Mother Nature Decorates

Walking in the back woods this weekend, we came upon the most amazing thing.


It was fairly warm out, but not warm enough to melt the snow that had fallen during the week and was resting on the branches. But, I guess, warm enough, to start slipping off those branches. Looks like Christmas garlands to me! Gorgeous!

Kittens and a Pile O' Pups!

My local feed store also doubles as a pet store and often has kittens wandering about, ready to be taken home. These pair were pretty happy lounging on a couple of cartons.


This little pup was really friendly and wanted me to take her home.


And this was the cutest pile of puppies I'd ever seen. Can you count how many there are?

She's a Star!

My resident bird -- who should be south by now -- Ms. Rose-breasted Grosbeak as seen through the lens of birder and photographer Jacques Bouvier. Doesn't she look lovely? To see Jacques terrific birding blog, click here: jacquesbouvier.blogspot.com

Ms. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I've had this female Rose-breasted Grosbeak at my feeder since the fall. She feeds every day with the American Goldfinches in the nyjer seed feeder. I thought this was pretty strange, so I wrote my friend Jacques, an avid birder and asked his opinion.


I awoke this morning and found all kinds of footprints close to my bird feeders.


Turns out, the bird being here in the winter is an anomaly and Jacques and Christine came to see Ms. Grosbeak for themselves.


Here she is in her glory. I was concenned that she only eats nyjer seed (they're so tiny), but I did see her today eating sunflower seeds and she even chased a noisy Blue Jay away. Ms. Grosbeak is no pushover! I hope she makes it through the winter. Stay tuned.

Gummy Worm Cake

I made this cake for my friend Chantal's son who is turning seven. My idea was to make it like getting a glimpse of what might be going on underground, below the grass. A cross-section showing all that worm action! Chocolate rocks and chocolate cookie crumbs plus gummy worms. Yum!

It's a...?

I was driving in Alexandria yesterday and spotted the elusive white squirrel that people have been talking about. I jumped out of the car and tried to get a photo. This is as close as he'd let me get to him, although when I made that little "tsk-tsk" sound, he did turn around and pose. Very unusual critter!

Twinkling Candied-Ginger Stars

I made these for a Christmas Cookie Exchange I attended on Saturday. I now have a wonderful mix of cookies in my cookie jar! Here was my offering...candied-ginger stars that I dipped in Belgian chocolate topped with sanding sugar to make 'em twinkle. The recipe is adapted from one I found in the 2010 Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies magazine.

2 cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup chopped candied ginger
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vanilla

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl.
In separate bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add ginger and beat 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Reduce speed to medium-low and add flour mixture. Beat until dough just comes together. Divide dough in half and shape into disks. Wrap tightly in plastic: chill 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to ¼” thickness. Cut out stars with a 2” cookie cutter. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing 1” apart. Re roll scraps and cut out more stars.

Bake rotating sheets halfway through baking until cookies are set and edges are light golden, about 12-14 minutes. Transfer cookies to baking sheets. Let cool completely.

For the glaze:

6 oz. bitter-sweet chocolate
1 ½ tablespoons corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter
Sanding sugar, optional

In a pot on low heat, melt all ingredients together until melted (keep stirring). With a spatula, paint chocolate onto cookies. If desired, dust with sanding sugar.

Looking Back

I pulled out the old photo albums the other day and came across a zillion cakes I'd done over the past 20 or so years. Here's one that I just loved. I made it for my friends Nancy and John who were married in Ithaca, NY in July, 1998. I wrapped up the cake and drove it there, about a 5 hour drive. When I got to customs, the guy asked me a few questions, the last of which was, "So what are you bringing to the wedding?" and my response was (pointing to the back seat), "The cake!" He chuckled and said, "Have fun." And I did!

Latest Issue of ATC Quarterly

The latest issue of ATC Quarterly is in the mail. This issue was subtitled "And now for something completely different." It is full of triptychs -- 3 artist trading cards done by one artist -- and that's it! Other than the fabulous centre spread challenge, with the theme of cows, the whole issue is one big pile of eye candy. Please let me know what you think of it. To see more, check out the website: atcquarterly.com
The wonderful cover is an enlarged ATC done by Jenell Willey of Delmar, Maryland.

Gluten-Free Hazelnut Shortbread

I made these cookies for a friend who is gluten-intolerant. The recipe is from Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies magazine. Very tasty.

You'll need:
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seed scraped
(save pod for another use)
1 cup brown-rice flour
1 cup blanched hazelnuts, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on sides.
Beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla seed with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add flour, nuts and salt. Press mixture evenly into pan and chill 30 minutes.
Using the tip of wooden skewer, pierce dough all over at 1/4-inch intervals. With a knife, score shortbread into sixteen 4-by-i-inch bars. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until golden, 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Use parchment to lift shortbread from pan. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into bars along scored lines and let cool completely.
Pretty yummy. My gluten-intolerant friend loved them!

Going Postal

I made this cake for my friend Felice who left our local Dunvegan post office because she was promoted to postmistress of Moose Creek, a larger post office. The cake was chocolate covered in rolled fondant. The stamps were fondant cut with pinking shears and painted with food colouring, as was the "cancellation."

House Tour

Richard and I went for our first walk in the back of the property since last spring. Seems there were lots of vacant homes around. This bird condo was empty...


...as was this thinning nest.


The moss on this tree is likely home to an insect or two.


And this bunny stayed in his little brush pile until we vamoosed. Can you spot the bunny?

Alphabet ATCs

Our monthly artist trading card swap is tomorrow and here's my offering this month. I love rubberstamp alphabets, so I had a bit of fun with a set of them.

Oops!

Because I love my 20-year-old cat Domino so much, I let her drink from her water bowl that sits on my desk.


Last night, Dom toppled it onto my keyboard. So now I have a fried keyboard and mouse. Testing out a new one right now. And yes, her water bowl is now on the floor.