Uncategorized

I am one of those girls who, early on, loved to hate Valentine’s Day.  All-the-while secretly wishing I would be bathed in rose petals on that blessed day.  Now, I can openly LOVE, and create, all I want for that day! 

Here are a few things that I have found recently that have gotten the creative juices flowing.

Click on the images to visit the original post…

Crocheted hearts…Between the Lines {LOVE THIS BLOG!!}

Clothesline book page hearts…The Artist Bride.

Raspberry meringue hearts…Woman’s Day.

“You Have My Whole Heart For My Whole Life” board…House to Home.

Love sacks…Crafty Sisters.

Heart felt wreath…The Idea Room.

What are your ideas for Valentine’s projects?  I would LOVE to hear about them!!

I’ve always loved the idea of brunch; spending time with family and friends over a leisurely late breakfast. And to me nothing says “brunch” like a delicious scone. Seeing as they have been around for centuries, its no wonder there are numerous flavors and recipes for this wonderful quick bread. I’m also a huge Ina Garten fan, so I decided to let her take on scones inspire me. But of course I did my own spin on them, because everyone loves a personal touch. And among the changes, I added banana. Instead of mashing them up however, I diced them so you would have a nice warm chunk of maple flavored banana as ate your scone (take that banana bread!). And unlike many scone recipes you’ll find, these are neither dry nor lacking in flavor. Give these a try, they make the perfect on-the-go breakfast.

Banana Maple Oat Scones:
(This recipe can easily be doubled)
1 and 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Quick-Cooking Oats, plus some for sprinkling
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Sticks Cold, Unsalted Butter diced. (you want this really cold. I put mine in the fridge while gathering other ingredients)
1/4 cup Buttermilk
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Medium Ripe Bananas, diced in small pieces (the riper the better)
2 Extra- Large eggs, plus one for egg wash(1 egg beaten with 1 Tb. milk)

Glaze:
1 Cup Confectioners Sugar(use pure confectioner’s sugar, other brands have cornstarch added and can change the flavor)
1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the first six ingredients. Add the diced, cold butter and mix on the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs together and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Add diced bananas and mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough about 1 inch thick into a circle shape. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut like you would a pizza and make eight pieces. Carefully place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 10 to 15 minutes and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of the glaze. I like to sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.

Enjoy and Happy Baking.

So, if you can’t tell I am a bit of a visual person.  I LOVE looking at and creating beautiful things.  However I am a bit of a scatter brain.  I would find a picture or a recipe, fall in love and then never be able to find it again.  I needed a virtual file cabinet for all of my “loves.”  Then Pinterest walked into my life!

What is Pinterest you ask?  It’s a social catalog service, basically a virtual pin board for all of your “loves.”

{Click on the image to visit my board at Pinterest}

The way it works is, you have a “Pin It” button in your bookmarks bar, when you see something you like, you click in the button.  The image can be from anywhere blogs, websites, other Pinterest members.  You create boards for all different types of categories and voila you have instant image organization!

I have color boards…

Holiday boards…

Food Boards…

Now if I could just get the rest of my life as organized I would be one happy lady!!

One of my favorite memories is strolling the streets of Paris with my sweet husband, sharing a chocolate croissant, and taking in the Parisian joy de vivre (joy of life).  Since I can’t live in Paris and I can’t make croissants (yet), the next best thing…Nutella and marshmallow crème wrapped in a lovely puff pastry.   

You only need 5 ingredients…

• Nutella
• Marshmallow Crème
• Frozen Puff Pastry
• One Egg
• Sugar

First, you will need to thaw the puff pastry.  Once thawed, unfold and cut into four squares.

Put a spoonful of Nutella and marshmallow crème on the puff pastry.  Oh, it’s looking good already!!

Fold the square into a triangle and crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork. 

Brush the pastry with an egg wash {one egg, beaten} and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned.  Take out of oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes and then ENJOY!!