Wild Card Wednesday: Modernist Cuisine At Home

Hello readers! Amelia with Inkling shared some content of this book Modernist Cuisine at Home with us and we wanted to pass on the content to you our readers because some of these recipes sound really good! We are able to view the first chapter of this book absolutely free!  Click here to view the first chapter. 

Here's one of the recipes that I haven't tried yet, but definitely want to make here soon!

Lemon Posset

1 3/8 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

2.1 grams citric acid

Combine is a pot and dissolve sugar. Heat to 88 degreess C/ 190 degrees F. Remove from heat and add citric acid and stir. Mixture will turn into a soft custard. Cool for 10 minutes. Divide evenly amongst 6 small dishes. Pour lemon curd (recipe below) on top of each one. Cover with plastic wrap, and keep in fridge for 12 hours.

3/4 cup lemon curd (optional)

1/2 cup egg yolks blended

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/12 TBS lemon juice

1 3/4 cup unsalted butter

zest from one lemon

1/8 tsp salt

Preheat water bath to 149 degrees F. Place egg yolk in zip lock bag, removing as much air as possible. Bake for 35 minutes. Place immediately into an ice bath. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat, stirring for about 2 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool to room temp. Pour cooked egg yolks into a blender and add lemon/sugar syrup gradually while blending. Continue blending and drop small cubes of butter into mixture until all the butter is incorporated. Stir in the zest and salt.

I copied this recipe right out of the book:)

Wild Card Wednesday: Memory Corsage

We blessed our new baby girl back in December and I wanted to share this cool little gift that my mom made for my little girl to wear on her special day. This is called a memory corsage and my mom originally saw this idea at a boutique she went to. She had bought one at the boutique she went to and had given it to one of my sisters who was having a baby girl. She wanted to keep the tradition going by giving each girl grand baby a corsage, and had a hard time finding one in the stores. You can find them online but some can be quite spendy. Their may be some stores that sell them, but I know my mom searched a lot of different stores and nobody had these.She finally decided to make one instead of buying one for my little girl. I think it turned out great and I am so grateful to have one that my mom made that will end up being passed down generation to generation! 

My daughter's corsage with the Memory Corsage poem

A close up

Here's the poem in case you want to make your own Corsage:

Memory Corsage

A flower for this tiny girl, tied softly at her wrist 

will carry forth a memory of the day that she was blessed.

Then lovingly preserve it, softly tuck this flower away,

to nestle in those curly locks on her baptism day.

So as the months turn to years, a guy may come her way, 

you'll want to share this flower with her on her wedding day.

Something old and something new that every bride must carry, 

Include this flower in her bouquet on the day that she will marry.

Before her flowers are tossed away, remove this flowered pearl, 

to adorn another's tiny wrist, of her very own little girl. 

Kid's Boards

I had some friends post that they wished they could have a board that had this saying on it....so being the nice crafty friend that I am, I told them I would make them =)  They got to choose their color combinations and whether they wanted it for boys or girls.  These are super cute to hang in a nursery or kids' rooms.

Wild Card Wednesday: Christmas gift ideas

The Christmas season is now upon us! It is such a wonderful time to remember our Savior's birth and to give to others. A couple days ago we had a family Christmas party and usually we all bring a little something for each family. Nothing too fancy, just a little something to say hey we love you and appreciate all you do. I got thinking that all these fun gift ideas would be great to share in case any of you readers are looking for some kind of idea for a gift for neighbors, friends, or families. 

Gift idea #1

Loaf of bread: We "loaf" you tons!

Gift idea #2

Hand Soap: We "wash" you a Merry Christmas

This is what I gave everyone this year. There is a really cute printable on this site. I was going to use the printable originally, but then realized my printer needs a new color cartridge, so I had to make my own using plain black.

 Gift idea #3

Hot chocolate: Wishing you a "warm" and wonderful Christmas

 Gift idea #4

Hersheys kisses: We wish you a Merry "Kissmas"

You can also put kisses in a whisk and say  We "Wisk" you a Merry "Kissmas"

Gift idea #5

A spatula with a box of brownies or cookies: We "flippen" love you!

Hopefully you like one of these ideas! Have fun shopping and gift giving this Holiday Season!



Wild Card Wednesday: Halloween Bark

I recently made this for a family Halloween party and it was a huge hit! Everyone loved it. I got the recipe off of I cook...he eats. The great thing about this oreo bark is that you can easily change some of the ingredients to fit whatever holiday you want. For example for Christmas you can use green mint oreos, crushed peppermint candies in place of candy corn with red and green Christmas sprinkles. For Valentines Day you could use pink filled oreos, with valentines day sprinkles and conversation hearts or something similar like that. Get creative and have fun with it. It is really tasty.

Halloween Oreo Bark:

• One bag Halloween oreos broken up into quarters
• 2 cups pretzels-broken up in pieces
• 24 oz vanilla flavored almond bark
• 1 cup candy corn
• Black and orange sprinkles

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and spread out your oreos, pretzels, and 3/4 cup candy corn. Place broken up almond bark in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stir, and then place in for 30 more seconds. Stir again and place in microwave for another 30 seconds if needed. Almond bark should be completely melted and smooth. Drizzle over oreo mixture and try to spread evenly over entire mixture. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and sprinkles over the top. Place in fridge to harden. Once it is completely hardened, take it out of the fridge, break it up into pieces and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Trash Bag Spider Webs and Garlands

Here is a fun easy cheap and cute project that will cost you at most $1.00. Black Trash Bag Spider Webs! I got this idea from How About Orange created by Jessica Jones. Such a cute site by the way. Now I will allow her to tell you how to make the spider web, because she has a really great explanation but I want to show you another variation that I came up with my mistake. Trash Bag Spider Web Garlands.

Aren't they cute? This was totally an accident, I made by first spider web and it was awesome but the second time I forgot to follow the directions. he he. And I did not just do it once I did it twice. Sooo I really know how to do this well. First you just need to fold the trash bag just like you would for the spider web. Cut it into a square and then fold it three times to get a triangle that looks like this.

Now one difference in what How About Orange and I think is that she says to just do one side of the trash bag at a time. But that took me forever so i found that if I taped it like she said to, and was very careful,  that I could do two webs, or garlands at once. Now if you look above you will see the difference of how you position the triangle so you get the web or the garland. In the picture it kinda looks like I just flipped over the triangle but that would make no sense so let me talk or write through it. If you position the triangle with the center of the square or the completely folded side on the bottom you have the spider web. But if you rotate it so the top left point is now on the bottom then you have the garland version. Then you just continue with the steps. I draw my web with a sharpie like she suggested, then you cut it out.

Now when you open it up it will look like this. So don't freak out, it is alright.

Now all you have to do is cut two strips from one side like this.

How cute right? And if all else fails just wing it. I had another mishap and created a chandelier so just have fun with it and Happy Halloween!!

Wild Card Wednesday: Free Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

That's right, free doughnuts!! Thursday, or TOMORROW you can go into any Krispy Creme location and if you talk like a pirate you get a free doughnut. If you dress up you get a DOZEN! The details are below and if you click on the picture it will take you to their website for all the locations and details.

(You can even download a Pirate eye patch!)

 Remember to head to our Facebook page and share this post because it is for one day only! Let your friends know!
If you don't have any pirate gear hanging around, no big deal head to the dollar store! I picked up this set in the Halloween section. :)

Also don't forget a few things we have done in previous years to celebrate with our families!
click on this picture to go back to the post!

Wildcard Wednesday: Floating "Harry Potter" Candles

I have done a few posts recently about my younger sisters bridal shower, which was tie dye theme, and now we move on to the bachelorette party which was Harry Potter theme. (Yes my sister is that awesome.) One of the decorations I made is floating candles, like you might find in the main hall at Hogwarts. :)

I looked at a lot of websites to find ideas for the party and a few of them had floating candles, unfortunately I can't remember what sites they were. Sorry... kinda...

So the process was pretty simple. You need paper (white and yellow), scissors, tape or glue of some kind, a needle and thread, and something narrow and round to roll your paper around.

 Cut the white paper in half, hot dog style, and wrap it around your tube. (Mine was from the middle of a wax paper roll.) Use tape or glue to hold the paper together.

 Then simple slide the paper off the tube.

 I made like one hundred of these, a little over ambitious in hindsight.

 Next comes the flame part of the candle. I didn't want to sit there cutting out every single flame so this is the easiest way I came up with to make more than one at a time. Take your paper and cut a squiggly line down the long side of the paper.

 Then carefully make another squiggle cut going the opposite way.

 You can just pull apart the flames and use a little more glue or tape to attach them.

 To make your candles "float" take your needle and thread and poke a small hole in the flame part of each candle threading through them. I kept it to 10 candles per strand because they did get a little heavy.

 Below you can see our Dobby trying to avoid hitting the candle with his tower of hats. :)

Just a heads up, do not make one hundred of these, unless you have the time to put them all up. But they really do look really cool and added a fun ambiance to the night for not very much money.This would also be a fun thing to make for Halloween.

Wildcard Wednesday: Fruit coolers

Need a refreshing way to beat the summer heat? These drinks are super yummy!! Just cut up a bunch of your favorite fruits (I like using strawberries, peaches, oranges, grapes, and raspberries) Put them in a pitcher and pour sprite or 7up in. Let it soak overnight before drinking. my kids said it tasted like drinking skittles. The best thing is that you reuse it several times. Once the liquid is gone, fill it up again. I think we filled it 3 times.

Wild Card Wednesday: Cook with Your Kids by Guest Blogger Katie

Hey readers! We've got another special guest post for you! Katie is giving us some tips when it comes to cooking with the kiddos. Her bio information is at the end of the post. Thanks Katie from all of us Talented Terrace Girls for your contribution and for the great tips!

Cook with Your Kids

On busy evenings when you’re trying to get dinner on the table quickly, it’s often easiest to plop the kids in front of the TV while you whip up a quick meal.  Having kids underfoot in the kitchen might sound like a disaster waiting to happen, but getting kids into the kitchen can actually be a big help to busy moms—not to mention, it’s the perfect opportunity to spend time together!

Cooking with your kids is fun, productive and a great way to teach your kids basic skills. Use the following tips to get started:

·         Involve them in the entire process

Most kids prefer stirring and pouring to setting the table or doing the dishes, but when you cook with them it’s important to have them participate in all aspects of the meal from start to finish. Having them fold napkins and help with the dishes will help instill good cleaning habits at an early age.

·         Keep meals simple

Don’t expect kids to have the skills or patience to pull off a four course meal. When you’re first starting off, stick to basic dishes that have lots of easy steps that kids will be able to help out with. Making your own pizza is a great kid-friendly meal option, as are quesadillas, tacos and simple casseroles; they all have lots of basic components that can easily be thrown together.

·         Use kid-friendly tools

Now isn’t the time to bring out your fragile china or extremely heavy pans that could potentially crush little fingers. Aluminum pans are good options for when you’re cooking with kids because they are lighter and easier to carry than metal pans. Also, consider serving your meal on disposable plates to minimize the chances of anything breaking on the way to the dinner table.

·         Take advantage of learning opportunities

Not only does cooking with your child provide you the opportunity to teach them kitchen skills like chopping, stirring, pouring and measuring, but it can also assist kids with their reading and math skills. Practice fractions when you’re dealing with measuring cups, or if you’re doubling a recipe, have them do the multiplication themselves. For younger kids, have them read each step of the recipe out loud to improve their reading skills.

·         Clean as you go

Kids are notoriously messy creatures, so make sure you’re prepared to deal with a possible kitchen mess after you cook! To keep your kitchen looking somewhat clean, keep wet paper towels handy for possible spills and a supply of trash bags next to the counter to throw out scraps as they accumulate.

Cooking with your kids can be easy and fun – just keep it simple and be ready to deal with a few messes! The more you cook together, the better everyone will get, and the more you’ll enjoy this new family activity.

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Katie F. on behalf of Hefty®. For products to help you out in the kitchen, along with suggestions for other age-appropriate chores and activities for kids, visit www.hefty.com.

Wildcard Wednesday: Weathering Wood

I like to do lots of wood crafts...in case you didn't notice.  Well, the other day, I was making a sign for someone and I had planned on making it look weathered using some stain.  Well....I went to go get my stain and it was gone!!!  GRRRRR!!!!!  If I went and bought stain then it would end up costing more than what I was charging to make the sign.  So I needed to find a way to make wood look weathered, that didn't involve staining or burning.  So I consulted some creative friends and browsed the internet.  I found this idea and figured, what the hey....I'll try it.

It was super easy and I was happy with the results.  (and it is super cheap!!!!)

You get 1 wad of steel wool.  I found the packages of 12 at the dollar store.  Put it in a glass jar and pour in 1 cup of vinegar and let it sit.  I let mine sit for about a day.  You need to give the acid time to breakdown the steel wool.  You won't see the water color change so don't freak and think nothing is happening (that's what I sorta did)

After it has sat, get your supplies together.  Use an old paintbrush. 

Then just paint away.  You won't see a color change right away, but give it a few minutes.

This was my est board before I tried it on the board I was doing my sign. (I didn't want to ruin the good piece)  The far left side was 3 coats, the next was 2 coats, and the little bit on the bottom rightish is one coat.  So you can get this to do varying shades.

Here is my wood.  You can kinda see the patches I missed but it came out pretty dark.  And check out that splatter mess on my table....Here's my advice....put some newspaper down.  I had to use bleach to get it off.

Here is my finished product.  (my missed Patches were covered by ribbon)

This is such a nice, cheap alternative to staining.  The only downside is you have to wait a day for the steel to react and of course you get that lovely vinegar smell.  The smell will fade on the wood after a few days.  And you can still use mod podge on the board and it won't affect the coloring.