First Snowmen of the Season

Early Christmas Cookies

Exciting and busy week -  Enjoyed a great evening at Rock Ford Plantation in Lancaster.  The preserved home of General Edward Hand is just a short drive from our new home.  We attended a presentation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - and it was fantastic!  The home was all in candlelight and we were "guests at the Van Tassel Harvest Ball".  The interactive presentation of the classic story moved from room to room.  There was a live fiddle player and dancing, too.   A wonderful Fall evening.

Friday found us at the Fulton at a presentation of Sleuth - amazingly good show.  Saturday was the perfect weather for a family wedding .  Then came Sunday - where I participated in Susquehanna Style Magazine's Holiday Recipe Contest.  When I saw the article it asked "is there a holiday dessert or appetizer that your family insists you make each year ?  Enter the recipe in our contest!"  The Snowmen immediately came to mind and I entered them in the contest.  I was thrilled to learn I was a finalist and needed to make the cookies and bring them to be judged on Sunday.  So began the process of making Christmas Cookies in October - 

Recipe

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

2 cups of sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon of almond extract

1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract

Hershey Kisses

Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Mini chocolate chips

Decorator icing ( I use a purchased tube)

Powdered sugar...for the SNOW!

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour and baking powder.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add egg, vanilla, almond, and coconut extract and beat well. 

Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture beating well after each addition.  

Cover, and chill overnight...or wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.

For each snow person, shape the dough into 3 balls...one 1 inch, one 3/4 inch, and one 1/2 inch.   After a bit you get the feel for the size and it goes quickly.

Use the mini chocolate chips to make eyes and buttons...and push the three sections together slightly to make them bake together.  I also try to flatten the top of the head to make the candy caps easy to attach.

Bake in a 325 degree oven about 18 minutes until the edges are firm and the bottoms are light brown.  Cool one minute on cookie sheet then remove to rack.

With decorator icing add a cap to each snowman...kisses look like girls and the peanut butter cups look like boys ski caps.  I cut the peanut butter cups in half so they attach easily.

Then take the icing and make a scarf and a little pom-pom for each hat...and sprinkle with powdered sugar "snow".

I put them in airtight containers between layers of wax paper...and I freeze them, too.  You can make them early in December and freeze to take out when you need some,

Sunday I arrived with the cookies at Stauffer's Market and the judging began...

A photographer took photos as all recipes will appear in the December issue of Susquehanna Style.

The judges had a difficult job tasting all the great entries...

These unofficial judges in the crowd gave them a good score!

I was so pleased to receive 2nd Place..with Pumpkin Crisp taking the 1st Place Prize.

Very grateful for the prizes...a $75 gift card to Stauffer's and a $50 gift card to the General Sutter Inn in Lititz.

What a great day it was...and I am looking forward to seeing the snowmen in the Susquehanna Style December issue.  Have fun making these...they are sure to be a big hit with your friends and family!

http://susquehannastyle.com/

https://www.skh.com/

http://atthesutter.com/sutter.html
http://rockfordplantation.org/

October Fun!

October is here...and Halloween decorations have moved out of the storage unit and into our new space. This ghostly wreath made it through the move with just some steaming of the ribbon to perk it up.

I think each holiday is going to be fun and I am looking forward to finding new places for all my favorite decorations....and will probably be sending some to a new home as we just don't have the space we used to have to decorate.  After 10 years in our last home I knew where everything went each holiday...now I find myself wandering around looking for new spots to decorate.

These books were old, discarded books from the library.  I sprayed them with black paint and then used silver stick on letters.  They would not fit on the new mantel so they found a home in the foyer.

Little wooden ghost in a dish of mini pumpkins...

Little ghosts hiding everywhere...I made these in a ceramics glass 40 years ago...the first year we were married!

The same thing with this Jack-O-Lantern...not bad for 40 years old and surviving many moves!

Love this pillow...

"The witch is in"...and she needs a drink!

Great day with my college friends - "The Kutztown Girls" - who came for lunch. Quiche, salad, pumpkin muffins and a little treat to take home.  Fabulous day !

New Vista Patio

It has been awhile since I have posted...we survived the BIG move to our new smaller space.  We are one month into our new home and the gorgeous September weather has made our new screened patio the perfect place for lunch and relaxing!  Having had a screen porch in our former homes we were very excited that our new apartment had a screen patio just a bit smaller than the porch we were used to having.  But, the color scheme was very different - we were used to tan, white, and the light blue of our patio furniture that we had used for over 20 years.  Our furniture is in fantastic shape because we always stored it in our basement over the winter.   

 I loved using different pillows and accessories to decorate the porch from Memorial Day to Halloween.  The color of the furniture was perfect for the old porch...but we were not sure how it was going to work on the new brown/tan/black color scheme of the new place. We also LOVED the feel of the furniture...very comfortable, when it rained it dried quickly, and we had all the pieces we needed.  Too many - and we were grateful that family members could use the items that would not make the move.  SO....what to do ?  First thought was to get new "slings" for the chairs.  The frames were in perfect condition so perhaps a tweedy beige/brown/black stripe ?   I checked with the manufacturer to find a local dealer and learned that the company did not replace the slings, but they dealt with several companies who made replacement slings - all you had to do was measure, and then install.  You could rent a special tool to replace, or have a handy man do it .   Yes, well...that was not going to happen.   I feared measuring incorrectly, the slings not fitting tight, etc.   So, then I found a company near Philadelphia that would come, pick up your furniture, and make new slings, install them, and return your set looking like new.   And that is when it hit me - the furniture still LOOKED NEW.  After 22 years of use and lots of good times it still looked great...so on to Plan B.   Find a way to make it blend into our new decor.  Off to the fabric store to find an outdoor fabric that would pull all the colors together.   

 Could not find an outdoor fabric but found this upholstery fabric that was perfect!  Using the old pillows to recover I measured and realized I forgot those dreaded words..." allow extra fabric to match plaids and patterns" !!!   Had to return to the store to buy another yard...but the fabric was on sale at 50% off, and I had an extra 15% off....so all in I spent about $50.00 on everything.

 Once I made the covers I decided to not make them removable since I don't think I will be changing them out for the seasons, just adding other touches. It was a quick and easy project.

After I made two throw pillows and one roll pillow for the chaise I realized I had some fabric leftover.   I smiled as I remembered my mom making new curtains for our kitchen and using up every last bit of the fabric..."use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without".  While this was not exactly the same frugal project that she would do, I could not let those scraps go to waste....so - place mats!
I measured with existing mats and just turned the edges under.  One place mat had to be patched, but I figured it would be covered by a plate and no one but me would ever know!

To make it even better on a trip to Lowe's to buy an electrical switch for the garbage disposal in the home we were selling I wandered over to the outdoor section and found the perfect outdoor rug to cover the cement floor of the patio!  On sale for $99.00 it would tie the entire patio together.   My dear husband is still pondering how we went to Lowe's for a 69 cent switch and came out spending a hundred dollars...

 So, here is the result - I also made sure to spray the pillows with waterproof spray to keep them dry if rain blows in - and I used black spray paint to paint the shade on the little bird lamp, the trim on the basket, and the saucers under the planter and candle in the middle of the table.

 I added some fall touched with pumpkins and a pillow - and a great throw that was a birthday/retirement gift from a dear friend.   See how the rug pulls it all together?  I am figuring we saved TONS of money by not replacing furniture that was in perfect shape. 

All set for a lunch on the patio !

Have just about everything where we want it in our new space...here is my sewing nook...

 With the pin cushion my mom made with the scraps from the last time she made kitchen curtains.  It was stuffed with old coffee grounds - that is supposed to sharpen the pins as you stick them in.

Hmmm....I still have a few scraps leftover.   Maybe my next project will be a cover for the pin cushion?!?!?

Thanks for visiting Our New Vista...leave a comment and let me know what you think.  

Linking up today with Between Naps on the Porch 

Strawberry Bread

This is a recipe I have been making for years - found it years ago ( late 1970's or early 1908's) in The Total Woman Cookbook.  Anybody out there remember "The Total Woman" ?  It was the title of a book by Marabel Morgan and was a much debated book about how to make your husband happy.  A few years later the cookbook was published and I am still using a few of those recipes to this day.  This one is a keeper - 

Strawberry Bread - Makes 2 (?) loaves.  Terrific with salad for lunch or as a dessert!

• 2 (10 ounce) packages of frozen strawberries, thawed.  ( I can never find 10 ounce any more...I use      what I can find, sometimes mixing in fresh strawberries if I have them to make up the 20 ounces.)
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup oil 
• 3 cups flour ( I use white, sometimes whole wheat, or add some oat bran)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts ( usually walnuts, but you can use others...)

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Grease and flour ( or use baking spray) two 9x5 loaf pans.  In a separate bowl combine strawberries, eggs, and oil.

In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nuts.  

Add the dry ingredients to the strawberry mixture and mix until blended. Pour batter into loaf pans and bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Before popping in the oven I usually sprinkle some "raw" sugar on top...I don't know the official name of this sugar as you can see I made my own recycled container for it...but you could use regular sugar.  This gives the top of the loaves a nice touch.  Also...see the two little pans ?  Sometimes this recipe makes two big loaves...sometimes, depending on the strawberries and how much liquid they are in it seems to make more batter.  I usually just make two little loaves that are perfect for "tea for two time!"

Let the loaves cool on a rack....

And when cool you can wrap in foil ( NOT plastic wrap...and if you read The Total Woman you know what I mean...) and the loaves can be popped in the freezer until you need them.  Since I was taking a loaf as a gift to a luncheon I wrapped mine - 

I like to buy colorful dishtowels to have on hand for giving loaves as gifts.  Just place the loaf on the towel kind of diagonally...

wrap over two sides, then tie the remaining ends in a knot !  Looks great !

Here is my lovely friend with the bread all sliced up and ready to go on her fabulous lunch buffet!

What a great afternoon with librarian friends enjoying delicious food and catching up with each other's lives! Wonderful to chat with retired friends and those enjoying summer before the start of another school year.  Librarians ROCK !