beet cake

beet cake from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

A blast from the past

Three years ago I did some art for a Hood Eggnog commercial (a New England dairy company, for those of you outside their area of distribution). Now that Mad Men is so popular, this commercial seems even more relevant today. Mmm eggnog...

Jello

In the past few years I have picked up a few vintage jello molds, as well as a few old cookbooks full of recipes that involve jello. Jello dishes meat have always kind of repulsed me. I'll pretty much try any food, but that I won't touch. Yuck! But the "regular" sweet, deserty stuff I love!

There is something beautiful about jello when it's popped out of a mold. I found some amazing recipes and pictures at The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn. Don't they look delicious?




via robinseggstudio.com

Blueberries

My property has hills, large boulders, and low swampy areas that dry up in the summer. The low areas are home to really old blue berry bushes that are almost 10 ft tall! This last week the berries have been quickly getting ripe because of the heat wave. Does anyone have any good blueberry recipes?

Target: Retro bread box

A reader mentioned to me that they spotted these boxes at their local Target store, so I thought I'd share.

I've been looking for a cute bread box with no luck until now. These boxes from Target look really cute and are a steal at only $14.99. I like either the yellow or green, hmmm. I'll have to go and check them out, thanks Tina!

Helvetica Cookie Cutters

Saddly no; they're not for sale. These cookie cutters were made by artist Beverly Hsu.

Found via http://papermode.squarespace.com

McNuggetini?

hmmmm....

Santa Cake

I saw this cake on http://curly-wurly.blogspot.com a few years ago and I've always wanted to make it. I'm sure my husband and my dad would love it since it's covered in coconut!

Yummy

Have you ever looked into an old cookbook before and wondered "who would eat that?!" Well, I'm starting to warm up to the idea; it would make a great conversation starter for a party!

spakleenly on flickr has a Mid-Century Supper Club which she hosts every now and again, and it looks like so much fun. She finds old recipes and recreates these (sometimes hideous-looking, by today's standards) dishes for her friends.

http://curly-wurly.blogspot.com/ has a lot of great old recipes to choose from. Is it just me, or were there a lot of gelatin dishes back then? Mmmm... Maybe that's what's wrong with the world today - not enough gelatin!

Blueberries

I've been out hunting for blueberries for the last week or so, and a few days ago I picked a whole bunch.

I've decided to make a pie. I'm not really that great with giving out recipes, since I'm one of those people that just throws stuff together without one... but here goes:

Crust
I use two parts flour to one part fat. For the fat, butter tastes better - and it's better for you - than shortening. But butter also results in a firmer, not-as-flaky crust. So for the best of both worlds, I use half shortening and half butter. Here's the ingredients list:

- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 2 tbsp. cold water

And here's how to make the crust:

Use a fork or pastry blender to combine the flour, butter, shortening and salt. Mix everything just to the point where the flour looks all flaky and crumbly and then stop. Now here's the tricky part: add in the 2 tablespoons of water and mix it in with your hands. This should be just enough water to allow you to form the dough into a ball. Don't over work the dough, just kinda slap it together. If your dough starts to get a little warm and sticky, you may need to put it in the refrigerator for a bit to cool it off.

Next use a good sized piece of parchment paper and put your dough on top. Then break off another piece and push it down on top of your dough. This top piece will keep your dough from sticking to your rolling pin. Roll out the dough over the parchment paper with a rolling pin, until it's about a 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Remove the top paper and pick up the dough attached to the bottom paper, flip it over onto an 8" pie pan and remove the paper. Form the dough to the pan with your hands and remove the excess around the rim (I use the extra dough for decoration.)

Filling
OK, the hard part is over! For the filling, I'm using wild blueberries that I picked around my house. These can be a bit more tart than store-bought ones, so I will be using 3/4 cup of sugar. If your blueberries are from the store, you may want to use a little less sugar than me.

So here are the ingredients for the filling:

6 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed, stems removed (if using frozen fruit, defrost and drain first)
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white granulated sugar (1/2 cup if using store-bought blueberries)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

Optional: I didn't mention it but I did brush on an egg wash over the crust.

And how to make it:

Pre-heat your oven to 425°F. In a bowl, mix everything but the butter. Once all the fruit is evenly coated, pour the mixture into the pie crust and top it with the small pieces of butter. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the crust toasts to a golden color. Let it cool before serving and enjoy!

Hey Yo Yo

Hey Yo Yo is Amanda Graff, cupcake baker and glitter duster. She got her diploma from The Culinary Institute of America in pastry, but developed her love of all things crafty while working for Martha Stewart Television as a recipe developer. Check out her Etsy shop for more vintage inspired cake decorations and cup cake liners.

Party 50's Style

Check out this funky 50's house warming party! Click here to see more pictures!

Yum!

I had a really nice Christmas Eve with my husband's family this year. My husband actually attempted to make a Venezuelan chicken salad that came out absolutely delicious! I garnished it with carrot flowers inspired by the great idea I got from www.kitchen.com.



Anyway, here's how to make it. Try it, it's delicious!

What you will need (this was enough for 9 people at my house last night):
2 1/2 lbs. of potatoes, cut into 3/8"-1/2" cubes,
1 big carrot, cut in 3/8"-1/2" cubes,
3 large split chicken breasts with bones,
2 medium onions,
1 can (8.5 oz.) of peas,
1/2 of a yellow apple,
1/4 of a cup of vinegar,
1/2 cup of olive oil,
1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Cut one of the onions into four pieces. Place the quartered onion and the chicken breasts in a pot with enough cold water to cover everything. Add salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Once the chicken is cooked through, take it out and let it cool. You can save the broth and boiled onion for a soup, or whatever.


2. Bring a big pot of water to a strong boil, add a bit of salt and drop the cubed potatoes and carrots in. The key here is to boil the vegetables just enough so that they're edible, but still firm. About 7-8 minutes should do it. Test the potatoes periodically as they boil. As soon as they're ready, take them off the fire, drain the water using a strainer and pour cold water on them to arrest further cooking. It's really important that they stay firm, or they'll fall apart into mush in the salad!


3. Pull and shred the chicken off the bones, and mix it lightly with the boiled potatoes and carrots, being careful not to mash the vegetables in the process. Add about 3/4 of the can of peas (the rest will be used for decoration later). Set aside.


4. For the vinaigrette, liquify the other onion, the apple half, the oil and the vinegar at high speed, so it froths and emulsifies a little (a hand blender or food processor works great for this.) Blend in the mayo and add salt and pepper to taste.


5. Pour the vinaigrette on the chicken/veggies mix, mixing it carefully with a wooden spoon. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, pack the salad lightly into a serving bowl and flatten the top. Sprinkle the remaining peas on top as a garnish. Refrigerate for a while. Serve cold.

Retro carrot flowers

I found these posted over at Black Eiffel, but the idea was originally posted over at thekitchen.com. I'm suddenly in the mood for carrots...

Guest Blogger: Wedding planner

I’m so thrilled to welcome Jenniedee to the blogging world! If you're looking to do a wedding or party in the Boston area this is the gal for you!

(taken by photographer Gwyneth Colleen)

Interview:

Q: Why did you become a wedding planner?

A: I decided to go into the wedding planning business to turn creations into reality. I have always been a creative person even as a young girl. I started off with fashion, designing and choosing fun colors and unique shapes for my model sketches. I started to follow my dream of designing but I knew there was more out there for me. I enjoyed planning events for family and friends. Birthday parties became more creative and being able to turn small ideas into big events stayed with me. After going to Newbury College in Brookline, MA and pushing myself into the business and fashion I realized planning weddings and events was the industry I wanted to be in. I enjoy planning themed events and when planning a wedding I can get to use my fashion and costume history background.



Q: Do you have any advice for a bride to be?

A: Take a deep breathe and enjoy it all! It goes by so fast and you want to take it all in. So let me do the worrying while you relax.


Q: Where did your love for all things 50's-60's come from.

A: My first fashion silhouette came from the movie dirty dancing.. I was 10 years old. I love the way the dresses flowed and the effort taken when getting dressed up. I knew from that moment i would love that time. I started to educate myself with old movies like How To Mary A Millionaire, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Singing In The Rain. I would sketch out vintage elements like maybe the way the table looked, or the style of the telephones they used. Everything about that era from the 1950s to 1960s amazed me. There was more creativity and thinking behind everything. From the way they did their hair to the style of cigarette holders. I knew I was born in the wrong era!


Q: What are some of your current inspirations or things you love.

A: Martha Stewart. She is by far such an inspirational person and she has added alot more vintage colors to her palette. If I had to name one thing that inspires me about her take on wedding industry it is the way she puts stationary together. I am a subscriber to her Martha Stewart's Wedding magazine and I always look forward to her invitation section. Also her craft punchers are a must for any vintage inspired wedding.




Q: Does a girl need to break the bank to have a nice wedding?

A: Weddings can get very expensive but I can work with any bride to make it happen inexpensively. You don't need to spend alot to get alot, just using your creativity can go a long way. A great example is instead of a large cake that feeds 120 guests, minimize the cake. Using cupcakes can be a very cost effictive way. The Cupcake Boutique, located in Andover MA, is a great example of using creativity and style in an inexpensive way. They promote the use of cupcake tiers instead of wedding cakes. You can choose from a variety of cupcakes that will please your guests. You don't have to worry about large amounts of cake left behind. You can always add a stunning cake topper to your cupcake tower for that vintage touch.

Name that fruit!

I have a bush in the front of my home that made these...


No they're not apples. The bush I got them from is probably about the same age as the house (60 yrs) and is only about 6-7ft tall. The fruit smells like an apple/pear, but are really hard. My mom says they are quince but I just wanted to know for sure. If they are quince I plan on making quince jelly.

Toasty and Tasty - Cheddar Cheese Wafers

Wedding cakes

These cakes are so beautiful, almost to beautiful to eat! Chelsea, the creator of these designs, works for a company called Cupcakes in Vancouver. The top one is my favorite!

lunchboxes

Check out these cute lunchboxes from Shinzi Katoh.

Birthday Cakes of the Past (Flickr Group)

Check out this cool Flickr group I found! Birthday Cakes of the Past [VINTAGE]

Quartet cake - Early 1980's

1970s Superman

Calling all vintage (1980s or earlier) photos that picture birthday cakes (whole or part), whether yours, your relatives and friends, or found photos. Birthday cupcakes also welcome.