Recipe: Martha Stewart's Firework Cookies

If you've perused the magazine collections while at a check out line in a grocery store this past month you may have noticed some red and white and blue star burst cookies on the cover of the July issue of Martha Stewart magazine. 

Pretty awesome pinwheel cookies right?  After seeing these, I just had to make them.  Usually I'm not that into holidays outside of November/December but this year I decided I wanted to go all out for 4th of July and make some Patriotic cookies!  So here's what happened:

I was off to a good start until 5 mins into making my cookie dough when I dropped an entire eggshell into the mixer while it was on high.  I thought about leaving them in there, but then I decided no one at the picnic tomorrow would want to eat crunchy cookies.  I had to take out all my dough and dig through to make sure I didn't leave any pieces behind. 

After that little incident it was smooth sailing until I got to the part of making the icing.  The recipe called for meringue powder which I hadn't even heard of until reading the ingredients list.  I followed the icing instructions pretty well I thought.  I mixed it until it looked like Elmer's glue, just like the recipe said.  Then I added my different colors and spread them on the cookies just like Martha (so I thought).  After I finished decorating all my cookies they slowly started melting to one side and dribbling off the cookie edges, taking my pinwheel patterns with them.  So now I am left with sad little cookies look like they were left in the sun too long. 

I'm not sure where I went wrong.  Maybe my cookies weren't cool enough or maybe I should have mixed the icing longer or maybe I didn't add enough powdered sugar.  Either way, it was fun to make them and I am still excited to show them off tomorrow.  I also have festively dyed red and blue palms to match my outfit tomorrow!

The cookies shown below are the best ones of the batch.  The firework didn't totally slide off the cookie yet.  I had extra icing left over and added solid colors to half my cookies and topped them off with sprinkles.  You can't mess sprinkles up...right?

Seeing Red

Over the weekend I was able to get out and enjoy the sunshine.  I spent the majority of my days off refurbishing a desk I just picked up from a friend that was moving.  I've been wanting a desk to use as a sewing station. I preferred to get a used one so I could paint it to match the rest of the room. So on Sunday I pushed the desk outside and sanded it down and then painted it.  I also bought new hardware to update the look of the desk. 



The desk before I painted it



I used Behr paint with primer.  The color is called High Drama and is the same red I painted Charlotte's dog bed.

Close up of new hardware.  Its simple but very elegant.

After the paint dried I used a flower pattern and traced it onto the top of the desk and then filled the design in with black.  I wanted to add a touch of nature to the desk but keep it very simple.

Design detail

After everything was dry I was planning on sealing the whole desk with a clear polyurethane to keep it shiny and durable, but it started raining before I had a chance too.  So the next nice weekend I will finish sealing the desk.  I also plan to paint my dresser the same color and design as the desk.  They are in the same room and I think it would look more put together if they looked like a set.

The desk and dresser are part of my new designs to pull together the whole look of my bedroom/craft area.  I am almost finished with organizing/decorating my room and then I will share photos of the whole project.

Beach Babe



On the way to the coast


Monday, a few of us girls had the day off from work and the weather was finally starting to feel like summer so we took Charlotte to the beach for her first time.  The four of us headed to Newport for the day.  We walked along the bay front, watched the sea lions, ate some lunch and then went to South Beach to catch some rays.  Charlotte had a great time the whole day.  She made lots of friends along the boardwalk.  We even went to a pet store and bought her a new toy for the beach.

Eating lunch before hitting the beach

Charlotte and Brandy

Charlotte loved the sand.  As soon as we put our bags and blanket down she started rolling all over the sand and our purses.

Charlotte made a Jack Russell friend named Oscar.  He looks sad here because his family was in the water but he didn't like it so he waited for them safely on the beach. 

Charlotte with her new sand toy from Bow Wow Meow in Newport. 

She was covered in sand everywhere!

Running away from the waves

Girls at the beach

Even Mannheim came with us to the beach.  He was hoping to see some Dune Gnomes but alas they did not show up that day.

Igor our falcon kite

 

We buried Mannheim in the sand.  He didn't mind.  He enjoyed catching some rays between cloud breaks.

 

Charlotte and Mannheim on the drive home.  She was so exhausted on the way home.  Running in the sand really wore her out.

Blooming Beauties

June has been a rainy month so far but the flowers are starting to bloom everywhere.  My garden is full of beautiful colors and smells from many different blooms.  Here are a few photos of what is already out for this season.

 Purple Russell's blend lupine.  I planted this from seed last year.  It looks so pretty I decided to plant more on the backside of the yard this year.

 Orange iris from Schmidt's.  The color is much deeper in person.  It also smells like fruity pebbles. Mmmm.

 Charlotte running with a rose blossom. 

 Inside of a foxglove

 Starship Enterprise Iris. Also from Schmidt's.

 Pink salvia.  These I took home from the store after they were done blooming and nobody wanted them. They were very sad looking plants last summer. Now as you can see they are in full bloom.

 Pink peony blossom.  Another plant I rescued from the store after it was done blooming.  It only has two blooms on it this year.  They are such a rich color, it will be beautiful when its fully open.

 Purple iris, these are growing all over the yard.  Some are four feet high, some are only 2.  I like these iris even after they are done blooming because they have tall grass like foliage.

 White iris.  These I didn't know were in the yard until this spring.  They haven't bloomed the last two years.

 Mimulus, an annual I planted in an old firebox.

 Fuchsia.  I have seen a female Anna's hummingbird stop by a few times to visit this plant.

Cape fuchsias are about to bloom.  Like a fuchsia this attracts hummingbirds but it can be planted in full sun.

Recipe: Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Its time to pick rhubarb and make some tasty dishes with its bright red stalks.  I came across this recipe for Rhubarb cobbler on allrecipes.com.  It turned out quite delicious for my first go at baking a rhubarb dessert.  I also added strawberries to my version.  I thought it was extra sweet this way. 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice (I used pineapple mango juice)
• 4 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
• (I added 1 cup sliced strawberries )
•  
• DUMPLINGS:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• TOPPING:
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions 

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water and orange juice. Cook and stir until thickened and clear. Add rhubarb and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Pour into a 2-qt. baking dish. For dumplings, combine flours, oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Combine milk and oil; add to flour mixture, stirring lightly until blended. Spoon over rhubarb. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over dumplings. Bake at 425 degrees F for 40 minutes. 

 

Result

 I had enough rhubarb to make 2 1/2 full sized cobblers so I made extra for the Schmidts crew and for another friend. Everyone that tried it has loved it so far (unless they were just afraid to hurt my feelings)!  I thought it was the perfect dessert to start off the summer.  The only part of the recipe I would change would be to make a second batch of the dumplings for the top.  I feel like most recipes skimp on the crust or the shell, in this case it was the dumplings, so I would have made more to fill in the top a little better.  I also would add some ice cream or whip cream to compliment the dish.  I would definitely recommend making this dessert if you have any rhubarb on hand.

Its Raining Babies!



Hand made baby blanket filled with hand made baby clothes and accessories


 This summer is starting off with lots of showers, baby showers that is.  My boyfriend's little sister is expecting her first baby any day now.  She could be having it tonight for all we know.  We're all very excited for her and I wanted to make a handmade present for the newest family member.  The last two weeks I've been working hard putting my baby shower present together and haven't had much time for blogging.  All the energy and time was worth it.  I'm excited to show everyone what I've been working on.  Luisa, if you are reading this STOP NOW and advert your eyes.  No peeking, you will see your present soon enough.



Sock Monkey Blanket with Sun hat and Booties

  I have a thing for sock monkey fabric.  Its soooo cute.  I've created more projects just so I have an excuse to buy all the different colors and patterns it comes in.  For baby Gabriel I used the soft blue design with a coordinating backside.  This was the inspiration for the rest of the baby clothes.  I wanted to create a few sets of outfits that Luisa could mix and match.  The baby hat and booties above can be worn with both outfits I made.



Jungle Outfit

  First I made really cute jungle print pants with a semi-formal tie onsie.  The tie pattern matches the cuff of the pants. 

 I also made a matching sun "safari" hat with the same fabric as the tie and cuffs.  I added a second pattern to the sun hat and used the leftovers to make making booties with green buttons on the sides.

 Baby's sun hat

 Baby's Booties

 Detail of the back of the pants.  I cut out and hand sewed a little monkey face on the back of the pants.




Dinosaur Outfit

  When I saw this dinosaur fabric I knew I had to make baby pants or pj's out of it.   I used the dino pattern for the pants and then made a stencil of the t-rex in the design and blew it up to make a felted dinosaur on the matching onsie.  I used puff paint to give this little guy an eye and a heart. 

 A close up of the t-rex with a heart filled with baby love.

I then folded the new clothes and added a few more baby items I bought and wrapped it all up inside the sock monkey blanket like a diaper.  If I had the right color of ribbon I would have tied it around the bundle and added the anagram 'G' for baby Gabriel.  This will have to wait for tomorrow when I can go buy some.  After I finish I will update this blog with the final photo of the finished project. 

At the beginning of this post I implied that there were multiple baby showers this summer, and there are.  Next month my boyfriend's oldest brother and his wife are expecting their second child and their first baby girl.  So in a few weeks I will be back to making baby clothes.  I'm really excited to make some little girl clothes and hair accessories.  Frank, the father to be is also a Beaver fan so I will be sure to add an Oregon State outfit in the mix.

Memorial Day Weekend in Review

This Memorial Day weekend, like most weekends was spent tidying the house, playing with Charlotte and working on miscellaneous craft projects.  Last weekend I finished almost all of my yard and garden projects which worked out well because the weather was pretty dreary and it was nice to stay inside.  I wanted to finish a bunch of sewing projects I started months ago, but as always, I started dreaming up new ideas and patterns and became too excited to finish anything.  I was less productive than I hoped.  I did however finish a few summer skirts and some puppy accessories for Charlotte.  I don't have any photos to share right now but I will once I finish what I started.  Next weekend I am concentrating on finishing a bunch of baby stuff for my boyfriend's little sister that is expecting a baby in the later part of June.  I won't give too much away in case she reads this!

I hope everyone enjoyed their time off this weekend.  If you had to work, I am right there with you.  I only had my usual two days off this week.  But hopefully the weather will improve here and we will get some sun for the summer season which is almost upon us.