alipyper

Author: Allison

  • Lemon Curd Recipe

    What do you do with 24 egg yolks left over from a gigantic wedding cake?

    Make yummy, tangy, sweet, yellow lemon curd.

    Lemon Curd
    makes about 2 cups

    1 cup sugar
    2 Tbsp. cornstarch
    2/3 cups water
    1 Tbsp. finely shredded lemon zest
    6 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
    6 beaten egg yolks
    1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

    Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a medium saucepan. Add water, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly.

    Slowly stir half of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks. Then return all the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in butter pieces, completely incorporating melted butter.

    Cover curd with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours.

    Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook.

    Here are some ideas of what to do with it once you’re done…besides just spooning it into your mouth.

    Lemon Tassies
    Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
    1-2-3-4 Lemon Cake

  • alipyper likes to garden???

    I spent the other day weeding and preparing the raspberry bed for winter. I was pretty aggressive about removing old canes and now that it’s done I’m in a panic that I went a little too crazy. It sure looks nice and neat, but what if I did more harm than good? What if I cut the canes too short and in the wrong way? What if the roots are in danger of winter kill because I’ve exposed the soil? What if the weight of the winter snow that gets shoveled off the driveway weighs the canes down too much?

    As I was working, I kept thinking about Antiques Roadshow where someone brings in a gorgeous piece of furniture and the appraiser says, “This is a wonderful, authentic piece that is worth $10,000. But if you had only left the original old patina on, instead of stripping off the dirt and grime and refinishing it, it WOULD HAVE been worth $150,000!” What if that’s what I’ve done with our favorite crop?

    More often than not, I’m rendered motionless by “analysis paralysis.” Very often I’ve convinced myself something won’t work before I even try. And if I think I’ll look like a fool doing something? Nuh uhh. Won’t willingly go there.

    As you can see there is LOTS more to do while the weather holds to get the garden beds ready for winter. While I weed and prune I’ll be thinking about overcoming my “analysis paralysis.” And I’ll be praying the whole winter through that what I’ve done with the raspberries was the right thing to do.

  • Projectile Monkeys – Toy Tuesday

    Flying Flingshot Monkeys

    Have you seen these flying monkeys? They are so much fun! You place your fingertips in the monkeys hand pocket, pull back on their legs and let them go like a sling shot. They really do fly!

    They have barnyard animals…

    When Pigs Fly…
    and flying monkey spacemen as well.

    Flying Monkey Spacemen
    Appropriate for ages 3 and up. Great stocking stuffer!!

  • Wedding Carrot Cake Recipe

    Phew! The wedding cake was made, transported, and assembled without too much drama. Luckily the wedding dinner was practically right across the street from the house. I was so pleased with how it turned out!

    The dramatic fall colors against the simple, bright white frosting were so vivid, so gorgeous!

    The top layer of the cake was vanilla cake with blackberry filling. The second layer was vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling. The third layer was chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling. And the bottom layer was carrot cake with cream cheese filling. All the cakes were moist and yummy but my favorite flavor by far was the carrot cake.

    The recipe below makes about 4 2/3 cups of carrot cake batter, without any nuts. I tripled the recipe for each 14″ layer and filled each layer with 12 cups of batter. The 2 cups of batter left over from each cake layer was made into carrot cupcakes. This cake was moist, but the texture was very firm, so it held up really well on the bottom of the cake. LOVE this wedding cake recipe!!

    Carrot Cake

    2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
    1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
    1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/2 cup canola oil
    1/2 cup buttermilk
    1 cup sugar
    3 large eggs
    1 tsp. pure vanilla
    2 1/3 cups shredded/grated carrot
    1 cup walnuts or toasted pecans, chopped fine, optional

    Preheat oven to 325°F. 

    Butter two 8″ x 2″ round cake pans. Put parchment circles in pans, butter parchment, then flour pans, tapping out excess flour. Set aside.

    Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

    In a medium bowl, mix canola oil, buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add shredded carrot and mix until well blended. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low and frequently scraping the bowl to make sure the batter is nice and smooth with no lumps, without over mixing. Pour batter into prepared pans.

    Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes before removing cakes to cool completely on wire racks. Using a serrated knife, level the cakes. Double wrap the cake layers in plastic and freeze at least 24 hours.

    When you’re ready to frost the cake, remove cake layers from the freezer. Immediately frost tops and sides with Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

    1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

    2 tsp. pure vanilla

    5 1/2 to 6 1/4 cups powdered sugar

    Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and 2 cups of the powdered sugar. Continue adding powdered sugar until you reach a spreading consistency. Makes about 4 cups frosting and will frost the tops and sides of two 8- or 9- inch layers.

     



    The decorations at the wedding dinner were so lovely and I’m so glad that the cake added to the loveliness. Yay for a wedding cake success!

    Carrot Cake Recipe

  • Fall Wedding Central

    It’s fall wedding central here at the house. My niece is being married tomorrow and I’m baking the wedding cake.

    My mother is brilliant at flower arranging and she’s enlisted the help of the grandchildren.
     
    We haven’t had a fall wedding before and the colors are so gorgeous! I promise to share my recipes and more pictures…

  • A Thank You Gift Beyond Words

    A dear friend gave me the loveliest thank you gift on Monday. It was WAY too generous, and completely unnecessary, but I am tickled beyond words! The silky soft Liberty of London fabric and the Koigu 100% Merino Wool fingering yarn purchased from Purl Soho in NYC are stunningly beautiful and I am all a-twitter with anticipation and delight at what to make with them!

    I’ve been wasting precious time researching today on Pinterest (the time-sucking void of delicious ideas and pictures) for a summer hexagon quilt for my bed. Our duvet and down comforter is WAY too hot for summer, so I’d like a lighter quilt during the hot season. I won’t get to a quilt until the new year, but I’m so excited at the possibilities!

    I think that I’ll make some finger-less gloves with the yarn. Won’t that be colorful and fun during the drab winter?!

    I’m so grateful for this unexpected gift!

  • Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead

    Polka and Bloom Calavera Skull Embroidery Pattern

    Today I’ve been thinking about Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The Mr. lived quite a few years in Mexico as a preteen, and then for two years as a missionary for our church. He has a deep love for the people of Mexico, their food, and their culture. Ask the children what one of the favorite things they love to do with their father, besides fishing, and they will say, “making bolillo,” a traditional Mexican crispy crust bread roll. Last week we used the last of our tomatoes from the garden to make a roasted tomato salsa in our molcajete. Our favorite soup? Caldo de Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup – someday I’ll share my recipe with you!).

    Sweet Sugar Belle

    Last year I attempted to make Day of the Dead cut-out cookies. They did NOT turn out as amazing as these cookies by Sweet Sugar Belle. (But go check out this amazing tutorial she posted!!) I think I like Day of the Dead traditions because the holiday celebrates the amazingly vibrant colors of Mexico and it emphasizes the importance of family and ancestors.

    Frida Kahlo Mexican Tile

    One of my favorite artists is Frida Kahlo.The way she embraced her ethnic roots, the uncompromising honesty of her artwork, the way she wore her hair!! And her unique perspective.

    Happy Dia de los Muertos!

  • Chevron Stripe Scarf for Japan

    Apparently I wanted to crochet a scarf for Japan instead of knit it. 

    I usually knit and crochet in very small gauges, but this time I chose a bulky yarn and I’m thrilled at how quickly the scarf was to crochet! An easy, fast, and thoroughly satisfying project.

    Chevron stripes seem to be all the rage right now. Remember the Missoni for Target frenzy?!

    This chevron stripe scarf is a free pattern from Lion Brand yarn. I’ve used Lion Brand Alpine Wool, which is 100% wool, for the light blue, and a vintage (like, really vintage) wool-blend yarn that was in my mother’s stash for the cream.

    We’ll send them off when {G} is done with hers.

    With the weather turning cold here, I’m thinking about scarves for myself. Here are a couple patterns that I think are really, really lovely…

     Knit by Dawn Sparks. This is her Etsy shop. Apparently the pattern is in 101 Designer One Skein Wonders.

    Crocheted by Coco Rose.

    Mr. O’Leary’s Scarf. Free Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

    If you’re interested in sending a scarf to Japan, please go here for more information, or click the link below or on my side bar.

  • S’mores Cookies

    Martha Stewart S’mores Cookies

    I made these yesterday and they are so unbelievably addictive that I’m struggling with getting any sort of healthy nutrition from anything else. The cookie is dense, but crumbly too, with a hint of cinnamon. And the chocolate and broiled marshmallow really do conjure up the taste of campfire s’mores.

    Um, I made a double batch. I think I’m in trouble!

  • Fru Dahle – Toy Tuesday

    Look who came to play today! Fru Dahle from Norway has come to play with my fairy family for spooky All Hallows’ Eve. Made by Emily of Ravenhill (who sadly is no longer blogging or selling her super cute matroyshka dolls. Boo hoo hoo!).

    When Emily closed her shop in January of this year, I promptly ordered Fru Dahle (1) because she’s amazingly cute, (2) because I had wanted one of Emily’s matroyshka dolls for quite some time and I shuddered to think that I wouldn’t be able to order a doll if I didn’t act very fast, and (3) Dahle is the Norwegian family name of my maternal great-grandmother!! It is also {K}’s middle name! So it seemed like fate that Fru Dahle should come to live with our family.

    But, alas! Even though Emily sent her to us in January, Fru Dahle decided to gallivant across the globe, visiting all the places that I’m sure I’d wish to go, and making me cry a very sad Boo Hoo, because not only had Emily closed her shop and wasn’t making any more deliciously darling matroyshka dolls anymore, but I thought that Fru Dahle didn’t want to come live with us!

    But, Fru Dahle DID want to live with us and she arrived safe and sound and she is now comfortably housed with the Fairy Family and they are planning what costumes to wear for Halloween.

    For other darling matroyshka dolls, visit here, here, or here. Enjoy!