In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. ~ Gibran

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Make and Take ~ A Grand Stand! May 2011

 Cupcake Stand and Card Making Video

Poh hosted a wonderful morning of crafting cupcake stands and matching card and envelope sets!The cupcake stands were based on a model seen at the local paper store. We experimented with the pedestal shape, table top shape, and tablecloth or skirt additions... a bit like playing paper dolls!


Our finished projects together!

Once we completed the darling cupcake holders we moved onto designing matching card and envelope sets.  Cards are a favorite session for the Make and Take Gals. We stock up our collections and each time make a fun and unique pattern. Poh bumped up the elegance factor with a lined envelope, which was so fun to create as we fussy cut paper to showcase just the right design!





We each created 25 unique cards to take home! Time for lunch!

Poh created a beautiful lunch of turkey burgers, three bean salad, and of course, cupcakes! Not just any cupcakes, but rosewater infused pound cake cupcakes with vanilla rosewater frosting. At each place setting was a small spice jar filled with dried bay leafs from her garden and we each took home an heirloom tomato start... wonderful!





Recipes

Garden Three-Bean Salad with Fresh French Dressing

2 cups green beans,trimmed if desired
8 cups mixed greens
2 cups frozen shelled sweet soybeans(edamame),thawed
1 cup canned white beans(cannellini) thoroughly rinsed and drained
1 cup radishes,quartered or sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Fresh French Dressing

1. In microwave-safe bowl combine green beans with1/4cup water and 1 tsp salt. Toss to distribute salt among beans. Micro cook, uncovered, on 100% power(high) for 3 to5 minutes or until tender. Set aside and allow to cool.

2. Place salad greens in a large salad bowl; add green beans,edamame,white beans and radishes. Add about half the dressing. Sprinkle with pepper and toss gently. Pass the remaining. Makes 8 servings.

Fresh French Dressing

In the blender combine 2 medium tomatoes,halved and seeded; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 to 3Tbsp red wine vinegar; 2Tbsp tomato paste; 1Tbsp snipped fresh tarragon  and 2 tsp Dijon mustard. Cover and process until thoroughly blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tomatoes vary in juiciness; if dressing is too thin, blend in additional tomato paste,1 tsp at a time. Refrigerate until serving time.

Recipe from Better Homes and Garden June 2011

Strawberry-rose cupcakes
Makes 16

1cup butter, at room temperature
11/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1tsp. Vanilla extract
3/4cup buttermilk
21/2 cups flour
3/4tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1/3cup strawberry jam
11/2 to2tsp rose water

Cream cheese-rose frosting 

21/2cups small rose petals(organically grown) for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 325 degree. Line 16 muffin cups with liners. Beat butter and sugar with a stand mixer until creamy. Add eggs,vanilla and buttermilk; beat until well blended.

2. Whisk together flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt in a bowl. Gradually beat into butter mixture until well blended.

3. Whisk together jam and rose water to taste in a small bowl. Spread 2 heaping tbs batter in each liner. Top with 1 tsp jam mixture, then another 2 tbsp batter, carefully spreading it to cover jam.

4. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted toward the edge comes out clean, 25 to27 minutes. Let cool in pans 5 mins, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Spread with frosting and decorate with rose petals.

Cream-cheese-rose Frosting
In a bowl with a mixer, 4 oz cream-cheese and 1/4cup butter( both at room temperature) with11/2 to 2tsp rose water,1/4tsp vanilla extract and 21/2 cups powdered sugar until smooth.

From Sunset magazine

Gourmet Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
3oz sun dried tomatoes (not in oil)
3-4 oz flavored feta cheese (such as garlic & herb or basil & tomato)
1/2 medium onion
1 egg

Combine all ingredients and shape into patties.  Grill or pan fry.  Makes 4 - 6 burgers.

Templates
Feel free to enlarge these to make your own cupcake stands and envelope liners at home!

Cupcake Stand Template

Envelope Liner Template




Thank you Poh for a fun morning of friendship and fun! ~ MJ



Saturday, June 25, 2011

Video ~ Jammin

Make and Take Gals are Jammin!


Make and Take releases its second video for your enjoyment!  Come along with our Youtube tutorial on how to make berry jam and wine Jelly!  We recommend serving the jelly over cheese with some nuts sprinkled on top... yummers!


If you like what you see be sure to click the like button and leave a comment!  You can also subscribe to automatically receive our videos in the future.  Enjoy!

Field Trip, May 12, 2010

An Evening with Master Chocolatier Julian Rose from Moonstruck

Last evening Poh and MJ had the honor of being part of an intimate gathering at the World Affairs Council event in Portland, Oregon where Master Chocolatier Julian Rose of local Moonstruck Chocolate gave us a lesson on the process for chocolate from the harvest at the farms near the equator to the table in one of Moonstruck's 5 local cafes. Learning the journey from the correct growing conditions to the science behind mastering the 3rd highest traded commodity in the world! Julian Rose delivered an engaging and informative course with a sprinkling of stories and chocolate politics.  He demystified this historically amazing fruit.  


As the science gets closer to proving that cacao originated in Central America, Julian Rose detailed for us his crowning accomplishment this past year in rediscovering the believed to be extinct Nacionale cacao tree.  Over 100 years ago this crop was wiped out by fungi disease in Equador.  Last summer Julian Rose, through a happy accident, bought some interesting beans from a farmer in a remote wild forest in a valley of Peru. Finding the flavor to be good he questioned some of the basic structures of the cacao pod that he had not seen before.  The farmer, Fortunato, also found the pods odd with the expected "purple" beans, but also some white beans in each pod.  After examining and having the documenting of the Gnome, it was discovered that the bean was from the Nacional line and that the mother tree was actually part of this small wild crop. This news was monumental for the global chocolate industry and for proving that Peru has the actual origin Nacionale, not Ecuador. For Julian Rose it was a rare discovery and professional accomplishment to his already recognized talents as one of the top 10 Master Chocolatiers in the world.

The good news for us Oregonians is Julian Rose bought the beans and formulated two versions of single source chocolate for the Moonstruck label. Named after the farmer and the number of tests to confirm its origin, Fortunato No.4 is available in a 68% bar or the sophisticated Dark Chocolate Tumbled Cacao Beans. Our tasting of the single source Moonstruck chocolates was amazing. I may be awake all night, but the smooth and fruity tumbled bean was OH so worth it!  Promising to tease our senses even further, Julian Rose is creating a drinking chocolate from Fortunato No.4 in time for Fall 2011!

Run, don't walk to experience this rare treasure or go online to Moonstruck to order the closest thing to Inca Gold available! ~ MJ

Make and Take, May 2, 2010

April 2011 Make and Take Round 2, Wine Jelly!

We managed an extra Make and Take this month and produced some amazing white and cabernet wine jelly, blackberry, and marionberry jam. Pam hosted our gathering and had a few cute packaging ideas up her sleeve!


We started by making the wine jelly...




and we finished with a lovely lunch and lemon dessert!  Thank you Pam!



Wine Jelly Recipe 
adapted from Allrecipes.com
3 1/2 cups of your favorite drinking wine
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 (2oz) package of Surejell dry pectin
4 1/2 cups white sugar
Combine first three ingredients into a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam off top, if necessary.

Ladle hot jelly into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Tighten 2 piece lids. Process for 5 minutes covered in boiling water bath.

Serving suggestions:

The Make and Take gals like these jellies served over cream cheese with nuts sprinkled over top, or a top any hard cheese; as a meat marinade; ice cream or yogurt topping; on toast or scones; and when no one is looking...on a spoon inserted in mouth!  Enjoy! ~ MJ

Make and Take, April 14, 2011

April Make and Take Goes Viral!

 Enjoy this months project on video...



The Make and Take Gals have formally partnered and will be producing video segments so others can join our great Make and Take sessions!  Look for our new format coming this fall!

This month's Make and Take was at my home with with a bit of the Easter Bunny runny amuk. We started with delicious carrot cake muffins from Elephants deli. Amazing!


 After hot tea and catching up we launched into our butter molds from Poland.  Darling little chicks soon formed and with some effort, popped out of our molds.  Pam is hoping to improve the process for us by discovering what tricks may be held in Google for this art form.

(Chick wooden molds)

Once we cleaned up the slippery mess and tucked the chicks in their refrigerator coop we started the big project for the meeting...Adult sewing cards.  I saw this idea in Country Living magazine and thought it would be a beautiful art for gifts.  Starting with heavy water color paper and an enlarged photo we traced the image onto the watercolor paper by poking holes through all the layers.  Afterward we sewed them with a running back stitch.  Watch for future postings to see all the finished projects.

Our Sample that I had made to test the idea.








 It did not take long to work up an appetite and and sore fingers.  Lunch was Lime Tortilla Soup, Chicken Tortellini Salad, and Onion Cheese bread.  We tried the new Smith Tea Fruitfusion drink and finished up with a Coconut Pineapple Pound Cake with Wild Blue Berry Sorbet...yummers! The place cards were baskets of flowers and the gals names sewn onto a leaf.



Hope these help to plan some of your Easter ideas for gathering around the table!

Underground Make and Take, February 10, 2011

Valentine Underground Make and Take You Can DO!

 (Pam's hubby gave her these beautiful blooms!)

The gals pulled together an underground M&T today to make these darling mini-cupcakes that look like decorated candies in a heart box...yummers!  Pam composed this sweet box of love and had all the trimmings for us to craft masterpieces.  Now, how to get into the mail to my daughter...Shhh, don't tell her!

~ MJ
Copyright 2010 MJ's Table Talk



Make and Take, January 6, 2011

January 2011 Make and Take! Baby it is cold outside!

Jean provided a warm and welcoming day for us to unwind and catch up on all the holiday news.  I know after my first hairy week at school and work it was nice to escape to good friends for a few hours.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch salad recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook.  Then Jean made one of the Food Day 2010 best recipes...Margarita Bars!  It was delicious!  We spent the morning making Valentine throws for college boxes.  A very clever pattern where we braided the edges.  Thank you Jean for a fun day!

~ Come Gather Around The Table!





 Our finished bundles!

Make and Take Christmas Tea, December 2010

2010 Make and Take at the Tea Zone!


Pam once again pulled together her beautiful club Tea Zone celebration for us!  I love this tea spot on the Pearl map.  Full of loose leaf tea and experts who know how to make the perfect pot!  Our yummy tea plate this year seemed even more substantial than years past.  We enjoyed a delicious variety of sweet and savory and then got down to exchanging tea cups filled with treats!  Oh the joys of vacation!

~ MJ
Copyright 2010 MJ's Table Talk

Annual Cookie Exchange, December 2010

2010 MJ's Cookie Exchange!

We shook it up this year and gathered on a Sunday night for the annual cookie exchange.  This is our 17th year and we are ushering in the second generation of cookie bakers.  This core group has shared a lot of life, celebrations, and cookies. This year we were honored to have three generations with a visit from Yolanda's mom, Uma!  She caught on quickly to the ornament exchange, and lets just say that stealing was at an all time high.





Once we all made nice again it was time to collect our cookies.  Every year I am amazed at the beautiful packaging and variety of cookies. Here are just a few...



  The rest of our gathering was spent enjoying catching up on everyone's news of the past year.  We again are supporting P:ear this year with donations of a full cookie basket and several bags of socks, sweatshirts, hats and scarves.

 Happy Holidays Everyone and soon cookies will be showing up at YOUR door!
~ Come Gather Around The Cookie Table!

~ MJ
Copyright 2010 MJ's Table Talk

Make and Take, December 12, 2010

Dec. 2010 Make and Take

Our favor was the Arizona only state signature bag!

Friday was a fun filled day at Poh's as we stocked our refrigerators for the holidays!  We made spiced nuts, Parmesan and rosemary pin wheels, and a festive layered cream cheese/pesto/sun dried tomato dip!  After whipping these up, we enjoyed a tasty and indulgent lunch of the famous Harry & David Chicken Pie that Oprah made famous...  I think I moaned through the whole experience as it is everything Oprah said it to be! Our monthly adventure ended with a goodie bag from Trader Joe's Arizona and a ribbon poinsettia, beautiful!  Thank you Poh for a wonderful day amidst all your moving!

 Our spiced pumpkin pecans!

 Jean discovered a darling treat for an underground Make and Take!

Poh scored one of the hard to get H&D Chicken Pies...It was out of this world!

~ MJ
Copyright 2010 MJ's Table Talk

Field Trip, December 5, 2010

Cookies and Quilt Block Exchange at the Pineneedle!




The Pine Needle in Lake Oswego had a wonderful event yesterday.  My sister in-law and her mom joined me at the annual cookie and quilt block exchange.  We each brought 3dz cookies and 5 identical blocks of our own design using a common fabric.  We left with 5 different and darling blocks and a variety of 3 dozen cookies!  Geri made it even more fun by handing out quilter's candy for birthday's closest to her's...I won one of the lovely bundles.  Pam, the party girl, showed off all the original blocks that were made before we did the blind draw for our 5 to keep.  A fun event and now to make a beautiful runner from the blocks I brought home!


 
~ MJ
Copyright 2010 MJ's Table Talk