Bird-a-long

My sister and I are both making paper mache projects this month. We decided to make seagulls. I've never done paper mache before (except maybe on a balloon in school), but this was really fun. By really fun, I mean it was really messy. Mine has an aluminum foil core and was covered with Saturday and Sunday's newspaper cut into strips.

I made the goop you dip the paper in out of flour (all purpose), water, and some Elmer's glue. I don't know if you need the glue, but it seemed like it couldn't hurt.
I think that the kind of newspaper you make your bird out of affects his future personality. I tried to give mine a balance of the comics and the obituaries. There's a sudoku on his head for intelligence, and an auto parts add on his tail to remind him to be a fast flier.

I didn't think it was going to work at first because it was so gloppy and wet. I left him on the front porch overnight, though, and he dried just fine. It was even raining outside, so it's not like it was just Tucson dryness helping me out. He came out really hard and heavier than I expected.

Next weekend, I think I will paint him and add some birdy details. Maybe Karen will share pictures of hers.

Friday Recipe: Tiny Lemon Cakes

I have a new Friday Recipe for you today (Saturday morning). I know what I said about this being the year of full sized cakes and everything, but these are too yummy to be ignored in 2008. Besides, they aren't cupcakes. I haven't got any pictures today because we already ate the cakes.

I have some special tiny cake pans, but before I did, I used to make tiny cakes in the bottom of large aluminum cans. I used empty tomato cans or pumpkin cans, you know the size, right? Well, I washed them really well, then lined them with foil (just in case tin cans are actually toxic in some way). So, if you have small pans, use them. If not, improvise!

Tiny Lemon Cakes

1/2 cup butter
7 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 tsp lemon extract
zest of half of one lemon
3tbsp milk


Ok, make sure your butter is a little soft, but not squishy before you start. Mix all the ingredients except for the milk together on high speed. I use the small bowl on my mixmaster so that everything gets good and whipped. When everything is combined, drizzle the milk in until it reaches a good batter consistency. Sometimes it doesn't need all 3 tbsp. You know how cakes can be fiddly like that.
Fill your prepared cans about 1 inch full (use several cans to make layers, you should be able to get 6 tiny layers) or pour batter into lightly greased pans.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 min or until they start to get a little golden on top. My oven is inconsistent and I sometimes have to cook them at 375 for 25 minutes. Your's is probably lovely and will be right on target.
When they're done, let them cool for a minute or two in the pans (don't burn yourself) then turn them out onto a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the icing:
1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 a stick)
8 oz cream cheese
5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon extract (or use lemon juice at this stage)
the other half of the lemon zest
1/3 cup of milk or cream.
yellow food coloring (people won't believe it's lemon if it's not yellow)

Mix up the butter and the cream cheese. Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with the milk and the lemon extract. (Go check and see if the cake is burning). Adjust the milk or powdered sugar to get a good icing consistency. Not too thick, not too thin. The lemon zest will make the icing just a little lumpy, but we're not perfectionists, are we? Add the food coloring just a little at a time until it looks nice and fake. When the cakes are cool, ice them liberally with your delicious icing and eat the rest out of the bowl.

-so I made this up and as you can see some of the instructions are a little less than exact. If you do make the cakes, let me know how they turn out, okay, and we can adjust the recipe for later.

Beautiful science

Look what my Dad made, it's a test tube stand, which doubles as a set of six vases! It works great when you have some flowers left over from last week that aren't really strong enough to stand up on their own anymore. Talk about integrated science- how's that for chemistry and botany together at last!

Slumber Party Pie

It's Friday recipe time. Ashley's here for a sleepover and we're going to invent a pie! This will be the most delicious pie you ever tasted. It will make you want to invite your best friends over to watch silly movies and play games. Promise.

First up, the crust!They're made with oats and those are good for you!

Capn' Crunch Berry Crust:
4 tbsp butter
4 cups crunch berries
Crush the crunch berries until you have crunch berry flour. Then, melt the butter and mix in into the crunch berries with your fingers until it starts to stick together. Transfer to your pie plate and press into the bottom and up the sides. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
Then, we made a cream cheese mixture:
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup half and half
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
These all got mixed up in the mixer on high speed until they thickened a little bit, like cheesecake. Then we spread that in our prepared crust.

There was a little bit of the cream cheese mix left on the beaters and we mixed that in the blender with cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and mixed berries in the blender until it looked like a pink smoothie.
yum.That got spread on top of the cream cheese layer in the pie crust. Then we decorated it with more, um, berries. Warning: we made this up. and it was way after midnight. and we only used our cookbook as a coaster. You are not obligated to make this recipe.
Unless, of course, you're at a slumber party. Then you have to.

Buffalo gals

won't you come out tonight?


Look who is finally done! It's the buffalo head that caused so much trouble for us back in August. Thanks to this buffalo, UPS will no longer deliver packages to us.
The lovely Ashley and Ryan provided a home for our disgusting head for the last five months and now it's dry and clean and awesome-looking. Thanks guys!

pink daisies

I always forget that I live with tiny monsters who can't be trusted. Whenever we have fresh flowers on the kitchen table, I forget that I have to put them in the sink overnight or in the morning we'll find flower massacre. I had a jar of fat pink daisies on the table yesterday and I left them there, knowing that my animals know they are not allowed anywhere near the top of any tables. I'm not pointing any fingers...
...but this morning there was a pile of decapitated flowers on the floor and water everywhere. Thanks buddy. At least now I get to wear one of the flower victims in my hair all day. Thanks Georgie!
"I don't know what you're talking about. Feed me."

Lyra's hat knitting pattern

January 28th Update: There has been a lot of attention to this post. Is there any interest in kits for this pattern? Tell you what, if anyone would like a kit that includes a pattern (more precise than the one below) and pattern yarn, please leave a comment and we'll work something out. I'll even put it all in an Alkaline original bag.

Lyra's hat

Have you seen the Golden Compass yet? Did you read the books? You totally should. Remember Lyra's hat that she wears in the movie? This is sort of a sucky picture of it, but you can get the basic idea...

Well, I thought that my daemon and I ought to be prepared in case we ever have to go into the North, so I figured out how to make her hat.

My daemon, Orbit

Want the pattern? It goes a little something like this: I used one hank of very big yarn, about as thick as those old hair ribbons we used to wear in the 80's. You could get an even cooler effect by combining leftovers of all of your favorite yarns until you get about that weight. You could easily go even chunkier than this and it would look more like the movie.

This is a really quick knit. I started mine over three times and was still able to finish it during the National Championship game.

Lyra's Boreal Hat

Gauge: 4" =7 stitches x 10 rows.

Needles: size 19 (or whatever works

-Cast on 36 stitches. Work in stockinette stitch for 20 rows. Add a few extra rows for an even roomier fit. Mine may be a little skimpy for Svalbard.

-Bind off. Now you have a long knitted rectangle.

-Fold cast off edge in half (making roughly a square) so that there are 18 stitches on each side and make a seam using whatever method you like. this will be the back of the hat. In the movie, the seam is very obvious on the outside of the hat, but you could be more discrete if you like.

- make two long braids of coordinating yarn (or an i-cord if you feel up to it) and affix to the two remaining open corners of the former rectangle. These will be the tassels you use to tie the hat snugly.

Tada! A very easy, very warm hat. Plus, the ties keep it on your head, should you find yourself riding a polar bear at great speed.