The Family Peep

I am getting ready for Easter a bit early. It's almost a month away but if I don't do what I want to do now the time will simply slip away and poof Easter Sunday will be here!

I'd like you to meet some cute friends of mine; Pepe le Peep, Pip, Repeep and Ping. Repeep was named by my four year old as I had to keep resewing that peep. I'd turn it right side out and there would be a hole. So my daughter cleverly named her, Repeep. I don't think she knew about the Peep part- she was trying to say repeat, I think. (I am aware that only three of the four are here- one of the peeps was a little camera shy.)

These little peeps were sewed from a towel my Mother -in-law gave me when she was clearing out her house. The yellow in the towel was so bright, really it didn't fit our house in any way. I repurposed the towel, or should I say I repeeped the towels. Good gats I am one corny girl.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway if you have not.

Some unfinished business and zucchini fries to nibble on

Last summer I seen these Zucchini Fries on blogs everywhere but I ran out of time. Too many of these 'mock crab cakes' were eaten by me and then I just love zucchini roasted plain. This year I finally tried the fries. Worth every little step to make them. Try it, you'll like it.

ZUCCHINI FRIES

1/4 cup milk
1 egg white
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup peccorino romano cheese
2 medium sized zucchini's

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut zucchini into 3-inch sticks.

Whisk an egg white in a small bowl, and add 1⁄4 cup milk.

In another bowl, combine 1⁄2 cup shredded Peccorino Romano and 1⁄2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.

Dip zucchini sticks into egg mixture, and then roll in breadcrumb mixture. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, and place zucchini on sheet. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition:
Calories 64; Fat 2g Protein 4g; Carbohydrate 7g; Sugars 2g; Fiber 1g;


I finally finished this. It started when I saw this idea in a book when I was pregnant with my first child, ahhh, like, 7 years ago. And I began brainstorming how I would make it and not follow all the directions. Why? Because I hate directions, I'd rather get thoroughly frustrated and figure it out myself then take the time to read directions. When my daughter was about 1 I began working on it. I hit a roadblock. I didn't know how to fix my mistake. I put it away. Last week, I pulled it out and finished it up. Perfect or not, it's a completed project. I am all about completing projects and getting rid of stuff that I just dont use anymore. So I am one happy girl. I will be using it for storing hair stuff for the girls. Wahhooo. Done!

COOKIE and a CRAFT #7

Since I am throwing a cookie at you then I thought I should throw a craft at you as well. What the heck! This craft (don't look too closely at the garden there) was made last year. Pretty huh? Okay and dirty... sigh. It was a Martha Stewart idea. All you do is take a little mastic between the pots to hold them together and then the top. I found that a dowel running up the center helped to stabilize things a bit.

The kids had some Whoppers in their Easter baskets this year, from us and then also from their Grandparents. They were not really a big hit. I decided to use them for this recipe from Dorie Greenspan. The cookies had great flavor. The kids loved them even though they weren't thrilled with the Whoppers, go figure.

Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops
Dorie Greenspan, Baking from my Home to Yours

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp.
2/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups (6 ounces) chocolate-covered malted milk balls, coarsely chopped
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or 1 cup store-bought choc chips or chunks

GETTING READY: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Sift together the flour, malted milk powder, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don't be concerned in the mixture looks curdled - it will even out when the dry ingredients are added. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear in the the batter. Mix in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. The batter will look more like fudge frosting than cookie dough - and that's fine. With the mixer on low, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the malted milk balls and chopped chocolate.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on to the sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between spoonfuls. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 6 minutes. When done, the cookies will be puffed and set slightly but soft to the touch. Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes before using a wide metal spatula to transfer them to the racks to cool to room temperature.
Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

A CRAFT and A COOKIE #2

Hey Blonde Duck, I loved your idea and here it is. I think I will keep doing this 'craft and a cookie' thing at least through the Holidays. Every Monday I will post them. I am so enjoying crafting this year. I am discovering lots of talented people who have amazing crafting blogs.

This cookie was a final contender in my cookie picks for Christmas. I doubled the batch. I nearly always double a batch of cookies. I feel if you are going to make cookies might as well go and make a bunch. You can always freeze the extras or share with others. I made cookies out of 1/4 of the dough and froze the rest to make closer to Christmas. These cookies taste as good as they look. I did not have any pretty sugar to put around the edges so I used regular sugar. It didn't matter because they are still very pretty with their red and green colors. The recipe comes from Epicurious.

PISTACHIO CRANBERRY ICEBOX COOKIES
Recipe adapted from Epicurious, to see original click here.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
• 1 cup shelled pistachios
  
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries (1 1/4 oz)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup decorating sugar or regular
  

Stir together flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until dough just comes together in clumps, then mix in pistachios and cranberries. Gather and press dough together, then divide into 4 equal pieces. Using a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper as an aid, form each piece of dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Square off long sides of each log to form a bar, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until very firm, at least 2 hours.

Remove from refrigerator and cut into 1/4 inch slices. (If frozen , defrost in refrigerator). Bake in a 350 F oven for about 15 to twenty minutes. I baked them on a silpat. Let cool a couple minutes and then remove.




This particular craft is from Make and Take Blog. I thought the idea was simple enough to whip up quickly yet durable and thoughtful enough. Little quick crafts are cute but they do not stay around that long. This is something that has some staying power. Even when the kids aren't using them on their dolls anymore, it can be coverted into a dresser cover or a pillow. So I thought why not. Each one takes about two hours. Once all the little squares are cut, it goes real fast.

I did mine a little differently. I did 36- five inch squares. They are a little bigger than Make and Takes. I made a pillow to go with it for the dollies. This particular ruffle around this pillow is from my daughters dress. I loved this dress and just could not let it go. I decided to cut it up and keep it as a keepsake. Some of the dress was cut into squares and the ruffle I used here. The bodice I will be making into a little purse. I will share that later I guess. Another craft day!

A CRAFT and A COOKIE

Many moons ago, when I met my husband, he took me home for the Holidays. That was my real inclination that he was serious about me. We had met in October and he took me home to meet his folks in December. Mind you, they lived eight hours away, so we had to stay there. My goodness, talk about nerves. I really had nothing to fear. My DH's, mother was an angel. The moment I came through the door I was kissed 100 times as if I was a long lost relative. His sister kept talking to me in English, while everyone was talking in Italian. Thank God for her helping me through that (thanks M : )). I had brought a ton of biscotti with me as an offering. A good gesture. It went over pretty well. I decided to make biscotti today and thought of that day and my lovely Mother-in-law. She passed away a couple of years ago. We miss her.

These are very low fat. The only fat comes from the walnuts and the eggs. You can omit the walnuts and use egg replacements, or whites, if you must. But if you can use them, they are good for you. It's a nice recipe with some wholesome goodness. Enjoy these biscotti with Chai tea for an ultimate spice experience!

I am sending these in for a Vegetarian Round Up at Fun and Food Cafe.


Here is one of the crafts I have been working on...

from left to right: "Toot", "Sparkle" and "Pom Pom"

Aren't they cute cupcakes. Found the idea here. Have no idea where the original link came from, sorry, but hey you have the pattern now, sew away!

MAPLE WALNUT PUMPKIN BISCOTTI
Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness Original

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 - 15oz can puree pumpkin or 1 3/4 cups homemade pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine dry ingredients, salt, baking powder, flours, spice and sugar. Combine wet ingredients, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup. Stir together. Mix in walnuts.

Spoon onto cookie sheet, down the edge of the long side of the pan, do the same on the other side. So you have two logs, horizontally extending into the pan about 4 inches or so. You may have a little left over, depending on how big your pans are. If so put in a small loaf pan.

After baking about twenty minutes, cut them using a serrated knife. Do so while hot so it does not crumble on you. Place them back in the oven laying flat for ten minutes. Remove from oven, flip and bake another ten minutes. You can stand them up for twenty instead but be careful that the bottom doesn't burn.

Store in an air tight tin or freezer. They will keep several weeks. Even until Christmas if there is limited humidity.


Notes:
The one thing I would have added if I had some is maple extract.
* pumpkin pie spice can be made by combining 2 tablespoons ginger, 1 tablespoon nutmeg, 1/4 cup cinnamon and 1 tablespoon cloves.