go to the garden center and stock up on flowers and supplies.  I must use some more patience as I still have 24 days left until tax season is over!

33 Years!

Yes, I'm still alive.  There isn't much going on in my kitchen or craft room at the present time.  I've had popcorn for dinner twice this week, I'm almost embarrassed to say.  I did make a pie last night, my office staff will let me know at lunch if it was a success or not. Unless you've worked in an accounting office during tax season, you can't imagine the stress and tiredness we feel.  Five weeks from today and tax season 2015 will be a wrap! Lots to accomplish between now and then but we can see the finish line.

33 years ago, my Hubbers and I ran away to Reno to get married. Why, during tax season, you ask?  We were buying a home and needed to be married in order to qualify for a Veterans Administration loan. We got married on a Friday night and were back to work on Sunday.  Our anniversaries have been similarly celebrated.  We will go to dinner tonight and try to (1) stay awake and (2) not talk business!

One of the first cross-stitched pieces I made is a wedding sampler.  It still hangs by our bed.

These past 33 years have flown by.  Three children, four grandchildren, lots of memories. If I had it to do over again the only thing I would change would be the date! It sure would be nice to have a romantic getaway on my anniversary!

Lemon Beehive Cake

We already know I have a (slight?) obsession with specialty cake pans. In many of the spring kitchen catalogs that are hitting my mailbox now this Nordicware beehive cake pan is being showcased.  I'm sure it's no surprise to say that I have this cake pan in my collection.  I've had it about five years and used it once.

I used the recipe that Williams Sonoma provides with the cake pan (recipe here). I took the cake to work, to rave reviews.  It's got the consistency of a pound cake, with a nice lemon flavor. The interesting part of the recipe is the honey-sugar glaze that is brushed on the cake while still warm.  The cake had a subtle honey flavor, too, as a result.

Saturday I was driving out to a client's farm to deliver her tax returns.  She is surrounded by almond orchards, most still in full bloom. With the beehive cake pan in my thoughts, I caught myself thinking about how important bees are to the nut and fruit farmers. Nothing grows without pollination! Beekeeping is big business out here and the almond farmers, especially, rely on the many bee boxes (no pretty hives!)being placed in their orchards during the pollination season. It's a mutually advantageous relationship, the farmers get their trees pollinated and the beekeeper gets the honey. I love to buy fresh, local honey.

The bee population has been in disarray the last few years.  Their natural habitat has been diminished and chemicals have bad effects on them. I make sure to plant many varieties of flowers in my yard to help support the dwindling bee population!

According to the Calendar It's Still Winter!

Our central valley California winters are pretty mild to begin with, but this year has been very mild. No hard freeze, very little rain in the valley and snowpack in the mountains (our 4-year drought continues on). The days have been sunny and warm. I long to be out in the garden "puttering" but I've got another 6 weeks of long days ahead of me before I can do that!

My sister (thank you, Marcia!) got me this adorable frog for my birthday present. It's made of a few rocks and metal. I love it!  This morning I took it to its place in a backyard flower bed. While out back I took some pictures of what my "winter" garden looks like. 

Pansies, snapdragons and these Icelandic poppies grow all winter long in our climate.  I love looking out and seeing their bright color!

The hyacinths are in full bloom and the roses are beginning their spring leaf-out.  Soon these gnarly old branches will be full of leaves and beautiful rose blooms!

The jade plant, that I started from a tiny clipping many years ago, is full of its annual spring blooms.

The tulips my granddaughter and I planted before Christmas are peeking up out of the soil. And my neighbor's tulip tree has already bloomed and is dropping its blossoms.

I'm quickly getting spring fever! It needs to rain, not only to help with our area's water shortage, but so that I won't mind being stuck inside an office for the next month and a half!

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

We are up to our chins with tax return preparation so not much new is going on in my kitchen or craft room at the moment.  I'm working on a few baby gifts, but an hour project takes me nights to do because I'm so brain-tired. I have ordered some fabric to make a dress for my youngest granddaughter but it's probably wishful thinking that it will get completed before April 15. Most nights our dinners consist of freezer meals, such as spaghetti sauce, though I confess I did have Fruit Loops for dinner one night last week. I'm not ashamed and I suppose it did help me meet my daily dairy requirement.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Our Valentine's dinner was wonderful.  We had grilled filet mignon, topped with chunks of steamed lobster and hollandaise sauce. There were no leftovers. Most hollandaise sauce recipes are pretty intimidating.  This one, by the Barefoot Contessa, is so very easy and very flavorful.  Hollandaise sauce is also wonderful on vegetables, such as asparagus and broccoli.

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in the jar of a blender and process on low for 15 seconds. Melt the butter in a small saucepan until it is sizzling hot. Remove the small clear insert in the top of the blender. With the blender on low, slowly add the hot butter to the egg and lemon mixture and blend for 30 seconds, until the sauce is very thick. Use immediately.

Lemon Molten Cake with Raspberries

For our recent Valentine's dinner I made these cakes for dessert. Similar to chocolate molten cakes, or lava cakes, the cakes have a soft center once baked.  The sweet-tart of the lemons, combined with the sweetness of the raspberries, made for a winning combination. They are easily made ahead of time as the batter can be refrigerated up to 24 hours before baking.  I baked ours as we were doing the dishes (hardly romantic, I know, but we didn't have a bus boy!)

The original recipe calls for purchased lemon curd.  The food snob that I am, I used my homemade curd.

As it was only the two of us for dinner, I halved the recipe and had no problems doing so.

Lemon Molten Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 (4-ounce) white chocolate baking bar, broken into chunks
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup lemon curd
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

Garnish
Raspberry coulis
Whipped cream
Powdered sugar
Fresh raspberries

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease (I used cooking spray) 8 (6-ounce) custard cups or ramekins. Place onto ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside.

Place butter and baking bar in a bowl.  Microwave 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving, stirring every 15 seconds for 60-90 seconds or until melted and smooth.

Stir in flour and powdered sugar; mix well. Add eggs, egg yolks, lemon curd and lemon zest; beat with wooden spoon or whisk until blended. Pour evenly into prepared custard cups.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center is puffy and just beginning to set. Let stand 10 minutes. Run tip of knife around edge of custard cup to loosen. Spread or pour some raspberry coulis onto individual dessert plates; invert cakes on top. Shake to loosen. Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Coulis

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 (12 ounce) bag frozen raspberries, thawed

Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes.

Put the raspberries and the sugar syrup in a blender and puree.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

The sauce keeps well, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Proof that both the dessert and wine were great!