Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day

Whoopie Pies & Strawberries

Some how Valentine's Day came very quickly this year. I'm not sure how that could be since most of us feel February is longest month of the year (but then again, we still have 2 more weeks of this cold, snowy, dreary long month). Maybe that's why we celebrate with chocolate on Valentine's Day. To keep the chocolate tradition going, I made chocolate covered strawberries and whoopie pies for my daughter's Valentine's Day celebration at her school.

You ask, what's a Whoopie Pie? A whoopie pie, sometimes alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, or bob is a baked good traditional to the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as well as New England, made of two small, chocolate, disk-shaped cakes with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. In Western Pennsylvania they are known as "gobs."

They taste very much like a soft oreo cookie. Give them a try ...

Whoopie Pies
Ingredients:
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups milk
  • Filling, recipe follows
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or preheat a convection oven to 315 degrees F.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, and eggs together until well combined. Add the oil and vanilla and beat again.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and beat or stir to blend. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and beat again. Add the remaining dry mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk and beat until blended.

With a large spoon, scoop out 60 circles of batter onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.

Spread filling onto half of the circles and place remaining circles on top, to make 30 Whoopie Pies.



Chocolate covered strawberries are a must for our family on Valentine's Day!



Chocolate Covered Strawberries

1 lb Make 'N Mold chocolates (or other chocolate chips)
2 Tbps Shortening
24 Long stemmed Strawberries

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding the strawberries by the stem, dip the them into the chocolate mixture.

Vintage Inspired Valentine ...

I'm truly fond of Valentine's Day pink & red decorations, cards, wreaths, lights, etc. Most of all I LOVE Valentine's Day fabric ... I found some lovely 1930’s reproduction Valentine’s inspired fabric on Fabric.com and made this vintage inspired Be My Valentine Red Heart Apron.


Happy Valentine's Day!! Enjoy your day...

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Mary's Productions

Come check out Mary Mulari from Mary's Productions. She has been sewing and designing patterns for quite a long time. She has designed patterns for the McCall Pattern Company and embroidery cards collections for Husqvarna Viking, Cactus Punch, and Amazing Designs. Two of my favorite things - patterns and embroidery designs! :)

I especially like her apron patterns. This Clothespin Apron Pattern has triggered my interest. I think I'll have to purchase this pattern for myself.



I think this clothespin apron would look adorable made with this combination of Alexander Henry's Bird Seed Aqua and Melissa Averinos' Kimono Cocoa & Tendril Jade fabrics.


This is a definite item for the Have To Do List.

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice

My Apron is here !!

I received my apron on Monday from the Lucy & Shawnee's Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice apron swap. Guess who was my partner??? Lucky me, Shawnee was my partner. How awesome is that! The apron is just beautiful. This was my first time participating in apron swap. It was so much fun. Nothing like finding a surprise present at your door step! :)

Shawnee's combination of Paula Prass' Flight of Fancy Pary Avion and the retro colorful flowers fabrics with the pink and blue ric rac make this a very cheerful fun apron. I love it. This is my first full apron!!


And she sent me way too many goodies to go along with it - so generous and sweet. The heart shaped measuring spoons are the cutest thing I've ever seen.



Thank you Shawnee!

I highly recommend joining any of Shawnee and Lucy's future apron swaps. They did a wonderful job organizing and making if fun with all the giveaways and fun blog posts. Great job ladies!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

200 Cuts

No-Sew Polar Fleece Scarf Project ...

I just finished cutting over 200 pieces of fabric for a no-sew polar fleece scarf project I will be doing with over 40 girls at a sleep-away girl scout camp this weekend!! I got the idea from this video I found on Youtube. I love the idea because the girls will get to sew their own scarves by weaving coordinating fleece up both sides of the fabric. And then they will cut and tie each end of the scarf.



The average temperature in my area has been around 5 degrees! So we figured there better be plenty of indoor activities for the girls. I offered to help out with the indoor activities since I'm not fond of the skiing portion of the day (after having my ACL reconstructed I'm a nervous to do anything slippery!)

I hope the project goes well. I will let you know next week how the girls did. Keep your fingers crossed for warmer weather and sunshine! :)

Have A Nice Weekend!