Glazed pear cake....

In the spirit of using up what I have in the kitchen, I came up with this delicious cake, I had a crisper drawer half-full of fruit and a bug for baking that has been incessant.

It is a recipe which was inspired by a cake out of my most favorite book MaryJane's Farm Ideabook.  I had been eyeing her recipe for a bit now, but was intimidated with the crust and crackly top.  Also, there seemed to be a whole lot of directions on the page.

Plus, I don't own a pastry cutter or almond extract, and I only had one stick of butter... nor do I have the patience to do baking in steps....cutting, creaming, pressing, springforms, spreading.... 

WHAT?!?!?!

I am more of a dump-everything-into-ONE-bowl-and-hope-for-the-best kind of baker.

PLUS, I have NEVER met a recipe, a pattern, or set of instructions that I didn't want to alter.

And so was born.....my glazed pear cake.

CAKE

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter melted set out at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp Vanilla
2 pears

GLAZE

2 cups of powdered sugar

2 to 4 tbsp of water.

whisk until slightly watery

First, ask your half naked sous chef to retrieve the pears out of the fridge while you gather the rest of the ingredients. 

Then, attempt to hold in your laughter as you watch your little boy turns your innocent pears into pretend "  BOOOOOOBS!"

Then wash off your poor, molested pears.  

Dice them up (skin and all) and set them aside.

Add the milk, sugar, and two eggs to the melted butter, whisk until the sugar dissolves.

 Then whisk in the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Whisk until it is a smooth batter.

Fold in the diced pears.

 Pour the entire mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish.... I think mine is a 8x10in dish.

Then (and this is important)...Pay your sous chef with a whisk full of batter, while the cake bakes at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.... or until the top gets slightly brown and the cake pulls away from the sides of the dish.
Pour the glaze over the top while it is still a bit warm and let rest.  The glaze will be absorbed by the cake like a sponge and make it that much moister.

Although, I don't really think that it was at risk for being dry in the first place.

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There will be more on my love of all things Maryjane in a few days. 

Until then, I wish you all a splendid Spring weekend.

The rug...

Almost a month after starting it...it is done.

I think.

It kept me warm, draped over my lap as my fingers cramped while I crocheted "just one more round".

And now I call it quits...with a rug that is almost 5 feet in diameter and that weighs approximately.... 

A TON.

It is my most favorite thing that I have every made....with my hands (I should add).

But it is done, and I am in love.

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Thank you all for your encouragement!  If you like it, I highly recommend that you give it a try.

As promised.... Lime Meltaways..... a recipe

I've been on a bit of a baking kick.  I know that it has something to do with my newly renovated kitchen, and I KNOW that it has something to do with the fact that I have been inside a lot lately.  But at any rate... I am happy with the results.  And as promised, I am sharing the recipe for the heavenly cookies that I made over the weekend.

These little Sweet-tarts..... Lime Meltaways.

The recipe is as follows, it is a variation of Martha Stewart's...Seen Here.

1 stick of butter melted and at room temperature.
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt, then add the melted butter, 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, lime juice and vanilla.  This will form a ball.

 
Using your hands, roll the dough into one long 1 1/4-inch-diameter log. Chill at least 1 hour and then slice.

 
Slice the dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

 
Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes.

While still warm, ask your HALF NAKED sous chef to toss the cookies two at a time in a bag filled with powdered sugar...

Place the cookies on the wire rack to cool completely....

 
Store baked cookies in stacks of three or four in cupcake foils....A'la Martha Stewart.

They will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. ( As if they'd last that long!) 

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Coming up in the next few weeks, there will be tutorials galore...

 
The Stationery Wrap.

A Sewing Wrap.

And lastly...the Coloring Wrap.

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Now scoot...go make some of those cookies....and while you're at it....share them with your own half-naked Sous chef.

Because Lord knows, mine is not up for hire.

What a wonderful weekend....

There was a lot of lounging and medicating for a strep-throated, red-headed little boy.

 And a few more rounds crocheted on my rug using my newly dyed sheets.

There was earmarking of many things of interest on my boy's bed which was full of magazines.

Followed by a whole lot of  stapling, and organizing into categories such as crafting, gardening, housekeeping, family, inspiration, and cooking...for filing.

Which is where I found the recipe for these delicious cookies....(don't worry, I'll share the recipe soon.)

There was the sewing of a handy little gift and the making of another tutorial.

And the best part of the weekend (if you were to ask our boy).

A few inches of snow surprised us when we woke up on Sunday morning.  Just enough fluff to occupy a cabin happy boy who was feeling a bit better after a few doses of antibiotics.  He was craving some fresh air and we shoo-ed him outdoors even though it was overcast and sprinkling.

Usually there are requests for me or Fran to help, but today there were requests to do it all on his own.

There was whittling of heads.

And dressing of his new friend.  With his own hat and a scarf made from scrap fabric.

And a pretty proud little boy over a job well done.

But that wasn't the end of his snow-man making.

No siree-Bob.

There was to be "snow-son" making as well.

Father and son stood in the yard and as the rain threatened to wash them away... I asked Eben where the Snow-mama was.

To which he deadpanned me with...


" Sorry Mommy....I ran out of snow."


That's OK though, I am happy that they are as close as they are.  Father and son, snowy or not.

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PS.

My twin sister is holding a Swap for a set of those gorgeous Measuring spoons that I got so many compliments on....


So, stop on over, if you are interested in a little swaperoonie.



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What a wonderful weekend it was.

I hope that you all had as nice a weekend with your own loved ones.

Scenes....

Strep throat for my boy...

popsicles are his new BFF.

Muddy boots left outside.

A perfected batch of French Bread.

Mama birds getting their houses ready for the hatching of their babies.

Ripping and filing of pages from magazines..... pre-recycling.

Doormats airing out.

And beautiful kitties who make me smile.

Less outside.

More inside.

Back tomorrow.

PS.  The snow is melting!