Fire Department Bust

Happy December!  I’m almost ready to start wrapping up my Christmas shopping and am looking forward to decorating the house! (When I’ll find time to do both is another question.)  I haven’t made any sales on my Etsy site for 2 months! and have been just as lazy about blogging my craft and sewing projects!  It’s fun to have a break!

Yesterday, I set up a table at a local Fire Department’s craft fair.  I shared a table with a friend (she’s a Thirty-one consultant,) and marked down everything I had to rock bottom prices hoping for lots of sales.  She assured my that she’d seen the fair advertised everywhere.  Apparently, she was the only one.  I didn’t make a single sale, and it seemed that the vendors (about 50 of us) were the primary patrons to the other vendors.  Total bust.

The day wasn’t a total loss.  I made Smucker’s Jewel Box Cookies for dessert.  A simple butter cookie with jam will turn any frown upside down!

Campfire Cookies

You’re looking at some award winning cookies!  These delicious little bites of cookie, chocolate and marshmallow took the prize for “Most Creative Cookie” at yesterday’s 2nd Annual Cookie Contest at work!  My prize: two movie passes!

I’m very proud of my cookies and their accomplishment, and of course I’ll eat up an chance I get dubbed as “creative.”  Literally, in this case!  Don’t forget to check out the recipe and make some campy cookies for yourself!

Alton Brown Came to Town

Hey foodies!  Last Friday, Alton Brown came to town to give a celebrity lecture supporting the Indian Creek Foundation, and I enjoyed being in attendance.  Alton entertained by mixing three recipes and a continuous Q&A dialogue with the audience.

Sadly, this is the best picture I got.  Having lost 50 pounds, he was a little more difficult to catch on camera (certainly not because of the quality of my little point and shoot.)  I hope that he comes out with a weight loss cookbook soon!   I'm guessing it won't contain my favorite recipe that evening: a 5 minute chocolate cake!

Alton whipped 8 eggs, 5 1/2 oz of sugar and a pinch of salt in a mixer on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes.  Then, he added 7 1/2 oz of melted dark chocolate until combined, and continued with 1 1/2 oz of all purpose flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons of expresso powder and 2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Now here's the fun part.  He added the cake mix into a N2O charged cream whipper, then filled a glass coffee cup with the now aerated cake mix.  The glass went into the microwave for 45 seconds on 90% and out came cake!  I wish I could have tried it...and I was totally ready to make this cake when I got home, but I didn't have the $100 stainless-steel cream whipper. (The nitrous oxide cartridges are extra...)  Oh well. 

More than a Hill of Beans: Sewing Machine Cookies

I apologize for not piling up the beans for the first time last week, but fear not!  I've got a peace offering of cookies this week...well, sort of:

Earlier this week, while perusing the website of one of my favorite local fabric shops, Spool, I found this adorable sewing machine cookie cutter.  Such a perfect shape for those of us sewing inclined, and these cookies must be "sew" much fun to decorate, not to mention eat!  I'll surely be picking up one of these the next time I'm over there!