Yankee Crafty Bitch

ODDS & ENDS: spring please come back

Sat, 5 May 2012 19:04:55 -0400

So spring seemed to come early here in New England- hot days and warm nights (I was wearing shorts in early April), but it was just a tease. We are now back to chilly, cold, rainy days with just a glimmer of sun daily.

Oh Spring! Why do you tease us each year? Us, YCB’ers were feeling particularly gloomy one day so we decided to post some pictures from a trip I took to Bequia in early March. Looking over the warm pictures, teal waters and glowing sunsets seemed to lift the Eeyore cloud away.

We hope you enjoy the photo blog and dream of warmer days to come!

Note: Click on the first photo to start the slideshow, otherwise, the photos will be quite small.....

CRAFT: there’s an elephant in the room...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:05:56 -0400

And no, it’s not the fact that you haven’t heard from us in months and months (was that last post REALLY at Christmas time?). And no, it’s not that one of us YCBer’s is expecting at the end of May. There REALLY is an elephant in the room!

One of our favorite patterns is Heather Bailey’s effie and ollie the elephant. It’s an adorable little 4 inch elephant that we just love. But, we decided that we needed it bigger! So, we taped all the pieces on an 8.5x11 and took it to the local copy shop. They blew it up so that all the pieces fit on a 3 ft wide sheet of paper and we proceeded with the pattern. It turned out great! Then we decided we needed it BIGGER, so we took each piece and had it enlarged another 150%. To help stabilize the elephants, we put about 2 inches of popcorn in the feet of the medium size guy. And for the largest elephant? He got an entire bag of popcorn still in the plastic in each of the back legs. We stuffed a little bit of batting around the bags so the legs retain their stuffed animal characteristic.

Hope you like how it turned out as much as we do. Then, maybe you can have your own elephant in the room.

What you’ll need:

effie and ollie pattern
materials as directed in pattern
increase to 1.5-2 yards dec weight fabric and 2-3 bags of stuffing (32oz) for larger sizes. No need
for interfacing.

CRAFT: christmas tree prayer flags

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:12:08 -0500

So, this year Dash and I were trucking through the woods looking for “The Perfect” Christmas tree. We surveyed about a dozen trees or so when we came to the most adorable little perfect Christmas tree. With our trusty saw and Yankee strength we cut down the tree and carried it home.

Once we got into the house we place the little tree in a short, wide vase with stones. We filled the vase with water and centered the tree on the kitchen table. We looked at the tree for a bit, when we decided that is needed that certain Christmas “flare”.

The little branches could not hold the heavy ornaments that Dash had. So, we needed something light that would fill the tree’s spaces (the little tree was not the most symmetrical tree around). The Yankee Crafters that we are, we always have leftovers- little bits and pieces of fabric, thread and string. So, I took the red string that we had laying around and strung it around the tree and then I folded some fabric scraps over the string just to get an image… and a light-bulb moment occurred. Christmas Tree Prayer Flags.

What you’ll need:

2-3 yards of Red string
½ yard of red, green or any color fabric
1 needle
Thread
Scissors
Sewing Pins

With the scissors, cut 3” triangles out of the fabric.

With the string laying flat on a table, place the top of the fabric triangle on the string, and fold ½” down, and over the string.

Pin the two sides together. Now the string should be inside the fabric triangle.

Cut off the excess fabric on either side of the triangle.

Thread your needle with the same color thread as the string and stitch the triangle onto the string.

Repeat this process until you feel like you have enough flags on the string. For 2-3 yards of string I made about 30.

Gently pick up the Christmas prayer flags and place over the tree. Gentle move the flags along the string to fit them in the empty spots on the tree.

What is wonderful about this project, it that you can make the prayer flag triangles as large as you wish! I guess the other wonderful thing about this craft; it is very inexpensive and makes any Christmas tree seem brighter!

Merry Christmas you Crafty Readers!
And Thank YOU!

CRAFT: peppermint explosions for your neeeeigh-bors

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:50:32 -0500

I like to make holiday gifts for the special people....and animals, in my life! This treat just happened to serve as both, I made them as a gift for my good friend Wendy to give to her faithful horse Sebastian, who gave a very loud neigh of approval!

What you’ll need:

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 T brown sugar
2 spoonfuls molasses
1/2 cup water
1 large bag of soft peppermints

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Roll into balls approximately 1” in diameter and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Use your thumb to make a depression in the middle of each ball. Insert a soft peppermint.

Bake for 10 minutes.

IMPORTANT: Let cool completely, the longer the better, before packaging to store. If any heat remains in the treats, the peppermints will melt!

RECIPE: pumpkin pie 3 ways

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:58:37 -0500

Time to give thanks for pumpkin pie! The sweet-spicy-moist pie is a staple on Thanksgiving Day. Over the years of my baking adventures, I have seen many people bake this pie with different ingredients. Yeah, the spices stay basically the same, you always have the eggs, and of course, the pumpkin. But the one thing that seems to change is the dairy and the way the pie is sweetened.

After looking for pumpkin pie recipes on the back of pumpkin puree cans, cooks books and online, I decided that I needed to bake a few variations of the pumpkin pie to see which one was quote-on-quote “The Best”. I came up with my own recipe for each of these three ways of using different dairy and sweeteners. They are basically whipped-up the same and are all baked in a 9-inch pie dish with a homemade piecrust.

If you are baking for a large family- have some fun and try and make all 3 of these pies!

If you realize you don’t have a sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk, no worries, there is other ways to make a great pie.

Check out the bottom of the blog to see which pie is crowned “the Best”!

EXTRA EXTRA ! If you want to add some more flavors (which we always support), add ½ lemon zest to the mixture. You could also increase the spices in whichever way you like. We believe that a pumpkin pie should be unique…just like you!

Spiced Pumpkin Pie- Evaporated Milk

What you’ll need:

1 piecrust in a 9” pie dish

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 12oz Evaporated milk

1-cup sugar

1/8-cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1-tablespoon cinnamon

1-teaspoon nutmeg

1-teaspoon ginger

1-teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon cloves

2 tablespoons flour

What to do:

Place the pumpkin, eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, brown sugar, flour in to a mixing bowl. Beat on medium until well incorporated.

Add all the spices, and beat for 45 seconds to one minute on high speed.

Gently mix with spoon to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour slowly into piecrust. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then reduced heat to 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Use a toothpick to check to see if it is done. The toothpick should come out clean. Let cool for 15-30 minutes. Serve with fresh whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie- Sweetened Condensed Milk

What you’ll need:

1 piecrust in a 9” pie dish

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 14oz Sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs

1-teaspoon vanilla extract

1-teaspoon sour cream

1-tablespoon cinnamon

1-teaspoon nutmeg

1-teaspoon ginger

1-teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon cloves

What to do:

Place the pumpkin, eggs, condensed milk, vanilla, and sour cream into a mixing bowl. Beat on medium until well incorporated.

Add all the spices, and beat for 45 seconds to 1 minute on high speed.

Gently mix with spoon to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour slowly into piecrust.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then reduced heat to 350 for 45-50 minutes. Use a toothpick to check to see if it is done. The toothpick should come out clean. Let cool for 15-30 minutes. Serve with fresh whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie- Heavy Cream and NH Maple Syrup

What you’ll need:

1 piecrust in a 9” pie dish

2 cups pumpkin puree

3 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup NH maple syrup

1 ¼ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons flour

1-tablespoon cinnamon

1-teaspoon nutmeg

1-teaspoon ginger

1-teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon cloves

1/8-teaspoon salt

What to do:

Place the pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, heavy cream, flour and brown sugar into a mixing bowl. Beat on medium until well incorporated.

Add all the spices, and beat for 45 seconds to 1 minute on high speed.

Gently mix with spoon to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour slowly into piecrust.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then reduced heat to 350 for 45-50 minutes. Use a toothpick to check to see if it is done. The toothpick should come out clean. Let cool for 15-30 minutes. Serve with fresh whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

THE RESULTS

So over all, each of these pies came out great. I was a little nervous about the consistency of some of the mixtures, but they all baked up prefect. Once the pies were cool enough, I served a small slice of each pie to 4 individuals who were my test turkeys.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie- Evaporated Milk

The concessions on this pie, was that is was the “old fashion” style of pumpkin pie. Like the pie you ate as a child at Grandma’s house. It was sweet, moist, and yet firm. The pumpkin mixture adhered well to the crust. The pumpkin flavor was not strong enough for some of the testers. But overall a B+.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie- Sweetened Condensed Milk

Wow. Sweetttttttt. One could definitely tell this pie was sweetened by condensed milk. It was wonderful otherwise firm, moist, spice-filled, but the pumpkin puree was hidden by the sugar. 3 out of 4 testers loved it, so A.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie- Heavy Cream and NH Maple Syrup

#1. “THE BEST”. The testers all felt the same on this pie. Not too sweet, you could taste each spice, and the pumpkin flavor held its own. Sweetening the pie with natural sweeteners- maple syrup seemed to balance out each of the ingredients. The pie was moist and firm, great adhesion to the crust, this pie won the gold. A+.

So, head out there into the great wide world of baking and try out these variations of the Thanksgiving classic. You could also have your taste test on Thanksgiving Day! And let us know how your results come in!

GUEST BITCH RECIPE: trick, treat and zombie cupcakes

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:05:31 -0400

Introducing the one, the only, Miss Amy of Miss Amy’s Baby Cakes. We love her and her amazing cupcake concoctions and so will you!

This Halloween I wanted to do something extra special because I wasn't really feeling the holiday spirit with the strangely warm fall weather. So I took inspiration from friends and family and made Trick, Treat and Zombie cupcakes.

My father has an extreme adoration of candy corn, so I thought it would be fun to experiment with creating a frosting made out of melted candy corn, rather than just plopping them on top (which is what I am used to seeing around this time). I did some research and found a few different suggestions but I didn't find any promising recipes. So, like I like to do, I adapted a few different recipes and created my own. I wanted to make something that maintained the integrity of Miss Amy's Baby Cakes quality, tasted delicious and like candy corn, but also didn't taste artificial.

So here's what I did: I melted candy corn in a double boiler with a small amount of cream to add slight liquidity. I had to stir it frequently and be patient because it took quite awhile. Once the concoction was completely melted, I put it aside to cool.

I then made a classic cream cheese frosting and mixed in the cooled melted candy corn and added extra confection sugar until I had the desired consistency. For the cupcakes I made a classic vanilla cake and put a candy corn in the center of each.

A friend, and owner of POW!!Skateboards, suggested I make cupcakes with a POW!! made out of Pop Rocks. A "trick" cupcake as a compliment to my "treat" cupcake! So I made a Vanilla cupcake with Pop rocks mixed into the batter and used a hot pink cream cheese frosting garnished with more Pop Rocks. While the Pop Rocks in the batter melted, as a garnish they held their shape and popping power until I served them later that evening.

My feeling is that you can't have Halloween cupcakes without some chocolate, so for the final cupcake I made a Zombie Devil's Food Cake topped with the Candy Corn Frosting.

And here is the trio: Happy Halloween!

RECIPE: orange chicken

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:03:27 -0400

It’s a little hard to be Halloween inspired when there is snow on the ground, we’re not gonna lie. While I only got hit with a few inches, my NH YCB other half got totally nailed with close to 20”. Good thing she’s not even in NH this weekend!

SO, this year for a Halloween post, I decided just to follow with the color trend for the weekend and go with a lovely orange chicken. This recipe was suggested to us a by a YCB reader and we agreed it was so good that it should be up here. It originally comes from allrecipes.com with of course a few YCB adjustments.

What you’ll need:

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head of broccoli
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 cup white rice, cooked

What to do:

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Remove from heat and let cool.

In the meantime, place the chicken in a reusable container with tight fitting lid. Pour 1 cup of the cooled sauce over the chicken to marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

In another container, add the flour and salt and pepper to taste. After the chicken is done marinating, add to the flour mixture and toss to coat.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and brown the chicken on both sides. Remove from pan. Add the broccoli and sauté for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Pour the remainder of the sauce in the pan and bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch mixture. Mix well. Return the chicken to the pan and allow to simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve over cooked white rice.

Enjoy!

RECIPE: hurricane pickles!

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:49:10 -0400

So there I was, rain jacket, umbrella, rain boots picking cucumbers in Hurricane Irene this past August. It was a lovely morning for picking cucumbers- no bugs, warm air, and a nice strong wind to keep you cool. The sideways rain seemed a bit much for keeping my eyes open to find all the cucumbers on the 15 mounds that I planted in the spring. But, with my trusty bucket and Joseph (BF) we strove ahead and picked all the cucumbers we could find to make quick homemade pickles.
After unloading the 40 or so pickles onto the kitchen counter, we dried off, giggled a bit at the ridiculousness of the situation, and went to work. The recipe below is a take on a recipe I got from an old family friend. I like my pickles with a BITE. I mean like, garlic, vinegar, salt, dill, take your tongue off: zig-zag-zip flavor in my mouth. So, I jacked up the recipe a bit (The use of the word BIT, is a understatement- please reduced the amount of garlic, pickling spices, and vinegar if you like milder pickles) or check out our other pickle recipe.
We made about 15 large mason jars (quart size) of pickles, all of the cucumbers cut into spears. The recipe below is for 4- Quart Size Mason Jars, with about 10-15 spears in each jar. We got the pickling spices at our local grocery store in the spice aisle. This recipe is super, super simple so try it, and you will be sooo pleased to have fresh, spicy, crunchy pickles in your fridge!

HURRICANE PICKLES

8 cups water
4 cups white vinegar
½ cup salt
12 large cloves garlic
8 sprigs of fresh dill, with heads
2 tsp dill seeds
4 TBL pickling spices
5-6 large cucumbers

To prep all the jars, wash thoroughly with hot water lids, and all- and set out on a clean towel to dry. Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring the water, vinegar, and salt to a boil, and let boil for 2 minutes.
Peal and smash the garlic cloves, set aside. Wash and pat dry the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers in half, lay one half down, and cut into spears. Repeat with each cucumber. Measure the cucumber to make sure it will fit into the jar- just by sticking the spear to see if the pickling water will cover it and you can close the lid.

Turn over the washed jars and place these amounts in each jar:

1. 10-15 cucumbers spears (or whatever will fit)
2. 3 crushed garlic cloves
3. 2 sprigs of dill
4. ½ tsp of dill seed
5. 1 Heaping Tablespoon of pickling spices

Carefully pour the vinegar water into each jar, making sure that the pickles are completely submerged. Let the pickles cool for 2 hours. Screw lids on the jars and place into the fridge for 24-48 hours. Once the pickles are cool, crunch away!