It's Rhubarb Season!

 

     Tasting my Mom's delicious strawberry-rhubarb pie yesterday awoke me to the beautiful fact that the rhubarb was ready!  Yay!  Today, after picking some stalks of rhubarb, I made rhubarb custard and rhubarb chutney.  The custard did not meet my expectations (I am always trying to recreate the rhubarb custard I had in Piccadilly Circus, London while a teenager on an European tour with my Aunt Debby and my brother.  There they called it "souille" but I have no idea how it is actually spelled just like I have no idea how to make it but I do know it was phenomenal!).  The rhubarb chutney (the recipe is from Eating Well Magazine) was deliciously exactly what I expected since I'd made the recipe last year, but instead of serving it hot with sauteed chicken, I served it with pita sandwiches and then later had it with low-salt wheat thins which was also great.  I'm thinking goat cheese would be a fun addition too when eating with crackers.  I love, love, love rhubarb.   I am going to plant some rhubarb of my own this year and hopefully try freezing some for next winter--that way I can have more rhubarb! 

A Pokey Little Puppy Party

 Vera's Pokey Little Puppy Party

 

       Since Vera Rose loves all things "puppy dog" these days, I decided to have a Pokey Little Puppy themed party since that would give the party a fun literary twist since it's a classic children's book. 

       First I made two Pokey Little Puppy banners using teal/white-colored floral scrapbooking paper and two old and ragged Pokey Little Puppy books.  Usually I simply cringe at the idea of ripping a book apart (perhaps that is the former librarian in me) whether for repurposing or debundling for dealers to make a profit on old prints.  I simply hate books to be torn apart BUT this
was the first time I had no qualms about it since there are a zillion copies of The Pokey Little Puppy around and it is still very much in print.  I picked the two books in the worst condition that I could find, then cut the pages into a shape with a rounded bottom.  I glued that (using YES paste) onto the scrapbook paper, added a hand-made and curled paper fringe and ribbon and these were the quickest and cheapest banners I've yet made.

 

       I made the birthday cake based on the The Pokey Little Puppy's cutie pie head.  It was made of pound cake with chocolate cake spots, then iced with buttercream and Choco-satin frosting.

 

       My Mom made the food counter perfection by making bowls of Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Custard (both foods that the Pokey Little Puppy and/or his siblings ate in the story).  The chocolate custard was reaaaaallly good.  Moms always enhance anything they touch and parties are no exception!

       For paper products, www.birthdayexpress.com sells party supplies based on the Golden Books collection.  The Pokey Little Puppy was just one of four classic Golden Books highlighted by the paper products so not all items sold featured the puppy.  Luckily, the invitations, the party hats, and the dinner plates all centered on Pokey.  The napkins featured all four books on a different quadrant so I unfolded and refolded all the napkins so the Pokey Little Puppy would be the picture seen.

       I also took some wooden toy fencing and taped onto the fencing the cutouts of the signs featured in the book (cut from the books I used to make the banners).

       The theme was continued with some of the gifts that Vera Rose was given: both sets of grandparents gave her a Pokey Little Puppy puzzle (with a different image on each, of course) and a Pokey Little Puppy stuffed toy so my girls were thrilled (because yes, Liliana has claimed one of the puppies and they sleep next to them every night).  Such fun puppy items (I especially love the Holztiger dogs).

       The party itself was very special because family gathered to celebrate my little 2-year-old and that brought such joy to me.  I have never seen Vera Rose so happy as she has been throughout her little birthday celebrations.  She has smiled and squealed and clapped so much!  She seems to have entered a very joyous season in her little life (about a year ago I was concerned because she often seemed fussy and unhappy) so I am praising God and giving thanks for this sweet little girl who has found contentment and joy as she explores this extraordinary world full of doggies, books, parties, and family.  And it's a very, very beautiful world.
 

      

Happy 2nd Birthday, Vera Rose!

 

 

Puppy-doggie Birthday Luncheon





Puppy dog mini cupcakes, using Junior Mints for noses and Grasshopper cookie halves for the ears.

 

       For Vera Rose's birthday, we had a special friend, Sadie, come over to play, play, play, to read the Pokey Little Puppy, and to dine on grapes, dog-bone shaped graham crackers, and puppy dog cupcakes.  A happy time for a little doggy-obsessed girl (although she's terrified of close-up real dogs, she adores them, watches them from the window all the time and calls for them to "come back!" when they continue on down the street.)

Pink Plaid Scottie Dog Cookies

       For Vera Rose's birthday treat for her Tiny Tots playgroup/class, we made sugar cookies with pink plaid frosting (lots of drizzling!) using my Mom's vintage scottie dog cookie cutter.

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Vera Rose discovering her Easter basket!

 

       Liliana and Vera Rose eagerly put on their Easter attire (they have been begging to wear their poofy yellow dresses with the sprigs of pink roses for weeks).  Liliana had hung hers right beside her crib yesterday and gazed at it with a smile the whole time I read the Bunny Brown and Sister Sue book at bedtime last night.  The girls were very excited to head to church, but first they discovered the Easter Bunny's hiding spots for their Easter baskets.  Plus, they noticed that the Easter Bunny had eaten the carrots, spinach, and cabbage we left out for him on the front step. 

       Well, unfortunately we arrived late to Sunday School this morning, only to discover that hats, gloves, and purses had been left laying in our living room but Daddy saved the day and drove back home to get them.  My favorite part of Easter is always singing the grand hymns of Eastertide so it was with much happiness and rejoicing that I held Vera Rose on my hip today in church to sing "Up from the grave he arose..." as we looked at each other and sang with all our hearts.  Happy Easter!

 

 

Hot Cross Buns

Recipe for Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns:
3/4 cup warm water
1 T yeast
3 T butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1 egg yoke
3 cups flour
2 T water
3/4 cup dried currants (optional)



Unbaked buns with piping, raisin, & egg glaze, just prior to baking.

Decorative Cross
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash vanilla
1/4 cup milk or enough for piping consistency

Directions:
Combine warm water and yeast and let rest for 10 minutes.

In mixer bowl, combine white sugar, salt, butter, egg, egg white, and half of flour.  Add yeast mixture and rest of flour.  Add currants if desired.  Knead dough.  Place on floured surface and let rest 10 minutes.

Shape into balls and arrange on greased pans.  Cover and raise in warm place until doubled (40 minutes). 

Combine ingredients for Decorative Cross.  Place in piping bag and pipe cross shape on buns. 

If desired, add part of a currant or raisin to center of cross design.

Combine the egg yoke and 2T water and glaze buns.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-20 minutes.