Two Valentine's Day Desserts

This weekend I was busy in the kitchen.  My son had his friend over to work on a school project, and they needed a snack, so I went to my easy, go to cookie recipe Big Fat Cookies, but gave the recipe a Valentine twist.

Cherry Chip Chocolate Chip Big Fat Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Cherry Chip Cake Mix
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
A few drops of red food coloring
1/2 bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Mix Cake Mix with 1/2 cup water and two eggs until well combined, then add a few drops of red food coloring to make the cookie a nice pink for Valentine's Day.  Drop by large heaping tablespoons onto a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet.  Then sprinkle the top with chocolate chips.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until no impression remains after light touch and cookies start to be a very light golden brown on edges.  Make about 18 cookies.

I also needed to make a special Valentine snack for my Sunday school class, since I had been busy all day with other cooking, I decided to make a few more batches of these Valentine Big Fat Cookies instead of frosted sugar cookie hearts.  They were a big hit with my class, the cookie is a lighter cookie than a traditional chocolate chip cookie, and the kids always love how big they are.

I also had company today for Sunday lunch, and wanted to try out another Valentine dessert.  Again I tweaked an old favorite recipe.  I took my favorite Pudding Bundt Cake recipe that I learned from my Mother-in-law's Pistachio Bundt Cake, the same one I altered for the Vanilla Rum Pudding Bundt Cake  I made for King Cake Day, and this time turned it into a Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake topped with Chocolate Whipped Topping and Cherry Pie Filling.  Very moist and delicious treat.

Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake with Chocolate Whipped Topping & Cherries

Ingredients for cake:

1 Devils Food Cake Mix
2 boxes Instant Chocolate pudding
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
7 eggs

Mix all ingredients in one bowl, for five minutes on high speed.  Bake in a Bundt Pan thoroughly coated in baking pan spray at 350 F. for 45 minutes to an hour, until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cake cool for about 5-10 minutes in pan, then invert on cooling rack to cool.  (I made mine the night before and covered it loosely with wax paper)

Chocolate Whipped Topping

2 boxes instant chocolate pudding
2 cups whole milk
2- 8 oz. tubs regular cool whip

Mix the pudding with the milk until well combined, then fold in cool whip until combined.  Chill in fridge until you are ready to serve cake,chill for at least 15 minutes.  ( You can make half a batch if you don't think you will want too much topping, my kids love this fluffy stuff, so I like to be sure and have enough)

To serve- Slice a piece of Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake, top with a large dollop of Chocolate Whipped Topping, and a large spoonful of canned Cherry Pie filling.  I love the cherries with this super moist cake.  Very nice Valentine dessert.

I look forward to Valentine's Day on Tuesday, and had a nice pre-Valentine weekend.  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

52 Weeks of Fairy Tales Week #6- The Frog Prince

This week, with Valentine's Day less than a week away, I wanted to do a fairy tale that would be fun for the holiday, so I chose The Frog Prince.  I think the Frog Prince is a fun little tale, and I have always been fond of frog princes for Valentine decor. You can see my little frog prince candle holders below.

We have little frogs all through the garden, such cute little creatures. Maybe a prince in disguise?

The Frog Prince

There once was a very beautiful princess.  She spent most of her days playing down by the well with her golden ball.  One day she was playing with her golden ball, tossing it into the air and catching it, and accidentally the golden ball fell into the well.  She peered into the well, but the water was so deep she couldn't even see her golden ball.  She became very sad, and began to cry.  Just then, out of the water, appeared a frog.  The frog asked the princess why she was crying.  The princess told the frog how her favorite golden ball had fallen into the well, she asked the frog if he could get it for her.  The princess said she would give the frog her ruby ring, but the frog had no use for a ring, she offered the frog her string of pearls, or her crown, and the frog had no interest in either.  The frog told the princess that he would go to the bottom of the well and get her golden ball, if she would promise to let the frog sit with her at dinner, let him share her plate and cup, let him sleep on her pillow, and then kiss him good morning.  The princess really wanted her golden ball, so she agreed.

The Frog went to the bottom of the well, and brought up the princesses golden ball.  The princess was so happy to have her ball she ran off back to the castle, and left the little frog behind.  The frog called after her, but she was already too far, and could not hear him.  That evening at dinner, the princess was dining with her family, when there was a knock at the door.  The little frog asked to be let in, and said that the princess had promised him he could be her dinner guest.  The King asked his daughter if it was true, and she said yes, she told the king that she didn't want to have dinner with the frog, and that she thought he was disgusting.   The King reminded his daughter that she gave her word to the frog, and that the most precious possession anyone has is his good word.  He reminded her that as a princess of the kingdom, keeping her word was very important, so reluctantly the daughter obeyed her father, and let the frog dine with her, and share her plate and cup.

Soon it was time for bed, and the frog reminded the princess of her promise to let him sleep on her pillow, again she was angry, but her father insisted again that she keep her word.  So the princess brought the frog to her room.  The frog asked the princess to lift him to her pillow, but she became angry, and said she didn't want to let a gross frog sleep on her nice pillow.  She became so angry that she threw the frog across the room.  The princess felt very bad that she lost her temper, never had she hurt a creature before, she went over to see if the frog was alright, but there he lay on her floor.  She lifted the frog, and told him that she was sorry and tried to revive him.  She bent down and gave him a little kiss, and all of a sudden the frog turned into a handsome prince!  The prince explained to the princess that he had been turned into a frog by an angry fairy, and that only a kiss from a true princess could break the spell.  They soon fell in love, and became married, and lived happily ever after.

~

In the Grimm's version of The Frog Prince, the frog turns into a prince as soon as the princess throws him against the wall, and there is no kiss to break the spell.  Also in the Grimm's version of this story, the prince brings the princess to his Kingdom, and his faithful servant Henry, who was so sad that his master had been turned into a frog, had three iron bands put around his heart so his heart would not break.  As Henry is bringing home the Prince and his new bride, one by one the bands fall off because he is happy again.   

There isn't much back story on Henry or even how the prince came to be turned into a frog, I had never read the Grimm's version of this story, until I was preparing this post.  I had only read American adaptations that include the kiss, and no story line for the faithful servant Henry.  As a child in the 80's, I enjoyed the Fairy Tale Theater fairy tale show, one of my favorite episodes was The Frog Prince, starring Robin Williams as the Frog Prince.  

I had a hard time deciding how I would make the frog prince this week, I couldn't decide between a paper craft, or a sewn doll or needle felt.  I decided to try needle felt, and I thought I would try needle felting around a cotton pipe cleaner armature, so I could move his arms and legs.  

I decided to take a picture of the wool core wrapped around the pipe cleaner arms and legs.  I decided, after promptly breaking a needle, that I am not fond of needle felting over a wire frame, you have to be much more careful while needle felting to not hit the wire.  

Here is how he turned out, not quite what I envisioned at the beginning, but sometimes needle felting goes that, and the little fellow is growing on me. He is holding the princesses golden ball.

I gave him little froggy spots on his back as well.

My frog prince will join my growing cast of fairy tale characters on the book case.

I would love to hear what version of this story you are most familiar with, the original Grimm's version or the version with the kiss.  Anyone else remember Fairy Tale Theater?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

There is still time to enter my Jane Austen Giveaway which ends Sunday February 12th at Midnight.

Evening of Beautiful Music

Tonight we had a real treat.  My daughter, as some of you know, is in her high school's concert choir.  This year they had the opportunity to have a song commissioned especially for their choir.  The choir, along with the community, as well as some generous local businesses, were able to raise the money to have a wonderful composer named Ola Gjeilo (pronounced Yay- Lo) write them their very own song.

Ola Gjeilo was born in Norway, and moved to New York to study at Juilliard.  He is now a full time composer based in New York.  A quick search on YouTube and you can hear some of his music.  You can read more about him at olagjeilo.com.

Today Ola Gjeilo was able to spend a portion of the day working with the concert choir, and this evening the concert choir got to preform their song for the first time.  Ola Gjeilo also played an amazing improvised piano concert.  What a talented musician!  I was thrilled that Sarah and her choir have had this opportunity.  I really enjoyed the beautiful music this evening.

The song he wrote for them is called Sanctuary, and is lovely.  The song lyrics are from Psalm 33 in both English and Latin.  I believe the song was recorded, and hopefully will eventually be put on Youtube, I look forward to hearing it again, and sharing it with you.  Sarah's Choir will be preforming Santuary at their competitions, as well as spring tour.

After the event all the choir got to have their Sanctuary Music signed by Ola Gjeilo, which they all were very excited about.  My daughter, who is left-handed was even more pleased when she realized he was signing with his left hand!  Her smile says it all.

You can check out some of Ola Gjeilo's music at Amazon or itunes.

Here are my Amazon Affiliate links for some of his albums, if you would like to check them out.

I am downloading this one tonight. :)

Thanks to Ola Gjeilo for flying clear out here to our small town in Oregon clear from New York, and sharing your beautiful music.  Thanks to Mr. Friesen, Sarah's choir teacher, for putting this all together, and working so hard with the choir.  Thanks to the Molalla Concert Choir and all their beautiful voices!  What a wonderful evening!

Valentine Burlap Bunting & Sunday School Craft

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so today I thought I would finish the Valentine Burlap Bunting that I have been wanting to make.  During the fall I made our Thankful Bunting, during Christmas I made our Joy Banner, each banner/bunting having one word that represented a concept for our family to learn about and focus on during the season.

For Valentine's Week what better word than LOVE!

Love is mentioned throughout the Bible, a quick Google search will give you a multitude of wonderful verses about Love.

When asked what the greatest commandment was -

Jesus replied: " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments."  Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)


I also think the following verse really explains how we are to love, and what love is. I shared this verse in my 17th Anniversary Post this year, and I have also chosen this verse for my Valentine Sunday School lesson this year.

Love is patient, love is kind, It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
1 Corinthians 13:4-7


Such a rich verse, full of guidance!

For our Sunday School craft, I have printed out the 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 verse, using a playful font, and rotating between pinks and reds, then glued it on a large heart cut from 12 by 12 pink cardstock.  I will also bring red hearts for this craft.  We will have fun embellishing it with red and pink glitter.  Here's how it turned out.

Of course we will also have to have a fun Valentine snack, I am hoping to make giant heart frosted sugar cookies.

I hope everyone is having a nice week!

P.S. There is still time to enter My Jane Austen Giveaway - giveaway ends Sunday February 12th at midnight :)

Monday Ramblings and a Jane Austen Giveaway

We have been having the most beautiful weather for February these last few days ~ Sunshine and spring temperatures.

The garden is showing lots of signs that spring is on the way, the heather is in full bloom, and was covered with busy bees, I was surprised to see them out and about.

I have been eager to see if the new bulbs I planted last fall would come up, and I can see tulips peeking out of the ground.

I am also seeing some grape hyacinth, which are coming up much earlier than normal this year.

I am hoping that the rest of our winter remains mild, since we are getting a lot of early plant growth that I would be sad to see damaged by a late winter cold snap.  In Oregon the weather can really go either way.  For now though- loving the sunshine.

I had an appointment last Friday that had me about an hour from home, and took the opportunity to visit a Whole Foods Market that was in the area.  We do have two grocery stores in our small town, but the selection isn't quite the same, it was really fun getting to see such a nice selection of interesting foods.  I felt like a tourist and had to get a few pictures of all the foodie goodness.

The cheese counter was huge!

The bakery was inspiring. :)

We ended up buying a fun little selection of goodies to bring home.

I found the aluminum free baking powder I had been looking for and wanting to try, I bought some Celtic sea salt to add to the spice drawer ( I am looking forward to trying the Hawaiian Black Sea Salt next time), a bag of black lentils, whole milk in a glass bottle to show the kids (turns out it is from a dairy about 15 minutes from here so we are going to call this week and see if they sell it there), and I chose a small wedge of Huntsman cheese ( Layers of Blue Stilton and Double Gloucester) to try, along with crackers, and a selection of mineral waters.

Gary surprised me with a cup of drinking chocolate from their coffee counter and we shared a very yummy double espresso with whipped cream (doppio con panna).  So it turned out to be quite a fun little impromptu date, and the drive back home through all the beautiful rural roads was nice with all the sunshine, we had a perfect view of the snow covered mountain (Mt. Hood) and saw a coyote walking though a field (watch out sheep).  We were too busy chatting and enjoying the scenery to snap pictures.  Very nice day.

Saturday I got a nice start on my Spring Cleaning while my son went to his first Drama Regional competition, which he enjoyed very much.  Sunday we had a relaxing day watching the Super Bowl and enjoying homemade nachos.  Fun weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting ready for Valentine's Day this week!

~

Now on to my Jane Austen Giveaway.

I haven't done a book giveaway in a few months, and with Valentine's Day just around the corner I thought it would be fun.  I am giving away one new Jane Austen 3 book set, titles included in this set are Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility.  I have enjoyed many movies over the years that were based on Jane Austen Novels, but have yet to make my way through one of her books, and I am hoping to read one this spring.  Any Jane Austen Fans out there have a suggested book to start with?

This Jane Austen Giveaway will start Monday, February 6th, 2012, and end at Midnight (Pacific time) on Sunday February 12th.  Winner will be announced Monday, February 13th.  Giveaway rules are simple, just leave a comment below, one comment per person.  You can see the official rules below for more details.  Good Luck!

Here is my Amazon Affiliate Link for this book set.

Official Giveaway Rules:

#1-No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Giveaway open to readers with United States shipping addresses only.

#2- To enter, leave a comment below, one entry per person please. Your entry is your comment, and will be assigned a number based on the order in which it was received. By entering you agree to these official rules.

#3-Winner is chosen by a number generated at random through Random.org. If your prize number matches the number chosen, and you meet giveaway requirements, you win the prize.

#4-Winner must claim prize in 7 days from the day the winner is announced or a new winner will be selected.

#5- Winner may not substitute prize for any other prize or cash, however, if the prize becomes unavailable through reasons beyond my control, April's Homemaking reserves the right to substitute with a prize of equal or greater value.

#6- April's Homemaking reserves the right to cancel, suspend or modify giveaway, if in the opinion of April's Homemaking Blog, any fraud, technical failure, or any other factor affects the integrity of this giveaway.

#7- General Release- By entering this giveaway through this website, you release April's Homemaking Blog and; April :) from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the giveaway or delivery, misdelivery or acceptance of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death or damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, negligence, warranty or other theory.

#8- Winner is responsible for all State, Federal and local taxes associated with receipt of this prize.

52 Weeks of Fairy Tales Week #5- Rumpelstiltskin

This week I have chosen the classic Grimm's tale - Rumpelstiltskin.

Rumpelstiltskin is an interesting fairy tale, and like most fairy tales, there are multiple versions.  I will include some of the variations in parentheses.  

There was once a miller, and in order to impress the king, he boasted that his daughter could spin straw into gold.  

The king demanded that this girl be brought to the palace so he could see for himself if she really could spin straw into gold.  The miller's daughter was brought to the palace, the king brought her to a room filled with straw, and demanded that she spin all of the straw into gold in one night or she would be sent to the dungeon forever (or executed - in some versions).  The poor girl, who of course could not spin the straw into gold, sat amongst all of the straw and wept.  Soon, however, a little man, who had heard the girl crying, appeared in the straw filled room and asked why she was crying.  The miller's daughter explained that she must spin all of the straw into gold by morning or be sent to the dungeon, and she didn't know what to do.  The little man told the girl that he would spin the straw into gold in exchange for a gift.  The girl didn't have much, but offered him her necklace, so the little man spun the straw into gold in one night.

The next morning the King came in, and saw that the straw had been spun into gold. The king became greedy, and brought the girl into an even larger room, filled with even more straw.  The king again demanded that the girl spin all the straw into gold by morning ,or down to the dungeon she would go.  Again, the girl sat in the room, and cried, not knowing what to do.  Again, the little man appeared, and offered to spin the straw into gold, in exchange for a gift.  The girl gave the little man her ring, and the little man went right to work and spun all of the straw into gold.  The next morning the king was pleased to again see a room full of gold.

The Miller's Daughter was brought to a third room, even larger than the last, again filled with straw.  The king told her that if she could spin all of the straw into gold by morning, the girl would become queen.  If she did not, she would be sent to the dungeon forever.  One last time, she sat in the room, surrounded by straw, and began to cry.  The little man appeared, and again offered to spin the straw into gold for a gift.  The miller's daughter was not a wealthy girl, and she had nothing left to give the little man.  She explained to the little man that if she could spin all of the straw to gold she would become queen.  The little man then told the girl, that if she would promise him her first born child, that he would spin the straw in to gold.  The girl didn't know what else to do, and not really thinking of the consequences, she agreed.  So the little man spun the straw into gold.

The next morning the King saw that the room, was filled with gold- so he married the miller's daughter.  A year passed, and the miller's daughter, who was now the queen, had a little baby.  She loved her little baby very much.  One day she was rocking her little baby, when the little man appeared.  He reminded the queen of her promise, to give the little man her first born child.  The queen begged the little man to not take her child, she promised him all the riches he could want.  The little man wanted the child.  The queen burst into tears, and the little man gave her one more chance, he told the queen that if she could guess his name in three days, he would not take her baby.  

The queen spent the first day guessing all the names she could think of, but none of the names were right.  She sent out the servants to find as many unusual names as they could, the second day she guessed again, but still could not guess the little man's name.  Again the servants were sent out to search the countryside for any unusual names they could find.  Late that evening one of the servants came upon a little house in the woods, in front of the house was a strange little man, dancing and singing around a fire.  The servant ducked behind a tree to listen.

The little man sang:

" Today I brew, tomorrow I bake,

  And then the little child I will take;

  For no one knows my little game

  That Rumpelstiltskin in my name! "

The servant went straight back to the queen and told her what he saw.  The next day when the little man came to get the baby, the queen pretended to guess a few more names, the little man said no, and demanded the child.  The queen then asked "Is your name Rumpelstiltskin?"  The little man grew very angry, and demanded to know who told her.  Rumpelstiltskin grew so angry he jumped up and down, over and over again, so hard, that broke a hole in the ground and fell right in, never to be see again. ( In other versions, he runs away in a fit of temper, or flies away on a soup ladle, and I will let you read the Grimm's version which has a little darker ending for Rumpelstiltskin.)  The Queen and her family live happily ever after.

~

The scene in this fairy tale that has always stuck with me the most, is Rumpelstiltskin dancing and singing around the fire in the woods.  So I decide to make a little Rumpelstiltskin doll and set the scene.

Here is a closer picture of the Rumpelstiltskin doll.

I set the scene with some of wooden trees, and my little gnome home.  The fire is made from cut up twigs and some wool roving.

I am hoping to work with some photos of this scene to make a page for the fairy tale scrap book I started with last week tale - 52 Weeks of Fairy Tales Week # 4 ~ The twelve Dancing Princesses .

I also decided to add to my dollhouse miniatures collection, and placed and order for a miniature spinning wheel, which will come in handy, as the spinning wheel is an important part of another Grimm's Tale called The Three Spinners, which I will be sharing next month.

Instructions for making wire wrapped dolls, as well as some of the patterns for their clothing, can be found in Sally Mavor's Book Felt Wee Folk.

(My Amazon Affiliate Link)

I just found out today, that the author of this book, is coming to Portland, OR. in April to show some of her work and talk about her new children's book, I am looking forward to attending.  I have enjoyed her creations for years.

                                                                                

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!

Groundhog Day 2012

Happy Groundhog Day!  I have enjoyed celebrating Groundhog Day since grade school, I look forward to hearing what the Groundhog predicts.  Will it be an early spring?  Will I have a bit more winter?  You can watch the big event at Gobbler's Knob and see what Punxsutawney Phil predicts at www.groundhog.org .

When the kids where younger we always had fun stories and activities planned for Groundhog Day.  My latest favorite Groundhog Day book is Groundhog Day! by Gail Gibbons.  I really enjoy Gail Gibbon's books, always full of great information. Her book about Groundhog Day is full of interesting facts about the holiday and its history, as well as facts about groundhogs.

This book is a fun read for both children and adults alike, me and hubby both read through it while it was sitting out today, fun quick way to absorb little facts about Groundhog Day.

Here is my Amazon affiliate link for more info on this book.

Another fun Groundhog Day tradition we have enjoyed for the last few years, is baking a batch of Groundhog frosted sugar cookies.  I found a very easy sugar cookie recipe online a few years ago that I enjoy using for our Groundhog cookies - here is the link for The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies recipe.  This recipe makes a lot, so I only made a half batch, which still made a little over 3 dozen cookies.

Here they are right out of the oven.

In years past I have piped on frosting, this year I decided on a Maple Glaze with a current for the eye.

The Maple Glaze is very easy- I used about a pound of powdered sugar, and thinned it with a little milk, and flavored with Maple flavoring about 3/4 of a teaspoon and maybe a drop more if needed- I use Mapleine brand , we love maple frosting and glaze.   If your glaze is too thin add more powdered sugar, if it is too thick add more milk.  Super easy. :)

I found the groundhog cookie cutter at Amazon, here is my affiliate link for this cute little cookie cutter.

In addition to watching the famous Phil's predictions I will also be tuning in to local news to find out what the Oregon Zoo's hedgehog predicts.  Whether an early spring or not, I plan on starting Spring cleaning next week, and am looking forward to the upcoming spring holidays.

I would love to hear your customs for this day, anyone live near Phil? Maybe you have your own local weather predicting critter?

Here is a link to my Groundhog Day 2010 post.