{ sorbet }

two new listings in my etsy shop...

mango sorbet






raspberry sorbet

:: cousins ::

a nice surprise

I am honored to be featured in several Etsy Treasuries right now, all of them beautiful, three of them featuring this beautiful spread from my shop!

This one, by Hagarae, made the Etsy Front Page tonight - I was so surprised, it made my night!

blossoms...

I used up the last bits of two fabric lines by combining them for this little line I'm calling "Blossoms"...









This is also the final couple of days for my shop sale - prices will return to normal on Monday!

ten

[ crustless quiche ]

Crustless Quiche

1/2 lb. turkey sausage (you could use pork, I just prefer turkey)
6 eggs
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. ricotta cheese or small-curd cottage cheese
1 c. broccoli, chopped down to pieces 1/2" or smaller
1/4 c. jarred roasted red bell peppers finely chopped
2 green onions, sliced, including about half of the white parts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced

Cook the sausage, breaking it into small pieces. Drain and cool while assembling the rest of the ingredients.

Beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl, stir in all the remaining ingredients except for the cherry tomatoes.
Add the sausage, mix well.

Pour into a greased or non-stick-sprayed pie pan. Lay the tomato slices in a single layer around the outside edge.

Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, until golden and solid in the center.

Raspberry Lemon Turnovers

Raspberry Lemon Turnovers

1 box puff pastry sheets (2 sheets)
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jelly
1 jar lemon curd (or my handmade version, recipe below)

Thaw pastry sheets on the counter for 30 minutes.

Unfold one sheet onto a lightly floured board or clean counter, and roll out to 12x12", use a pizza cutter to cut into 9 (4x4") squares.

Using a spoon, place a teaspoon of raspberry jelly in the center of each square, and spread into a 2" circle.

Brush the edges of each square with water.

Place a tablespoon of lemon curd in the center of a square, then quickly fold over one corner to the opposite corner to create a triangle, and press the edges to seal. It's important to do this quickly before the lemon curd has a chance to run out to the edges before you have a chance to seal them, which is why I work with one square at a time for this step.

Place the triangles on a jelly roll size baking sheet.

Repeat this process with the second puff pastry sheet.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

When cool, drizzle with a confectioners sugar glaze (1/2 c. conf. sugar mixed with a few teaspoons of milk) or melted chocolate for decoration, if desired.

Makes 18.



Homemade Lemon Curd:

1/4 cup lemon juice (either from squeezing lemons or from a bottle)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
6 Tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled

Whisk lemon juice, sugar and eggs together. Beat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour into a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, whisk constantly until it gradually thickens and comes to a boil (5-7 minutes). Remove from heat, continue to whisk until it cools ( 4-5 more minutes) Pour into a bowl or jar, cover and chill.

If you are using this for the Raspberry Lemon Turnovers, it is imperative that you chill it first, or it will be too runny to stay in the center while you are sealing the turnovers.

dominos

look closely and you will find (left to right):

a window

a chair with a domino "person" sitting on it

a table with two domino "cups" on top

another chair and domino "person" facing the table

a hand reaching out to open the "door"

it's a dad's life

If you have a dad or a husband or a brother or a son, this video is for you. And him. Send it to him, make his day. I laughed to the point of tears!

isn't it Grand?

can you feel the love tonight?

My big treat for the girls on this trip to Vegas was taking them to see The Lion King Musical! It is the big show at the hotel where we stayed, which made it easier to choose which show to see. There are so many great options to choose from in Vegas, but traveling between Strip hotels is somewhat of a pain with little people.

The other deciding factor was, interestingly, watching clips from the shows I was trying to decide from, on youtube, getting a better feel for how the girls would like it.

Here's one of the clips that helped me decide on The Lion King:




I did not show the girls the online clips, because I wanted them to be totally surprised. This paid off - their eyes were as big as saucers as they watched this opening live and in person, and they were captivated for the rest of the show.

Hands down the most creative, fun, enjoyable musical I've seen! If you ever have a chance to go for yourself, my review is - "Totally worth it!"