Sunday Tea? Bake some Maraschino Cherry & Almond Muffins!

Happy Mother's Day!

Having someone over for a Mother's Day afternoon tea?

This little "pretty in pink" muffin made with almonds and maraschino cherries would fit the bill.  

Today's recipe is from Muffins - a Cookbook (1982) by Joan Bidinosti and Marilyn Wearring, two Ontario mothers and great cooks.  Good news!  A quick search indicated that this book is still available (used) on Amazon.

Maraschino Cherry Muffins
from MUFFINS - A COOKBOOK

Maraschino Cherry Muffins

3/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

Beat together.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

1/4 cup chopped almonds

Sift in dry ingredients; add cherries/nuts.

Stir to blend.

Fill muffin cups and bake at 375°F.

(25 min. for large; 17 minutes for small)

A Crocheted Baby Blanket and a Helpful Website

Here's what I'm currently working on... a baby blanket for a special little girl expected any day!  

A friend showed me one she'd made and passed along some very old, photocopied instructions. Thank goodness I had my friend's blanket to study as I didn't understand the pattern instructions at all!  

Basically, you work the green and the white yarn at the same time so it creates a white on green pattern on one side and a green on white pattern on the reverse side.  The two row pattern repeat is very simple, so it's a great project to work on while watching TV or listening to the radio.  A "work in progress", I'm still thinking about how I'll finish off the border.  When I'm done, I'll share again and give more specific directions.

In the meantime, if you're teaching yourself how to crochet (or, like me, relearning!!), here's a website you might find handy and want to bookmark.  

Annie's Crafts sells crochet, knitting and quilting patterns and supplies.  They are also a source for kits, etc. for other crafts such as card making, beading, cross-stitch, etc.

Very useful to me, however, is their "how-to" section with clear pictures, directions and videos.  I've referred to the crochet and knitting pages and found them very helpful.  

Happy Saturday!

Maggie

#98 That CAT really CAN COOK.... Banana Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
from Cat Can Cook

Looking for an easy, moist and VERY tasty banana muffin recipe?

Head over to Catherine Robertson's website, Cat Can Cook.  

Catherine's Awesome Banana Muffin Recipe is exactly that - awesome!  It's not complicated and there's only a half cup of sugar.  I added chocolate chips to this batch and also baked them an extra five minutes, but otherwise just followed the recipe as directed.

Even better, Catherine explains how to prep and store the dry ingredients (Basic Dry Muffin Mix), then have the mix handy to make a variety of other muffins: carrot, oatmeal, applesauce, pumpkin and cranberry.

Happy Baking!

Maggie

When life gives you lemons... Summertime Lemonade (sugar reduced)

No worries!

But, if you have a whole bag of lemons...

and it's 27 ° C outside...

then you NEED to make lemonade!

Normally, when on my own, I'll add a splash of lemon juice to a glass of either plain or sparkling water.  I've even experimented with some other water options.

But, "traditional lemonade"?  Hmmmm...

After reading numerous recipes and this excellent article at The Kitchen, I thought there has to be a less sweet option.  A ratio of 1 cup sugar to six cups of liquid is A LOT of sugar!  I did like the suggestion for adding ginger though.  Here's my version.  Hope you like it.

Summertime Lemonade

(reduced sugar)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons thinly sliced ginger

Boil for two minutes. Cool.

juice from 3 lemons (about 1 cup)

6 cups water

Add to syrup mixture.  
Stir and chill.

Stir well before serving.

Today's quote...

Summer is like a fresh glass of lemonade.

You want to drink it fast, but you want it to last forever.

- Susan Gale

Cheers!

Maggie

# 97 Kid Play: Food Colouring Activities

Now, today's websites have one common ingredient... 

Food colouring!

A bit messy, true, but take it all outside and enjoy the moment.  Your kidlets will have a great time.

Here are three posts to check out...

First, at The Mother Huddle, see what you can do with vinegar, baking soda and food colouring.  

Next, visit Easie Peasie and learn how to make some beautifully coloured, homemade finger paint.  Again, you only need common kitchen ingredients.

Last, but not least, at Momma's Fun World, there's a list with directions for 45 more activities you can try with food colouring.

Happy Saturday!

Our First Crocus

Has spring finally arrived?  

Our first crocus...  

Usually these little guys pop up sometime late March.  In fact we used to tell our youngest that these were her birthday flowers.

Today's May 3rd!  Sheesh!

Better late than never...

Roasted Pepper Sauce

For some reason (okay, it was a lack of organization and planning ahead), I had an unusually large number of peppers lurking in the bottom of the fridge.  

I say lurking because some of them were beginning to look a little "long in the tooth" and threatening to turn mean and ugly.

Now, although the recipe below looks pretty "official" with exact measurements, this sauce really isn't like that.  

Lots of peppers?  Yes.  I avoided green as I felt that would muddy the colour of my sauce.  

Onions?  Garlic? A couple of tomatoes?  Yes, sir.  Absolutely required.  

But don't stop there!  If you have a couple of carrots, or half a butternut squash, or some ribs of celery... Why not toss them in as well?

Roasted Pepper Sauce

5 peppers (yellow, orange and/or red)

1/3 onion

1/2 red onion

1/3 cup celery

2 tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Wash and chop vegetables into chunks.

Toss in oil, then scatter on large baking pan.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Greek seasoning.

Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

In small batches, puree in blender.

Simmer in a pot on the stove until ready to serve.

Maggie's Roasted Pepper Sauce

Yum!  We had some of this sauce for lunch, poured over angel hair pasta nests filled with lemon pepper tuna.  

Still some left, hmmmm.....

...might fill a casserole dish with chicken breasts and veggies, pour the remaining sauce  over top and throw it in the oven for an easy supper tomorrow night.  Any other suggestions?