Fall Flowers for Parties and More!

The Make and Take Gals get ready for celebrating this Fall!

Jean hosted our lovely morning of catching up on all the Make and Take Gals' news since our last gathering. Lots of stories of summer travels, our grown children's adventures and plans for the new Fall season over tea and apple bread... yummy!

Our craft of paper flowers brought back memories of making these paper puff balls from our childhood. The perfect craft to allow us to focus on our conversations!

We took 8 to 12 layers of tissue, depending on the size ball we wanted, alternated colors in a stack and then made one inch accordions; tied off with a ribbon so that we had a loop to attach the fishing line to allowing us to easily hang them.

With our goody bags packed with festive flowers ready to be fluffed up at our next celebration, we moved on to a delicious lunch that had all the flavors of Fall! Jean, you knocked it out of the park again! Our surprising table favor was a darling tea bag of broth! We had never seen these before.  Check them out HERE!

For Jean's lunch recipes, see the recipe section for links to her delicious choices! Thank you Jean for a wonderful day!

 

(To die for Vegetarian African Peanut Soup and 

Arugula, Carrot & Chickpea Salad)

                                                                    (Pumpkin Cake)

We hope you will be inspired to try some Fall meals and decorating! 

Until next month, be well!

 RECIPES

For the Vegetarian African Peanut Soup, I used the tomato paste and did add two small sweet potatoes to the broth as suggested.

http://cookieandkate.com/2013/west-african-peanut-soup/ 

Apple Crumb Cake

http://www.errenskitchen.com/apple-crumb-cakes/

Pumpkin Cake

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/09/22/iced-pumpkin-coffee-cake/

Arugula, Carrot & Chickpea Salad

https://www.prracer.com/content/arugula-carrot-and-chickpea-salad

The Make & Take Gals Get their Green Thumbs Dirty!

 Make and Take bloomed at Poh's house this month. She started us out making flavored sugars. We powered some freeze dried fruit in the food processor and blended this with organic raw sugar. These will make great hostess gifts for dipping drink glasses into or sprinkling on cookies and cakes.

Once we packaged these little treasures up we moved on the making gardens in containers. Ins Yazdani visited us to share her wonderful gift of container gardening. Poh had a wide variety of items for us to create natural, fairy or gnome gardens. They turned out darling! Thank you Ins!

 As usual, Poh cooked us a delicious lunch. Her daughter is in pastry chef school and sent home amazing fruit jellies and marshmallows that she had made. Pok served a wonderful lunch of Chicken Satay and a fresh cauliflower salad. For dessert we enjoyed a sweet raspberry shortbread.

Thanks for another wonderful month of crafts, food and friendship!

Bunnies and Chicks! Make and Take Gals Prepare for Easter!

Easter Garland

 

Make and Take this week bursts with color as we make these darling bunny and chick garlands for the mantel or window! Jean hosts our gathering and starts our morning with home made scones and tea. After catching up on all the news we hop right into these darling creations. Each egg holds yummy chocolate treats!

As the birds hatch and the bunnies grow fuzzy tails I work on replenishing our stock of note cards. Jean has darling stickers and papers to create with, which all inspir a hive of Bee cards...

It didn't take long for the garland strings to emerge. Jean provided darling Easter baskets to nest the new family of fuzzy friends into.

As we package up our creations, yummy smells float into to call us to the lunch table. Jean has prepared a beautiful and delicious meal complete with Jelly Belly favors for our Easter egg treats!

Thank you Jean for a wonderful Make and Take! The colors and flavors of Spring have lifted all these Winter Blues!

Recipes:

Salted Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting
Source: http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2012/11/salted-caramel-cupcakes.html -  

 Adapted from Southern Living, as posted by From Calculus to Cupcakes

A new all time favorite of the Make and Take Gals!

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1 T. canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
4 T. milk, divided
15 caramel candies, unwrapped (I used Kraft caramels)

Additional sliced caramels (for garnish)
Sea salt


Directions
For the Cupcakes:
1.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.

2.  Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, and oil until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix until well combined.

3.  Beginning and ending with flour, add flour alternately with buttermilk, mixing between each addition.

4.  Distribute batter evenly between the muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Frost with Salted Caramel Buttercream, garnish with a slice of caramel candy, and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.


For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
6.  Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons of the milk; beat until well combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate.

7.  Meanwhile, melt the caramel candies along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk in the microwave at 30 second intervals until caramels are completely melted.  Set aside to cool until the caramel is cooled but still soft and pliable.*

8.  Once the caramel is cooled, mix into the frosting until well combined.


*Setting the caramel aside to cool is important!  I discovered the hard way that mixing hot melted caramel into butter-based frosting does NOT turn out well.  Also, I had to use the electric mixer to thoroughly mix in the caramel - simply folding or stirring didn't work.  You may want to refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes or so prior to frosting the cupcakes to let it set up a bit after mixing in the caramel.

Dukka

1. 1/4 cup raw pistachios
2. 1/4 cup raw cashews
3. 1/4 cup blanched almonds
4. 1/4 cup blanched hazelnuts
5. 1/4 cup coriander seeds
6. 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
7. 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
8. 1/4 cup sesame seeds
9. 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10. 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until golden. Coarsely chop the nuts.
2. In a skillet, toast the coriander seeds over moderate heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until chopped. In the skillet, toast the unsweetened shredded coconut and cumin seeds, stirring, until the coconut is golden, 2 minutes; add to the food processor along with the chopped nuts and pulse until coarsely ground. Transfer the dukka to a bowl. In the skillet, toast the sesame seeds until golden, 4 minutes. Stir the sesame seeds into the dukka, season with the salt and pepper and serve.

Source: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/dukka

 What Chefs Know Best: 30 lessons from the Pros

Published July 2008

Quinoa Salad

Source: Eat It To Beat It

1 cup dried quinoa

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 cups cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works well)

1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup pesto (store bought or homemade)

1 Tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse quinoa. Bring 1-1/2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. 

While quinoa cooks, drizzle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven on a roasting pan for 6 - 10 minutes or until just tender.

Chop into bite-size pieces.

In a small bowl, combine pesto, olive oil, and vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, combine quinoa, asparagus, chicken, tomatoes, and feta. Toss with dressing.

Makes four servings.  Keeps in the refrigerator up to five days.

  ENJOY!!!

 

Salted Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting
Source:  Adapted from Southern Living, as posted by From Calculus to Cupcakes

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1 T. canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
4 T. milk, divided
15 caramel candies, unwrapped (I used Kraft caramels)

Additional sliced caramels (for garnish)
Sea salt


Directions
For the Cupcakes:
1.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.

2.  Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, and oil until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix until well combined.

3.  Beginning and ending with flour, add flour alternately with buttermilk, mixing between each addition.

4.  Distribute batter evenly between the muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Frost with Salted Caramel Buttercream, garnish with a slice of caramel candy, and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.


For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
6.  Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons of the milk; beat until well combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate.

7.  Meanwhile, melt the caramel candies along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk in the microwave at 30 second intervals until caramels are completely melted.  Set aside to cool until the caramel is cooled but still soft and pliable.*

8.  Once the caramel is cooled, mix into the frosting until well combined.


*Setting the caramel aside to cool is important!  I discovered the hard way that mixing hot melted caramel into butter-based frosting does NOT turn out well.  Also, I had to use the electric mixer to thoroughly mix in the caramel - simply folding or stirring didn't work.  You may want to refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes or so prior to frosting the cupcakes to let it set up a bit after mixing in the caramel.

Read more at http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2012/11/salted-caramel-cupcakes.html#EzKmPDjqyMutI1EA.99cakes:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1 T. canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk

Read more at h

Snowman Candy Wraps for Holiday Gifting!

The Make and Take Gals have been busy with underground activities this month. Here is a darling and affordable gift for teachers, neighbors, hostess, or to tuck some cash into for that favorite service person. How about these darling faces poking out from your Christmas socking on Christmas morning?

Supplies List

1. Knit Gloves
2. Hershey’s 4.4 oz. milk chocolate bar
3. Double sided tape
4. Snowman paper wrap
5. Regular scotch tape
6. Ribbon
5/8” for belt
1/8” for bow on “glove” hat
7. Decoration for the front of the belt.
8. Hot glue gun

Instructions
1. Print out snowman paper wrap on a color printer. Trim to 7-1/4” high by
9-1/2” wide, keeping the snowman print in the middle.
2. With regular tape, tape down the corner flaps of the chocolate bar, so that they do not stick up over the “wrap”.
3. Center snowman on chocolate bar, fold and crease edges. Using double sided tape, tape the wrap securely.
4. Put one glove on the snowman’s head. Use a small piece of double stick tape under the front of the glove to hold in place.
5. Tuck second glove in the back of the first glove. Fold glove over from sides so that it does not show from the front.
6. Wrap the 5/8” ribbon around “Snowman” waist. Make sure that the ribbon goes over the back glove to hold it in place. Pull securely and affix in the front with a small dot of hot glue. Be careful not to burn your fingers.
7. Affix the decoration to the front of the belt with a small dot of hot glue.
8. Tie a bow on the glove to make the snowman hat with the 1/8” ribbon. Measure and cut the ribbon. Pull the ribbon taut so that all of the fingers some together to form the hat.
9. HAVE FUN!!! THEY ARE SO EASY AND SO CUTE.

Make and Take Gals Magic: Chocolate Covered Oreos with Transfer Designs!

Make and Take was at MJ's place this month. A scorching 85 degree day in Portland and we were able to relax and enjoy the beautiful breeze coming through the window. We caught up with the summer happenings over coconut milk parfaits, then on to a yummy project.

Chocolate covered Oreos with cocobutter design transfers. They work just like our childhood tatoos that we applied with water, but these of course are with chocolate. We tried a couple methods. Our cookie molds had a raised image: LOVE. So we tried some with and without. To have a flat surface we simply put a round disk of the transfer plastic with the design on the bottom, cocobutter facing up so that it would transfer onto the hot tablespoon of chocolate that went in next.

Once the chocolate was put into each mold the pounding commenced. This ensured no air bubbles and a level top surface where the design would be imprinted.

Finally to off the mold with more chocolate and give another tapping to get the air out. Place in freezer 10 minutes until set.

Once solid, pop out onto a cookie sheet and remove the plastic backing from the transfer. Walaa, beautiful Oreo cookies for any special occasion. 

Lunch time! We liked the chocolate off our fingers and sat down to a vegetarian quinoa medley with Pear and Blue Cheese Flat bread. My bad, I forgot about dessert so baked a pumpkin pie and served with ice cream. A bit early for fall dessert, but there we are... loved every bite!