This past week has been all about family style…. actually, that would be Family Style: as in: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style. In the span of about a week I’ve made String Beans with Shallots, Chicken Stew with Biscuits (twice!), Deep Dish Apple Pie, Perfect Pie Crust, Broccoli & Bow Ties and Coconut Macaroons – all from this one cookbook! I think this cookbook just fits in perfectly for the time of year and cold weather we’ve been having. It’s filled with easy, hearty, comfort foods. The Chicken Stew with Biscuits I made on two separate nights when we had guests over for dinner – it was a big hit and made for great leftovers.

My Two Spoonfuls recipe adventure this week is Ina’s Coconut Macaroons. I’ve made these many times. They are delicious. Would you like to bake something, but you don’t have alot of time or don’t want something that’s too complicated? Then this recipe fits the bill! These macaroons have only 5 ingredients: coconut, condensed milk, vanilla, egg whites and salt. That’s it.

I’ve always wondered how these would taste with a few cherries added. So this time I added dried cherries (purchased from my grocery’s bulk section) to half of the macaroon batter.

The cherries were a hit…. but I don’t think I’m done experimenting yet. I think I need to know how Maraschino cherries might taste. Yes… I think another batch of macaroons is in my near future!

____________________________________________________________________________

* Jenn’s Notes *

There is so much to do at this time of year. Places to travel to, friends and family to visit, gifts and gifts and more gifts to make and to buy.

There are many ways that we can all go green, and try to do something, even a small thing, to reduce the quantity of resources that we consume.

Among other things, this year for the holidays Josh and I gave re-usable market totes to family members. We also save boxes, bubble wrap and packing peanuts throughout the year and reuse them to mail Christmas gifts.

And then one day I happened across an article in a magazine featuring Klean Kanteens. Have you heard about these? Klean Kanteens are re-usable, lightweight, stainless steel water bottles that come in a range of sizes (even a sippy cup for little ones!), and have the potential to last through a lifetime of use. The bottles are BPA free.

(BPA = bisphenol A = a chemical that is suspected of being hazardous to humans, that is used in many, many household products. You can learn more about BPA on the Klean Kanteen website *HERE* and Wikipedia *HERE*.)

These bottles are toxin-free and they can hold water and citrus drinks (orange juice, etc..) I’ll be using a Klean Kanteen from now on when I’m working in my studio. I got Josh a bike cage to go with his – so he can have water when he’s out biking.

No more plastic bottles for us!

__________________________________________________________________________

This afternoon I’ve got to walk over to the post office.

Brrr, it’s cold outside!

Now, where did I put that hot chocolate?

Maybe there’s some in Ginny’s Two Spoonfuls kitchen!

Best, Jenn : )

One day, Ginny said to Jenn: “Let’s do a cooking blog post.”

A flurry of emails later, Two Spoonfuls was born!

We are two creative gals who became friends through our mutual love of fabric and sewing. Now, we’re bringing our energy and style into the kitchen, trying new recipes, re-vamping old favorites and sharing them with you.

We’ll use familiar ingredients to create dishes that are flavorful and easy to prepare, while adding our own helpful tips, bits of kitchen wisdom, and a little food history too. The recipes we share will be practical, with easy gourmet touches.

Look for Two Spoonfuls recipe recommendations: always in time for a weekend, to share with your family and friends.

—————————————————————–

My second Two Spoonfuls recipe to try is Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.

This recipe can be found on the AllRecipes website.

The recipe is for both the cupcakes and the accompanying Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Most of the ingredients I already had in my pantry, particularly the spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, grnd cloves, and allspice.

All you need is a mixer (hand held or stand) to make the cupcakes. They bake until golden.

Then, while your cupcakes are cooling, use your mixer again to whip up the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. After you’ve frosted these cupcakes, be sure to hide a few for yourself, because they will go quickly!

They are delicious!

————————————————————————–

* Jenn’s Notes *

Have you ever set aside a little time to do some baking and then read through your recipe and discovered that some of the ingredients need to come to room temperature? What a buzz kill! Now, I’m not saying that I’ve never covertly placed ingredients into the microwave and “encouraged” them to come to room temperature, but ideally, we all want to make the recipe the right way. So – I’m letting you know now that the butter, cream cheese and eggs should all be at room temperature when you are ready to get started. There. I’ve just saved you some electricity! Go green!

This recipe says that it makes 24 cupcakes. I got 20 cupcakes. After you taste how good these are – you’re going to wish you had those missing 4. The only solutions I can see for this problem are either to fill your muffin cups with a little less batter than you normally would or just make a double batch. In fact, just make a double batch – you’ll be glad that you did. ; )

————————————————————————

Did You Know?

Target sells two different colors of stackable 36 count Cupcake Caddies! No more smooshed frosting, and you can carry all 36 cupcakes in one easy, portable carrier – they even have a handle!

“Cupcake” is the common term in the U.S. and Australia. In England a cupcake is called a “Fairy Cake”.

Ground allspice is not, as some people believe, a mixture of spices. It is actually a pea sized berry of the evergreen pimiento tree that is native to the West Indies and South America, though Jamaica provides most of the world’s supply. Allspice is also called Jamaica Pepper. The English gave it the name Allspice because it tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

These are the dried, unripe fruits of Allspice, which will be ground and used in cooking.

——————————————————————

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Two Spoonfuls post!

You can click here *Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes* for the complete recipe.

I look forward to hearing from you, especially if you decide to give these a try!

We’re aiming to share our Two Spoonfuls posts every other Friday,

I’ll still be doing my usual work-in-progress posts, too!

—————————————————————

Now let’s see what Ginny’s been up to over in her kitchen…

Click here to find out!

*Two Spoonfuls*

Jenn : )

One day, Ginny said to Jenn: “Let’s do a cooking blog post.”

A flurry of emails later, Two Spoonfuls was born!

We are two creative gals who became friends through our mutual love of fabric and sewing. Now, we’re bringing our energy and style into the kitchen, trying new recipes, re-vamping old favorites and sharing them with you.

We’ll use familiar ingredients to create dishes that are flavorful and easy to prepare, while adding our own helpful tips, bits of kitchen wisdom, and a little food history too. The recipes we share will be practical, with easy gourmet touches.

Look for Two Spoonfuls recipe recommendations: always in time for a weekend, to share with your family and friends.

—————————————————————–

Welcome everyone, to our first Two Spoonfuls post!

With Thanksgiving fast approaching and lots of pumpkiny goodness all around us, I’ve chosen Pumpkin Bread Pudding as my first recipe to explore. This recipe is from Ian Knauer and can be found on the Epicurious website.

Most of the ingredients for this recipe – you probably already have in your pantry.

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground cloves

5 cups cubed day-old baguette

3/4 stick unsalted butter

This recipe makes 6 servings and is very easy!

Simply mix up everything except butter and bread, toss the bread in melted butter and mix into the custard.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until set and golden…

And ENJOY!

You can drizzle on maple syrup, add a dollop of icecream, or just eat as is (like I did).

————————————————————————–

* Jenn’s Notes *

I really liked this recipe – it was very tasty and easy to make.

Also – the house smells fantastic while this is baking in the oven.

At the Epicurious website, there were a couple suggestions that people had for this recipe. I made note of the suggestions, but decided to try the recipe as it is written before I started changing things. Now that I’ve made this, here is what I found:

* This recipe is mild in the seasoning. You could increase the amount of spices if you like that strong pumpkin pie kind of flavor.

* In my opinion tossing the bread in the amount of butter called for was unnecessary. When I make this again, I’ll start by cutting back to 1/2 cup.

* This would be a great recipe to add to! If you’re like me, then there’s a half box of raisins in the back of your refrigerator, yearning to see daylight. Go ahead and toss a half cup or so into the mix! Chopped crystallized ginger would be nice, too.

————————————————————————

Did You Know?

* Bread pudding is basically a custard (milk and eggs combined with heat) with the addition of bread and seasonings.

* According to Wikipedia: “In the United Kingdom, ‘custard’ generally refers to a dessert topping made from cornflour rather than eggs, either bought ready-made, or made by adding hot milk to a powdered form.” “Since true custards are made with eggs, in the UK there is a distinction made between the true “egg-custard”, found in custard tarts, and “ordinary” custard, the popular corn-flour variety.”

——————————————————————

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first Two Spoonfuls post

You can click here *Pumpkin Bread Pudding* for the complete recipe.

I look forward to hearing from you, especially if you decide to give this tasty dish a try!

We’re aiming to share our Two Spoonfuls posts every other Friday,

I’ll still be doing my usual work-in-progress posts, too!

—————————————————————

Now let’s see what Ginny’s been up to over in her kitchen…

Click here to find out!

*Two Spoonfuls*

Jenn : )

Two days ago I stepped away from the computer.

Away from email.

Away from my studio.

I spent part of the day baking,

something I haven’t done in quite some time.

Here, join me in the kitchen for a moment. : )

I have fresh raspberries in new Ikea bowls.

You can hold a real vanilla bean….

…it’s filled with tiny, fragrant seeds.

(You can click on this photo to see them up close!)

There’s bittersweet chocolate for chopping and melting.

White chocolate for melting, too.

Raspberry cream sandwich cookies.

(Can you spot the tiny vanilla seeds?)

Dozens of chocolate crackle cookies all in a row.

Take a little time for yourself now and then.

Do something that you enjoy,

just because you enjoy it.

Have a Sweet Day!

Best,

Jenn : )

Cheers!

Jenn : )

(*Update: the clafoutis recipe can also be found in the latest Williams-Sonoma catalog on page #33. I just got mine today : )

This morning I woke up kind of out-of-sorts and melancholy…. but todays mail has cheered me up immensely!

But first – here is the result of my cookie fest last night. I made two kinds but only allowed myself to keep a few of these crackle cookies in the house. The others were pecan short bread with homemade caramel (and just between you and me – I haven’t dared to make caramel since “The Great Thumb Burning” of 2000. I’m happy to say this attempt went much, much better!) – I sent those off with Josh to work this morning.

(and P.S. Mrs. Kwitty – there’s an extra one there for you!)

So, I walked over to the post office and there was a package from my friend Ginny over at iSew. She makes adorable gadget cozies (among other things!). When I told her how much I wanted one for my little cel phone she made Daisy, just for me!!! Isn’t she the cutest!

The craftsmanship is fantastic and the attention to detail is flawless. Right down to the buttons that she used for the eyes – which have a pattern around the edges so it looks like she has eyelashes : ) The yarn that she used is super soft – I am just blown away!

Here is Daisy meeting Lucy for the first time.

So – if you need a great cozy for your phone or ipod or camera… or a super gift for your best friend: check out iSew over at Etsy and say “Hi” from me!

Receiving my Daisy was enough to put a big smile on my face today – but I also rec’d this book of postcards from Superbuzzy. These are a gift from my honey, Josh – thanks Josh! I love them!

So sweet!

I love this one!

Oh – and one more thing I wanted to tell you about. My friend Julie has started a really fun interactive project over on her blog. She’s creating an original piece of artwork (a painting) in ten stages – by taking suggestions from her blog readers. Each day she’ll take the first 10 ideas that people submit and pull one from a hat and add the chosen idea to her painting. Cool idea, huh? I’ll be checking her blog to see how each stage looks – can’t wait to see the final painting!

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a great weekend : )

Jenn