Make and Take Gals are blowing glass pumpkins! Come with us and see how the fun you can have at Elements Glass Shop in Portland. They are gearing up for Christmas Ornaments that you may signup and go try this cool craft yourself! Contact Ian and Aron at www.elementsglass.com
The Make and Take Gals enjoyed a baking day at Poh's this week to help stock up our freezers with holiday appetizers! Pam had to jet off to Texas, so we made doubles of everything so she would have hers to come home to. Poh's list of goodies that we would be making sure did work up our appetite. She kept us moving so we would not eat the fixins... trust me it was very difficult!
We started with spiced pecans; one batch cinnamon and the other pumpkin spice. Now this was the easiest but making them first could be considered good or bad. As the spices filled the air and the trays began to cool, each of us could be seen sneaking off to taste the little morsels.
Next was the beautiful Cream Cheese spread. Three layers of heaven. First the sun-dried tomato layer, than the pesto/Parmesan layer, and last the cream cheese and white pepper layer. Mold, chill and serve... this one shouts holiday party!
On to the puff pastry work station, three mouth watering recipes that were also great fun to make. Ya gotta love a dough that can be rolled out and made into just about anything, then bakes up into flaky layers of little art. We began with Samosa Puffs filled with potatoes, peas and an amazing spicy base; next were mustard and Parmesan bread-sticks; and last a blue-cheese and green onion mix that we also turned into bread-sticks.
After filling two layers of dough with mustard and cheese, I rolled out the layers and everything that ooozed out I spread back on the dough. You may not want to do this, but I could not bare to waste those luscious mustard seeds!
By now Poh knew she had better feed us lunch if we wanted any of the appetizers to survive. I struggled with the rolling of the dough and produced some pretty ugly samosas. We threw them into the oven to serve with lunch and they ended up being fairly presentable and tasted like a bit of India... bravo!
The rest of lunch was an amazing chicken stew, rice and a delicious salad with fall surprises of pecans, feta, and cranberry. Poh also made us favors to take home... Drunkards Fig Jam! Can't wait to serve that with cheese and crackers or maybe over baked chicken!
Poh wrapped lunch up with chocolate cake and ganache from a darling little cookbook called Miette, which is a hot spot bakery in San Francisco. Everything about this book is cute and the cake was moist and rich!
Recipes
Sun-dried Tomato and Pesto Torta
Adapted from Secrets from a Caterer's Kitchen
Ingredients:
Pesto Layer
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cups cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
Sun-Dried Tomato Layer
1 1/3 cups drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup softened cream cheese
Cream Cheese Layer
1 1/2 packages of cream cheese, softened
1 stick sweet butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
Preparation
Line a large mixing bowl, Charlotte mold, spring form pan, or any other attractively shaped 2quart container (we used several small rubermaid plastic containers lined with plastic wrap so that we could freeze and use for smaller events).
Finely chop garlic in processor. Add basil, pine nuts, oil and lemon juice. Process until well blended. Add cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Using on/off turns, process just until blended. Transfer pesto to medium bowl.
Coarsely chop tomatoes in processor. Add tomato paste and process until mixture is almost smooth. Add cream cheese and blend well.
Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
Spray molds with nonstick spray. Line with plastic wrap, extending plastic over sides. Spread 3/4 cup cream cheese-butter mixture evenly over bottom of prepared dish. Top with half of tomato mixture, then 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture, then half of pesto mixture. Repeat layering with 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture, remaining tomato mixture, 1/2 cup cream cheese-butter mixture and remaining pesto. Top with remaining cream cheese-butter mixture. (We did 3 layers only) Cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Invert torta onto platter. Peel off plastic. Garnish with basil sprigs and toasted pine nuts. Serve with baguette slices or crackers.
Spiced Samosa Puffs
2 sheets puff pastry
Filling
1 1/2 pounds youkon gold, peeled and cut potatoes (boiled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks)
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Save 1 cup potato water and set aside. Drain rest of water off potatoes. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat; add onion, season with salt, and cook until very soft and slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add the chile, cook another minute, then add the ginger and garam masala and cook until the mixture is fragrant, another minute or so. Dump the diced potatoes and butter into skillet. With spatula begin to fold to blend. OK if potatoes get mushey. Add a bit of potato water to make creamy, then add peas and lime juice. Fold until well blended. Taste and season generously with more salt and pepper. Let cool and fold in cilantro.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 baking sheets.
Roll out pastry dough on lightly floured surface to 12x12 square and cut into 9 squares. Put a small amount of mixture onto each square, wet sides of pastry with a bit of water, fold into triangles and seal edges with fork. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Puff Pastry Ribbons
Adapted from PuffPastry.com
Thaw: 40 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes
Cool: 2 minutes
Serves: 18
Tip
Once Puff Pastry is thawed, work quickly while it’s still cold. You can cut it into desired shapes, then store in the fridge until you’re ready for the next step.
If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use the tip of a rolled-up paper towel or your fingertip to apply egg wash.
Helpful Puff Pastry tools: Rolling pin, pastry board, sharp knife and/or pizza wheel to cut dough, pastry brush, baking sheets or parchment paper.
For extra-thin, crisp Puff Pastry, set a second baking sheet on top of the filled pastry before baking.
1/3 cup crumbled Blue-cheese mixed with1/3 cup minced green onion
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawe
18 wooden skewers (8-inch)
OR
1/3 cup grated Parmesan mixed with 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawe
18 wooden skewers (8-inch)
Directions
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Sprinkle a work surface with 2 tablespoons cheese. Unfold the pastry sheet on another the work surface. Brush the pastry sheet with water. Place the pastry sheet, wet-side down, onto the cheese. Brush the pastry sheet with water. Sprinkle with the remaining ingredients. Press the cheese mixture lightly into the surface of the pastry with a rolling pin.
Cut the pastry sheet crosswise into 18 (1/2-inch) strips. Thread the pastry strips accordion-style on the skewers. Place the skewers onto 2 baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on wire racks for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the skewers from the pastries.
Serving Suggestion: For a unique presentation, you can leave the pastries on the skewers and stand them in a pretty vase or glass.
Drunken Fig Jam
Adapted from Bon Appétit
October 2008
by Jill Silverman Hough
2 lemons
4 pounds ripe fresh figs (preferably black), stemmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 9 cups)
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup brandy or Cognac
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Using vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons (yellow part only) in long strips. Cut peel into matchstick-size strips (about 3 tablespoons).
Combine lemon peel, figs, sugar, brandy, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in heavy large deep saucepan; let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Bring fig mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; continue to boil until jam thickens and is reduced to 6 cups, stirring frequently and occasionally mashing mixture with potato masher to crush large fig pieces, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat.
Ladle mixture into 6 hot clean 1/2-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jars. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe jar threads and rims with clean damp cloth. Cover with hot lids; apply screw bands. Process jars in pot of boiling water 10 minutes. Cool jars completely. Store in cool dark place up to 1 year.
The Make and Take gals gathered today at my house for the making of pumpkins. It did not take us long to find a rhythm in cutting, sewing, stuffing, and adorning our creations. Taking the idea that Jean found, Poh created patterns while I sourced the materials and hosted our lunch.Soon we had our own pumpkin patch taking over the kitchen.
For lunch I served a festive pomegranate quinoa salad with turkey panini. Dessert was pumpkin cheesecake in a jar and vanilla infused lemonade. A simple meal for a beautiful day of fun and friends around the sewing machine.
1 cup quinoa (soak and rinse per box instructions)
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 cup orange juice,
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup chopped and toasted pecans
1 cup pomegranate seeds
3/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 feta crumbles
3-5 basil leaves, minced
Drizzle EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste
In medium saucepan, combine quinoa, juices and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15min until liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat, cover pot with lid and let set for 5 min. then fluff with fork. Cool completely.
Then add all remaining ingredients and mix well.
Vanilla Lemonade
Split one vanilla bean per gallon of lemonade. Scrape seeds into lemonade and put entire bean in as well. Let infuse overnight and serve chilled over ice.
The Make and Take Gals got together for an “underground” make and take this past week; no fuss, no frills, and no lunch – just a casual, quick session to check a project off the list. Our mission was college care boxes. Several young adults in our lives had just headed off to college. Knowing the first few weeks away from home can be rough, the timing was right to mail packages loaded with touches of home and lots of love. We gathered our supplies, met at my house, and started packing.
Mary Jo was sending to a nephew. Amongst the treats, she tucked in practical items like a muti use tool, toothbrushes, and playing cards. Miniature candy bars served as the “filler”.
Poh sent to a friend’s daughter and wowed her with a donut cake – frosting and candles included for decorating upon arrival. For girls, it’s all about the theme, and this one was for celebrating a September birthday. The box was rounded out with college survival items: bandaids and a stain removal pen.
Pam lovingly packed a care box for her daughter. Stationery (for letters home), coloring supplies (for study breaks), pasta (for apartment living), and homemade fruit leather (for sensible snacking!) filled the box perfectly.
The box I assembled for my nephew contained a Halloween wreath for his dorm door. Made of tootsie pops for easy grabbing, this wreath doubles as a great ice-breaker for new friends stopping by. Homemade granola bars, a CD of favorite songs, and microwave popcorn completed my box.
You know, whether it’s someone in college, in the military, or traveling abroad a care package is always well received. Even for someone that just needs their day brightened, these care packages will be cherished long after the goodies are gone. Some basic guidelines to follow:
·Use the US Post Office flat rate boxes. Regardless of weight, these boxes ship for a set rate.
Call, email, or Facebook to alert the recipient a package is coming.
Include a lot of extra treats for a great icebreaker. Food and friends go together.
For boys, it’s all about the food: granola bars, trail mix, jerky, baked goods.
With girls, think themes like Fall, Thanksgiving, birthday, Valentine’s Day. They love a few surprises like fingernail polish or magazines.
Decorate the inside of the box with pictures or funny phrases.
Send a box in February when homesickness is high. This month is cold, homework is endless, and there is no end in sight. Make this a cheerful package with a gift card to get them out of their dorm (Starbucks or self-serve yogurt).
·Be aware of vacation schedules to avoid the care package sitting in the mail room. Know test dates for final exams – this is a great time to send a little support from home.
·The main element should be what home means to the recipient. You’ll know best what to include that will mean the most.
Almond Apricot Granola Bars Recipe
½ cup almond butter or other nut butter
½ cup honey
1 cup crispy brown rice cereal
1 cup granola
½ cup almonds, chopped
½ cup dried apricots, chopped*
¼ tsp salt
Put almond butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat
for 2 – 3 minutes or until melted.Whisk
to combine.
Put the crispy cereal, granola, almonds, apricots and salt
in a bowl.Add the almond butter
mixture; stir well to combine.
Grease a 7 or 8 inch square baking pan and line it with
parchment or plastic wrap.Spread the
granola mixture evenly into the dish, pressing down gently.Cover with plastic wrap.Refrigerate until set, about one hour.
*substitute other dried fruit if you would like.Dried cranberries are very good!
Under the cool cloud cover of Portland today, the Make and Take Gals managed to fill their project table with blossoms of Sunflowers. That's right, Pam designed darling cupcake blooms and had us pot them up for gift giving. Look at these little masterpieces... enough to cheer anyone into a sunny disposition. The moist chocolate cake and rich frosting are what they call "icing on the cake" and hide the spoons from MJ! Really, how can these gals expect me to sit with so much chocolate and not sample?
The base of the blossoms are Oreo cookies and the darling ladybugs are M&Ms. For the leaves Pam provided several options of candied jellies to sculpt into leaves. The work was intricate but surprisingly easy.
The end result was a table of blossoms and making plans for our afternoon deliveries of these little cuties!
After working up an appetite, Pam crafted a beautiful lunch of Chicken Salad, Caramelized Peach Soup, colorful Caprese Salad, and a darling cupcake of our own with a gorgeous butterfly on top! Thinking ahead, Pam made a separate dessert so we could take our winged friend home to enjoy. The darling favors in a jar are Peach Bellini. Pam says to pour over ice cream or make a peach float with sparkling water, ice cream and some of the Peach Bellini.
Pam personalized our dessert plates making for a delicious indulgence! Thank you Pam for sprinkling sunshine into our gloomy Portland day with your sparkling table and darling blossoms!
~ Come Gather Around the Table! MJ
RECIPES
Mini Caprese Salad
1 small lemon juiced
1 small clove garlic grated or minced
20 fresh basil leaves and a few more for garnish
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pint cherry or small heirloom tomatoes
1 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese (small balls or cubed)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Combine lemon juice, garlic, and basil leaves in food processor. Stream in olive oil ; process to smooth consistency.
In a bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and dressing. Gently toss to coat. Place in a serving bowl and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Makes 6 servings.
Caramelized Peach Soup
3 large fresh, ripe peaches, peeled and halved (or 6 small)
2 T. light brown sugar
1 ½ T. honey
Parchment paper
1 ½ cups fresh orange juice
½ t. ground cinnamon
¼ t. salt
Small container vanilla bean yogurt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss together first 3 ingredients. Place peaches, cut side down, on a parchment lined jelly roll pan. Bake 25 minutes or until juices begin to caramelize, turning after 15 minutes.
Transfer peaches and juices to a food processor or blender; cool completely (about 30 min). Add orange juice, cinnamon, and salt. Process until smooth. Stir in lemon juice. Cover and chill 4 hours.
Ladle soup into bowls. Dollop the top of each serving with vanilla bean yogurt. Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top for garnish.
Makes 4 servings.
Adapted from Southern Living July 2011
Honey Chicken Salad
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 celery ribs, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (craisins)
½ cup (or more!) chopped pecans, toasted
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup honey
¼ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
Garnish: chopped toasted pecans
Combine first 4 ingredients.
Whisk together mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients. Add to chicken mixture, stirring gently until combined.
Garnish with chopped toasted pecans.
Makes 4 -6 servings
From Southern Living June 2006
Supply list for Sunflower cupcakes:
Baked cupcakes in paper liners
Chocolate frosting (store bought or homemade)
White frosting (store bought or buttercream)
Food coloring: yellow and orange
Oreo cookies
Mini Oreo cookies
Candy spearmint leaves /green fruit leather/or other green jellied candies
Swinging by to pick up Poh, we decided on a mid-day escape to the beach. Our leisurely drive to the stunning Oregon coast promised blue skies would eventually break through and by mid-day we were basking in the sun. We landed in Cannon Beach at our favorite eatery JP's. Known for the best Salmon Chowder anywhere. JP's will be closing their doors after 17 years. Co-owner Diana told us her and her hubby are heading to Greece for a month in October and will be celebrating on Sept. 24 by holding a closing party and raffle for their well guarded top secret recipes for their clam, salmon, and seafood chowders. Raffle tickets are $20 each. Poh and I shared an amazing Chicken Salad Tarragon Sandwich while catching up on all the news. It became obvious we needed the recipe when we were both moaning. Luckly we did not attract attention as all the other patrons were moaning over their plates as well. We coaxed the recipe from Diana who gladly shared... keep in mind, her version is made with their homemade bread... a must ingredient!
Diana's Chicken Salad Tarragon Sandwich
Roast chicken breasts with garlic herb seasoning, cool and then cube
Add Best Foods Mayo
1 dried sprig of Tarragon
Garlic and herb seasoning to taste
Add cashews right before serving so they don't get soggy
Spread on homemade white bread and enjoy!
Afterward we decided a quick run to Bruce's Candy Store was required to buy saltwater taffy for making the kids college care packages. Bruce's never disappoints...
Loaded up with all the goodies we headed to Ecola State Park. One of my favorite picnic and hiking spots. As we walked out to the bluffs we managed to pick up a stray companion. This beautiful little guy followed us on our journey.
We closed out our excursion with a drive through the Ecola Rainforest down to Indian Beach to see the surfers. Tide was up so we skipped the hike to the tide pools.
Hope you all are squeezing in the relaxing summer moments before school starts up again!
My fellow Make and Take Gal, Poh, gave me a lovely book by Cami Walker called 29 Gifts. This little gem explores the trials of Cami's adaption to having MS. Along her journey Cami meets a Spiritual Director who provides her with life changing insights on the power of giving. Cami embraces the suggestion and we journey with her as life takes on balance, mindfulness, and joy! The abundance focus changes everything! There is a whole month of summer left, I suggest this read as a wonderful catalyst to send us into to fall and the giving season.
Poh is practicing what she is reading as well. This past month my community lost a very special young man. His parents asked me to make a quilt from his t-shirts, an honor that still leaves me breathless. When the box arrived I simply could not open it. It was Poh who came over and sat next to me, and then grabbed the scissors and pushed me to begin the task of preparing the blocks before I had time to think. Knowing I could not do this alone, she camped out in my home for 3 1/2 straight days until we finished the quilt and passed it on to be sewn together by a long-arm quilter. Poh was my angel for this project and asked for nothing in return. The ripples will extend far beyond the 3 days of time Poh gave me, and Cami's book has been a wonderful inspiration to share in this practice of abundance and mindfulness! Checkout Cami's website for stories and ideas here.
